Spring is one of our busy calving seasons, which means we’ll have a continual stream of work to do over the next two or three months. Easter weekend was no exception, and we spent Friday and Saturday horseback, rounding up the pairs and working the calves one by one. I would have much rather stayed home eating the hollow chocolate bunnies I’d bought for my children, but Marlboro Man wasn’t having it, as usual. In Marlboro Man world, every day is Bring Your Wife to Work Day. But as usual, it turned out to be a good thing, because I got to experience the beautiful morning. As usual, Marlboro Man was right. I HATE it when that happens.
I love gathering pairs. I love to commune with the cows early in the early light of day. Cows and human mothers: it’s a kinship no cowboy will ever understand. It’s all about the sisterhood of gestation, man. Lactation, too, and all degrees of engorgement.
What I’m trying to say is, I feel at one with the cows. And I’m certain they feel the same about me.
“I feel at one with you, Dearie. I do.”
See?
“I feel at one with you too, my dear.”
The cows. They flock to me.
Can cattle “flock?” I don’t think they can.
Marlboro Man took our younger daughter with him. They rode far, far into the pasture and rounded up most of the pairs…
While Pioneer Girl stayed behind with her kid brother, who was just a tad on the rusty side after a winterlong hiatus from riding. He did not want to wope. He repeated this approximately thirty-eight times. “I do NOT want to wope. Mama, I do NOT want to wope. Tell Daddy I don’t want to wope, okay?”
You know, I don’t know what in my makeup causes a complete, almost pathological, lack of concern over these flagrant mispronunciations that come out of his mouth. I actually kind of like them; I think they’re neat. Does that make me a bad mother? Yes? Oh, okay. Just checking.
The point is: sometimes, when it comes to riding, you have to let these little punks move at their own pace. But only sometimes.
That’s the approach we took with this girl’s riding, and she’s never been more confident and sure on her horse. It’s really fun to watch.
When I watch her ride, I almost forget that she used to look like this:
Speaking of gestating, I won’t be able to look at this photo for very long or it just might have to happen again. Good Lawd Almighty, I loved this baby girl. But those folds were sure hard to care for.
Back to the business at hand: after she and her dad rounded up the pairs, our girl moseyed over to her siblings.
“Yeah, that’s right. While you two onlookers have been sitting on the sidelines watching the sun rise, I’ve been out in the world getting my hands dirty, making an honest living.”
Okay, so she didn’t say that. But she was thinking it, I’m sure. Or not. Sometimes I like to pretend they’re saying things, and I lose all touch with reality. Don’t tell anyone.
It was Easter Weekend, and L.B. had counted on having a nice, relaxing three-day vacation. L.B. was wrong. And it was really hard to pull him out of bed.
And gosh, the morning was really, really beautiful. Crisp and cool, with pastel colors painting the landscape.
Except for that John Deere cap. That sorta kills the whole pastel thing, doesn’t it?
Oh, and speaking of this one…
She used to look like this, too.
Yes, I actually did that to my daughter. I’m not proud of it, either. But I can’t take back the past.
Back to the business at hand: this is a pair. A pair is a cow and her calf.
This calf. There are far things cuter in the world than this. Oh my gracious, I get a lump in my throat just looking at him.
What was that really disturbing cartoon in the seventies/eighties where a large creature grabs a small creature and says, “I’ll take it home and dress it and play with it and feed it and…?” Well, that’s kind of how I feel when I see a calf this cute. I want to take him home and dress him and play with him and…
Don’t tell anyone.
On second thought, I really don’t need any more laundry in my life.
So I think I’ll just take this guy home instead.
_____________________________________
Hope you had a wonderful weekend!
Love,
Pioneer Woman
Ree Drummond is the founder of The Pioneer Woman and a lover of butter, basset hounds and life on the ranch! Ree started her blog in 2006, and now millions visit ThePioneerWoman.com every month for her trusted recipes and fun family stories. Here’s what she has been up to since it all began:
New York Times Bestselling Author
Ree has written two memoirs (Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, and Frontier Follies) plus nine bestselling cookbooks:
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl (2009)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier (2012)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays (2013)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime (2015)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come and Get It! (2017)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: The New Frontier (2019)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Super Easy (2021)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinner’s Ready! (2023)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: The Essential Recipes (2025)
Food Network Host
Since 2011, Ree has been sharing simple, family-friendly recipes—and the occasional kitchen prank!—on her award-winning show The Pioneer Woman, filmed right on Drummond Ranch. Ree is also a regular judge on Food Network competitions, including Christmas Cookie Challenge.
Founder, The Pioneer Woman Collection
Ree has been creating and selling kitchen and home products at Walmart since 2015 and she’s involved in designing every piece and pattern. The line now includes best-selling appliances (you have to see the floral blender!), plus hundreds of pieces of cookware, tableware, and more. Ree doesn’t like to play favorites but the Agatha print has a special place in her heart.
Restaurant and Hotel Owner
Together with her husband Ladd, Ree has opened several bustling businesses in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, including The Pioneer Woman Mercantile—a bakery, restaurant, and general store that draws visitors from across the country (many come for the biscuits alone!), P-Town Pizza, Charlie’s Ice Cream Shop, and The Boarding House, a charming hotel with eight different rooms decorated by Ree and Ladd.
Media Personality
Ree appears regularly on national TV shows like Today, Good Morning America and more—all while managing to keep flour off her shirt.
Wife, Mom and…Grandma!
Ree’s kids (daughters Alex and Paige and sons Bryce and Todd) are all grown up, and as of December 2024, Ree is the proud grandma of the cutest baby ever, Sofia Scott, born to Alex and her husband Mauricio. Ree still cooks for Ladd (and the kids when they’re home), and she also looks after a few mischievous ranch dogs.
