My great grandmother started our family tradition of farming and ranching when she homesteaded north of Wildrose in 1905. While she would eventually marry and give the farm management over to her husband and sons, the cattle were always her responsibility and the professional love of her life. The cows provided financial diversity, sustenance during tough times and a daily companionship and purpose until she died. 

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That love of cattle has continued through the generations. My grandparents raised cattle, and my father and uncle started a registered Black Angus herd in 1973. My sisters and I took for granted that every kid gets to snuggle up with newborn calves, slide down round bale stacks for sledding practice, cowboy up at the feed trough for a bit of a bull ride and instigate a well-intentioned stampede around the winter corral. (Some of these activities got us in a spot of trouble from the parents). 

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My summer job as a girl was to detect and monitor every cow that was ovulating in the pasture so my uncle could artificially inseminate several cows each morning and evening the month of June until the entire herd was bred. I spent sunup until sundown hiking the windswept prairie and observing our cows and heifers. Jotting down cow and calf behavior notes helped to pass the time; as did keeping track of who would let me give a friendly scratch by month's end. (And there was an occasional nap in the warm grass). It was a pretty sweet job.

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Years later when Kevin and I had the opportunity to become daily stewards of Glasoe Angus, those childhood memories beckoned.

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I am so grateful we returned. My love of cattle is more steadfast than the day we moved back. I understand what my dad meant when he used to say it was like Christmas every time a sire catalog arrived in the mail. It's truly exciting to consider the genetic options, pedigrees and reproductive potential that could produce the next calf crop. From production performance to maternal ability to carcass superiority, it's a great time to be in the business of promoting and selling Black Angus cattle.

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Ultimately, like my great grandmother, I have realized it's the cows that matter most. The challenge of choosing the right pedigree and genetic combination, feeding and fostering the potential of each female and then witnessing her raise her first weaned calf and the next and the next is an incredible privilege and responsibility. She's the reason we stay in business and why we're so fortunate to do what we do. When I'm walking in the summer pasture and gazing at the cows as they mother the next generation of calves, it still seems like a pretty sweet job and the one I hope to have for the rest of my life.   

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 ~ Sydney Glasoe Caraballo ~