Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[farmerjan]

Just a few minutes.... I tested again this morning, went to their house and did the computer work on his computer, got the meters out of the parlor since the wash cycle had run, and went to the barn and put the nurse cow in with the calf to nurse. Then came here to the house and got the milk samples packed and ready to drop off when I go out. I have a list of several things I need to do today, so will drop them off in a bit.
Been sorting out through all the mail so I can get rid of junk. Found the statement I needed from the investment company on the taxes taken out of my withdrawal of the retirement account for the down payment on the house last fall.
I texted the tree company and told him I was tied up with work today and tomorrow... which I did test this morning, and have a 240+ cow herd tomorrow.... so that I can get a little more civil about it..... I did say in the text, which was in response to a phone message, that YES, we needed to talk and NO I was not happy with some of what transpired. And on top of it, they left a chainsaw and a rake ...... that is equipment that costs money.... and no one has called or come by that I know of to even check up on it. I put the saw in the carport just to keep it from being out in the rain.... so I intend to also ask if he supplies the equipment and if so, then his employees are not taking care of his equipment.
It is a very nice day. It rained yesterday, late and into the night. Rained/showers this morning and then all of a sudden the sun came out and it is very bright out there now. Warm.... 70's already.... was about 60 when I went to work at 5 a.m..... I keep telling myself that it is only the end of march.... this is about 15-20 degrees warmer than normal as @Mini Horses mentioned.... I think in the coffee shop.....But I'll take it. We have had some pretty strong "breezes".... windy actually....
We have been lucky to not get the devastating tornados that they got down south. I hope that everyone here has not had any major damage or devastation.

Time to get some other stuff done around here.

 

[farmerjan]

8 pm. Dropped off the samples, made up a list for DS on which cows have already been preg checked and can get moved out of the barn. Also the figures for getting paid for my calves and all. Since he wanted to know if I wanted the 2 cows with calves that I bought about a month ago... the hereford is a one and done , and the other has short teeth so have to decide if I want to try to put her with the bull and get another calf or not.... I am thinking that he is feeling that he would rather not pay me for all the calves and trade out for those 2 cows.... So, I said sure, I can "keep them" for me to own.... plus he bought those heifers that we lost that one... and that is a bunch of money tied up.... even though the calves did good this spring.... So since he paid for those 2, I will "pay him back" out of the calf money.... and will get a check from him for the rest.
The one that I bought a couple weeks ago, calved... with a nice bull calf he said.... and she has a good mouth so will get bred back....
He wants to try the cow that we pulled the calf from, again, with the orphan calf from the prolapsed/dead heifer; that has been going on my nurse cow. So he was going to work with her this evening he said. I said that was fine with me, if he can get her to take it... but that I did not like having to crank her tail around in a circle so she wouldn't kick at the calf in the chute. We'll see.... I would just as soon put it over on the other jer/hol as soon as she calves and let her raise 2 ... if she will take it. This will be her first calf so don't know how she will do.... but I have expectations for her to "do her job" and raise a few calves for me.
Went and got the liners to go under the electric burner elements on the stove at the rental as they are not worth even trying to clean up.... hope I got the right ones, will see when I go down the hill. Stopped at a storage place that has "boxes" like pods.... but they no longer let them get moved to another site... they have turned them all into on site rentals alongside the "storage buildings" they have there. Changed hands a few years ago I guess and the new owners don't do that. Wanted to do the "pod thing" until the storage building that DS put the roof on, gets moved here... that might be another year though... we are getting into farming weather now.... So frustrated....
So, I guess I am going to see about getting the boxes all moved up in the walk in "attic storage" , here.... wanted to have them in a "pod" or something as there is alot of stuff in the boxes that will be yard sale stuff.... better to have at ground level.... Going to look at a metal storage type building tomorrow on my way to test... might be an alternative since this is stuff that will mostly get sold or sent to Goodwill at the end of the "yard sale season" .

I will talk to the tree guy tomorrow maybe.

Oh, the saw is gone... maybe they came back to see if they left it.... it was in plain sight in the carport.... but not something you could see from the road or anything.... and my trucks are here so doubt that anyone would come in randomly to steal it.... not my responsibility....
Got to get the sample bottles in the racks for tomorrow's test.

I am going down the hill and see about getting some more stuff sorted and all. Making a list of other things that I need to do....
I haven't talked to DS but am assuming that we are going to preg check those few cows tomorrow.... or maybe Sunday? Whatever..... either works for me.

