Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[SageHill]

I have always heard when the sky turns green to hide from a tornado. When I lived in Lake Worth (NW Forth Worth, TX) - I think it was Summer of 1982 - we had MASSIVE thunder clouds build up MILES into the sky. That night we had a powerful thunderstorm. When we saw the lightening flashing green we took the kids down into the 4 foot crawlspace under the house. We heard the classic “freight train” winds and hail hitting the garage door. An all sheet metal shed was picked up and dumped on it’s head about ten feet away. A huge branch on our massive non-bearing mulberry tree broke off in the wind. A tornado touched down in a trailer park about a half mile from our house, and destroyed several trailers.

Yuppers. My first was back in the 60s -- I woke up early, looked out my window and the sky was green. Ran to my parents' room and said - the sky is green!! The next thing I knew we were all in the basement. Had no idea what a tornado was then. That one went down main street - took out homes, tossed cars, busted trees -- three blocks away from us.

 

[Devonviolet]

Then in a surprising coincidence she told me the tip about the penny in a container of water!!! I asked if she was on BYH but she said no. LOL Maybe this is a Texas basic survival thing for power outages in Texas summers.

So, what is this tip about a penny in a container of water? I have never heard that one.

 

[Baymule]

So, what is this tip about a penny in a container of water? I have never heard that one.

To know if your freezer thawed out and refrozen. Freeze a clear container of water, place a coil on top. If the freezer thaws out, the coin will sink.

 

[Ridgetop]

Yeah - I get the 'if you are going to do something do it right' -- but lordy you are the master of many!

"Jack of all trades, Master of few"



Got a call from Levi this am. He is going over today with gates, posts, etc. ready to start the fence line clearing. He was calling from the Co-Op to pick up the posts. I gave them my credit card info for the 300 heavy duty 8' posts they ordered. They ordered about 500 so we an get more if necessary. I will have to have more fencing and another gate installed since we want to double gate the property for incoming vehicles because of the dogs. Our dogs are trained not to go out our electric gate but we don't leave it open either. On Hwy 154 it will be imperative to have 2 gates entering the barn and pasture areas with vehicles.

Once the fence is up, we can start our move for real. We can't put up any interior fencing or bring in the sheep until the end of December because Cody has the lease until then. For 2024 he will lease the 30 acres for hay making instead of grazing. Not sure how I should
figure those lease terms. I need Farmerjan to tell me how to figure out what percentage of the hay would be a fair rent. We are paying for the 80 tons of chicken litter on the 40 acres this year, but Cody will have the cost of mowing and baling. We want to be fair. I don't mind selling extra hay off the farm on a "pick up yourself" basis but if it will be a hassle I would rather not. We need to find out how many bales he will get per acre to figure it out.

Meant to get the recliner outside last evening but did not make sure the men did it. Oh well, I will have them remove it today, scrub the wood with TSP, sand the arms, stain and let it dry overnight. Tomorrow 3 coats of polyurethane and Saturday deliver it to the upholsterer.

Will be loading the flatbed trailer this weekend while DS2 gets ready for his 4th July party. Since he and DDIL2 are putting it on, all I have to do is show up on the patio, meet and greet everyone, eat, and watch fireworks. I have practically abdicated all responsibility for parties given by them. All I have to do is clear out both refrigerators
to make room for everything. Maybe cut onions and celery and red bell peppers to add to deli potato salad. I do have to remember to move all boxes packed for TX onto back patio to load into stock trailer. Have to remove them from living room so we can use it for older guests if needed.

Anyway, packed more stuff last night. Went through my closet and packed our boots. Found that my old black Ariat boots are peeling - does leather do that? Maybe they were not real leather, but the tongues are definitely leather and the label says all leather uppers. They're made in China so maybe it's a lie. I have 2 other pairs of Ariats - tan ones and my favorite red ones! Also, a box of purses and bags that I put away during Covid. Packed some more shoes and sandals to go back, along with more clothes. Will go through DH's stuff today and pack more of his clothes and shoes too. Having the clothes there already will make to easier to travel back and forth. And I love my washer/dryer!

