Do You Know What a Prairie Oyster Is?

Day: 28
Dates Remaining: 17

Hover a little. Wait for the right moment. Choose your target wisely. Don't go in too soon but don't wait too long. Then go for it. Grab one and tackle it down so you can give it what it needs.

No, I'm not talking about dating here; this is far wilder and possibly more out of control. You see, out on a ranch, this is referred to as cow branding. Until recently, I had no idea what this was and what it entailed. I knew that it was something ranchers did to mark their cows but I didn't realize that it was a full on production requiring many people, lots of beer and some tough skin.

I'm still not sure that I totally understand why some calves went through some sort of chute while the others were tackled in the field but what I do know is that my second date with Bronc Rider on his ranch was far from ordinary. In fact, it was a fantastic Saturday afternoon where I was able to fully experience what it's like to tackle a baby bull.

The tackling part required at least two people; one to grab the front leg and the other to grab the back leg. The calf would then fall down on its side and the tacklers would ensure that the animal remained still while it received a tag in its ear, two shots to the neck and finally, Bronc Rider's duty of castration.

Once all of that was complete, one tackler would grab the calf by its ears while the other would lead it by the back leg or tail out of the gated area. And then, it was onto the next calf. By the end of the afternoon, over a hundred calves had been tackled, given shots, ear tagged and castrated.

However, when I arrived to the farm earlier in the afternoon, a different batch of cows was being herded through a chute where they were having the ranch brand burned onto them while receiving shots and whatever else. I take it that one batch of calves was female and the other was male. You see, I got a bit confused because there was so much to learn!

Nonetheless, it was a very unique experience. It was especially different that, on my second date with Bronc Rider, I was privileged to watch him remove each calf's testicles and carry them over to the testicle bucket. Now, you may think that these parts just get disposed of, but that is definitely not the case. Instead, they are kept safe in order to make prairie oysters. Unfortunately (or fortunately), we did not get to experience this delicacy yesterday which is where the testicles are shucked and somehow cooked up for eating. Yes, this is a true fact. Maybe next time, if I'm lucky, I'll get a taste since they are apparently delicious.

Following the afternoon of branding, we had a fantastic dinner with Bronc Rider's friends and family. I couldn't think of anything more enjoyable than good food and great wine after a day with the cows. Even better was when a few of my close friends showed up to join myself, Bronc Rider and his friends for a hot tub and a bonfire. I couldn't have asked for a more exciting, educational and enjoyable second date.

This lovely Saturday night was followed by a relaxing Sunday morning where I was finally able sleep in and pick up a book again. But, that was short lived since I had a million errands to run and then a date with 5 Seconds tonight. And in the interest of keeping this post short and sweet, I'm going to write about my date with 5 Seconds tomorrow night since I will be out of town and dateless on a work conference. Good night!