Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[Ridgetop]

likie saying how wonderful it is to reach your "GOLDEN YEARS".....

DH says they call it the "golden years" because it takes all your gold to live thrugh them.

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.

Your DS would have been a good daddy. GF and GFS are lucky he is willing to be a good daddy figure to their kids. He is a good man that way even when pissing you off.

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.....

Some of those animals are just touched in the head. We got a yearling gelding from the Wild Horse program one year that was so crazy wild we had them come and get him back. He never calmed down and was a danger to himself (and us) in the corral. The other one was fine and doing great. Some of our sheep are crazy from lambs. We wait to see if they settle down. Some do but if not, they are history. No matter how "good" they are we don't want crazy on our place.

 

[farmerjan]

Yep, some of them are totally wild... which makes no sense since it is not like they were born out in the back of beyond with no human contact...
They go to town, someone elses' problem.... One good thing about the auctions... it is definitely buyer beware.. We have bought a few nut cases over the years... sometimes they do calm down some... sometimes they don't. But when they are out of your own animals, and they are pretty quiet and easy going, you wonder if they were dropped on their head at birth???? Or ate loco weed or something....

 

[farmerjan]

Good to see you posting some again @Ridgetop .... I was worrying and didn't want to call you and bother you if you were feeling sick. Hope the sheep are settling in and the ones left to lamb are doing okay.

 

[Ridgetop]

Most have lambed. Lost one ewe and lamb due to the prepubic tendon rupture. The big single ewe lamb was dead when did the C-section. probably died a day or so before, maybe even when the rupture happened.

Both DH and I are still sick with cold, major bouts of coughing, and general exhaustion. Can't breathe well and massive humidity last week made breathing harder.

Got to thinking about your comment about "Prime" and decided to amend it to "PM Prime" - Past My Prime, but DH scolded me and said that was the depression and exhaustion from move and illness talking. LOL Love that guy! He will always be Prime!

 

[farmerjan]

Came in to eat a little... it is getting cloudy and darker out there... radar showing some dark greens and a few yellow patches, so hopefully there will be rain. I think I am going to run up and do the calves early...
I did get some discount daffodil bulbs planted... since it is "out of season" they were marked down... and they were trying to sprout... so got them in a couple of window box type planters so they will at least grow and the bulbs will get some green leaves to "feed them" and then I can plant elsewhere this fall... also found some gladiolous bulbs that I must've misplaced... stuck them to see if they will even come up... they were pretty dry but if they come up and just make leaves, then they can nourish the bulbs and maybe next year...

Well, I am back... it got pretty dark so I made the bottles and headed up the hill. Most of the calves that come in the creep gate were out in the field, but I put a little grain in the outside feeder for the one that was there, and put the rest in the bunk feeder inside. Fed the bottles and it was sprinkling a little bit. Rode around til I found the fresh cow and her calf, and checked on the other one that is the last one due to calve... Got home it seemed to stop so I decided to maybe get the push mower out and do a little... but then it started to rain more so that was it...

I had used the weed eater earlier also... used up the 3 batteries that were charged up and did all around the house again, the deck, under the lilac bush, all around the rhododendron bush that is flowering behind the house, next to the deck and the propane tank... all around the planters of flowers that are all over the lawn by the front porch... all in front of the carport where there are weeds coming up... so there are 2 on charge now and will switch them tomorrow so all 4 are charged up again.

Hopefully this will last awhile and give us some much needed rain. Looks like we will get some, get a break and then get some more after 8 pm.

Got the bottles ready for testing tomorrow morning.. no set up... so will make sure the alarm is set for 3:30 a.m. to get up and not rush to be there by 4:45...

Took a chicken out of the freezer to thaw, and will put it in to cook tomorrow. It is a soup and gr cheese or something like that kind of evening... Chilly out, only got to 67 but was comfortable out with a long sleeve t-shirt earlier... back down to 56 so getting colder.
Very glad that I got those couple of planters done also...let the rain settle in the dirt around the bulbs. Got the 3 bags of cheap soil out of the car too...
Had a couple iris flower stalks that were laying against some leaves where the wind had bent them over yesterday, kinda kinked the stem, so I cut a yellow and a purple one and put in a vase. They don't last long but are pretty to look at for a day or 2.

So I am done for the night except to lock in the chickens. Just hope this lasts for awhile outside.

 

[Baymule]

I hope you get a good rain.

 

[farmerjan]

Sorry to say... no measurable amount of rain. Showers were enough to get the grass wet.

