I haven't posted in a while, and I guess you could say I'm over it. In fact, right now I'm over most everything in my life.
It has been another challenging year on the farm/ranch. We had record cold and stormy and snowy weather during calving. The temperatures were below zero in mid April and three weeks later it was 80 in May. We lost more calves than we'd ever want to--from being trampled when all the cows were trying to get out of the wind to seeming fine and then dying two weeks later from late effects of frostbite. Some have pretty short ears and one lost a foot from being frozen....and the guys lost countless hours of sleep trying to keep them all alive. We usually enjoy calving, but this year we were kind of over it by the end.
We had some good snowmelt to get us started in the spring and a few rain showers early but lately we've missed a lot of storms and the situation is becoming dire. The pasture grass has really gone downhill in the past few days and some of the crops have reached the point of no return. What is so disheartening is that we don't have to go very far south or east to get into the rain belt. (It is raining as I write this, though, so I should feel a bit better about life--except we've got hay down).
What I'm over, though, is living a life so dependent on factors we can't control--like the weather and the markets. I'm over seeing my husband and sons work their tails off and see the fruits of their labor wither and die or get destroyed by a hail storm or be worth nothing when they try to sell it.
I'm over working so hard to make a living that we don't have a life. No time for fun or enough time with family.
I'm over worrying about the financial picture, not just for us, but for my sons and their families, my brother-in-law and his family, our family corporation, my mother-in-law. In all our 35 years of married life we have never had just ourselves to worry about. That's what happens when you have a "family farm".
I'm over feeling like I have no voice, that no one cares what I think or feel. My husband gets to choose when he retires from farming. I don't get that choice. I chose to get into it when I married him, but I'm not going to leave him just to get out of farming. I have a feeling that my daughter-in-law is not going to take over all the management tasks that I've become responsible for so who do I turn that over to when I really say I'm done?
I'm over being the cheerleader, the glass half-full person when times are tough. Today I'm feeling just as discouraged as he is, and I'm over listening to the same lament year after year. But, I feel guilty if I tune him out or if I'm not supportive. The other day I mentioned to my daughter-in-law that M was depressed because it hadn't rained at our house over the weekend when other places nearby had good rains. Her response was, "if it's that bad he needs to do something else. That's what I tell J." Wow, if only it was that simple. It made me sad that she doesn't get it....that it's not just a job, it's a lifestyle, a legacy. Apparently, she doesn't feel bad about not being supportive. So, I'm guessing she's not going to take over the cheerleader role either.
I used to look forward to going to my job in town, but lately I'm over that, too. My boss is crabby and ruins it for me, and I have a hard time going back after lunch.
And now, I'm taking care of my mom....but not very well. She's miserable, and I can't make it better so I'm definitely over that.
Maybe I'm just overwhelmed right now....
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Friday, August 4, 2017
Challenges....and Gratitude
This has been a strange and challenging year. We went from trying to keep calves from freezing to trying to keep them from drowning when it warmed up. The ground was still frozen so the runoff couldn't go down into the ground and we had flooding. There were places in the county where roads were washed out, our old barn flooded, and we had water over the road in places I had never seen it over in all the years I've lived here.
The spring was cold...and windy, which is not too unusual, but it was cold well into spring--to the point where I was afraid to plant anything for fear it would just freeze--and windier than normal. We had a hailstorm on May 2. That's also a bit unusual. There were also reports of frost in the county on June 23.
And then it dried up....
And again, we've had less rain than I can ever remember. We are currently in what the weather people are calling a "flash drought" that caught everyone by surprise after the extremely wet year we had last year. Thank goodness we had some submoisture or we'd have no crop at all. Some of the crops planted later didn't even come up. The pastures are brown and water holes are drying up. Thunderstorms create more fear of lightning strikes and fire than anticipation of actual rain...especially after the horrible fires to the south of us. I have spent more than one night scanning the horizon for fire when a thunderstorm rolled through bringing about 20 drops of rain and too much lightning. The USDA finally opened the CRP for emergency haying--a few weeks too late for it to have much quality--and there was a fire caused by a swather almost every day for a couple of weeks. Thankfully, M only started a small one, saw it immediately and put it out right away. He was on pins and needles every day that he sat on a swather.
That's where the gratitude comes in. There have been no major fires too close to us. My heart aches for those who have lost their ranches--their hay, pastures, fences and animals. Fire really scares me, I can't imagine how I would cope in their situation....and I hope I never have to find out.
We are in harvest mode now, and while it has not been going too smoothly so far, the crops are not as disappointing as one would think they would be with the lack of rain. There are nights I lie awake worried about financial obligations if we don't have a crop, but faith kicks in, and I know we'll be ok. I know it could be so much worse. I'm so lucky that M still has a good attitude and sees it as a learning situation for our boys. They are learning that times can be tough and how to deal with adversity. R has had to learn about range management since our pastures and stock water situations are not ideal. J has learned that he's going to have to do a lot more mechanic work than he wants to get through harvest with the equipment we have. Everyone sucks it up and does what they can with what they have.
We had 3 tenths of an inch of rain the other night, and everyone was so happy. Amazing what a few drops of rain and some cooler temps can do for everyone's spirits. Again...gratitude for what we have. I may still pray for fewer challenges, however.
The spring was cold...and windy, which is not too unusual, but it was cold well into spring--to the point where I was afraid to plant anything for fear it would just freeze--and windier than normal. We had a hailstorm on May 2. That's also a bit unusual. There were also reports of frost in the county on June 23.
And then it dried up....
And again, we've had less rain than I can ever remember. We are currently in what the weather people are calling a "flash drought" that caught everyone by surprise after the extremely wet year we had last year. Thank goodness we had some submoisture or we'd have no crop at all. Some of the crops planted later didn't even come up. The pastures are brown and water holes are drying up. Thunderstorms create more fear of lightning strikes and fire than anticipation of actual rain...especially after the horrible fires to the south of us. I have spent more than one night scanning the horizon for fire when a thunderstorm rolled through bringing about 20 drops of rain and too much lightning. The USDA finally opened the CRP for emergency haying--a few weeks too late for it to have much quality--and there was a fire caused by a swather almost every day for a couple of weeks. Thankfully, M only started a small one, saw it immediately and put it out right away. He was on pins and needles every day that he sat on a swather.
That's where the gratitude comes in. There have been no major fires too close to us. My heart aches for those who have lost their ranches--their hay, pastures, fences and animals. Fire really scares me, I can't imagine how I would cope in their situation....and I hope I never have to find out.
We are in harvest mode now, and while it has not been going too smoothly so far, the crops are not as disappointing as one would think they would be with the lack of rain. There are nights I lie awake worried about financial obligations if we don't have a crop, but faith kicks in, and I know we'll be ok. I know it could be so much worse. I'm so lucky that M still has a good attitude and sees it as a learning situation for our boys. They are learning that times can be tough and how to deal with adversity. R has had to learn about range management since our pastures and stock water situations are not ideal. J has learned that he's going to have to do a lot more mechanic work than he wants to get through harvest with the equipment we have. Everyone sucks it up and does what they can with what they have.
We had 3 tenths of an inch of rain the other night, and everyone was so happy. Amazing what a few drops of rain and some cooler temps can do for everyone's spirits. Again...gratitude for what we have. I may still pray for fewer challenges, however.
