Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[thistlebloom]

Hmmm, i wonder if there will come a time when milk again comes in glass bottles that are returned, cleaned and reused.

Mine does. I get unpasteurized cream line milk in glass bottles at the local grocery store. You pay a deposit on the bottle.
The milk comes from a family owned Guernsey dairy about 15 miles north of me.

 

[Mini Horses]

Hmmm, i wonder if there will come a time when milk again comes in glass bottles that are returned, cleaned and reused.

My house!! At MY house!! No deposit as I had to buy my bottles. LOL Yep, I have the flatish 1/2 gal with the pinched in sides for hand hold. Mostly, my milk is stored in the sanitized bottle it goes into at milking...1/2 gal canner. ones.

VA says you cannot sell raw milk for human consumption. There are herd shares and you can sell for pet or craft if so marked, as well as "not for human consumption".

 

[farmerjan]

The whole "raw milk" BS restrictions here in Va are enough to make a saint cuss. Plus, there are areas that the "herd or cow share" is greatly frowned upon, so you have to walk softly. I think that it ought to be legal and that the person selling it should meet some minimum standards for cleanliness of the milk. A somatic cell count and a basic bacteria count. There would be few that might not meet it, but for the most part, then it would be considered "reasonable safe" for consumption.
It would just make it better for the state to keep an eye on it instead of it being one of the "behind closed doors" under the table, not talked about out loud in public, type of transactions.
There are other states that could serve as examples of ways to sell it. Vermont is a good one. They upped the amount allowed to be sold from the farm as the demand was so high and they were losing farmers left and right so they decided that they needed to do something to help encourage them to stay and let's face it, a financial gain will help a farmer endure other things. You HAVE to make some money at it or you can't survive. The milk co-ops here in Va are part of the problem as they don't want anyone to be able to sell milk out of the tank. According to the agreement that a farmer signs with the milk company he sells to, the milk belongs to the milk company as soon as it is in the tank. Yet they then charge the farmer to transport the milk "they own" ???? And if they can control the farmers and where they can sell their milk, then they have a stranglehold on the supply and then the demand will go up in the stores. So they make sure that the little guy with a couple of cows can't sell his milk......
Most of the little guys with a couple of cows are very conscientious about cleanliness. After all, they are drinking it too.

Was warmer last night, mid 40's. Had some showers go through and more coming later. Up to mid 50's already. Cloudy and damp. Headed up to do the chickens while there is a break in the rain. Then come home and work in the house some more. Got some sewing/patching to do so today will be a good day to do it. Filled the automatic feeder for my chickens yesterday so they are set for today.
Have a dr appt with the neurologist tomorrow. This will satisfy everyone (my PCP) and then I can just forget that "spell" that I had. Haven't had anything since I have been going to the Chiropractor regularly again. Trying to eat a little better, and lose a little weight as well. I think I will rumage around in the freezer and see what is in there to cook. Be a good day to have something good smelling coming out of the kitchen. Feel like some mashed potatoes.... have to see if I have any that I can put on to cook. Got a couple of bags of stuff to drop at the dumpsters on my way up the hill.

Had to go with my son yesterday to get a cow up at pasture. The neighbor was riding her horse, and saw that she had a prolapse rectum. It went back in then came back out. She was near the catch pen and got the cow in. We went down to get her. It was back in. They sometimes do it when well along in their pregnancy. Brought her back to the barn, and will watch her for a few days. She is due to be preg checked, along with the rest at that place. She will stay here at the "home farm" and probably will be her last calf if she is indeed pregnant. She might never do it again, but it indicates a weakness in the muscles, and usually it will get worse with each succeeding pregnancy. Have to make a decision if and when the time comes.
He drove and can use the clutch but is still using the crutches. Starting to put some weight on the leg, but is being careful. Plus he said it is very weak, but that is to be expected from not using it for 8 weeks. Next week he is supposed to start with the 50% of his weight on it for 2 weeks, and then go to using it more with just a cane. It will take a little time to get the muscles built back up. At least with mine, if I go to the knee crutch, I will still be using the leg muscles, just not the ankle. I think that will make it better for me because except for the calf muscles, I should still have some decent muscle tone and hopefully make it easier to walk when I am allowed to do so. Talked to a guy at the stock yards 2 weeks ago, and he said that he had had his knee replaced.... 5 weeks earlier.... and was walking on it very well. Said it still ached and the muscles weren't 100% yet, but I was amazed at how well he was getting along. Something to be inspired by.

 

[thistlebloom]

My sis had both of her knees replaced last year and is going great blazes now. She's ecstatic at the improvement after hobbling around in pain for years. She's like you Jan, a real hard worker and never say die attitude. She says it's the best thing she ever did.
I think you will be so pleased when it's done.

 

[Baymule]

It’s all about the therapy after the surgery! Make sure your doctor orders therapy.

 

[farmerjan]

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL !!!!! It sure has to be an improvement over this past year.

