Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[farmerjan]

Warm 57 overnight. Some sun out there with some clouds to the south and west... going to cloud up more later and then rain/T-storms and such this afternoon later... like after 3...
Of course, that's when I am supposed to go to the nurse cow pasture to get the calves in. GRRRRRR.

DS said I could do it in the morning and I said that they didn't usually come near the barn in the morning... I only fed the bottle and got them in, in the afternoon... BUT... with this rain coming, I might try them in a few minutes when I go up to check for calves... the one heifer is getting closer but not quite ready I don't think. I can hold off on the bottle til later... but if I got them in now, they can stay in also...

Wind is blowing in gusts again this morning... Don't know if it is ever going to quit. The ground is so dry again...

If it rains today, tomorrow is supposed to be mostly sunny, but then "unsettled weather" for the rest of the week... 30-50% chances of showers every day....

Need to head up the hill...

If the pens are put tgether with wire over the top how about covering them with tarps for the summer? If the carpenter recommended to you by your friend does a good job reasonably on the trusses, maybe he can copy the missing pieces for you. If the copany doesn't make that model anymore, check on line for "Directions to Assemble" that model. Often companies leave the assembly/operating directions on their websites even when the product is discontinued.

The only wire panels on the top are the front 6 ft section... the "roof" panels are the "top" on the rest... But yes, a tarp would work on the wire panel part... I was just thinking a more permanent partial roof to run the water off... something that I wouldn't have to replace... But if I close in the back and sides of the 3 ft panel, with the roof on top, it ought to give them some "out of the weather" area. That can be done with some plastic/tarp type stuff...
I am thinking that the 9 ft pens will be fine and a good size, but could consider having the extra panels made... something to think about now... I was just thinking to make what I had usable......NOW.....

 

[farmerjan]

Monday.... went up and no new calves at the nurse cow pasture... came home and got a few little things picked up here, that the wind keeps blowing around... then came in the house. Packed the samples from Sat and then had to get on the phone. Spent time on hold with the processing office for work, because one person did not know what to do about a question I had... so all that "down time" .... but got it somewhat resolved... it will have to get FIXED after the herd's samples are run through the lab and the whole herd processes out. All this stupid stuff that cannot get done because of the way these computers work.... but it will get resolved with the next test. I have to do certain things BEFORE I actually start the test day process... GRRR

We did get a shower last night... .1 inch in the rain gauge. DS texted; he had had problems at the farm... of course I was not "informed" of what all went wrong... because she was there with him to "rescue/help"... so I'm just " whatever"..... I asked if he still wanted me to get the calves in and he said he was not going to the other stockyard so would not be coming back with the trailer... he would let me know how the day went... so I said fine...

Took the samples to UPS, and have a bottle of milk warming... It just rained a hard quick downpour.... more to come according to the radar... we need it and won't complain. I will add some milk replacer to this milk to keep his stomach and digestion level... not a complete switch to milk since I may not always have it available. But it is helping to cut the cost of milk replacer by half when I have milk also.

Heading up there to feed and will not be catching the calves or cows in since he has not called... I am not going to put myself out for things at the farm overall... since I do not get kept "in the loop" most time anymore. I asked if he needed me to come help or do anything and he said no, he was dealing with it... so go right ahead.

Downpour is letting up so I am heading up the hill. Maybe tomorrow he will want them to get caught up.

Daffodils are out in full bloom... one group going by and another group just coming out... really nice this year... The asparagus is coming up and the peonies are starting to show too.
This rain will make the grass come on in a hurry.... But we are still a month from any kind of gardening... last frost here is May1-15th.... the temps are abnormally warm right now... I think we will have a drop before it is over...

 

[farmerjan]

Wed morning.. Cloudy and chilly. Temps down to 40, not supposed to hit 60 today and clouds all day so chill through your clothes type of day. Glad I did not wash the flannel jeans to put away...
Now tomorrow the temps are supposed to "rebound"... and hit the 80's Fri-Sat-Sun... some rain/showers off and on as the horrible front sits on the KY, TN, AK, line, and surrounding states... they are calling for rain fall totals in the 6-15 INCHES.... horrible for them.... but little to actually reach us as it goes through the end of the weekend. Then temps dropping way back into the 40's and 20's at night...
OH WELL.... it's spring time in the mountainous region of western VA....