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Calving Challenges
It's that time of year again....calving....a time we love and hate. M always says he's so excited to have that first (live) calf on the ground, but after the 300th one we're kind of over it! We had been gone to Daytona, and while we were gone R got the replacement heifers moved to the neighbor's and cut the first-calf heifers out of the herd and moved them into the corral so they could be watched closely.
We had some pretty decent weather when we first got back from Florida and on March 5th the temp was close to 50 degrees. Our first calf was born on March 6th when it was snowing, blowing and miserable. So nasty out, in fact, that I didn't attempt to go to work.
Every heifer and her calf go through the barn to make sure they are feeding and bonding properly. Unfortunately, with the weather so awful we didn't feel comfortable kicking them back outside. They put up a couple more pens in the old barn, but it filled up rapidly. I knew that the new barn sitting on top of the hill, unusable, would drive R crazy, and I was right. With the old barn full, M finally agreed that they were going to have to put up some temporary pens in the new barn to move pairs to so they hauled panels up there and moved pairs from the old barn to the new as needed. There are currently 14 pairs up there. There were downsides to using the new barn. First, there are no lights installed yet. Second, there's no water. There is a new well, but the pump isn't hooked up, and M wasn't going to work on it when the temps were in the single digits. So, they had to haul water by the bucketfuls. M figured he hauled 250 gallons a day. That's a lot of buckets.
We had to be extremely vigilant since a calf born in the temperatures we were experiencing was not going to survive any length of time without some intervention. R usually stays up until about 1:00 am and then checks at 3 and 5 and M is over there by 6. Anytime I happen to get up during the night I check the cow cams and alert R if I see anything. I think we're fortunate that we have only lost two to the weather.
It's always disheartening to lose a calf, but I've been pondering if it's worse to lose one when the price is high and a calf is worth almost $1200 at weaning or when it's low and they are worth under $700 because you need more of them to make the same money. Either way, it make M extremely crabby to lose one.
We had a January thaw and a February thaw with a lot of runoff and slop. Most of the snow was gone and things were drying up and last weekend we got at least 6 inches of snow. Today it was almost 50 degrees. While that felt wonderful, we're back to runoff and slop again which brings a different set of problems. We want to haul those pairs out of the new barn to a temporary pasture, but now it's almost too muddy to get the trailer up there. We may have to go early in the morning when the ground is still frozen.
It's always something in the cow business.......but we're never bored......just tired!
We had some pretty decent weather when we first got back from Florida and on March 5th the temp was close to 50 degrees. Our first calf was born on March 6th when it was snowing, blowing and miserable. So nasty out, in fact, that I didn't attempt to go to work.
Every heifer and her calf go through the barn to make sure they are feeding and bonding properly. Unfortunately, with the weather so awful we didn't feel comfortable kicking them back outside. They put up a couple more pens in the old barn, but it filled up rapidly. I knew that the new barn sitting on top of the hill, unusable, would drive R crazy, and I was right. With the old barn full, M finally agreed that they were going to have to put up some temporary pens in the new barn to move pairs to so they hauled panels up there and moved pairs from the old barn to the new as needed. There are currently 14 pairs up there. There were downsides to using the new barn. First, there are no lights installed yet. Second, there's no water. There is a new well, but the pump isn't hooked up, and M wasn't going to work on it when the temps were in the single digits. So, they had to haul water by the bucketfuls. M figured he hauled 250 gallons a day. That's a lot of buckets.
We had to be extremely vigilant since a calf born in the temperatures we were experiencing was not going to survive any length of time without some intervention. R usually stays up until about 1:00 am and then checks at 3 and 5 and M is over there by 6. Anytime I happen to get up during the night I check the cow cams and alert R if I see anything. I think we're fortunate that we have only lost two to the weather.
It's always disheartening to lose a calf, but I've been pondering if it's worse to lose one when the price is high and a calf is worth almost $1200 at weaning or when it's low and they are worth under $700 because you need more of them to make the same money. Either way, it make M extremely crabby to lose one.
We had a January thaw and a February thaw with a lot of runoff and slop. Most of the snow was gone and things were drying up and last weekend we got at least 6 inches of snow. Today it was almost 50 degrees. While that felt wonderful, we're back to runoff and slop again which brings a different set of problems. We want to haul those pairs out of the new barn to a temporary pasture, but now it's almost too muddy to get the trailer up there. We may have to go early in the morning when the ground is still frozen.
It's always something in the cow business.......but we're never bored......just tired!
Saturday, December 31, 2016
Bye, Bye 2016
I've really slacked off on the blogging this year and for those of you that actually care, I apologize. I swear I don't know where the time goes. I told someone the other day that I haven't gotten used to writing 2016 yet and now it's almost 2017. They said that means I'm getting old--ugh!
I used to almost (yes, almost) look forward to winter as it was a time that was a little more laid back, a little less stressful. Those days are apparently gone, but I'm hopeful that as we age even more those days may return. Right now we have over 700 cows to feed every day and lots of our own grain to haul. On top of that the guys have taken on a couple of hauling jobs for other people who wanted to use our grain extractor to empty their grain bags. Those jobs are done and half of the cows will be going back to their home next week so maybe things will slow down a bit.
We had the usual "Thievin 7 days of Christmas" which is always exhausting but fun with an added bonus of a party for M's mom who turned 80 years young. The visit was extended by a day for a few of them because road conditions prevented them from venturing back to South Dakota. They all made it back home safely and without incident, thank goodness.
2016 was a typical year of ups and downs. The worst "down", of course, was the loss of M's dad in March. We are confident that he had something to do with the record rainfall and incredible crops. We all felt him with us as we harvested a record crop and thought of how much he would have enjoyed seeing it....or even just hearing about it. He was certainly missed during the holiday festivities.
But, on the "up" side, his namesake, Jax Phillip, arrived to brighten our lives in October. He's so sweet and mellow....and may even look a little like his great grandpa Phil. There was no shortage of people ready to cuddle him during our family get-togethers. Even Sawyer has gotten used to him and has become protective of her little brother.
I was blessed to have some quality time with my far-flung siblings who were all here for a nephew's wedding. Always fun to get together since it doesn't happen very often. I cherish my time with them.
We had some fun trips this year...to Daytona, of course, and also Miami this fall.
We enjoyed some time in the Black Hills in July when it was to wet for haying.
The new barn went up!
As I mentioned, the harvest was incredible....but on the downside the price of wheat is still in the toilet. Good thing we have the bushels....and the lentils which have good value. Our calf shipping went well, and once again our contract price beat the market at the time of shipping.....however, those prices are nearly half of what we received last year. I hope you folks that have to buy beef see some relief in the price you pay....because based on what the rancher is getting, the prices in the store should be way down.
The other big "down" of the year was when R's girlfriend and her little boy moved back to Missoula in August. Our hearts broke for both of them, but it was a move that needed to happen. Kade seems to have adjusted well in a new school and being close to his cousins and grandparents. He has been back for a visit this week. We have missed him so much and the week went too fast. He had so many people to see! I hope he doesn't find it too difficult to leave us again.
