Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[Baymule]

What a heart breaking experience. So much wasted that could have helped other people. I'm so sorry for the whole mess, but at least it is done now.

 

[murphysranch]

Yes, think of the joy that all that stuff would have created in many peoples lives! I for one, would have LOVED to look thru the books and the crafts. I go to estate sales allllllllllll the time and love finding treasures. Many of them, esp books, become gifts as they are unique and old.

I'm sooooo sorry.

 

[Ridgetop]

Such a shame that they couldn't get a Goodwill or Salvation Army truck to pick everything up. What a waste!

And then to have so many troubles on your way up and back was a real nightmare. Not to mention the expense of the new tires and radiator!

 

[farmerjan]

Thursday eve. Been a long day but the weather was beautiful. I did get on the tedder and got most tedded out and ran out of fuel... DS had left the truck/trailer in the road out to the back and I had to walk out to the tractor and tedder as the ramps were just too heavy for me to pick up and flip up on the trailer... So I had walked out to do it, then got "stuck" with no fuel... and of course I was at the very end of the field AWAY from the road to go back to the barn... this is an old railroad bed that is flat and is a great road but it is difficult to get around anything parked on it as there is not much for shoulders... partway it is all grown up along it and partway it is a 8+ ft drop off....
So anyway. I finally walked back to the barn and took the car and went home and got the samples packed. I was not going to try to carry fuel out and all that. I had called DS and told him and he was tied up with work stuff and said as soon as he could get back he would get the truck and trailer moved... If the ramps had been up I could have easily done it but I was not going to get a hernia trying to pick them up.
He got there when I was at the house... and then when I got there he was getting it started and tedded out the one row I had left when it ran out. He had me take him to the other place where we had baled the hay last week, and he got the tractor and baler and brought them back. He mowed the little piece left in the middle, since he hadn't finished that before we left when the hydraulics sprung a leak and fluid went everywhere.
Then he had to go do some more work related stuff...
I went back around 3 and tedded out the just mowed stuff so it could dry more and went over some other that had been thick when it got rained on.
The weather has been the most perfect kind for hay drying... 80, nice breeze, and ABSOLUTELY NO HUMIDITY..... so the hay was drying good. Tomorrow I will tedd the grass part out again, then switch to the rake and probably start raking around 1 p.m. It will dry a little more in the windrows... and the stuff that got wet is fully dry now. Not the best of hay... but it beats snowballs in the winter time. The forecast is for some showers maybe friday night and on saturday... going to get this rolled before then...

I saw a couple of piles of old hay too that I will take the truck and pitchfork and get them.
I got the 10 sq bales unloaded off the truck this evening and spread 2 bales of the straw between some of the rows. Pulled some weeds as I went but I want this down so that if we get rain, it will settle it down more and then I will be able to pull weeds from the moist earth. There are alot of grass sprouts coming up... and it is ahead of me, but they are not real big so I hope to get caught up in a week or so.

There is alot coming up too. The real old seeds are not sprouting at all... the ones from 2020 are coming up decent so that is good. I did plant some of the purple podded "green beans" in with the short row of sunflowers... I "transplanted" some of the sunflowers into other spots. I will go through and use up the little bit of the package to fill in some spots. The 2020 wax (yellow) beans are coming up pretty good... I will go through and use up the package and fill in that row too. The package of 2020 "mixed summer squash" has come up pretty good and the row of new yellow summer squash has come up real good. There are green stripe crenshaw squash up that I planted just before I went and cantaloupe that have come up. Will replant the butternut as the old seeds did not come up. Cucumbers are up too... new seeds.

Tomatoes look pretty good. Some of the roma's have some thumb sized tomatoes already. Got to start tying to the fence panel. Pepper plants have some good sized peppers on them already... that was a surprise.
Oh and the potatoes... WOW... they really have come along in the past 2-3 days. Looks like nearly every single "eye" has sprouted... I will start really mulching them... I don't hill, just keep adding mulch to them. It is easier if they don't have to be "dug " real deep...
The onion plants are starting to look decent... some were pretty dried looking but they have put down roots. I may see if they have more at the co-op... at a discount... and put in more...

I will do another planting of green beans for a later harvest. I don't think there are 10 pkgs in the freezer that I found, and they are probably my favorite vegetable.
Went and got milk at the farm where I get it, and talked to him for a little bit. We were talking about just how sketchy things are getting. And what it is going to cost to make this hay with the cost of fuel keeps going up....