I will add some shelves to the pantry and reconfigure the closets for double rods and shoe shelves. We won't be able to do that until we have our table saws back there. I am considering removing some of the built in shelf towers in our current closets and taking them to use in Texas. They are prefab closet towers I bought years ago from Lowes added more shelves to them. I could just buy more but the more I can reuse from here the better our finances will be for other stuff like quartz countertops and living room flooring. Will have to see what we want to take or leave.

DS1 found fans on sale at Lowe's. $150 for $99. Really nice looking 52" fan with great reviews and flush mount. Then I found the contractor's fans that we used to buy for the apartments BUT these are in different finishes, flush mount style and 52". Just what we needed. $55 each unless you buy 4 which we need for all four of the bedrooms. So got 4 fans for $50 each and the nice one for the living room for $99. Now I wonder if I should get a second LR fan to mount over the kitchen island. It would make it more comfortable in the kitchen when prepping vegetables/fruits for canning. I think I will go back for a second one. I can return it in TX if we decide it won't work. Saving $50 is a good deal.

While I was getting the fans at Lowes, DS1 and DH went to Verizon to upgrade our hot spot to 5G. Then we went to Walmart where DS1 bought another Roku for the Texas house. We will leave it in Yantis so we don't have to keep dragging ours back and forth.

Back to DH's closet and packing.

 

[canesisters]

"Jack of all trades, Master of few"



Got a call from Levi this am. He is going over today with gates, posts, etc. ready to start the fence line clearing. He was calling from the Co-Op to pick up the posts. I gave them my credit card info for the 300 heavy duty 8' posts they ordered. They ordered about 500 so we an get more if necessary. I will have to have more fencing and another gate installed since we want to double gate the property for incoming vehicles because of the dogs. Our dogs are trained not to go out our electric gate but we don't leave it open either. On Hwy 154 it will be imperative to have 2 gates entering the barn and pasture areas with vehicles.

Once the fence is up, we can start our move for real. We can't put up any interior fencing or bring in the sheep until the end of December because Cody has the lease until then. For 2024 he will lease the 30 acres for hay making instead of grazing. Not sure how I should
figure those lease terms. I need Farmerjan to tell me how to figure out what percentage of the hay would be a fair rent. We are paying for the 80 tons of chicken litter on the 40 acres this year, but Cody will have the cost of mowing and baling. We want to be fair. I don't mind selling extra hay off the farm on a "pick up yourself" basis but if it will be a hassle I would rather not. We need to find out how many bales he will get per acre to figure it out.

Meant to get the recliner outside last evening but did not make sure the men did it. Oh well, I will have them remove it today, scrub the wood with TSP, sand the arms, stain and let it dry overnight. Tomorrow 3 coats of polyurethane and Saturday deliver it to the upholsterer.

Will be loading the flatbed trailer this weekend while DS2 gets ready for his 4th July party. Since he and DDIL2 are putting it on, all I have to do is show up on the patio, meet and greet everyone, eat, and watch fireworks. I have practically abdicated all responsibility for parties given by them. All I have to do is clear out both refrigerators
to make room for everything. Maybe cut onions and celery and red bell peppers to add to deli potato salad. I do have to remember to move all boxes packed for TX onto back patio to load into stock trailer. Have to remove them from living room so we can use it for older guests if needed.

Anyway, packed more stuff last night. Went through my closet and packed our boots. Found that my old black Ariat boots are peeling - does leather do that? Maybe they were not real leather, but the tongues are definitely leather and the label says all leather uppers. They're made in China so maybe it's a lie. I have 2 other pairs of Ariats - tan ones and my favorite red ones! Also, a box of purses and bags that I put away during Covid. Packed some more shoes and sandals to go back, along with more clothes. Will go through DH's stuff today and pack more of his clothes and shoes too. Having the clothes there already will make to easier to travel back and forth. And I love my washer/dryer!

I will add some shelves to the pantry and reconfigure the closets for double rods and shoe shelves. We won't be able to do that until we have our table saws back there. I am considering removing some of the built in shelf towers in our current closets and taking them to use in Texas. They are prefab closet towers I bought years ago from Lowes added more shelves to them. I could just buy more but the more I can reuse from here the better our finances will be for other stuff like quartz countertops and living room flooring. Will have to see what we want to take or leave.

