Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[Mini Horses]

We are very dry here this week.. Nothing coming for a week, it seems. Grass is dry but not crunchy and drying. Still moist in leaf when crushed. Seems good grazing from way goats are doing. Still decent dew in morns, so I'll be ok if we get the moisture predicted. Now, the garden? Young plants getting watered.

 

[farmerjan]

Home and it is dark out. Hen locked in... I went to the hayfield and got another load of mulch hay... this is lighter and fluffier than the last... it was in a roll the bear had torn apart, and DS had just pushed it... or used the bale bed arms to squeeze it together and picked it up enough to get it out of the field and into the edge of the trees. Regardless, I managed with the pitchfork to peel clumps off and load them in the truck. Got quite a bit. Then went along and picked up some "new hay" that he missed with the round baler... always a little that is on a corner or something and DS doesn't get too exacting when he is baling... So, I piled a whole bunch on the tool box on the bed of the truck and up onto the top of the cab of the truck. Figured I will take it up to the calves at the nurse cow pasture tomorrow. Some fields he does pretty clean and some he misses more than I think he should. There might be a sq bale's ( or 2) worth left in a field but it gets to me sometimes and since there were a couple of spots I just decided to get them. One bunch was along the one "ditch" that goes down through the field and I try to rake away from it but in the one corner there was a clump....

Anyway.... I came home at 20-25 mph... back country roads and never anyone behind me which was nice...
Backed up to the garden and actually put a bunch more down along the tomatoes and the pepper plants... and the rest is unloaded on the edge of the garden since it was too dark to do more. Pulled the good hay down into the bed of the truck and will take it up to calves in the morning with grain....

There is now a 40-50% chance of some showers or storms tomorrow afternoon. DS called me on his way home from seeing his father for a bit... and said he had mowed the first field at "Fred's" where we custom make the hay... and that he saw where there was a 50% chance... so no raking anything tomorrow. If it rains, we will be thankful because we really need it... and the hay will be in mown rows so it will be better than if raked already. He said he did not think that the hay in the part of the pasture would be dry enough tomorrow and he just had mowed Fred's... but he said that is drier... almost "dead" on top... still... if it rains, it rains... the hay will make after it dries... if it doesn't rain, then it will get raked on Tuesday. and he will mow the upper field at Fred's.

Supposedly "they" are going to see about getting the cows in tomorrow morning... I told him where at the farm is the copy of who is supposed to be there and their calves.... I will leave tomorrow by 1 or a little before since I do not have to do a whole bunch of stuff ... take my time and go to Goodwill on the way.... Hope to get the rest of the mulch hay I have here, down tomorrow. Got the tomatoes to finish, and the squash plants that are up and the walkway between the tomatoes and the first row of potatoes. Would like to see if I have any time to get another row of potatoes in. I see some green poking through in a couple of places. Oh, also get the butternut squash mulched since they are up... Don't see any of the cantaloupes or the other winter squash up yet.

Time to figure out something to eat, and then maybe even get the dishes put away since they will be dry in the dish drainer. Then I can get the gallon glass jars washed.
I hope this shoulder doesn't give me too much pain tonight and I can sleep okay. It isn't so sore this evening... I guess I did enough without overdoing it which is great. It has felt a little more flexible since she worked on it Friday. Anything is a help....

 

[farmerjan]

Hot day to start.... 67 was the low , nearly 80 by 9 a.m. Mostly sun and very humid compared to what we had yesterday.

Went out and got the hay spread in the garden that I had in the pile... The tomatoes along the cattle panels, peppers, 2 - 5ft rows of green beans, the 10 or so, summer squash patch that came up , the pathways between all them... are mulched. Can always use more but later on, when the rest is done. Worked up a sweat, then took ranger and got a bucket of grain and went to the nurse cow pasture... Fed calves in the barn, and forked the "good hay" into bunk feeders in a couple spots for the calves to eat... Came home and DS called... he was on his way to barn with calves...

They had a rodeo with one totally stupid acting heifer that took the corral panels down, knocked GF down, but luckily she only got bruised a little, but it could have been a real disaster. The heifer got out TWICE tearing stuff up... So she is there and will get loaded with the cows to come to the barn in another month or so... and she will get sold. She was determined she was not going to go on the trailer with the rest of the calves.... I am glad GF didn't get hurt... when she went down as the panel swung around she could have gotten badly smashed in the face... but when she went down and the heifer took the panel around it skimmed over her head and body on the ground as it came over and down... It was one of the panels that they were using to make an alley to load them so only 3 panels long.... DS said he kept hollering for her to let it go, but she had her arm through the panel around one bar to hold it tight against the trailer door so couldn't get untangled from it as the heifer was pushing to get out... It could have been real BAD....

