Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[drstratton]

Monday, and already sweating. This weather is absolutely unbelievable. It only got down to 64 last night... this is May... that was more July temps.... it is already 80 at 10:30... Much more humid too...

I am sure not making alot of progress on the TO DO list.

I did mow most of the lawn. Have to do over behind the chickens and to the clothes line. Then I texted with Deb and she wanted to know if I was coming to dinner... so I did go there about 6. She is rapidly getting worse. She even texted on her phone to me, that her condition is getting worse. I mean it is progressing very fast. I see a difference since they were here a month ago. She hurts over all her body now, and after just a few minutes at table, she ate very little, she said she wanted to go into the living room and sit on the couch. The hard wooden chairs around the table just don't work for her. So as soon as her friend/caregiver and another friend that came down, finished eating, I went in the LR with her to sit and talk. She fell apart and just cried... and this disease is taking her ability for her body to send messages, so sometimes she cries in wrenching sobs that she cannot control.
I just sat with my arm around her and held her...
Then DS stopped in to say hi... he came to get the tractor and rake as he got the wheat cut and will probably rake it this afternoon. I will be at work testing... he is going to bale it then they will wrap it.... he wants to get it off the field as that is where he will be putting the corn... and since the weather is soo unpredictable, they are going to get it planted as soon as the guy gets the rest of his planted.
So he stayed and joked with her a bit, told some stories, she was smiling... and he left before dark to get the tractor and rake to the barn. I stayed til about 9 and she was getting fidgety and you could tell she was hurting. Gave her a hug and said I'd see her before she went back Tuesday.
Talked to Dawn a few minutes outside, and asked how bad it is looking... she said the dr said it is progressing at a very fast rate... something they didn't foresee... I asked her what the prognosis was, and she said months, not years.
It was a bit of a shock, although seeing her, I can see where she is getting worse fast.

She has accepted that she will not be coming out here to "retire".... Dawn said the dr asked her at the last visit and she shook her head no, she realized she will not be able to come out here to live. She had a rental house, that the tenant moved out of and they are doing some work and it should go on the market by June... Dawn said she really needs to get this place sold too. They are doing some work on her current house to make it easier for her to live there... she uses a motorized wheel chair in her house there. The other friend that was here, was getting the information on the 2 horse trailers here, so she can help get them sold... and there is all kinds of tack and stuff in the barn that I guess she will help get sold. Dawn said that she needs to get all the equipment, tractor and stuff, sold too.

I called DS after I got home, and told her what Dawn said, and he said he would go back by this evening, and offer to help her get some things liquidated.. he was going to talk to her about the house and property... how many acres exactly, and all that..

We will have to figure on this season and then that's it. Won't be able to keep stuff in the arena this winter or anything... he is going to have to get the equipment shed and another hay storage barn put up at doug's...

So sorry about your friend Jan. It is never easy.

 

[SageHill]

I can't change it... wish there was something I could do.

You did do something, and have been doing it. Spending time and talking and mostly listening. I had a friend would died of pancreatic cancer (Terry). She lived up in the LA area but most of her friends were down here. My friend who does all the stockdog training had her come and live at her house until the very very end. Every day one of her students would stop in and visit with her. It was a constant stream of people taking the time to sit down and visit. That's what you are doing - and it is the best and all you can do. Hugs.

It is stifling out there... way too hot way too fast....

We were that way a couple months ago. Now it's more like what it should have been back then. Almost makes one think the seasons are trying to change/swap.

 

[farmerjan]

Samples packed, ate a sandwich, did not mow anymore... Heading to work. Couple of errands along the way... It is almost 90...

 

[fuzzi]

Sometimes all we can do is listen, hug, be there. We might not think it's much, but the person in need appreciates it.

I have a friend (was coworker) who has metastatic cancer. Everywhere. Her life consists of resting, and once a week doing chemo. I text with her, and meet her when she's in town for treatment. And keep her in my prayers, which she says she really appreciates.

