Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[farmerjan]

@B&B Happy goats ; you know, I never think about freezing in 4 or 6 slice packages..... DUH...... But many times I do freeze in 1/2 the loaf packages. If I buy a loaf, I will have plans for things like some sandwiches, then make a conscious effort to make some french toast or something. But usually I will get it stuck in the freezer as it starts to be a little "staler" and then use it for bread pudding in the winter. I just plain old forgot about it being in the bread drawer this time. Dumb. Oh well, the chickens will get a few slices that don't look too bad and the rest dumped out for the cats and birds or whatever to pick at.

 

[farmerjan]

Yes, @Mini Horses we will be switching roles here in a couple of months. Boy, I sure hope they get my car back together before then. By the time I get home from the surgery, and out of the rehab, it will be hopefully about 3+ weeks lapse. I will get more detail at the pre-op appt but I hope to be able to be driving the automatic shortly after getting home..... he said that no weight bearing as the fusion of the 2 small bones in the heel happens, but that I will not be "incapacitated" as the rest will be requiring therapy etc.. Plus it is my left ankle/foot so not really that "necessary" for the driving part. So I hope to be able to go a few of the farms, and do the "office - paper - computer - desk work" while the farmers do the sample taking. I'm not stupid and have no intentions of doing something I am not supposed to. But I imagine I will also be going somewhat stir crazy and be glad to get out some. Although I am more content being home by myself than my son is.

We will see. This might be the answer to my deciding to "retire" and if it is not hurting so much, might be glad to continue on and do some of the farms, working part-time; but less than I am right now. I am sure the day is coming that I don't want to do it, but I also feel quite a responsibility to some of the farms that I am doing after all these years.

If the ankle goes well, then the idea of getting the knee done will also get me wanting to get it done sooner, and then be more mobile and not hurting. Since I really think that this industry is going to quietly fade away, at least in this area as more farms sell out, it wouldn't be so bad to only do a few for a few more years. Especially the ones that I don't have to set up equipment at.... or have the farmers do the set up as a couple help me do now. And to not do any of the real early morning ones anymore; Afternoon milkings or they will have to do something/get someone else. There are a few that don't start til 5 a.m. and that's not bad. Especially in the summer when it gets so hot in the barns in the afternoons. I have a couple now that we mostly test mornings in the summer due to avoiding the worst of the heat, and then do more afternoons in the colder weather as set up isn't so bad at 1-2 p.m. Might have a couple decide to go the owner sampler route, and me to do the computer work only..... Will worry about all this after the ankle and see how things go.

 

[Baymule]

I think most of have those favorites that get to stay. I have 2 old horses that can live out their days. I haven got there with sheep yet, but I know Ringo will never go anywhere.

We got Sheep 5 lambings ago, so I guess I’m looking at some senior ewes. There is 3 of them, my bet is they get to stay.....

 

[Baymule]

You will be able to keep testing after your knee replacement. Call it good therapy LOL. They got my husband up on his feet and walking the next day, then several months of therapy. While he didn’t do anything heavy, he didn’t sit around either. You will be able to stay moderately active while you recover.

 

[farmerjan]

Well, a couple of things actually went well today. Weather was still cool all day with the breeze, but the sun was out a little better later this afternoon. I noticed that the truck was at my son's, but he didn't answer when I poked my head in the door. So I did the chickens, and then went in. Knocked at his bedroom door and he was in laying down watching TV. Half asleep. So we talked and he was telling me that he had been doing some other stuff yesterday up at the place where the owner died in that jousting accident last year. He and his brother had been working on a tractor and it was parked under a shed roof that the widow wanted to put the horse trailer under but the tractor was partially "apart" and needed to be moved. Well, there had been some money owed to us for fertilizer and all for the hay before he passed since they kept some of the hay for the horses......so on and so forth. Turns out, my son took the tractor in lieu of the money owed. So he puttered around with it and got it going and got it moved to another smaller shed where we park "my" Farmall H. They have hand throttles, and it is luckily very level ground right around there so said that he never even used the brake. He said he was being very careful and not using his right leg just doing a little, then sitting when his left leg got tired and foot went to sleep from being on it and not being able to shift his weight to the other foot/leg. He said that he was feeling it today from all the standing on the one leg.
I noticed that his lounge chair was back in the living room. I said that I had seen where he was home on Friday, that the hood of the truck was up and he said yeah, he's been back since Thursday. I said , oh, for good, and he said yeah. Told me that she was "not sure" now, but a month ago she was very sure and was where she "wanted to be", because the most recent ex was back wanting her back, that she was sorry, blah blah blah.... I just listened. Her sister helped him move all his stuff back to the house. He says that he really misses "his friend" which is what I tried very subtly to tell him that it might mess up their friendship....... I am sorry because he is hurting. And as he says, this is just one more reason to be even more "gun shy" and not get involved again; but he is tired of being alone.

