Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[fuzzi]

Hold on to your hats.... DS came by this morning... and was working on the 4x4 ranger that has not run for over a year after I got it back...he had taken the battery to the barn to recharge the other day....because I could not keep a charge on the battery and kept telling DS that the battery cut off switch was not working and it never really cut off... and he kept telling me I wasn't doing something right... WEEEEEELLLLLLLL ... guess what... when mechanics did the work on it 2 yrs ago... when DS was still working and didn't have time... seems they added a ground wire... from the battery cable to the frame... so even though the cut off switch was off... it was STILL grounded and so wasn't really ever "cut off" so it kept losing the charge...and I didn't know to look for that... and he didn't look either, until he kept telling me that the light on the battery tester should not be coming on when "he" turned off the cut off switch inside... so he got to pulling on wires and went inside and had me jiggle one wire to make sure what was hooked up and what wasn't...and then came out and got to checking wires and found the one that they had added... which grounded the battery.... so the cut off switch inside was useless.... he took the wire off, and WAH LAH... the cut off switch worked just fine !!!!!!!!
He tried it at least a half dozen times, hooking up the battery, using the testing light... starting and running the truck, turning it off, using the cut off switch... and it worked...
SO, it wasn't "ME" ... I was right, the switch wasn't working because of them putting the stupid ground wire on .......that had never been a problem when it originally hooked up correctly... they screwed it up... so I was RIGHT when I said it would not cut off with the cut off switch....
Why can't he just take what I say at face value and believe me when I said that it was not working right?????

So he also checked and it needed some fluids and such; I said I would do them, so we left the hood up... and he went on to replace a gate at one pasture that a tree had come down on and totally destroyed the gate there... I added the antifreeze, power steering fluid and the oil... have to get a can of gas, and will put in some of the "stablizer" stuff, to help with the fact that it is old gas in there, and to "clean it up" some and run it... and will run non-ethanol gas in it to help clean out any of the gunk that the regular ethanol gas causes.... use some gas additive a couple times... and now I can run that truck back and forth to the pastures when it is muddy and stuff and not have to take the car. I have several cans for the grain in the "hay section" of the barn now so don't have to deal with the cows "reaching in the back of the truck" like I did with the 2wd ranger, hence taking the car so the buckets were inside the car to keep the cows out of it....

It is soooo nice when you can just do what you should be able to do without a whole bunch of aggravation and making do all the time... and it will save on "cow wear and tear" on the body of the car... sometimes they just want to rub on it and all that... and then a fender gets a dent and stuff like that.

Because of the complexity of trying to find a short in a wire on the forester, we are just going to put a cut off switch on it... because the headlight switch is NOT bad on it... it will not turn off the parking lights... replaced that switch about 2 years ago, and suddenly it is not turning off the parking lights again...tried a brand new headlight switch and it didn't solve it.... so there is a bare wire somewhere that is shorting/touching that is probably from the da#@ed mice chewing on something... so for now a cut off switch will solve that problem... someday, I might not be able to turn on/off any lights, and at that point then a complete rewiring might be in order... but for awhile this will keep anything from drawing down the battery... and not having to open the hood and hook up and unhook the battery cable on the battery everytime.... because it does drain the battery fast, when the parking lights stay on...

So, got the sample bottles in the trays... going to the pasture to do the calf and head to work. The wind is blowing like a wind storm out there... they said gusty winds this afternoon... total burn ban from yesterday through tomorrow due to high winds... and the ground is rather dry on top because the winds have dried off the surfaces. High fire hazard with this wind.

Slowly things are getting done... AND he has said he is considering the best way to put a frame/skids on this run so that it can be moved... might go with 2x6's 16ft long so that they are wider than the 4x4 and more like "skids" underneath it to be able to pull it to move it if necessary... and then can have the reinforcing 1x4 boards on the top and bottom to give it more rigidity to the frame...

Did some ALIENS come and switch out this person???? Or maybe it is a fluke of some AI experiment?????

It's SO nice when they suddenly realize that you weren't wrong or stupid.

 

[Baymule]

Savor this moment!

 

[farmerjan]

Savor this moment!

Yeah, no joke...

 

[farmerjan]

Windy all all get out yesterday afternoon and evening... thought it was going to blow everything to Kansas....

Finally settled down and temps dropped like a rock. It was a "balmy" 19 this morning... Sun is out, wind has died down... but it is still cold at 35...
Heading up to feed calf... bottle or cow... we'll see. She would not come to the barn yesterday and going out there just sends her in the other direction... It really is not worth the time... but he drinks the bottle, goes in the feed bunk and eats grain, goes out with the other calves, so has plenty of opportunity to "be a calf" and have freedom... and is smart enough to come to the barn to get a bottle...

Plan to try to work on the chicken run later on as it warms up some. Get some of the other boxes opened up and see what is what...

Dishes to do, and maybe even some laundry since I can now do it here again.

Samples from last evening's herd to pack too...

 

[Mini Horses]

Is the pressure back to normal now, after filter cleaned? Running water is a wonderful thing!

 

[murphysranch]

You're not the only one, FJ. However, you work with and own an biz with your offspring. That is very different from most of us.

We got home from San Diego, I saw more than a doz eggs on the counter that son had gathered, so texted my DD: "We're home and do you need some eggs?"

Her text back? "Yes."

rolls eyes....

