Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[Baymule]

That's an idea worth looking into.

 

[farmerjan]

There is no disability from work....I have no insurance coverage of any kind at work. I am only part time without even enough hours to qualify for our part time dental insurance. It is just a little extra income.

Since there are treatments for this Alpha gal. not sure what kind of disability that would qualify me for with SS... and if I get to the point that I can do the SAAT and it puts it into remission, what then? Not sure it is worth rocking the boat when the monthly SS is more than enough to pay my normal bills comfortably. I have money put back to do a little traveling if I want... but really have little interest in going many places except maybe to see the Grand Canyon.... or to visit some friends on a "couple week make a circle out to the mid and southern part of the country" and back home.
So I guess I can look into the SS disability...at least call and see what they say. Being allergic with this Alpha Gal syndrome is like being allergic to wheat gluten though... a BIG inconvenience... but not even life threatening...if you are smart. People that have allergies have to deal with what they can and cannot do... this one makes me very sick, but if I don't aggravate it, I can survive quite "normal"..... I HATE the restrictions because of being in the industries that I am in.... and have been in for 50 + years.... I miss the food I used to eat and enjoy.... BUT..... compared to some things, and thinking about Deb and the ALS she has... this is really just an inconvenience... not a true "disability"....

 

[fuzzi]

...maybe to see the Grand Canyon.... or to visit some friends on a "couple week make a circle out to the mid and southern part of the country" and back home...

Let me know if you want a travel partner. I've similar thoughts.

 

[farmerjan]

Got a load of laundry hung after a late start.... I was worn out after testing yesterday... left at 3 a.m., tested... came home... felt really tired.. did the cows and packed most of the samples.... left at 3:30 with DS to go get his new phone that came in... then to that grading clinic.... then home... and I am still not at the point where I have things figured out so tire out more than I ever did... I HATE feeling like this... especially the debilitating feeling after the reaction the night before...
Did the cows, put them back in today... the samples are packed and in the explorer... will leave in a minute to go drop them off... the sky is darker to the south... possible quick shower coming through but who knows... they are sooooo spotty.
Feeling a little unsettled with the cattle situation... talked to DS a little bit ago and said I want to get rid of all the stuff we have been talking about selling... soon...... just a gut feeling... think it might crash a bit in the not too distant future... want all the "to sell" stuff to actually be sold....And if I am wrong... then we will have "space" for anything we might want to add..... but I want to have extra grass rather than extra animals right now...

Hoping to get a real good night's sleep tonight...

 

[fuzzi]

Got a load of laundry hung after a late start.... I was worn out after testing yesterday... left at 3 a.m., tested... came home... felt really tired.. did the cows and packed most of the samples.... left at 3:30 with DS to go get his new phone that came in... then to that grading clinic.... then home... and I am still not at the point where I have things figured out so tire out more than I ever did... I HATE feeling like this... especially the debilitating feeling after the reaction the night before...
Did the cows, put them back in today... the samples are packed and in the explorer... will leave in a minute to go drop them off... the sky is darker to the south... possible quick shower coming through but who knows... they are sooooo spotty.
Feeling a little unsettled with the cattle situation... talked to DS a little bit ago and said I want to get rid of all the stuff we have been talking about selling... soon...... just a gut feeling... think it might crash a bit in the not too distant future... want all the "to sell" stuff to actually be sold....And if I am wrong... then we will have "space" for anything we might want to add..... but I want to have extra grass rather than extra animals right now...

Hoping to get a real good night's sleep tonight...

DS needs to listen to DM's gut, for sure!

 

[farmerjan]

Done for the night.... ate some imitation crab salad sandwiches with lettuce for supper...... I ate some of the sliced white breast meat off the "chilled " rotisserie chicken with cranberry sauce on the sandwich for lunch.
I have had some sinus stuff again... and it is aggravating...

It got real dark, I went down to the UPS store in Lexington which is about 12-14 ? miles... the road was wet about 6-7 miles south all the way to Walmart and the UPS store... they had a good shower as there were some puddles... But it never came down here at the house... Stayed a little west and dissipated just as it got here... AGAIN. We did have about .3 inch yesterday (Wed) evening... there was some water in the tubs all along the roof line at Snyder's barn today when I went up there... lots of pollen on the water surface too.

So after I dropped the 3 "packages" of samples... 180 (3 boxes), 180 (3 boxes) , and 195 (4 boxes) all strapped , I went to TSC to see about a rain gauge... about 1/2 mile away,; walked around looking at some stuff... and then came back by Walmart; got some grapes they had just gotten in, and the imitation crab meat, and a few other things... and finally came on home...

