Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[farmerjan]

Chilly 41 this morning.... a bunch of clouds out there... they will pass and sun again today. Tonight is supposed to be colder..... Forecast now has a 20% chance of possible stray scattered showers on Friday.... but not much they say... The good thing is , the temps are going to be colder tonight and then another warming trend and Thursday might hit upper 70's/low 80's for Halloween for the kids... Of course, not many do the trick or treating anymore except in the places they do the neighborhood stuff and the malls that have had it this weekend... Not like it used to be... but they have to consider the safety and all that nowadays that we never even thought about back when I was a kid... you got together in groups and everyone went to every house and even things like homemade candy apples and all were offered.
Sad how it has become....

Guess I will find out about moving those other cows whenever DS calls... he has something he is taking her daughter to tonight that he got tickets for awhile back... of course everything else is going on this week now with the vet and the fence guy coming.... but it is what it is...

Didn't get the clothes out on line, yesterday, so that will happen in a bit. Sun is coming up over the hill across the road...

 

[farmerjan]

Seems like 3 pm and after gets to be lunch time around here !!!! The sun came up over the hill. Breeze out and it has been chilly. Pretty but chilly. Sweatshirt weather for me...
Got the clothes on the line and started some vacuuming... DS texted... he was at the pasture getting the panels set up... there is a little catch pen adjacent to the field the cows are in... and the fence is pretty iffy so we put an old gate up there years ago... so we just open the old gate and with a couple of fence panels can run the cows right over in their little catch pen, then load out there as there is a gate and "drive way lane" into that neighbors field... They said it was fine years ago, we use if for about 1-2 hours maybe so not like we are tying up their pen or anything...
So he calls, said they are in... he will stop by my house, trade the r&w bale truck and take my car down to the barn to get the truck and trailer and I can take this truck back to the cows... baby sit them until he gets back... and then once loaded we can load the panels right back up on the truck and we can take both to the barn...
Went like clockwork... this is a very laid back group of 7 cows and the bull is really nice and quiet.... older bull... but easy going... I was there about 10 min and then DS came and he got the trailer backed up and we rearranged the panels to easily funnel the cows... bull was right there... walked right up into the trailer and the cows followed... had to "push" a couple of calves but they did go on without a big deal... then he pulled the truck/trailer up and I was unhooking the panels and he backed the r&w truck up and loaded them and off we went to the barn... unloaded the 7 pair of cows/calves... managed to keep the bull in the alley so put him right back on the trailer so we could drop him off at the bull lot...
DS got all the cows/calves/heifers/steers in the barn and then we turned these 7 out in the lower barn lot... and then proceded to sort the others since they all had gotten together... He wanted to sort them "mostly out" today, so that there are less to sort tomorrow... and he wants to separate some "sizes"... So we sorted out the steers we didn't need.... have 4 "stags"? that we want the vet to check for retained nuts in the body cavity?...... and some heifers, and ran them out in the back into lot near the barn... he put up some of the panels we had on the truck around the hay barn to keep them in... where he is eventually going to put a side shed roof on the barn to store even more hay under roof... and they had taken down the fence last year... to start putting in post holes and then it never got done.....
Sorted off 4 smaller ones he put in the lot across the driveway where we had the blind ones last year that we butchered... and then had to leave some of the bigger heifers (6 or 7) that were not with the bull, don't need to be preg checked... but we don't have a separate lot for them with all the fences being taken down for the fence guy coming to drive posts... We have another 6 heifers of that size, at a other neighbors field that they want us to have them there for the summer so they don't have to mow... They might even be big enough to breed... can't remember how big they are... and there are a few in the back in the one other field along the interstate, that he wants to get in tomorrow and sort out if we have time before the vet comes.

So, for right now, everyone we need for the vet plus a few we won't need, are in the barn lot and field... all the calves are with their momma's including the ones we worked through the chute yesterday. Of course this morning there were 4 that had gone over that fence again into the other lot... and we did not put anybody out there to want to go across the fence for... so they were just being stupid....

I opened and shut a couple of gates so he could feed some hay...

DS took the bull around the corner and I went down and blocked the lower part of the drive alley so he would come down and go in the bull field... then I fixed the gates in the barn so that the cows would not go in around the manure spreader and tractor that he is going to have to jump to get started to get it out of the barn for the vet check. Don't need them in there bothering the wires or getting scrunched in where they don't need to be... but you know they would go back there .... JUST BECAUSE.....

Then I came home a little bit ago... DS was going to get cleaned up and get M to go to this thing. It is an interactive "Harry Potter" in the woods... I gather quite a "thing"... have to wait for dark for it.. starts at 8 but it is 3 hours north... they are going to get some supper first...so she ought to enjoy it.... It will be late when they get back... her father said it was no big deal if she missed school Monday...

It is cool out... hit 62 and the sun is nice. BUT... chilly feeling.... I thought I might do a little mowing, but not going to. Going to be warmer in a couple days so will do it then. I want to make 1 pass all the way around the property where I can mow... and look things over a little more.... make it easier to work around... and I want to be able to maybe use the lawn sweeper and gather up some of this grass once it is dried, for the chickens I am getting in Nov....

