Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[farmerjan]

Kitten came right in, and I got a shower, ate some mashed potatoes and green beans and had
some eggnog... and out of rum...might get some tomorrow or might just drink some hot chocolate with amaretto and go to bed. Feel better after the shower, nose is running...

The beagles never came back so I am assuming the across the road neighbor found them and got them back home. They don't let them run loose normally... but..... another reason to want this fence done.....

 

[murphysranch]

My bout with Covid (first time) started with a sore throat. Then progressed to fever and being "hit by a truck" and nose full of stuff. It took several days, and my nose is still giving me fits. No cough. Nothing respiratory.

The son got it and now hubs has it. I was hit the hardest, but I'm not in shape like them!

I hope you're feeling better very quickly, FJ!!

 

[farmerjan]

Feel some better today... but not anything to brag about. Got chores done and went to co-op and got some feed since they are closed on Monday just to be in good shape. Throat is not sore but nose is running and still some coughing. Achy but not as much. I am one of the "48 hr kind of bugs" people, then takes a week or so to get back to "somewhat normal"...
Chores this evening and done for the night. Hung a load of clothes this afternoon, and got another load in the machine... tomorrow is supposed to be mostly sunny all day and up near 60... today it actually hit 65 in the sun this afternoon... I am almost out of socks and if it rains for several days I will be needing them done...
Got the 4 bags of little things for the 4 kids..... not fair to just abandon them even though I will not see them for the holiday and who knows when... DS is going to the ex-husbands family Christmas Monday eve... the daughter called and asked if he would come to her "paw-paw's" when she goes with her daddy... he needs this this year. Don't know what the plans are/are not with the sister's 2 kids. Get through this year and then see....

I watched a movie called "Radio"... based on true story.... mentally challenged black young man in SC that a coach befriends, and how he "blossoms" ...... tear jerker in some ways but good.

Sauteed some bay scallops I got fresh the other day and had some "discounted fresh asparagus" that I trimmed up and some mashed potatoes. Very good. Now I am ready to make a huge cup of liberally laced hot chocolate and go to bed.

 

[Mini Horses]

Aaaahhh, that cocoa will help!!

I suspect DS will at least see the ex's sisters kids for a few minutes sometime during the day. He does care greatly for those young ones

Agree, seeing own family will be good for him.

 

[farmerjan]

Had a mostly quiet day. DS not taking the situation very good and that has not added to my feeling so-so.... He was going to the sister's house to see her kids after dark this evening... he ran into exgf's exhusband (father of ex gf daughter that he was pretty close to), with his other daughter (by another mother) (yes, some real "extended" family stuff) and that daughter whom DS also was good with, ran over and hugged him, and then the xhusband - farmer friend- reminded him that 5 p.m. at his father's house for Christmas night... he also saw exgf's parents (all this at TSC store) and ducked around corner to not see them or talk to them because he says it just hurts too much....
I can't fix it and he seems to want to dwell on it and I am just keeping my mouth shut or I will say way too much; and if I say anything, I will blow up, and it will severely damage his and my relationship because I am really getting sick of thi, s and his treatment of me, when I can look back and how he treated her and what he overlooked with her and I am supposed to be taken to task for every little thing he blows up about.

Yeah, my b#&@h session here....

Got the second load of clothes out on line this morning, all in this evening. DS did come up and we got the cow in the chute at the nurse cow barn and he said I was right, it was a piece of wire... he had to go back to the barn to get the other truck, with tools and pliers and such, since he did not think he had to take her down there in the trailer... which we had planned... and he came back with some pliers and a wire cutter and got it off... it was a piece of woven wire fence that she had somehow managed to step into with just one claw... and it had cut her and was stuck ... gave her another antibiotic treatment and see how she does for a day or 2. Nothing smelled bad and there was a little puss but not like the other day when we thought it was only a bad cut.... so the antibiotics are working. If it gets muddy in the barn lot I will let her out since the field will be cleaner... will watch her a day or 2 and see.... just glad we got it off... There is a bunch of crap in this field in the one gully.... old fencing, glass, you name it trash heap... cannot clean it out because owner's wife liked to go through it for old glass and all that...plus there is several dump truck loads..piled with leaves and everything... cows normally don't go in there anyway.... but she took a bunch out of the gully and it was in the field and although the husband cleaned most of it up... I am sure there is still more out there... I took a magnet thing out and found some stuff awhile back... but old pastures and such around here have all this stuff in them.... One of those freak things where you just deal with it. Glad I realized it was not just a cut but a wire around/in it.

