Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[Mini Horses]

We're at 78 right now and rain is coming on down again....same temps tomorrow, no rain, down to 50 on Sunday????? This time of year we get a different season every couple of days. . Then mid to upper 60s all week....ok by me. Hate cold!

 

[farmerjan]

Well, it has been a warm day... so the rain is not so "terrible".... this afternoon late it actually got warmer and felt just like a warm summer rain... or a warm summer downpour..... all according to which 15 minutes you were out there....
DS texted and said it would be 10:30 to meet instead of 9:30.... so that was fine. I went out to the chickens and let them out of the crate... did not even try to look for the buff hen.... came back in for a little bit.
Left to go meet DS and we went to Christy's . They had gotten the cows separated away from the calves and our bull and in the smaller pen to load. It went pretty well overall... they do not have a crowd gate in the pen to help "push them" into the trailer so we went around the pen several times. Got the bull who walked right in nice and quiet, and took 4-5 in with him. DS shut the "cut gate" to keep them in. Then got another group in and he shut the 2nd cut gate... there was one jersey calf and 3 black ones that were a PAIN... and he and Christy actually took one of her feeders that is about 8 ft long... aluminum legs with a plastic like liner that makes it fairly light weight... and held it up sideways to use as a push barrier so they had to go into the trailer finally. There were 4 jersey steers that a neighbor actually raised on bottles then grazed with her angus cows.... so they are more "pets" and they are a PITA to make go where they think they shouldn't go... like pushing them out of the way type of "pets".... but we finally got them loaded.

We came back to the barn, he went in the trailer, got the cut gates opened, then got the bull off, so we could reload him in the back section to drop off down in the big field with the other bulls. I had mentioned about the "green car" (outback) going in to get the heater fan and a couple other things worked on and that I was driving the "red car" (forester), and that it started acting up and quit and I almost didn't get it started to back into the driveway... and that it was going to have to go in for them to look at it since the engine is under warranty.... so then I went to get in the truck and the battery was totally dead... and I knew it would be needing one, and I hadn't started it in a couple days... when I ran it daily it wasn't a problem, but that I was going to have to get one so that I didn't get left stranded when it turned cold next week.
So, DS said, well, he//, we'll take the battery out of my little red truck (the one that had the close encounter of the third kind with the stupid mule a couple weeks ago)... they were supposed to come get it this past week but didn't get here yet... so we managed to pry the hood up and worked the cables off it and got the battery out. He said it was a pretty new battery and I didn't have to take it but that I could have it ... HEY, I said I don't care as long as it starts the truck.... and then he said he owed me a battery; that I let him have one out of one of the vehicles back awhile ago and he had never replaced it... I think it was just sitting in the forester a couple years ago before I finally got the engine put in it or something... but anyway... I'll take it. Anyway, he said he would get it put in later today or tomorrow... asked if I wanted to take a ride and go to the stockyard with him...since it was raining, unless I had something else I wanted to do today... so I said sure, I would go.

So we went to town, unloaded the calves,; and then ate lunch at the stockyard, and sat and watched the sale. Prices were all over the place... some good and some dirt cheap. Although neither of us has any "disposable cash"... he wound up buying 8 pretty decent black bull calves @ 550 lbs or so... for $1.00/lb... 8 calves cost just shy of $5,000....which was totally ridiculously cheap... and if there had been any money for me to spend... I could have bought some heifers that ranged from $.35 to 1.00 /lb... which was even more ridiculously cheap... some were decent, a few were real "decent" (good).... but until the explorer gets sold, I do not have extra cash right now.
I have said for the last 30+ years that you DO NOT SELL IN NOVEMBER... especially not the weeks during hunting season.....and DS was sitting there with Caleb, who used to work for us as a teenager... and he said to him.... I was told years ago that the time to buy was in November... and looked at me... and then started smiling... and Caleb said; "and do I know who would have told you that", and then they both started to laugh a little....
SEE MOM DOES KNOW SOMETHING..........

DS is going to try to put together a couple groups to have some to sell in Feb as the buyers are gearing up to get stuff for spring turnout.... and then maybe make some money on both the weight gain from now til then....AND make money per pound also.... buying these bull calves at $.20 to $.50 cents a pound less, castrating, vaccinating, getting them bunk broke and weaned for the 45-60 day amount of time minimum for these guys that are looking for calves that are ready to go out and start grazing......and are willing to pay for it....

