Well...I Never

There are lots of things I never thought would happen in my life that have never happened.

I never thought I would ever be arrested for anything and I haven't been.

I never thought I would be a world famous trapeze artist and I'm not.

I never thought I would crave raw tomatoes and I don't.

But, there are a few things that I never thought would happen in my life that have, in fact, happened.

I never thought I would only have sons.

I never thought I would prefer a primary calling.

And, I never, ever, ever thought I would own a barn on our property.  Heck, I never thought I would own "property".  My vision for my future life ran more along the lines of having a nicely fenced yard.

When we moved here five years ago, we rented a house in the neighborhood I thought I wanted to live in. It was soon obvious to me that while it would be a fine place to live and there were certainly lots of reasons to be happy there, I really would rather live closer to town - preferably in town.

Travel with me from that moment in life to our current abode - 25 acres ten minutes from town and 20 minutes from the church (where we have to be at least 3 different days of the week) and you can see how, at times, I scratch my head and think, "Well...I never."

It's not that I'm unhappy. On the contrary, I quite enjoy the peace and tranquility not having any visible neighbors affords. I like our house. I like the childhood my boys are having even though it is so different from my own hop-on-my-bicycle-and-go-to-a-friends-house-youth.

It's more that I'm dumbfounded. I have a memory of sitting with Jay while we were dating and sharing information about our families. I can hear him telling me about his dad, who, back then, worked as a radiologist, was currently a stake president and had a 100 cow working ranch. Because Jay was also going into medicine, and was serving in a busy college elder's quorum, I asked right then if he wanted a ranch in his future as well. He laughed and assured me that, no, that was not the life for him. Because I thought that lifestyle was crazy! I still do!

Well, I think something happens to a young man who becomes a man and life's responsibilities are often weighty. Something also happens to a man who has a father nearby and he discovers that his former childhood chores are now great ways to spend time with him. Jay discovered that ranching is not only a great stress relief but that he really, really, really likes the study of cows.

It definitely began with our boys foray into 4-H a couple of years ago. Seth's second to last place finish was a bit of a hard blow to his dad. When neither boy fared much better last year, Jay, whose competitive nature has him think things like, "If you're not first, you're last," and, "Second place is the first loser," while running upped his 4-H game. Because, when all is said and done, it is, I have learned, a game.

A steer who looks a certain way will always win at a county or state fair. It wasn't this case when Jay was a youth participating, so he's had to learn through experience. These steers are almost always progeny of the same few champion bulls and they have straight backs and big butts and long hair. They have other numbers too but, like HD television, you can see the difference when comparing side by side. To get these steers, most go and buy these club calves from certain well-known dealers. They can cost anywhere from $4,000 to $9,000, as a calf, and that makes no economic sense to spend that kind of money up front, feed them grain for 10 months and then maybe get that much at the sale. You would lose money, which is not the point of this great beef endeavor. The point, at least at the start of this all, was to have the boys learn about animals, teach them about the responsibility of daily care, and have them earn money for their missions.

So, last year, Jay took an artificial insemination course over in Utah. For a few days, he learned the science behind it and then had lots of practice on some poor, poor heifers who were on their way to the slaughter house (PETA...look away). He studied and researched and studied some more and bought some straws of semen, which are only about $20 each from these same champion bulls, and then tried this technique on 10 heifers. He was thrilled when 8 of them birthed these genetically chosen calves, even though only 2 of them were bulls (phew). His defense for all this rigamarole is that the boys will be more interested in continuing to participate if they don't place so poorly but I know my husband and I know that he is positioning his team for a win. It might not be this year and it might not be next year but, by golly, he and his boys are going to compete!

Which brings me to the barn. Jay hated taking advantage of his dad's corral space and barn for the steers. He also hated that the boys were that much removed from being involved in their daily care as it required a ride over and, more times than not, it was easier and more efficient for him to just do it himself. He figured, and he is right, that with our own barn and the steers just a hop, skip and a jump away, the boys will really take on the responsibility and learn the economic lessons and gain the work habits that will make them better men. When the timing worked so that we could afford it and use a hard-working contractor friend who needed employment, Jay got to work designing his barn. It really is something, the things this man can do when he want something.

Like most construction, it took more time and money than was originally thought and although it still needs electricity (had to wait until spring for the ground to thaw) and gravel to make the road to it less treacherous, it is done. Jay moved the steers over here about a month ago and it took my mother visiting for me to finally meander over there and have a look at it. That's as into it as I am. Because, well...I never thought I'd have a barn. But, now I do.




The barn has an open side with easy, covered storage.



Right now, while it's cold outside, the steers live in this outdoor corral.  Jay plays a radio during the day so they get used to sound.  The electricity comes from a long extension cord from the house.




The inside of the main section of the barn. Basically, this is an indoor basketball court. Jay originally designed it to have a 20ft high ceiling but realized 18 ft was plenty tall enough. I envision hosting a few fun barn dances with lights strung along the top.  How fun, right?!




This side of the barn is more storage but that back room, the one that isn't full open, is what will be the cool room. This is where the cows will spend their days during the summer. It will have air conditioning to allow their hair to remain long and them to gain as much weight as possible.  Crazy, crazy, crazy!  But, this is the kind of set up the past champions have.




I like it. I mean, it's a barn and it doesn't really do much for me personally but it brings my husband much joy, makes my boys more active participants in their market beef projects and keeps all of them closer to home, which is very nice. I still hope and pray that having 2 steers nearby keeps him satisfied and go on record right here declaring that I still have no desire to be married to rancher who is also a radiologist but I do have a great desire for Jay to be happy and if helping his dad and creating a winning 4-H steer from frozen bull semen is what brings him happiness, then I really am for this. It's not the cozy guest cottage that was my once-upon-a-dream but if you're really adventurous and don't mind sleeping next to some furry neighbors, there's plenty of room in there to accommodate visitors:)