Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[farmerjan]

Tuesday evening... Have to go to bed because a farm wants to test in the morning... and will test a different one Thursday morning. Got to get up at 3 or so tomorrow... 3:30 or so on Thursday. But it will be cooler in the barn to do it, and not so sticky, than later in the afternoon.

Got the title for the explorer... went to the Y... talked to them, have an appt with a "fit-trainer" tomorrow at 10. I should be home after 8 or so from the farm... Get 3 "free " sessions with a fit person to help with getting acquainted with the equipment, to figure out what I can do.... yoga on the floor mats is not going to work since I cannot get up and down off the floor with these knees... they have a chair yoga class. so might see about that... the membership is covered with my "silver sneakers" on my SS/supplement stuff...
So I will get a better idea of what is available, what I can do, all that... after I talk to someone tomorrow.

Went looking at the shoe store for some sneakers but did not find any I like as much as the AVIA brand ones I have.... certain styles.... so will see... Walmart carries this brand now... the ones I recently got are Ladies, and they are the ones that hurt that bottom of the left foot/heel.... The other ones I have are men's so need to look at the men's. I take a very wide one and have not taken the time to try any of them on....

Went to Walmart on the way by and got a Wifi thing... but it is soo complicated... so far out of my understanding... not just a plug it in and use... either going to take computer to someplace like Staples to get them to look at it, maybe make it more useable... or something... I don't know... I honestly do not like dealing with all this electronic stuff....

Came home... got my sample bottles all ready for work tomorrow morning and put out in the car. Then, I went out in the garden and got a couple of big fork fulls of mulch hay carried into the garden and put between the rows.... but it started to rain, and I was getting rather wet; and DS had called to see if we were going to the cow sale... said he wanted to take the tractor and bush hog to the pasture that has to be done by July 30th.... he has done the one at one place that the same guy owns, now need to do the big pasture... so I followed him over and then we took the car to the sale in town. Didn't take the truck and trailer... DS said we were not going to be able to afford to buy anything.
Prices were all over... but mostly way too high... Some cow/calf pairs brought in the 2200-3,000 range... many were 1800-2300 for the bred ones that were 5-8 months bred. A few were cheaper.... most were shorter bred like 3-5 months in the 1200-1600 range... and alot of them were bought by a guy that sends alot of them to kill.... some were definitely needing some groceries..... alot of cows were lighter weight than I expected... 950-1100 lbs... and some were rather fat in the 1350-1500 range. Nothing we needed to take home...
The friend he bought the cows from, was there, we talked a bit... and he was commenting on how they were rather high, and that if we did not keep on getting rain, these cows were going to be very very expensive when the prices dropped... he seemed fine with the situation... said that most were too high for what they were... and we talked about how the prices of these steers had come off some last week. And that the recent rains have helped alot but that they are not going to keep us out of more drought if it gets hot and dry like it does in August.....

It rained some when we went to town, and only sprinkled there... but the roads were quite wet when we came home... so it had rained more here. I didn't look at the rain gauge when I got here. I will check it out tomorrow... usually try to read and dump around noon as we seem to often get a lull in the "weather" during the middle of the day. More scattered storms/showers tomorrow and into the end of the week but maybe clearing out more over the weekend... Will take all we can get right now...

So, tomorrow up early, go test, come home and go to the Y to find out more about stuff... then home to hopefully get into the garden and get most/all of the mulch hay done and the other beans planted... and maybe get a short row or 2 of some broccoli and cabbage started... for late harvesting. We'll see. Have to get the samples packed and can drop off practically right next door at UPS when I go to the Y also.

 

[Mini Horses]

Getting same here. Scattereds with various intensity, 5 miles of downpour, 5 miles of sprinkles. Had rain here 5ish, hard but only 1/2 hr. Thundering now and who knows what will fall here of the "serious" rains passing thru. I'm definitely getting more than you seem to be but, you have improved this week . With several pastures you have, spread out, maybe enough will get rain.

 

[farmerjan]

Morning did not start out well. Got up, dressed, ready to go. See text on phone... farmer said to call... he was in hospital ER with his father. His father has had several trips in lately, and his health is not good. So, I told him that was fine, to keep me up on things and we would go from there. Since it was he that wanted to test morning, it is on him... they might do an evening as there is always someone around to get the milking started on time and all that...
And I actually got up right on time too....

Of course, I couldn't really get back to sleep, even though I definitely did not get enough to start with. So, I laid down, dozed off a few times, then got up around 6.

Too wet out to go out in it... just enough misty, damp, sprinkly stuff out there... Been on computer some, and going in to do some dishes since it really is just too damp to go out. I would have liked to get more of the mulch down and finished, but I do not want to get too wet and get a cold or something. Or get wet and then have to get dried off and cleaned up to go to the Y at 10.....

Only down to 69 so not much of a change from last evening. Time to get dressed, again, and get something positive done. Will still go to the Y for the 10 a.m. appt....

 

[Mini Horses]

Might as well go to Y -- too wet for much outside. Same here. I worked yesterday, again today & tomorrow, with rains each day. No complaining, just saying. Hope you get more rain!! . You can nap today.