Finished getting the new frame together... need to tighten all the bolts and wing nuts...then switch cover over to it. Have to tape a couple of the grommet holes as they tore a little since it did not fit the old frame properly so was not seated on it right..when we had that bad wind/rain a week ago.... not fault of the company... I will not claim that... but if there is any more, I will claim it all.... It will not go on the 2x6 base because it is made to be pinned down into the ground with the cover over the frame along the ground and I am going to do it as shown in the directions... So. I will put it next to the other one and some day will get another cover or see about getting the old heavier frame adapted to the polycarbon panels and made into a "rigid one".....

DS did some target shooting.... hitting the target dead center....he's a good shot....

The lt brahma pullet that dropped a bunch of feathers a little bit back... never dropped all her feathers, for a full molt, but yesterday she laid an egg..it is lighter than the RI Red's eggs... . lost the RI Red pullet that laid the darker egg, but at least the lt brahma is starting to lay again.... hope we will have some quiet with the chickens again.... they run to the house and under the big holly tree, then run to the cars and under them unless I am out there... they get about 2 ft from the truck to scratch around and then run like a bat out of he// to follow me back out to the shelter in the evening....they learned fast....
Saw where someone had run some fishing line crisscross on a frame, on some site I was one one time, to deter overhead predators.... messes them up when wanting to dive down to attack... fishing line is shiny.... I can run some from the shelter frame maybe to give them some outside freedom if there are any new problems that come up....

Hope everyone is having a nice Christmas eve and will have a good day tomorrow.... I hope mine is very quiet......
Did not ever make the hot chocolate the other night... just went to bed... so I just might tonight.... and watch a movie or something.

 

[Mike CHS]

Merry Christmas!!

 

[Ridgetop]

There is a bunch of crap in this field in the one gully.... old fencing, glass, you name it trash heap...

but old pastures and such around here have all this stuff in them....

We had a bunch of that tye of stuff in our field that I spent weeks pulling out garbage and hauling it off. Used to be where the owners probably dumped their trash in the old days. Some very old stuff had burn marks. When I was a child, every house had an incinerator at the back to burn the trash. This is in "the old days" before anti-smog, anti-litter, anti-pollution, etc. and recycling. Back then the "rag man" used to come around to collect old clothes, cans, and glass. Waaay back then . . .

 

[rachels.haven]

Your poor son sounds like he wants a companion and family of his own so bad. I hope he finds one someday. Merry Christmas to you both.

 

[farmerjan]

@rachels.haven ; yes he wants a "family".... and has had several opportunities, but cannot let go of his obsession with this xgf that he has known for 25 years... been friends, he would go with someone else, she would go with someone else... timing was always off... but it came from her side most the time... and he just would not let it go... there were 2 that I really liked and he could have had kids old enough to be helping him on the farm but he would not settle down... and then goes back to her when she has strung him along all these years.... finally became a GF and she was never happy unless she was dictating and demanding constant attention from him... all the things he did for her, and then when it was all "caught up" and things all fixed up, finished... she decides she isn't happy.... but by then he was very emotionally involved with the kids..... the sister has always been a friend also... and he knew her husband that died... it was an emotional disaster..... the little boy was like 6 months old... so DS is the only "father figure" he knows.... I could go on and on...
Even if he found someone else, he would still probably not let go and trust anyone again... because he still cannot believe she would use him this way....and I can not help him with accepting it and letting go... he doesn't want to, so there is no one that can help him until he wants to... and he is getting too old to go that route... with a new baby and all that even if he found someone he would trust enough.

