Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[Ridgetop]

Good plan.

 

[farmerjan]

Friday evening. Was a quiet day and comfortable. 88 but a few clouds off and on so not sweltering. Not too humid either.

Woke up with such aching pain in the shoulders... had to have slept wrong. It was not a good thing for several hours.

Got the laundry hung earlier. Probably would have been good to bring in, but I got going on the meter washing... taking them apart and all... so will bring it in tomorrow. Sun and warmer tomorrow... getting more humid too with a slight increase in thunderstorms.

Got 11 meters totally taken apart and washed and put back together... Broke one valve assembly that had already had a couple of cracks in it so no big deal. Finally my knees said enough... but that was more than I normally do. I strive for 2-2 1/2 hours or at least 8.... I am pleased. Might try to do the rest tomorrow in 2 "batches"... maybe some mid day, then more later.. I have 25 so nearly halfway.... but if I get 10 or so done then there won't be but a few left for Sunday.

Soaked the couple of daylily's too... will do them again tomorrow, with the water I have from the meter washing...Have to see about soaking the trees again.... it is a 30-40 % chance by Monday, but no guarantee of how much. And it is supposed to get back up into the mid 90's next week so, they need a good soaking again.

Forgot all about taking the plywood and barrels off the truck so that is for tomorrow too... and I need to go get the bushel baskets... Need to get all the hoses out of the car as I only need the meters... give me more room in the back for any shopping I do.

I didn't do as much as I wanted because of getting a slow start with the pain in the left shoulder... but it seems to have worked its self out.... I will have to be careful tonight.

Guess DS left for up north... haven't heard from him. Don't know the status of the tractor and bush hog either....

Making a list of things to do when I am out Monday to go to meter calibration. It is an hour + away... There is a furniture place I want to stop at and look at the recliners... need to stop at the vet and pick up some "expensive" Draxxin that we use for the cattle as there is a discount period on it right now...we use it for the ones with pinkeye... plan to go to Sharp Shopper on my way back too and grocery shop... I will make it an "all day" trip thing.... have to be there by 10 so will leave here by 8:30 or so....

Need to go out and get a chicken out of the freezer and bake it in the little convection oven and have a couple meals from it. I will do that tomorrow morning when I put the plywood in there...

Going to quit here shortly for the evening....stretch out the knees from sitting on the stool I was using ....

Need to call Deb in the morning and make sure she came out... or I will go check on and feed the horse tomorrow... I have a bucket of feed to take to the nurse cow pasture and put in the barn for the calves to come in through the creep gate to eat. Need to check the water trough again... it was good yesterday.
Plenty of little things to do....

 

[farmerjan]

Sat morning. Sunny already and warmer... 78, Going to be hotter today. Still some haziness from the fires and all in the west and Canada, high level but it will mitigate some of the sun. Saying better chance of some showers tomorrow and Monday.

Talked to DS last night and he got a later start than he planned but was up to the VA/WVA border about 11p.m. He had to work all day yesterday , but he wanted to travel as much at night as he could so it was cooler on the cattle.

Just talked to him again... He was in VT. Said he stopped a couple times for naps..... he was going to call my father and see if he was up and motivating... if so, he might stop and have them come meet him, and father can go with him the 2 hrs from there to deliver the cattle.... He cannot take the cattle trailer up my father's driveway, loaded. Way too steep. Don't even know if he had enough room to turn it around up there empty.
He sounds tired but said he can manage... It is misty and foggy so not hot up there which is great. Said he knows the cattle have got to be tired and they need to get out but not much further to go. He said he will crash tonight... and will have 2 days to just catch up on sleep and all. Plans are to leave early Tuesday to come home.
The state has the annual "Roadeo"... for the VDOT workers. One day deal on Wednesday. Normally it is 2 days and I have gone with him many times over the last few years to the state competition. This year they are not doing the banquet, only 1 day, and no one allowed except participants... not even the other guys from his "residency"... which is what they call the individual units where the guys have the equipment and all....
They had been talking not allowing family/spectators in so I am not surprised. Last year it was cancelled completely due to the covid crap.