I'm ready for a shower and get to bed. Got to do the hay in the morning, and the cow... and would like to get some of that old mulch hay at the field where I saw the piles. hoping to get alot more down in the garden before we get the possible rain so it will settle it down. I need to mulch the areas where there is nothing yet... where the vines haven't spread... and go through and try to put in some stuff so that it will get watered in and it will sprout fast.

The corn field across the road looks real good....

 

[farmerjan]

Weather is beautiful again. Cool morning 55, sun and not much humidity again today. No breeze so it will get hotter....
In for a minute. Did cow, went and tedded out a little of yesterdays mown hay again... filled the tractor with fuel. Loaded the pile of old hay I saw back there and it is level with the bed on the ranger. I have a tool box on there so like a 6-6 1/2 ft bed.. but not bad. It was in the shade too, so not bad to pitch on. . Went back and let cow out, and am going out to hang a load of clothes that I had run through. Then get the old hay off in the garden and maybe put down some more straw and maybe plant a few things in rows that didn't come up; before the possible rain.
DS is going to switch the tedder for the rake at lunch time and I am going to go up and rake all the hay so it can dry for a little longer where it is turned up in case there are any green spots. He will bale when he gets off work.
Had a farm text and wants to test next week... of course, now they all want next week.... what is it... mental telepathy that one texts or calls then they all do??? Oh well... I have basically been off for 10 days.... HHMM... kinda nice....

Needed a drink.. going back out for a bit...

 

[Mini Horses]

basically been off for 10 days.... HHMM... kinda nice....

That's what makes it so, so hard to go back.

 

[Baymule]

Oh wow! You had to finally walk out to get to the car? How did the knees do on that? At least the haying is going better than it has. Hope y'all get it all baled with rain possibly coming. Of course, if you get it baled, it wont rain, if you don't and hay is on the field, it will rain.

 

[farmerjan]

Oh wow! You had to finally walk out to get to the car? How did the knees do on that? At least the haying is going better than it has. Hope y'all get it all baled with rain possibly coming. Of course, if you get it baled, it wont rain, if you don't and hay is on the field, it will rain.

SHHHHHH don't say that...
We actually need some rain. We only got .3 inch total from the day we got home and that night again. There were areas around that got an inch.... and it looks like we are going to get a little this evening/night/morning....
I went up and got the hay raked. DS got off work and came right up there as the sky was pretty cloudy... some dark clouds. But it didn't rain and he got it all baled. At least it was good and dry; quality is not great, but..... 35 rolls that is mediocre, is still better than not having it.

I have been working in the garden some. Got 7 of the 10 bales of straw spread pretty much around everything that is growing. I am really hoping that it will get good and wet and settle down around the plants. I also got the truck load of old hay put out around tomato plants too. AND I got all the onion plants weeded, so they look real good... I will put grass clippings around them as soon as I mow the lawn and collect them. Haven't gotten to that yet. I haven't even tried the mower since I have been home.
I stuck the rest of the "purple" beans in... found where the dill is actually coming up. Going to plant some newer butternut squash where I had the old ones that did not germinate. If it is not too wet tomorrow, I will try to get some more planted. I need to get some more old hay and put down so that the weeds don't grow until I plant some later stuff. Just cover the tilled but not yet planted garden. I want to put some lettuce in... somehow forgot that. With this heat don't know if it will do much. I found some cabbage seeds. Might stick them in a short row and see if they germinate... then transplant.

I'm tired and the knees/legs ache. Just that tired sore ache... I can deal with it if I have to... better than "hurting"...
Going to quit here in a few minutes.

 

[farmerjan]

I had talked to "Bay" when I ran out of fuel at the far end of the field and was saying I did not want to walk all the way out to the car..BUT.. @Baymule ... yes I did walk out to the car as it was getting hot in the sun and DS got caught up with some stuff at work. It was tiring, but more because I am out of shape. REALLY OUT OF SHAPE..... hoping that the hay and the garden helps to get me a little more exercise and maybe take off some of this weight... which will help.

 

[Baymule]

I'm glad that you are able to have a garden this year. I've missed mine, but hope to have a garden next year, even just a small one beats nothing.

Walking is good exercise, but with new knees, out of shape and walking that far? Yeah, I can see that. You sure weren't going to get "rescued" any time soon, so might as well walk out.