He is ALSO talking about trying to get enough to put out on grass for us, also, and then have 50-70 to sell in the fall... that weigh 8-900 lbs or so... that makes a tractor trailer... 48-50,000 lbs... 60 @850 lbs is 51,000 lbs.... say at the 1.60/lb range... that is 81,000 + dollars.... okay... say he has 850 / hd in them (which is high figuring 1.50/lb @ 550 lbs....) and we figure 1.50/day for 90 days silage...that's 135 in silage per head...then they go on grass; so that gets them up to 985.. add some medicine/vaccinations @ 15/hd... so say 1,000/head x 60 head= 60,000 in them total..... and getting back only 1.60 /lb for them at the heavier weights...( which we have been seeing them bringing more along the lines of 1.63-1.70), so 21,000 return for about 8 months total work.....
That's not including any that he puts together to sell sooner, as feeders... and if the market is real good, he will have some added income from these bull calves he buys and castrates, vaccinates and then gets sold after 90 days... for 1.65-1.95/lb... and only feeding for 90 days... and they will gain around 100 lbs or more (1 lb gain a day is low end)...so he can make .15 to .30/lb on the weight plus the gained weight.....

Of course, if you lose a couple (2-5% death loss is considered good)... and we work hard to not lose any... then it gets absorbed in the totals.... but still.... I think that he can do this and he likes to do this feeding... I have to see what he has in the silage... not counting the cost to build the pit as that has to be taken off over 10 years... but the yearly amount/ amortization, would be pretty close to equal what it cost for the bags and bagger and all that... I think... so it would be the actual cost of doing the silage... seed, fertilizer, planting, chopping/harvesting etc.... but I figure at 1.50/day that will be pretty fair amount for cost to feed per head......

Every years' harvest is going to be different also... but with the farmers going out, there are fewer to do things like this on a smaller scale ( as opposed to the big feeder/backgrounding guys that precondition 2-3,000 at a time) like the 60-100 DS is thinking....and if we keep buying a few here and there... we can put together some groups....

And by doing this, we will not have so much tied up in a consistent number of cow/calf pairs so more flexible... buy if we have too much grass, or sell if it gets dry and drought conditions...

I don't know, but I think he needs to seriously think about doing this... and whatever he gets in "inheritance money"... if they don't keep squabbling over stupid stuff and get the house sold so they don't keep paying out money for the upkeep/taxes/ins/lawyers fees etc.... then he will have some money to use for cash flow...

I never wanted to get this "big"... but if he wants to "retire" and do this, he needs to do it on a scale that makes it worthwhile and makes some money... he is 20 years younger than me... it needs to be in place as he can retire from his VDOT job in 7 years....

So, enough about that.... It was a nice enough day with him... got back and we got the 8 new ones into the barn, feed in the bunk...they were very interested in eating hay... it will take them a few days to get into eating the grain... and then in a week/10 days or so, we will castrate and vaccinate them after they have settled in and not stressed. This group of 8 ( bought as 5 and 3) are all very quiet and calm in the barn... came off the trailer and not running nuts, or "snorty", wanting to challenge you, or anything like that.... And best of all, they were "cheap".....

I am going in to take a shower and wash my hair and sit and watch a DVD movie on the TV...

Got 2 more mice this morning... Guess the best thing , they were on the sticky traps alongside the plant that got dug all up.... MAYBE one or both were the trouble makers....

 

[Ridgetop]

Sounds like buying weaned 500-600 lb. calves is the way to go. Since he likes that it will be less stress on you as well.

 

[Mini Horses]

Good deal on the calves!

I had a mouse inside Thurs night...saw it run into a closet. Set a trap there. Fri morn it was caught!! First I've seen in almost 2 yrs, so unusual. Lots of cats!

 

[farmerjan]

Partly sunny this morning, temp is 58 at 8:30. Supposed to be decent, maybe some clouds and spotty showers... then DROP like a lead balloon into the 30's tonight, 40's tomorrow and then 20's at night and low 40's days for the next week. BIG CHANGE....... and there is supposed to be some cold rain on Tues/wed and possibility of some ICE ??? They are "watching it".
Great.

This will take care of any of the plants that were "holding on"... and I will empty the planters and all sometime after that and add to the soil here around the house for next years plants.
All the spider plants will come inside this afternoon for sure. I also will have a bucket of water to use to water them with for a bit too from all the rain. The rain gauge near the house has 2.1 inches total in it... the one out by the fence usually has a smidgen more.
Boy did the wind blow last night from the backside of what was left of tropical storm Nicole... I thought it was going to make the plants all get blown off the table on the deck... but that side was a little more protected. Everything got well watered...

