Calving in the area where I grew up mostly happens in late winter, and then in mid-to-late spring people bring the calves in for branding, vaccination, and castration. Doing it all in one day is generally too much for any one family, so branding at each ranch is a full-day gathering of many neighbors and relatives. My father took this picture at the 1992 branding on the Nollett ranch where he grew up, which at the time was operated by an uncle and a cousin of mine.