Yesterday I had a chiropractor appt and the leg pain/numbness is a little better... hand still numb/tingley down the right side and pinky.... Oh well... he's working on it and it helps some. Back to going once a week which is fine...

DS texted and said he had some of the posts/wire "unwound" from the pile... remember they guys who rebuilt the fence at one of the pastures, brought several loads of this tangled mess to the farm since most of the posts were good and they were going to just take it all to the dump... a year or so ago??? I worked on them getting 25-30 good wood posts out and about 20 T-posts... wire all cut off and all the staples pulled out of the wood posts... then DS got too busy with things, and he had to take the skid loader and pick up the wire and kinda unroll/shake the pile up so I can get to the posts to work on... Anyway, he has this young guy working for him some who knows absolutely nothing and cannot be sent to do much on his own... so one day DS had him starting to work on the pile. He got some undone... and then mentioned to me that he had more unwound out of the pile if I wanted to work on them some...

So, I went yesterday aft. and got the 3 big ones done... figured I would be by myself, but she was there, she is perfectly civil and all but it just sets so wrong with me... yep, my problem.... so got wire all off and all the staples pulled. DS came back to farm, and then took the skid loader and lifted up the pile and got one end and managed to get 3 more "unwound" , so I could work on them. He had to take another older guy home who has been wanting some work but who's health is not good.... they are really really poor, and he has been clearing some trees/cedars/scrub at his farm down near gf house... and DS said if he wanted to come up to the farm he could use him some... guy can work 3-4-5 hours... and does good work.... but cannot work every day with his back... he is late 60's... they have no car, so DS went and got him and his son, and they helped him yesterday for a few hours at one of the other pastures that needed some fence repair, trees cut etc....
They left the farm, I finished up the 3 posts... It's not that it is hard, but having to cut every strand of the woven woven wire that is all bent from where they pulled it up, and then pulling each staple out, just takes some time and muscle. These are "bigger posts".... their fence was mostly built with posts that are 6-7 inch diameter, 7 or 8 ft long... and they nailed off the fence wire just about every strand... so there are 7-10 staples in every post... These posts are now costing $20-25 EACH now... so every post is $20 less to be spent for a new one... the wire is totally mashed so not salvageable... but even the stretches that have T-posts... They are over $5 each... @Baymule can tell you how fast that cost adds up for a stretch of fence... so even though it is work, it is worth my labor to save a couple hundred dollars for some posts...

Then I came home and made the bottle and went up to snyder's to do the calf and the feeding etc.

We had gotten some showers late Monday aft/ and eve and wound up with another .2 so the cows were all out trying to find the 10 blades of grass that had grown 1/2 inch since Sunday... "stupid" did not come in the barn and I didn't bother to push it. DS had to go to one of the kids softball games so no point. He said he did not have to go to anything this evening, so plan is to get them in later and do the banding of the bull calves and hopefully get the bigger holstein and "stupid" in the trailer and moved to doug's farm... we'll see. I plan to get them in about 3 or so....

I ache from working on those heavy posts... pulling the staples... have not used those muscles in a loooong time... and they are telling me this morning... I need to get doing stuff like this more again... get back in shape... The garden will help in another month...

Took a hot shower and washed my hair last night so I could stay up and let it dry instead of going to bed and it getting dry any which way from sleeping on it... but the muscles are aching this morning so took a tylenol.... glad I am not doing any posts today.
Got texts out to several farms about testing ... nothing back yet... so not scheduled anywhere at this point.
Probably just as well today...

Gotta get going and do something constructive.

 

[Baymule]

Yes I do know about salvaging posts out of a mess. I climbed through brush, briars and small trees to get to the T-posts in my front field. I saved $360 worth of T-posts! Had to leave some, trees had grown into them.