He did get the tractor and bush hog to the pasture... was telling me all the little quirks I need to know... and to just call him when I go there to do it so he can talk me through the couple of things about the 3 pt hitch and how to bungee strap the hydraulic hoses so they don't get caught up in the PTO shaft... because this older tractor the 3 pt hitch doesn't raise up right, so once you get it up in position... you just bungee up the hoses and lever... and then you have to undo it when you shut down or it breaks the bungee cord. The parts to fix this are not made anymore; he did get some to fix something else off another tractor used, from somewhere, but has not been able to find what he needs for this yet. This is a good big heavy tractor, and it works great for pulling the baler and bush hogging. Just gotta work with the little quirks. Been 2 years since I ran it... before the ankle replacement I think... don't think I did any last year.... and so I need a refresher course....

Past time to eat something for breakfast.... and get going. Get the water started on the peach trees and get the stuff off the little truck.

 

[farmerjan]

Back in for a few minutes. Got the stuff off the truck. Went and sat and did 3 meters but my knees were really aching because I forgot to take anything this morning. So I got all the hoses off and into the building and got the other 6 meters out of the storage box I have in the carport, and pout them in the back of the car. Then moved the car back up to where I am washing the meters and got those meters into the buckets of water to soak off any cow manure on the outside...
Had to come in, take some IB and figured I'd give it a half an hour to try to get into my system a bit. Stupid that I forgot to take anything knowing that I was going to go out.... But 3 more done... so only got 11 left now.

Checked the weather and there are a few pop up storms north of here in Staunton.... like they really need it.....

It is 92 on the porch and 105 in the sun on the thermometer on the back deck door. It was getting really hot when I was doing those 3 meters. I was going to do a couple more but the one knee got to hurting and I didn't want it to get so far "ahead" of me that I would never be able to calm it down. So, I came in and ate a salad I had gotten at Wendy's the other day; took some stuff..... About ready to go back out.

Got a call from that one farm I tested 2 times ... the one that is organic that he really ought to retire and get out... he wants to do another test because his scc count is way up again... So now that is planned for Tuesday morning. Got to be there around 8 to set up and meters to run through a sanitize cycle......I make more in travel than testing since I do nothing except take samples.... I honestly did not expect to hear from him again....oh well....

Deb was coming out to the farm this morning, but is going back tomorrow eve, so a 2 day break from the horse checking/feeding. I opened up the yard and the driveway lane, for the horse since it is so dry and there was not much grass around the barn lot where they had her. Left it open so she can get water from the automatic water trough and I don't have to fill the tub....

I plan to go out and start bush hogging tomorrow.... I am going to try to get most of the rest of the meters done this evening.

Time to get back at it.

 

[Ridgetop]

There were a couple of cute minis in the auction yesterday.

 

[farmerjan]

Sunday evening. Only got down to 71 last night, so warmer and more humid than I like it. Hit 91 on porch... I haven't even checked the thermometer on the deck.
I went out and decided to do the last meters this morning because there was a possibility of some showers this afternoon. I had a terrible time with 2 of them, getting them all apart and the couple of rubber gaskets out.... said a few choice words... but finally got them done and as I was putting them in the car... I heard this noise... turns out we were getting a shower... it was lt rain on the carport roof... straight down no breeze nothing... lasted a couple minutes. So about 2, I went to the pasture to bush hog and called DS to make sure I did the start up right and all... no problems once I was looking at the stuff he had tried to explain on the phone. I got off the tractor at 7:30... got about 1/2 - 2/3 of the one field done. Hope to get it finished tomorrow afternoon after the meter calibration and errands I want to do on the way home.

So, meters are loaded... have 7 that I did not put back together as they turn so hard that I need to get some of the food grade lube they have, and see if I can't get them to turn a little bit easier... 1 w/broken valve and 1 with broken butterfly on top that lets air in when you take the sample.
Doing these makes me think even more about "retiring".... I hate doing this once a year....but spacing it out over 3 days is alot better than when I used to try to do them in one day or 2 days at most. Plus, I am not working near as much so have the time to spread them out....still, PITA......

I checked the rain gauge since the roads were wet again... got another micro shower late this aft...... .05 inches... HOPING that we will get more tomorrow....