 

[farmerjan]

Home from testing, dropping reports at the farm I tested last Friday only a couple miles away.... It is HOT out for this time of year... 74 at 10 pm....

Came home and the gate to the farm was open, so I went in... no sign of DS so I went out back to the cropland fields...
Seems DS decided to go on and rake and then bale the wheat... guess he is going to wrap it tomorrow... Whatever... It will make better feed but all I hear is how he hates to wrap bales... and now he is going to do it...
Doubt he will mow anything else since there is now a chance of a "stray shower/storm" tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon... more rain/showers/possible T-storms on Wed through Friday... Not constant.. but ANYTHING will be a blessing.
The one truck was gone, unhooked from the cattle trailer.... so have no idea where he is... her car was still there so I left the gate open. No answer to my text.

I am hot and sweaty and need a shower and wash my hair. No farms until Wed aft... I will take them the meters tomorrow so they can set them up Wed whenever it suits them. They are a 2 x herd so will go back on Thursday morning again...

The farm I tested today had looked at robots.. I figured they would be going to them... but the farmer told me today that it would be awhile because they wanted to pay down some debt... they bought the big flat "river bottom" field that they had been renting for years... kinda "had to buy it"... right across the road from the dairy, no travel to chop corn and stuff like that. Plus it really puts out a good crop.

Well, DS just texted me back... He baled some of it, some quite green... will bale more tomorrow... it will dry quite a bit if it is as hot as they say it is going to be so should be good. He said the one lower small field was quite green still . He said he was going to get a load of hay.... an hour away... so that is what he is up to...
We are really concerned about the short thin first cutting of hay.... so getting what we can to get ahead now... Rather have too much than not enough. Even if we don't do anything with the VT cattle next year... we still have 150 adult cattle to feed and there will be at least 10-20 retained heifers from the bunch we will bring in, to take off cows in a month... plus there are 65-70 going out to pasture with new calves this spring...Not keeping anything to wean and feed to sell down the road... they are getting sold off the cows...OR... being retained for future replacements.... and that is being picky over what we retain... used to be we would keep 20-30 heifers, and then re-evaluate them in a few more months for replacements... Now, we have to really LIKE them to keep them... and might not keep that many if the prices stay high... But you have to retain some to replace old cows and non-breeders and ones that don't raise a good calf...... You all know that with the sheep.

Temps the same... I'm going in to get a shower and wash my hair... it is just sticky.... No rain on the radar until tomorrow afternoon. Maybe I will be able to get some of the planters done... maybe weed eat some early before the sun hits the garden area... and get the rest of the mowing finished... We'll see what it looks like in the morning.

 

[fuzzi]

70° here at 6:30am. Too wet to mow, will be in the 80s by 10am. Might just let the yard grow. Trimming is another thing, I can trim damp growth.

 

[farmerjan]

66 overnight. Up to 80 already at 8:30 a.m. Crazy hot for this time of year. Today is supposed to be the last of it..90's again.....then rain/showers coming in later today and then 20 degree drop in temps...
Was busy yesterday, tied up with moving all the round bales of the wheat off the field to where DS was going to wrap them along the edge of the field... he got done finally late. I was tired from all that. He had me in the tractor moving them, then when the guy brought the "wrapper" I got in his truck as he was running the wrapper and using the tractor and loader to load each bale on the conveyor as the wrapper goes around it and wraps the film on the hay and it comes out in a long tube. We do not do the "marshmallows"... individual wrapping, but do the long tubes. Uses a little less plastic which is a one time thing..... and we put it along the edge of the woods or somewhere we don't have to carry the bales far to put, and where we can get at them in the winter weather.

So, today is try to get the planters done, and have to run and take the meters to the farm... Going to get the clothes on the line... supposed to be sunny through at least noon and these are lightweight clothes so ought to dry in a couple hours and I can get them in before I go test.

