Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[farmerjan]

Yes, @Bruce he has to catch them, but all they do is give a wrist snap and snap their necks. They get thrown into a pile then go into the skid loader bucket and out into the compost pile. Easier than catching and putting in a box. The "rep" wants them to be dead..... not worth getting into a snit over it. I put 45 in the freezer already, sold over 15 a couple of weeks ago, got 12 to go in in the morning, they are in the freezer chest covered in ice in the vacuum bags, and 16 big ones to cut into parts in the other chest covered in ice. Didn't get back early enough to get to them this evening, after doing all the errands I wanted to do. That's 70 +/- this year. Sure more for cat food/me food would have been good, but it could be worse.

Yeah, we won against the neighbor, but really expect to have future problems. We'll take what we've got and just hope it won't get too much more expensive.

 

[farmerjan]

A cool start to the day, down to 52 around dawn, it was 61 when I got up to go to test @ 3:30 a.m.. It is cloudy though so has that chilly damp feel.

I hauled a load of water last evening, and I saw one of the cows in heat I wanted to breed AI. Unfortunately, it was too late and getting dark and I don't have lights at this barn (rented pasture). But she was in full standing heat so went by on the way home from testing and bred her about 9 this morning. Hope she will catch. I am putting the heat detectors on the cows so that I can catch the ones I want to breed. But it is nice to see them standing like that, much more of a "sure thing" than just seeing the detector patch rubbed from them riding. I think another was in heat, but I was just not REALLY sure, and saw no signs of it this morning so didn't breed her. I did write it down though so I can watch for her in about 20 days.

Had another little black bull calf on a first calf heifer this morning, got 3 more to go from the heifers, and the cows have had a couple. The lower water trough was full this morning, so I won't bother to haul any today even though they did drink all I hauled yesterday. It's easier to not have to walk down the hill to the spring fed one..... but there are no old cows there, so they can just take a walk.

Going to probably stay mostly in the house and try to get some more books inventoried and packed in boxes. Want to try to get some sewing done, my son handed me some pants that needed sewing/patches whatever. Be a good day to stay in and do that, if it stays cloudy and cool. I will go back up to check the cows for heats later and check on the new calf. She seemed to be okay with it but it was barely dry.

Got to finish up parting out those big cornish x I brought home and get the rest frozen. Was hoping for a nicer day to do them. I may just put the rest in whole, at this point. See what the day brings.
If it doesn't rain, I may take the mower out and get up some of the dried up grass and leaves mixture. The drought conditions have caused some of the leaves to start coming off the trees without really turning. Be good chicken pen litter. I'll just bag it and keep it til I need it. There a few buckets that need washing that I ahould have done on those 90* days; they need to be gotten picked up and put away for the winter.

Got all the oil, anti-freeze, oil filter and new air filter for the car, Guy is home from vacation and I hope they can get it done this coming week. Then my 2wd ranger needs some work, broken spring on the back, a leak in the brake line, and now, no heat. I noticed the "overflow" tank for the radiator was empty, and put some in it but it looks empty again. Might have a leak/crack or something. Hadn't used any heat for months, so didn't know it wasn't working. Ordered 2 new front tires for it...our local branch of the feed co-op still has the service station and most of us in the area rely on it for the little stuff. They have a 10% off sale this time of year and I usually get my tires from them. I have 2 extra rims, so the tires can just be put on them and then I don't have to keep changing tires like when I put the snow tires on stuff. The truck is wearing a front tire a little on one side, so when it gets the new tires and the spring done and all, then it will go to get the front end aligned.
Plus they do my oil changes and such. Just had the 4x4 oil changed, greased and all. Don't know when it was last done because I don't drive it that much. But I was out and stopped and they just happened to not be busy so I said, hey, let's do it now before there is a storm or something and everyone needs stuff done.

Was going to rake the hay he cut yesterday aft, if the sun was out it would be drying fast because it is pretty thin. But talked to my son this morning and we both agreed that there was no point in doing anything today.

