Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[Mini Horses]

Headaches -- maybe stress and grass handling? Add poor sleep? Have a hot toddy before bed....it puts me to sleep.

 

[farmerjan]

COOL breezy 57 this morning. It is sunny and a breeze and very dry comfortable out there. Never did get the car unloaded yesterday from the night before, but made room to put the boxes and such on the porch. So that is on the agenda this morning. Just ate a pumpkin muffin that had been in the freezer... took a couple out the other day and then warmed it up this morning. I found some that I had frozen.... used to buy them at Costco by the dozen and then freeze in individual bags for taking to testing in the early mornings. Since I do so few early mornings, I had forgotten about them. Found them when moving the freezers of stuff, and put them where I could get to them. Going to try to eat more out of the freezers and use up some of the "older stuff"....

Good day to get out and get some things done. Might try to mow the yard again today... maybe take the weed eater and do a little then get on the mower and off the knees and then do a little more after. I have 3 batteries for the weed eater so can space it out. Going to hang the pots of transplanted spider plants in the tree out front so they don't get too much sun and are out of the way.
Thinking I am going to plant the lilac near the deck in the back for now.

Going to call the lady about getting the chickens out this coming week so the freezer is ready for them at the fairgrounds. Washed out the upright in the building, will plug it in in a little bit after it is good and dry. The chest freezer will take most of the chickens but with the turkeys still in there, will probably need the upright for a few too. Going to take a couple up to the neighbor next door to DS's house as he has the garden that I am going to raid for some fresh vegs this year... by invite.... He and his gf like to grill chicken so that will be good.

Got clothes in the washer, ready to go out on the line so time to get to it.

 

[farmerjan]

@Mini Horses , yes I am sure these headaches are stress and poor sleep..... I don't often get headaches but lately they have been much more frequent. One of the things that has made me a little more concerned with the tick/spider/mosquito ? bites. DS had horrific headaches with the Lyme disease.... and now of course with the problems from the work accident he has alot more headaches.

He called last evening to tell me about the hay mowing starting again, and to see if I was going to be in town to pick up the bearing for the baler.... because the tractor place got the wrong ones... or only one of the two it needed or something, that I picked up the parts last week.
I told him that I was going through on Sun when I go test, or that I could go in early in the morning, meaning today, but he said he might call his father because he is always offering to go and he has nothing else to do.... gives him something to do with all his off time. So, I said, whatever...
Turns out that he had jim working on something and he did not put the bushings in and the nuts were self locking and had locktight on them or something, so they had to spend several hours taking it all apart and it was a real waste of time .... he was saying that sometimes j does good but other times he doesn't think .... and I did not say anything. Because I will get very vocal and then just pi$$ off DS.... That is why I will not let j work on anything of mine again. J said he was going to his sisters' 2 weeks ago on Sat for a couple weeks vacation/break..... but he says this stuff just to see if he can get DS to ask him to stay for a few more weeks. It would be good if he goes and then decides to not come back.... DS needs to get away from this dependence on him.... since he cannot depend on him. He is good for some stuff, as long as you are not in a rush to get it done.... but DS would be better off moving his stuff in the house into his bedroom and locking it and renting out the house and actually getting some money for it instead of making it part of j's "pay" because he has to redo half of what j does anyway. If there were any reliable people around to work I think he would do more about it, but there is no one to work and those that want to, want more money than they THINK they are worth...... or aren't worth the little work they do manage to do....
Every place I go has help wanted signs.... and there are alot of places closing or reducing hours.... pretty soon there won't be any places to go to work because they will have closed up.... and inflation is going to make it so expensive to live, and then unemployment is going to run out because the gov't can't keep paying it.... and then we are going to have a serious overinflated situation that is going to collapse into a depression.... not a recession but a full depression... the future is scary.

Going to get the truck and go get the couple of old hay rolls for here this weekend too....

 

[farmerjan]

Up and out at 4 a.m. to go test. Cool 55. Got done and did computer work and left because they had a christening and then a family reunion this afternoon, on top of the normal feeding chores on a Sunday....

Went to TSC after calling DS on the way home and he did not get his father to get the part so I said I would stop...... OOPS ...TSC doesn't open until 9 and it was 8:15. So I went a mile in the other direction to Walmart to pick up stuff on the list I was making, but of course the list was at home.... I did remember some of it though, so not a lost cause. Then went to TSC a little after 9:15 and he also wanted me to pick up an extra "bale" of baling twine for the big baler... he normally gets it at Rural King, but was down to his last bale of it (which is 2 "spools" of the twine per bale).... so I did pick it up while I was there. Came home and dropped it off at the barn so he can work on the baler... and came here. Brought the samples in the house and the few bags of groceries.... I got a few things that I knew I would be needing, like extra oil for the car when it goes in to get changed.... power steering fluid as it has a leak and gets down.... as well as a couple of things I could remember, but forgot a few other things that I have since seen on the list sitting on the desk.... oh well, I will be out again on Tuesday so can stop then....

