Farmerjan's journal - Weather

farmerjan

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Oh, I forgot to mention that we went to the 500+ cow herd yesterday afternoon. It was cloudy, then sunny, then started SNOWING like we were going to have a blizzard!!!!! stopped and started a couple times. Nothing stuck on the ground but it was really snowing and blowing. We were in the barn @ 4 to set up their samplers.... milking at 4:20 and didn't get done til 9:30...... 5 hours ...... LOOOOONG evening. Crazy weather.... came home and carried the samples in the house and got them pretty much packed into the shipping boxes, then just had to go over them this morning and get them all bundled up and all.... still takes time. 535 samples shipped.... cows were really milking though....they AVERAGED 93 lbs...... for the day.... holy moley.... that's alot of milk....

Hoped DS ordered his metal today at the quoted price.....
 

Mini Horses

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:ep Wow!!! Those cows are really pumping it out!


You are right about the keep working thing. I think I want to stop some days....usually when I'd rather do something else.😁 But, another thing about it is just keeping yourself "active" and "commited" in a different way. We are both loners at home and while there is always work to do, it's not the same. Plus, I still like a paycheck. If food demos ever crank back up I might consider only one of the two jobs.....only doing one now. :idunno Like yours, my work is sporadic and seasonally heavy at times, with personal control over days to work -- best part. It seems to be OK.

We had the cold winds today and yesterday. What a kick after the warmth last week! Ice in troughs this morning. But sunshine, so warmed enough. I have some decent stands of barley growing. Goats will chow down next week or two, while I replace some of their fence. Thought I had lost most in the over wet winter, seems it just covered with dirt and the dryer, warmer weather has sprouted seed that hadn't before. Not complaining! It's why I planted it -- cheap, temporary, early graze for nursing kids and moms. The vetch and clovers are just coming in this time of year. Green!!! Love it.
 

Baymule

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Jan that sounds like a good plan. Get your knees fixed and see where it goes. A few farms to test would keep you up and busy and that’s always a good thing. I see the light at the end of the tunnel, you are almost at the end of this moving chore. Then it’s YOUR house and you can do what the heck you want to.
 

Ridgetop

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Just don't trip over those stumps those idiots left!

Isn't there some sort of stuff advertised to pour onto stumps to cause them to rot out fast?
 

farmerjan

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Saturday afternoon. Cold this morning, but sun out and warmed fast. Still a breeze. I did not get going very fast; 2 days in a row of fairly active testing, and my knees were saying..... REALLY......
Had all the meters in the car but did stick a couple smaller boxes in and a real little side table and a lamp that was next to the bed on the "off side".... got the meters and hoses unloaded and some junk to go to the dumpsters when I go down.... but I plan to take the truck when I go later, with the cooler chests.

Got the surprise of my life..... DS called and said that GF father called and said that he had time to come down and dig the peach trees. Yes it is the worst time of the year for that because they are budded out and even a few flowers opened.... but it was that or not going to get moved. He used the bucket backhoe on the loader and scooped them right out, pretty much roots intact, and DS had brought the dump truck with some dirt to put back in the holes so landlord doesn't complain. So they came up, scooped out holes here, and set them in and then filled around them. I spent an hour out there watering them in to settle the dirt. Of course I don't expect to get any peaches from them this year after this disruption.... but hopefully they will do okay. Got a skinned up and broken branch on one but it can be pruned back; plus the root broke off didn't get dug out as well......but that is the one DS ran the tractor into a couple years ago so it was half laid over to start with. Now they are upright pretty straight. Besides the landlord said he was going to cut them down so really, even if the one doesn't make it, what am I out?????? And DS made the comment that we aren't going to worry about the other ones, in the field next to his house, til this fall/winter and then move them then..... HUH.... is this my kid????? When he was raising cain because he hit and cut off the one last year while mowing hay and "they had to go" because he was going to cut them all off so he didn't have to mow around them?????

Not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.... This way, I will map out the trees down there... and then try to get them planted here in somewhat of groupings... peaches near the peaches, pears, apples etc.... so they will pollinate better.

I asked DS if the coveralls fit her, and he said that she said they were perfect; she said that she needed to pay me and DS said "no, we need to move her" ..... so looks like I will be getting some help in a couple weeks. At this point I am going to just say thank you and figure out where the stuff is going. What I don't get is that if someone did something like the sewing/hemming for me, I would be on the phone.... even a text.... to say thank you very much or something..... I guess I was just brought up in a different time when you said things like thank you.... directly to the person , not relay it through someone else....Not once have they offered to my face or even in a text, to come do stuff.... always passed on through DS. It makes me feel like they don't really want to offer..... know what I mean????
Maybe it is just me.

