Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[Mini Horses]

And the rains will keep corn going!! There's that feed for winter.

Overcast & off/on misty here but, same as you -- Every day this week. Small amounts though, no big run offs.

 

[farmerjan]

Back home. DS needed a ride from out back with the rolls of hay, after taking the truck/trailer out there (1/2 mile or so down the old rr tack bed) to come get the tractor to unload... it was raining and his knee hurts him... so I went down there. It is a sprinkly/ misty/light rain out. Soft and very gentle... I went down and gave him a ride back up to get the tractor, and in the meantime, he had locked the heifers in the barn, so we sorted out some to go to "Hanger's pasture"... 7 heifers and a steer that has had a limp from when he got him... they spend the better part of their day in the barn (big roof for shade) and the concrete is not helping this steer. So he decided to take him to the pasture, get him out on the grass/ground... and see if he gets any better.

Then came home, made a sandwich, and was starting to sort through some papers, pile for the burn stuff, pile to file and all that.....I then remembered that I needed to see if I had a pole saw; from when I got a bunch of stuff on those "special deals" on the black friday stuff a couple years ago... Told him I was pretty sure I got a pole saw and a hedge trimmer thing... thinking about the forsythia bushes here... Got the pole saw, new in the box, and the batteries I had on charge, and took all that down to him. Also have a small 12" chain saw. All DeWalt. It is still misty/lightly raining. Enough to get your shirt wet if you are out in it for a little bit. DS was going to go out back and see if he could get the limbs trimmed up...

Deb called earlier and was coming out... of course it is raining so she can't do much outside... but she hasn't been out for a couple weeks again. We will go out to supper later... I will treat her to supper since the last couple cattle checks have been good... told DS we were going out to eat and he was welcome to come if he wanted... he said just a little bit ago that he was doing fine, keeping busy with stuff, and it just all of a sudden hit him, and how much it hurts... I will not express any sympathy to him anymore over her...it would be better if she was gone and he would just grieve over it....

 

[farmerjan]

DS just texted and said the pole saw worked perfectly....got the limbs trimmed off... so that's good.

He unloaded hay and left the 6 rolls to take to a hay customer.

I'm going to get out the vacuum, and start doing some cleaning up. I have decided to make the LR a PRIORITY on the clean up list... Tired of the mess... and I need a more comfortable place to use the exercise cycle thing... doesn't work good with the desk chair on wheels... It is still too wet out there to do much right now.

 

[murphysranch]

Our little town, Battleground, is having their harvest festival today. Classy car parade last nite and regular parade this morning. Our area harvests hay and blueberries.

I've learned so much about haying from you, that I can now watch/look with a semblance of knowledge.

Sad to say that 76 acres about a mile away from me on our main road is going to be housing, no longer hay. The county has already allowed over 2000 acres of hay within 5 miles of me, to be turned into a humongous warehouse that sits empty for the last year, and then more retail with apts above, that have just started to frame.

 

[farmerjan]

Thank you @murphysranch , the different discourses about hay have been for people that don't realize all that actually goes into the growing and making decent quality hay... especially the different climates and how the weather... humidity... can make a GOOD quality hay or an "okay" quality hay. Plus the costs to make hay.... it is expensive to make hay... so we try to make the best quality so that it makes the feeding value of the hay better.

Sunday... just made some lunch. 64 overnight... was 86 last time I looked. Mostly sun, but some high clouds.

Surprisingly, all the misty weather yesterday produced only 1/10th inch of rain. Just enough to keep it wet out, but not much to add much to the soil. But , it was still better than 100 degree burning down sun. This is giving the ground a chance to keep soaking in any we get, instead of baking it to a crisp in a few hours.

The rain/shower chances go up as the afternoon wears on... and chances range from 25-60% through the week. Our corn looks sooooo much better with this last weeks rain. The fields are greening up, and DS had spread fertilizer a week or so ago, and this rain has put it down into the ground where it will feed the roots and not burn them up....

I am going out to get on the mower and tidy up everything since the grass is growing since it rained. Need to go around where the netting is .
Last night Deb and I went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant... Sinaloa style. It was pretty good... they have been open for about 9 months they said... and they make guacamole tableside if you order it as an appetizer... VERY GOOD guacamole... Also they serve alot of seafood. After looking it up, it makes sense since it is on the western side of Mexico along the coast.
Then we came back to her house, and she had a jigsaw puzzle there she had been working on for a couple months (remember she is only out every couple of weekends so not alot of actual "days" to work on it), and I have "helped" a little when I have been there... Well, we finished it up last night... It was about 9 or so when we got back from eating, and it was nearly 11:30 when I finally left to come home...
She was hoping to get the lawn mowed today since she is going on vacation with her stepdaughter and SIL and the 3 kids for a week... leaving next Sat and gone for a week... and probably will not come out that following Sunday unless there is a problem here... DS did go pick up her lawn mower at the JD dealership as it had several issues that needed fixing... a fluid leak in a rigid "hose/tubing" and some other stuff I think.

