Decorating styles come and go, but at the Grieb Ranch one consistent statement was made no matter the trend: We are Cowboys.

This statement was most clearly communicated through a visit to the Cowboy bathroom. Barbara Grieb the amazing women who kept the Grieb Ranch running by feeding the Cowboys and friends was also an amazing decorator.  Enjoy a peek at her Cowboy Bathroom. Many visitors do a double-take to be sure they didn’t wander out the backdoor to the outhouse.

Entering the Cowboy Bathroom

The first clue you were entering a not-so-common bathroom was the swing door you pushed through to enter. You entered it just like you were entering a cowboy saloon. Only here there was not a slew of cowboys belly-up-to-the bar.

Cowboy Bathroom Decor

Once inside you notice the wood paneling with brands burned into the planks. One window is stained glass showing grass-fed beef and the Grieb Ranch brand. The paneling gave you the feeling you that maybe you were not inside a home, but perhaps took a turn outside to the outhouse.

Suspicions Confirmed

Finally you get to the place where you do your business. Here the bathroom takes a quirky turn to make you smile. Yes it’s just like sitting in an outhouse! Your suspicions have been confirmed and you smile. Many a visitor left with warm memories of visiting the Grieb Ranch cowboy bathroom.

How many Kindergarten students do you know who are learning to read while learning to be businessmen or women? Our own kinder student, Mr. P, recently spent a day at the sales yard watching for his steer, Percy (out of his cow, Pudge), to be sold.

Since Mr. P is just learning to read he needed to add some sight words to his reading vocabulary so he could understand the business part of the day. To get Mr. P started off right he learned to sight read: cow, bull, heifer, steer, sale, head count, average, total price. 

Lots of Brands are Seen at the Sales Yard

While waiting for his steer to come up for auction the time was passed by learning the important info regarding brands and legal branding locations. A legal brand is proof of ownership of an animal – it can guard against cattle rustlers. Mr. P learned there are six branding positions for legal proof of ownership of cattle. They are the left or right shoulder, rib or hip.

A livestock business person must learn to read brands. The Grieb Ranch brand is a backwards G with and arrow underneath. The Willems’ brand is a lazy S over a horseshoe placed on the left hip.

This hat also sports the brands of an uncle and a niece along with the Willems’ brand and the Grieb Ranch brand. The first and last brands read bar crescent moon and crescent moon bar.  If you would like to see more livestock brands check out the online California Brand Book.

Kindergarten Business Lessons

Back to the sales auction . . . Mr. P’s steer sold and he now must calculate his profit. He must tally up all his operational expenses and apply them to the amount he received for his steer. Mr. P must understand the value of bringing quality livestock to the market. This brings repeat buyers for his livestock. Pretty big lessons for a Kindergarten-level Businessman.

Ranch Dog Dee was simply THAT dog.

The special friend who was put to task to check out the girlfriend to see if she was the one for life. Dee was THAT dog who was so special she was part of the ensuing wedding. She was THAT dog who was trusted enough to welcome home all three of children. Dee was THAT special friend who sat faithfully listening to expressions of the ups and downs of ranch life. 

Daniel’s Ranch Dog Dee was simply THAT dog.

Dee was Daniel’s faithful friend. She rode in and helped sort at more cattle roundups than any dog.  Her life was not easy being a ranch dog. Yet it was her purpose. Ranching life produced it perils: Dee dealt with several  broken bones by being smashed by charging bulls or cows. Dee loved her job and was counted on over and over for tracking wild cattle, bear, pigs, or whatever needed to be done.  Dee brought many years of joy! 

Dee was simply THAT dog. She is truly missed by all.

Ag Adventure day camp for kids provides farming and ranching experiences for 7-11 year olds. In the process they learn to appreciate God’s creation and understand how vital agriculture is to life. Here are some of the activities cowboys and cowgirls got to experience at Ag Adventure camp run by the Apela Foundation:

• Watching turkey chicks hatch then holding the new life,
• horseback riding every day,
• eating food made and prepped by the campers themselves,
• squirting milk from a goat teat,
• learning how to properly handle and shoot a BBG gun,
• playing horseshoes,
• learning to rope,
• building or making a craft,
• learning about and handling a variety of farm animals,
• doing chores
• and so much more

The Origin of Ag Adventure Camp

Ag Adventure camp is the brain child of Connie Grieb Willems and a few others who had like-thinking so they formed the non-profit, Apela Foundation. Now approaching it’s 10 year, many Ag Adventure camp memories have been made and much work has gone into this one-of-a-kind experience for youngsters.

Who Provides the Animals and Ranch Resources?

The Grieb Ranch family is one of the main suppliers of horses and tack for the cowboys and cowgirls to ride every day, the puppies for kids to love on, goats to milk, hatching turkey chicks, berries for the cobbler and many other fun items each year. Other local friends of Grieb Ranch also donate the use of their horses and livestock.

This endeavor involves the whole Grieb Ranch family and this year it took four generations to provide. Papa delivered the horses; Connie directed, taught classes, and managed help; Amanda assisted the staff; Cowboy P provided puppies and help; Little A kept his mama busy and played with other staff kids; while cousin Josh did all the heavy lifting and assisted where needed.

A great time was had by all, especially the campers many of whom experienced God’s creation through agriculture up close and personal for the very first time.