I am going to go up and feed the 3 holsteins, and the black steer we turned back with the longhorn....feed usage will be way down now with the other 7 calves out out of there... but I will feed about half of what I was for the benefit of the holsteins to grow better now. Plus 5 of those calves were on the cows, so getting milk as well as the grain....
The poor little baby on 270 heifer that was just born won't have any "playmates" his size.... I don't want her to get stuck with the bigger cows for the winter... that have just calved now... she will get pushed around too much... she is pretty friendly and I can feed her a little extra up there.... there is the calf on the longhorn but he was born in April so 6 months older... and the holstein bull calf just doesn't "play" much...maybe the new calf will learn to come in the creep gate and learn what feed is before the holsteins come out of there... And you never know, we might have another "bred too soon heifer"; due "now" instead of in the coming spring.... in the preg checks tomorrow... or a cow that has a little calf this fall that might need a little TLC...

I am going to go up there in just a little bit, so I can get in the house before it gets too cold tonight. Going to cover the spider plants and all again... Need to find some time to do some serious repotting of stuff... get them moved inside pretty soon....

All my Thanksgiving/Christmas cactus's are blooming since I brought them in... they are pretty... too early but pretty... they had a lot of buds and bringing them in to the warmer house and more "light" has forced the buds and they opened up in the last week...but it doesn't look like the white ones are blooming... maybe they were the ones that also did not do very good this summer... the red, the fuschia, and the salmon colored ones are pretty... Had something go through alot of my african violets this year and lost a bunch... so will pick up some at "Lowe's " and wherever to fill in the empty spots... start over with the few I have and get some more... like I need more... .

Have pretty much decided to sell the 2 red angus heifers... bred or not... they still do not like coming in the barn or in the pens... they come in for the feed and then run right back out the gate when DS comes out of the barn....I was lucky they were up at the catch pen at snyder's and came in without a big deal..... they're not going to change after all this time... they have not grown out like they should have either... disappointing.... will get my money back out of them, considering that we lost the third one... pneumonia we think... but won't get the feed money back.... they can go have an attitude problem somewhere else... or wind up on a feedlot somewhere if open. Really don't care, I have no affection for them at all.... could not get them to want to cooperate..... kinda had to catch them off guard, like the other day, when I got them in because they were right there at the caztch pen when I was getting them all in... some there that came in, then had to shut the dividing gate and got more in.... like the one real standoffish bwf cow of DS's.... her and her calf both would not come when called for grain... but if at the pen/feeder... would eat and no big deal... at least they wouldn't run back out like the red ones...

Headed to the calves...

 

[farmerjan]

Done and back home and in for the night. Must've been a wreck or something on the interstate... traffic is terrible on my road heading north. I hate all the traffic that uses this as an alternative to the interstate and main route 11, when there is a backup on the interstate. Checked all the numbers of the heifers that were moved to snyder's... had one we missed... so now I can make an accurate list for there...

Fed the 3 holsteins; and the black "newly made into a steer" calf on Jess, was walking around with that "burrrr" .... throaty low sounds.... like a bull.... he'll get over it once his "parts" dry up and fall off.... he did not go in the pen as I think there was a heifer coming in heat so he was all "into that".... I also spread a sq bale of the hay DS put in the barn for the calves in the bunk feeder in there... Getting to be slimmer pickings out there for the calves that need to be growing.

Bull will be going in there in another week or so... get through the vet ck, hay on the ground, some of the fencing stuff... then will put the bull in for the heifers... start them calving first of Aug so their calves have a good start on growing before the cold and winter weather sets in. Then bulls will go in with the cows that will get bred for fall calves next year... the ones that are calving/ have already calved, now... I want to try to get fall calves on the ground before Dec 1st... preferably in Sept/Oct and early Nov.... Hopefully get them to "back up" a month and calve a little earlier than they are now...

I am going to make up a list for the vet check... so have that already done... start getting the lists of who is where as we get them moved to more "permanent winter pastures/fields".....

Got to get some farms scheduled and get those 2 fields of hay, that he cut the other day, raked... so he can bale after they get started on the post driving and stuff... fit it in, inbetween things... needs to be raked so he can get to it as he can. Maybe Tuesday.... we will move some cattle around after the vet check, tomorrow, I am sure... then he will be concentrating on the fencing... and maybe mowing in the mornings.... I just want to get this hay finished before it turns cold...

I'm making the lists and going to bed.

 

[farmerjan]

BRRRR chilly morning... 39 to start. Supposed to warm up to 60 today.

Lists made up for preg check... new "inventory list" for nurse cow pasture with the heifers we moved there to be bred.

Sun is coming over hill. See on weather forecast that they have upped it to a 30% chance of showers on Friday... so got to get that hay raked so he can get it baled before then.

Guess I better get my rear in gear... waiting on DS to let me know what/when he needs me at the barn to do whatever sorting we need to do.

 

[Ridgetop]

You exhaust me with all you get done! I wish DS could stop working at that DOT job and just stay home to do the farm work. He sounds more calm when he can rest as he needs and without the mental pressure from that place.

I want to try to get fall calves on the ground before Dec 1st... preferably in Sept/Oct and early Nov.... Hopefully get them to "back up" a month and calve a little earlier than they are now...

We need to get the breeding dates adjusted in Texas for next year too. Luckily they are a little easier since they will breed 3 months after lambing.

 

[SageHill]

You exhaust me with all you get done! I wish DS could stop working at that DOT job and just stay home to do the farm work. He sounds more calm when he can rest as he needs and without the mental pressure from that place.


We need to get the breeding dates adjusted in Texas for next year too. Luckily they are a little easier since they will breed 3 months after lambing.

Ditto what @Ridgetop said!