Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[farmerjan]

Thursday morning.... heading up to meter calibration...
Yes, he needs another klonk on the head about xgf. AND yes the daughter sees it... she told him one day that she hates the other xbf, and if the mother is going back to him, she is going to go back to her father's house... the father got custody of his other daughter, by a gf that he never married.... the grandparents (her mother and sister) even went to court supporting the father getting custody due to the mother's drug habits and all.... and luckily the 2 half sisters get along well and she is included in everything.... DS even took her and little boy, when he went to take the 2nd load of heifers to WV.... she wanted to go and so DS said fine... he was taking Colt anyway... it is tough on the kids... but NONE of them like the xgf's previous bf that she went back to twice when with DS....and they all want to go and do with DS.... and they are getting old enough now that they will mind him when he takes them places...

The farm income is always in the farm name... I will just run it through the farm account I have at my bank.... got it so that I could cash any of the stockyard checks since the credit union will not allow checks made out to a business to be deposited into a personal checking account... so I opened a business farm account years ago... been running some of the checks through that DS pays me for my cows anyway... so it is not like it is not already established. Everything gets made out to the farm name and any parts and such get ordered in the farm name... he has the farm name added to his personal account at a different bank that he has been using for years, so it will not be that big a deal if I am getting them instead of him.
The accountant said he cannot show that farm income if he is on the long term disability... and he has that question on the list for the lawyer he is talking to also.... but the accountant said that if it is in the farm name, and I am a part of the farm, it would not be a problem for me to start establishing the farm schedules in my stuff.... but we are hoping that if the workman's comp atty we just went to see takes his case, this can all be figured out. At least there is no limit to what I can earn or anything, won't affect my SS with my age now...

Gotta go, will be gone most of the day....Gonna be upper 90's with heat index in the triple digits... hot already, was 70 overnight and already up to 85.

 

[Weldman]

Owning your own registered business with accounts yet getting disability or comp and having income from your business it right up there with washing money and coming out clean the other end. It's mind boggling on how much one could send through the laundry mat and comes out clean or disappears into tangible items.
Yeah that toy is a tax write off, the business needs it
Now we just need to figure out this Section 179...

 

[farmerjan]

HOT today. Car thermometer was 95... we got a 2 minute shower when I stopped to visit one of the 2 testers that retired last year.... it didn't last and within a half hour you could not tell it had rained a drop. That area is alot drier than we are here... they have not gotten the rain there that some places got 5-10 miles away.... it has been very spotty there... we are so green here now in comparison.
Visited with Sandra for about 2 + hours... ate lunch with her and her husband had come in... He had a hip replaced about 6 weeks ago and is getting along pretty good. He is back to work, kinda easy at it... he does maintenance and is an all around "fix it" guy for them.... using a cane and driving and all that...

Left there, came down and went to Sharp Shopper up in that area... picked up a few things... Went from there to Super Shoes and looked for sneakers, and then went to the Goodwill store right next door... didn't find anything much... came on home... It is soooo hot and sticky, hoping it will cool off in a little bit more so I can go out and do some stuff...

Have to take meters out of the car... actually snagged a few extras because the "valve" on the bottom, turns easy and I have a few that nearly need a pliers to turn them... I only used them on the farm I need 24... so now I won't have to.... doesn't matter if I have them, will put them in the meter box I have and they can stay there for a year til next year's calibration... I will turn them in then. It was easier for their recording to not have to "retire" these meters while they were trying to run all the meters through and stuff anyway. One of the other "girls" (tester) came and she was returning a bunch of stuff from the other tester over her direction... that tester has pancreatic cancer, and all her herds have gone on owner sampler.... Priscilla is 6 months older than me; been testing probably 40-45 years.... Kris said she is doing okay considering, but it is not a good prognosis... Kris is talking about quitting... she had technically quit then was doing some of Priscilla's... now she is down to only 1 that she does... and that farm is off away from every other farm, she travels 2 hours to them, and is keeping the meters to take to them and leave them so they can go on owner sampler too... The tester they hired a few years ago, Rachel, part time, has 7 herds cow but she milks at her family farm and she does not want any more... The job is disappearing, there are no people that want it, and the farms are selling out with the high prices that cattle are bringing.

