Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[farmerjan]

A STUPID guy thing.....

 

[Ridgetop]

Totally a guy thing - When I had to take our car in years ago for some engine repair or oil change, the guy would always tell me I needed a lot more work done, I told him "My husband says it is . . . ." and he would say ok and do what I came for. LOL

Now if I learn something and tell DH we should do whatever, I have to wait for him to come back and tell me that we should do it like it was his idea.

 

[Ridgetop]

Now that selling all those steers is "DS' idea" you can refer to selling as "like you said" and "your plan on selling" to get the cattle you want sold.

Great prices! And great plan to sell before grass is gone and everyone is trying to unload cattle off dry pastures. When prices drop low maybe you can buy some bred cows cheap since you will have saved your pasture grass and have hay.

 

[farmerjan]

It will be awhile before we even consider buying anything back. DS said that he is planting one field with the sorghum-sudan grass today... not going to kill off that other field and plant as it is mediocre grass, but it is in grass at least... so if we get any kind of rain we will get something off it. If the SS doesn't grow good, he has not killed off any grass to do it...just putting it back on a field we took some rye/wheat winter cover crop off of.
Also is not going to put down any nitrogen because it will burn the plants if we do not get anymore rain and will be a waste of money on top of it....

And it will be fall before he even thinks about much else for buying .... A LOT will depend on whether the corn does anything... and that is dependent on some serious rain to add to the .8 we got the other night.
It is hazy, cloudy/sunny and the wind is blowing... so drying the ground right out.
Saw a couple of heifers I thought he should have gotten on Friday a couple weeks ago... they could have gone to WV on that grass and been a cash/turnover this fall...

Guy down the road leased his pastures last year... one of those "buddy buddy things" and they have way over grazed it already, cut hay off part of the pasture instead of holding it for grazing.... and it is turning brown... really ruining the grass.

Too warm this morning to get out in garden and I was tired so slept later, on top of it. It has been humid all day so not out there doing much at all. Maybe later this afternoon. Been doing some computer stuff for work and printed out some stuff for the farmer I get my milk from to take when I go over there later.
Just no motivation today to do much...

Saw a 'possum last night so time to set the traps again...

Need something to eat too. I hard boiled some eggs last night, egg salad sandwich sounds pretty good.

 

[farmerjan]

Warm, sticky morning... 74 for low... cloudy out there now. Radar showed all the rain stayed to the north... 15-20 miles north showed lots of yellows and such so they had to have gotten some decent moisture. It skirted us and we got a smidgeon of sprinkles. Might get some more later on, showing another line of showers/storms coming through this afternoon.

Going out in the garden for a bit. Should have gotten going sooner but didn't... as long as it stays cloudy, it won't be too terribly bad. Want to try to finish up with what planting I can get done... and then will have to get on the mulching.

 

[farmerjan]

Okay, back in for a little bit. Went out in the garden and DS had called and wanted some help with the bull... he has pinkeye and needed to be treated... Darts are expensive and he would have to have at least 2 10cc darts of Draxxin... he had a runny eye and got 1 dart a week ago, but it is worse... so he was up near the barn so DS got him in there. He was moving some hay so said he would be back in about an hour or 2 and I said that was good, I would work out in the garden getting more planted. He called when he get back to the barn and took the truck out back with the trailer, and I went out back to get him (nearly a 1/2 mile back of the farm) and we came to the barn. Got the bull in the back part of the chute... he is too big to fit all the way down to the actual head catch... so we just got him in the end of the chute where it is a little wider before it gets to the head catch.... put a board in front and a board behind him to contain in that section and squirted Today in the eye and then gave him 20 cc of draxxin... then backed him back out... and put him across the driveway with the 3 cows with calves that are supposed to go out to pasture... he is due to go out there after the 4th of July ... current bull will have been in there for 45 days and we will put this one out there as a "cleanup" bull... get the other one out if we can get him in the trailer, but if not, they can both stay... just trying to make sure we are covered with the bulls for breeding...