DS also brought home 2 cows that the calves are used to, sorta as nursemaids for them to learn to come in the barn for feed when he calls... And the irony is that the stupid idiot's MOMMA cow is one of the two that just went right in the pen with the calves so he loaded her up with the other cow that had 2 calves nursing her... SO.... DUMB BELL is out there at the pasture and her momma is not out there.... the cow is a normal calm decent cow..... DS said this stupid heifer just did not want to be in the pen... and after she got out, she went around the back side of the pen and stood there, with the cows on the inside.
DS said she is going on the truck to the stockyard whenever we get them back to the barn.... NOT keeping a miserable witch like that. She is out of one of his cows that has never been a problem...

And to top it off , there were more animals out there than I had on the list... 3 steers I had no idea were out there... they were weaned steers and I had them listed at being at the barn... and DS and I went over numbers at the barn... and he kept saying that these steers didn't match the list...
SO... we have 1 calf with a ripped out eartag, and 2 missing... so the no tag one is one of the 2.... He is going to go out and look at 2 cows tomorrow to see who has an udder since all the calves but stupid are at the barn...guessing one of the 2 cows might have lost a calf... it could even be across the fence with the neighbor's cattle... but maybe it died... NO ONE has been counting calves out there... if they had I would have known something was not right since there were more calves than I had on the list...

At least I had the records of the 3 "extra steers" out there, who they were weaned off of.... so that is good. Of course, he gets mad when I get on his case about WHO HE TOOK WHERE........but without keeping these lists, we would not know who is where, who is missing, who is extra, ETC and so ON.......

So as soon as we figure out who the calf with the torn out tag is... ear is split, nearly all the way to it's head... we will know who is missing. We have it narrowed down to 2 cows... All these cows are pregnant due to calve starting Sept...

So, I found all this out at the barn, because the 2 calves on the one cow, had never been banded... DS is not sure why not... but he called to see if I could come to the barn to help him get them banded... So, I went down to help him get them in the chute and get them banded and that is when we got into the list of who was there and who were the "extra" calves... so spent time there I did not anticipate.. but it was okay....
I came home, got the samples packed that did not get sent out Friday.... got the clothes off the line... took a shower since I was so sweaty... and left to go to the chiropractor... DS called when I was on my way, and said he was debating about raking the hay because he went out there to the pasture where he had cut some (same place I raked the other hay field)of the field, and that it was not as green as he thought... because Jim went out there to spray thistles and DS had to take the other tractor out there to bale with and Jim could give him a ride back.....we played musical tractors yesterday because of the one that he didn't want to use with the leaking radiator... and he looked at the hay. So, I told him to do whatever he thought... they were still saying we had 40% chance of showers... and he finally decided to wait until later this afternoon. He said his head was bothering him, and the heat was getting rough.

I dropped the samples at the UPS store, drove down and went to the chiropractor...feel much better after adjustment....went to Goodwill down near there, then came back on the way home...hit some rain starting in Roanoke (where I was, 70 miles south) ... skies were dark... Went to the bank on the way home since I was pushing for time when I went down. Then I went by Lowe's to see if I can come up with a solution to the shelves in the freezer "bowing" a little in the middle that makes the shelf come off the little ledge it fits on that is so very small... the little "ledge" that the shelf fits on is like 1/2 inch... where the shelf slides on... all the other makes of freezers have the same ledge that their shelves sit on that are at least 1-2 inches wide . There is no way that the shelf can bow enough under weight, to come off those shelf ledges...
I know I have a lot of weight on these shelves... but this is not a freezer that has 25 boxes of frozen pizzas sitting on them or a few containers of ice cream or some packages of vegetables.... this freezer has frozen chickens, frozen beef, frozen blocks of ponhous (scrapple) you name it and they are heavy... I use this freezer for holding frozen food... not for a convenience to keep some "extra food"...
GRRRR

So, I will try to rearrange the food on the shelf a bit so it will not slip... then I will have to take the food off the next shelf and re do it since it has slipped on one side... I have 1 full shelf's worth of food in the freezer chest so I could take the shelf with me... I am trying to think of what I can use to "stiffen it", from underneath it... just wish the side "rails " the shelf sits on, were wider... and they are made in the sides of the freezer....