I heard that the farm just up the road has sold 100 of the 140 cows, father and son had a big falling out and son left the farm... don't know what will happen, they are due to test again since it has been nearly the 6 weeks that we usually go between tests. I have to get in touch with the father who I basically have not worked with much in 2 years.... the son is much nicer to deal with. Heard they are milking 3x a day with only the 40 cows... I'll know more next week I am sure. But I also heard he got $3,000 a head for the milking cows he shipped... Milk prices have dropped a little again, so anyone that is thinking about selling is STUPID to not sell out now while the replacement (cows and heifers) prices are so high.... They were bringing $2-4,000 at the monthly dairy cattle sale last week, so it is very possible he got the $3,000.

Just realized I did not stop and pick up my milk on the way home... it was hot and I just forgot. I will go get it now...it is still mid 80's and I don't think I am going to get anything done outside either... I have a chiropractor appt in the morning so that is out...

 

[farmerjan]

Sat morning. 68 out and will go up. Scattered T-storms in the forecast for later.

Yesterday I got up and unloaded the meters out of the car and got them in the storage bin in the carport. It was sunny and warmer, humid. Left and went to the chiropractor appt and he worked on my neck in 2 different directions and it felt better... also a spot in my back. I felt more relaxed when I got out of there, so it really helped. Some days doesn't feel so much help but I know that somethings take time to get realigned... I think it is getting better for the most part.. only not so much the shoulder.

Went to the Goodwill near there like I do, not alot interesting, got a pair of jeans. Came back and went to Walmart and returned that wifi router thing as I could not get the program to load into this computer. Maybe why that brand was marked down? Might try a different one that was alot more expensive... maybe... might just break down and get a newer computer.... may just take this and see if they can "clean it up" and make it work better... I don't know....
Then I went nearly next door and dropped off a package I was wanting to ship out that I hadn't gotten to, and the sky was dark/black. It started to POUR down rain, wind blowing, really rough. Stayed in the UPS for at least 15-20 minutes waiting for it to let up to just raining... got a little wet when I went out to the car. I said this is good, we can use the rain still.
Headed up the road and by the time I got home (16 miles) we had gotten some rain here too, but not much... barely .1 inch in the gauge. I bet they got 1/2-1 inch down in Lexington where I was in just that 15-20 min storm.... Oh well...

Then went to the closeby farmer's, they had sent me a text that they had peaches I could come get. So I talked to the farmer's wife ... this is the farm that had the problems between father and son... she said that I would have to talk to the farmer, but made a few comments and I take it she feels that the farmer was the problem and she takes her son's side... so I just told her to thank the farmer for the call and that when it suited him to let me know about testing since it was 6 weeks since the last test. Got a plastic grocery bag pretty full of some nice peaches... Will have to start working on them as some are pretty ripe.

DS said he can do the 500 cow herd Tuesday; Monday morning is another dr appt and he said he won't feel good after they do some injections... so I will call the 500 cow herd guy this morning. I have an appt with the massage therapist later Monday afternoon... and DS won't be doing much anyway so it won't interfere with anything else planned.

So, I am going out in the garden here this morning while it is cooler. Haven't been out or done anything in 2 days between the heat on Thursday and then all the "running" yesterday. Need to see if any of those green beans came up.... get the weeds out of the rest of the small patch left there so I can start some broccoli seeds and plant some more beans....
Radar shows us getting some serious showers/t-storms later this afternoon. I also am going to get on the mower and get it caught up some while it is dry, a little later on today. The grass is really growing since the ground water is a little "caught up" now. I cannot believe how green the fields are looking after so much dry/burnt up they were for so long. Normally this is the time when we start to get dry and brown....guess it is going to do it in reverse. It has been a blessing to get the pastures growing again...

Well, time to go out the door for a bit.

 

[farmerjan]

WOW.... quite a morning... went out to the garden.... pulled the last 6x6 or so section of weeds where I am going to put more green beans. They were knee high but pulled pretty easy considering... I just laid them down on top of the mulch hay and they will dry up and eventually rot back into the soil.
The 2 rows of the 1 yr old beans did not sprout. The 2 rows of the 2 yr old beans nearly all came up. Go figure. I will just put the rest of the 1/2 lb of seeds that did not sprout in with the left over scratch feed bucket for the chickens, when I get more this fall.. I will go through and replant those 2 short rows with the other bean seeds. Staggered planting so will not get them coming all in at once.