I have been having more headaches and wonder if it is allergic responses... not any real difference in the constant clear runny nose... but with the pollen and trees starting to come out... maybe it is making this stupid Alpha Gal allergic responses worse???

It was 61 overnight... late May temps... and hit over 85 today... with 94 recorded when the sun was on the recording sensor....


Talked to DS and he said he was not feeling great... but then we both put in about 16 hours total yesterday... 3 a.m. until 9 pm.... said he did not do much. I had texted him and said if he had Buck working with him, that I could take him home towards Lexington since I had to take the samples... but after the rain he had cancelled him coming... and then said with feeling about "1/2 sick"... it was a good thing.

It is hard to see DS so much "weaker" than he used to be... without the energy. His headaches have been more frequent recently again... He has dr appts next tuesday..... we will go to Rural King inbetween them...

I did get the laundry hung and it never got wet... but it was nearly dark when I finally got back so will get it in tomorrow... might even hang another load earlier in the day, since it is supposed to be mostly sunny all day tomorrow...

Gas went up another $.20 this morning.... at 3 of the 4 stations... I filled the explorer this eve when I got home from taking the samples to UPS.... and then took the outback and topped off the tank.... DS said he got a load of diesel delivered to the farm and filled one tank... if it goes up we are a little ahead... if it goes down we will fill the other tank... BUT it hit $6.06 at the Pilot station here this evening and gas went from 3.59 to 3.79.... the Exxon was still 3.61 so that was even cheaper than the Shell station, with my .15 discount... so I used my Am Express with the 3% discount at the Exxon station...
This gas situation, and now the bombing and stuff in Tel Aviv on the news today.... has me getting really concerned about things... that is why I am pushing DS to get all these calves/odd ball stuff/ cull cows gone in the next week or so...

Had 2 farms get in touch to test so next week, have one scheduled for Monday evening.... and the other is 2x so will do them Thurs/Friday....
The neighbor angus breeder has his spring bull sale this Sat... noontime for the lunch, then the sale... we don't "need" a bull... but there are 2 guys that offer their bulls here... and the one is a limousin breeder... the bull we had that died when the vet was here.... was from there several years ago... he was a "lim-flex" bull... so a "percentage" limousin and percentage angus.... last fall he had a real nice one that DS and I both liked but there was a guy who was "going to buy that bull" so we quit because there was not way we would have paid a real high price for him.... but will go and see what they have, visit with local people, all that. Never know...
DS said the friend that said we could use his bull called him and we will not be able to use him... His bull had been limping some; thought it was something in his foot... got him up and could not find anything wrong.. and thinks it is in his shoulder... he is a mature bull, probably 7-8...real good bloodlines... put some nice calves on the ground for this friend.... and has decided to ship him... DS said that he understood... and I said it was better he sold him with the limp, than for us to have him, and have something worse happen to him; to not have the responsibility of him getting real lame or hurt on "our watch"........

We will be okay on bulls for spring pastures... we have 7 and need 5 mature bulls.... the one we bought in Dec and then the one he just got 2 weeks ago, are young bulls and we do not like to put them on very many cows... but we can rotate them in to pastures after 45 days of the mature bulls being in there and they would not get "overworked" too young, just to cover any cows that the mature bulls don't catch.
We have 4 scheduled for their BSE (breeding soundness exam) around the 20-22 of April... I can't remember the exact date off hand... and Roscoe is at a friend's with his couple of cows.... and we will get him and turn him out at one of the places.... he won't get tested but has not been a problem in the past.....
All the mature bulls we have, have all passed their BSE in the past... but to be on the safe side... we have one that is getting some age... had planned to sell him after this year...he is actually 12 yrs old.....bought in 2016; he is 2 yrs older than the limi that we lost.... so we will see how he does this test.... Both young bulls passed their BSE before they were sold in the bull sales...... and the one we know got 2 bred when he was in with the group of cows on the hill.... then moved him into the other field and I have 6 of the 8 bred to him...... but we try really hard to NOT overwork them too young or they get run down... and it takes them longer to recover... the rule of thumb is 1 cow per "month" of age in a bull under 2 yrs... so a 14-15 month old bull should NOT be put with more than 12-14 cows.... we like to stay under about 10 their first time out.... get a little experience, and don't get run down with their "over enthusiasm".... don't lose alot of weight chasing down cows...

