Posted in Life in the Old West

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CIRCLE C RANCH

Do you know what a roundup is? Well, the simple definition is: an activity where you gather up the livestock (either cattle or horses) so you can brand them, count them, and sell them. In this post, I'll talk about branding the new calves.
On the Circle C, the cattle are usually rounded up in the spring, so the new calves can get branded. Ouch! First off, the ranch hands have to separate all those babies from their mothers. The calves don't like it much (and neither do the mama cows). There is so much noise you can't think straight. Cows mooing, calves bellowing. But it's exciting.

Once the calves for that day have been sorted out, the ranch hands rope the calves (their back legs) and drag them to the fire. Yep, a fire is going out in the open. Once the calf is being held down good and tight, a ranch hand takes the branding iron (a metal rod with our ranch's brand on the end: A "C" with a circle around it), makes sure it's good and hot from sitting in the fire, and then pushes the hot iron into the calf's backside.
It smells terrible, but it doesn't hurt the calf as much as I used to think. They've got thick hides.

Then, quick as a wink, that little calf is let up, and off he races--you wouldn't know he'd even been branded--back to his mama. But how he can tell which cow is HIS mother I've not figured out yet. When there are hundreds and hundreds of cows standing around bawling, they all look alike to me.

So, why go to all this trouble once--or maybe even twice--a year? A burned mark in the cow's hide is the only way to tell who it belongs to. There aren't any fences way out on the thousands of acres of rangeland, and sometimes all the ranchers' cattle get mixed in together. But that's OK. Come fall roundup, the ranchers sort everybody's cattle out and give them back.

Branding also discourages rustlers from being too brave. If somebody is caught with a cow, one look at the brand will let the sheriff know who the cow really belongs to. This also works well with horses. And since horse-stealing is a hanging offense, it keeps most horse thieves either honest or very, very careful about which horses they try to steal.

Here is a sample of some different types of branding irons and the "mark" they made when burned into livestock:

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Posted in Life in the Old West

I love to read Dime Novels! For one thing, they are full of excitement, Indian scalpings, captured settlers, adventurers, and all-around colorful places. The trouble is, most teachers and parents (like my mother) think Dime Novels are trashy. They don't contribute at all to kids' literary skills, so it's hard to get away with reading one. (Even though I tried to tell her that all sorts of adults and famous people read Dime novels . . . . like President Lincoln).

Mostly, my mother would prefer I read books like Robinson Crusoe and Little Women. I don't have anything against reading about a fellow marooned on a desert island, but he doesn't have anybody to talk to until his man Friday comes along. And I liked Little Women the first time I read it, but one time is definitely enough. (I told Mother that Louisa May Alcott wrote dime novels, but I don't think she believed me. But it's true!)

When I found one of Mitch's dime novels lying around, I snatched it up right away! I mean, with a title like Crack Skull Bob and an Indian fight on the cover, how can you go wrong? I sweet-talked Mitch into letting me read it, and when Mother saw me curled up on the settee, she just shook her head and sighed. I guess that means I can keep reading it. And a good thing, too! I was just getting to the part where the Indian was getting ready to scalp the settler, and I would have died if Mother had taken it away.

They call these paperback books "Dime Novels" because they cost a dime to buy. Mitch has a whole slew of them--he likes to read these kinds of books. Justin, he doesn't read anything but his law books and the newspaper. Chad . . . well, I don't think he likes to read at all. But Melinda and I? We both like Dime Novels.

But Mitch warned me not to ever, ever, ever take it to school. The schoolmaster will snatch it right out of my hands and tear it up in front of me. Then I'll probably get stuck writing a thousand sentences about only reading books that improve my mind. I want to read books that improve my imagination!

If you want to learn more about the famous Dime Novels of the late 1800s and early 1900s, go here: DIME NOVELS

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Posted in Giveaways and Contests

I took the comments from over here on HSB, combined them with the comments over on Blogger, cut all the little strips out, folded them, and my granddaughter drew the winner.

One Desert Rose won Long Ride Home and the lapbook that goes along with it. Congratulations! I will be sending that out this week.

Thanks, everyone, for all the great comments. And never fear, another giveaway for a book and a lapbook is coming up. Long Ride Home is now taken, but there are the other three books left for other contests.

I'll keep you posted!

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Posted in Giveaways and Contests

Ready for a Contest?

