Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[Mini Horses]

Geesh....my neighbors don't call me when animals get out -- just the cops . Relocated city idiots.

 

[farmerjan]

Muggy to start. 66 overnight, recording thermometer box shows it hit 93 when the sun hit it. No breeze to speak of.
Got the soaker hoses moved over to next rows for now, will get the rest of them put out and on the plants when I have time maybe tonight. Want to let them have at least a half an hour if not an hour.
Watered all the potted plants, got to get some moved into the bigger planters...

DS called, the cows at the pasture that has the water problem, are nearly out. He is going to make a water run but had to ask me how I did it since he has never hauled water with my telescoping pipe and all when I go get it at the spring... Wants to have water in the troughs so they do not run out... there is still a little in the storage tank but like only 1-2 inches... so maybe 50-100 gallons. Better to have water in other troughs for them so they don't go crazy when they find the troughs to drink. Won't know the status on their well/pump/whatever is causing the breaker to trip until the well co gets there... and if it is the well pump... it will be hours before it can be replaced with them having to go get one and all that. . No sense in borrowing trouble til we know what it is... but will have to haul the cows water with this heat and all to make sure.
I am going to haul 2 / 15 gallon barrels to the little calves at the barn later on today.... they are still not coming out the creep gate although they have full run of the pen and can come out if they want. They are not anywhere near as adventurous as the twin heifer calves were... the water in there is about gone. The bigger calves coming in will also drink it but that's life... not that hard to fill 2 barrels on the back of the truck to take up there for them once a day when I do grain. Been watching the water trough down the hill for the big cows, there but spring seems to be running okay so far.

Weather forecaster says we will have a "potential flash drought" with the temps expected in the 90's and flirting with 100 with higher heat indexes/feels like temps.. No real rain in sight now for another week. Chances for this weekend have dropped to next to nothing.....

Time to head for the tractor and rake... want to get that done before it gets too terribly hot.

 

[farmerjan]

Went up and DS was hooking the rake back to the tractor. He had tedded the outside 6 rows of this field due to trees and thick grass not drying very fast. Then he took my truck back to the barn, got Jim all set up and he was going to go do the water run after they got the tank loaded on the trailer, like I used it last year for several trips when we got dry at the nurse cow pasture and the calves could not reach down in the big concrete trough. DS then had to go get the net wrap baler, as it makes the smaller bales... this place he only wants the smaller 4x5 bales because his tractor will not pick up the big 5x5's that we make for us. So I went to raking the bigger upper field... there is alot of green in it so getting it turned up to the sun and light breeze will get it drying nice. DS came back at about the time I was on the last 3 trips around the outside on the tedded out rows... and he went to baling the lower field. I got done and stopped to talk to him for a minute... and then we agreed that I could take the tractor and rake to the last field that he has not cut yet, and he could finish baling the lower field, then come get me and bring me back to my truck and that would be one less vehicle to have to jockey around later... He came and got me about 15 minutes after I got to the other place, which was good. Then we went back to get his truck. He was not feeling good again, these da#@ pills make him feel like he is in a fog all the time he says... so he was going to go to his house for a bit. He will go back up later this afternoon and get the upper, bigger field baled.

He did get the stupid heifer in this morning... she was out with one of the other cows that did not want to come in the pen, then ran around the back side of the pen, and he got her in that gate... that other cow took a notion and took off for the back side of the field... but the heifer was in with a couple other cows... He had chained the panels to the trailer so she couldn't put her head down or between the bars and push them like the other day... so then one of the cows went up to the trailer, then the heifer ran past the cow, into the trailer and the cow turned around away from it, and he slammed the gate on the heifer before she could run back out. She is now at the barn with the rest of the weaned ones... he said she is a nice heifer... and she is STILL going to be sold....
YAY.....

Fred, where we are making the hay, has a cow that won't stay in, and he had been keeping her in the smaller field there where you go in so a real PITA to open and shut extra gates to get up to the hayfield... so yesterday he let her back out and said maybe she will quit since she had been locked up... well she went right back across to the neighbors this morning.. and I told him what the cull cows were bringing.. and he said she is the only one left, that hasn't calved. I said that we needed to preg check her and if I couldn't feel a calf in her then she ought to go to the stockyard. So, maybe him and DS will get together and get her loaded and bring her to doug's so I can "arm her" to see if she is at least 5 months or more... I can't feel alot before the 4-5 month stage... and Fred had already weaned and sold the calves so she is free loading if she is not close to calving... then as I was coming out with the tractor and rake, she came around and was going to sneak though before I could even get the gate propped open and get back on the tractor to drive through... B#@%H.......
We have another bull that is limping that is in very good body condition...think it is in his foot..... have never been impressed with his calves, don't think we have kept any heifers out of him... might be the time to ship him too.... Prices are too high to keep anything we don't want or need... one less mouth to feed....

It is hazy sun, some clouds but nothing on the radar about any kind of possible precip. Saying it might be another week before we see some "rain".... NOT GOOD......

Came home, made a sandwich, and put the soakers on again. I will go out and put the longer one on the tomato panel row and water them later on this afternoon. I need to finish getting the tiller together, and work on the potato rows and get them in, so if it ever does rain they will have a chance. I got started on it late, but it is going to be a real late garden with no rain on top of things.