Going out to let the chickens out here in a few minutes then come in and eat something. Going to go around and see what needs doing out there today while it is warmer.... Have to go to the farm sometime when DS is there later and get the battery switched.
Will wait a day or 2 for this to all soak in good and then go get the hay moved... haven't done that yet since DS has had the r&w bale truck until he got the other one put back together... and he got the panels off it so now it is empty again.

Time to get going and not waste the nice day.

 

[farmerjan]

Well, mostly a good day even if I didn't get much done here. The other rain gauge that is out away from any "protection" had 2.6 inches in it so I will say 2.5 inches of rain out of "Nicole".... It all soaked in real good too.

DS wanted me to come down to the barn and help with the new calves so I said I would be down in a little bit. Half an hour I went down after letting the chickens out and all. Turns out the guy where we used to run cattle, that has these "deer plots" that are SOOOOO necessary to the deer's survival in this area .... was there. DS had gotten a couple of calves for him... a jersey and a 1/2 jersey... a couple weeks ago..... and he was cutting them... He does not like them banded and so we let him cut his own... and then was going to take them to his house... and get back the 2 heifers that he got of mine 6+ months ago and has now decided won't make good cows... one is a jer/ang and the other is a hol/ang. Also he wanted me to stick my arm up that char heifer I got a couple weeks ago and make sure she was not preg... and I didn't feel anything... she was in with the bull calves for 2 weeks so we gave her a lute shot for insurance... Didn't want to give her a shot on the off chance she was far along . So loaded her, then loaded D's 2 cut (castrated) calves and were getting in the truck, when DS gets a phone call from work... another tree down across a road... so I followed him down to where they had to be unloaded, then DS took my truck to go to work, and I unloaded the 2 and then we had to get the 2 heifers loaded... Of course, they wouldn't come into the small catch pen he set up in the corner of the lot... after around and around, he got the small jersey we just took there, and he went in the pen and the heifer that was being stupid followed right on his heels. Slammed the trailer door, then D went in and got the steer separated out from the 2 heifers with the "cut gate" inside so we could let him back off... It was a very long process.... because D said oh, the heifers will come right in... welllllll, not with a strange thing sitting right there at the gate (trailer) that looks all threatening and scary..... but you can't tell D anything... finally his son had come by the barn and helped to do it....
But, they are back, and I unloaded them and the char heifer, at the nurse cow pasture with the other heifers that are there. In a couple days they will hopefully settle in and start coming in with the rest of them for grain... they will both most likely get sold... neither "do anything " for me as ones to keep to breed... the jer/ang is small and nothing special... the hol/ang is the "stupid acting one" and is a little high headed... don't need that. Past time to get some money out of them... Good thing is they ate his grass all summer... he was never in a hurry to get them in for us to go get them...so, I quit asking. They will get sold whenever we have a trailer going to the sale and it is convenient. DS is going to evaluate these heifers and make some choices to keep or sell and they will just go with the sell ones...whenever. But at least they are here now where we can do something with them.

So, I got the truck and trailer back and brought DS's truck home to my house... and he got done with the tree shortly after and came to my house, and traded. He was going back to the barn and said to some down and we would put the battery in... his has side posts, mine needs top posts, but he had another battery there that he put in it instead. Said it came out of "something" and he had it on charge and it was testing good. So, hopefully, I will not have to worry about it for awhile. He said he will get the posts to go in the battery to make it compatible with my truck...

So we was going to work on fence there to be able to put these latest 8 calves out in the first lot... a couple trees had come down on it and it needed some major fixing... so I offered to stay and help him... we pulled wire back up, he put in some T-posts and I put clips on T-posts and hammered a bunch of staples to reattach wire to the wood posts too. Got that done and then I came on home. He went to his house to do his chickens, then stopped by here to look at the car. It started right up, but in a minute it smelled like something was burning...checked all the belts, the starter to make sure it didn't hang, and then checked all the fluids and there wasn't any water in the radiator... but the overflow thing was full. I had checked all the fluids just a week or so before on one of the nice sunny days...