Another "up" was the birth of eight puppies in our house....although the reason they're here is not a happy one. The mother belongs to our elderly neighbor who ended up in the nursing home. Immediately after we brought her home with us she went into heat. Despite our best attempts at keeping her and Junior apart, we were unsuccessful....thus, puppies on December 10. They are really cute, and it's been fun, but it's getting more challenging as they are growing. I feel like a mother of 8, and it's exhausting!
We are truly blessed and I thank God every day that we get to live the life we do with our kids and grandkids close. Wishing everyone a healthy and happy 2017!
I used to almost (yes, almost) look forward to winter as it was a time that was a little more laid back, a little less stressful. Those days are apparently gone, but I'm hopeful that as we age even more those days may return. Right now we have over 700 cows to feed every day and lots of our own grain to haul. On top of that the guys have taken on a couple of hauling jobs for other people who wanted to use our grain extractor to empty their grain bags. Those jobs are done and half of the cows will be going back to their home next week so maybe things will slow down a bit.
We had the usual "Thievin 7 days of Christmas" which is always exhausting but fun with an added bonus of a party for M's mom who turned 80 years young. The visit was extended by a day for a few of them because road conditions prevented them from venturing back to South Dakota. They all made it back home safely and without incident, thank goodness.
 |
| Happy mama with her kids |
 |
| Party crowd--just the family part! |
2016 was a typical year of ups and downs. The worst "down", of course, was the loss of M's dad in March. We are confident that he had something to do with the record rainfall and incredible crops. We all felt him with us as we harvested a record crop and thought of how much he would have enjoyed seeing it....or even just hearing about it. He was certainly missed during the holiday festivities.
But, on the "up" side, his namesake, Jax Phillip, arrived to brighten our lives in October. He's so sweet and mellow....and may even look a little like his great grandpa Phil. There was no shortage of people ready to cuddle him during our family get-togethers. Even Sawyer has gotten used to him and has become protective of her little brother.
 | ||||
| Sawyer and Jax |
I was blessed to have some quality time with my far-flung siblings who were all here for a nephew's wedding. Always fun to get together since it doesn't happen very often. I cherish my time with them.
We had some fun trips this year...to Daytona, of course, and also Miami this fall.
 | |
| A little fun in Key West |
The new barn went up!
As I mentioned, the harvest was incredible....but on the downside the price of wheat is still in the toilet. Good thing we have the bushels....and the lentils which have good value. Our calf shipping went well, and once again our contract price beat the market at the time of shipping.....however, those prices are nearly half of what we received last year. I hope you folks that have to buy beef see some relief in the price you pay....because based on what the rancher is getting, the prices in the store should be way down.
The other big "down" of the year was when R's girlfriend and her little boy moved back to Missoula in August. Our hearts broke for both of them, but it was a move that needed to happen. Kade seems to have adjusted well in a new school and being close to his cousins and grandparents. He has been back for a visit this week. We have missed him so much and the week went too fast. He had so many people to see! I hope he doesn't find it too difficult to leave us again.
 |
| So much happiness in one photo |
 |
| This mama is a tired girl. |
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Perfect Timing
So, after our little rain delay we finished up our last 300 acres and then helped a neighbor south of Opheim finish up before the next round of rain and snow. They finished up on a Saturday afternoon, October 1, and headed to Opheim to have a little celebration. J wasn't there long as K called and said her water had broken so off they went to Glasgow and about 12:42 am of October 2, our grandson, Jax Phillip entered the world, healthy and perfect.
K is thankful that J is not so busy so that she has some help. A baby and a 3-year-old can be exhausting! I remember those days.
We were happy that our harvesting was finished since we had rain and snow and freezing temps. I feel bad for those that are still trying to harvest.
We have switched gears and gotten all our cows preg tested and moved home and ready to ship next weekend. The guys have been busy hauling grain and hay. We're hoping for more good weather so we can finish up some fencing and other projects before our vacation to Florida.
Timing is everything!
 |
| Daddy didn't have time to shave |
 |
| One week old |
 | |||
| Two weeks old with big sister |
 |
| With Great Grandma Thievin |
 |
| And Great Grandma Redfield |
K is thankful that J is not so busy so that she has some help. A baby and a 3-year-old can be exhausting! I remember those days.
We were happy that our harvesting was finished since we had rain and snow and freezing temps. I feel bad for those that are still trying to harvest.
We have switched gears and gotten all our cows preg tested and moved home and ready to ship next weekend. The guys have been busy hauling grain and hay. We're hoping for more good weather so we can finish up some fencing and other projects before our vacation to Florida.
Timing is everything!
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Harvest Update
Wow, have I been slacking in the blog department. It's been a busy summer with a wedding in the family and all my siblings home, haying delayed by rain and a quick trip to the Black Hills and now a long harvest.
We kept thinking it would be an early harvest since we had the crops in early this year, but the wet and cool weather seemed to delay it some. We did start the end of July with the peas. We didn't have too many acres of those. The lentils took a bit longer. They are generally short and not much fun to cut, but they are our cash crop these days with the wheat prices in the toilet. When you are cutting a good crop and mentally calculate the $$ that are flowing into the grain tank they don't seem so bad. The wet weather caused a lot of disease, though. It's always something.
We were plugging along but had a rain delay of about a week. Not long after we got going again the long-range forecast wasn't looking good so the race was on. We had already hired some custom cutters to cut some of the neighbor's crop that we usually do. Then we had some friends bring two combines over to help us finish. They put in long days and finished the stuff at Opheim late last night (well, except for about 300 acres back at home). M got home after midnight, had a bite to eat, and it started to rain. It seemed like there was tension in the air all over the country with everyone trying to get finished up before the storm set in. The forecast is calling for up to 3" of rain for the next five days. That kind of moisture can really affect the quality of the wheat. The price is bad enough anyway and if there are quality issues it will be hard to sell.
All over this area you can see these big white grain bags as farmers are cutting a bumper crop with no place to put it. I think we have at least 10. The bags cost almost $1000 each and are not reusable. We also had to buy the apparatus used to fill them. We had rented one a couple of years ago and no one was a fan, but we really had no other choice with all our bins full. The guys were pretty proud of themselves when they made a nice, straight uniform bag. They aren't a perfect solution, though, as they can be easily damaged. In fact, we have a couple that have been damaged by raccoons already. Like I said, it's always something.
M's sister and her son came to help with the harvest. She was here for a week and our nephew was here for two weeks. Unfortunately, she only got in a couple of days of harvest before rain stopped us. During the break we preg tested our heifers and got some hay hauled. Our nephew got a few more days of harvest in when it finally dried out. He's great help, and we're always happy to have him.
After much thought and discussion we made the decision to build a barn/machine shed this year so it's been fun to watch it going up. With the expansion of our cow herd our old facilities were becoming inadequate. We generally keep our machinery up-to-date, but there haven't been any building upgrades (other than grain bins) in quite a few years (like almost 30). There's a lot of inside work to be done, but it's up!
J has been stressing about the baby coming before we were done with harvest, but now the pressure is off and the little guy can come whenever he feels like it--the due date is only two weeks away! K and Sawyer have moved back to town from the "summer house". I always love having them a little closer. We've had some fun play dates.
I always dread harvest for many reasons, but today I was thinking about the positives. The biggest positive being getting to have lunch with my husband and sons every day and seeing Sawyer more often. I do love their company.