So, I just ate a late "lunch" ...PBJ and am sitting for a few minutes. I am going to get the samples packed and out of the room here, then move stuff around so that it will be easier to put the bed in here. I have some stuff on the porch that needs to be moved too so that they can come in the front door at an angle to come directly in the bedroom door. With the stairs it is kinda impossible to come in then turn.... Then move some stuff in the DR so that all the stuff can go straight back into there for now, and then I can get the cupboards into the kitchen and utility room where I want them after they are all here. I just want it ready for when he springs it on me to do it, last minute, like with the peach trees.
So that is a project for tomorrow ..... get the front porch stuff moved around. And it is supposed to be warmer and all the next 4-5 days so good days to be able to work outside. Possible rain or something on maybe Thursday so nothing to worry about right now. I will do some more in the house this evening where I can sit when I want.... then load the stuff in the freezer chests and come right up in the morning. See how much I can get stuffed into the freezer here.... hoping maybe combining 2 into one since those 2 are not organized but just sorta jumbled from when I have been taking stuff out and all.
Need to do a load of "barn clothes" since I am about out of work jeans.... weather will be nice for drying.

Break's over, time to get a little more done.
 

Ridgetop

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So glad about the trees. If you prune them back to take off the blossoms that might let them have the energy they would have used to bud and bear to root in.

About the GF and her family - maybe they feel hesitant about offering after the break up several years ago. They would know that you would be upset about the way she treated DS. Maybe they are afraid you are holding a grudge? Some people act very standoffish but then you find out that they were actually very shy.
 

Larsen Poultry Ranch

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That is great about the trees! I agree, if you take off the blossoms and forgoe this year's crop they should spend their energy on growing instead. Hopefully they put the grafts facing north if these are grafted plants.
 

farmerjan

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No these are not grafted trees. I grew them from peach pits in the garden. They have delicious peaches, not real big, but then I have not been as diligent as I should at knocking off the little peaches so that the others get bigger. And last year the frost/freeze got them and killed off all the peaches right after they bloomed and the petals dropped. It is a little colder up here, so hoping that they will not bloom quite as fast.

I expect that this years blossoms will all fall off from the move anyway. Will go out and take the loping shears and see about taking off all the broken pieces. Don't know if these are standard size trees... I put them about 12 ft apart which is for semi-dwarf. Plan to prune fairly hard this year to get them to a better shape for next year too. They are not the best shaped trees and I am sure someone who knows more about fruit trees would do a better job of shaping them. At least here, I can get them shaped better than where they were.

@Ridgetop you could be on to something about the worrying about hard feelings... but the sister I never had any real feelings for one way or another. She didn't screw him over, she did alot for him when he broke his hip when the GF was running around.... I just have never really liked them in general in the past. But you can't account for some one else's preferences.... and I am not going to get in the middle. I try to be civil...The father that came to run the loader/backhoe that DS asked him to do, is the kind of guy that thinks all women are lesser beings.... a "guys guy" and I know that there is little sense in talking to him except for a general hi and how are you and thank you type of thing....the kind of guy that thinks women have their place !!!! Male chauvinist to the Nth degree.

GF caters to the daughter so bad, and she has atrocious eating habits... won't eat vegetables except corn.... eats strawberries..... never eats any beef/meat except chicken nuggets.... will not try food.... and everyone caters to her at family dinners.... making her pizza, cheese sticks, cheese fries, bread.... she eats horribly and the GF doesn't make her sit and at least eat somewhat balanced meals... DS was talking about it the other day, and I said point blank, that if I ever cook meals here, I WILL NOT CATER to her.... If she had a medical reason for not being able to eat some things, celiac disease, anything, I could see it. But not that they just let her get away with telling them what she will and won't eat. DS said, you know what, not my kid, not my battle.... her problem.... Well, not my problem either. I just can't warm up to her.... and I have always gotten along with most kida like on my dairies and such.

Many have warmed up to me even when I wasn't trying. At the farm yesterday, the son got married a couple months ago. They are Mennonite. She adopted a child, as a single mother, from someone that could not keep the baby.... maybe drugs?, been babysitting for her since she was born..... anyway, he accepted her right off and she is a cute little thing. She got talking to me at the barn when I asked her if she was helping to feed the baby calves.... and she was rattling on about things... didn't understand half of what she was talking about.... but I was very interested and she kept telling me all the things... she is about 3-4 I guess.... but I have usually gotten along well with most kids.... and the GF daughter makes no effort to talk or answer if you ask a question or anything. The GF sister's daughter... about 8, will talk to me and the little boy that is like 1 1/2 or so is just a typical little wound up like a clock guy.... makes it hard to even make an effort to deal with the GF daughter....

Oh well. I got doing a few things here, but am ready to go down the hill now.
 

Baymule

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TheGF and her family may not be who you would have chosen for your DS, but to me, it sounds like she likes you more than what you realize. She has your son thinking about how much his Mom means to him and he sounds more appreciative of what you do. Even her father with his attitude, came to help. You don’t have to be best friends, but I think sending GF a thank you card would go a long ways. Or maybe thanking her in person and telling her that you appreciate the little things your son has done, that you know came from her prodding him to do it. Just a thought.

That’s great on getting the peach trees moved. Hope they both survive and bear fruit next year.
 

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