Got a surprise... DS came in and said, hey, I want to get the brush pile burned... going to get yours going and need you to be home so I can call in a controlled burn... then going down to do the 2 piles at the bull lot. So, that threw my whole evening off... but since I have not been getting very far with it, I wasn't going to turn it down....
He used old motor oil that we save from changing oil in all the vehicles... to throw on the branches and such... it soaks in a little better and burns longer than just the gasoline... but he agreed that the piles were too "airy" and that he hoped to get some of the bigger pieces to get going good... and that I would have to keep pushing the stuff into and onto the fire...
It got going and I got quite a bit burned... but the wind and a 5 minute shower were against me again.. as it was blowing the fire away from the pile towards the outside I had already burned... next time we need to start the fire on the south side where the wind always comes from so it will blow the fire into the pile. About 2/3 or more is burned and I got it down to ash... I finally called him at 9:30 and said hey look, I am going to soak around the outside and you need to stop and check it on your way home... I have got to get some sleep because I have to get up at 3:30 to go test in the morning... He said, oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were testing and I said, I did tell you I would be testing Sun morning as it is Sam and Spencer's morning to milk... and he said we didn't have to do it tonight and I said it HAS GOT to be done... I need to get in the garden.....So, There is still a smaller pile to burn, I will get to it this week one way or another... the stuff is thrown on there helter skelter that it is hard to pick up any on the outside to throw in the center .... he used the skid loader at the farm to keep the outside pieces pushed in to keep them burning... And he got it burned up real good down there... maybe I can guilt him in to getting it finished here...
Calling for some rain to come in Monday night late... Tues and Wed are supposed to be multiple showers with maybe an accumulation of an inch???? Just wish it was done so I could have started getting things planted....

My eyes burned from the smoke and not enough sleep... got home from testing which went fine... and laid down for an hour... DS calls and wants to know when I am thinking of getting the cows in next door... and do I want to go out to eat or do something for Mother's day... he had to do a few things but we could do what I prefer... yeah... in between getting in the cows and getting them moved and all that..... I just said that the cows don't even think about coming up to the upper field from the woods and stuff until mid-late afternoon... I would go out and get the gates set and see about calling them... he could go do what he wants to get done...
I honestly was not in the mood to go out to eat... or anything else... and didn't want to get into any "words" with him... he started talking about GF and her family and all this crap that I just am not interested in, because I am keeping my mouth shut about my feelings towards her and him....
I went to get grain to fill my buckets in the car, to use some to get the cows in the small catch pen from the grass catch lot they would come up into.... then went to the pasture... Called and called and finally some came up through the woods and eventually most came and went right through the gate into eat grass... but I had to go out and walk 5 calves around the end of the catch lot fence so they could come up the other side and go through the gate.... shut them all in and started to check off who was there...
We are missing a cow... her calf is in there... I check off every single one by number on my list... and then when he was coming, gf came to see if I needed help... and then DS came and he drove right in with the truck and trailer and all the cows crowded around him... I put some grain in the lot, and he brought another bucket of grain and she walked behind them al little ways, to help "push them" into the open gate to the catch pen... DS took a total of 3 loads and it turns out that we thought maybe the cow was in there and the count was right... but it turns out she is really missing... so I left after they took the 3rd load...fixed the gates for if she is down back somewhere, she can come into the catch field with the grass....
I went and did the bottle calves, counted and checked the cows, saw the new calf and momma cow... and the other one is uddering up but no calf yet... she should be about 2 weeks behind this last one...
Then I went back to the field, went in the lower gate, drove all around down the back field, and looked through the woods as best I could... it was getting evening and darker .... did not see anything or smell anything dead... always a possibility.... calf is not hollering for her either... she could be over the fence with a neighbors cows.... DS called one guy and was going to see if he could catch up with the other guy with cattle on the "other fence".... and we will have to go through the woods area and see if we find a carcass.... I am thinking she was there when I got them back through the open gate a week or so ago... but not really sure... I just made sure that there weren't any more stragglers over there by going up there twice to check... The gate is still shut and chained so not going through there again....She could behiding down in there somewhere too... there is a creek and it is partly wooded and steep hill and gully where she wouldn't be seen easily...
Hoping she is "off" somewhere and will show back up or someone will see her in their field...