 

[Mini Horses]

A lot to "tie up" and the farm season looming heavy! Stress abounds. You might consider renting a storage unit and moving things there for a few months. Empty the rental house! Would be less expensive per month. Maybe hire muscle for a day, load a trailer move it and be done for a while. Save that rent.

Hope your 2nd project nurse cow works out as well as the current one! With the size op you all have, how could DS not see their value?? You always need a back up nursemaid!!

I have these does in milk and need to start milking soon. Will have to find the time! My work has been hectic this year with taking a lot of jobs at unassigned to me stores. But I'm loving the pay right now -- buying fence without delving into the backup funds. I just have to live through another 6-8 weeks for slow down. Then it will be almost a dead stop.....can get farm work cranking. There's plenty to do!!!!!! Plus a garden to do. Yikes. Could I clone me????

 

[farmerjan]

Rainy and wet, had thunder earlier and a couple of fast downpours. Creek was running muddy so I know that it poured for a bit. Showers off and on all day.... then windy this evening. Sun back out tomorrow with 60's BUT we are supposed to see a MAJOR drop in temps to the 40's and nights in the 20's towards the end of the week. It is a little early for these real warm temps...although they have been nice.
Really greening up with the rain and warmth this past week.

Too much to tie up it seems. Worked out a deal with the landlord, for another month when he was at the farm this morning. Not what I wanted.... but it will do; and not full rent....
I will start moving the stuff out of at least one freezer tomorrow, I ought to be able to stand and walk a little better if I don't kill myself today. I don't have any farms yet scheduled for the week. Have 2 to call.....the one big one that Geneva or DS helps with, and another that left a message that only tests every 3 months or so.
DS has a dr appt Wed. and I think that this week is prolotherapy injections. I have PT on Thursday.

Today I am working on taking up the hems and shortening the sleeves of DS's GF's sisters overalls for racing. Want to get them done today. It is sit down so will give the knees a break. Nearly 5 hours yesterday about did it.... didn't sleep well last night.

I preg checked the cows. They were all shorter bred I am pretty sure, did not feel any big calves. So they got moved to one place and will go with the bull for the summer in case I missed. They will be very preg when they get rechecked in the fall, or will be a few months along with the others. He also moved 3 others that were quite far along, out with the group calving now as they should calve soon too.
Gave the calf to my nurse cow and stopped fooling with the one that we pulled the calf from.... she only felt like she was short bred 2-3 months... so can raise the calf and then it can get pulled off and she can get a dry period and then calve in the later part of the fall.
Going to eat a sandwich and then get back to work on the overalls...get them done for him to take back to gf sister.

If the weather stays wet I think I will go down the hill, and get some of the small boxes moved to the back door. Going to do some vacuuming here then take it down there and work on cleaning up some too. Have some more stuff to go to the dumpster. Some here I need to take down with me, and toss too.

My peach trees are budded and will bloom any time. Moving them is going to really set them back and I hope they survive it. Next year they ought to do good I hope. The others are going to stay where they are for the year and he can mow around them. Since he has the paperwork in the "works" to buy the farm we have rented ...."doug's farm" ..... he will be busy with some of the stuff that needs doing there that has been let go for several years since the widow didn't want to put anything into it.... so he ought to be busy with that and not worrying about mowing around the patch where the other fruit trees are. I will be able to definitely mark the ones that I think are dead and not have to move them.... and get the others properly moved this fall. Not relying on those that have promised this year either.... I will spend the money and have a guy with a mini excavator do it...late in the fall so they will have the fall and winter to get established for next spring.

Haven't talked to the boxwood/tree guy. I will call him this evening. Write him a check once we get a new agreed on price, and that will be it. It is great that the boxwoods and all are gone... just not happy about not removing the stump in the front, grinding down the boxwood stumps to ground level... I understand about not doing the roots with the sewer line running out there...but ground level.... and the wood all being chipped instead of leaving what I wanted cut up for firewood.

Going to look for a small dump trailer thing for the back of the lawn mower, so I can move the chips from the piles to around the trees and such. Plus planning to use alot of it for the fruit trees. Before you know it, the lawn will be needing mowing....

Time to get on the hemming project.

 

[farmerjan]

Hey, just an aside.... anyone ever tried or used tart cherry for immune and pain? Couple of people on the one cattle forum said that it works for aches and pain.... going to try it and see if it helps any.... Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts.... God knows I have tried about everything else....

 

[Baymule]

My mom used cherries in a can, several a day, then drank the juice. She said it helped her arthritis.

 

[farmerjan]

Raining again, it stopped for a bit this afternoon but the wind was something. Supposed to go through and end by early morning then sunny for 2 days temps in the 60's.....
Rained pretty hard a couple of times... I haven't looked at the rain gauge... figure I will get a total tomorrow after it has gone by.

