Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[farmerjan]

Tuesday eve. We got a total .3 inches yesterday.... and today was cloudy, and humid.... started light sprinkles around 4... and we are getting a little bit... a shower then slow down... as the outer bands of the former hurricane IDA comes up to our area. I think the heavier rain is staying to the west, but we will definitely get some.... and we can still use it.

I vacuumed and mopped the floor in the kitchen, moved everything out of the way. Washed a box full of dishes and got them all in the dish drainers to drip dry while I was doing other stuff. Then, I got the stove in the house.... laid it on it's side, on a blanket, and slid it in then stood it back up. got the drawer back in the bottom that I had taken out to clean.... and got the door back on it. Washed down the sides and everything. Put the grates back on the top and then realized that it needs a short flex type hose for the back to hook it to the gas line that comes up through the wall behind where I want to put it. . So, it will have to wait to get hooked up. I did plug it in, and the stove light works and the clock came on (digital) but I didn't bother to set it; waiting until I plug it back in and am ready to push it back into the spot. AFTER I get the short flex hose and get it hooked up.

But it is inside, wiped down.... ready to go I hope.....

Well, bad news.... the possible engine for the forester is not available... but it was not a 2000 anyway, and they were a one year specific engine... 2000 and 2001 are both "one and done" type engines....only used that year... But the lady that I talked to at the car place was real nice, and said they would put me on a list and if something came in either for my forester, or another one like they had for sale... they will call me. We'll see, but at least they were pleasant and acted like they cared. Better than rude or grumpy.

Got a message about the car (outback) that has the bad head gasket... will call him or stop in the morning.

Put all the needed hoses in the truck with the meters I had taken out of the car, for testing tomorrow. Bottles for this herd and for the owner sampler herd that is fairly close so I can drop off the stuff after I get done at this herd. Then I was hoping to pick the stuff up on Friday because I set up the 500+ cow herd for Friday with Geneva, which is close to the owner sampler too, after DS said he couldn't help due to the work schedule.....they have a big road closure/detour and road work going on this week.... and I confirmed it with the herd.... well, she just texted me and said she feels fine, but all of a sudden this afternoon has lost all sense of taste and smell... probably covid.... and feels she should stay away from people... which I get..... but now this is going to play havoc with the scheduling. I may talk to the farm and see if we could go 6 weeks... do it 10-15th of Sept and then again around the 20th of Oct before I go in for the knees.... then get back on schedule the end of November.....I haven't told them that she has had to cancel yet.

Went and fed the horse and then DS said to come to the barn, he flushed it out some more and then said we will do it in another few days... to run it for a few days. Then came home.

So, I am in for the night. Going to go in and get something to eat..... and probably quit for the night. Made sure the doors to the shed were closed tight and the freezers were good. Meters and hoses in the truck, and bottles all ready, in the house to go out. Have to take my computer with me, and have to call the computer support at work in the morning, to get a code to open up the herd since it has been over 120 days since they last tested. This herd will have hours of computer work to do.... they bought another complete herd out, some of the cows went into their robot barn and the rest to this farm....and have sold a bunch... all the normal "paperwork" times 5 months.... .
I'm going there a couple hours early to set up then to do all this paperwork.... I don't even know if I will be able to complete it all. Won't know until I test. Dreading it though.

 

[Baymule]

Jan, I don't know if you have a salvage yard network where you are. I used to work for a garbage company and had to chase down parts for all the company vehicles too. I would call a salvage yard in Houston, and tell them what I wanted. If they didn't have it, I'd ask if they had a radio to other salvage yards. They would put it out over their radio and sometimes another salvage yard would answer and they would have it. Or I would ask if they knew someone else that might have it. I'd get the name and number of another salvage yard. I just kept calling until I found what I wanted.

sit down with your computer and look up salvage yards as far as you are willing to drive. I'd call within a 150 mile radius. A few times I had to start working the Dallas/Fort Worth area. LOL Start calling and you might find it.

 

[farmerjan]

@Baymule have called 3 salvage yards for the forester engine.... seems like that is their " weak link" the engine. Had one tell me that the transmissions NEVER go bad..... so, will keep looking... going to see what the proposal on the outback is tomorrow....

Raining quite steady right now. Not too hard and there is next to no wind, so we ought to be good, but wet, tomorrow.

 

[Mini Horses]

Well this is tomorrow for you...you should be getting rain most all day! Maybe. Looks like WV is getting a lot. Then over here to me....you are between that movement. Grow grass, grow.

Sounds like you'll be cooking again before long! Lowes should have that flex line waiting for you.

Hope the testing goes well...computer work just takes time. Maybe you can sit for it though. . At least the herd was bought for milking. Positive IMO, rather than sold into butcher, as some are when good cows are dispersed from a closing farm.

 

[farmerjan]

@Mini Horses ... the herd that got bought out was about 70 cows, 2 brothers in their 60's and the one son wasn't really wanting to milk... don't know what they will do with the farm. It's in the northern part of the county so not something we would be close to. There are several farms up that way that they could lease/rent to but I have heard that they also are talking selling.... probably most of it, if not all. I never tested them, but saw them at the yearly DHIA meetings in the past. Since the covid crap hit, we haven't had the meeting in 2 years.