Oh well.....maybe I ought to be like @Ridgetop , and "run away" to my own place where I do not have constant close contact with family and their constant neediness......I have considered it several times here lately....

 

[farmerjan]

So, hoping that everyone had a nice day. It was warmer here... started at 40, clouds and a little bit of sun peeking through a few times. Hit 62..... then mostly clouds.

The farmer that I got the twins from, texted me a couple days ago(Friday maybe?); they had another set of twins, and did I want them....I texted him back and said sure, but I had a cold and was feeling a little washed out, could they wait until Tuesday for me to get them? Figuring Monday being Christmas and all... and they said yes. So, after watching the weather, I texted him yesterday, and said I did not want to bother them, but since I knew they would have to milk, could I come get them Christmas afternoon (today) because it was 100% chance of rain on Tuesday. They said that would be fine. So, I went this afternoon and got them. They are a bull/heifer set, so 90% chance the heifer is a free martin and won't breed.... but she will make beef.... and they are each nearly as big as a full size single calf..... I was telling them how good the heifer twins were doing, and the farmer said he really didn't think they would make it... they had had to tube feed them 3 or 4 times they were so weak and that is why he said that they might be worth $20-25; but for me to take them home and if they made it I could pay him next month at testing. Well, the little squirts are already putting their heads in the pan eating some grain and munching on hay... and yep, they are little... but they are doing really good. This new set make them look like mini sized, and the heifer set are pushing 3 weeks now....
So I asked what he wanted for this set and he said you tell me... and I said no, I don't price someone else's animals, and he said we can figure it out next test.
The bull calf is mostly white... like the one I got to put on the nurse cow back awhile ago... too bad they are so far apart in age/size... although they might get closer to matching as they get older... the heifer is mostly black but she has the holstein face and markings...

So, I will see what calves are bringing at the next couple of stockyard sales... they are not going to be big dollar ones since they don't weigh 90-125 lbs like the top priced ones bring... but I will pay him a fair price... and his son said that they just hate twins and I said, I will take any you want to get rid of.... he probably won't have any more twins for a year now .... . So I went from the 2 off the nurse cow I never expected to have as bottle calves, to why not raise 4 as to raise only 2, to up to 6.... HOLY COW....

All the more reason now to make sure I have enough buckets with me when I test that 500 cow herd to get all the milk we dump from the samplers.... and to keep buckets for milk in the car whenever I test now....to help stretch the milk replacer... I can keep the buckets of milk in the big cooler chest with ice water to keep it cold and fresh enough to feed out.....
Good milk replacer is now $70-80 a 50 lb bag..... it won't go far with feeding 6 calves at a time now.... although the older 2 are pushing 8 weeks and I will be cutting them back some so that I can wean at 10-12 weeks....
BUT, if prices hold decently, they will make me money when I sell... Both the ones off the nurse cow are bulls and the latest twin is a bull and "his heifer twin" is most likely a non-breeder, so there will be income back from them.....the little twin heifers I may well just raise up and see if they will make nurse cows or if I get them bred, maybe able to sell them as springing heifers to go on a dairy to milk. Plenty of time to make that call....
If I keep them, they will not get bred until June, 2025 for a spring 2026 calf.... 2 1/2 yrs old... since I do not want them calving at 2 in Dec 2025 and deal with calves and such in the winter... my luck is we would have 2 ft snow on the day they calved and of course both would calve the same time... and getting enough calves to graft on to them... NOPE.... not planning that for going into winter... But that is borrowing trouble way far ahead of the game.