We rotated some cows to sectioned off grass, at 2 different places, and will have grazing for about another 30 days I guess. Have some at one place that need to come home, it is not a big place, and there are no cross fences so they have gotten the best of it for the year. We are luckier than some, I know of at least 3 farmers that have already been feeding hay for 2 or more weeks. It is probably fortunate that we are down in cow numbers a bit. We were running 200 +/- head of adult cows, and with purposely not breeding some old cows back last year, selling a few more that were older and open, and just culling a few for other reasons (like bad attitude/crazy) we have cut back to about 150. Had about 70+ calve this spring, and about 60-70 to calve this fall including the dozen new heifers.
There were 25 that were held back and put back with the bulls this year that were not bred, supposed to have had fall calves (now) but should now be bred. They will get checked here pretty soon. If any are open again, they go. Cull cow prices were so bad last fall/winter, and these are all young cows, it seemed dumb to "give them away" when we had the hay. Plus some were a little out of condition due to the wet year and the grass not having the nutrition. They all look real good, so hope they are bred to calve in the spring.But that is 6 months lost time and income because they should have been having calves now to sell next spring.

Sun is trying to peek out here so maybe going to be a nicer afternoon. Maybe I will get the lawn mowing/grass collecting done after all. Gotta eat some lunch first though.

 

[farmerjan]

It is nearly 11 p.m. on Monday evening. I spent about 3 1/2 hours on the Farmall H raking all the hay he had cut. I think he got about 1/2 or 2/3 baled, I haven't been back up there this evening. Had to go to a pasture where we have 8 cows and the bull. This is the pasture that is getting short, and the cows will be getting moved soon anyway. The older lady that lives there, she is 96 and still lives alone and is totally lucid and talks like anyone about anything. She said that there was a calf out there. One of the cows did have a calf about a month ago. She had been called open, a good young heifer, that we opted to keep and give a second chance, that must have gotten bred not long before we pulled the bull out and her pregnancy was too short for the vet to pick up on. So she has a calf and the lady was pretty sure it was out in the yard. I think maybe it was on the other side of the fence and she mistook it, but I went around the fence and did find that one gate that had been hooked, there was a gap there where the calf could have gotten out. I shut it tighter and put the chain around it differently so that there was no gap. Not such a big deal.

It was chilly this morning, down to 41* but the sun came out and it warmed up to 81* It was a nice day on the tractor. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and pretty nice, then clouds and some showers Tuesday night and Wednesday. Maybe we will get some accumulation.... an inch or more would be great.

Had a not so great Sunday. Checked on the heifers and saw one looked like she was thinking about calving. Took a load of water up, and checked on her, and she had a foot out. OOOHHH NO, not good. Called my son, said I needed him to help get her in the barn that the calf had to be pulled. One of the front legs was bent back at the knee, and the poor thing was trying to push out the head and bent leg together. I went in and found the leg but the head and all was right there and I could not have pushed it back in. So we got a chain on the one leg, I had my hand in her pulling on the leg at the bend and it didn't take much to get it out. Sadly, the calf was dead. The sack had broken, so between that and the squeeze of the head and leg together, it didn't make it. I called to see if I could get a calf to graft on her, but none available. Since she is the smallest of the heifers, we decided to give her a break, let her dry up, and just breed her back. She passed the after birth and all so ought to clean up inside okay. She was the last of the heifers to calve so at least that is done. It isn't her fault that the calf mis-presented so won't hold it against her. The calf wasn't too big, just too big with more than normal trying to come out all together. Part of the farming part of life.

Got a farm to do Wednesday, and then will take the meters to the farm right up the road, for him to do his own as owner sampler. This is the type of test he chooses. Makes sense to drop them off, then I don't have to make a special trip up and back up to get them. Just to go get them and do the computer work then send them off.

Thursday afternoon, we are going to go up to the neighbors and get his cows and calves in so that we can haul them to the sale on Friday morning. Takes a bunch of us to get them "pushed down" to the lot and then to sort them off the cows. They will go to the barn where we have the pens and then load them out early Friday morning. I think there are about 20-25 so it will be 2 trips to town. My son will take one load early, and I will probably haul the 2nd load. Won't be a big deal since they will be where they are penned and it won't be easy to get away from me so loading shouldn't be any big deal.