We kept thinking it would be an early harvest since we had the crops in early this year, but the wet and cool weather seemed to delay it some. We did start the end of July with the peas. We didn't have too many acres of those. The lentils took a bit longer. They are generally short and not much fun to cut, but they are our cash crop these days with the wheat prices in the toilet. When you are cutting a good crop and mentally calculate the $$ that are flowing into the grain tank they don't seem so bad. The wet weather caused a lot of disease, though. It's always something.
We were plugging along but had a rain delay of about a week. Not long after we got going again the long-range forecast wasn't looking good so the race was on. We had already hired some custom cutters to cut some of the neighbor's crop that we usually do. Then we had some friends bring two combines over to help us finish. They put in long days and finished the stuff at Opheim late last night (well, except for about 300 acres back at home). M got home after midnight, had a bite to eat, and it started to rain. It seemed like there was tension in the air all over the country with everyone trying to get finished up before the storm set in. The forecast is calling for up to 3" of rain for the next five days. That kind of moisture can really affect the quality of the wheat. The price is bad enough anyway and if there are quality issues it will be hard to sell.
All over this area you can see these big white grain bags as farmers are cutting a bumper crop with no place to put it. I think we have at least 10. The bags cost almost $1000 each and are not reusable. We also had to buy the apparatus used to fill them. We had rented one a couple of years ago and no one was a fan, but we really had no other choice with all our bins full. The guys were pretty proud of themselves when they made a nice, straight uniform bag. They aren't a perfect solution, though, as they can be easily damaged. In fact, we have a couple that have been damaged by raccoons already. Like I said, it's always something.
After much thought and discussion we made the decision to build a barn/machine shed this year so it's been fun to watch it going up. With the expansion of our cow herd our old facilities were becoming inadequate. We generally keep our machinery up-to-date, but there haven't been any building upgrades (other than grain bins) in quite a few years (like almost 30). There's a lot of inside work to be done, but it's up!
I always dread harvest for many reasons, but today I was thinking about the positives. The biggest positive being getting to have lunch with my husband and sons every day and seeing Sawyer more often. I do love their company.
Saturday, June 25, 2016
Quiet Time
It's pretty quiet around the ranch these day as the only bovine still there are three spare bulls and a cow with a grafted calf, and the pair will go to pasture soon. We had the bulls tested about three weeks ago and a couple of them didn't test good so went to market this week after all the others were hauled to pasture and put to work. Two cows went along and two steers went to the butcher. The only livestock around the barn now are the cats and two batches of kittens.
Two weeks ago we AI'd our heifers. It's always interesting to have 100+ hormonal females around the corrals. C's stepsons brought 50 head over to go through the process with ours since they'd never done it before so we had lots of extra help, and it went pretty smoothly. We had rain showers but before and after we were working so it was all good.
M and R (with a little bit of help from me) have done some fencing projects and developed our new well. That is a story in itself after being started in June and finished in February...while we were gone to Daytona....with lots of headaches in between. It cost WAY more than anticipated and after taking over six months to complete the driller wanted to be paid immediately....even though we were in Florida! Anyway, we have water and set up a solar system to pump it since it would cost another small fortune to have power run up there. M was so happy when it was working and pumping water...for two days....then nothing so they had to pull the pump (which was no small feat) and switch it out. Apparently the pump was bad because the new one is working flawlessly. We can water three different pastures from it so they put in a water corral and a cross fence. The cows graze the pastures much better if they have more than one source of water.
We took a little time to celebrate our 33rd anniversary with a little back roads crop tour and a stop at this little dam. It's kind of a hidden gem that we forget about and it's just a hop, skip and a jump cross country from our place.
The crop spraying is about wrapped up and haying has begun. Everything seems a bit early this year. M would like to let the grass grow a little more, but the alfalfa is just about in full bloom so he feels like he needs to get started. We've had timely rains and no hail thus far although we've seen some scary skies. Some neighbors had photos of a funnel cloud yesterday. I'm glad I didn't see it!
We believe M's dad is up there pulling some strings for us in the rain department. He'd be thrilled to see how good the crops and hay look this year especially after the dismal crops we had last year. I'm afraid that once again there will be no break between haying and harvest. We like to take a little summer excursion, but we don't see it happening again this year.
This weekend is the all-school reunion for my high school with the annual Opheim Rodeo--the big event of the summer, can't miss it. There's supposed to be a street dance tonight and as usual when one of those is planned it's cold and windy. Oh well, we're used to that and we're tough. It will be fun to see old friends.....
 |
| Head 'em, move 'em out...to summer pasture |
 |
| Junior has too much hair and needs to cool off frequently. |
Two weeks ago we AI'd our heifers. It's always interesting to have 100+ hormonal females around the corrals. C's stepsons brought 50 head over to go through the process with ours since they'd never done it before so we had lots of extra help, and it went pretty smoothly. We had rain showers but before and after we were working so it was all good.
 | ||
| The girls with their "I'm ready" (heat detection) patches |
We took a little time to celebrate our 33rd anniversary with a little back roads crop tour and a stop at this little dam. It's kind of a hidden gem that we forget about and it's just a hop, skip and a jump cross country from our place.
The crop spraying is about wrapped up and haying has begun. Everything seems a bit early this year. M would like to let the grass grow a little more, but the alfalfa is just about in full bloom so he feels like he needs to get started. We've had timely rains and no hail thus far although we've seen some scary skies. Some neighbors had photos of a funnel cloud yesterday. I'm glad I didn't see it!
We believe M's dad is up there pulling some strings for us in the rain department. He'd be thrilled to see how good the crops and hay look this year especially after the dismal crops we had last year. I'm afraid that once again there will be no break between haying and harvest. We like to take a little summer excursion, but we don't see it happening again this year.
This weekend is the all-school reunion for my high school with the annual Opheim Rodeo--the big event of the summer, can't miss it. There's supposed to be a street dance tonight and as usual when one of those is planned it's cold and windy. Oh well, we're used to that and we're tough. It will be fun to see old friends.....
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Baby, Oh Baby
I seem to have a harder time remembering things these days so before calving started I had this great plan to write down calving notes daily so I could remember the stories of which cow lost a calf and had another one grafted on or any other freak thing. Well, I couldn't even remember to write stuff down! Calving time seemed to fly by and when we're having 15 calves a day it gets a bit hectic. We did, of course, have some freak things happen. I remember one day R asked if I thought other people had the weird stuff happen that we seem to. Of course, I don't remember which freak thing had happened that day. We had three calves develop navel infections which we've never had before. We lost one, but saved two. We had some gale force winds that seemed to go one for days forcing all the cows down into the windbreaks. On one of those days we had about four cows calve right next to each other and none seemed to know which calf was theirs. It always seems like two cows will try to claim one calf and no one will want the other one. We had to use our best guess and put the pairs in separate pens until they bonded. We had a couple of really big calves that apparently didn't have an easy birth, and we weren't able to save them. That's especially disheartening. We had one born with twisted legs.
When M's dad passed away we had three of our AI'd heifers left to calve. M's sister became obsessed with checking the cow cams, and we watched one calve over supper. The cow wasn't getting up and taking care of the new calf which concerned us a little bit until we realized she was having another. R was at home and ran out to check on it and the second calf had a leg back so he got it into the maternity pen and got it taken care of. Then later that night the other two heifers calved....one with another set of twins. Their timing was perfect as we knew we'd have a break before the next cycle of heifers started calving and R was able to have some freedom to spend time with family without worrying about his heifers.
