Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[Ridgetop]

Low mileage and low price work great. If you can get her car it will be worth it for you - you don't need the new gadgets and stuff that just cost a fortune when they go wrong. Low mileage is perfect, broken in but lots of miles left for you to get out of it.

 

[farmerjan]

Back home after a long day. Not a very good one in some respects. Got the sorghum raked and came home and left for town. They did not have near the numbers they were expecting,,,, only 950 head total. Steer prices were off quite a bit and only sold 2 of the 8 ... "no saled" 6 of the steers. The heifers were okay, near to what they have been bringing and the 3 cows were so-so. They averaged about 450 each... one was terribly low, one average, and one way more than I expected. I did sell their 3 calves and did okay except they didn't weigh as much as we thought. The nutty heifer of mine didn't bring what I thought but was not too far off... and she is gone and no longer being an idiot. Another one that was out there of DS's was as nutty, and he could not get her to gain weight so she actually lost some money for him, but she is gone too.... He was surprised I sold mine and I said just time to be done with her since she is not a candidate to breed anyway. I have too much else to worry about right now with the upcoming replacements to want to deal with "stupid"..... didn't even want to keep her for a beef...would have had to feed her until at least April...... there will be more to pick from and someone else to kill when the time comes....

The sale started right on time which they never do, so I never did get anything to eat. Sat through it so I did not miss any of them going through once I saw that the prices were off.
Part of the game. The 6 we brought back home will go back with the heifers we weaned to keep, and get fed. We will hold them for awhile and see what we bring home from summer pastures.... might have some others to match up and make bigger groups. Once we get through the fall, prices might come around a bit... sometimes they are better in Dec and Jan..... but if things continue to look bleak, then they will gain some weight on corn silage and we can decide our options later on. We'll see. It might just be an off day/week. I was told that the prices have dropped off the last 2-3 weeks... so right after we sold the last group. I still have at least 2 more to get in at the nurse cow pasture and wean... and those cows need to be preg checked too....
It is still 17 off the feed/hay bill and the old ones gone before something happened to them... The steers we brought back home are pretty decent/nice ones so it isn't like we kept the "bottom of the barrel ones....

DS came back to town with the truck and trailer to pick them up, brought gf and her daughter and so we went out to eat after. It was okay.... came home and I shined the truck lights where he has to back up since there are no outside lights. Something he has said he is going to remedy... maybe next year... then I grabbed the paperwork and all so I can make copies, and figure out what he owes me, and will give it to him and he can write me a check so I can go to the bank the first of the week.

Didn't get to the "garage" to check on the car, so that will happen Monday. Plus, have to go to the county office building as there is a "delinquent taxes" notice on the personal property tax thing I have to pay and I have no idea why.... so I am going to go fight with them. I am willing to pay the current one but I have a cleared check in my account for personal property tax es paid in August... so they are going to have to explain this. This county is a PITA to deal with..... I was in the county just north and have been paying taxes on the car there.... Just another bunch of BS to deal with.

Going in to take a shower and stretch out. Tomorrow I will go rake the last hayfield he cut and then that will be it. I am tired this evening....

 

[Mini Horses]

You should have good weather for raking....not too hot!

 

[Baymule]

Sorry the prices were off, but like you said, that's 17 gone and off the feed bill. I've got 4 sheep that need to go to auction. A ewe, her 2 undersized twins and a really nice white ram. I'm going to fecal test him, have never wormed him, he's 8 months old, calm, fat and sassy. I think I'll write a short sentence or two, maybe the auctioneer will read it, make the price go up. Like you said, need them off the feed bill.

The only taxes I have to pay is property taxes. The Ag exemption I filed for when we bought the place took 5 years to "prove" and taxes on the 7 acres are $25 per year. They keep depreciating the mobile home on 1 acre, so taxes on that go down every year. Whole year, less than $680. We filed homestead, Ag and senior citizen exemption. The senior citizen froze our taxes, they would never go up. THEN we built the barns, improvements etc. My Momma didn't raise no dummy!

 

[farmerjan]

@Baymule advertise the ram like you did the horses. You may very well be able to find a "breeding home" for him and might just be able to sell the package of all 4 .... Call the stockyard where you went and ask what the current going prices are for the sheep.... It might just be easier for you. No haggling on the price, just set a price, say firm, and be done. Just because the ewe has what you consider undersized lambs, does not mean that someone else might not want to get a start and breed UP as you have done. But at least if you advertise the ram lamb, someone would have a chance to get a nice young good dispositioned herd sire.

 

[Baymule]

I think I’ll do that on the ram, but not the ewes. I consider them to be of very poor quality and won’t sell them to an individual. To auction they go.

