Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[farmerjan]

Fat cull cows like that are normally ones that didn't have a calf and all weight gained in the winter is not lost easily as they don't have a calf sucking on them...no fetus inside using their resources... so stay fat on little feed. Prices about what they are doing here...

Bottles in trays, chickens out, clothes in, going to do the dishes in the sink then get going to go test. Want to stop at the goodwill on the way if I have time... haven't been in that one in a few weeks.

Little bit of a breeze... temps down to a nice 51 last night... sun and some clouds. We aren't supposed to get much until later this evening... like after 7-9 p.m. ??? Hoping it does turn into a rain event for tomorrow though.
Also weighed the bunch of potatoes I dug 2 weeks ago, Satina variety... had some nice ones 25 1/2 lbs. from 2 lbs planted.... One weighed 1 1/4 lbs.... and over a half dozen weighed in the 3/4 lb size.... NICE potatoes. There were some smaller ones... not many real small ones, golf ball size.... overall, very usable sized ones...

Got a cabinet that I want to get in the kitchen too... used to use for my recycle -able bags of cans and such... Been on the front porch and it needs to be vacuumed out, liquid gold on the outside to shine up the wood finish, and the slide on the bottom of the inner "box" reattached... the whole thing pulls out and it is nice. Stupid to not be using it again... Time to get things "restarted" on doing things in the house...

Hope DS can get the rest of the hay done and then maybe get some rest with this cold/bug he has.

 

[Ridgetop]

Try sweet potatoes. The animals can eat vine & all.

Northeast Texas is sweet potato country. The town of Gilmer puts on the Yamboree Festival.

I love the red sweet potatoes. DH likes both varieties. Wil try plantig some.

He is not spending the time down with her... and she is hanging around now because of deer season coming on.... and is around when it suits her.... maybe he is seeing some of it... I don't know...

Always hoping he will wake up to what she is really like, but losing hope for him. At least he is learning to appreciate YOU and all you do..

 

[farmerjan]

Done for the day, going in to take a shower and wash the cow sht out of my hair... Cloudy/hazy around the moon on the way home from work...
Tested with the new employee milking at the farm and it went real well... not quite the "push" to get done as the owner... and we got every cow number right and the paperwork was perfect... told him I enjoyed working with him and looked forward to next month...
Didn't get to the goodwill, by the time I got everything done here and actually left, I got to the farm at 1 and had time to set up without rushing... so there is that...

I was out of mayonaise, so stopped at Walmart on the way through and got some and some yogurt.... didn't want to spend much time walking around and it was dark when I got home anyway...
Didn't even get the dishes done, earlier.... .... oh well , might go in and do them now and then the water heater will kick on and the water will be hotter in a bit... if I don't use it for all day (like today being gone) it seems it doesn't last as long as when I have just used it and it kicks on and gets it heated back up...

Got the sample bottles in the house, chickens locked up, and made sure all the vehicle windows were up. Texted DS to see if he needed any help or a ride to a vehicle but didn't hear back so I am assuming everything was done and inside, and he went home to bed early....
The breeze is picking up and they are saying gusts up to 40 mph... maybe 1-2 " of rain... @Mini Horses in the east, and south central Va will get more... tried to get most of the stuff secured that I was worried about the blowing wind/rain... take it as it comes...if the hay is done and the sq bales are in then we are good...

Oh, we have 11 new fall calves already....on the first group of cows we brought in off the hill, and weaned the calves... those are the ones the calves were pretty much weaned off by the cows on their own... many of the cows had dry bags so no trauma weaning the calves off....good thing..... DS has gotten 8 tagged ... missed the 3 oldest and they are big enough that he can't catch them out to pasture... they will get tags once we get them in the barn....was thinking that he might want to move them out to pasture for 2 months at his other farm... there's grass there... will have to run the idea by him... give them a chance to eat and grow out there instead of at them barn field... he left 3 cow/calf pairs out there that were not checked preg and had put the one bull out there to have a "vacation" with the 14 breds and only 3 opens... could have bred those 3 which is okay...gave him a break and plenty of grass to eat and not terribly steep ground to have to walk... he is starting to get a little age on him too... but he throws nice calves and some of the ones calving now were bred to him.

Forgot to sent this before...
Still hazy clouds around the moon and nothing... looks like it will be middle of the night before it gets this far north on the radar...

Dishes are done and washed a couple of things out of a box from my parents too... containers to keep cereal in and a 8x11 type metal "sheet cake pan"... with the metal lid (aluminum) like the kind you can take somewhere and it won't get the icing all smooshed...
I emptied 30 lbs of sugar into a storage container too.... little things...
Had a mouse in the house and saw it the other night... stuck a sticky trap right where it was running behind the fridge and it is tight enough that the kittens haven't tried to go in there... and caught it.. so put another in there... I sure hope these guys learn to catch mice....

 

[SageHill]

.. I sure hope these guys learn to catch mice....

When they tell you - meow meow meeeeowww - to order more sticky traps you’ll know they’ve figured it out

 

[Mini Horses]

This storm slowed down it's movement yesterday & hung out over water off SC coast for half a day, gaining strength to just shy of a hurricane. Means we got light rains all day yesterday with the heavy downpours arriving about midnight. It woke me about 3:30 am and going strong now! Looks like it's staying for most of day now, not gone at noon. . You'll probably be seeing it soon. This is a real fill the ponds & ditches rain -- hard, really heavy and winds not as bad at the moment, but sure not over!! It sounds like firehouses on full blast. Maybe you'll get a good rain for the day. I'd like to turn it off.