Now calving is over and most of the pairs are moved to pasture and the open cows sold so it's a bit quiet around the barn. Won't be long, though, before we'll have to test bulls and start the AI process on our heifers.
Seeding is over, also and went pretty well and pretty quickly. The guys had about 6 hours left when it started raining and we got 3-4" of rain. Maybe we'll actually have a hay crop this year--yay! M and I made a quick trip to Billings during the rain. He is setting up a solar pump system on our new stock well so had to pick up all the stuff for that. We have also decided to build a barn/machine shed and had to finalize some plans on that. And, we met my brother who delivered our my mom to us so we could bring her home for the summer. It is always so nice to see my brother. We have so much to talk about!
Sawyer turned 3 and for the first time had her birthday party on time--early, in fact, as we had her party the night before her birthday. We also found out that J and K are having a boy this time, in early October. Grandpa was pretty excited about that. I would have been perfectly happy to have another girl to spoil, but I do have a soft spot for boys. She got more Barbie stuff so I can't wait for our Barbie play date on Monday!
Speaking of which, M's cousin's son, Jared, who has spent many summers working with us graduated from high school yesterday. We feel like he's our baby so we celebrated with him. The graduates have a tradition of giving flowers or candy to people have been important in their lives, and he gave L and I roses. He's even given me flowers on Mother's Day a few times. It makes me feel good to think I have had a positive influence on his life. I always tease him that he was such a scrawny little thing that I never thought he'd grow up to be anything. He's about 6'2" and 200 pounds so I guess he grew up. His goal in life is to farm with J so I don't anticipate that he'll go too far afield although he is planning to go to a tech school this fall.
M and R have been busy fencing and R had a plan to plant a bunch of trees near where the new barn is going to go so we got that done this weekend. M was really undecided on the barn because of the cost, but now that he pulled the trigger is glad that he did. The other day he mentioned that there haven't been any real improvements to the infrastructure of the farm other than fences and windbreaks so it was time to do it. Just hope the cattle and grain markets improve so we can pay for it!
We have a lot to accomplish in a few months so bring on summer!
When M's dad passed away we had three of our AI'd heifers left to calve. M's sister became obsessed with checking the cow cams, and we watched one calve over supper. The cow wasn't getting up and taking care of the new calf which concerned us a little bit until we realized she was having another. R was at home and ran out to check on it and the second calf had a leg back so he got it into the maternity pen and got it taken care of. Then later that night the other two heifers calved....one with another set of twins. Their timing was perfect as we knew we'd have a break before the next cycle of heifers started calving and R was able to have some freedom to spend time with family without worrying about his heifers.
Now calving is over and most of the pairs are moved to pasture and the open cows sold so it's a bit quiet around the barn. Won't be long, though, before we'll have to test bulls and start the AI process on our heifers.
Seeding is over, also and went pretty well and pretty quickly. The guys had about 6 hours left when it started raining and we got 3-4" of rain. Maybe we'll actually have a hay crop this year--yay! M and I made a quick trip to Billings during the rain. He is setting up a solar pump system on our new stock well so had to pick up all the stuff for that. We have also decided to build a barn/machine shed and had to finalize some plans on that. And, we met my brother who delivered our my mom to us so we could bring her home for the summer. It is always so nice to see my brother. We have so much to talk about!
Sawyer turned 3 and for the first time had her birthday party on time--early, in fact, as we had her party the night before her birthday. We also found out that J and K are having a boy this time, in early October. Grandpa was pretty excited about that. I would have been perfectly happy to have another girl to spoil, but I do have a soft spot for boys. She got more Barbie stuff so I can't wait for our Barbie play date on Monday!
Speaking of which, M's cousin's son, Jared, who has spent many summers working with us graduated from high school yesterday. We feel like he's our baby so we celebrated with him. The graduates have a tradition of giving flowers or candy to people have been important in their lives, and he gave L and I roses. He's even given me flowers on Mother's Day a few times. It makes me feel good to think I have had a positive influence on his life. I always tease him that he was such a scrawny little thing that I never thought he'd grow up to be anything. He's about 6'2" and 200 pounds so I guess he grew up. His goal in life is to farm with J so I don't anticipate that he'll go too far afield although he is planning to go to a tech school this fall.
M and R have been busy fencing and R had a plan to plant a bunch of trees near where the new barn is going to go so we got that done this weekend. M was really undecided on the barn because of the cost, but now that he pulled the trigger is glad that he did. The other day he mentioned that there haven't been any real improvements to the infrastructure of the farm other than fences and windbreaks so it was time to do it. Just hope the cattle and grain markets improve so we can pay for it!
We have a lot to accomplish in a few months so bring on summer!
Saturday, April 2, 2016
Saying Goodbye.....
The past couple of weeks have been chaotic to say the least. On March 11, M and I were headed to his aunt's (him mom's sister) 70th birthday party and stopped to see if his mom wanted to ride with us. When we got to their house she said she wasn't going because dad was sick, and she didn't want to leave him. He was in bed and had a terrible chest congestion. She had tried to get him in to the doctor, but they couldn't fit him in. She was pretty sure she'd have to take him to the ER in the morning which she did, and he was admitted to our local hospital, thinking they'd just keep him overnight. We were busy with calving and thought we'd head in later in the day so see how he was doing. Late that afternoon I got a call from C's wife who said we needed to get to Scobey....now! M was at the barn where there is no cell service so I called R's house and got Kade and had to explain that it was very important that he run to the barn and tell M to come home. He doesn't really know how to hurry so I headed that direction thinking that I could possibly drive the two miles faster than he could get across the yard to the barn, but he must have hurried because right after I started out, M called to see what was going on.
We were about halfway to Scobey when M's mom called to see where we were and tell us that they had intubated him and the ambulance plane was on its way to take him to Billings. When we arrived they had him sedated and were manually bagging him to help him breathe. If he would have stayed there he would have died, and they weren't really confident that he'd make it to Billings. It was decided that M would fly with him and C and J would drive Mom to Billings and his sister and her husband were on their way from Rapid City. We scrambled to throw together some clothes, etc and everyone headed to Billings about 7:30 pm. I knew one of my best friends was in Billings for the weekend so I called her and she met M at the hospital and sat with him until the rest of the family arrived. She used to work at the nursing home in Scobey when M's dad had been there besides being one of our closest neighbors. She's such an angel and she and Phil had a special bond.
He was holding his own through the weekend while on a ventilator and being pumped full of antibiotics. He had a pneumonia and influenza. We think he probably picked it up when he was in Billings earlier in the week for a dermatology procedure. M and C and their sister's husband headed home on Monday to take care of some business and do some work while Mom and their sister stayed in Billings. M requested that they give him a day's notice of when they were planning to take the vent out, but that didn't happen, and he got a call on Thursday (March 17) that they were taking it out that morning. They had been weaning him off the oxygen, and he was breathing on his own and his white count was down and the vent was mostly for drainage of his lung. They had to determine if he could maintain without the vent because if they left it too long he would be dependent on it. So, again, M and C made a flying trip to Billings and their sister's husband came back on Friday. It wasn't long before they determined that his lung was filling up again and his white count took off. He just was not strong enough to fight the infection on his own so it was just a matter of time before he succumbed. M and C had gone to the motel to get some rest on Friday night, but their mom would not leave his side. M woke up about 1:30 am and not ten minutes later he got the call from his sister that their dad had passed.