 

[farmerjan]

Wed eve... Getting going was a little slow, couple of tylenol and I was functioning.

I was down to 40 last night and only got up to 53 today. Chilly and just not very not very nice overall. DS texted he was going to the sleep study consultation they had set up... but I didn't need to go... He didn't take the explorer which is what I thought he had texted me about... so I guess he took GF car...
Plans were to do the bull calves after he got back. I had them all in at 5... 1305 came right in on her own... then after all the calves were in, I put the gate up so they could not go out the creep gate... and texted him... he texts back that he was working on the water.... THERE WAS NONE..... at doug's barn.
Naturally he had to go up the top of the hill to turn off the well... and try to trace where the problems were..., while the system was shut down he replaced 2 of the valves with high pressure valves to cut down the amount of water pressure that is causing some of the over flows... So, I let the cows out and opened the creep gate so they could go out whenever they want. I did put some hay in the bunk for the calves to eat if they wanted so they do not have to fight with the big cows at the hay ring. When DS rolls some out they get a better chance to eat.
Then I went to get gas in the car, and there is a calf out in the alley down by the farm... so went down and got it to come up along the fence and managed to swing the gate open a little so it could scoot back in as it came back towards me... This section of fence is horrendous and I think it laid down alongside the fence and wound up getting up and was on the other side of the crappy fence. This is part of what is supposed to be replaced.... then I asked if he needed any help, he said no, and then 5 minutes later called and asked if I was still there... I said no, I was almost home, and he asked if I was not too busy, could I come and check on these waterers as he did some feeding... I came home and got the ranger to take up in the field, and spent some time in the pasture with the cows, checked on the other trough, and then stayed around the cows' waterer as they were drinking it down so it never got filled completely up to see if it was going to leak. Then GF came in to the farm, and he came up to check on the waterer in with the cows, and said, that I could go home, he would check on it a few more times, but thanks for watching them. Obviously my presence was not longer necessary.... so I left. Went and filled the truck with gas and came on home.

Tomorrow the temps are supposed to get up in the upper 70's, and shower chances the next several days and warm temps...
I feel bad for all the ones going through the severe weather and tornadoes....

 

[Ridgetop]

it is worth my labor to save a couple hundred dollars for some posts...

Absolutely!

Yes I do know about salvaging posts out of a mess. I climbed through brush, briars and small trees to get to the T-posts in my front field. I saved $360 worth of T-posts!

That is why I try to bring all the extra materials from the old house in CA to this one. DH says he is "not going to transport all that stuff - he will buy new". My attitude is why buy it new for twice what we paid for it when we have it already (unused) and just have to load it on the trailer. No point in fighting about it here in TX. I will save my arguments for CA when we are loading the trailer to bring our other stuff out.

 

[Baymule]

Doesn’t he know by now that arguing with you is a losing situation?

 

[Ridgetop]

I have to plan my attack carefully. I have discovered that planting the idea several weeks in advance, talking about it a couple times, then seeming to be doubtful about his/my abiity to do it works. Suddenly he tells me about doing it and it is his is idea! All I have to do then is admire him.

 

[Baymule]

I have to plan my attack carefully. I have discovered that planting the idea several weeks in advance, talking about it a couple times, then seeming to be doubtful about his/my abiity to do it works. Suddenly he tells me about doing it and it is his is idea! All I have to do then is admire him.

My Mother spoon fed me this exact strategy as I was growing up. Her words: You plant an idea in his tiny little brain and feed it, nurture it and it comes out his mouth all his idea! You clap your hands together and exclaim, That’s wonderful! I’m so glad you thought of that!

 

[fuzzi]

My Mother spoon fed me this exact strategy as I was growing up. Her words: You plant an idea in his tiny little brain and feed it, nurture it and it comes out his mouth all his idea! You clap your hands together and exclaim, That’s wonderful! I’m so glad you thought of that!

I learned it through years of marriage: don't headbutt, it just makes them more stubborn.