Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[farmerjan]

Day did not go as planned. When does it ever anymore. DS called and asked if I could come to the barn sooner as we were also going to fred's to get a heifer that is nuts that he never got in when we hauled his calves a couple weeks ago. REALLY.....
So didn't get to the cardboard dumpster... Maybe tomorrow... want to do it before it rains & they get wet...

Then he calls back... do I have any box fans... they need something to help dry out the floors from the washing....at work... they stripped the wax or something, then it is washed real good and then they are refinished (waxed) ???? So I dug out a box fan and another fan and he came from work to get them... by then, it was time to go to the barn. Got there, he got the extra steer in... seems there were only 2 animals that were nutty, the totally crazy steer, and a heifer that was in the same field... the other was in the field with the couple of other animals he had there... there are 2 other steers he got off that neighbor a month or so ago... where we had to leave the trailer, for a few days, for them to entice them in it....I went and got them too come to think of it....

Then we went to Fred's and dropped off a heifer of his that we have had for a couple months...was supposed to get sold this spring but she looked preg., so we took and luted her and then she just was there... and I had forgotten about her... but DS took her back and we got the crazy one instead to go to town. Wound up with 4 and it was not worth the trip.

I wound up buying back -no sale-ing ; the heifer for .93/lb. The crazy steer of ours brought just about 1.00 and the better one brought 1.40. Was glad to get rid of the nutty one, and the price was okay on the other but that was just too cheap on the heifer. She weighs 970 and will make a beef in Feb instead. The one of Fred's brought a bit over 1.00 but it was fatter and it was not coming home no matter what.
On top of that, DS said he would come to town after he got off work, and then he would stay for the rest of the sale. WELL... you know about making plans.... they had a "boom tractor"... the kind that mows the roadways with the bush hog on the arm that kinda turns sideways to mow off brushy stuff that sticks out... like on a mechanical arm ???? Well, of course it blew a hydraulic hose on the arm... but the tractor will not run when something like that happens... all this wonderful new style electronic CRAP.... couldn't pull the hose and plug the coupler and then "tie up" the cylinder or anything like that....and of course it was in the road since the guy was mowing.... and the arm dropped the bush hog down when the fluid ran out because they could not run the tractor to get it up high and chain it up or something to that effect... SO....VDOT had to send out a truck with the big sign on the back to put behind it so no one would run into it and then they could not get a new hose with the special fittings so had to have one made special and that was nearly an hour north... then they got back and one of the fittings was not right... so had to go back to get it remade.... and of course, by now it is getting dark, so they had to go get another truck with the light up sign/arrow... so no one hit the tractor in the dark... VDOT has all these safety regulations that they have to follow... and I get it especially after dark.... BUT, GEEZE LOUISE.... so I wound up at the stockyard for the whole sale. Then had to back the trailer up to the gates to load out the flighty heifer to bring her back home. I had been on the phone with DS several times trying to make sure I did or didn't sell them for prices he could accept. And he said I could have sold the heifer but he was not mad that I didn't sell her... he wanted to get 1.00/lb for her.... but that .90 would have been the lowest and I was going to let her go on the next bid... but wound up with her back. So, that was my total day... .
He kept saying he was sorry I got stuck there... but he couldn't have done anything different... he would have had to go back to work anyway... the boss is gone and he is "2nd in command"... and this required a "boss" to oversee... He got about 6 hours overtime out of it... and I got to spend the day at the stock yard....

So, maybe I will have a chance to get something done tomorrow?????.

Because we do not have lights at the loading chute, he said to leave the heifer in the trailer for the night...he would back it around in the daylight as he was not sure when they would get done at work... and was going home as soon as he got done. We usually aim a vehicle towards the chute to back up at night... that is one thing he wants to try to get done, along with a spot light or something, to see better at the bunker pit with the silage. They are close to each other so ought to be able to run one line and put on a pole or a tree or something there.

If the explorer was sold I might have bought a few of the cheap single heifers and/or steers to add to what we have... oh well, maybe in the future. The friend that we took steers to in upper VT back this spring, wants to get about 15 heifers of various sizes... wants them spayed which our retired vet friend said he can do as it is supposed to be pretty easy... to raise for beef. He cannot keep up with the demand for beef, and it looks like we will be taking him 2 trailer loads of 15-20 each, a year, now. He said it is crazy the demand for the beef....
He has about 15 cows now that he is raising calves on, but he is killing 2, or sometimes 3, beef every month now and sells out before he kills the next time... He is thinking he needs to have at least 4-5 to kill a month. That's 40-60 a year....
Well, we are killing 6-10 a year now for sale... and that is not with USDA inspected to sell the individual cuts like the friend does... that is selling halves or whole....from a state inspected facility but not USDA.....it is just a "little sideline" for us....and we do feed a little grain but not alot... they do get silage which has corn in it though.