DS1 found fans on sale at Lowe's. $150 for $99. Really nice looking 52" fan with great reviews and flush mount. Then I found the contractor's fans that we used to buy for the apartments BUT these are in different finishes, flush mount style and 52". Just what we needed. $55 each unless you buy 4 which we need for all four of the bedrooms. So got 4 fans for $50 each and the nice one for the living room for $99. Now I wonder if I should get a second LR fan to mount over the kitchen island. It would make it more comfortable in the kitchen when prepping vegetables/fruits for canning. I think I will go back for a second one. I can return it in TX if we decide it won't work. Saving $50 is a good deal.

While I was getting the fans at Lowes, DS1 and DH went to Verizon to upgrade our hot spot to 5G. Then we went to Walmart where DS1 bought another Roku for the Texas house. We will leave it in Yantis so we don't have to keep dragging ours back and forth.

Back to DH's closet and packing.

Wow.... just, wow.
I'm EXHAUSTED reading that

 

[Baymule]

I figure 20 round bales per year, or at least I did. I had 3 horses and less sheep. I don’t know what I’m gonna need now!

For your horses, figure 1 round bale per month. , sheep about the same, maybe more-you have more sheep than I do. Even with the grass I now have, sheep still hit the hay, all year around. Ewes and lambs graze most of the day and still hit the hay. Right now they get most time on the grass. Cooper and his girls get from mid afternoon until 7PM, sometimes sooner. I want to be done by 7 PM so I can shower and collapse. LOL

 

[farmerjan]

@Ridgetop ; every area is different on haying... here we won't make hay for less than 50/50.... but we do everything, including the fertilizing. 60/40 if it is sq bales and we will only kick theirs on the wagon and they have to unload... many here are now doing 60/40 or 75/25 because of the terribly high cost of the equipment and fertilizer. Most all that we do now are 100 % ours.... we do everything and they get clean, hayed off fields... AND we sign the land use papers so they get one he// of a reduced tax bill for ag land....

You need to call the extension office and find out what the going rates are for leased hay ground.

And you have the added input of the poultry litter... which is not cheap but still A LOT cheaper than commercial fertilizer and it adds organic matter.....BUT.... it will increase the weeds in the fields..... all according to what they have fed the poultry, but it just does. Composted poultry litter is preferred so many of any weed seeds are killed. I have no idea what it is costing for poultry litter there, we are running $30-45/ton here now and it is harder to get than it used to be.
We also do one place custom for the guy. They keep all the hay... It costs them around $30-35 a roll now... DS charges by the acre I think... figures how much time spent cutting, raking, and costs are by the bale for rolling (round baling it) and he has to have the smaller bales that we make with the one baler with the net wrap since he has a smaller tractor to feed; compared to the bigger bales we feed. If we have to tedd it adds to it. It almost isn't worth it but we cut once for him... usually about now, and then he uses the hayfields for later grazing....
DS just kept the same formula as put in place by the guy who used to do it for them... input costs have gone up so much though, and the people understand that. The good thing for them is the hay is made and fed there so no transportation costs.... last year he bought about 30 more rolls from us from a place we made it up the road.... and he used all but about 10 rolls so a good thing for him. The spring was cool and grasses did not grow for a long time.
It is honestly a no win situation for us to make it custom for them... but they are close, we do all his cattle work ( those are the calves we moved to the barn and worked a few weeks ago)... and we will probably get the place to lease once he gives up the cattle... he has been talking about it for a few years... They are a little older than me.

