SageHill
Herd Master
Yeah - they always get paid - but their overall budget takes a hit at least that's around here. While we don't have snow days, we do have heat and also fire days.
rachels.haven's Journal
- Thread starter rachels.haven
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #6,152
rachels.haven
Herd Master
Sorry, long post.
Yesterday I made a chicken foot broth in the pressure cooker (picked some up at Costco on Saturday, cooked half the package down to the almost crumble stage so all the goodness was out of them, about 4 hours under high pressure and strained into my soup pot) then grabbed some amaranth grain off the shelf (I was listening to the agriculture resource service's podcast this year on non-traditional grains. The last question the researcher that day was asked was "what non traditional grain do you wish people would try" and the answer was amaranth, so for $13/lbs I picked up some from bob's red mill, because why not if it's just once? and it sat on my shelf until yesterday when it joined the soup). I added peas from the freezer, a can of chick peas, and combined and cooked it together and that was dinner. Mark also made smoothies to help clear out some forgotten frozen fruit and feed the kids that don't like the mixed textures of soup. I really liked the amaranth. It's like little quinoa with a nuttier, earthier flavor and when chewed it's grainier like tiny wheat berries, except it does not make me sick afterward. Very enjoyable, but too expensive to do again, lol.
Then Mark and I went to go look at the neighbor's hay. It's nice, but unfortunately despite not looking or be very up there in age, about as up there as Mark's parents, the man appears to be struggling with memory and I'm not sure he has room in his memory for one more character or job. I suspect a lot of our neighbors are like that. He appears to both be and want to be a good, normal, functional person too trying to function around memory loss but slowly losing the battle, which made the whole thing heartbreaking. Unfortunately he's also the landscaping contractor Mark brought over for an estimate to fix the basement two days before and he didn't remember Mark either so I do not think we've made any progress on that this week either. I hope his family takes good care of him.
He's also a long time resident of the area and has built quite a business and several houses in the town next door and is very proud of his family and the homes he's built them. I suspect he just can not mentally stop working and his family is helping him do this and that here and there so he can still do what he remembers and not feel out of place since it appears he's stuck a few decades ago. That feeling I got when I remembered he said the arborist I hired to trim our tree was a good boy and I realized that man is still probably a boy in his memory-sometimes I hate mortality. We arrived here about 20 years too late to really meet him at his best. Although who knows, he may be happier now. He seems pretty happy.
No, I can't be frustrated at the lack of progress this week on finding some softer winter grass hay for the late pregnant does or fixing the water in basement but just letting you know we probably didn't make any. And he may still remember the hay, although I'm not sure I want to add to that cross for him to bare.
The neighbor hates crazy drivers-the tailgating, instant road rage, and disregarding all traffic rules if they can get away with it to the point of stupidity. Apparently they're a "new" thing, so probably in the last decade or two. We talked about the corners where the citiots seem to be disregarding traffic rules hitting everyone every few days on our road. He's lived on 2 of the three major corners that get a lot of accident activity and he could start a knocked off bumper collection. The DC and Baltimore drivers spilling over into the ag reserve are not welcome or enjoyed, lol. He also hates the Harleys that used to go down 108 every Sunday. IDK if they still do, but I do know about the drag racers at night. Oh boy are they earsplittingly LOUD and I'm like two fields away and set back from the road and his homes are/were up by the road (and one of the fields that separates me is HIS, lol). The trip was worth hearing about the traffic from a sane person alone. Enjoyable conversation, even if a little sad.
He also told me I can't go on being the tractor in regards to moving the rounds and that I should just get a tractor. He says Kubota. Lol, someday. Until then, rounds roll. With the company promising instability and all the big tech companies (illegally) doing the same together so nobody can get a good new job even close to the previous pay grade or even stability, now is not the time for big expenses. (Might actually be time to relocate soon thanks to this if we're fired because without the high income we wouldn't be able to afford to live in the expensive place we're required to live in to make the big money...which I'd argue makes the big money mean less so why are we doing this again?)
The school kids are sick with a mild stomach bug that just makes you miserable so no one to take to school. I guess I'll go do chores early. I'm sick too, but the feeling of vomiting or anything else is not real so I'm going to keep going as long as the dizziness doesn't take me out. I actually might be getting better now. I think this is day 3. Not sure. I haven't stopped to really think about it.