Terrible about the area around Nashville Tenn.....7 inches of rain, flooding, a mess... and the poor people in Alabama that got hit by the tornados.....

Samples packed, boxes and ready to go out.

Got the coveralls all done... hemmed the bottoms and shortened both sleeves... had to do it by hand as I didn't want to cut them. If she gets this foolishness out of her system with no injuries or disasters, and decides she doesn't want to keep doing it, they will at least be useable for someone else that might have longer arms or legs. They had elasticized cuffs on the inside of the legs, and both sleeves... they are flame retardant material and I really did not want to mess around with all that... but I think that they will work for her. Not fancy work, but looks decent. Took the sleeves up halfway up on arms... basically folded them over and hand stitched... have to see how it works... Double folded the hems up and hand stitched... had to be careful of the inside cuffs so didn't want to try to use the machine. Plus, dealing with excess width to ease in while stitching. harder to do with an older straight or zigzag machine... and because of the flame retardant, I didn't want to be doing alot of machine stitching and alot of exposed thread.... I'm no professional seamstress... but they don't look too bad. Took several hours to do them. Texted her and told her they were done.

Sorted through some junk mail and catalogs. Got a few more things done here. Got a couple of bags of garbage to put in the car to take down the hill but will probably wait for tomorrow since it is pouring right now and I want to get going and see if I can get some more/better sleep tonight.

@Baymule .....Interesting about your mom with the cherries.... must be something to it... I am going to try it...

Texted DS to see about this weeks schedule for the 500+ cow herd... if he wants to go or if I should get with Geneva to do it. Also about his Dr appt on Wed and if he is getting the injections so if I will be going with him....

Will take the car home since it is right here in the driveway. Already took the hoses out. I loaned the meters to another farm that wants to check some milk weights on some cows. So the back of the car is empty so I will put some stuff in there before I come up in the morning.
The truck is further out beyond the chip piles. Tomorrow I will come up and switch... and take the cooler chests down the hill and see about cleaning out the one freezer for starters.... put a few boxes on the truck too. Hope I will feel a little more mobile. Not supposed to be cold so will be pleasant enough to be in and out of the freezer. Got to get a few boxes to put stuff into in the new freezer as I think that there aren't any/many in that one.... and they are probably getting ragged anyway.

Wind is really blowing out there again....

 

[Baymule]

Moving is such a chore. I hate to admit it, but I still have boxes stacked in my closet. I have a 12 place setting of china, plus all the extra pieces and have nowhere to put it. Danged if I'll get rid of it, so it sits in the closet. I still have a few random boxes that I haven't unpacked and gone through. It just seems so easy to ignore them. What would I do with the contents anyway? Re-wrap them and put them in another box?

 

[farmerjan]

Monday afternoon. Started out chillier than I expected and never got real warm... 50's,, sunny but breezy, and cool.
Got a few things packed and moved.
Dropped off the packed samples to go out UPS.
Going down to pack more this evening and taking the cooler chests so that I can empty the one freezer in the morning and bring the stuff up here. I have not been moving very fast today and have another headache, on top of the knees. Although I am not really getting uptight, I think that there is more stress causing these headaches than I realize. Plus the not sleeping good because the knees just ache.
Am taking the tart cherry extract capsules, it says 1 a day with a meal, I am now taking 2 a day with food. Wanted to give my system a chance to get used to them for a day or 2....
I am just out of sorts and not very good company.

Got the 500+ cow herd scheduled for Thursday eve.... DS said he would go with me. He is going to get off work at 3 instead of 3:30 and we can leave & go right there. It will be probably 10 before we get home. Got one other one that I need to call back and get set up. Wed is the dr appt so I guess that I can do the other one on Friday. We won't be shipping any cattle now so I could do them then if it works for them.

Think I will go get the freezer chests and head down the hill. Really need to get motivated to finish this up.

 

[Baymule]

You have been "moving" for so long that it has lost it's luster and is just one more never ending chore to add to your already long day. Add in the pain that drags you down both mentally and physically and it has become drudgery. Girl, you need to get some help and get this over with so you can leave all this stress and crap behind.

Then add on the aching pain that wakes you up at night, throbbing pain that just wont stop, I don't know how you have kept your sanity. You need to get this done, finished up and behind you. On the one hand, moving slowly has been a benefit, in order to let you go through things, get rid of stuff, mark stuff to get rid of, put things in the places you want it to go and organize as you go. On the other hand, it has dragged on and on and I think that maybe it is getting to you. It's time. Throw a moving party and git 'er done.