So Where Were We...

Shame, thy name is Mr. Schprock and Tiffy...

It has been a day or two, hasn't it... so I'll catch you all up...

As you all know, I'm not wont to speak much of my life or times, but this year has led to some sad times and some happy ones to boot.  It's a strange phenomenon that the sad times which carry much disappointment and subsequent depression tend to give way to the good times if you can keep your head and weather the storm...

I've been in a fairly lengthy legal battle with various state, local, and federal government agencies since 2007 which culminated in my filing of a Complaint in the Federal Court under 42 USC 1983, also known as a civil rights case for the violations of my fourth, fifth, and fourteenth amendment rights.

If you've known me online for a long time, you may have noticed that my usual levity and frivolity have taken a bit of a backseat for the last seven years or so, and that's why.  It's one of the main reasons for a lot of white hair in the old barba these days, and the stress level has been a bit on the high side.  So in January, when we last spoke, I was in the middle of typing up a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in hopes that the Supreme Court would take up my case and overturn a 9th Circuit decision against me...

It was a long and costly proposition, but it's the last resort in the situation we were in...

Along with that, a very good friend of mine also had filed a 1983 action and he was crushed by the 9th Circuit as well.  Since he was a 83 year old Shoshone Indian, I took it upon myself to help him anyway I could and so I've been intimately involved in his case as well, typing up his briefs as he wanted and eventually, his Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the Supremes as well.  Coincidentally, we both ended up having to file at about the same time... doubling my work load.

Short story long, my petition was denied, and therefore my case was ended before it began on what were called pre-trial motions, but there was still hope because of the similarities in our two cases.   Eventually, the Court denied my friend's petition as well.

With every dark, comes the eventual dawn, and after the depressions we both suffered because of the rejections, the summer was mostly uneventful.  It's always tough when you lose something that you know you shouldn't, but it appears the fix is in against people such as myself and my friends in the West.  So you move on...

UNfortunately...  in a business such as mine, it really takes another's misfortune in order for you to make a little bit of increase, and the livestock industry has suffered a lot of misfortune in the last 4 years or so.  The droughts in Texas caused those folks to liquidate their herds over the last 4 years or so...  then last winter a massive snow storm in the Dakotas killed over 250,000 cattle as well.

The scarcity of cattle has now led to a substantial increase in prices, which I'm sure you all know of if you've tried to buy beef lately...  that's good for me.

I took a pretty big hit to my herd size due to the 2007 incidents, but I've been slowly rebuilding my herd over the last couple of years, and so I was able to capitalize on the higher prices.  What does that mean?  Well...  in the last 3 years, prices have almost tripled for my calves.  Add to that a wonderfully wet August around these parts (read that as almost a year's worth of rain in 25 days or so) bringing tons of fresh green grass for my cattle to eat and gain weight on, and you have a very positive situation for me.

There's been the usual struggles through the summer, and as my folks get older most of the burden falls into my lap for the daily operations.  Add to that the reality that all of the things my folks built or repaired when they were my age are now 25 years older and need to be completely redone by me.  So to say I've been swamped this year would be a bit of an understatement.  I honestly don't see that changing for the next several years.

But it's ok...  I've been taken care of, and I don't worry about things working out anymore.  It seems to if I just do my part...

And today was payday.  It's the day we shipped my male calves and they were 40+ lbs on average heavier than they were last year at shipping time.  I'm not going to tell you how much the check was...  ;)  but it was the biggest check I've ever seen for one truckload of calves, and I didn't top the market either.

I'll ship the girls on Tuesday...

It's a good time to be in my business so I'll enjoy it while it lasts (probably the next 3 years or so) and hopefully get paid out at the bank before things crash and burn.

It's a hard existence to be certain (I blame Tiff for this), but this year almost makes it seem worthwhile...  ;)


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Today's mystery lyric: (Remember the rules folks, no online searching of the lyrics, if you don't know it, you don't have the answer!)

So have you got the guts?
Been wondering if your heart's still open and
if so I wanna know what time it shuts
Simmer down and pucker up
I'm sorry to interrupt it's just I'm constantly
on the cusp of trying to kiss you
I don't know if you feel the same as I do
But we could be together, if you wanted to

Answer to last lyric: Lola Montez by VOLBEAT... My Bro actually bought me tickets to go see these guys in Boise this past April. It was a good old fashioned Rock and Roll show... I highly recommend it!