Rained last night... not solid but off and on pretty good. Had a hard shower a little bit ago. We are on the very eastern side of the hurricane remnants... West Virginia got alot more than we did. It looks like the 2nd band will be coming through and be mostly gone by this evening. We may get a little bit more today from the 2nd band... it looks to be swinging a little more east as it passes through, with the rotation still counterclockwise.
I haven't been out to the rain gauge yet, but the local station says we have had about 1.2 inches there...

Cloudy and grey naturally with the rain. We got the rain mostly perfectly, so far after missing out on so many of the hit and miss pop up showers. Overall we have had some rain, but with mid 90's, it didn't go very far. .15 inch is nothing when it is 95 out. We had a little over an inch last weekend, and actually had another inch plus, about 10 days before that , over a couple days, but again it was in the mid 90's again so it didn't last. They weren't that nice kind of soaking down all day rain that really soaks in. This hurricane remnant rain is really soaking in.

So I am going to eat some breakfast, and call the computer support to get the herd I am going to, unlocked and updated so I will have access later.
Then load the sample bottles, and make a stop at Lowe's while going through town to see about the flex hose for the propane for the stove. Trying to think if there is anything else I am supposed to get while there...
Oh yeah, have to stop and see what the deal is for the car too.....

 

[Bruce]

have called 3 salvage yards for the forester engine.... seems like that is their " weak link" the engine.

Interesting that they can't use an engine from a year newer or older. I guess they made major design changes such that it won't connect to the transmission or something? Car manufacturers don't usually do major design changes but every 5 years or more.

 

[farmerjan]

I have heard that Subaru did this dumb, single year engine thing, for several different years. I know that the little ford rangers were good for several years and such. Oh well...

Just a short post as I am tired. Not the best of days .... NO propane flex hoses in Lowes except a commercial stove one that is like 48 or 60 inches long.... REALLY..... going to check at the farmer's coop that put in the propane lines... 5-6 miles away but in the opposite direction than i was going today.

There was 2 inches in the rain gauge at 10 a.m.... and it rained after that so will see how much more, tomorrow morning. By the time I got home after 8:30, the stars were out in the sky here and I guess it all has pretty much moved north. There were 2 F-1 tornados that touched down in the southwest part of the state... only lasted a couple minutes... but one was not too far from where we go to Rural King in Radford, Va..... I think it tore up a barn and a bunch of trees twisted off.... didn't hear alot on the news... No injuries I don't think.

Spent 2 hours before testing, and another good hour after testing and think I got most of the computer work right. They have to get some ID's corrected on some of the cows, and anyone that they weren't sure of, that didn't come through the milking barn, I put out (on paper) as being DRY.... left a list, and told the owner, who didn't even come there while I was there, on the phone, that he could see if those cows were in the dry cow lot and if not then they could get "sold out" of the herd next month. If he doesn't want the records to be more accurate, then why should I care. God Bless the new guy, he was as helpful as he could be, considering that he wasn't there for the 3 months of "missing records" of what was going on..... I had over 20 "missing cows" and then had to get fresh dates and stuff on another 14 or 15... some new heifers that were in this herd that had gotten brought up here from the robot herd because they weren't working out there.... If their udders, and teat placements are not pretty straight.... too close together or uneven front to back or anything that the "laser" eye can't determine to put on the individual teat cups to milk, then the owner brings them up to this farm.... plus all the kicking bit*@#s.... and the ones with too fat teats for the inflations to go up on ..... I will pack the samples in the morning.
Went from there after I got the meters out of the parlor, and dropped the ones needed at the other farm so they can test Thursday and then I will pick up the stuff on Friday and do the paperwork....
Time for bed.

 

[farmerjan]

COOL morning... Got down to 55 last night. The sun is out and we are looking at about a week of mostly nice weather... NO HUMIDITY. Big change from last week. Boy, the sorghum-sudan across the road from me, and the other field down at doug's farm, will grow again like a weed and make a nice 2nd cutting of it. Hoping this will get some growth of the grass for some 2nd cutting hay. Alot has put up seed heads but there will still be some leaf growth. It will regenerize the pastures and solve the low spring at the nurse cow pasture.
Got to go do the horse and see how bad the driveway is.

Cup of HOT COCOA this morning. Y'all drink coffee... and it was cool enough for me to want something warm. Only getting to maybe 80 for the next couple of days, then warming back into the mid 80's but think we are done with the oppressively hot 90's now.

Gotta see about getting a shorter propane flex line for the stove. Lowe's, going north through Staunton, was no help. Maybe the one in Lexington but I am going to stop at the place that ran the lines and put in the new tank.... see if they have one. Sure don't need 4 ft... like maybe 12 inches....the line up through the floor is almost right at the same height as the fitting on the back of the stove.

Need to go check the peaches next to DS house... I kinda forgot about them.

September already...

 

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

Can you call the store to see if it's in stock before driving all the way there? Or order it online to be shipped to the local store? There shouldn't be a shipping fee if it's shipped to store, at least there's not when I do that with home Depot.

 

[farmerjan]

Thanks @Larsen Poultry Ranch . Called a couple of places and the one guy said that they are made in 2 and 4 ft lengths, because of most stoves fitting between cabinets, you need the hose length to be able to pull the stove out, hook it up, turn on the gas valve on the incoming line from outside, and then put the stove in place. There doesn't seem to be any concern about it being coiled up behind the stove. My cabinet does move that is next to it... but when I get the drawer put in, the slide under the drawer will be attached to the piece of wood on the back wall.... But I understand now what he is talking about. So I think I am going to just use the 4 ft one, hook it up and be done with it. Save myself a trip and aggravation.