It is still 83 out, sun going down and muggy as all get out... It never did rain here... radar showing it staying just north10- 20 miles or so... and tonight's radar showing it to stay about 30-40 miles south for what storms they might get. Guess we are not going to get anything. I will talk to DS and see what he did or didn't do so I can go rake whatever needs it tomorrow morning before it gets too terribly hot. I have to water plants here and see about getting the soaker hoses out in the garden. Tomorrow....
Got quite a few things done on the list... more to do....

 

[SageHill]

Glad no one got hurt badly with the crazy cow. Definitely a one way stockyard trip for her.

 

[farmerjan]

You wonder why 1 out of 25 would act so stupid..... like the 2 at the barn that were tea totally nut cases that we sold a couple weeks ago... in the same pen with others that will practically try to climb over you to get at the feed in the bucket as you are pouring it into the trough...Oh well, she wrote her ticket out of here....

 

[Mike CHS]

You keep posting reasons why I won't raise any more cows.

 

[Ridgetop]

DS said he kept hollering for her to let it go, but she had her arm through the panel around one bar to hold it tight against the trailer door so couldn't get untangled from it as the heifer was pushing to get out... It could have been real BAD....

I am surprised that she didn't get her arm broken with it through the panel like that. Thank heaven she is ok.

 

[farmerjan]

Warm and muggy already. 70 for low, up to mid 80's a bit ago. Heading up to get the tractor and rake to take it to the place we custom make for the friends. DS mowed the one field, and is mowing his 2nd field now. Then one more small 5-6 acre field and we are done first cutting.
He went on and raked and baled the part that he cut in the pasture, in the 3rd section we haven't grazed yet yesterday afternoon when I went to the chiropractor appt.... same place where I raked the 9 acre field that the bears got into the hay last year... So I am going out there to get the tractor and rake and bring it back close to the farm where the first field he cut is ready to rake and bale... Then I can get a ride back to the truck sometime later today and I will get another truck load of mulch hay from that ruined bale along the edge of the field there.

So, Heigh Ho it's off to work I go. Will work around here later today after I get done with the one hay field before it gets too hot to be on the tractor.

 

[farmerjan]

It's gotten hot and muggy out. Hit 93 a little bit ago. Sun comes and goes with some dark clouds but they are not materializing into any kind of rain. Still breezy so that is the only saving grace.

Went and got the tractor and rake... Went to the field DS wanted me to come to... he came and got me and wanted to take me back to get the truck, because he had to fix a spring on the rake that helps to "bounce" the wheel when it gets on rough ground and keeps the tines on the wheel from getting bent or breaking... So, he got the spring and we went back to get my truck.
In the meantime owners of another place we rent, called and they have been gone for several days and their DIL was watching the house, and she said that there was no water. So when we went to get the truck, swung by there and checked. They have a 1500 gal tank for water storage to feed the water troughs for the cattle, that fills from the well slowly and then gravity feeds the troughs down hill... He checked the breaker box and it was tripped... he flipped it back, and after less than 1 minute, it tripped again while he was watching it. So some problem in the well or wiring or something. He called them back, they were coming home from their visit a day early... and were going to call their well people... The cows have water for a couple days since the tank it over half full... but with this heat it will get used up faster.

Anyway, we went from there to get the truck, I told him that I was going to get another truck load of the mulch hay from the bear mauled roll... he offered to help me, so I let him fork it on the truck. Then we came back across the field, and he got in the car, he had been driving, we came out and I shut the gate and he went on to go to the farm to bend the end of the spring... it breaks off right at loop at the end of the spring where it hooks onto the other piece of the arm... anyway. He came up to the hay field where I was waiting, with the "fixed" spring to use... and I went on to rake and he had to go meet the guy from the well company to put in the pump I picked up last Friday.... at another pasture.... they couldn't get there yesterday...

So I got it raked, then texted him and, said there was some green but it might be dry by this evening to bale or tomorrow. He has to take the mower and go mow the last field; then he should switch and hook up the baler and can finish all the baling in the next couple days. I will most likely rake the upper field there tomorrow... it is the bigger field and will take a couple hours. Then go to the last field and leave the tractor and rake to rake it on Thurs or Friday.

Came home and it was just too hot to go outside to take the mulch off the truck. Later.
Came in and ate some lunch and drank some cold tea. Put the fan on and am on the computer for a little bit.
Got clothes in the washer and will go hang in a little bit. Then I will probably put in some more jeans and get them all caught up with the heat to dry them the next couple days.

