Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[Ridgetop]

All in all, we are lucky. But from everything you all are posting we are the same - saved our money, did without when necessary, paid off credit promptly and were careful. We worked hard and saved. Others may not be in as good shape, but then they didn't save, were careless with money, or didn't want to work hard. Won't even mention those who got government benefits and figured it was the easy way.

I would hate being in an apartment or even in a suburb. Even seeing those houses so close together makes me nervous. I have always been careful in checking surroundings when shopping, but now even more so. Neighbors are nice, but I feel safer on my acres surrounded by nothing. I have good fences, 3 Anatolians, and a shotgun.

 

[farmerjan]

Which is happening a lot. I just don't WANT to do that. Safety wise, in today's environment, walking through a field with a bull is safer than walking to your mailbox in town. I don't like all the traffic either. Don't like a house 50' away.

I could sell this place, buy and bank a lot of $ with values now. Wouldn't be happy -- although there are days I'd LOVE to have no chores, grass cutting, fence or other obligations! One day I might subdivide, sell out all but a couple acres, bank a lot of proceeds and become a hermit....with couple cats, few chickens, a goat or three an option.

My SS covers all my normal bills, too, including my mortgage, with $ left. Subdivide and live smaller, mtg gone, I'd be in hog heaven. I could quit now but not ready. It's social and income I can feel ok to spend -- carefully but, not a consideration for eating or having electric! I do work a job where I can control my schedule!! If not that schedule element, I'd quit.

I'm the same way, @Mini Horses , with the work. I could quit, it would hurt farmers that I have been testing for 30 years... but I don't "have to have" that money... it allows for some discretionary spending and not having to watch every penny... same with not having to have to make sure the electric gets paid and mine is high with all the freezers and all.... Going to the farms also is social for me... and it gives me an excuse to do what ever shopping/browsing I want since I go through town either heading north or south... like to the different Goodwills, that I do not NEED to go to.... or just going through the plant sections of Lowes or something...
Sometimes I will take a day to do some errands just to get out.... mostly I try to do things on the way to, or from, work... but on the way "from" work to home, I am often smelling like a dairy so some places I just don't want to go in out of consideration for others... so I try to leave early and do things on the way to work... sometimes that doesn't work out like I like, due to traffic or something holding me up... so I have a list and have to prioritize what I can do on the way and allow enough time to make sure I get to work on time.

And for me, it also the flexibility... always has been. One reason I did not take a full time position years ago at the target warehouse... 3 - 12 hr days counted as full time and the pay was twice what I made a month with all the farms... but it was a SET schedule... and I decided it was just not for me.

There are days I wish I didn't have a cow to deal with.... especially when they get out.... but I am also not ready to just quit and sit back and "retire"... it will be the death of me; just like so many men that retire and get sick and die in a year or so... but on days when I hurt, or the shoulder is giving me fits now that the knees and ankle are "fixed"... I think how much easier it would be to not have to go do anything because it needs to be done... But then, some days I need that "need to go let the chickens out or get on the tractor to rake hay, or gotta go to such and such pasture to check the electric fence" to get me out and going...the incentive to move and do.... or I would sit and just turn into a lump of nothing....

Went out and let chickens out and trap is closed... There is a small possum in it... so took care of that... and carried a forkful of hay up to a couple of thin spots... I will try to do that a few times as I am walking around checking it instead of trying to do it all at once. The bean seeds I stuck in the empty spots are starting to come up... and how in the world they are managing it, but the purple beans that sorry groundhog had chewed off to sticks are almost all sprouting new leaves at the junction of where the old leaves were... I am talking like it left a 1/4 inch of the old leaf stem and took off the entire top and there are little green leaves coming out of the junction of that tiny piece of stem... there are a few of the replanted fill in ones coming up but I am not going to pull the chewed off ones since they are doing their dam#@st to grow...
See a couple of new cantaloupe seeds have sprouted and 3 new cucumber seedlings coming through... and some new sunflowers from where I went through and stuck seeds in where they had gotten cut off by the groundhog. None of the yellow squash seeds have come through yet... and that package was new seeds I had just gotten since they had been discounted... maybe tomorrow.

The sun has tried to come out so it is a "bright cloudy" out there... and humid as all get out... Already has hit 80 so the walk behind is out so I don't get all sweaty and filthy before going to test. There is forecast of t-showers after 1 or 2.. so walk behind weed eating will wait.

Bottles in the trays for work and will bring in the last few things from the groc shopping... detergent and stuff like that...when I take them out to put in car.

Just ate some chicken sandwiches for lunch... real roasted chicken sliced off carcass, not lunch meat. It was good.

 

[farmerjan]

Yep, give me a field full of cows, even with the bulls, and the gun.... and an awareness of the dangers I know how to deal with... cannot fathom living in a subdivision type situation.... and there will not be any house closer to me than what is now, due to the christmas tree place next door... and the way my 2 acres with the house is on the pie shaped piece with roads on 2 sides... christmas trees on the 3rd side... too much road traffic still... but at least it is not people in and out of a house right next door...

Have seen a cat hanging around some... wild/feral... actually came in the house when I had the door open and went nuts trying to get back out... but I am putting out some scraps for it so it might hang around and help keep the mouse population in check some...

We wound up with a total of 3.5 inches rain for the last week. will see what comes of the next few days... but it sure soaked in really good so a blessing for the grass and garden.

Going to have to mow the lawn in the next couple of days though....