Then I went from there to get milk from my farmer and talked to him and his daughter for a few minutes too. They got .6 inch last wed when we got the .8... they got enough to get the rain gauge wet early this morning and we didn't get 20 drops... we were talking about how dry it is and the state of the hay situation... his brother runs angus cows and they weaned off some calves about 3 weeks ago and they are probably going to take a load of steers after the 4th ... they are not getting any regrowth for 2nd cutting either... we still might get some rain but it is not looking like much... but they are worrying about the hay situation also. His corn is ahead of ours but it is rolling with the dry conditions already...

The sun came out for a little bit, but is gone back in. I may try to go out and see if I can finish up the row I was doing.... or it might wait for this evening... need to go out there and see if I can take the temps and humidity. Tomorrow the temps are supposed to be only in the upper 70's- low 80's as a cold front comes through. I have a chiropractor appt in the morning...
We will work the calves on Wed morning, for the neighbor where we custom make the hay . Then he will let his cows out in the hayfields like he always does... there is grass/hay around the edges of the fields and places we can't get into with the equipment.... because there is no regrowth there for the cows to eat either... he has too many cows for the land he has and they have eaten the pasture down where they are... they are going to do a number on the hay ground/pasture if we don't get rain .... but, not my problem...

Sun just came back out, bright, looks like sky is more blue than clouds so garden might wait for later...

I just came in and ate an egg salad sandwich... looks like inside work for a bit.

 

[Mini Horses]

We're luckily getting rains now. Just started up. BIG thunder! I saw the dark clouds coming & stopped everything but put away stuff, close vehicle windows, etc. Did get 2 traps to carport below and set with some delicious cantaloupe I hated to share . Winds blowing toward the dig, so shouldn't take much coaxing. One was looking out at me

So far, tractor is fine !!

Got mulch into garden, just dumped the bales in a pile....clouds & thunder approaching. So, not spread. No weed eating. Yard was cut. No tilling. I'm inside. It's over for the day. This is a touch earlier than predicted...mostly heavy about 8ish was prediction but, ya know how that goes. Maybe I'll get lucky & get a couple inches!! I've still got grass growing but...hay will cost!

Wish I could share!

 

[farmerjan]

Was looking at the radar and it did look like it would stay south and more popping up to the east of the Blue Ridge parkway/Charlottesville direction... and forming up over on @Mini Horses side of the state. Glad you are getting it... wish you could share some with us too... It does not look like we are going to get any of it . Oh well... it is getting darker out there, so maybe we might get some to form... the clouds, rain, pop ups have been very unpredictable here lately.
I am going to go out and see if I can get something more in the garden...

 

[farmerjan]

No sooner did I get out to the garden and the sun came out again... and it got hot. So, I just gave it up until later when I knew the sun would go down behind the trees on the west side and give me some shade.

I did go back out about 6... got the rest of the row of potatoes planted that I had quit earlier when I went to help DS with the bull... then planted the last row I am going to put in of another variety. I did not plant any of the fingerling varieties... because I had so many potatoes, there just wasn't enough room to plant more. Sad, but I want the bigger ones... and as it is I planted them whole and they are 1/2 as far apart as they should be... but they are in. I did not plant any red pontiac ones in the big ones... and there were several varieties that I got last year, that I did not have any to plant... mostly the ones that did not produce much last year and I ate them... I have 12 varieties and one variety of fingerlings because they are the "pinto" ones... look like big spots of reddish skin on white ... pretty to look at and a bigger fingerling...
There is some room to put in some yellow "wax" beans... and then some more green beans... might try a couple hills of some other winter squash...have a blue hubbard that is supposed to be a good keeper... and some "golden acorn" squash...
I need a bigger garden !!!! .

But, I am done with 85% of the planting and now need to get with the mulching while there are no weeds in the rows I just planted... and work on weeding the smaller section where there are those spiney weeks that hurt that I need to get some gloves to pull them... There's naturally some weeding to do around the plants... and I will fine tune that ... but want to get on the rows with the newspapers to block the weeds and hold the moisture and the mulch hay on top to hold it all in place. The area around the tomatoes on the cattle panels and the early stuff I put in are looking pretty decent with the cardboard and the feed bags keeping the weeds from coming up through the hay mulch.