Well, I am tired from all the activity, so am going in to get a shower and get to bed. At least that farm did cancel for tomorrow morning... although it is an easy one to test... Maybe I will run to TSC or Lowes, earlier in the morning tomorrow, and see if I can get some type of duct tape or something to try to repair the shelter while it is warm out and it should stick better.
The rooster was in the crate and the 2 brahma pullets on top of the bale of straw so it was easy to get them in and shut the crate door.... no sign of the buff pullet. The DAM@#D hawk was flying around when I let them out.... he is going to have to find a new place to fly around.....

 

[Mini Horses]

Hope you slept well. . I slept well and late.

Got a mag in mail yesterday that had an article about the black vultures y'all have up there -- the permits to kill, etc. VA has a fast and easy permit good for 5... To help while waiting on other one. Well vultures come in flocks larger than 5! So guess everyone you know needs one of those permits.

Sounds like your heifer should be perfect butcher weight come Feb/Mar. Price was low so, good buy.

The local monthly "goat" auction is next Sat, a week. Going this week, if only for social aspect. Don't expect good seller prices -- no big ethnic holidays, etc. -- but one of these needs to go, annoying me. Two more small and won't bring much but, will pay for a couple bags of feed plus not be eating my hay.. Culls. Doesn't even bother me, the price, just gone. Hey, gas $$ to go get the last Boer doe I bought and left to be bred.

I need to go to Lowe's for a few pieces of lumber and cringe at prices. DD works there so I can get a discount, just not a big one. What I'll do is have her get in back and find some heavy discounts for me! Even if packaged up with something I'm not looking for, you use it eventually.

 

[farmerjan]

Hey, @Mini Horses ... do you have a reference on the mag article on the black buzzards? I try to keep up with any and all stuff about them so that I can make sure I have info at my fingertips when people try to tell me I can't do this or I have to do that.

I got up and let the chickens out, the buff hen was in the shelter with the chickens still in the crates... I just "ignored her" and did what I had to so she doesn't feel threatened. At least she is coming in for feed and water.

Went to town since the farm had cancelled and got some "gorilla" duct type tape that 2 different guys said would be better than just duct tape. I also picked up a roll of extra wide that is like flex seal tape but not as expensive... Also ran through Walmart and got 2 more of the plastic "storage bins" that are fairly shallow to put plant pots in to make moving them in and out easier on nice sunny days; and a couple odd things.
I also bought some "kaiser" rolls... used to call them hard rolls when I was a kid but these did not have the poppy seeds that I remember... Now I am no dummy, nor am I a rocket scientist or Rhodes math scholar.... BUT.... they had 2 for .84... and I was looking around and they had a package of 6... for 3.29 as were most all the packages of "specialty breads".... Now I got to figuring... 2/.84 means 4/1.68 ; means 6/2.52 ; means 8/3.36... am I missing something here???? I mean really???? I was wanting 4 or maybe 6... So I just got 2 pkgs. of the 2/.84...

Stopped by the dairy and got the 2 gal bucket of milk I was going to get on the way home from testing...

We had light sprinklely showers when I got up and some more off and on. It tried to clear off some this afternoon with some sun peeking out but more clouds kept rolling in. The nicest thing is it was only down to 60 last night and I had put all the rest of the plants out... so they got some decent light and some light soft watering. We are supposed to get a little more tonight so that would be great.
I repotted 2 small spider plants that I got a couple weeks ago... yeah, like I don't have enough ??? but these are solid green in the middle and the white stripe is on the outside of the leaves... opposite of what the ones I have are. Couldn't resist them at the nursery and they were marked down as they were trying to get rid of stuff before getting in the "holiday plants.".... So they are in their own hanging pots... I watered them a bit to settle the dirt, and am hoping that the rain will be decent tonight and give them a thorough watering of natural moisture.

My Thanksgiving cactus's are blooming... a light pink, and an almost white with a little pink are really looking nice... have a darker pink/reddish one getting close. The one that is supposed to be a Christmas cactus looks like it has some decent buds coming... I had 2 that were salmon colored... but something got into them on the back porch under the table a few times and many leaflets got broken off... I did save a bunch and some are actually rooting and looks like some growth, but they will not flower for a year or two... hope there is some of the salmon/orange colored ones. I will spend a little extra to get a nice one this year if I find one.
I always try to rescue some of the ones from like Lowes or Walmart after the season for clearance prices... usually $1 or so each after the flowers have fallen off... The one this year that is coming along is the whitish with a little pink that was one of those bargain ones. They like alot of long dark nights and cooler for a month or more before they start to bloom... These are coming along nicely. I will wait until after the holidays and the fallen leaflets are well rooted and then transplant them into their own little pots so they can come on for next year.