I want to take the weed eater out and get cleaned up around the maple tree in the front as I see some poison ivy in amongst some other brushy stuff coming up, and want to at least get it chopped back so I can put some wood chip mulch around it. At least then I will be able to walk around to water the hanging plants on the chains that go from one branch to the other. Will see about getting it pulled out this winter when I will be less likely to get sweaty and all and get it on me, with gloves and all that. Have a ton around the edge of the deck and the lilac tree that I need to get rid of this winter too. It is just too hot for me to work out there right now.... and want to weed eat around the porch area and get the rest of the plants into the planters .

Maybe will try to get in the garden with the tiller this evening ????? Might be too hot, too....We'll see...

 

[farmerjan]

Don't make plans.... I finally went out to the garden and took the truck with the mulch hay... took the soaker hoses. Got the mulch off the truck and on the section where the butternut squash has come up and the other stuff I have planted has not come up yet... no rain since I planted those seeds..... Found out I cut the one long hose with the mower the other day... so need to put a connector set on the cut ends so it can be used, but switched things around so I could get a soaker hose on the butternut squash as they are looking stressed.... and on one row of the green beans. The only savings about cutting that hose, is that it will give me a couple of shorter lengths so that I can run multiple soakers without having them soaking more than just the rows they need to be on. Was going to fix the hose BUT.......
DS calls. there are cattle out... am I home.???? So I go flying down to doug's and the cattle are in the guys' yard... they got them off the road... and so I take truck and go get a couple of feed buckets out of the car that I had just filled... and that car is at doug's right now.... looked and the gate to the lot was wide open... so either DS didn't hook it right, he forgot to chain it, or they played with the chain and got it undone....came back down the long driveway... and as I start down the road towards the house, here come the cows,,,,, so I started calling them and the 2 "babysitter cows" come down the road with the rest of the just weaned yesterday, calves, coming along behind them. A couple of guys were coming down the road in a truck and stopped and they all kinda stayed behind them as they followed me and the truck back down the road and down the driveway. One calf went out around the pond and they brought it through another gate, and one went down over the bank, but then came back up and was a straggler and suddenly appeared on the driveway and then they got there and got the gates across the driveway closed. Then I opened the gate that goes down the lane to the barn lot; we use it when we bring the cows across the driveway from the pastures... and we got them in there. I then went and shut the gate they had originally came out, and opened the other end of the alley gate back into the barn lot where they were to start with. Thanked the owners of the house and the couple of guys in the pickup, as well as another neighbor "kid" that used to help us (20 yrs ago?) that DS had called to see if he could come help me... Then DS showed up and he put another bucket of feed in the bunk feeder... and they went in and he counted and they were all there. Then he and GF went back home to her house, AFTER shutting the gates across the driveway so if they get out somehow... they cannot go towards the road again...

Needless to say... I got nothing else done in the garden... although the mulch hay is off the truck and spread... and I had put the soaker hoses on so they are getting a good soaking. I will go out and turn them off in a few more minutes and then move them in the morning and let them soak some more rows.

Did not get any weed eating done or wood chip mulch around the maple tree in the front. Did not water all the potted plants... Did not get any of the other flowers put in the planters....
Tomorrow morning before I do anything, the potted plants all need a good soaking, and then maybe I can get the weed eating done later. I am going to go rake the hay before it gets too hot and so that it can be "rolled up" into the windrows and dry underneath more.

Supposedly DS is going to try to get that "stupid" heifer in at the pasture and get her moved, probably with another cow or 2, to the barn in the morning. Then I hope mow the last field and then switch to the baler to do the 2 fields at the neighbors there... the one I raked today and the one I will rake in the morning.
He spent the better part of the afternoon with the well guy putting the new pump down in the well at the other pasture... that should have fixed the well/water situation there.

Hopefully the owners will get the problem solved at the pasture we went to this morning to check on. There are about 400 gallons left in the tank according to the owners... that will last the cows one more day with it being so hot...I do not want to have to haul water to them.
This is the crap that all this BS of fence out the creeks and ponds and put in water troughs that need electricity and wells and pumps and all this CRAP ...... that all these cost share " GOV'T INCENTIVE PROGRAMS " gets you..... constant work and monitoring of wells and costly electric bills and aggravations every time things don't go right.

I hope tomorrow is QUIET and UN eventful......

Might get the laundry hung tomorrow too... and go get another bunch of mulch hay since it doesn't look like I am getting that roll he promised me any time soon.... .

I'm tired... time to turn off soaker hoses and quit for the night.