 

[Mini Horses]

My DD & DGD get 90% of my eggs. It's fine as I rarely eat any. Right now, saving them a bunch as they eat a lot of them.

During pandemic, eggs were hard to find at stores & I've shared excess with friend for yrs.....anyway -- had a LOT of hens then and sent 15 dz to work with DD for her co-workers 2x, and 6 dz to friend for her fam with 2 dtrs more often. Hey -- people were out of work, businesses closed & contact limited.

My hens didn't know or care.

 

[farmerjan]

In for the night and headed to get a shower and wash my hair...

@Mini Horses .... water pressure is better than anytime since I have lived here since he cleaned out the filter... MIRACLES never cease...

Speaking of water... to any/everyone.... I ordered a DRIVSE hand held type shower head a few months ago... all the hype of how it increased the pressure and it was healthier because of the filter in it... supposed to change it once a month or when looks dirty....... filters out chlorine and other stuff... makes water "softer" for your skin...
WELL.... it IS ALL THAT and MORE.... About $20-30 I think... I LOVE IT..... before the water froze and quit in the house, it gave me better water pressure in the shower than I had had, since moving in here... 3 settings... and it makes the soap and shampoo feel like it does a better job of lathering and all that. With the hard water/lime in this water, I wanted to try it... mostly I got it for the pressure originally... but I am SOOOOOO GLADDDDD I got it. It has like little rubber fingers that you can use to massage the skin too... not hard but firm...
It goes on the flexible hose that can be used as a shower head or taken down to use directly on a part of your body... the thing is, it REALLY DOES increase the water pressure... In fact, I am now cutting the water pressure on the faucet way back and so using a little less water too.... except that I have been luxuriating in taking showers and being able to go to bed and not get dressed again to come home.... so they have been extra long.
So, just wanted to tell everyone that this thing is a good deal... Also, the shower head part comes off and you can use it as a direct stream to wash things down... but I just use the one setting to wash down the wall and such...

It was a cool but not too bad afternoon. I got into the boxes on the trailer.... there is one more complete poultry run like I am getting together now... box 1 is 3 front panels with the door, 3 back panels all wire mesh... box 2 is all the side panels that are wire mesh, and the couple of "trusses" .... box 3 is all the roof panels; solid ones with the corrugated plastic, and wire mesh ones... to completely enclose/cover it.

Then there is another set of (box 1) front panels, back panels, and the (box 2) side panels... but none of box 3... the solid roof panels or wire panels.... I did not get the third set all off, just got off box 1..... and the falling apart cardboard and styrofoam that the mice chewed all through...that is off the 2nd complete pen.... all loaded on the little ranger.
Then there is a very heavy box that has a different number that is shows a picture of a poultry house...Says box 1 of 2..... where they go down a ramp into a pen underneath and attached bigger pen, that is all under roof. I am hoping it is the "house part"... and maybe I can add part of the other extra pen to it... and make a couple frames to make the top cover for it... Maybe use lightweight clear fiberglass type panels like we use on barn roofs for light in a building??? And extend the sides a little longer to give the wood extra protection from the rain??? Don't know if that is just the "house materials" or if the roof and the house materials is in that box 1...
I will know more once I get that box off and opened up... see how it is configured and if I can use some of the side panels out of box 2 of the other set... to just "finish the pen"... and make the rest of the bigger run shorter.... Thinking I will leave the first pen the size it is.... then after I see what I can do with the chicken house box... will decide what I do with the other 2 poultry pens. Once I know what I am dealing with for roof panels for the poultry house one... and if they will match up to some of the panels(sides) in "box 2" of the other set... Might be able to add on a part of the "box 2" to complete the run part of the "house" and make a smaller pen out of the rest of the panels for a run that I can use also... We'll see.....

It was getting later... DS asked me to watch gates so he could feed hay... and then I wanted to go to the calf... I did not get all that off yet... maybe tomorrow...

Made a bottle... Betsy and calves were all headed towards the barn as I drove up there...... I got the feed in the bunks, but did not put any in for 1305 black cow.. Then called and here comes Betsy, and then 1305 nearly right behind her and came right in the gate past me without thinking about it... So I shut the gate and went in and gave her a pile of feed in the bunk and gave Betsy some more since 1305 was eating at her pile... I never figured she would be around... and here she comes...
I can't figure this cow at all.... But, the calf went right on her... so I left them in for a bit, then 1305 came out in the little barn lot, went back in, came back out a couple minutes later... and stood out in lot... so I opened the gate and walked past her with the bottle for the calf... she just walked out, I fed the bottle. and then made Betsy go out loose and opened the gate inside the barn so the jersey calf could go with the other calves and go out the creep gate in the other side... with the other 4 calves.....

It was not bad this afternoon for awhile,. but the temps dropped as the sun went down... I was cold by the time I got done and in the house.

Samples are all packed to go to UPS tomorrow... Supposed to be a little warmer... I'd like to get the rest of the cardboard and all off the panels and such, and make one trip to the dumpster with it if I could.
I want to go get the protein tubs for the pasture... didn't go get them on Friday since it was the last day of the month... I will get them in the next day or 2 and then they won't get billed until the first of April. Give me an extra month of interest on my money in the bank.... it's earning over 4% so why not..... yep, getting tight and trying to capitalize on any and all forms of interest income.