Time to hit the sack, hope everyone has a good day tomorrow.

 

[farmerjan]

This morning it was down to 40* overnight, so gradually creeping down in temps. Sunny and nice all day. Hauled a load of water and noticed that one calf, about 6-8 weeks or so old came up and was drinking water. I'm thinking it's momma may not have alot of milk. It is on one of the bought cows that calved so I will have to watch and see who. None of them are tagged yet. I am glad that it has learned to drink out of the troughs and good that my hauling the water is helping them to be able to get to the water since the other water trough is not near as full. I did check it and it is about half full, so still trickling in.
The heifer we had to pull the calf out of, was right there with the other yearling heifers of mine that have not been bred yet. Looked fine and her udder was not too terribly big so I think she will dry up okay. She will just go with whatever group we have to get bred this December or so. Get rebred, hopefully have a better year next year. At least she is not paralyzed from pressure on the spinal nerves from the calf trying to come out in a big "lump". There are worst things.

Got the meters loaded for tomorrows' herd, getting the bottles and all ready for samples for both farms to take tomorrow.

Going in to do some dishes and then sit and do some more book sorting and packing. I have a ton of DVD's and many VHS tapes that need to be sorted through and put into some sort of order too. I am thinking that I should look at a "lounge chair" recliner of some sort for the ankle since he said I will need to keep it elevated a good bit for the swelling and such. Have never had one. I need to get some stuff moved around, some order of the chaos, and a few things probably need to be gotten rid of.
Also have to see about getting a shower head with the hand held wand, because I have an old fashioned claw foot tub and a shower curtain surround. I know that I am not going to be able to stand in it to take a shower on one foot... so a tub seat of some sort, and the hand held shower wand. All these little things to try to not let wait til last minute, so I make a list and add to it as I think of stuff. Anyone have any suggestions 'cuz I am sure I am not going to think of everything I might need.
Since I am planning to be in rehab for at least 2-3 weeks, whatever I can get, I figure I should be somewhat "mobile" and have figured out some of the getting around on my crutches and knee scooter, by the time I am home. Since I am a packrat and have alot of clutter, that is what I am trying to get organized, and straightened out.

Still calling on some rain for this eve into tomorrow. But there is only forecast for up to a half inch at most. And the line coming from the west looks to be fairly fast moving. There is calls for some windy conditions tomorrow afternoon, with gusts in the 40 mph.... It will blow the rain past us quick. Couple of windy days with sun, and temps back up into the upper 60's low 70's again.

Just looked outside and it is pitch dark already at 7 p.m.. Definitely getting into fall weather and less daylight.

 

[Baymule]

You sound like you are preparing. A recliner! I love and adore my recliner. My husband had never had one, it didn't take him long to come over to the dark side..... A recliner will keep your leg/foot elevated, if not high enough, you can put a pillow under your foot. A side table on each side of your recliner-one for the pillow and a warm blanket, the other for a lamp, books, TV remote and to set a drink on.

A tub chair has wide legs, it might not fit into your tub, take measurements at the bottom, where it is flat. You may have to put the chair in sideways. The hand held shower wand is also a good idea. A NON SKID bath mat for getting out of the tub, you sure don't want to slip down. An easily reachable rack for soap, shampoo, etc because you won't be standing and you won't be sitting down in the tub.

Cook ahead. Place on microwavable plates and freeze. Or place on ovenproof plates and freeze, wrapped in foil, just put in the oven and reheat. don't have enough plates? Goodwill! Make a pot of stew, soup or chili, portion into containers and freeze. Go ahead and buy some frozen dinners. Once in awhile, they are good, but a steady diet of them, especially when you can cook better, is

 

[farmerjan]

Just got done dishes and I can barely stand so a real relief to sit for a minute. Got all the boxes of bottles that I need to put in the racks and as I came in the door, I heard a coyote, then a whole bunch of them.... all little ones, immature little howls and yips. Guess the female is taking this years pups out to learn to hunt more. Have noticed that there were a few less cats around, mostly the younger ones. They go off hunting and all is fine for days, then when these coyotes come around I am sure a few have gotten caught out in the open fields. I feel bad, but they get fed at the house and if they go way off hunting instead of staying around the barns and such where they can run and hide, then I can't do anything about it. I haven't gotten any spayed yet this year, will wait until nearer the holidays and hope any that I do get fixed, will not go off too far and get caught by the coyotes.