A few of the african violets are putting up flower buds... @rachels.haven .... have you ever had or heard of "fungus gnats".???? Seems like I got them in mine and they have done a number on some of my nicest plants... leaves get limp and darker in the center where the stem attaches..die off... almost like crown rot with all the leaves just going limp and the plant just down to no leaves; and there were all these little tiny "flies" and I got the little sticky traps to try to catch them. There are a few that I lost which was really upsetting... I have never seen or heard of them before... but I guess they are common in houseplants... maybe not just in violets???? Had to have brought it in with a few of the odd new plants I picked up. I have found that the crowns are actually putting out some new leaves, so I am monitoring them and will try to salvage some of the plants with new cuttings off the crowns when they get a little bigger. I did stick some other leaves that were limp near the crown but seemed okay near the leaf part; into medium to try to start new plants from the leaf....

Carried some stuff up to the storage room upstairs, and looked in the 2 bedrooms that need the ceilings torn down. There was all sorts of noise up there and I came down and left the door open, to the storage room in the center...and then a little while later I heard some noise in the kitchen and there was a DAM#@D SQUIRREL in the kitchen trying to get out the window. I opened the back door and it finally ran across the floor and out the door. I think it came down the stairs as there were 2 empty boxes that were knocked over too.... So that is probably what I have heard upstairs a few times... GRRR. I was really P.O.ed... at least he did not break the couple of "tiles" that I have from years ago.... that are leaned up against the window sill on the counter. Maybe it will have scared him enough to convince him to stay out for a bit...??
Also caught another mouse and I am betting that is what got into the planter on the counter behind the sink the other day... I really want to get going in these upstairs bedrooms and get the ceilings down... get any "holes" plugged up so the critters can't get in that way and get it insulated, and the ceilings done....

Because of the wet, sprinkles, and all I did not work outside doing much around the yard. The maple tree has lost nearly all the leaves so I can rake them up and "bed down" the flower gardens along the porch and get them all situated pretty soon. I think that the possibility of showers is over b y noon tomorrow... so might be able to get some of the buckets washed out and all that sort of stuff. Got more plants to dump in the garden and some I want to plant along the split rail fence so see if they come back up next year.

Got a mouse in the kitchen in the trap today, and just now saw one that ran into the LR and I guess realized I was right there, and took off and ran the other way... . Added 2 more sticky traps with a little peanut butter in the middle, to the 3 snap traps I have out..... little basturds .

 

[Baymule]

I hate mice in the house, squirrels in the attic and rats anywhere. At least rats haven’t moved into your Pest Condo.

Could you use a pesticide soap spray on your African Violets? I had some many years ago, they sure are pretty. I love the Christmas cactus too, you have so many colors!

 

[Mini Horses]

VA Farm Bureau News, pg 8. You can apply at VDACS for a deprivation permit for 5 of them. They reference -- bit.ly/VDACSblackvulture....540-381-7387, for permits allowing more kills.

The mag is online...vafb.com. yeah, I have FB insurance. . The rascals are "protected" in VA as some migratory issue.

That buff hen will settle some with cold coming but, like we both said when you bought -- leghorns are flighty! She's a looker thought . First I'd ever seen of buff legs....color of orp but lightweight of leg....at least she's still there. . Anybody laying? The brahmas I kept aren't...like 8 months old. One is coloring up, so maybe soon. They're touted to be good winter layers. I'm NOT impressed. My barred rocks were best for that. None now but will be next ones I buy probably. They were always kind birds to others in flock and people friendly.

I'm not an egg eater but if I feed, they need to lay!

 

[Mike CHS]

The Black Vultures are protected everywhere in the U.S. but evidently someone figured out that was pretty stupid and came up with the permits. I get permits every year but haven't had to use them for the last couple of years.

