Ranch Girl Ramblings

03/16/2026

Good Morning Facebook! We have slowly started calving here on Polar Ridge! True to form Mother Nature showed up with much needed moisture and a few days of cooler temps. I can't say that we've had a bad start but it could be better. We lost a couple premies that just weren't quite done baking, but that's not abnormal. The coyotes need to eat too (even though we hate them). Tomorrow is forecasted to be 60° and currently we are 13°! Gotta love South Dakota weather! While we trudge along here our hearts are with our Nebraska neighbors. The Morrill fire has been rolling along for days now and we know all too well the devastation it leaves behind. Last I heard it was well over 500,000 acres. Please take a minute today and send up a prayer for strength, safety, perseverance AND RAIN. As always be safe out there and be kind.

12/31/2025

12/24/2025

In the words of Shaboozy "Man what a Hell of a Year it's Been!". 2025 definitely brought every emotion, trial and fear to life. It started in January with a quick but exciting trip to Las Vegas to see my baby cousin Trish get married. Oh we had the best time and the biggest laughs! Then came February with bitter cold and all of the fun that brings to the ranch life. Frozen EVERYTHING! The ice melted and turned to glorious, joyful rain! We watched our beloved prairie turn green and the dams fill. The abundance of grass and water, a true gift! Just as the water rose so did the cattle prices! Brandings were filled with hesitant but excited outlooks for the future! The summer brought more rain and made for an abundant but very frustrating haying season. We cut hay, it rained. We raked hay and it rained. Thru it all we remembered the days of drought and still we celebrated. Fall brought every salebarn in the country breaking records week after week! It was truly something to experience and I hope to see it again. Speculation of a tough winter undertoned the fall run, yet here we are Christmas Eve and it's already 49°! In September I was fortunate to spend a week along the Oregon Coast with my Mom and some truly special friends. It was the trip of a lifetime and held moments I will treasure forever. In November we lost mom after a hard, brave fight with cancer. She was our rock and our light and it will take time to learn how to navigate life without her. We know she is at peace, and reunited with so many friends and family who have gone before her. In a year of change, loss and so much joy and excitement it has taken an army to lift me up when I needed it and catch me when I fell. 2025 has taught me so much about change, growth and what's important. I've learned not everyone can go with me into the next chapter in my life, while that's a hard lesson it's also ok. It's all part of growing. I am forever thankful for those that never waiver and continue on with me and whatever comes next. Going forward I'm looking forward to all of 2026, even the hard days as they make the good days that much better. In closing I want to wish you all a VERY Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! As always be safe and hug your loved ones.

12/09/2025

I have been working on the right way to write this for some time. I am going to start with a disclaimer... This is not intended to offend anyone. I certainly hope it is received with an open mind and an understanding that this is simply an opinion formed from my life.
The most frequently asked questions I get, from young people "coming back to the ranch," all involve FAMILY. How to most effectively navigate finances, emotions and day to day operations. My #1 answer is communication! You have to talk about all of it. That is HARD! Some days emotions run high, arguments happen these days don't always lend time to walk away and cool off! Make the time. Take a deep breath wether you have to walk out of the barn for 5 minutes or go "check a tank,". Cool off, regroup and come back with a level head. I did not learn this the easy or proper way (I blame the red hair).
Compromise... nobody is "right" all of the time and there's always more than one way to go about it. Listen and make educated decisions, leave your ego at the door.
Plan..... Make a business plan that works for everyone. Financially everyone has to make a living. This looks very different for every situation. Time and workload are equally important. Who shows up and who doesn't. For example if an outside job is warrented to make the financial end work there needs to be a compromise in the workload. These are probably the hardest and most controversial aspects. We did not have a solid plan and it caused a big rift for a long time. Nothing is ever going to be 100% equal. Take time to evaluate what is most important for YOU! Be willing to bend but stick up for yourself but, DO NOT go so far that you break.
Always remember at the end of the day it might not be perfect or even fit "the norm." The situation may not be your bankers ideal or work for your neighbor but if it works for you that's all that matters.
Lastly it takes time to figure it all out. I didn't move home under ideal circumstances and believe me it took all of 10 years for us to figure out what works here. It has been almost 20 years now (which is absolutely CRAZY) and we are not perfect by any means, we are constantly changing and evolving to fit today's needs. In closing I would like to say we do pretty darn good navigating it all around here. Never stop growing! Don't be afraid of change. Keep your chin up on the hard days. As always be safe and be kind!

10/22/2025

This is a step in the right direction!!

10/19/2025

Good Morning! Wow what a time to be in the cattle business! Calves are fat and healthy and finally worth enough to pay the yearly bills. We were fortunate to receive abundant rain keeping a beautiful green tint to the prairie and in turn producing plenty of feed for winter!
As I admire another beautiful sunrise I have time to reflect on some corral side conversations I've had this fall. Most are high spirited visits as we load a year's worth of stress and worry. With that there is also much speculation of what the future holds. Oh what I wouldn't give for a crystal ball some days! Trump definitely dropped a bomb this week and we have all watched the boards fall. I guess we will wait and see what the barns do this week.
With all that being said I really have 2 points I want to touch on(might need another post, too much rambling).
1. FSA is on furlough which affects many of us who have borrowed money thru their programs. We can't get our checks signed! Our one time paycheck for the entire year lays useless on the counter. we can't pay off our other loans and are facing more interest & potential late fees. What if our banks choose to not extend those loans, because they certainly do not have to. Those who have maxed out their operating loans(which most of us live on) are surviving on credit cards, higher interest yet. I highly doubt we will see any payback from the ones in the stalemate, whom are still getting their paycheck. I promise I am probably the least political person I know, but this hits home. The bottom line is so many of us cannot live our simple day to day lives because a bunch of grown adults can't compromise enough to run our country.
I'm also going to add a most likely very unpopular opinion.... Like many others in the ranch community I can't afford the healthcare program anyways so why throw more money at a failed idea. DO BETTER!

Well off to wean some calves. As always be safe and be kind. Life is hard! We will get to the next point another time!

P.S. Also please contact your senators and reps and ask that someone be allowed to get in the office and sign checks for a dang day!

04/14/2025

It's been a hot minute since I posted and I suppose we will get to that, but for now... This may be one of my favorite views. I know it isn't much. A heifer that may or may not be able to raise a calf. The dust and wind blowing like 1934. A few pens built out of some bridge planks, ties and steel that hold their own stories. But this is where I grew up. That dam in the distance, we played at and my brother chased me with gardener snakes. The blue tin of the barn that you will find EVERYWHERE on this place, my grandpa and Bob Lavonne Hansen bought and built every calf shelter, windbreak and barn out of for years. They made Polar Ridge inhabitable with that stuff! This is where I saddled my first horse, watched my Dad and Grandpa graft a million calves and decided I wanted to do it ALL! I seen the softest side of my Mom, every bum calf and lamb came thru this barn and she saved the ones she could (which was most of them.) She had the patience I sometimes lack, but the grit to keep going. This is where I fell in love with ranching. The good, the bad, the cussing, the death and the new life it all came from this barn.