He wasn't very alert most of that time and couldn't communicate except with his eyes and by grabbing their hands. I was disappointed that I couldn't be there to see him and to be there for the family, but R and I were holding down the fort here with the calving.
Of course, we had some cold, windy weather while M was gone so we had to be vigilant. R usually stays up until midnight and does 2 am and 4 am checks and then M checks at 6 and starts feeding so R can get some sleep. With M gone, I did the 6 am check and helped R with tagging, etc.
Everyone was back home by Saturday afternoon, March 19, and then we had to start planning the funeral. We had a whirlwind day on Monday, and poor L was over making decisions by the end of it. She deferred a lot of it to her kids but had a few things she felt strongly about. I felt like I was being pushy trying to keep everyone on track to get it done, but we got through it. We've been in town every day besides keeping up with the calving.
We had a family supper at the church (where there was room for everyone) and then went to the funeral home to view the body. Some of us had already been there the day before. He looked so good, like he would wake with a little nudge which I did many times when I went to their house for lunch. There was a nice display of memorabilia with his hats and overalls and picture boards as well as some of the memorial flowers and plants. M made sure that his dad had his cell phone in his jacket pocket so he'd always have it. He had quite the knack for calling at the absolute worst time and made his rounds calling each of his sons and grandsons, if not daily then several times a week. R said sometimes he'd call him three times in a day--in the morning to see what he had planned for the day, in the middle of the day to see if he was doing what he had planned, and in the evening to see what he had gotten done. His interest in the farm never waned.
The funeral was Thursday afternoon, March 24, with the grandsons and step-grandsons as pallbearers. We were disappointed that Jared was out of town because we really wanted him as one as well. We played Paul Harvey's "So God Made a Farmer" and Pam's husband, Ray, read some scripture. I sang "There'll Be Peace In the Valley For Me". I and everyone else was surprised that I could do it. I got my tears out earlier in the week while practicing and prayed for strength to honor Phil and God. I told people that I wasn't sure I could do it, but it was worth a shot because he would have been happy that I did. We also played Glen Campbell singing Come Harvest Time (click here to listen) which was a beautiful and perfect song. Ray put together a slide show with music that Pam and I picked out and that was shown at the supper the night before and at the reception after the funeral service. L said many people told her it was a lovely service and she gave her kids and their spouses the credit. We wanted to make it personal.
There was an honor guard at the cemetery to honor Phil as a vet who served in Korea, and the family decided that M as the firstborn should have the flag. It was kind of a gray day and as the ceremony at the cemetery was ending the wind came up and some raindrops fell. M was pretty sure that his dad would be happy to have some raindrops on his coffin. I always hate leaving the cemetery and seeing the coffin sitting all alone. That image gets me every time I go to a funeral. All Pam could think of was that he would be cold, and he hated to be cold.
It seemed like the longest week ever because we were in town every day for 10 days straight. Pam and her family stayed through Easter so we were visiting at least every evening.
I have some lasting memories of Phil. M and I were married in the drought years of the 1980's. I will always remember Phil standing in his yard cursing at the sky when it would cloud up but never rain. At the time I thought he was a crazy man, now I understand his passion. He was color blind so couldn't see the wheat when it was just starting to come up so every spring would find him in a field on his hands and knees digging in a furrow to find the first sprout. I remember before we had kids of our own and I would see him tease someone I'd say to M that he couldn't tease our kids like that. Well, of course he did, and they took it just fine. I think of the times J would sleep over at their house and Phil would cuddle with him all night long. Or the hours watching "Walker, Texas Ranger" with R who would always fall asleep and miss the end so grandpa would make up some wild tale of how the episode ended.
It will be strange to be at their house without a news channel on the TV 24/7 and without a newspaper in "Philological" order.
Phil was still the go-to guy for so many questions. I'm wondering how many times I'll hear "I need to ask Dad" in the next few weeks or months. I remember that feeling after losing my own dad. L has a strong faith and in typical Mom/Grandma fashion tried to console others. She understands that he was suffering and was ready to go. He had been in and out of the nursing home in the past few years so she is not completely unfamiliar with being home alone.
It's been an exhausting few weeks--emotionally and physically. I keep thinking we'll get rested up, but it hasn't quite happened yet. We've been having 15 calves a day and with the nice weather we're having, J is chomping at the bit to get into the field so M will be stretched even that much farther. He really needs some downtime to just rest and get used to the new normal. It's so exhausting to say goodbye. I hope he says hello to my dad.
We were about halfway to Scobey when M's mom called to see where we were and tell us that they had intubated him and the ambulance plane was on its way to take him to Billings. When we arrived they had him sedated and were manually bagging him to help him breathe. If he would have stayed there he would have died, and they weren't really confident that he'd make it to Billings. It was decided that M would fly with him and C and J would drive Mom to Billings and his sister and her husband were on their way from Rapid City. We scrambled to throw together some clothes, etc and everyone headed to Billings about 7:30 pm. I knew one of my best friends was in Billings for the weekend so I called her and she met M at the hospital and sat with him until the rest of the family arrived. She used to work at the nursing home in Scobey when M's dad had been there besides being one of our closest neighbors. She's such an angel and she and Phil had a special bond.
He was holding his own through the weekend while on a ventilator and being pumped full of antibiotics. He had a pneumonia and influenza. We think he probably picked it up when he was in Billings earlier in the week for a dermatology procedure. M and C and their sister's husband headed home on Monday to take care of some business and do some work while Mom and their sister stayed in Billings. M requested that they give him a day's notice of when they were planning to take the vent out, but that didn't happen, and he got a call on Thursday (March 17) that they were taking it out that morning. They had been weaning him off the oxygen, and he was breathing on his own and his white count was down and the vent was mostly for drainage of his lung. They had to determine if he could maintain without the vent because if they left it too long he would be dependent on it. So, again, M and C made a flying trip to Billings and their sister's husband came back on Friday. It wasn't long before they determined that his lung was filling up again and his white count took off. He just was not strong enough to fight the infection on his own so it was just a matter of time before he succumbed. M and C had gone to the motel to get some rest on Friday night, but their mom would not leave his side. M woke up about 1:30 am and not ten minutes later he got the call from his sister that their dad had passed.
He wasn't very alert most of that time and couldn't communicate except with his eyes and by grabbing their hands. I was disappointed that I couldn't be there to see him and to be there for the family, but R and I were holding down the fort here with the calving.
Of course, we had some cold, windy weather while M was gone so we had to be vigilant. R usually stays up until midnight and does 2 am and 4 am checks and then M checks at 6 and starts feeding so R can get some sleep. With M gone, I did the 6 am check and helped R with tagging, etc.
Everyone was back home by Saturday afternoon, March 19, and then we had to start planning the funeral. We had a whirlwind day on Monday, and poor L was over making decisions by the end of it. She deferred a lot of it to her kids but had a few things she felt strongly about. I felt like I was being pushy trying to keep everyone on track to get it done, but we got through it. We've been in town every day besides keeping up with the calving.
