Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[farmerjan]

Wed morning... cloudy, damp, storms expected later...62 to start 72 now...humidity is up.

Well I failed firebug 101 again... Got the fire started again yesterday aft... used nearly a gallon of gas along to try to get it to get going and stay going... would throw a cup full on a section and it would flare right up, burn the stuff right there and then nothing underneath it to keep feeding it... there are very few thicker pieces of wood/limbs/branches... just alot of some very branched out limbs and nothing underneath so to speak. It would flare up and burn a bunch of the brushy stuff, but then would just die down with nothing underneath to keep it going... There was one part that actually got into some thicker stems and they burnt for awhile... but then they just kept smoldering... and then when they burned down, there was nothing close to them to continue to feed the fire... I drug some stuff in closer, but there is alot of vines and stuff that are very hard to gather up to throw over,,,, I checked it again at about 11 and there was one good sized piece of old wood that was burning slowly, and the pile is such that I cannot get to some of the stuff to pull it over .... would have been better if he had piled it in 2-3 smaller piles and really piled it down...
So there is some burned... and maybe I can get into it and get some more of it pulled together now to get it burnt....If I didn't want it to burn, it would have gone up in 10 seconds... I am going to do the rest in sections I guess, and get it done.... at least I am not dealing with a runaway fire. I just want it done... there is one section that actually has some smaller limbs and a couple of stump like pieces so they ought to burn. But can't do it today as I have the 500 cow herd to test this afternoon...and more rain coming in later with some winds so do not want to have any problems.

Heading up to feed the calves, then get the boxes of bottles ready, have to empty 2 boxes so that we have places to start to put the bottles in them like we do... I need 10 boxes of 60 bottles each plus at least 2 empty boxes so there is "space" to put bottles in since I do the boxes by "numbers"... and it makes getting them packed easier when I get home to do them by numerical order... Need to call one dairy that I meant to call and sorta forgot... they only test every 2-3 months... I put the bottles into trays for other farms I test, so then they are actually ready ahead of time for me. Got to get on the list of farms and see who wants what this month. So many are probably going full bore getting some corn planted since we actually got some moisture in the ground. Plus if we get the rain they are calling for, then it would be good if they are getting it planted now... some are harvesting rye/wheat/triticale also that they chop and put in bags or silos or bunks.

So, time to get going before it gets wet out there.

 

[farmerjan]

Thursday morning. Heading up to feed calves. We got the 500+ cow herd tested, and home by 10:30. It went smooth and I will pack samples in awhile.
Cloudy and some possible storms later, but I am not counting on anything. The farm last night is about 35-40 miles north.... they got about 2 inches Monday aft/eve when we got all of .1 inch. Further north another 10-20 miles they got upwards of 4-5 inches. We were on the very edge and only got that 1 tenth....(.1) inch.
Guess we are not on very good terms with the preacher... it goes north along the western area before turning east, or stays south closer to the NC border areas.

I am not sorry we got the total of .7 in the last 5 days, but would sure appreciate about another 1-2 inches.

Good thing I watered the plants all yesterday... Will do some more soaking this afternoon I guess... some of them I know still need more water but I was hoping we would get some of the predicted rain and didn't want to overdo it. But the bigger tubs have drain holes, and I was thinking that by giving them a watering, it would make them more able to handle some good rain. Didn't happen. There is a 20-30% chance Sat and partly cloudy forecast for the next week but not much chance. Of course, if we had hay on the ground, that 20% chance would wind up being a 1 inch soaker that pops up from out of nowhere...

Going to work on the pile some more later. No time constraints for burning now. Maybe I can get more of the section with some of the bigger saplings going... and pull/push some of the lighter weight stuff into it.

There are a bunch of volunteer potatoes coming up but they will mostly get scorched by the burning brush.. I have potatoes sprouting every where in the boxes... desperately need them to get planted...

 

[farmerjan]

Friday... it has been cloudy and some sun off and on and a few minutes ago we got a fast downpour... Don't know what the amount is yet. I did some dishes and hung the 4 calf blankets I brought home from the barn since it is past time to need them... and hung them on the line... They probably need to get washed, but unless I take all the plastic buckles off, will wait and do them at the laundromat when I take some blankets up one day. The long straps that help to hold them on will get all twisted in the regular machine I have and I don't want to deal with unwinding them. They will wash easier in the big machine that will tumble them... I will take some jeans or jackets or something and just do one good load of them... but for now they are getting rain water rinsed...

Yesterday was okay. Sun and nice day.... 80 or so... Packed samples and DS had called to see if I wanted to go the kids softball games, and since he has never even told me when they are, I decided to go. I had to take the samples to the UPS store to drop off and it was 3/4 of the way there. He needed to take his one red "round bale truck" to a guy to work on it... so we met at the walmart parking lot (UPS store is right next to it), parked the truck and trailer with the other truck on it, and went to the games. The one team (GF daughter) won and the sister's girl's team lost by 1 run... sister's daughter is a good pitcher...
Anyway, GFD was going home with her dad, and there were some other friends there that have cows, to cheer on the kids...and so DS said he and GF were going to eat and did I want to go... so I said sure..... Went to the mexican place... food is good, and I ate and brought half home and then he said GF would take him to the truck/trailer so I came on home... It was a civil night and I enjoyed watching the kids... makes me wish that he had at least had one kid.... no grandkids to carry on after I am gone.... Oh well, a reason for everything.