Went through and pulled the squash plants that had gone through the netting back through and redirected them. Moved a bunch of both the striped crenshaws and the butternut vines. I had taken the weed eater out there and weed eated down the grass so I could move them over... got the poor cantaloupe plants "uncovered" from these huge squash vines taking over... don't know if I will get any cantaloupe. This section sure is good for the butternut and crenshaw squash vines though. It was getting hot and I ran the weed eater battery out. Put the other one in and it ran for a minute... then died. I had just taken them off the chargers. I thought the last time that one wasn't holding a charge, then thought I must have gotten the batteries mixed up... but I guess it is just dying.
It was getting hot, I came in for a drink and DS texted and wanted to borrow the 10x10 popup canopy thing I have. So I told him that I would go out and find it in the shed... he was returning the 2 water troughs to the lot at the nurse cow pasture that we used at the one farm when their pump went bad and they were away earlier this summer... so he got them in there, and said he would come by since he was right there... I got it out, and had taken the mower out to get started on the grass. He got to talking... he was going to the big regional truck pull.... "they" used to go together with some other friends... and he had been debating about going... hard for him because he would not be able to sit with the crowd he has become good friends with because of her... they were "her friends first" kind of thing.... well, he and some other friends of his are all going and he wanted to go early and have a "roof" to get under out of the sun... and he was going early with a kid here that used to work for him (well, he was a kid... probably 30 now) and they were going to set up the truck and canopy and then he would have a place to see what he wanted... a couple other friends were coming to meet him there.... and one of the guys that pulls said they were welcome to come sit with them in the pits... so he will have a good time...and spitefully is hoping she comes with the other friends and sees that he is not dependent on her... of course he swings from one end to the other with her... but MAYBE..... he will be done this time...

So, he left and I mowed and got most of the lawn, and area in front of the garden and area around done... came in and made a sandwich and sat for a bit... Then decided to go out and move the car and the ranger and then do the section over there... took the cart and parked it by the mulch that I want to take over to put around the dogwood tree near the garden, and figured I would load it later on. The sky turned really really black to the west and thunder rumbled... I went on and finished the mowing and got the mower back in the carport and covered... closed the shed door, made sure all the vehicle windows were shut, and got the garden basket, headed back to the garden. Thought I might do a little more weed eating as it seemed these clouds were staying just west... It started to get real dark overhead and more thunder, so I was picking the squash and it opened up. I finished picking the squash at that point... grabbed the weed eater, closed the netting gate, and came to the house. I came in the bathroom and stripped and the clothes are hanging in the tub dripping....
It poured.... and was quite windy for a bit. Then it pretty much stopped, but is raining a bit again and hear some more thunder... Just checked the radar and it looks like another wave going through, staying mostly to the south and a little east so we won't get as much this time I don't think. But we are/will get some more. That's just fine....

I will go out and plant more beans in the morning since the ground will be soft and lots of moisture to get them to germinate... and I can put some mulch hay down there once I get them in the ground.
I was going to check on the cucumbers and see if the white ones had germinated after I picked the squash... guess I will do that tomorrow. Probably need to train some of the others up the panel too... the replants were just barely reaching it last week. Got a round cage of reinforcing wire for pouring concrete... I think I will try some peas on it for fall and see if they do much.

Potatoes are coming up pretty good, some bare spots... considering how dry it was for so long, I am not expecting miracles... I was late getting them all in due to the garden getting plowed late and then the weeds and getting it TILLED ..... Need to rotate some of the stuff next year.

I mowed off all the "tiger lily" patch today too. Too many weeds and crap growing in it. Going to move the netting on that side and let the squash take it over... I have extra length, will move it and back it up several sections on that side, and just make a big jog over there and let them crowd out that stuff there... might even put down some of the mulch hay to smother some of them too. I can redirect all the vines in that direction and what they do is fine. I wanted to dig them out for next year. Although, I was thinking to maybe put some of the "fancy daylillies" along the edge of the deck in a nice bed instead....... we'll see. Have to do something with the poison ivy there around the lilac bush and side of the porch... Got all these ideas....