It is up to 76 already, but still pretty nice. I am going to get the samples packed and put my knees up for a little bit. DS said it would be good if I could go rake this afternoon and get it turned up so he could bale some tomorrow afternoon. He is going to cut some more today... those fields are out in the sun pretty much with next to no trees along the sides, so should dry pretty fast. If I get this hay raked this afternoon, then we can move the tractor and rake to the next "place" and jockey around equipment and I can get a ride back to my truck.

Went to get the bale truck yesterday and the battery was totally dead. So I gave that idea up and figured that I wasn't supposed to do it. Got all the sample bottles ready and stuff organized for testing.....folded some clothes but of course forgot the ones out on the line. Will get them in today... it was such a nice drying day yesterday and today that it didn't hurt them.
Hope that I will maybe get the mulch hay rolls today, later on....
I am tired so a short nap might be in order before I go get on the tractor to rake. Don't even know which tractor I will be using.

Got to get down to the house too, but since it is right near the fields I will be raking at, I can do that at the same trip. Landlord was there again when B was there and now says he is going to get rid of the fridge, because the gasket around the outside is crummy...she told him it would cost more to replace the gasket than it was worth... (he also told her he is waiting on an electrician to call him so he can get the electric looked at.....because of the plugs that don't work and the one that smoked, and the lights that don't work... but he wasn't overly concerned when I was in there and mentioned it a few years back and then I quit bothering to say anything....) gasket was stained, now it needs a good scrubbing.... it's stained and it doesn't seal real tight.... so that I need to get it out of there instead of emptying it out.... It works pretty good, better than the other one at the barn, so might tell DS to come get it and take it to the barn and get rid of the one he has there that the door doesn't shut right on and we don't use. Have one that doesn't work that we keep stuff in so the mice and stuff don't get to chewing on things, like breeding sleeves and the boxes of syringes and all.... and the little dorm size one I bought for the medicines... but this one would be free and wouldn't take much to clean it out and use... can't fit but about 2-3 things of water or drinks in the dorm one with the medicines... so this one would be good for that.
I'll talk to DS about that later today. He has a pile of stuff on the trailer to take....scrap metal... so could put the one out of the barn on it and then put this one in the barn....

So, I am taking a break now and then will go down and do something; then rake.

The daylily's that I moved up here and stuck along the carport are blooming and look nice. I will make it a point of moving them once I figure out where I really want them, but they are doing better there than I thought they would.

Glad that I got them moved. I see a couple of gladiolus growing at the other house, but they probably aren't worth digging up. Bulbs are cheap.

Well, time to think about some lunch and sitting with the ankle/knees up for a little bit.

 

[farmerjan]

Had a decent day overall. Did not get the samples packed yet. I was on here and then had to answer a few other things on another forum.... Did get the ankle leg up for awhile but no nap.

Texted back and forth with DS and ate a sandwich and then went down to the field and raked hay. 4 hours, 3 different places in the pasture that the guy wanted cut, about 2-3 acres total... but weird shaped and a royal PITA to rake around the rocks and ledge that DS cut around. Then raked the 4 acre hayfield that is practically a perfect rectangle and the top field that is probably 5-6 acres I would guess.
Texted DS twice to see if we were moving the tractor/rake to the field(s) where he was supposed to cut today ... don't know if he even cut as he did not answer me back until long after I quit and went to the stone house. I got a bunch of misc stuff on the truck, inside of house is empty except the fridge, and there is the shelving boards and a few other things on the back closed in porch. Then the shed storage building - fish tanks - and some stuff to go to dumpsters. I will go back down tomorrow after I unload the truck. Got the legs off the kitchen table and all but the top on the truck. Will be done in a couple days... she will be finishing up the house and I am not paying her to do anything else; like the outside storage building. It will get swept out and that is it. One of the roses in the front is blooming, I have to go see if it is the one I wanted.... I may just dig it up and take it.
Something is eating the roses here at the new house... figured it was Japanese beatles... but have not seen one and normally you see them. Going to dust them with rose dust which is "poison" but I don't want to lose the piece I brought up that is starting to actually grow a little. Will deal with better methods when I have the time and am here. Just want to save it now.

Got to go in and find something for supper. Maybe a baked potato... have a couple in there from the quickie meals I picked up at Wendy's a couple times... get the plain baked instead of FF.... much better to eat..... and it is definitely reheatable.... more filling and got to be better for me even with using real butter and sour cream, than the FF....

Talked to Deb and we are going out for dinner tomorrow night. She likes Mexican, so we are going to the same place I took my friends from CT. She said she will drive this time. My turn to buy.... Good food, and I will get a second meal out of it so good deal too. Going at 6 and will be home by 9..... I wouldn't go to bed before that anyway...