I went up to the calves and have decided to lock the 2 bull calves back in the lot and haul some water to just them. They take forever to come for the grain and the other calves have pretty much eaten it all... they just don't come like the heifers did when they first went out loose. So, I am going to try to get them to "grow a little more" before I turn them back out. I wish there was fence here to bring them to the house... and I may just go on and get some more electric netting to put up here for them and move them here. Got the calf hutches they can use since it is unlikely I am going to have very many bottle calves again with the prices they are... This set of bull twins are just not very "smart".... and they are getting short changed being with the bigger calves. The heifer twins were so aggressive, and they just got right in there with the rest, but these bull twins just don't. They would benefit from a separate "field" and getting fed by themselves again. Plus, if they are here, I won't have to haul water up there for them, as the rest all go down the hill to the spring fed trough... and it is staying full so the calves can reach it. I still will probably haul some water so the smaller calves come in the lot and get grain, and then get a drink, so I can get them all in one day and get DS to band and tag the ones that need it... but it won't be a "have to" in order for them to drink... more of a "convenience for them"...

Got to get up early and go to chiropractor... and have to get on the phone and see about some testing...

Don't know what is going on with DS but earlier when I was helping him, he made the comment about something was trying to tear the wire off the chicken run there at his house and I said he should get his traps that I had used here, to use at his house...... and that he must've gotten up early to come up to the barn to be moving hay and he said he was here at his house... that he has been staying here "more".... so something must be going on with her .... AGAIN..... he said he did not get the planting done yesterday like he planned... said it was just a BAD DAY...... and they just went away last weekend... so she must be needing her space or something again.... GRRRR......

He said that he was going to go check cows, and move them at the one pasture from the end field (#3), to the center field (#2), then in a week or so will move them into the first field so they can eat it down and we can start bush hogging in the far field to start...... it is alot easier to do if it is eaten down some so you can see what you are bush hogging and see to avoid some of the rocks.... he called while over there, a little while later, because he kept coming up with 28 cows and 29 calves and figured that he was missing someone.... but I told him, that my cow had a set of twins so that was right... so he said he was relieved, as he wanted to shut them in "#2" for the week then move them into #1 next week...we had originally put them in #2 to start while waiting for the fence to get built between #3 and the neighbor's field, where his cattle kept coming over and eating "our grass" (that we are paying the rent to be able to graze), and he will bushhog in #3 first since it is eaten down, then #2 as he does not want them to eat it into the dirt but they can eat some of the newer growth from a couple weeks ago...then they will be in #1 for 2-3 weeks eating it so will have some of the stuff eaten down to be able to see the rocks... that is where he cut some of it for hay too, but did not cut as much as last year when we had alot more rain early on..... can't do the bush hogging until the 15th... yep, this is that owner I do not like... says in the lease has to be done from July 15th to July 30th... like his dictating certain dates is the best for the grass etc.... STUPID JERK.... but, that is when it gets done... last year we were behind after all the BS with her and them breaking up.... so this year with him off work on disability, I imagine he will be doing most of it since there won't be any hay for us to be making at any of the hayfields unless we start getting ALOT of rain......

I think he is going to cut that small 5 acres or so right down the road from the farm, tomorrow...last of the 1st cutting..... it will be dry in 2 days to bale anyway... Want to just get done with it all.... and maybe we will get some rain to get it back growing for a 2nd cutting later on...

Okay, time to go to bed so I can get up and get going in the morning...

 

[Baymule]

Lots of first cutting going on here, everyone is going as hard and fast as they can. Was too wet until just a few weeks ago. I’m going to buy 10 more bales from the guy I got hay from last year. Son gave me tractor lessons yesterday on his new to him 100 HP Kubota. He said now I can do my own hay hauling. At 69 years old, learning new tricks.