I got all the spider plants watered this morning... not soaked but it will definitely help them. Then the shower... just a few minutes ago.... hope we get more....

Temps were supposed to drop off, it was down to 59 overnight and hit 70 a bit ago with some sun, but back down to 60 with the clouds. Tonight will be down in the mid 50's .... cooler the next 2 days, but getting sunnier for Sunday.

I have a farm for Sunday morning... the one that always tests on the farmer's weekend to milk... The plans are to get the cows next door/behind my house in on Sunday aft and get them moved to the barn... Mon is the last vet preg check; these will hopefully all be bred as we put 2 bulls in there back in Dec... I have not seen any cows in heat...

DS took today off work again... he just says how much he hates to be there... and there was the "new supervisor" that they hired to replace him in his position...was coming in today for starting and I know it is making him mad and sad... He really does not want to be there at all... he said that the 3 guys from there that applied for the job were all overlooked, and the one they are putting in has 2 1/2 years as a supervisor. He said 2 of the guys are really ticked off and I told him that they will never hire ( I mean promote) anyone there at his headquarters, because they are going to put in someone from the outside so that they can keep a spy in there to see what he is/isn't doing....the one guy was refused the transfer, and he is looking at leaving and going somewhere else for a job that was offered... he only needs a couple years for full retirement... so is trying to figure if he can deal with it... One other guy is so mad that he just said it is such unfair BS what is going on... and DS said he told him, to let it go...even though he lost 10% of his pay... that is was not worth the aggravation now that he does not have to deal with it. They also have not reinstated his ability to drive... and he said he will just wash vehicles and equipment on the lot for his pay...until they decide if he is "capable" of driving... like he said... he has to drive to work every day... get real....
He decided to take the day off last evening, and then took another truck he bought awhile ago, with a bad engine, this morning, to a guy about 4 hrs north in PA that found a reman engine with low miles and this is their specialty... this guy found this engine and will put it in for less than DS said he could do it... and then will sell the truck. It has an engine that is the same as the dually... another newer type that is a B#@%H to work on, all this electronic crap... he doesn't want it... the truck was a deal where someone owed him some money... couldn't afford to get the truck fixed... and DS got the truck in partial exchange for the debt.....DS does all this wheeling and dealing with trucks... has for years... he used to do more of the "replace the engines/transmissions" stuff but not on the newer ones like this one...
So, he is using some of his previously acquired time... and today is the end of the "have to be back at work" time so he will again qualify for all his normal benefits and such... he is going to try to stick it out for another week or so... he has another doctor appt.... and then they will decide on the course of action... there are some things he needs to talk to the workman's comp lady and what his options are..... since he decided not to file the grievance... that time is gone by... and he did not want to take a chance to get fired... they cannot stop him from taking these personal days, and the days under the fmla that he takes for drs appts... so we will see how the next dr appt goes as they are pushing in the "office" for what the prognosis is... which the doctor said they cannot predict or "prevent" the onset of the headaches.... and now he is "back to work" he will start to qualify for his personal leave days accumulating, and eligible for all the other stuff... he said it really is nice to not have all the aggravations, and that he leaves there and no phone ringing and after hours "go into work stuff"... and since he "cannot drive any state vehicles" they can't call him in either... it is almost funny if it wasn't so much BS...

So he got back from PA... called me and decided since he was off he was going to take the 4 cull cows, and the 2 b$tsh#t crazy steer calves out of the barn to the sale today... he called me a little bit ago... the one calf went over the center bunk and got upside down in the feeder, got out and fell on the concrete floor... went over 2 different gates.. and he finally got it in with the other group and he got them all on the trailer... soooo glad to get them gone... no matter what he brings, it is better than him breaking a leg or breaking his neck... we have never figured out why he is SOOO NUTS.....
There is one heifer that is getting skittish... soooo VERY GLAD to get those 2 nutty steers gone and hopefully the heifer will calm down, with all the other quieter heifers in the barn there... So, now we have that lot empty for the cows to go in on Sunday when we get them moved... most all them will come when I call... so should be able to get them in the catch lot next door... grass is growing good so they will come right in on Sunday...then run them in the catch pen and load out to go to the barn.... and we will get them moved... and hopefully I will be able to get them in the barn on Monday.... DS said he has to work until 11... and then we can get them sorted out for the vet... we only need the cows for the check... DS said that gf will come help before he gets off work... and it will be a little easier if we have 3 to run the chute and shots for the preg check...

So that is my day so far. It stopped raining... and the sun came out for about 15 minutes... now it is cloudy again... I hope we get a couple more downpours.