 

[Baymule]

With just the little bit of rain I got, but more importantly, lowering the temperatures below 100F, the grass is greening up. The winter grass is sprouting out. Sheep are still on dry lot.

A rain storm like y’all are getting would be welcomed by the ranchers.

 

[farmerjan]

I am sure that @Mini Horses would send all this to you @Baymule since they have been getting plenty over on the east coast. We are thankful for it and it doesn't look to be a real bad deal here... about an inch expected, some gusty winds but overall, just a typical fall rainy day.
I have not checked the rain gauge yet... got to go out and let the chickens out soon. It is breezy but not terrible.
Going to figure out something to put in the oven to cook so I can take the chill off the house... Maybe make a bowl of custard... have lots of eggs. Enough milk for that and I will have to contact farmer to go get more milk tomorrow. Then maybe stuff a chicken and roast it to have a couple of meals worth to eat for the next couple of days....Need to take one out of the freezer to thaw.
Hmmm, might make eggs for breakfast too... there's bacon in the fridge.
I broke down and put a litter box in the hallway for the kittens so I could close the door at night. Getting cool enough that they might as well get used to having to be locked in some. Not thrilled with it but do not want them to "find a spot" in the house to do business... Will still try to encourage them to go outside during the day when I can keep the door cracked open... probably put it outside on the porch and they are going out to the one garden some, and follow me out to the shelter and it is dry and they can dig in there to do stuff... the chickens spend very little time in there while the weather is nice out... got to get the new cover on it within the next month or so, so they have a dry place to be over the winter too.

This rain will really soften up the dirt in the garden. We are going to have some off and on showers for the next week... and then we will get some more nice fall weather... If it doesn't rain much the first of the week getting the weed eater in there is my FIRST PRIORITY now... If the wind takes many of the tomatoes off the vines in the next day or 2 then I am going to open the garden up to the chickens to clean up in there.

It's a chilly, breezy 53 out... was down to 49 last night... I doubt we will see 60 today... Oh well, a good day to do inside things...

 

[farmerjan]

Been a wet chilly day. Windy, not gale force but lots of blustery gusts... Kittens went out with me to the chickens earlier but were glad to come back in a little later. Temp has not gone above 55.
Custard done but it took a little longer... maybe the weather? Chicken out thawing... will put that in later I hope....or maybe tomorrow since it is supposed to still have some windy, rainy weather part of the day.

Getting ready to go in and see about cleaning up the cabinet for the recycle-ables ... see if I have a couple of smaller screws to reattach the slider thing on the bottom, so the whole thing will slide in and out like it is supposed to. then I can use it for recycle things and/or a garbage bag or something. Might take some measurements and see if I can find a garbage can (plastic) that would fit in there to keep it cleaner and easier to take out and wash. But the plastic cat food bags work good for garbage too...
Might go bake a pan of brownies too....
Want to sit and watch a movie or something but I need to make the day a little bit productive. Movie for later I think.
It looked like over a 1/2 inch rain this morning when I let the chickens out but didn't walk over to the gauge. We may very well get on the upper side of an inch which would be wonderful. The radar is showing a lull in the rain for a couple hours around 5-8 time frame... perfect to go out and put the chickens in for the night. We'll see. Can't change it....

 

[farmerjan]

New anacronym I learned for SNOW.... Shyte No One Wants !!!!!

 

[farmerjan]

Sunday morning... 55 to start, and it has stopped raining and the "storm moved out. But we are supposed to have residual clouds for the better part of the week with some occasional showers. Not much I plan to do outside today anyway. Will check the rain gauge when I go let the chickens out in a bit.
Got the cabinet all vacuumed out and will look for some of the screws I need to put the slide piece back on the bottom of the inner "box" so it will slide in and out. Then move it where I think I want it and get some rearranging in the kitchen. Going to put the chicken in the oven a little later, it was not thawed out enough yesterday.

The custard tasted good. Got plenty for a couple days....texted my farmer and he will have milk for me today whenever I go get it.

I am thinking some hot cereal for breakfast today... it is damp and chilly out.

Been eating some of the applesauce I got at Sharp Shopper... the case of 72/4 oz cups for 4.99 marked down due to the "expiration date".... I finished some of the apple butter I had left the other day ... and at $3.99 and 4..99 for store bought... and $5-6 a pint for "homemade" since this is the season... it would be a pretty cheap way for me to make my own... sure pita to empty those little cups into a slow cooker... but the bulk of the "cooking down " is done... only need to add some spices and cook it a little thicker and for the price of 1 pint jar, I can make 10-15 pint jars from it .... it technically is equal to 18 / 16oz jars.... (4oz x72 cups=288 oz.../16 oz=18 jars right?) So with the cooking down a bit to thicken I would get a few less... Tossing it around since I really like apple butter.... Have to go by there and see if they have anymore of the cases. Not like I have to be in a hurry to do it either since those little cups are sealed and will keep way past the "expiration date".... I can eat a pint of apple butter a month if I don't limit myself... I like it with cottage cheese... or on toast... and with a meal just as a side....

Might have found a way to utilize the "markdown deal"....

Neighbor where we make some hay has a pear tree that was loaded when I was raking hay... need to go check and see if they are getting close to ready... told me last year I could have all I want. Her husband had planted the fruit trees, he is gone, and she doesn't use the fruit off them... once canned they will last forever too... might make some pear butter as well as can the pears... I love pears.

Time to get myself going here... need to get the propane fireplace heater in the living room vacuumed/clean the dust out, and started so I can use it for a little warmup on these cool mornings... make sure the pilot is working and all.... I shut it all off in the spring when I quit using it, no reason to keep the pilot going all year when it is not used for several months.

Breakfast.... hot cereal I think to warm me up.