So, that is where we are at.....

Heading in to get a shower and get some sleep. If I go to bed too early, I wake up and then if I go back to sleep, I just feel all groggy when I do get up. So try to not go to bed much before 11 and then sleep mostly through until 6-7 a.m. normally... 6-7 hours... maybe getting up once to go to the bathroom.
If there are no "reactions" this evening... with what I have eaten... then I will eat the same stuff tomorrow and try the banana to see if that was the catalyst the other night. But, I am thinking it might have been the margarine on the filet of sole fish, I broiled....

It is very breezy but temps still in the 60's....

 

[Baymule]

If you are having "that feeling" then better get those cows to the sale ASAP. I pay attention to those gut feelings and I'm usually right.

 

[murphysranch]

FJ: I trust my gut too, and I trust yours as well.

I was down in my deep pantry, trying to arrange it better. I'm in good shape with all the canned and dry goods. Unless we get the humongeous Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake - then all bets are off on how much I'll be able to salvage from the basement.

 

[Ridgetop]

Feeling a little unsettled with the cattle situation... talked to DS a little bit ago and said I want to get rid of all the stuff we have been talking about selling... soon...... just a gut feeling... think it might crash a bit in the not too distant future... want all the "to sell" stuff to actually be sold....And if I am wrong... then we will have "space" for anything we might want to add..... but I want to have extra grass rather than extra animals right now...

Definitely go wth your gut. You are usually right (whether your sone admits it or not). Having cash and grass on hand is never a bad thing and if the market crashes you will be in a good place to pick up some bargain cows.

I have been having more headaches and wonder if it is allergic responses... not any real difference in the constant clear runny nose... but with the pollen and trees starting to come out... maybe it is making this stupid Alpha Gal allergic responses worse???

You are probably right about the allergies. The Alpha Gal may be making you more sensitive to the allergies you already had. Maybe try some allergy meds.

It is hard to see DS so much "weaker" than he used to be... without the energy.

I now that feelng. DS1 is not sick and has no injuries to overcome like your son but he is 46 now and says he is feeling it sometimes when he puts in a long hard day, particularly running fence or loading all that heavy stuff in the trailer. It's hard for me to see him as getting older since I am so young still. I wonder why others age and I do not. Except for my back, knees, occasional lack of balance, etc. . . . .

 

[farmerjan]

Friday.... warm again,. 65 up to 85 with 90 in the sun.... Breezy again... seems like we never have a day without the breeze anymore...

DS got Buck to help and they worked on some more brush/cedars clearing... then GF called DS to remind him of his dr appt ... yep, he had forgotten... so then Buck wound up coming up here to the house and worked on some more of the volunteer walnut trees around the shed.... and then DS finally got home... Buck said the heat was getting to him also.... it is just too hot for this time of year here.... and I wound up taking Buck home again so DS could go to the farm and get some other stuff done...today they did the botox that is supposed to be helping with the headaches, and they were running way behind... and it makes him tired out after.... Buck's wife had not felt good this morning, either.. she has some heart and other health problems.... he is 70 and she is going to be 64 I think he said... so he wanted to quit a little early today so that was fine... stopped on the way home and got a new chain at TSC for his chainsaw.... he uses his own quite a bit, so a new chain is not unreasonable.... he takes good care of his equipment... he used to do logging as a profession for 40+ years......
Gave them 2 doz eggs when I dropped him off too.
Plan is for DS to get him Monday if we do not get too much rain on Sunday late in the day, and they are going to start around fences at pastures...fixing fence, trees on the fences all that stuff; it will be time to turn out cows before you know it with this early warmth and grass is already growing some...
I have a farm scheduled for Monday aft testing....... Then Tues is an all day thing with his dr in the morning, then a different one in the afternoon...

So, did the chickens, filled waterers and one feeder in the NH pen... the one in the leghorn pen had some and I need to go get pellets at the bin to mix....but refilled their waterer. There is a leghorn hen eating eggs... found a half broken/eaten egg today... I need to clean out their coop... and fix the boards a little better so that I can bed it deeper... and not have it all come out the door when you open it...

Did a load of "whites"... mostly socks that I soaked for a bit this morning... and got them hung... brought in some of the shirts on the line.... I was going to bring them all in this afternoon but I got sidetracked.
DS called and said my char x heifer FINALLY calved... I was getting concerned... as she was checked "6 mo" along with all the ones that have already calved... but nothing... well, she had a heifer calf this morning and DS said it was up and sucking in about a half an hour... BEAUTIFUL weather to have it so I am really glad. He also wanted me to know he was heading home... he did not feel great and usually will sleep more after the botox shots in the forehead... tomorrow he should feel better though....

