Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[farmerjan]

30 to start, and saw some sun but there are already quite a few clouds... they are still saying sunny until after 12 or 1 but...... then clouding up and rain by dark... might get here sooner than that.

Going to eat some breakfast and then go feed some more hay I think... pack samples.... bring home a 5 gal of bucket of chicken feed from the feed bin.... all according to how the temps are outside, maybe do some cleaning up around outside... need to get feed for the calves at the barn too...

 

[farmerjan]

Hit 60 but was a chilly 60. Little bit of sun, but cloudy mid afternoon. Yesterday was the day to be off... but like @Mini Horses , seems I work on the nice days.... .....

I got the samples packed, all the meters and hoses back in the carport.... and was going to get more hay but the cows had barely touched the roll next door so didn't bother... took samples and dropped 'em off.... went to town and went by Dunkin and they had 4 big 5 gal buckets and 1 smaller 2 gallon one. Said they accidently threw away my phone #, so couldn't call me.... very glad I stopped by there. Went to the feed store and got the feed I prefer, and the one guy there that I have known for YEARS and I got talking and I told him about getting the buckets at DD... and he said that you can always use buckets and that his dad uses them in his greenhouse... and I offered him a couple if he wanted... he said nah, they had a few and I said here, take 2 of them... you have to clean out the donut glaze stuff... sticky sweet.... so he did. His dad is like 90 and still pretty active... been dealing with this feed company off and on for about 40+ years I guess..... so that was fine... wasn't in the mood to go into the stockyards... so came on home. Went up to feed the grain, and they had eaten the one roll of wheat/sorghum mix but had barely touched the hay... they want the grass.... checked the calves and all, and the elec fence wasn't working right. So worked on that a bit. The owner had come in and gotten some dry manure out of the barn, which was fine... but never did a thing about the huge pile/sheet of metal off the roof of the building and did not cover the building roof either... it is going to rain tonight... clouds were moving in by 5/6 pm.... and the da#@ed pile is still right at the gate for the calves... and there are pieces of the old asphalt tar paper and such all over... I will have to pick that up I guess....and when he/they went through the electric fence gate, they messed up the wire somehow as all of a sudden the bottom wire was not taut... so had to go through and get it back to being tight...
Got home and see that DS had fed some hay next door where they still had 3/4 of the roll left there... whatever...

Transferred the feed to the forester, and got that all squared away before the rain, got the buckets out and scraped out the choc icing out of the big ones and the maple icing out of the smaller one... brought the smaller one in and will wash it in the sink but the bigger ones I will let the rain get in them and "melt" some of the stickiness... then will take a couple buckets of warm water out in a day or 2 and scrub them out since they won't fit in any of my sinks... hate doing them in the bathtub but might have to. .

So, came in and warmed up some sliced chicken breast meat, and some of the stuffing... had put about 2-3 sandwiches worth of the sliced chicken in the freezer and have a couple more meals in the fridge... the carcass is cooking down and will maybe can some of the broth tomorrow... I got one of the electric pressure canners to try, since I do not do much in large quantities... figured I would treat myself to it.... so might try it out tomorrow... I will not get the chicken cooked all the way down this evening, so will heat and cook some more tomorrow..

Did the sink full of dishes and have several buckets to do that were rinsed but not yet washed, plus the new one. I like to wait to do several at once when I have the hot water in the sink... I worry a bit about the well.... and try to space things out.

So, that is about it. One of the previous owners of the stockyard passed away, 92, and hours are Sat from 5-7 and graveside is Sun at 2... will go to at least one if not both... they owned it 70+ years and that was the first place I ever sold any calves.... they sold it a couple/3 years ago I guess...kids are all my age and had been brought up in it and did not want to keep it... there's extensive farmland and all that they still work... but some want to retire... at 60-70 makes sense...also 4 kids from this brother and at least 2 from the surviving brother who's health is very bad too... and I wonder what that will mean for the farming partnerships and all... Another of the "big farm" situation ending I think... complicated and intertwined and not everyone gets along......things change...

Radar shows sprinkles.... it is a light mist/sprinkle out there... barely wet... looking like it is headed this way from the south and west. We can use some moisture.

 

[Mike CHS]

You should get a lot of rain out of this front. Once it finally started here, it was a nice steady rain until about a half hour ago. I haven't checked the guage but I'm sure it's over an inch.

 

[Mini Horses]

Just starting to be light sprinkling here @11:30. Saying it will get heavy before dawn & hang around till noonish, blow out and 2nd round in only a couple hrs.winds expected about 40mph and most all day. Get this!! Wind chills About 21* Sunday morn. WHAT?? That's WINTER!

Really looking forward to this batch of trouble - NOT!

 

[Finnie]

Which electric canner did you get? I love mine!

 

[Baymule]

Dawn dishwashing liquid will cut the goo in the buckets. Lucky you! Buckets are valuable!

 

[canesisters]

By 8am I had several inches of standing water in the low spots in the yard! It must have POURED in the very early morning hours.

 

[farmerjan]

@Finnie ; I got the Presto Precise digital pressure canner..... $200+ I think it was... found it on sale.... like the one that @Mini Horses and I had found on the internet, but then that co did not send them and she had her cc sale cancelled and turned in for fraud... I did the same with the chamber vacuum sealer I really wanted from the same company.....yep, too good to be true....

I let the chickens out and there was about .8 inch in the rain gauge.... there is a little more wet misty stuff coming through, but there is a chilly wind behind it the forecast says, as it blows this out of here. Cold wind chills here for Sunday morning too... Tomorrow is supposed to be nice in the afternoon, 60's and sun... then rain again middle of the week next week. Thinking that I might try to get these piles burned after the mid-week rain... not much wind forecast for the mid week rain.... so far... and ground will be a little wetter I hope.
Chilly 43 out there...

@Baymule , yeah, I only use Dawn so getting the stickiness won't be that big a deal... except having to do it in the bathtub if it is too chilly outside ... but the nice thing about letting the rain get them wet, is it just helps to dissolve the sugary stuff... although the 2 that I gave to Roy for his dad, were the 2 that had the regular glaze and are really icky sticky.... the ones I wound up with had the chocolate frosting and it is easier to take the soft silicone type spatula and scrape out first; it is more like the spreadable choc frosting you can buy in the cans. The glaze is just like sticky thick liquid sugar...

So, going to get some housework done I guess...

 

[Finnie]

@Finnie ; I got the Presto Precise digital pressure canner..... $200+ I think it was... found it on sale.... like the one that @Mini Horses and I had found on the internet, but then that co did not send them and she had her cc sale cancelled and turned in for fraud... I did the same with the chamber vacuum sealer I really wanted from the same company.....yep, too good to be true....

That’s the same one I have.

 

[Mini Horses]

I don't have one . Everyone says such good things but, my All American works great and I've pretty much found the "sweet spot" on my stove setting. Set it & forget it is the biggest draw on electric, it seems. For now, I'm saving my $ and listening.