I've started sleeping with a heating pad and suddenly I'm awake before my alarm and not creaky or stiff in the morning.
Man, I feel like I always meet the coolest people like 10-20 years too late. I guess I'll just keep goating.
On that tangent meeting that hay man was a stark contract to the experience I had a few days ago trying to sell my two very nice cross bred milkers. One of the show people in our dairy goat association government even told me in public in front of everyone that they were worthless I should just sell them for meat (not a very professional front for our association, and the only reason I know that person at all is because I was told by my milk testing supervisor to ask her for a verification test...which she agreed to then ghosted me about while still getting lots of community support and laud for HER goat herd all year, and I'd even offered to pay or or give her some very expensive, quality semen I KNEW she probably in exchange, but not even a "no". I'm just not worth continuing to talk to unless it's to slam my stock.). And my experimentals are not worthless, they are a little dumb and not Lamanchas and that's a big reason I want to sell them (that and the need to be lean because there's a chance we may move, stupid company). The experimentals would be amazing milkers and I suspect good in the show ring. But man, if that's the face of nice dairy goat breeding here, my industry is not nice, very catty, proud, and self centered and I suspect they'll be gone when the profit runs out. I can't imagine them being here when they're old. The "community" they built around them would just eat them. The rest of our association leadership is just as much fun too.
Sometimes I wonder why I'm even breeding goats. I'm great at growing out, keeping, and milking goats so they reach their potential (or at least near it, I hope). I'm nowhere near mean and nasty enough to deal with the other serious goat people. I should just paint "MOO" on the goats and say they're cows. Though the cow people are usually blunt they seem to be more down to earth rather than nasty and full of nasty self centered games. I don't have time for any of that nonsense! I have a lot of respect for those people...but I'm also most likely not a "backyard" cow person and I probably couldn't cut it. Those women are tough. Those jerseys would look at me and see a nice person to ignore or bowl over and I'd wound up another name in the paper "died by being sat on by a cow" or similar...you know, if the papers still existed here or were like the ones in Iowa where I finished growing up (most interesting ways to die they published that I remember from my youth was being strangled by snakes, a disproportionate number of people seemed to have pythons or constrictors and then the snakes got them, to this day I do not understand what was up with that or why on earth).
Oh well, it's not early anymore. Time to go out. I definitely feel better than yesterday. Might edit this down so I don't have to read it again later.
Yesterday I made a chicken foot broth in the pressure cooker (picked some up at Costco on Saturday, cooked half the package down to the almost crumble stage so all the goodness was out of them, about 4 hours under high pressure and strained into my soup pot) then grabbed some amaranth grain off the shelf (I was listening to the agriculture resource service's podcast this year on non-traditional grains. The last question the researcher that day was asked was "what non traditional grain do you wish people would try" and the answer was amaranth, so for $13/lbs I picked up some from bob's red mill, because why not if it's just once? and it sat on my shelf until yesterday when it joined the soup). I added peas from the freezer, a can of chick peas, and combined and cooked it together and that was dinner. Mark also made smoothies to help clear out some forgotten frozen fruit and feed the kids that don't like the mixed textures of soup. I really liked the amaranth. It's like little quinoa with a nuttier, earthier flavor and when chewed it's grainier like tiny wheat berries, except it does not make me sick afterward. Very enjoyable, but too expensive to do again, lol.
Then Mark and I went to go look at the neighbor's hay. It's nice, but unfortunately despite not looking or be very up there in age, about as up there as Mark's parents, the man appears to be struggling with memory and I'm not sure he has room in his memory for one more character or job. I suspect a lot of our neighbors are like that. He appears to both be and want to be a good, normal, functional person too trying to function around memory loss but slowly losing the battle, which made the whole thing heartbreaking. Unfortunately he's also the landscaping contractor Mark brought over for an estimate to fix the basement two days before and he didn't remember Mark either so I do not think we've made any progress on that this week either. I hope his family takes good care of him.