Late this afternoon, went and turned the 2 jerseys out and fed grain to the calves in the barn.

Then I went to the farm after I got done up there... and got some fence staples and went and started "nailing off" the woven wire fencing he had put up in the "peterbilt field"... it is right next to what used to be the peterbilt place... now owned by the other "truck stop company.... Lee Hi"... and peterbilt is next to it where the Lee Hi place was... they basically traded properties next to each other...
When DS got it up they put in about 2 or 3 staples per post... but it has needed to be "nailed off"... it cooled off this evening to where you could work... and since I can work about an hour or so, nailing staples before the hand gets too numb (the hand that was hurt all those years ago in the car wreck)... it seemed like a good thing to do this evening... I got the section from the fence to where he has the water trough.... and will have some gates there and some board fencing.... about 350-400 ft I guess...about 40 + posts all together I guess... there was a spliced section of fence so assume it was over the 330 ft roll.... worked about 1 1/2 hrs.... it was getting real close to dark the last 3-4 fence posts... and my hand was getting real tired... was missing the staples as often as hitting them. I know that is time to quit... but the one whole stretch is done to where the gate and water trough is..... Been wanting to get there and get some of it done.... got another section/stretch from the water trough to the other fence... then a section between lots 2 and 3 at the barn.... but I like to do it when no one is around and I can work slow at my own pace and quit when the hand has had enough. The weather/temps were perfect this evening to do it...
He has got to get more of the woven wire (field fence) up too... we cannot split off a couple of the fields because he has not got the wire up... posts are in... but wire is not up everywhere yet... I want to get the rest "nailed off in the next week or so... then say something to him about getting the rest up... has to be done by July for the cost share money.... he applied for the program several years ago, finally approved. and they did an extension last year.... but it has to be done this year.... I am doing my part... nailed off one whole stretch last year that was done, then they did the extension.... we took down old fence, much of it not in good shape.... and doing all replacement fences... INTERIOR fences, that are for subdividing pastures for rotational grazing etc... and adding several more interior fences for subdividing into smaller paddocks/ pastures...they will make splitting up calves etc into more uniform groups and allowing to feed them better... but as with everything else... it is getting down to the wire again... and he spends too much time jumping everytime she wants things done for her...and this gets put off...

But anyway... I came home about dark so did not get the clothes off the line. It is supposed to be nice and sunny tomorrow... with late day clouds and some showers late and into Sunday.... I will get them in tomorrow...

Already have all the sample bottles ready for the farm on Monday....no meters there... and mostly enough bottles already in the trays/racks for the thursday herd... need to make sure that there are enough meters in the car...

Ate a couple seafood/crab meat salad sandwiches for supper with lettuce.... couple tylenol for the back ache and the hand cramping.... Washed the dirty eggs... tomorrow I will eat eggs for breakfast to use the 2 that have cracks and a few more... ate dry cheerios this morning...
I will attempt the banana tomorrow in case I have a bad night Sat night...nothing to have to "go to" on Sunday... but I think it was the "excess" of margarine on the broiled fish filets....

Going to hit the shower and go to bed a bit earlier... I am tired...

Grass is growing and looks like I am going to have to do some mowing here real quick...NEVER mowed before mid-late April before..... want to get these other 2 smaller chicken coops "redone"... plywood all peeled/rotted... use part of one of the "greenhouse" poly carbonate panels, to re do the roof on one side of the one coop....for light and for warmth in the colder winter months....and some of the metal for the roof on the other side/half.....put the solid/metal side to the south/west to block the hot summer sun and give them shade.......turn it and put the polycarbonate side to the sun/south/west in the winter for increased light and warmth...It's a small "moveable coop"..... and get my langshan pair into it so I can start saving eggs in a couple weeks... and the NH's split up so I can start saving their eggs for hatching some too... don't know when the guy is going to come back that is going to do the carpentry part of getting the treated boards on the bottom of these pens before they rot... sad thing is he is a pretty good carpenter but very unreliable... DS was thinking he would be getting him to do them when he is helping DS put up the extension on the hay barn and the new equipment storage shed he has these rafters for now...BUT.... it is always hurry up and wait it seems like anymore...

Well, things for tomorrow's "worrying"... done for the night.