First off, I'm going to show off the cover Kregel decided on for Book 5, Trouble with Treasure! Want to learn more? Go HERE.

And now . . . drum roll . . . A Journey Through Learning, a Lapbook company, has spent the summer creating delightful Lapbooks for all of the CCA books.

If you're not sure what a Lapbook is, it's a hands-on approach to learning, made from 3 file folders and a packet of colorful booklets students cut out, fill out, and paste into the constructed file folders. The study guides and booklets tie in history and writing/literature with the novels. I wasn't familiar with Lapbooks before this summer, but I'm impressed with AJTL's professional look and full-color booklets. Here is an example from the Lapbook for Long Ride Home.

And now for the contest! I am giving away a Lapbook AND a copy of one of my CCA books. YOUR CHOICE!

Here are the rules:

1) Leave a comment, telling me which book and matching Lapbook you would like to win. (These will be combined with the comments on the blogspot blog. You may enter here or over there):
BLOGSPOT POST
Here are your choices:
#1-Long Ride Home
#2-Dangerous Decision
#3-Family Secret
#4- San Francisco Smugglers

2) Leave your E-mail address so I can contact the winner (if I can't find your contact info, I will draw a different name from the "hat")
3) I can ship only to U.S. or military addresses. Sorry!

*** Contest ends August 31 ***

If you would like to learn more about the Lapbooks for the Circle C Adventures, go to A Journey Through Learning, where you can buy them as a download to print out yourself!

Or you can see them on my website's Lapbook page and order a book and a Lapbook from there.
Good luck with the contest!

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Posted in Giveaways and Contests

Go on over to The Christian Pulse, who are giving away a free, autographed copy of Andrea Carter and the San Francisco Smugglers Friday, 5! I'm even including a little Chinese doll with the book.

Here's the link with instructions on how to enter to win: THE CHRISTIAN PULSE

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Posted in Photo Gallery

It's great fun when you can find pictures of real kids from history and can use the pictures without worrying about copyrights. Going through old family pictures, we found these real-life relatives that work well to depict a couple of the characters. First, here's Andi at age 9, courtesy of my real-life great-aunt Nada. And a great picture of Chad, courtesy of my grandfather Hubert (Nada's brother).
Just for fun!

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Posted in Giveaways and Contests

Yesterday I printed out and cut up all the entries for the cover contest. Then my grandson folded all the little strips up. I put them in a bowl, and he drew out one name. Ready? Drum-roll:
The winner is Felicia Straley!
Congratulations, Felicia! I will send you The Trouble with Treasure last next fall (hopefully before Christmas), along with a vial of real gold flakes.

Thanks, everyone, for playing along. I sent my publisher a summary of your feedback (Taffy on the cover had a 2 to 1 lead). As soon as Kregel decides on the cover (yes, they get the final decision), I'll post the cover here.

Again, I hope you had as much fun entering as I had reading your responses! Go here to read the rest of the responses: RESPONSES.

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Posted in Giveaways and Contests

The draft covers for Circle C Adventures Book 5- Andrea Carter and the Trouble with Treasure are here. You can vote for you favorite cover by leaving a comment. Everyone who leaves a comment will be entered into a random drawing to win a copy of the new book when it is released late next fall. The lucky winner will also receive a small vial of REAL gold flakes. Why gold flakes? Well, Andi's friend Cory gets hold of an old survey map of the mountains, which shows gold diggings. Together with Andi's older brother Mitch, Andi, her new friend Jenny, and Cory head for the hills. But instead of finding gold, they find a heap of trouble!

Take a look at the covers, and then read the "Rules" below to enter:

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Posted in Life in the Old West

The Ten Commandments . . . Old West Style

1. There's just one Trail Boss . . . God.
2. Don't be hankering after other gods.
3. Watch yer mouth, partner!
4. Get yourself to Sunday meetings.
5. Honor yer ma and pa.
6. No killin' two-legged varmits. Let the law do it.
7. Don't be sparkin' another fella's gal.
8. Don't stick your brand on your neighbor's horses or cattle.
9. No tellin' tall tales or gossiping.
10. Don't hanker after another rancher's water, stock, or fancy spread.

~ loosely translated from Exodus 20 by Andi Carter

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Posted in Future Books

If you're not on my E-zine list and want to read the latest news, click on the graphic. I've finally figured out how to post my e-zine on my website:

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