We had a family supper at the church (where there was room for everyone) and then went to the funeral home to view the body. Some of us had already been there the day before. He looked so good, like he would wake with a little nudge which I did many times when I went to their house for lunch. There was a nice display of memorabilia with his hats and overalls and picture boards as well as some of the memorial flowers and plants. M made sure that his dad had his cell phone in his jacket pocket so he'd always have it. He had quite the knack for calling at the absolute worst time and made his rounds calling each of his sons and grandsons, if not daily then several times a week. R said sometimes he'd call him three times in a day--in the morning to see what he had planned for the day, in the middle of the day to see if he was doing what he had planned, and in the evening to see what he had gotten done. His interest in the farm never waned.
The funeral was Thursday afternoon, March 24, with the grandsons and step-grandsons as pallbearers. We were disappointed that Jared was out of town because we really wanted him as one as well. We played Paul Harvey's "So God Made a Farmer" and Pam's husband, Ray, read some scripture. I sang "There'll Be Peace In the Valley For Me". I and everyone else was surprised that I could do it. I got my tears out earlier in the week while practicing and prayed for strength to honor Phil and God. I told people that I wasn't sure I could do it, but it was worth a shot because he would have been happy that I did. We also played Glen Campbell singing Come Harvest Time (click here to listen) which was a beautiful and perfect song. Ray put together a slide show with music that Pam and I picked out and that was shown at the supper the night before and at the reception after the funeral service. L said many people told her it was a lovely service and she gave her kids and their spouses the credit. We wanted to make it personal.
There was an honor guard at the cemetery to honor Phil as a vet who served in Korea, and the family decided that M as the firstborn should have the flag. It was kind of a gray day and as the ceremony at the cemetery was ending the wind came up and some raindrops fell. M was pretty sure that his dad would be happy to have some raindrops on his coffin. I always hate leaving the cemetery and seeing the coffin sitting all alone. That image gets me every time I go to a funeral. All Pam could think of was that he would be cold, and he hated to be cold.
It seemed like the longest week ever because we were in town every day for 10 days straight. Pam and her family stayed through Easter so we were visiting at least every evening.
I have some lasting memories of Phil. M and I were married in the drought years of the 1980's. I will always remember Phil standing in his yard cursing at the sky when it would cloud up but never rain. At the time I thought he was a crazy man, now I understand his passion. He was color blind so couldn't see the wheat when it was just starting to come up so every spring would find him in a field on his hands and knees digging in a furrow to find the first sprout. I remember before we had kids of our own and I would see him tease someone I'd say to M that he couldn't tease our kids like that. Well, of course he did, and they took it just fine. I think of the times J would sleep over at their house and Phil would cuddle with him all night long. Or the hours watching "Walker, Texas Ranger" with R who would always fall asleep and miss the end so grandpa would make up some wild tale of how the episode ended.
It will be strange to be at their house without a news channel on the TV 24/7 and without a newspaper in "Philological" order.
Phil was still the go-to guy for so many questions. I'm wondering how many times I'll hear "I need to ask Dad" in the next few weeks or months. I remember that feeling after losing my own dad. L has a strong faith and in typical Mom/Grandma fashion tried to console others. She understands that he was suffering and was ready to go. He had been in and out of the nursing home in the past few years so she is not completely unfamiliar with being home alone.
It's been an exhausting few weeks--emotionally and physically. I keep thinking we'll get rested up, but it hasn't quite happened yet. We've been having 15 calves a day and with the nice weather we're having, J is chomping at the bit to get into the field so M will be stretched even that much farther. He really needs some downtime to just rest and get used to the new normal. It's so exhausting to say goodbye. I hope he says hello to my dad.
Saturday, January 2, 2016
Happy New Year
There's always so much talk about New Year's Resolutions. Mine are usually the same year after year; lose weight, get in better shape, be kinder and gentler, yada, yada, yada... This year I've been thinking how fun it would be to make resolutions for OTHER people....
Like our neighbors:
I wonder what resolutions others would make for me. I may have just opened a huge can of worms!
Wishing everyone the best in 2016.
Like our neighbors:
- Resolve to fix your fences and keep your cows in
- Resolve to take care of your weeds so they don't blow onto our land.
- Call your mother! She misses you and would like to talk about more than chores.
- Listen to your mother. She's been where you are and has learned a few things.
- Make sure your kids know you are the boss and they aren't. Play with them more. Hug them more. Let them be little. Be kind to their mamas and try to see life from their point of view once in awhile.
- Don't take life so seriously. Lighten up!
- Make more time for fun because the work will always be there.
- Take better care of yourself. Drink less and lose a few pounds.
- Resolve to not try to change your men. It's a waste of time and energy.
- Resolve to appreciate all they do, realize they work very hard to take care of you.
- Resolve to remember they're not perfect and are still little boys at heart.
- Resolve to respect them and support them.
- Resolve to not work so hard and to have more fun.
- Resolve to respect the opinions of your kids. They are going to be running things soon.
- Resolve to treat their mama well and see life from her point of view once in awhile.
- Resolve to be more positive. No matter what bad things happen we always get through them by the grace of God. Be thankful.
- Resolve to take better care of yourself. You're not getting any younger.
- Resolve to not yell at the cows......okay, that one is totally unrealistic!
- Resolve to spoil the dog a little less and show him you are the pack leader.
- Resolve to value EVERY life. Treat others with respect and kindness.
- Resolve to leave the earth as you found it, if not better. Clean up after yourselves. Don't be wasteful. Don't think anyone owes you anything.
- Resolve to pray more. Only God can get us out of here.
- Resolve to BE HAPPY, BE GRATEFUL, and BE KIND!
I wonder what resolutions others would make for me. I may have just opened a huge can of worms!
Wishing everyone the best in 2016.
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Farewell Cruel 2015
Here it is the end of the year....finally. 2015 was a bit of a trying year for many reasons and although we came through it relatively unscathed, we're glad it's over.
The bad luck started during calving with the freak Easter weekend storm. Not that we're not anticipating or preparing for bad weather during calving; we just hope that we don't have to endure any too severe.
Then in April we had the scary shop fire. see blog post here
May brought seeding, but no rain to go with it and the grass didn't take off because of the lack of moisture and cold temps.
In June we lost our unborn grandchild which put a damper on everything else. And, still not much rain.
In July we got rain......along with a bunch of hail that totaled out a lot of our crops. We had several thousand acres that we didn't even harvest. We have land spread 35 miles east to west and nearly every acre was hit. My brother, ever the smart one, said we need to start expanding north and south. J leased some land on the Canadian border and it was hit also so I guess heading south is our only option. see blog post here
August brought the short and depressing harvest. It's always my least favorite month anyway.
In September we finished the harvest (or cleaning up the mess). M was contemplating seeding winter wheat but just wanted the crop year to be over so couldn't bring himself to make it happen. see blog post here
In fact, he needs to start making plans for next year and can't quite get into the right frame of mind for it yet.
By this time the cow/calf market had tanked. Thank goodness we had contracted MOST of our calves in June for a price well above what it was at shipping time in October. Shipping is always stressful no matter how smoothly it goes.....hmm, has it ever gone smoothly?! see blog post here
By November I remember M saying "we still have two months of this year to get through?" see blog post here
That was about the time he came home after the umpteenth day of fencing and said that he discovered his post pounder had an automatic shutoff. Really? "Yep, when I can't lift it over a post anymore I know it's time to quit". Hmm....