Jim is supposed to get the new belts on the "bale truck" so we can get back to getting these hay bales off the fields... and I will use it to go get the roll at Deb's myself. In the meantime, I want to go get another load of that stuff from the other hay field where I have now gotten 3 loads... keep piling it on the garden and may be able to keep some of this water from the soaker hoses in the ground to do some good.

So, guess that is enough "break time"... I am going to get another big glass of tea and then maybe go outside to see if I can do anything... no... the sun is out strong... not right now in this heat.
Need to get these clothes hung I didn't run through the rinse yet... they will dry in a couple hours at most.

 

[Baymule]

This is your time of year where you darn near work yourself to death. Keep stopping to cool off and drink lots of water!

All o got out of that tropical storm the weather casters were screaming about, was a slight sprinkle this morning.

 

[farmerjan]

In for a few again. It hit 97 on the recording thermometer in the sun today.

Talked to DS. Seems they are "going away" for 3 days with GF daughter... so the last field will not get cut before he goes I guess... the forecast was originally for some possible rain this weekend. 40% chance but it has now dwindled to 20% chance... just HOT and humid for the next week or more.
He said he thought it was next weekend but seems that it is this weekend... they are leaving Friday and be back on Sunday???? Didn't say where or to do what...
Not that I am happy about it... BUT... in his defense, these "fog" sessions he has is really cutting back on his "productivity" and he takes breaks he never used to... so he is not getting things done as fast as he used to. I have mentioned that adding all these medicines is having not so great effects as they have GOT TO reacting to each other and causing more and more problems. But, I am not a doctor and he is doing what is told to him... I would take a different approach.....

So the last field will wait til he comes back I guess .... it is close to the barn and is just "grass" although it usually makes quite a bit but it is thinner this year by the looks of it.

So, he said he is going to move some bales tomorrow off some fields, and maybe I could move some this weekend while they are gone and the truck is sitting... That is good. I will get my mulch hay roll here from Deb's at least... and maybe take the truck to the other field and see if the arms can squeeze together enough to pick up some/most of the bale he shoved in the woods there that I have gotten 3 loads in the ranger.

Next week he says we are going to get Fred's calves in and get them "worked"... banded, shots, all that.. and he said that he will tell fred that we can bring that cow and I can arm her... and she can go to town if she is not well along pregnant... As soon as Fred gets these hay bales moved off the field, and we get the calves worked, he will open up the gates and the cows will get the hay fields to graze... there are alot of "edges" of the fields that there is grass that DS can't cut with the overhanging trees... and Fred is out of grass in the pastures... they are eaten WAY DOWN... he bought some more cows last year after selling a couple, and he has too many for the land/grass he has. But that is his business... we just work the calves, make his hay, and haul his calves to market in the fall. And yes, we get paid some... he pays for the custom haymaking and gives DS something for working the calves and all...

DS said we will get the bull over across the creek out of the bull lot, and probably just ship him too. He is in very good condition... body wise... worth too much to keep him. AND he might just go on and ship the steers that we just brought home to wean... if prices stay where they are, we would be foolish to hold on to them. With the dry conditions, people might start moving cattle and prices could come down... We can also ship "stupid heifer" too....
He is very concerned about the lower yield of hay and the pastures drying up...

He also got the bull in at the nurse cow pasture this afternoon he said... but forgot to bring the other 3 heifers he wanted to go with the bull to get bred.
And a friend needed a bull to breed 8 cows so he let him lease "Roscoe" the "pet", because he wanted something friendly and not mean... and he isn't mean... just doesn't respect the fences there at the farm... although DS said that after he got put in with the bigger bulls he has "slowed down" a bit and has some more manners than he had... Guess he got his comeuppence a little bit. Maybe he is "growing up" DS said... He's not a bad looking bull.... I just do not trust him because he does not respect my space...

I'm getting ready to go up to the calves and will take a couple of 15 gal barrels of water from here with me, for the calves, to be able to come in and drink in the barn lot. Then I might be able to get back in the garden and get the long soaker hose down the tomato panel row to water them... and water the summer squash patch... maybe get that hose I cut, fixed up with new ends on it too... then use some Y's to run more soaker hoses...

 

[Mini Horses]

Hope "they" have time to haul water Thurs eve to fill the waterers at the field where that persons pump is out!! Before their vacay. . That'd sure be helpful.

 

[SageHill]

Not a doc, but totally agree with you on the meds. Got a lot of friends on meds, and different docs just keep piling on more. I think if it was me I’d try and start with a clean, or as clean as possible, slate before adding something new. Just my opinion. And I cringe every time I see ads and commercials for Rex’s.

 

[Margali]

@farmerjan Get him to make a single page sheet of all the medicines with dosages and reason from each doctor. I would ask pharmacist and each doctor about interactions. It's quite possible doctors prescribed competing or overlapping meds if records aren't being shared well.

That way it's still advice "from the doctor" about weaning or eliminating something.

 

[farmerjan]

Not a doc, but totally agree with you on the meds. Got a lot of friends on meds, and different docs just keep piling on more. I think if it was me I’d try and start with a clean, or as clean as possible, slate before adding something new. Just my opinion. And I cringe every time I see ads and commercials for Rex’s.

Agree...

 

[farmerjan]

Agree...

@Margali .......Good idea... I will see if he will do that for me...