It's not that I don't care, but they are fairly feral cats, that I feed, and they have gotten the mouse and rat population under control. I spayed my 3 original cats, after 1 litter of kittens, one disappeared, one got hit on the road and one was poisoned by the landlord with antifreeze (?) that was left out ( on purpose or not I don't know for sure). So I don't make "pets" of the ones that are here. There are a couple of males that won't stay away, one is meaner than anything, and I haven't been able to shoot him safely without hitting someone else, or he would be dead. These 2 males were not born here, don't know where they belong. Several of the female cats have disappeared in the last 2 years, and I know one got bit and tore up by one of the male cats one day when I was here and I should have hit him harder and killed him instead of stunning him and she ran off. The bites on her neck were infected and it took forever to heal. I caught her once, gave her a shot of antibiotics and she liked to tore me up. But I think it helped her to live. I can sometimes live trap them but they get suspicious of any "difference in the normal routine" I have of putting out the dry food. I have caught several kittens over the last couple of years and given them away, and had one that was my little buddy this year, but one day found him dead.

So, I guess the coyotes have made their way back around their "circle" and will be here for a couple of days.

 

[Baymule]

We visited a friend today not far from us. He has a hog panel cut to fit his porch opening at the steps for closing it off. Coyotes killed a cat right on his porch. The hog panel gives the cats a chance to run up the step hand rail and hide.

 

[Baymule]

We visited a friend today not far from us. He has a hog panel cut to fit his porch opening at the steps for closing it off. Coyotes killed a cat right on his porch. The hog panel gives the cats a chance to run up the step hand rail and hide.

 

[farmerjan]

@Baymule , got the non-skid tub mat the other day when getting new shower curtains. I have to have 2 to go around both sides. So got a clear thin liner to go against the wall and a regular curtain for the "floor side" of the tub. Will look for a soap rack, didn't think of that. I will make a point of measuring the tub for the "seat" . Thanks for that.

Don't have a microwave, but do have a convection oven that I do reheat in. I am going to make some lasagna and cut it into serving sections sizes and freeze. Have done that before. Cook some of these chickens and make up into "dinners" so that I can take them out of the freezer and put into the oven to reheat. Getting some soup, 12-24 cans at a time, different kinds, and clam chowder that I love, in the kind that doesn't require adding milk already, and spent some time at Sharp Shopper and Costco looking at stuff like that. I love soup so that won't be a hardship. Bought a big block of cheese slices, and froze it in like 12 slice pkgs so that I can pull them out for grilled cheese or cheese on sandwiches.
Got some hot dogs left that were made up of my meat, and some chipped beef from my meat, that I can make cream sauce pretty easily and have chipped beef on toast. I use the cast iron fry pan for alot so can use that for stove top cooking if need be. I have been stocking up on canned vegs so that I don't have to go digging in the freezer for stuff. So I probably won't do alot of "complete meals" but have all the "components" right there to be able to take out. I have been trying to empty the freezers out some so this will help. Since I didn't do a garden this year, I am trying to eat up what there is and start over next year when I hope I feel more able to work in the garden. Have been stockpiling some cans of vegs to have for convenience and getting some frozen vegs and doing up in portion size pkgs, vacuum pack and freezing. I do get tired of cooking for one, so this "prep cooking" is not a bad deal.

Will have to get a "stash" of ice cream closer to surgery, so I can indulge in my "comfort food" when I get home too.

 

[CntryBoy777]

I would sugvest that ya spend some time using cane or crutch that ya will use to get around with....this will "expose" areas that may need arranging to better suit the ease of use. Your balance will be different using them, so a little time spent can make a difference, than when ya can't do and just have to make do....practice using the shower seat, for the same reasons. When the oldest daughter was born, I was in labor&delivery with a cast on my left leg from hip to ankle. I had a 3 sp on the column in my car and had to figure out how to drive, so, just sharing things to think on....