Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[Ridgetop]

Just hope as I take the boxes "off" the top.... that maybe there will be enough readable info to match them up.

If you can get the manufacturer's name and the model number off one of the cartons, they might have an instruction sheet on line.

Hope you keepfeeling better. Good news on the Jersey making enough mik to mostly feed both calves.

 

[farmerjan]

Friday night... COLD.... and windy today. Started at 29 and got to 40 but with the wind felt like was low 30's.... It is already down to 28 and dropping...

There weren't alot of people at the Christmas tree lot... and they had closed up by 2. It was just terribly cold with the wind. Tomorrow is not supposed to break 40, but more sun and a little less wind... maybe they will be busier.

Went up to the cow this aft and put her in with the calves, fed the bottle, and put a sq bale of hay in the feed bunk. There was enough water to do her for the night.....about 25 gal in thye one trough.... the weaned hol jumped right into eating too.
The heifer that had the calf, that I kept there.... that obviously got bred by the bull out at pasture, and was 6+ months when the rest were 3 months, back awhile ago..... I have been trying to give a little extra feed to, if there aren't alot of other cows around. It was just her and the 2 holstein heifers, so I dumped some out on the ground for them. Her calf was around the other side of the barn, and came around with her, and went to eating a bit off the ground too... so I will have to make sure she gets a little in the pen as she comes in through the creep gate.. or maybe it's "he".... anyway... the hol heifers are pushy so will have to feed her outside in one of the feeders if they come in the barn... Hopefully the vet will be coming to do preg checks once we get the cows home from pasture in a couple of weeks... and they will be going and staying with kept heifers at the barn as I do not want them bred by the bull by accident... get bangs vacc and dehorned and all... then the little calf can come in the barn and eat and the weaned hol can go back over and get more to eat. It will be just those 2 "babies" there... Besides the 2 on the jersey... I am going to wean off the black steer from the longhorn and send it to the barn also... she needs a rest and he does not need to be coming in the catch pen either...

Have one of those "headaches" where it hurts to touch my head... and when I cough. Thankfully not near as often as I was.....

Going to go to bed here shortly.

 

[Baymule]

No matter how bad we feel, animals must be cared for. You just keep doing the minimum care for them, maximum care for you. Hope you had a good nights rest and feel a little better today.

 

[farmerjan]

Sunday morning...

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

A week ago we were 60's and low 70's..... nights low 40's and some 30's.....
Last 2 nights have been in the low 20's....yesterday, it barely got to 40 in the sun but mostly in the upper 30's... and the wind has been rough, with alot of clouds too.

Got up to a low of 23, overnight. wind chills are in the teens... It is partly sunny, but it is just cold. Still a stiff breeze out there this morning.

Still fighting this cold... and have laryngitis to top it off.. But that is normal for me too... It just has sapped my energy which is common when I get one of these "humdinger" colds.....Thankfully only get one of them every year or two.... It is better than getting the flu..... and seems to be a "reset" for my system.... so aside from the inconvenience it could be alot worse.

Except for doing the cow and calves, I'm staying inside and trying to just stay warm. Have been eating hot cream of wheat cereal the last couple of mornings.

Christmas tree lot did not open up Saturday and if the cold is any indication, won't open today either... I think maybe Friday was for people that had come and tagged trees already. I thought they usually were open Thanksgiving weekend and the next one... but maybe it was the first 2 weekends of Dec.... Too cotton pickin cold out there with this wind... It always feels colder when there is no sun and it is cloudy and grey and gloomy and the wind is whipping........It is supposed to be cold but hope it moderates a bit this week.

 

[Mini Horses]

Maybe they're working by apptmt now. If trees are being sold & not replanted ?? Retirement?

Who knows

Cold & windy here,too. Blows thru you!

Yes -- you need to stay in as much as possible. Watch a movie! Nap! Have hot cocoa.

 

[murphysranch]

I'd never heard of a Mississippi Pot roast until a couple of weeks ago. I made one - you also use pepperoncini. It was good! Just a little heat from the pepperoncini. Gravy was delish over smashed potatoes.

 

[farmerjan]

Sunday eve... Cold out... and there is some snow flurries... You know the kind that look like the tiny styrofoam balls in a bean bag chair??? Little puffy spits of snow.
Temps got down to 23 overnight... hit 39 today but it was mostly cloudy and windy.

Not 2 weeks ago, temps were 15+ degrees ABOVE the normal average for this time of year... Now the last 2 days they are 15+ degrees COLDER than normal... so you really feel it... too much swing in temps... And it is supposed to be like this for the next week. We just might be getting our "overdue" cold winter...

Went up to the cow and put her in, fed the bottle, put another sq bale in the bunk for them. There was some water... tomorrow I will have to take some up there... but probably only a couple of 5 gal buckets. She will get put out tomorrow so will only have to make sure the weaned hol calf, gets water. He was in already, so he is doing okay for water. There was ice on top of it, but not too bad. It will get more ice tonight though... So, if I take a couple 5 gal buckets, it should be fine... These are black tubs, so at least if the sun comes out, and they are on the south exposure side of the barn, it helps to warm the water a little so it thaws quicker...
Little hol drank his bottle and was quivering... yet, he was out running around when I got there and cow wanted in the pen. He went right back on her once the bottle was done... He is doing good. Little jersey is doing okay too... they are both eating a little grain. She is right there wanting in for her grain now... which is great... I think she has been in heat... I thought maybe she was in heat the day after I brought her home, but not sure... Bull has been in there about 10 days and he was sure checking her out ... well, if she is not bred, and he catches her, and she will get preg... then she has a home... if she is open and won't settle, then will have to wind up shipping her... But she has a fairly good reprieve... these heifers won't get preg checked until next spring... I will get her checked when we get the holstein heifers out for the bangs vacc... just to make sure she is not bred and will need to have the calf weaned soon..... I am going to take the steer off the longhorn and run him with the steers at the barn...... Jess(longhorn) can use a break... Although I do not preg check her, she is getting pretty wide looking so I am nearly positive she is pregnant; due again in the spring like all the heifers from there that we checked... But if the jersey is open, she will go back up there for the winter and then will get rechecked in the spring.
As good as she has fit in with learning to come in and all that... I hope she is, or soon gets, pregnant. For the price, I will tolerate her only fully raising one calf at this point... Tried to interest the jersey in a bottle but he said... UH, I don't think so....but he does come over to check out the bottle calf when I feed the cow some grain before I put the cow out for the 24 hours. Hoping he would try it so that with this cold I could convince him to take a little extra.. I do think that she is milking a little better though since she is getting a decent amount of grain... I may get the calf coats out for them... it is pretty cold out. Especially since days are forecast to only get up to the low 40's.... They would not be expending so much of their body heat to staying warm
Everyone came over to the car while I was at the barn, so no extra grain for the first calf heifer, with the smaller calf...

I am going to settle in with a movie I think and work on sorting some more junk mail and do more paper shredding... I am hoping next week that the wind will lay down so that I can see about getting at least one of the boxes off the trailer and see what is what... maybe be able to get some numbers and such to see what matching ones I have. The little NH bantam is contained to the crate.. but he gets fed and watered every day... with it covered on the sides, to cut down the wind. Not alot of interaction with him in there like if he was in a coop... but that is coming.
I had hoped to call and go get the bigger trio of NH's this week... but it will wait another week... Not going anywhere while I am still not "better".... Although getting outside today helped to clear my head out a bit...

GOD BLESS FLANNEL LINED JEANS........

 

[Baymule]

I’m glad you are staying in, except for taking care of the cow and calf. No offense, but you can keep the cold, I don’t want it!