 

[farmerjan]

Back in for lunch. it is 88 out... but some clouds coming in. It was bright sun and hot early on today.

Hung clothes, took meters to the farm. Dropped off some papers to the farmer that I used to get my milk from... he asked how the test for my reaction to the raw milk went at the dr appt a few weeks ago... I had gotten a fresh milk sample to take with me... and I said, unfortunately, I was allergic to the raw milk also... so... nothing doing right now.. We talked about it... he said someone once asked him to try some of the almond milk... he said he did and nearly gagged... I told him that was nearly my reaction to the chocolate almond milk I got to try. Pretty awful stuff... and when you look into how it is made, it makes you want to run the other way...
DS texted me wanting to see if I had time to go check out the electric fence around the garage/barn at the one pasture... seems it wasn't on, so of course they had to get into it, tear part of it down, sh!t all around the building...this was a week or so ago.... the owner is a fanatic about things kept neat and clean... so we had to clean it all up...I had called the cows up into the 2nd lot and shut the gate so we could get this all fixed back... DS got the last of the electric" slinky" type gate up...yesterday...... it is stretchy and had to buy a new one to replace the one they stretched out... we will use it ourselves somewhere else.. Working does not equate to looking perfect for me...
It is working good so now they can come back into section 1.
Checked the water troughs there. He will move the cows back down into section #1 to eat it, and then go back through the progression.
Stopped at the feed bin and got 2 buckets of feed for the chickens. Unloaded it here.

I was thirsty and decided to eat... Now I am going out to get the tractor and cart, move the bags of soil into the shade and work on the planters so when it rains, they will get well watered and the plants have a chance to grow..
I will fill the chicken feeders and waterers also .

Oh, I took the eggs that never hatched away and the langshan quit the nest. She is scratching around so might start to lay again.. I hope.

Hot water heater was lukewarm last night. Tripped the breaker... it is time for 2 new elements to be put in it. I got 2 the last time out, so texted DS and asked him to please get it done on his way home later so I can get hot water... Turned off the breaker and put the elements right inside the small door/opening to go under the house.

I had recharged the batteries for the mower so put all charged batteries in it. I did finish the mowing around the chickens and the clothesline... so will start out at "level" if it rains and the grass grows. I want to get it back in the carport before I go to work.
Clothes off the line too... and will close the car windows just in case.

So, about ready to go out the door to do my planters. If this rain/weather does bring about the cool down in temps, I will be able to get back at the weed eating to finish getting the other sections of the electric netting up and things cleaned up a bit.

Hope we get some of the rain....

 

[GLENMAR]

That’s a lot all before lunch. I hope we get some rain too. I’m struggling to keep the vegetable plants alive.

 

[farmerjan]

HIP HIP HORAAY.... IT IS RAINING...... It was hot and sunny most of the day. Some high clouds this afternoon, but they cleared off some... then it started to cloud up some from the west and south.

I went and tested, going back in the morning for their 2nd test. I will do samples in the morning.

I managed to get some of the planters done with the dahlia bulbs... then realized I had to leave... so headed to farm... OF COURSE, they were doing some tree trimming, and had the road blocked for many minutes... oh well... texted farm to let them know I would be 5-10 min late...

Got done, came home... I decided to finish up the planters... and there are 8, I think... so they are planted. Watered them to help settle the dirt...

I had a "bit of a headache"... took some tylenol, and then went out and got the mower in the carport just as it started to rain BIG FAT DROPS... lasted about a minute then stopped. So, I carried water and feed to all the chickens to get them all situated. Made sure the windows were up... and it started to rain some more as I came in. We just got a shower, now it has stopped again... Radar shows more in the next hour then a lull... more after the early hours ... like 3-4 a.m. That's okay... little at a time, get the ground a little wet, "open the pores" and then some more to start soaking in...

Bottles in the car to take to sample at tomorrow morning's test.

Also, have hot water, so heading in to take a good shower and go to bed... Gotta get up at 4 or so...