Working in the Winter
Never a dull day at the Wildwood office. One second we are hard at work at the desk, figuring out our latest and greatest recipe, then the next, we are strapping on our boots, gloves and climbing in the truck and going to doctor up some cows. Working cattle in the snow after being at a warm desk all day really makes you think about cold and how much you miss that warm desk.
So Zach (our company controller) and myself are off to vaccinate and tag cattle at the ol’ A–T Ranch. This is a good time to have calves and do vaccinations because the cold usually helps to fight off infections. Also giving the A–T a good count of how many cattle they currently have and can expect to have later in the calving season.
Pretty much any reason to get outside and grill you’ll find us there, even if that means working outside in the winter. What goes better together than working with cows and grilling up some tasty treats?
Nowadays with all of our nice equipment doctoring up calves is fairly straightforward. Run them into the corral, then have them walk through the chute where we catch them one by one and give them their pretty little earrings and shots so they don’t all become sickly. When you’re trying to stay out of the cold, working in winter is all about being efficient.
We got all the cows tagged and doctored up and then it was time to enjoy some treats, because really, we just wanted to grill up some good ol’ smokies. The best way to consume smokies is on Maple planks. That nice thick smoke gives the food so much flavor and all the more reasons to love grilling. Working cattle in the winter isn’t all bad when you have freshly grilled food.
This was the day we got to break out the ever classic mobile tailgate grill. Handy in all instances – a tailgating party, working cattle in the snow or even a back up grill if your host’s grill suddenly takes a dirt nap. We had just enough to feed the crew for helping, then, unfortunately being so effective at our job working the cattle, had time to run back to the office to work some more.
Evan here! Born and raised in Sandpoint, Idaho. Join me on my journey, spatula in hand, a cow in the other as I discover the tastier side of the grill. I once heard “A farmer nurtures; he watches things grow.” and a nurturer i shall be, a nurturer of the grill.