I just ate some lunch... and going out to get some more empty feed bags together to use for burning... for trying to burn more of the brush pile in the garden, later.... Going to take the car down and see if they have time for the inspection... they were backed up the other day when I went by... If not, will get it done in the next few days. Got to do it and then the explorer.

 

[farmerjan]

Got another quick rain... making a total of ALMOST 1/10th of an inch in the rain gauge.... .... It got really windy, the gusty type... no burning this evening...

DS called, said the prices are totally ridiculous... he got over $3.00/lb ... the calves weighed something like 420 & 450 lbs... ... said he could not believe it... so EXTRA GOOD DAY...especially since they were so nuts.... he did not stay for the cows as they will be late... and gf daughter had another softball game... a make up game from one they got rained out... guess it will decide if they make playoffs or however they do it...

It is getting cold out compared to what we have had...already down to 51...I didn't see anything that looked like frost temps, but it is going to be chilly... Thought they said mid 50's... I am NOT going out to try to bring in plants..hopefully it won't drop too much more. There is up to an 80% chance of some showers tomorrow afternoon... I hope they are right...

Several of the little-er calves came in this evening and were nosing in the grain in the feeders/bunk. And there is a new one... so one more left to calve up there... and she is uddered up so it won't be long... newest one this eve is a heifer calf.. looks pretty good and when it got up it went right to the cows's udder... she had a calf last year, but it was that one that bloated so bad and we lost it... so glad to see her with this new one... then I will get some of them in and get the couple out that need to go out with the mature bulls, not with these easy calving ones that we will use on these heifers in another month.

So, time to go in and get a shower; turned on the little oil filled radiator heater in the bedroom so it would get warmed up... and will probably make a cup of hot cocoa this evening since it is just chilly out. Shut the door, to keep out the chilly air blowing in, so the cats can stay in tonight... didn't expect it to drop down quite this much... But again, I always say we could get a frost towards the end of May... I don't like it to be real warm to sleep... but I don't like it cold to go to bed... it can cool off during the night and that is great... but I want warmth to get a shower and go to bed... I will turn it back to 60 when I get into bed and it will stay between 58-61 once it cools off and I am all warm in bed..
It will be a couple weeks before I wash blankets and fold up for the summer...

 

[farmerjan]

I did go down and get the car inspected also... so at least I won't get stopped for that.

 

[Mike CHS]

I was really surprised how cool it got today.

 

[farmerjan]

Yeah, I was in short sleeve cotton shirt yesterday... started out that way this morning and was back in the car to get a longsleeved shirt... wound up in a long sleeved T-shirt and a light sweatshirt late this afternoon doing calves... BRRRR

 

[Mini Horses]

Same thing here with temps, cool off & low 50s tonight. But still humidity! We got a light shower late...just enough to wet things, raise humidity. Mid 60s tomorrow. Screwy weather. Short sleeves, jacket & umbrella...same day.

 

[Baymule]

Believe it or not, it’s 64 here !!!! Will be lows in the 60’s for the next 10 day forecast with highs in the 80’s. I’ll take it!

No if only something would take out these clouds of vampire gnats! I already know the answer to that, no rain and bodacious HEAT. Annnnnndddd it’s going to rain Sunday, Monday and Thursday. Guess the gnats will stick around.

 

[farmerjan]

CHILLY WILLY.... it got down to 43 last night. No frost but that is cold... Plants sure got a shock.... feel bad but I am not going to take them in and out all the time...unless they call for really cold/frost like temps.

Radar is still showing and the forecast is still saying showers this afternoon... after 3 or so... I sure hope they are right.
Some of my irises are blooming and they are sooooo pretty... a couple of the "black ones" I got last year are just coming out... one is a really really dark purple black and the other is truly as close to black as I have ever seen. The earlier purple and white ones are about done, but just had some yellow ones and a purple with yellow center leaves bloom.
When I went to get the car inspected I ran down to Lowe's as they had some "clearance plants" advertised... Got a couple of nice daylillies and a pretty dianthus... and a couple broken bags of "soil" for cheap that I can use in the rest of the planters. I will mix it with some of the calf barn manure dirt I shoveled out a couple weeks ago in the couple of planters I still have not put anything into...
The asparagus crowns that I first got at the farm bureau a couple weeks back have put up lots of pencil thin little asparagus spears and some are already getting the "feathery" look... so at least the roots are growing good. Hoping some of the purple ones I got and planted will come along too... I did get all the bare root plants I got at the swap a week ago, put into pots and watered in good so they can start to grow. The couple of irises will hopefully grow a few more leaves, but they are past the blooming stage, and trimmed back already.

Time to go feed calves... gonna need a sweatshirt to go out this morning. The sun is out, but not supposed to last. Honestly, I hope we get that rain this afternoon... The pollen is up and my eyes are itching and nose running so time to take an allergy pill too...
Need to get the lawn mowed again, down lower and chop up all the dead stuff and get it caught up in the sweeper to use in the garden... if I get this pile burned... hoping that I can work on it this afternoon if it doesn't get windy.