So, they are at the barn in the small barn lot field... he put the 2 bulls in the bull lot with the others... they will get a rest for at least 30 days and might have to use one of them up at the nurse cow field to breed the heifers in mid-June. Turns out the older "calving ease bull", we have used for years, is the one that had the huge swelling on it's leg and the one he sold a couple weeks ago... He kept telling me it was a different one... but I told him the one with the floppy/broken ear... looked like cartilage had gotten "broken" and one ear flopped over ... was the one that had been at the nurse cow pasture 2 years ago... so I know he was the calving ease bull... #10.... so when DS took the bulls to get their BSE tests here closeby the other week... he called that bull #10 and it was really the other one #11/21 (he had 2 numbers in different ears) and he is DEFINITELY NOT a heifer bull (not calving ease)... so he will not be coming to the nurse cow pasture with the 10-12 heifers there to be bred.... The calves being born now are out of one of the "Quaker Hill bulls" we bought, and I LIKE them... so will be glad to use him again...

I am in and tired and need to get the samples packed for UPS for tomorrow since we will be tied up with the vet after 11:30 for the preg check. DS is going to work a 1/2 day... til 11.... so gf is coming at 10:30 to help me get the cows in the barn... suspect it will be easy with grain... and then sort the calves off away from them so we only have to deal with the cows.... have to get the one other cow in that had the sore foot/leg... that we have given anti-biotics to, twice... she is getting better I think... and get her preg checked also...

I am going in to take a shower and go to bed. I ache all over. I made a cheese omelet for supper and going to make a good stiff "toasted almond" I think and it will put me to sleep... trying to not take too much OTC pain stuff... especially not at night. Never did the hot choc the other night... jsut went to bed. I will take some tomorrow before vet time... and the darn allergy stuff that makes me feel a little "slow"... just makes me a little tired..... some days I don't take it but I will tomorrow so I don't have to deal with itchy eyes and nose running like a faucet...

I can't stop yawning so going to quit.

 

[farmerjan]

Very nice day out weather wise, 46 but sunny and light breeze... up to 74.
Had a horrible preg check.... exactly opposite of the one we were expecting to be horrible. 6 bred cows out of 20 ... some of the cows are thinner than they should be. I told DS this winter that I thought the cows condition wasn't good but I don't know anything... I even put out some of the protein tubs for them out of my own money to help boost their nutrition levels... well, it showed by them not breeding back. The one that must've gotten bred right when she went in there with the bulls, had come from the nurse cow pasture as I had grafted a calf on her.... her calf was crippled badly from birth and didn't live but a few days....

DS of course went off and was a b.... to deal with.

I had gone up there at about 10:15... gf and I agreed to meet there between 10-10:30... I filled all the buckets for my car, filled all the buckets to feed in the barn to get them in... Cows and calves all came up into lot so I closed the gate... Got the cow and one calf out of the other side... cow had been quite lame we have given shots 2x to, she's definitely getting better... and calf is limping quite a bit... DS bought the calf.... looks like an injury... maybe in the transporting to the sale a week ago...he bought it when he sold the bull....

Anyway... I already had a group of calves, separate, that had gone in the barn, and was able to shut the gate... and then moved them over on the other side of the bunk feeder.... gf finally got there at 10:45.... she carried the feed in to put in the bunk feeder while I opened and shut the gates as the cows can be pushy....
as you know all too well @Baymule ... what it is like to try to pour feed with animals trying to climb over you to get to it... it's alot harder with 1000 lb cows, than 200 lb sheep.... then I opened the one gate and managed to just let all the pushy cows in the barn and the calves had stayed back a bit... so shut cows in the one side... gave the calves some grain on the other side, and let the rest of the calves in on the other side and they got to eat... Basically with very little work of carefully "gate sorting" I had most all it done before she got there... and then we did the little bit more.. DS got there, worked a half day... and he was in a mood and typically very "short" with everything I said... but he falls all over everything she says....
There are 3 cows going to be sold... 2 of mine and one of his... the one of his that is old has not teeth so being open is not so terrible... the 2 of mine are young cows... one raised a crap calf ... last years calf was nothing special, and the other is high strung and has jumped fences before (not today)... but I am not going to listen to him complaining about either one of them down the road.....And they have some dairy in them and he is always saying negative things about them..... I think I am selling off and sorting off more of mine instead of putting them back with the bull as a way to cut some of the ties with the cattle.... One day he is okay to work with, the next he is a miserable sonofa...... and more so when he has been spending more time with her, and all the people and problems that she is involved with.... tired of listening to him rant and rave that there were 2 young bulls in there and there is no reason why these cows should be open.... blah blah blah... It embarrasses me too, with the vet.... he sees how stupid DS acts... at one point he threw up his hands and said f... this, just sell all the cows, just stop bothering to check them....
I just don't want to be around it anymore... acts like a spoiled 10 yr old brat.....GROW UP and act like a man instead of throwing tantrums..... then she says somethings to him and he calms down a little and we finished.....he'll kow tow to her but will get even nastier if I say the exact same thing to him....