He's also a long time resident of the area and has built quite a business and several houses in the town next door and is very proud of his family and the homes he's built them. I suspect he just can not mentally stop working and his family is helping him do this and that here and there so he can still do what he remembers and not feel out of place since it appears he's stuck a few decades ago. That feeling I got when I remembered he said the arborist I hired to trim our tree was a good boy and I realized that man is still probably a boy in his memory-sometimes I hate mortality. We arrived here about 20 years too late to really meet him at his best. Although who knows, he may be happier now. He seems pretty happy.
No, I can't be frustrated at the lack of progress this week on finding some softer winter grass hay for the late pregnant does or fixing the water in basement but just letting you know we probably didn't make any. And he may still remember the hay, although I'm not sure I want to add to that cross for him to bare.
The neighbor hates crazy drivers-the tailgating, instant road rage, and disregarding all traffic rules if they can get away with it to the point of stupidity. Apparently they're a "new" thing, so probably in the last decade or two. We talked about the corners where the citiots seem to be disregarding traffic rules hitting everyone every few days on our road. He's lived on 2 of the three major corners that get a lot of accident activity and he could start a knocked off bumper collection. The DC and Baltimore drivers spilling over into the ag reserve are not welcome or enjoyed, lol. He also hates the Harleys that used to go down 108 every Sunday. IDK if they still do, but I do know about the drag racers at night. Oh boy are they earsplittingly LOUD and I'm like two fields away and set back from the road and his homes are/were up by the road (and one of the fields that separates me is HIS, lol). The trip was worth hearing about the traffic from a sane person alone. Enjoyable conversation, even if a little sad.
He also told me I can't go on being the tractor in regards to moving the rounds and that I should just get a tractor. He says Kubota. Lol, someday. Until then, rounds roll. With the company promising instability and all the big tech companies (illegally) doing the same together so nobody can get a good new job even close to the previous pay grade or even stability, now is not the time for big expenses. (Might actually be time to relocate soon thanks to this if we're fired because without the high income we wouldn't be able to afford to live in the expensive place we're required to live in to make the big money...which I'd argue makes the big money mean less so why are we doing this again?)
The school kids are sick with a mild stomach bug that just makes you miserable so no one to take to school. I guess I'll go do chores early. I'm sick too, but the feeling of vomiting or anything else is not real so I'm going to keep going as long as the dizziness doesn't take me out. I actually might be getting better now. I think this is day 3. Not sure. I haven't stopped to really think about it.
I've started sleeping with a heating pad and suddenly I'm awake before my alarm and not creaky or stiff in the morning.
Man, I feel like I always meet the coolest people like 10-20 years too late. I guess I'll just keep goating.
On that tangent meeting that hay man was a stark contract to the experience I had a few days ago trying to sell my two very nice cross bred milkers. One of the show people in our dairy goat association government even told me in public in front of everyone that they were worthless I should just sell them for meat (not a very professional front for our association, and the only reason I know that person at all is because I was told by my milk testing supervisor to ask her for a verification test...which she agreed to then ghosted me about while still getting lots of community support and laud for HER goat herd all year, and I'd even offered to pay or or give her some very expensive, quality semen I KNEW she probably in exchange, but not even a "no". I'm just not worth continuing to talk to unless it's to slam my stock.). And my experimentals are not worthless, they are a little dumb and not Lamanchas and that's a big reason I want to sell them (that and the need to be lean because there's a chance we may move, stupid company). The experimentals would be amazing milkers and I suspect good in the show ring. But man, if that's the face of nice dairy goat breeding here, my industry is not nice, very catty, proud, and self centered and I suspect they'll be gone when the profit runs out. I can't imagine them being here when they're old. The "community" they built around them would just eat them. The rest of our association leadership is just as much fun too.
Sometimes I wonder why I'm even breeding goats. I'm great at growing out, keeping, and milking goats so they reach their potential (or at least near it, I hope). I'm nowhere near mean and nasty enough to deal with the other serious goat people. I should just paint "MOO" on the goats and say they're cows. Though the cow people are usually blunt they seem to be more down to earth rather than nasty and full of nasty self centered games. I don't have time for any of that nonsense! I have a lot of respect for those people...but I'm also most likely not a "backyard" cow person and I probably couldn't cut it. Those women are tough. Those jerseys would look at me and see a nice person to ignore or bowl over and I'd wound up another name in the paper "died by being sat on by a cow" or similar...you know, if the papers still existed here or were like the ones in Iowa where I finished growing up (most interesting ways to die they published that I remember from my youth was being strangled by snakes, a disproportionate number of people seemed to have pythons or constrictors and then the snakes got them, to this day I do not understand what was up with that or why on earth).