Alot will also depend on the type of ground and the common costs in that area to get a decent hay crop. I have no idea what is an expected normal hay yield... Here it is about 2-3 rolls per acre... closer to 3 and we can do better than that on a good first cutting. 2nd and 3rd cuttings are less. Weather will play a big factor in the quality also... first cutting here we mostly roll ALL of it.... then make our sq bales off of 2nd and 3rd cutting. Hay is less stemmy and usually we can make it better with less interference from constant rain and iffy drying conditions. Since they are are having alot of trouble this year with the rain, the quality is going to be less, It just is... it dries down standing in the field but you lose protein if not mowed at the ultimate time. Still, no good reason to have it cut then get wet laying there and have to be constantly tedded and lose more quality and quantity... and run the risk of it just getting moldy/musty... over mature, less quality can be supplemented with grain; musty, moldy hay cannot be fed..... The later you make the first cutting, the lower the yield for 2nd, since some of 2nd cutting will be grown up into the first cutting. Grass grows with the goal to make a seed head... natures law... reproduce.... then it will grow a 2nd crop up into the first if it is not mowed... so late hay will have some good 2nd cutting in the first cutting if that makes sense. But the yield is diminished because the grass did what it was designed to do... make a seed head for reproduction. By cutting hay off 1st cutting, before the seed heads are mature, it stimulates the plant to grow more, grow faster, to make a seed head... the stalks are smaller since the first "vigorous growth" went into the first early growth (first cutting)... but the protein levels are higher and it is actually more nutritious AND more palatable.... soft to eat if that makes sense. That is why animals will go back and regraze where they already grazed... get the tender young tasty plants coming back.

People that make hay in the southwest do not have to contend with the same conditions to get it dry. They do have the expense of irrigation, and that is costly. But alfalfa should be made every 23-28 days, according to the variety... if the weather doesn't co-operate, then the quality goes down... so out where there is little rain to have to work around, they can make it on time and the biggest thing it making sure it has enough water to grow..... It dries fast in the drier climate... like we were making hay here and being able to just cut rake and bale with no humidity in the air... better quality overall.... Out there it is even a faster process... the dry air just sucks the moisture out of the stalks/stems and it dries fast and holds alot of its color.... and nutritional value.
Actually, the crop respirates and that is what dries it.

You will need to find out some information and then work out what works for you and Cody. You may want to do something like he gets all first cutting and you get the rest... but if you have drought conditions, you might not get much... it will be a better quality hay but there might not be much. Establishing alfalfa is a costly thing and a good stand here lasts about 6-10 years.... might be a possibility but then it has got to get made on time.....

 

[Ridgetop]

Thanks Jan!
We really only will need enough bales ourselves to feed the sheep over the winter until the next grass comes in. Then we will be rotational grazing on the 15 acres. Cody will be using the 30 acres to cut and bale mostly Bahia with a little Bermuda in it. If he is spraying and managing the hayfields, he can have all the hay, and he can ay us with the amount we will need for our sheep. In bad years I will buy it from him.

He said he had leased this property some years back just to make hay and it produced a good quality hay. He mentioned being able to get 60 large round bales. I think that is per cutting. With all the rain, he may only get 2 cuttings this year. In a good year he can get 3 according to him. He pulled his cattle off last winter due to drought but the fields look really good right now after about 5 months fallow. He will expect the weeds in the chicken litter since he is putting litter from the same company on his own fields. In fact, he is arranging the litter for us, then we will pay for it. He has been spraying for weeds himself. There are some trees marking od cross fencing in the fields. Once we are living there, we will talk to him about removing some of the trash trees. If he is interested, we can work on that together but would like to leave some of the good large trees for shade. No Honey Locust though! Maybe native pecans if any.

I will call the extension agent about what hay rental is going for. I want to be fair to Cody. In fact, I would take less than going rate since he is a knowledgeable guy - several generations in this area ranching/farming and I need to rely on him to tell me what to do to keep the land in good shape. Good relations with good neighbors are a necessity.

 

[Baymule]

My son also said chicken litter brings in weeds. Sounds crazy, especially knowing the chickens get fed a milled, processed feed. You’d think no weeds could survive that process. Also, it has to go through the chickens gizzard, digestive tract, no weed seeds should be able to survive that!

Fact, put down chicken litter, you get weeds.

 

[farmerjan]

I totally get being fair to Cody and all... no arguments from me.... and we provided hay for nothing to Deb when she had the horse there a couple years ago.., that I checked on daily and never asked or expected any pay for..... a couple round bales is not going to break us and we pay little or nothing for the hay ground...have done little things like that several times for others.... yes.... good PR..... good "neighbor relations"...