 

[farmerjan]

Thanks for the reference. DS has farm bureau ins... I am with Rockingham for the house here. He would not bother to read it, or tell me if he did. He doesn't take time to look at stuff like that...
I looked at the article. I knew that there was some work on the possibilities of this becoming a reality. I must have missed the notice from VDACS

All raptors, owls, eagles, hawks, and buzzards are protected under the federal laws for the migratory birds act... and that includes the scavengers - buzzards. But due to the increased numbers, and the destruction they have wrought.. and the fact that they have become such nuisances, there had been several lawsuits brought by farmer groups down south, and the fish and wildlife group had to start taking a long hard look at these birds. Then it was found that they are much more destructive than originally thought, and they have migrated as far north now as Ohio, and they are causing the decline of the "turkey buzzards" by destroying the nests of eggs... so finally some of the people in the wildlife departments got their stuff together to come up with ways to try to contain the numbers and stop the destruction.
These black "vultures"... WILL ATTACK livestock. Mostly animals calving/lambing/kidding out on pasture... I had a bunch of at least 12-15 surround a heifer calving and she was going nuts trying to protect the new, wet calf on the ground... and practically hurt the calf in her frantic efforts. They will stand on the ground, spread their wings, and the cow will go around in circles trying to keep them away. I have had them come into a shed and attack a calf that had had scours and was actually starting to recover... I was not at the farm at the time... and when I came back to the barn, they were pecking his rectum and had done so much damage I had to put him down. Basically eating him alive... TOTALLY HORRIBLE. They will stand there and practically defy you to drive them off.
They will go after a lamb just born, and if the ewe is having a second, will kill it and go after the ewe also.. They are one of the few species of birds that actually can smell, and they will hone in on the smell of blood...

For anyone with livestock, PLEASE take their presence seriously. These are NOT the naked neck turkey buzzards that only eat dead carrion... those we welcome here...

I am so glad that there is a permit action in place now. At least now we can justify the ones that just seem to "mysteriously die" on the farm.

 

[farmerjan]

Good for you @Mike CHS . It has been awhile coming here to Va.... have never seen anything so destructive as them... give me a coyote any day of the week.... most farmers around here just SSS...

It is raining/misting this morning. Woke up to it and have had a few light showers. I got damp going out to let the chickens out. Supposedly going to through by early afternoon and stay unseasonably warm through tomorrow; then getting a bit cooler. The rain/wet has really just been wonderful as it is soft and slow enough to just soak in even with the late fall timing. I doubt we will get more than a quarter or half an inch over the last 2 days of showers/sprinkles...
It was REAL WINDY last night. Most all the leaves are off the maple tree and alot of the other trees around are bare. The rain is taking the rest of them down. That time of year.

LOVE the switch to standard time.... Wish they would just leave it alone and just change the time businesses open and close.... I love being in the house "earlier" in the evening... I always feel like I am running behind with DST....

Going in to see about cooking something to eat. Deb called and is on her way out and going to work from home all week.. so we are going to go out to eat something this evening. She will be going to some friends for Thanksgiving; and then going on a cruise that she had to postpone since she did not have her passport renewed and it took like twice as long to get it done with the covid crap and she missed out on being able to go with the other friends she was going with because it did not get back in time. So she had to rebook in a certain time frame, she is going by herself, but will spend some time with family in Germany before coming home. So, she will be pretty much gone for a month or so. I would have preferred to just stay home... but it is supposed to clear off so won't be so bad going out later I hope. I will be testing this week and will be tied up a few days anyway.

So, heading to the kitchen. I did stop and the cardboard had gotten wet in the cardboard dumpster, because some dummy did not flip the top closed.. so will wait for tomorrow or Tuesday and see if there are some new broken down boxes to get to get the kitchen things "packed back up" that I have been slowly trying to get unpacked and washed. Then will get J to come and see what she can use in these cabinets. Then want to go look at sinks and see what I might be able to do with getting rid of this horrible STUPID corner double sink.

Buff hen was in the shelter this morning again and did not run out the back. I have not fixed the tears yet.. hope to do it tomorrow when it is dry and still warm. Let the others out and the brahma pullets went out there... they are all going to get a shock when the hole/slit is closed. I am thinking that they may be going in and out there because they are not as exposed to the stupid hawk I saw flying around the other day. Might have to rethink and leave one spot where they can go in and out.. like a trap door? I do have to fix the worn and couple of torn spots on the metal supports though before they get bad and the whole top gets to be shredded.
My brahma pullets are not yet laying either. They are a very slow maturing breed. I get that you want them to produce in exchange for the feed @Mini Horses . Once they start to lay they are usually decent enough... but they will not ever come up to the rocks... One reason why I want my New Hamps again... I really liked them and they were good consistent layers.
Just got a good shower...

 

[Mike CHS]

If I had no other option with the vultures, I would SSS but what keeps the vultures from coming back is to hang the ones that you shoot and the rest will not return to that field or anywhere close for that matter.

 

[Mini Horses]

I've heard same with a dead crow. Not having either of these as a nuisance here, haven't tried it. I'll say this, it didn't work for a possum...... I think they just said RIP as they stride by.