It is warm out, but not sweltering, so I am headed back out to do some more stuff. Will try to make a trip to the dumpster later too, with the stuff on the truck. Got some of the piles of rocks picked up and in the buckets, and want to get the rest done and out of there, so I can finish up that mulch..hopefully this evening since I didn't do it last night.
Got to pick squash again too... and get some blanched and frozen for the winter.

 

[farmerjan]

Went out and did some stuff. The sun had gone in, mostly clouds out, even looked like we might get a shower but only about 6 drops fell. It was cooler so comfortable. Ran 2 weed eater batteries down... and all of a sudden the sun came out bright and I bet it jumped 10-15 degrees or more in the sun... so I said, okay, time for a drink. Texted 2 farms about testing.. 1 texted back, asked if we could do a morning, she will check at the farm later when they milk what days she will have help... and they have just started calving... so might wind up with some calves yet. Got 2 or 3 more to text... and need to set up getting that "new" farm that wants to do owner sampler, with the stuff on the computer so I can test them, then they can go owner sampler and I will only have to minimal work for them.

Hoping the sun goes behind some clouds again. It was halfway comfortable out there, when it was cloudy. I am going out to get the mower out, hook up the cart to go out and collect all the rocks into it, and get the 2 charged batteries for the weed eater, put the 2 others on charge, and take it all out to the garden area.

 

[murphysranch]

I'm so glad you have her as a friend, when she's in town.

 

[farmerjan]

Okay, done for the night. Got quite a bit of weed eating done in the garden around the edges, ran one battery down and the other was getting a little slower so close to done. Got the electric netting up all around the garden. I still have to take the buckets and get the rest of the rocks out... still need to run the mower all up around the outside of the garden... I will move the fence and then move it back after I scalp the ground again...
But it is "enclosed"...
I saw 4 deer and a fawn over in the christmas tree lot next door, they stayed further away... BUT... they had been back in the garden as there were some tomato plants near the edge that had been eaten off... and more hoof prints. I also saw the groundhog out near the big dip in the ground where I think he has a burrow/den... right about as I was getting done. The bottom of the left foot/"ankle replaced one", is hurting in this pair of sneakers to walk on it... so I was too sore to come back to the house and get the .22.... he didn't come anywhere near the garden....
The sky got a little cloudy but the sun was going down so not near as hot to work out there. I was going to see about trying to do some mulch, but by the time I got the fence all laid out, and the weed eating and stuff done... I just said, maybe tomorrow. I did pull a bunch of tall spiney weeds and some other tall weeds along the one edge too, as well as weed eated some overgrown grass.
I also picked some yellow squash... I planted yellow crookneck, and that is what I have picked twice before... but the transplanted squash plants are yellow straightneck from last years seeds... and got a couple off them this evening..
Cucumbers are starting to climb the cattle panel a little... and the gourds never came up. I meant to take some white cucumber seeds out to plant, but forgot them. Maybe I can remember tomorrow. I do intend to work on the hay mulch tomorrow since the netting is at least up and looking impressive. I will wear my other sneakers so the bottom of my foot doesn't hurt . I need to find some that don't hurt.... I thought I had but as soon as they get a little wear, they hurt that foot and it's bad enough that the bottom is about half numb all the time anyway and it has never been a problem.
The butternut squash plants are going crazy spreading... bet they are growing the runners a foot a day... Had to redirect them back around on the hay... need to extend the area for them to spread... Cantaloupes are slowly coming along. Not impressed...

So, batteries are on charge and then tomorrow if I use it again, I will switch and put the 2 from this evening on charge. The lights were still blinking so the first 2 were not ready yet.
Mower is back in the carport with the tarp to protect it from blowing rain..., cart is out here, so I can put the buckets of rocks in it .... I used it to take the weed eater, batteries, extra stakes for the netting, etc out to the garden area. It is very handy and alot easier on this shoulder....

Farmer texted me back a bit ago and said Thursday morning and I said that works. Need to get the other one to answer me.... and the jersey herd that is 80 miles north, that sold half the cows, will need to get tested soon, too.

Does it seem possible that July 20th has already come and gone... 2/3 of the month is over...

Radar shows that north of here has been getting some rain/showers. You could see the dark grey clouds... they need it, as several of the guys from up that way, at the stockyard on Friday... said they hadn't gotten the rain we got, a couple tenths last week. So I hope they are getting it. Looks like we might get some later tonight and into the morning...

Oh, gotta go out and get the sun tea...

 

[Mike CHS]

We had a nice shower today but all of the cells started to break up as the sun was going down.

 

[Ridgetop]

Glad you finally got some rain. Do cattle prices look to be starting down? Did you pickupanyheavy bred cows at the sale?

I feel really bad about DS work problems and the girlfriend trouble again. She really has a screw loose to keep being so obnxious to him. Sadly,because of the kids (both her daughter and sister's kids) I think he feels like he can't let go.