 

[farmerjan]

Sunday afternoon. Just came in and ate some lunch.

Another not very good morning..... Left about 4... went down the road, several deer along the road that just stood there and then as I went around just a little bit of a bend, a stupid young buck... 4 or 6 pts, came across from the right... caught a glimpse and I was luckily in the middle of the road... no traffic at 4 a.m. on Sunday morning.... and swerved to the left into the other side and laid rubber on the road... he hit the side/front, broke the lens on the signal light, cracked a piece of hard rubber on the bumper and put a small dent in the fender.... NOT what I wanted or needed. But at least he did not come up on the hood, go through the windshield or put a horn through the radiator... SOOOOOO , if I am lucky that is my deer for this year since I normally hit one about every year.... or rather, they hit me.....

Got to the farm and things went slow but okay. But, she had not done much of the paperwork, so after milking took alot of time with all the stuff she had to get together and enter in..... 4 hours in the the parlor milking and another nearly 2 to get the info in there right.....

Finally got home 12:30-1:00 p.m.. Have to pack the samples and all yet.... mark the ones that have to be run through for pregnancy check also....

I am going to go out and get on the mower and try to get things trimmed up a bit, before the grass gets too high.

Yesterday I got the rest of the hay raked. DS went to a pasture that he had never gotten around to checking the fence, so there hasn't been anything on there all summer.... DUMB.... and came by the field I finished raking to take me back to the truck... and he had the trailer... and I asked him what he was moving... so he decided to get the fence done and moved 12 of the weaned calves there... the 6 steers I no saled and 6 more of the weaned ones from the barn... The grass will do them good but there are 2 STUPID ones in the bunch.... I didn't argue with him as the 2 dumb ones went over the fence into the field rather than go around a short piece of fence, where we unloaded them... and in through the gate.... . Will have to go there regularly and grain them to get them to be calmer to work with and hopefully get them in. And I will not be much help unless we don't have much cold and the grass lasts into December....because of the knees and healing.....

Then he asked if I minded that he wanted to go by the "pumpkin patch" so he could meet her and the kids could pick out pumpkins.... wasn't going to be a "bi*#h", so I rode along. I visited with a couple friends and they got done, I really wanted no part of it....and then he dropped me off at the field where my truck was. I came in and put on a clean shirt and went to the "McCormick's Mill Day".. for an hour or so. The chuckwagon people were sold out of cobbler they make in the dutch ovens so that was a bummer. Talked to the friend that runs the grist mill there for a bit... then came home.
Deb called and wanted me to come for an "easy supper".... so I took a package of frozen broccoli for a veg and she had just some "apple flavored chicken" sausages and mashed potatoes... and we just sat and visited. Then I came home and tried to sleep but the knees were aching.... then got up at 3:30 to go to work...

So this afternoon I am going to try to mow a bit, then quit for the evening. Got to get with DS as I have the stockyard check here. Got the breakdown of which ones are who's... so he can pay me for mine.... I want to go to the bank in the morning when I go to town to the county office about the stupid mistake they made on the personal property (car) taxes and show them where it had been paid ....on time ..... as it cleared my account on the due date so they had to have processed it before that day.

I am assuming DS got the last of the hay baled as he had to take 2 steers for GF father , to the butcher this afternoon...got to check and see if I have gas for the mower... think I may have used it up last time....

 

[farmerjan]

Well, went and got gas and then started the mower... Got about 1/2 done and one side of the mower deck started dragging the ground so it is scalping the grass on that side. Of course I did not get the whole piece done in front of the house first because I was going around the whole thing, not just in front of the house.... asked DS to stop and look at it for me... it is parked back in the carport.
He was baling as it was too damp earlier from the dew.... he did get her father's steers to the butcher.... then came back to bale after the sun had been out for a bit. It is clouding up now and definitely rain in the forecast for tonight.... Hope he put the one wagon full of sq bales in the barn earlier since he couldn't bale....

Think I will just fold some clothes and maybe run the vacuum.....got dishes I can do also. The samples are packed to drop off tomorrow....

 

[farmerjan]

Radar is not showing it but we have had 2 quick hard fast showers. Sure hope DS got the wagon of sq bales in the barn. He didn't call for any help and I was right here.
Did up the sink full of dishes. Going to go in and see what I want for some supper. Last night Deb split the left overs and I ate them for lunch earlier... Good....
I am going to take a shower, wash this mornings cow sh!t out of my hair, and then eat something. Then I will fold the clothes and quit. Knees are aching and nothing is touching it today..... 3 more weeks.... and unfortunately I will be doing ALOT of testing.....

 

[Baymule]

Three more weeks. Then rehab, therapy and WALKING! I’m excited for you, you have put up with this long enough.