Feeding Frenzy

M has been trying to convince me for weeks that I can do the feeding by myself.  I was pretty sure I could but gave him my skeptical look.  My theory has always been that it's never wise to know too much or be able to do too much or you're going to be stuck doing it forever.  K has already picked up on that and our mantra is "play dumb".  In my case, it never seems to work.  It finally just gets to the point where M gives me no choice and throws me into the deep end.  Probably a wise move on his part.

So, he informed me that I needed to feed while he took a load of grain to Wolf Point, came back to Richland, switched trucks, and headed to Glasgow to pick up a load of cows for a neighbor.  Okay, so he was a lot busier than I was.  He said I only needed to feed a couple of bales and we'd do the rest when he got back since he would need to start the tractor anyway to put a bale in the pen for our heifer calves.  No problem.

Pete and I headed out and I grabbed up two big round bales with the bale pickup with no problem.  I dropped the first one and rolled it out easily.  Then I tried to take the second one off and it somehow got crooked and ended up almost sideways on the bed.  I tried to grab it again but it was blocking the arm on one side and then the other side wouldn't catch it--and I tried multiple times.  I tried to bounce across the frozen cow turds to maybe bounce it off or at least move it to a better position.  No luck.  I headed up a hill hoping it would roll off.  Nope, that didn't work either.  Then I thought that maybe if I picked up another bale it would push that one into position so off I went to the stack to grab another bale.  That plan did not work either--the bale did not budge.  Next plan, cut the wrap and see if it falls apart since that sometimes happens.  Unsuccessful.  I was beginning to think the only solution was to start the tractor and use it to pick the bale off the bed of the pickup, but I was determined that I wasn't going to leave it that way for M to find.  So, I climbed on the bed and start throwing off chunks of hay.  In the meantime, the cows were looking at me with that "what the hell?"  look in their eyes, thinking they were never going to get fed.  I would throw hay off and then move the pickup and throw more hay off.  I was thinking I needed to go to the barn and get a pitchfork when I tried one more time to pick it up.  I had moved enough hay that the arms were able to come down enough to finally pick it up and get it to the ground.  Thank goodness, because by that time was I pooped.

I then had to take buckets of feed to the pens and feed the cats, my regular chores.  By that time it had started to snow, and I was ready to go home.  Of course,  as I told M my predicament he just laughed and said, "that happens sometimes".  But, he brought me Jerry's Special pizza from town as a reward so it's all good.