Oh well, it's not early anymore. Time to go out. I definitely feel better than yesterday. Might edit this down so I don't have to read it again later.
Ridgetop
Herd Master
HOpe yoi feel better soon. After all you have gone through with this move, moving again is a disheartening thought. Next time though, YOU go house shopping.
The dairy goat show world is a bad as any other show scene. Those show people make money on their wins when they sell their overpriced stock. Dissing everyone else's animals makes theirs look better to those who don't know what they are looking at.
This is why I prefer to sell my well bred lambs and sheep at auction so I don't have to deal with advertising. Unless you show and advertise continually, no one recognizes that you have good animals, are breeding to the standard, and have stock that produce the way they are supposed to. It is a shame, but mean people are mean people and not worth being around.
Are you considering moving? And if so, where do you think you would go?
The dairy goat show world is a bad as any other show scene. Those show people make money on their wins when they sell their overpriced stock. Dissing everyone else's animals makes theirs look better to those who don't know what they are looking at.
This is why I prefer to sell my well bred lambs and sheep at auction so I don't have to deal with advertising. Unless you show and advertise continually, no one recognizes that you have good animals, are breeding to the standard, and have stock that produce the way they are supposed to. It is a shame, but mean people are mean people and not worth being around.
Are you considering moving? And if so, where do you think you would go?
Mini Horses
Herd Master
Mini horses were same. Could be cut throat and we're talking BIG $ back then. Shows, breeding, registration, advertising. Yeah that's behind me now. So is moving, I hope. It's enjoyable now.
- Thread starter
- #6,155
rachels.haven
Herd Master
We're going to wait until he can't stand it anymore or they fire him apparently. Not sure where to at this point. We'd have to move if this job dried up. Mark likes the idea of Garmin in Kansas. They make stuff that can free you away from your smart phone. He also wants to get away from ceo's trying to replace people with AI. IDK if they'd hire him with how flushed the market is right now with good people randomly fired and it would be a third of what he's making and as usual the houses and land are expensive near where a tech company locates.
I'm kind of mad about it. I'm getting so tired of the M word.
farmerjan
Herd Master
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2016
- Messages
- 12,967
- Reaction score
- 54,165
- Points
- 768
- Location
- Shenandoah Valley Virginia
There is alot of that back stabbing/throat cutting in the show cattle world... I think it just is part of the mindset of "having the best" and "showing off".....
We see it in the show chickens also....The thing about it, is the BEST is just an opinion of the judge who is human.... and that the best animal can be less than perfect the next show...
The best thing is, is for you to breed for an animal being as close to what is considered the ideal.... and to just let all that roll off your shoulders... because you cannot control what someone else says or does.
If people put you or your goats down too much, it comes back to bite them in the a$$ eventually.... because then people that are prospective buyers, start to get curious, and then a persons' lack of competitive put downs comes out and they become the not so terrible person that they have been made out to be. Sadly, it doesn't often happen very fast... and you take the hits...
Ask your milk tester if there isn't another person to do a verification test... Or pm me and I can give you some numbers to try to find another tester out of PA or somewhere else... He//, comes to that, I could come test them.... are you on DHIA or Dairy One???? I know several of the girls in the DHIA office in Raleigh... they "fix" things for my farmers many times when I call.....
I tested one goat herd here many years ago... a neighbor actually.... so I know that DHIA does goat herds... but I can ask and maybe find someone that could help you.... MD is not that far away...
We see it in the show chickens also....The thing about it, is the BEST is just an opinion of the judge who is human.... and that the best animal can be less than perfect the next show...
The best thing is, is for you to breed for an animal being as close to what is considered the ideal.... and to just let all that roll off your shoulders... because you cannot control what someone else says or does.
If people put you or your goats down too much, it comes back to bite them in the a$$ eventually.... because then people that are prospective buyers, start to get curious, and then a persons' lack of competitive put downs comes out and they become the not so terrible person that they have been made out to be. Sadly, it doesn't often happen very fast... and you take the hits...