 

[Ridgetop]

There are days I wish I didn't have a cow to deal with.... especially when they get out.... but I am also not ready to just quit and sit back and "retire"... it will be the death of me; just like so many men that retire and get sick and die in a year or so... but on days when I hurt, or the shoulder is giving me fits now that the knees and ankle are "fixed"... I think how much easier it would be to not have to go do anything because it needs to be done... But then, some days I need that "need to go let the chickens out or get on the tractor to rake hay, or gotta go to such and such pasture to check the electric fence" to get me out and going...the incentive to move and do.... or I would sit and just turn into a lump of nothing....

So true! And who wants to be a lump of nothing in their Prime?

Have seen a cat hanging around some... wild/feral... actually came in the house when I had the door open and went nuts trying to get back out... but I am putting out some scraps for it so it might hang around and help keep the mouse population in check some...

If it is a feral cat, so much better - it should know the dangers of the road. Hopefully you will have a barn cat now.

 

[SageHill]

Wow - reading through the current replies - we are all the same. Worked hard to get where we are, were careful and basically smart about spending. As DH would say 'there's good spending and bad spending'.
All about common sense spending and solid work ethic.
And yeah, there are those days one thinks toss it all go live ______. And in a few minutes we all come to the same thought -- no way I could do that. It's to "peopley" .

 

[Margali]

We are able to move and fund our ranch because we have retirement income behind us. If we can't make a go of it, selling our livestock and equipment will be an option along with either selling the ranch or renting out the house and fields. We will still have an income. How many young people can afford that? And those who have savings and would try are in their mid 30's to 40's. Most of them are established in a job with medical and retirement that they can't afford to give up.

Yep, I started working part-time at age 15 and started retirement savings then. I took advantage of COVID layoff rules to take half of the money out as down payment for our ranch. That's the only way we could get the land. I have more faith right now in land prices going up, then stock market or savings being there in another 30 years. We are managing on a single income which is becoming rare with inflation the way it is.

 

[farmerjan]

I basically did what you did @Margali ..... had the ankle replacement and property came available, and it was during the covid crap... and took most out of mine and financed it for 30 years... I wanted 20 but they wanted 30, so okay.... didn't matter to me as long as I got it and got out from $550 mo rent to $375 mtg... and all MINE to have the garden, not worry about getting it mowed or listening to the landlord about stuff.... having the chickens at home... Yes it needs some work... but it is much easier to heat... and anything I put into it will be a plus if I do get to where I have to sell it due to age/health...

I give you alot of credit of managing on a single income with kids and all that... KUDOS to you.....

I agree that the land will be there, and hopefully worth more... than the stock market, and savings is a joke. I am going to take the rest of my retirement money out, in larger than "suggested" payments, since it is earning so little... and I am really concerned about all the "hush hush" talk about the gov't being able to "tap into" retirement accounts in the future.... Just too much that is not on the up and up in my opinion... and with inflation, it is worth more to me in hand... or in the form of household improvements or land or something...
I like the investments I have in the stock market for the most part... and I researched the companies I was considering for both the track records... # of years.... as well as they had to pay dividends... I have a fair amount invested in one company that does not pay dividends but the prospectus looks good and it is not a high priced stock... hoping that it will pay off in a few years... But the rest had to have a good track record of paying a decent dividend... I know the stock market could fail tomorrow... but we are going to have to have gas and oil to survive regardless... and that is where I am invested...

Still, having the garden, being able to raise my own meat and vegetables and all, I won't go hungry... if the SS system gets raided and goes bankrupt, the country will also go bankrupt since between seniors and the giveaway programs of the gov't that are supporting all the unable... and UNWILLING to work people on top of the illegals...we are paying out way more than is taken in... so I am hoping that the gov't will figure out how to at least keep that somewhat solvent... there are as many democrats on SS as there are republicans, so it is in the best interest of those in the gov't to keep their political base somewhat mollified... and if there were to be a total breakdown of some of this, I think we would be in for a CIVIL war of proportions no one has ever seen.
I feel bad that you and your kids will see the worst of things to come, because of your younger age... and I would not wish this sort of suffering on your generation no matter what. I hope I am wrong, and that some sense comes into play here soon... so we do not go the way of Venezuela ... Sad thing, I heard on the radio the other day, not on conservative talk shows but "regular radio", about how the instability of things is looking like Venezuela did 30 years ago just before it went into hyperinflation and the country's economy went to he// in a hand basket...Shocked me to hear it even being mentioned... The parallels are scary.

 

[farmerjan]

Went to work, left early so I could browse the Goodwill up near there... it was sprinkling when I left... got 3 miles up the road and dry for the next 20 miles, then water in puddles... Got to the farm and they had a fast hard T-storm go through a little bit earlier...
Tested , talked to the farmer a bit... he is the one recovering from colon cancer... then came home. Brought everything in the house, went out and put the chickens in their crates... came in the house.. There was nothing in the rain gauges so the sprinkles had to have stopped right after I left.

Wasn't real hungry, so wound up just eating a small bowl of the bread pudding, and had some tea and going in to take a shower and wash the cow sh!t out of my hair and will have clean hair for 2 days before I go to the next farm. Got one scheduled for Tuesday eve... after the vet preg check. Don't have to be there until 5 to set up... 1 1/2 hours away... and the vet ought to be done by 1-1:15 as he has to leave for another appt after that... so I will be in good shape. DS might want to move some cows around, but he can do that without me once we know their status and who is going where... or he can wait and move them Wed aft...

I'm done for the night...

 

[Baymule]

There’s that drawback of attracting young people to your job…. Cow poop in hair. And splattered on you. Young people just don’t want that kind of work.

 

[HomeOnTheRange]

Cow poop in hair. And splattered on you. Young people just don’t want that kind of work.

I can barely get them to clean quail and chicken eggs with a little manure on them. Then they have to wash their hands right away and douse them in hand sanitizer!! No telling how they would react if they got a nice warm splat of green cow poop.