 

[farmerjan]

Went to the Y.... got some namby pamby guy to show me around... kept saying oh I understand, and excuse me if I talk too fast...he was so "nice" that it was sickening... I don't need some "cater to me BS", I need some honest... this will help this and that.... and show me exactly what all these machines actually do... give me a demonstration not ask me if I want to try it when I have no clue what it is supposed to do......... but I finally said, OKAY, what does this one do, don't tell me all about adjusting when I have no idea what it is for or HOW IT WORKS.... I tried to explain about the shoulder hurting so bad and he wanted me to try to do exercises that work the shoulder muscles over my head... HELLO .... I can't lift the arm above the shoulder height and it hurts then..... GRRRRRRR... Then I asked about the different classes, what they did... exercise classes as I kept saying I needed to do some of that sort of thing to lose some of this fat around the middle... Finally, I said well, I think I have seen enough of the machines... he didn't hardly go through the routine of wiping them down after you use them.... and then I watched the one class they were doing, a basic exercise class...
It's all stuff I can do here pretty much... except the one machine that works the thighs... like a sitting squat... that I think will really help...
Wanted me to get on the stair machine... he//, the step up to just get on it was higher than 2 full steps up at the house... REALLY.... I don't need to be 5 ft up in the air to climb steps... and I had to use my arms to pull myself up on them... I can climb up and down off the tractor a half a dozen times.....

So, I came out of there not very happy.... but will try to make an effort to go a few times... want to go to the chair yoga class and see what that is all about... still have 2 more "free lessons".... maybe if I go and can watch some people doing some things, I will "get it" better...

It was muggy and I was not in the mood to get in the garden when I got back. Then the sun tried to come out some... so it got quite warm. But then this evening, the sun went behind the trees to the west... and I went out in the garden. Got the 2 rows of beans planted from seeds that came up earlier... so can see if the other ones are just no good. Then I picked up rocks and half filled 2 , 5 gal buckets.... can't carry more than that comfortably... and put down more mulch hay. Also picked 6 more yellow squash....
AND had to shoot a skunk in the trap out there... I will dump it out tomorrow after all the "spray" is gone from it releasing when it died.
Got to redirect the butternut squash and the crenshaw vines as they are going crazy since it rained... I will get the grass mowed once more and then they are going to have to just take it over there...

Put a ham in the oven earlier, so it is ready to slice some and eat for supper. The bottles are still in the car from the farm this morning that I didn't do, so ready to go to the farm tomorrow. I have to get up by 3:45 to leave about 4 or so...... Then the farm that sold half the jerseys a couple months ago, wants to test... and tomorrow eve works for them... They said 6 so I will get there about 5:30 and set up... won't take that long to milk, but I still won't get home before 10.... And the farm that cancelled this morning, wants to do Sat morning. His dad has a UTI again, and he got to come back home with some drugs and stuff. Seems like this is going to be an ongoing problem for him my farmer said. So, I agreed to do him Sat morning.

DS texted me about possibly doing some bush hogging, I said I could do some on Friday since I was testing 2 different farms tomorrow. He said he did a bunch around all the rocks and bad spots today, in the one field.

So, that's my day. Not near as crappy as @Baymule 's, with the gas leak, flat tire on the tractor, stuck truck.... or as bad as @Margali 's with the dog taking out part of the fence and into her yard....

I'm going in to eat something, and then get a shower and go to bed. I sweated a bunch in the garden tonight... that's good even if it makes me feel yucky right now...

Calling for some more rain/showers/storms tomorrow... we missed alot of it today... just enough to get you damp today. We'll see tomorrow...

 

[Ridgetop]

The problem with some of the exercise places is that people will get on one machine and stay on it for an hour or more sono one else has a chance to use it. I don't go to exercise gyms for that reason. Years ago there was an exercise gym called Curves. They had one or two of each machine and a timer system. Every 10 minutes the bell would ring and you had to switch machines. It was a great system since you could get a really good workout in an hour or less with no one hogging any of the machines. Sadly I think they are out of business now. The chair yoga sounds interesting. Let us know how that goes.

 

[Baymule]

I’m so glad @Margali and I brightened your day! Hahaha!

 

[murphysranch]

Thought of you and your son's biz.

A rancher lost 300 head of cattle yesterday due to the Durkee fire in Eastern OR. He and a friend, who drove out from Montana to help, were scrabbling around, digging dozer lines and breaking fences, as the fire raced towards the rancher's property. Sadly, the fire surrounded 150 head of cows and their calves. Presumed gone. Tragic.

 

[farmerjan]

@murphysranch .... there is a guy on the cattle today forum that is in that area. The fire got to within a couple hundred yards of his house and they saved it... He said they were moving cattle down the road the other day, about 5-6 miles, in 100 degree heat, and that the calves had their tongues hanging out... expects some to wind up sick... said there are unknown numbers of cattle going to be reported lost... some of his neighbors there run 500-2000 head momma cows...... alot on BLM allottments.... it is horrible. I have been checking in on some web sites to see how bad...He posted yesterday that the Cow Valley and the Durkee fires had reached each other, and it was over 400,000 acres... the largest in the nation of current active fires...

There is a site, I think it is Oregon Cattle Assoc... that is taking donations to be used once they get things a little better handled... to be used to help ranchers rebuild etc...

Thank you for caring enough to be aware of that... it is devastating for them... and of the cattle that do survive, many will have to be put down due to injuries and burns, and the calves that will be left without mommas and vice versa....

 

[farmerjan]

Just a quick update. Got up and it was lightly sprinkling/raining as I left at 4 to go to work... Everything went fine, stopped and got a bag of feed so I can go do the calf at the nurse cow pasture on the way to test later... got back home about 11:30.... Brought everything in the house, going to get the samples packed. Ate a big slice of the ham I cooked last night...

I dumped the rain gauges and there was right at .4 from the last 2 days total. Might get some more later...for now it is just cloudy. Temp is 80 and it feels muggy out. I need a recording thermometer that has a humidity thing too....

I will drop the samples off on the way to go test. No garden or mulching today... I am sweaty and hair got splattered but it will wait for tonight . Going to have a ton of laundry to catch up with once it does clear off some...

Got to get going....