Thundering again, little rain again... looks worse to the south, heading towards the east. I bet DS and the guys will get some of this.... Oh well, it will be truck pull/mud bog by the looks of it....

I'm going to watch a dvd or 2 and fold all these clothes piled up.... I am done outside for the night. Besides, I need to get some things organized as these peaches will be ripe enough to do something with in a couple days...
Sun is coming out to the west, and clouds are black to the east... almost funny. Weird color contrast.

 

[farmerjan]

Change of plans.... the sun came out as bright as can be in the west... clouds were to the south and more east... so I wound up going back out to garden. Took the weed eater with one battery, and then used the hand 3 tined cultivator and scuffed up the ground where the beans never came up... went down the 2 rows and replanted with the other bean seeds that came up pretty good... and then planted a 3rd row while I was there.

Then took the electric netting and moved 2 poles worth of section "up the lawn" and laid it out... moved the corner which was the end of a section of netting fence... and then moved all the rest up to "meet it" and repositioned it and got it all stuck down in the ground. Took the weed eater to some scrubby stuff coming up along the grey birch cluster, and put down some mulch hay to discourage it from growing back. Got the fence back up and took about 2/3 of the tiger lily patch because I need to go get a pair of loping shears and cut off a volunteer black walnut growing there... then I will move it over to encompass the whole lily patch... I ran the weed eater along some of the stuff inside where the fence had been but have to do a bunch more. I had to get it back up even if it is not exactly where I want it yet, because I do not trust those 4 legged pains to stay out even one night.
I remembered to go look and the white cucumbers have not come up... but I cannot remember when I planted them so might be too soon. However, had to "pull" some of the other cucumber vines up the panel a bit and get them headed up. Low and behold, I found 2 cucumbers down along the ground... 6-7 inches long I guess... and saw a couple of littler ones. Miracles never cease.
It was getting close to dark and there were mosquitos out... so I came out. Thundering and looking pretty dark to the south and east, and was thinking we might catch a little of it. I took the weed eater and went around the 2 clothesline poles and the granite marker from the RR that was put in there many years ago... old RR bed goes through part of the property .... same RR bed from up at DS's barn.... down through the back of Deb's, and behind all those properties, behind the nurse cow barn and then bears around and comes through my property. Think this was the end of the line... it was a terminal line I am thinking. ANYWAY, used the weed eater, along part of the deck, until I couldn't see and said I have had enough.

I just sliced some ham off the bone, and had just ham and some grape salad stuff... I am tired. Think that I will forego the movie, go in wash my still damp hair , take a shower and quit for the night. Clothes aren't going to go anywhere either...
It is thundering again and the radar looks like we will get some light rain, the heavier dark greens and reds and oranges staying to the east. Future radar looks like @Mini Horses might get some serious stuff middle of the night.

Didn't look close at the rain gauges but it looked like at least a 1/2 inch from that downpour T-storm this afternoon. If we get any this evening, it will just settle the dirt around those seeds better... Glad I got them in and I will see about putting in a row of broccoli seed tomorrow... then will transplant to "empty spots" in the garden when they grow a little. Plus want to get the mulch hay down on the tiger lily area so the squash can run and weed eat around that end that I didn't finish this morning. Got weed eating to do around the shed doors and weeds in front of the car port and lots of other spots... I'm going to put the "bad " battery on charge one more time tomorrow... see if maybe I didn't have it seated on the charger enough... if it doesn't hold a charge I will put it with the rest of the "spent" batteries that I will take to the recycling center whenever I remember .

 

[Baymule]

Why do the weeds out perform the seeds you plant? It’s not fair! You got a lot done and it has to feel good, seeing your progress. Congratulations on the cucumbers!

 

[Mini Horses]

Yeah, I laugh at pics of gardens with NO grass/weeds. It's a pipe dream. Even with cardboard & mulch, the grass comes up! So, why not in pastures??? Oh, wait -- my garden was a pasture for 20 years!