Had a bout 3 tenths inch rain Sunday/Monday morning. Then had some temps in the 70's and it sure was nice. Sun out and all.
Had the neurologist appt. Talked to me, asked all sort of questions, I think to see if I was "coherent". Had me do touch my nose then his finger and stuff.... did some of those "tap the knee" to get the response (kick involuntarily) and all that stuff. All that and then said that in his opinion I didn't have a seizure, it could have been the spine being out of alignment but that normally the nerves from the spine don't affect the eyesight because they don't affect things that far up into the brain.... HELLO, the spinal cord and nerves DO go up into the brain or you couldn't function..... said he didn't have any problems with chiropractors, and so if I had any other problems to call the office or go through my PCP.......
I have no idea what it cost.... BUT, I have dotted all the i's and crossed all the t's. Done with it. Have a follow up with the PCP in mid- Jan. I haven't had the mammogram because when I had a window of time, they said they hadn't received the "order" from the doctors' office.... and I haven't taken the time to call back. I would be interested in seeing where my "bone density" levels are. So if I can remember to call on Thursday, I will. I do have my annual eye exam on Thursday. Luckily it is supposed to be rainy so no bright sun to really get to me as I am sure they will do the dilate thing. I was originally scheduled for the end of the month, I make the appt year to year. When I realized it might conflict with the ankle surgery, not being sure when it was going to be, I called and they had this opening on Jan 2nd so I said I would take it. One more thing out of the way.
Tested the 500+ cow herd this morning. Kinda last minute decision, but glad it got fit in. Will get them in again at the very end of Jan before I go to Duke. Monday after I got out of the neurologist appt., went to another farm that I had to do an "install" on their system as they are putting in a heat watch system and will "tie it into" the PC DART system I use for milk testing. This means that they will be entering in all the breedings and info on the cows, less work for me.... but that they will also be able to create/print reports and keep a better check on the cows heat cycles and such. They have been having trouble getting cows bred. Of course the install did not go smoothly and had to spend some time on the "team viewer" with our computer support so they could get it all in. But all is good and I will be going up there to test them on Friday afternoon. They want to get in another test just before I have the ankle done. Then will go 6 or more weeks and we will figure out getting them caught up after. They said that they can do the milk samples in the parlor, if I can come and do the computer work.... we'll see how I get along. By then Michael will be back to work and all, and this farm will test on the weekends, so might get him to go help. Cross that bridge when we come to it.

Cloudy and chilly this morning after a couple of days of real nice and unseasonable warm weather. Still, mostly sun this afternoon. Going to be cooler and sunny then clouds on Thursday and Friday? Some rain/showers in the forecast....low 30's at night. But that's still okay. Glad we are not in line for any of the snow. We still have Jan, Feb and Mar to get through.... but we are getting closer to spring everyday.

I 'm heading to the shower and bed here very soon. The ball can fall and the new year can come in without me. Guess if I wake up in the morning it will be 2020..... If the world ends then I guess I don't have to worry about it. Spent too many years waitressing and LONG nights on New Years Eve, to worry about it anymore.

The farm where my one cow is, will probably be selling out in late spring. He and his wife got into the "donut making" business, and it has really picked up and he can make half of what they were making in the milk check, just on 2 days a week with the donuts. I can't blame him. The boys don't want to milk cows. They will transition to beef, probably feeders getting them at 400+/- and feeding them to 700 or so; and sell them either to a feedlot, or if he gets heifers, for breeding. Can't blame him.
Hoping he gets her bred back soon, she had a dead bull calf, had to pull it, over 120 lbs, but she is doing good. She will come home to me. Hope I will be getting around so that I can milk her... or if she is not making alot of milk I can dry her off. Hate that I will not be able to stop and get milk when I need it.... but that's life. But she is 1/2 guernsey and 1/2 holstein, so I don't want to sell her. She has never been hand milked at the "home setting", though. Don't know how the transition will be. Maybe I can get her to take calves. If he can get her bred back fairly soon, then she will be due to calve in Oct.... that would be okay to get calves on her before I do anything with the knee(s) in winter. We'll see what happens.

Had another hol/jer cross heifer that was supposed to be bred to calve in the spring. Well, they were wrong about her and she calved at the farm with the other beef cows. Not anywhere I can get her in, and 2 fields away from easy access to the barn, so I was just hoping that she wouldn't ruin her udder with too much milk. I have seen a calf on her several times. Today I saw 2 calves on her. I am thinking maybe she had twins.... I had suspected maybe but then figured that I was wrong as I only ever saw one calf at a time.... If nothing else, it will really be good for her udder to get nursed out good. One was on one side, the other on the other side so I was really happy about that. If things were different I would have had my son get her up through the fields to the barn so I could get her in and probably moved to where I keep the nurse cows. But, not in a position to do that right now. Regardless if they are both hers, or another calf is on her, she is getting milked out pretty good. They were really going to town so I am relieved at that. Hope it is her twins. The vet had originally called her open and I was going to sell her. She didn't bring $.50 / lb at the sale so we "no saled" her... bought her back, put her out with a group of young cows with a bull. She must have been short bred, as she is way ahead of where she should be compared to the others and when the bull got put in with them.

Don't drink too much egg nog @Baymule ..... or don't go too far so that you can stagger your way to bed if you do over imbibe!!!!!!

 

[B&B Happy goats]

Happy New Year Jan,

 

[Baymule]

Happy New Year! I'll save you some eggnog for your coffee in the morning!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I'll save you some eggnog for your coffee in the morning!

Yum! I'm a little jealous though...

 

[Baymule]

Yum! I'm a little jealous though...

OK, some for you too!