On top of that, after a little confrontation with DS on Sunday eve... I did not plan on cooking today as I had originally said. We talked this morning, and I said that I might be able to make a meal, but after feeding the calves, I called him and said the chicken was not thawed out enough and he said that it was fine, and I said we could do it "monday night"... forgetting today was monday (feels like Sunday with the holiday).... so I am cooking a meal for tomorrow night. That gave me time to get the bolts and wing nuts all tightened up on the new frame... and then while out there... I decided to untie the cover from the old frame... and with a little bit of a breeze... i finagled the new frame over on it's side against the old frame... and managed to get part of the cover draped on the new frame.... and was going to try to get it over the top ridge pole of the old frame as the wind was gently lifting it a little with the breeze....BUT.... I had to quit and go get the calves so figured oh well.... maybe tomorrow....
So, when I got back right at dark, came in got bottles to go feed, then went up to barn and fed the 4 like usual, then fed one in the crate and got it in the "hay section" of the little barn, and got the other fed and off the truck into the hay section also... will leave them in there since they cannot get outside in the rain by accident to get wet and chilled. They are only 3-4 days old so won't be too "smart" about coming in yet...and they don't know the barn or doorways etc..... the little twins scoot in and out and stay in when it is colder outside and all... I have not put their coats back on yet, but it supposed to get alot colder the end of the week so they will get put back on to help them with their body heat control so all the bottle they drink doesn't go to just keeping them warm... actually can go to growing a little bit too....
I will keep the 2 new ones in the hay section since the cows got in and tore up the hay bales and made a mess... I have been forking the good stuff over the gate and out for the cow that had the sore foot... she was walking better even just this morning... no wire to make it hurt... I will most likely let her out in the field with the others tomorrow since DS just put hay out...

Came home from the bottle feeding, had my cap on with the lights in the front of the "bill" of the cap...and my flashlight in my pocket... went out to lock in the chickens... and the breeze had actually lifted about half the cover up over the ridge of the old frame onto the new frame that was leaning up against it... So, I started working it and managed to get the rest of the other end of it, off the old frame, got the new frame flipped halfway over to the upright position... and managed to work the cover on the rest of the way by myself in the dark..... WOW.... I impressed myself... really did not think I would get that lucky... I thought that I might have managed it with the breeze if I was here... never thought that it would actually work out in my favor "on it's own"..... So, it is on the new frame... which is very lightweight(flimsy) compared to the old shelter logic frame...yes it fits pretty good.... I will have to put the tie downs and the stakes into the ground so the wind doesn't take it off... but it is attached on the 4 corners with the 3 velcro wraps on each corner post.
On top of it... it just started to softly rain as I went out there... so it got done just as the rain was enough to start getting you feeling wet.....

I am tickled to have that basically done now.... the 2 chicken crates are covered so I left well enough alone for the night... I will dump the old straw out of them and then move them over into the new shelter tomorrow... I will make sure the shelter is snug on the frame.... legs all stretched out where they should be, and then see about getting it staked/tied down. Then get the couple of grommet holes strengthened and all, once it is dry enough to use the waterproof tape... and get them fixed right...and get some straw bales from the one farmer of mine and get them along the outsides, and inside the zip up door panels on the ends.... for the winter....
Chickens will be locked in alot when I am not around.... thought we had taken care of the problem... but the mate was out there this afternoon when I was tightening the bolts on the frame... there was a pair last year, but only saw one here lately, so far... guess I might have been seeing one but there were 2 around... so now there is one but it is out there... the big trap I got is not sensitive enough to trip so I have to work on that and figure out how to make it more sensitive to trip when something goes in it... something has eaten half the chicken... think it is an opposum or a raccoon...have to adjust the chain that goes to the "pan" that they are supposed to step on to trip it....
Speaking of which; I saw 4 dead raccoons on the road today going to get the new twins... really weird....

So it turned out to be a good day after all... Good temps to get these things done... and before the rain too....

Now I am going to get something good and cold to drink as i have been very thirsty with all that I have been working on today.... and maybe watch a movie. Too early to go to bed......