I'm thinking I'll till and cover with plastic this winter. even considering 2-3 pigs in it for the winter....eat every root in there!!! Take to butcher feb/mar. I do have potatoes to dig later this month. Cut all peppers off of plants yesterday. I'll cut up to freeze. Taking stress off plants and they'll bloom for more peppers pretty soon. Heat is cooking them on the plant otherwise. BAD garden year.

Yep -- we had a fast, hard rain about 5-6 yesterday, some sprinkles over night, overcast now. Saying another hit about 3-4 this afternoon. Not huge amounts. More like 1/4-1/3" each time but, grasses are loving it and it's not running off.

 

[farmerjan]

Yeah, I laugh at pics of gardens with NO grass/weeds. It's a pipe dream. Even with cardboard & mulch, the grass comes up! So, why not in pastures??? Oh, wait -- my garden was a pasture for 20 years!

I'm thinking I'll till and cover with plastic this winter.

That might be the best way to kill off some of it... If you can get the kind of plastic they use for silo pit covers it is black on one side and heavier... black side up to absorb the sun's heat and "cook" the weeds.....

There is a guy that is retired and between his tilling between the rows and being retired and having the time, his garden is the "prettiest" I've seen... but I haven't been up close to see possible weeds in the rows.

One thing with mulch, when weeds do come up they pull sooooo much easier because the soil beneath is moist and they aren't holding on like when the soil is dry and it is like concrete.

 

[farmerjan]

I slept Hard I guess... was about midnight when I turned off light and got up at 9....Really ...... 9??????
I ached and took a couple of arthritis tylenol and I guess it allowed my body to sleep through the usual "roll over because I ache" wake up thing....
It is cloudy out. Supposed to be like this all day with a possible pop up shower or 2 but not seeing any real heavy/hard storms coming through.

Checked the rain gauges, had .7 inch total for little bit of shower Friday night, storm yesterday and the little bit more showers last night. Dumped them because it is not raining, and now possible slight chance of showers later. Originally today was supposed to be more sun than clouds but that was changed on this morning's forecast.

Glad I got the grass mowed and most all the weed eating done.

Funny how we are getting near constant showers and rain NOW.... July and into early August are usually drier months, normally HOT and some humidity that does not materialize into measurable rain until mid-late Aug. We had all that heat and NO RAIN in May and June when we normally get wet...trying to make hay dodging the showers to try to get it made in between 2-3 day windows.. Making hay was a "joy" in as much as we didn't have to deal with any wet, no humidity, no pop up showers... Then the "drought" continued into July with only a few little showers that barely kept the grass/hayfields/pastures alive. Then we finally got some rain, and it saved our hay and pastures, and now we are getting nearly daily or every other day rains.
Thankfully we are not needing to make any hay at this point... pastures are recovering pretty good considering. The cows are eating it nearly as fast as it is growing right now, but they don't look like they are "searching" for their next bite like they were.

Glad we sold all the steers, prices have come off as they usually do in July/Aug.... summer months. I am really concerned; with the economy slowing... new job numbers were way off, they may very well NOT cut the prime rate, the elections that may very well make or break this country this time around... civil unrest and all the ones wanting this socialistic/communistic type life so they ALL get provided for without doing anything to deserve it...yet no one goes beyond the immediate and looks at WHERE and WHO is going to provide them with all these handouts......Except that they have this FUZZY notion that the RICH CORPORATES need to pay more taxes from all they have plundered.....on top of the moral breakdown of the whole society as evidenced in the Olympic display of blatant lack of respect.... I think we are going to be in for a real sad and bad time in the not too distant future.

Going to get the dishes done up and put away, and get the counter cleaned off to start processing these peaches... the little ones I salvaged off my tree that the deer were eating, the ones given to me, and some other places I need to go check on. Going to make some peach butter with these little ones,, get the skins off and put them in the crockpot whole since they are so small, get them partially cooked and then get the little bit of fruit off the pits and finish cooking them down I guess. Then I will try to do slices on most of the rest and they can be eaten like that, or made into a peach pie or something.

Time to get things inventoried and see what all I have and don't have.

Sun is trying to come out a little, very hazy out there. At least it is not as hot but it is a little muggy.

OH WELL ,,,WELCOME to AUGUST ...