Going to get all the boxes and stuff in the car for Tuesday morning test; before we go out to eat. Then I will just have to come home and go to bed and leave at 3:15 Tues morning. I will have to come home from there and bring all the samples in the house to pack, then load all the meters and take to the farm and drop off for the Tues eve/Wed morn herd. Then I will pack the samples and try to stay off my feet/knees for a bit before going to test.
I won't get back down to the stone house until wed eve at the earliest... but probably not until Thursday because I may be raking hay Wed.... it will all depend on what he cuts. I told him I was not available on Tuesday at all with the 2 herds that day. I will rake tomorrow if there is any to do....

So that is about it. I do have to pack the samples from this morning... but I just realized that UPS doesn't run tomorrow due to the holiday... So there will be a pile of samples going out on Tuesday... and more on Wed. I need the trays for sample bottles for the herd Tues/Wed so will get these packed tomorrow so I have the trays available.

I just remembered that I forgot to bring in the clothes again... it was about dark when I got back here... At least it is still supposed to be a nice day tomorrow... GOT to get them in....

Caught ANOTHER MOUSE... I quit keeping count after 15.. Been getting one about every 2 weeks now. The one saving grace is peanut butter works good... and they can't go back and tell the rest about the traps.... so no one is able to learn from others mistakes!!!!!

Redness and swelling has gone down some on the arm. So that is a relief. It has stopped itching so much too. One saving grace at least.

Potato should be reheated... so time to eat....

 

[farmerjan]

NICE COOL morning. Recording thermometer said down to 48 overnight. It had felt cool and I turned off all the ceiling fans. Already up to 80 at 10 though. Supposed to get in the low 90's and be hot the next few days until the weather front comes through on Thursday.

Talked to the farm that wanted tomorrow, that I can't do, and he is going to see when they will have more help. He said they sold off some cows and are down in numbers, and he is out of the boot and started milking some again, but that he is slow getting around still. So, we will get it done as soon as he can get his help lined up.

DS finally texted back and said we would move the tractor/rake today. Guess I will rake some later.

Looks like we will have some unsettled weather coming in by Thursday from the tropical storm coming up, and meeting another low coming down from the northwest. By the models I have seen, @Mini Horses might be getting some serious rain out of it as it looks to come up through the Carolina's and staying more out to the east near the coast. But our results should be minimal from that storm since it is headed much closer to the coast.

DS also said that there was about 6 acres in the 3 "pasture pieces" I raked yesterday, but that the 2 "regular hayfields" up on top were 4 & 6 acres. Did those 2 fields in the same or less time than it took to do the 3 little pieces because they were so broken up...

Talked to PT this morning, as he had several cancellation phone calls....and I had called on Friday to cancel tomorrow. Got some rescheduled and set up a few more into the end of August.

Going out to empty the truck; have to get the sample boxes ready for tomorrow's herd ; just need to get some things in order for the week. Want to be able to go get the tractor and rake whenever DS is able to give me a ride back to the truck.... or take me down to get it and leave my truck at the hayfield so I can leave from there when I get done.
And going to bring in the laundry here in a little bit....

 

[Mini Horses]

You would be right...rains!!! But it been very dry since last about a week ago and we could use water, just not the winds that usually accompany these storms. May settle down before it gets here later in week.

We've had similar weather as you, cooler nights and hot days. Humidity is down today, thankfully. Light breeze. Same yesterday -- got lawn mowed and another acre bush hogged. All I wanted to do.

 

[farmerjan]

Done for the day, going to get a shower and try to get a decent sleep before getting up and leaving for work by 3:15 a.m.... for the 500 cow herd.

DS came by and helped take the chairs and a few things off the truck... we discussed the days plans and then we took my truck up the road to the field I was going TO, to rake. Then he took me down to doug's , got the baler hooked up to the big JD tractor, and I headed down the hill with the tractor and baler; and he went and got the other baler that is parked in a neighbors barn, hitched to his truck and went and got some fuel to put in the tractors. I got down the bottom of the hill and here is a neighbors cows coming up alongside his catch pen, chute, into the road. I stopped, finally got the gate opened in and then they came back up the road and into the pen to the field.... but there were still 3 in the woods, along the fence, on the wrong side, next to the chute, where the others had come up.... so I jury rigged the gate open the other direction, so they could come up and turn and go into the pen and blocked the opening between the gate and the guard rail with a couple of pieces of plywood he had there to use when sorting in the pen.... then called him from down the road because of course there is no service right in that spot.... never has been... it is always a dead spot and the new tower did not help that spot although the signal is better a few hundred feet down the road.
DS came and we put fuel in the ford 4600 that he had put the new piece on the draw bar for me to use it yesterday.... and then I left and headed for the hay fields.
I got done raking about 6. I had texted Deb and said that I would not be done before 6-6:30 probably, and we could go about 7 or another night. She was great about going another night... so plans are for Wed. I apologized and she said she understood that we had to take advantage of the weather and work when it was needed....