I went by to check the peaches at DS property as I figured they ought to be ripe. Well, they aren't quite ripe but 2 trees have some pretty nice ones... getting really reddish skins.... not bad sized either.... Funny thing is, one "tree" has one upright trunk(branch) with these red skinned peaches and another upright trunk(branch) with much smaller and very "not near ready" peaches on it. So are there 2 varieties grafted on this root stock, or is the one with the small immature peaches on it the native rootstock? And the other trunk with the red ones a grafted one? There are red ones on another tree that looks like that is all there is on that "tree".....

So far the rest of the trees that I marked still look pretty good.... and the ones that I did not mark because they were "dead" ; still look dead.... no leaves nothing....

Forgot to put the water on the 3 trees here with doing the meters and all. Maybe tomorrow I will remember to put it on for awhile if I go bush hog late in the afternoon.

I am going to go wash off the dirt and dust from bush hogging. This tractor has a cab so not as bad as it could be though. Long day, and my knees are asking to get a break....

One of the testers that I am friends with, more than some of the other ones I guess, texted me and asked if I would have time to stop at the house and visit like the last couple of years... so I will do that for a bit... it is close to where I have to go so will work out good.

I also came by the stone house and got the tall bushel baskets that I had pulled apart to get rid of the ants... they are on the back of the truck. Took one that was rotted, and a couple cracked plastic buckets and some cardboard to the dumpster...
Glad I got the couple of day lily plants... he has dug up all the yucca plants that were blooming, and the roses and heaped in a pile... I looked and since he cut them off and the one had been sprayed anyway... I just decided that I would not bother to attempt to salvage them now. I am hoping the one piece that I got will do okay.... and I will find a grower somewhere that has some of the "heirloom old fashioned fragrant roses" and just get some new ones maybe next year. Such a jerk... I bet those roses were over 100 yrs old because he said that he thought they were there when his aunt and uncle lived there, and he has had the house over 30 years.....and the house is 1750's +/-....

He was so worried about the roses when he ought to be rebuilding the front porch and fixing the foundation where the stupid ground hogs go under everything....
So the only stuff there is the stuff in the building where the bees are...

Got my list of stuff to do on the way home tomorrow.... and I heard on the radio that Grand Piano and Furniture has a big sale on through Monday... tomorrow.... so I will probably stop there too and see what is what... There are 2 furniture places I want to stop at anyway.... may as well make it three unless I find something I really want.

 

[farmerjan]

Forgot to mention that Deb called last evening just as I was deciding I ought to quit washing meters.. and wanted to know if I wanted to go get something to drink when she went to get a can of diesel fuel for her tractor... It was a very good reason to convince me to quit for the evening.
She wanted a "limeade" from Sonic.... I have never been to Sonic... so we got a late light supper.... chicken wraps.... which were pretty good... they give you alot of chicken in them... and she got her super jumbo Limeade... and I got a red/white/blue slushie... blue raspberry slushie on bottom, vanilla ice cream on top with chopped up strawberries on the very top... the strawberries like you get on a banana split.... So it was like an ice cream soda mostly but with slushie instead of carbonated soda.... Pretty good considering.... granted, ,not exactly "health food"... but nice for a change... And since I had never been there it was a nice "different " place....
Got the diesel fuel on the way home... nice evening out ....

 

[Mini Horses]

Those drinks are on a TV add here. They look good. But I just prefer a vanilla softer from Dairy Queen. There's a DQ by one of my stores so, I treat myself once in a while.

Most anything can annoy us into "retire" mode.... ... just seems close to happening. We power through!

 

[farmerjan]

Up, dressed and ready to head out the door for meter calibration and my list of errands. Of course DS texted me and asked me to check on one pasture too today.... I can do it on the way home also.
Only got down to 71 last night again... possibility of some t-storms/showers but radar shows it going more to the south and across east to @Mini Horses direction.... she could share an inch or 2 of rain with us....please...... Then temps are supposed to be in the mid 90's for several days...
We really need rain.....

 

[Ridgetop]

Slushies, milkshakes, sundaes, DQ! Dieting here. And in the land of BlueBell ice cream!