Luckily a couple of friends came by, and although he was a bit grumpy at first, got himself up and came out and they talked for a bit, and I said I had to be going as I wanted to go up to the pasture and feed the grain. I think they were talking about going out and getting some supper..... He needed to get out and be with these guys. The one used to dance in the 2 step club and is a really great guy, the other is another friend and they usually go Christmas shopping every year.... a tradition. It was just the ticket for him to just go out even if he poured out his hurt to them.

So I went up the road, got the feed and went to the pasture. Called the cows twice and they all headed to the pen. The calf off the standoff cow went over to her, then headed down and another cow that is a little wary, headed down. Then here she comes and came right down and around the pen, smelled it then walked around and went in the open side and got right into the grain. YAY !!!!!! At least now she knows that they are getting something when they come down so I am hoping that she will come down the next couple of times and then I will be able to just quietly shut the pen and that will be it. I told my son about how she was challenging Caleb the other day, and what had happened with her going down and all, and that she wasn't having any thing to do with coming to the pen. He said that when they get caught up, that the cows will go to town and the calves will go in with the weaned calves at the barn and they will get sold whenever we send a group of calves. So I am not going to tell him that she came in tonight, I will see if I can get her coming in a couple more days, then just get them closed in and moved to the barn.

So now I am in, ready to call it quits for the night. Gotta pack the samples from Sat eve test, to go out tomorrow. Got a farm to call in the morning. Have one set up for Thurs morning, they start at 7a.m., and it is not supposed to get above freezing..... Want to do this other one maybe on Tuesday if I can. Got one set up for next week already, several are going to skip to next month and then skip again in Feb.... I will get them worked out one way or another.

 

[Baymule]

I’m sorry your son is hurting. As Moms, there are some things we just can’t do. Being with his friends is a good thing.

 

[B&B Happy goats]

Jan, I love you .....you are such a good mom, it had to be hard to keep quite about your opinion on the girlfriend...but you did the right thing and it worked itself out. back to your mother and son time again , you will know before he does when the right one come along .

 

[Bruce]

Maybe try to edge her down in that direction with the truck, as there is no way I am going to get out and try to walk her down if she cops an attitude.

I was going to suggest that you need to borrow @Mike CHS's herding dogs but see that she finally came around on her own.

I won't waste a whole loaf and if one or 2 don't get eaten, the chickens will like them.

I freeze bread and rolls all the time. Definitely would rot otherwise. For example, during Farmer's Market season there is a guy the makes bread and hamburger rolls. 6 rolls to a bag, only DD2 and I eat them and only on Hamburger night so I cut them all in half and put them in the freezer. They thaw in just a few minutes.

Funny thing is, Walmart was pretty empty. I'll bet that there weren't 30 people in there by the time I left after 9 p.m..

Is Wally World usually busy at 9 PM? The times I've been in stores that late (basically grocery stores, all the others are closed by then) there are few people around.

 

[farmerjan]

@Bruce the thing that surprised me about Walmart being so quiet was just that it is only a couple weeks before Christmas. I just figured that it would be busier. Shows how much time I spend in the stores shopping. But getting close to the holidays, I just expected it to be busier on a weekend night.
I am not all that thrilled with the frozen bread..... I do it but am not a big fan of it. Just don't think that they taste as good, but I do buy bread and freeze so that it is available when I need it. I just had this loaf out and forgot it. Of course, my little spell, then son's broken hip, and taking care of all his chickens and trying to get some of the other cattle moved around and all, didn't have anything to do with my forgetting it.....LOL....

 

[farmerjan]

Well, it was cold and rained off and on quite hard..... it has been exactly what the weather forecasters called for. It was about 44 or so today. Still some rain out there.
I worked on going through a couple of boxes of just "stuff" throwing out some stuff that was old news, boxing up another small box of books to put away. got some clothes to go through and get some together to put in a yard sale next year. Never got to do it this fall, but I really am trying to get things into "keep" and "get rid of" piles. I am a real pack rat and I really am trying to cut down some stuff.

Been looking again fairly seriously for a place to go. Found a house that needs work, on nearly 6 acres but it is 30+ miles away. It would be a good investment, but I don't really want to be that far away from the core of the animal/farm operation. I don't know if I could get the mortgage though because it has a cistern, not a drilled well. That seems to be such a sticking point with some of these banks. If it was closer I would have jumped on it, and tried to figure out a way to make it work. But, I will just keep looking and something will turn up. Sure don't need to worry about moving right now, but no sense of letting something pass if it comes along.

Didn't go up to the pasture today due to the rain. Hope that will give them more incentive to come down tomorrow as it is supposed to be some showers but tapering off.