So, I came on here and then backed the car over and got the boxes all loaded for tomorrow morning. Also got the bottles in the trays that I take to the other farm for tomorrow afternoon. I will have to unload all the samples in the morning, then load all the meters and hoses, and take them down to the farm for them to get set up for the afternoon test there.... Then I will come back and pack all the samples to go out.

I did get yesterday's samples packed this morning, to go out tomorrow too.

PT called and we rescheduled the pool PT for next week... and set up some more through August. Just not able to do tomorrow with all the testing.
Talked to my farmer that is 125 miles north near Winchester Va; that broke his ankle.... he wanted to test tomorrow too.... gave him some other options, and he is going to see what his help situation is. I hated to say no, but he said that was fine, he understood with our going north for the funeral, and spending time with the family, that I was trying to make up the testing. He will call me as soon as he can get another day when there will be extra help. I am going to try to not schedule anyone else until I hear from him. He said he is out of the boot and milking some, they sold a bunch of cows, but he is very slow right now. At least he is getting around better.

Finally got the clothes in off the line too....

DS just texted me and he hit a rock with the "pickup" in the baler.... where the hay goes in, and bent it.... so now it needs to be fixed. This in the "pasture" where he had mowed and he told the guy that all the rocks needed to be marked so we would not tear up any equipment.... I tried to rake around the rocks that I could see.... he is MAD and I don't blame him. Yes he has the other baler to use... but the point is to not tear things up. And the one he bent up is the one we have to use to custom bale the other guys' place because his tractor is smaller and will not handle the big bales we make with the other baler. He had a guy want to get some round bales this year, he has gotten some in the past... and it makes sense to load them right out of the field instead of bringing them to the barn or moving to the edges of the fields, then have to handle them again to load.... and that guy wanted the smaller bales too so that is why DS was using the smaller baler there. This BS of being nice guy is ridiculous.... I told DS back in a text that is it.... NO MORE ... cutting in this pasture....D$#@ and double D$#@......

I know he is PI$$ED and I don't blame him....

The drawbar ":guide" that I broke the other day, has been giving us problems, and was already cracked by the looks of it.... DS said it was wear and tear... but that was over $250.... he got the PTO piece for the big tractor, it was another $300 with the shipping.... luckily it is an easier bolt on piece than to pull the whole thing out of the engine. Again, it is in part a piece that suffers a tremendous amount of pressure/torque/wear and tear.... so it happens.... and they did send the right pieces so are fixable..... the parts for the other baler... that they sent part of them and not all the pieces and I picked up the other bearing and such, are costing about $400-500 at least to fix.... You are looking at $1,000 bucks this past week... BEFORE... he messed up the smaller round baler this evening...
Takes selling alot of hay for the small profit to pay for all these parts etc.....

At least I did get both the fields raked this afternoon. There is one small really rough filed that he said he would rake... last year I told him to just bush hog it as there are as many weeds as hay in there... I left it for him to rake tomorrow, then he can bale the rest. Wed I guess we will be jockeying equipment around again.... to the last places to make hay for us and the custom place.

Time to get a little bit to eat, it is too hot to eat much tonight... and get some sleep. It will be a loooong day tomorrow.

 

[Mike CHS]

I love reading your posts but I was seriously wondering if you were ever going to get the laundry off the line.

 

[misfitmorgan]

@misfitmorgan , I am a DHIA (dairy herd improvement assoc.) milk tester for 30 years. Take a milk sample from every cow that goes through the barn/parlor, and it is sent to the lab for testing of butter fat, protein and scc. I record milk weights on each cow, and any pertinent info such as dry off, calving, breeding dates.... other stuff. The farmer gets back a report that allows him to compare his cows against each other... It is a management tool for the farmer. The lab also allows for pregnancy testing, and some other tests. Anyone with registered goats that are "on test" also go through dhia or one of the other companies that offer milk testing like "dairy one".....
It gives farmers official records on cattle and can be required by some of the lending institutions.... goes on the registration records for cattle and goats... and possibly sheep.....SCC (somatic cell count) is what many of the commercial dairies want so that they can monitor the quality of the cows milk....

Thank you for the detailed explanation! We never did a milk test on anything so I had no idea they did that on entire herds of cows but it makes sense. My grandparents owned a diary farm for over 40yrs, it was great grandparents before that and my uncles after that....but I was young and never learned those details. Grandparents died and my uncle lost the farm literally to foreclosure. We were annoyed because he didnt tell anyone until it was to late to try to help but he had mortgaged the farm for $480,000 and couldnt pay.