I have some heifers coming along to be bred... and I have been looking for a place to go with some more land.....

So, they got sorted out and all moved out to pastures except the 3 to be sold and their calves...9 cows and calves went out to get bred back, the 5 shorter pregnants went out with other breds with their calves that are supposed to get pulled off in July....2 that were over 5 months went to the "calving field" and the calves will come off in July also when he weans a group. I guess he put the ones to be sold, back in the other lot at the barn with the weaned heifers so they will be coming in to eat daily and be easy to catch up and load to take to sale. Don't know where he plans to take them... I told him I am working Wed and Friday so cannot take them then... Maybe I will take them Saturday, unless he decides to take them Friday....May as well get the money out of them now.....
Thank goodness that is the last of the preg checks... until late fall/winter.

She has to get another treatment of some sort, tomorrow, so of course he is catering to her health situation again...
Everything is a drama situation... or a secret from me....

Finished up what I had to do, and came on home... Hoping I can get the rest of the brush pile burnt tomorrow evening... it was quite windy this evening... supposed to rain from early wed and most of the day... but I don't put alot of faith in the forecasts anymore... we never seem to get what they say... I really want to plant garden, or else just say the he// with it if I can't get it done soon....

Several of the "younger calves" came in the creep gate at the barn to try some grain.... along with the hol heifer twins and a couple of the bigger calves there. Fed a group of "breeding size" animals in the outside feeder... had several of the heifers to be bred and several of the cows with those younger calves... so fed them then they will come in easier when they are going to get caught up and a few moved out.... The grass is getting ahead of the cows there... it is starting to head out already... some of that is due to the dry conditions... it will head out shorter... instead of growing green succulent growth... but even with a record number of cows there, they are not looking for more to eat. They are in good shape too, so ought to breed fast when the bull goes in the middle of June... I do not want calves on heifers before mid march...
He says he is going to move bulls in with cows out at pastures in the next week... try to get some of these opens bred back for Feb-Mar calves....These last 10 cows will not breed right back until they round out a bit body shape...

I'm heading to bed. It is later than I thought...

 

[Baymule]

Are you thinking about downsizing your herd and leasing your own place? You might have to buy your own truck and trailer, a 16’ stock trailer would be sufficient. And you could write both of them off. Not being at the beck and call of an a$$wad would take a lot of stress out of your life. He might even realize that you will not put up with his crap anymore. If your cattle were separated, you could still help him if you wanted, if he was hateful, it would give you the leverage to smile sweetly, get in your car and leave him with it. GF could take up your slack. Leasing a couple of fields, a small herd, the calves would give you a decent income and no more putting up with a King Baby. If he knew that you don’t need him, it might change his attitude.

 

[farmerjan]

There is nothing around here to lease, things are so tied up, and there are a couple of guys who lease things right out from under some of the older long term farmers. The only way to have more land to use, is to buy it. I have been looking at some places south west Va... not sure what I want to do.. but having fewer cows won't hurt since the prices are good right now.
The volatile moods just get old after awhile. The total obsession with her and getting so wound up in her life again is just too much. And he thinks I should just accept all this again... he has no idea how I make myself deal with her. Sad thing is that she and I think alike on some things... but I could never believe that this thing will last again... guess if he thinks he is happy, that's his life.

It was warmer this morning... 57 to start instead of in the 40's... Cloudy and damp out there... got a sprinkle or 2 but most is east of us now. More coming in later this afternoon and evening, but it looks like the heaviest of it is going to stay to the east as it comes north. The amounts have dropped here from 1-1.5 inches to .5-1 inch possible.

Didn't get the samples shipped out yesterday so they will go out this morning. Will try to get the brackets changed on the meters and stuff loaded in the car for tomorrow afternoons' herd and bottles in racks for tomorrow and Friday's herd. I will have to change back the brackets for Friday's herd. 100 cows tomorrow, 200 cows on Friday.
Wed morning I go back to the massage therapist, test later wed aft..... and Thursday is the chiropractor... Couldn't get them on the same day. I may cancel Chiropractor and reschedule next week if they have something.

Time to get out and get myself going. It is later than I thought, I slept "hard" and just got up a little bit ago.