Ask your milk tester if there isn't another person to do a verification test... Or pm me and I can give you some numbers to try to find another tester out of PA or somewhere else... He//, comes to that, I could come test them.... are you on DHIA or Dairy One???? I know several of the girls in the DHIA office in Raleigh... they "fix" things for my farmers many times when I call.....
I tested one goat herd here many years ago... a neighbor actually.... so I know that DHIA does goat herds... but I can ask and maybe find someone that could help you.... MD is not that far away...
murphysranch
Herd Master
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2010
- Messages
- 1,122
- Reaction score
- 5,086
- Points
- 413
- Location
- Southern Washington State
Oh man. I "heard" the huge frustration and "felt" the anger and disappointment in your words.
From your goats, to the kids, to husband, to moving, firing, laying off, idiot goat experts, to off and on again pain, to projects not finished, to lying sellers, to everything in this whole world of yours.....
I understand. You are up to and maybe above your eyeballs in this crap that life is throwing at you.
I know it helps to write (journal is the cute word nowadays) to get things off your mind and onto paper. We all here listen with our hearts and minds. And we care.
Nothing is ever too long to read (unless you don't use paragraphs and punctuation!!).
Keep it coming.
From your goats, to the kids, to husband, to moving, firing, laying off, idiot goat experts, to off and on again pain, to projects not finished, to lying sellers, to everything in this whole world of yours.....
I understand. You are up to and maybe above your eyeballs in this crap that life is throwing at you.
I know it helps to write (journal is the cute word nowadays) to get things off your mind and onto paper. We all here listen with our hearts and minds. And we care.
Nothing is ever too long to read (unless you don't use paragraphs and punctuation!!).
Keep it coming.
I don't raise goats, or cattle, but have seen the elitist breeders condescension from the position of a longtime fan of thoroughbred racing. A number of champions have wound up being sold overseas because the "blueblood" breeders wouldn't consider using other lines than their preferred royal ones. Sunday Silence was only one of the first to be shunned. He proved them wrong, started a dynasty in Japan.
- Thread starter
- #6,159
rachels.haven
Herd Master
I wish there was more to the dairy goat world than just showing. We have milk test and Linear appraisal scoring to help prove our worth, but our registry seems to want to wind those programs down and just focus on the showing.
I'm on Owner/Sampler with Indiana State Dairy Association. My supervisor says because I'm so far out I can use anyone with tester certification and a tester number with their own DHIA. I'm not sure what's allowed but I'd pay a good $400-600, price of a decent doeling, for a yearly verification test. It helps prove my program. IDK with the distance even at that amount of compensation if it's worth the hours and vehicle miles, but there are any options and I still haven't made any headway on that front we should talk when I'm milking more than three and at least see if you know anyone.
Thanks @murphysranch it feels silly to be drowning right since the children and the goats are doing so well right now and everything and everyone doing what they should be doing and all the things squared away, but yeah, I might be a tad overwhelmed and disappointed with how things are threatening to change and uproot it all again. Everything just needs to stop for five minutes. Everything apparently. Apparently I can not "stabilize and normalize" everything in life. Just the goats and the children.
farmerjan
Herd Master
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2016
- Messages
- 12,967
- Reaction score
- 54,165
- Points
- 768
- Location
- Shenandoah Valley Virginia
Yes, we should talk... I am certified with United DHIA ... have a tester # for 35 + years... Test a farm in Woodstock Va which is 100 miles north of me and don't make near that.....We can make this work... and not a big problem...
Don't know if you still have my # from when you were moving and going up I-81... in case of a problem..... sending a PM and we can figure something out... see how many you are milking... and do something after the holidays???? A once or twice a year verification test is no big deal...
HE// retirement is never going to happen.. sooooo why not a trip to visit a fellow BYH member and get paid my mileage to boot....!!!!
Don't know if you still have my # from when you were moving and going up I-81... in case of a problem..... sending a PM and we can figure something out... see how many you are milking... and do something after the holidays???? A once or twice a year verification test is no big deal...
HE// retirement is never going to happen.. sooooo why not a trip to visit a fellow BYH member and get paid my mileage to boot....!!!!