So DS added some antifreeze and then some water and we started it again... and he said there must be a leak for it to be empty... kept checking... and all of a sudden it started to leak water ... bottom radiator hose has a hole in it... SOOOO, that is hopefully all that it is... I will get a new bottom hose tomorrow morning as I didn't feel like going back out tonight. I was panicking that the engine had a problem... and luckily, I had not driven it much or far so he doesn't think I did any kind of damage to it... but it could have ruined the engine... All the other fluids that he checked were good like I told him I had checked... I could have done it when going up to feed at the nurse cow pasture and I ride around checking on the cows etc....So we stuck a bucket under it to catch the antifreeze we just put in it... and tomorrow I will get a hose and hopefully he will get it put on for me without too much trouble... He said the reason it stalled was because it was getting hot... luckily I was right here at the house ready to back it in when it did that... so I hadn't driven it far with no water... I had only gone down to the farm bureau to get the feed when it just didn't sound right... but the temp gauge was not showing hot... which he said it wouldn't do if the water was just leaking out. He said that the overflow should have put the fluid back into the radiator.... but who knows. The fact that the oil and other fluids are full is good...

So, I might have dodged a bullet there... With a not too expensive fix .....

I got the chickens in the crate, then got all the plants off the deck and in the house... It is still 60 out, but they keep saying as the clouds dissipate, it is going to drop into the 30's. Don't need anything to happen to them after keeping them going so well all summer.

Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny but chilly. I should be able to do a few things I didn't do here today.

I never did watch a movie so might do it tonight since it is only 7 p.m. and I am in for the night. Got some clothes and socks that I can sit here and fold too.

 

[Baymule]

You and DS have had a couple of real nice days. Buying those bull calves was a good deal. I like that about never selling in November. That’s so true! But it’s a good time to buy. LOL

You got lucky with that radiator hose! Whew! Good that you didn’t drive it far.

 

[Finnie]

.... but she only had about 20 I guess... I am well past that now.

I am curious where you keep all these violets. Do you have shelves with lights, or are they in windows?

I have about 30 leaf cuttings with baby plants that are going to need to be potted soon. I don’t know where I’m going to put them all.

 

[farmerjan]

I have a set of shelves in front of a south/west facing window in the living room for the violets. This is an old house and the windows go down to within about 18-24 inches of the floor so really are longer than what is put into newer houses and down much further than the newer building codes allow. I have thought of ways to put on an extra room... maybe close in half the front porch for a "sun room".... it is shaded in the summer from the big maple but has more light in the winter... Blinds that come down to lessen the amount of light in that window, and in the summer actually very little sun shines through due to the angle.
BUT... I am outgrowing it so have to figure out something else here soon. Especially all the spider plants that I potted the babies this summer and are all doing so good.... I want to put up some sort of pole or hanging chain across the dining room 2 windows so they can go there. They are all in hanging pots but right now they fit in a couple of plastic totes that I can move outside on nice days. Looks like doing that is done for the year though.

Hope to sell a bunch this coming year when I have a BIG YARD SALE, that was supposed to happen this fall and didn't..... I have way too many... but they are so easy and are so good for cleansing the air in the house too.

I really want a greenhouse type room for things.... then could rotate a few in and out of the LR....

I keep the bedroom a little cool for the violets I think... the spider plants don't seem to mind the laundry room with the corner windows even though it is a little cooler.. but there are no doors to shut it off from the dining room or the air flow from the kitchen ... just doorways. The LR stays a little warmer even though the doorway into the kitchen does not have a door either...

It was down to 35 last night. Sun and might hit 50 but it is chilly. I am going to go get the radiator hose... at least my little truck has a good heater....!!!!

 

[Finnie]

I think your idea of a hanging pole or chain across your dining room windows is a great idea for your spider plants.

My south facing window does not have any blinds to protect the violets from direct sun, so I can’t put them there. I’m trying to think of a way to use white paper to make some kind of screen to protect them from the intense sun. But if it blocks too much light, I’d have to make it moveable.

I guess we are in the same boat with our African violets outgrowing their space. I am giving you partial blame for my new hobby of ordering violets on line!

I have ordered from Violet Barn twice, as well as a few other places. So far I don’t have good luck keeping the Violet Barn ones alive. 4 out of 8 have died from root rot. Then I discovered Lyndon Lyons. The 4 I got from them were much much bigger, and so robust looking. I would like to order more from them, but I have no room for more.

And I have discovered Streptocarpus plants. Since I can’t find those in stores or garden centers, they are the reason I have placed so many on line orders. I’m up to 7 Streps now!