And then, Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. Talk about NASCAR depression!!
Finally, we made it to December and through December with a great adventure to cap off the year. see blog post here
We really do have a lot to be thankful for and appreciate what we have and who we have in our lives. It is just a lot easier to be positive on some days than others. That's why I plan to do a journal and/or jar to each week add a note with a good thing that happened. I saw the idea on Facebook and thought it was a great one since it's too easy to focus on the bad things that happen....and in our business there seem to be a lot of those!
It's been a good week for me since I've been spending time with my favorite littles.
Happy New Year from our family--the people I love most.
The bad luck started during calving with the freak Easter weekend storm. Not that we're not anticipating or preparing for bad weather during calving; we just hope that we don't have to endure any too severe.
Then in April we had the scary shop fire. see blog post here
May brought seeding, but no rain to go with it and the grass didn't take off because of the lack of moisture and cold temps.
In June we lost our unborn grandchild which put a damper on everything else. And, still not much rain.
In July we got rain......along with a bunch of hail that totaled out a lot of our crops. We had several thousand acres that we didn't even harvest. We have land spread 35 miles east to west and nearly every acre was hit. My brother, ever the smart one, said we need to start expanding north and south. J leased some land on the Canadian border and it was hit also so I guess heading south is our only option. see blog post here
August brought the short and depressing harvest. It's always my least favorite month anyway.
In September we finished the harvest (or cleaning up the mess). M was contemplating seeding winter wheat but just wanted the crop year to be over so couldn't bring himself to make it happen. see blog post here
In fact, he needs to start making plans for next year and can't quite get into the right frame of mind for it yet.
By this time the cow/calf market had tanked. Thank goodness we had contracted MOST of our calves in June for a price well above what it was at shipping time in October. Shipping is always stressful no matter how smoothly it goes.....hmm, has it ever gone smoothly?! see blog post here
By November I remember M saying "we still have two months of this year to get through?" see blog post here
That was about the time he came home after the umpteenth day of fencing and said that he discovered his post pounder had an automatic shutoff. Really? "Yep, when I can't lift it over a post anymore I know it's time to quit". Hmm....
And then, Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. Talk about NASCAR depression!!
Finally, we made it to December and through December with a great adventure to cap off the year. see blog post here
We really do have a lot to be thankful for and appreciate what we have and who we have in our lives. It is just a lot easier to be positive on some days than others. That's why I plan to do a journal and/or jar to each week add a note with a good thing that happened. I saw the idea on Facebook and thought it was a great one since it's too easy to focus on the bad things that happen....and in our business there seem to be a lot of those!
It's been a good week for me since I've been spending time with my favorite littles.
Sunday, December 27, 2015
A Great Adventure
We were supposed to see Merle Haggard on our first night there, but he ended up in the hospital so we went to the rodeo instead. We had to find seats at the last minute and they were really great seats--lower level to the side of the bucking chutes. The rodeo was excellent! The next night we went again. Our seats were upper level but still good. We went dancing at the rodeo after party one night and to Gilley's the other night.
The next night we went to see Brooks and Dunn and Reba McEntire who were awesome. I've always been a big fan of Brooks and Dunn so was happy I got to see them.
We met friends afterward at the rodeo after party and stayed out a bit too late so the next day was kind of low-key. We went down to Fremont street and wandered around and then rode the zoom line. That was really fun. I've always wanted to zip line.
From there we went to Arizona to celebrate my mom's 90th birthday. All three of my sisters were there and one of my brothers. We were supposed to go on a hot air balloon ride on Saturday but the weather didn't cooperate so we went bowling instead and then went out dancing. On Sunday we had cake for her at church and then an open house at my sister's house. It was fun to meet her friends and put faces to names.
 |
| The crew of favorites |
 |
| The perfect cake--so many books, so little time. |
From there we went to a Christmas concert put on by my sister's choir. She made sure I sat where I could watch the harpist. I've always wanted a harp and have vowed that some day I'll have one of my own! I love Christmas music, and it really helped put me in the mood for the holiday.
The rescheduled balloon ride was rescheduled again, and by then two of my sisters had gone home. The only reason I was thankful for a late flight home. It was a pretty cold ride, but it was memorable and so fun! Entry and exit was a bit interesting, but we discovered that Mom is pretty agile for a 90-year-old. We are so blessed to have her in such good shape mentally and physically.
 |
| Me and my mommy, waiting for our ride. |
 | |
| Ready to go! |
 |
| The view from 4000 feet |
 |
| Cheers! We did it! |
The weather was unseasonably warm when we left home, but winter arrived while we were gone. There was a big storm the day before we got back to Billings so our pickup was covered with snow, and the roads home were a bit interesting, but we made it home safely. Junior was so glad to see us--as we were to see him! That's the worst part of traveling, leaving the dog behind.
We've been enjoying the Thievin Seven Days of Christmas this week with M's family. It's a bit cold so today is a good day to hang around the house enjoying some hot cider and some down time and talk about our great adventure.
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
The Great Breakout
We have around 100 heifer calves in our pens right now. They'll feed them for awhile and whittle that number down once they decide how many they want to keep for replacements. We've had rain and snow but above-freezing temps so the pens have been pretty mucky. We have a grassy area adjacent to the pens where we can let them out. M and R have done a lot of work on that area so that it's all wood corral or windbreak except for three gates that are wire reinforced with stays. M was feeling bad for the calves being in the muck so he decided to let them out the other day. He was a bit concerned because they are still a bit spooky but gave it a try. R's girlfriend came home from work Friday night and as she was closing the metal swinging gate something spooked them and they ran headlong into one of the wire fences. They hit it so hard that the post broke and the gate fell down and they headed south. R was there quickly and locked in the few that remained and tried to find where the others had gone. They went up the hill and through a fence, but it was too dark to do anything but hope they didn't blow through too many fences before they settled down.
M wasn't home at the time, and I was the bearer of the good news when he did get home. Man, was he mad! Neither of us slept very well that night, worried about where they might have gone, and were up early and out of the house as soon as the sun was up to try to find them. We thought they would head to the cows, but there were no gates down or holes in fences and no sign of them there. We finally spotted 11 (of 60 to 70). We started pushing them toward home with the pickup and got them just about there when they circled and spread out and headed the wrong direction. At that point I went to get a 4-wheeler and M grabbed a bale to try to entice them without too much luck. Then we went to get a few cows to move with them. That wasn't so easy either since the cows didn't want to leave the herd. Finally, we got a few cows to move and R rounded up the calves for the second time and the two groups met and moved easily home. So far, so good....except we were still missing 50 to 60 head.
M was wondering where to look first and R said "just follow the holes in the fences", but there was really just one hole. From there they headed south and east and found an open gate that led to a small pasture and then to a water corral. I had gone south into the neighbor's pasture but just got up the hill, looked east and saw them so went to join R to push them home. I always say that M wants to do things the hard way before trying the easy way to see if it will work. He didn't think we'd be able to push them home without some cows along, but that would have been a few miles for the cows and more work for us. R and I were able to push them home without much trouble. We were trying to push them slowly so M would have time to get gates and panels ready before we got there. That wasn't so easy, and he barely had enough time. They are going to have to have some time to settle down so probably won't be granted release again until after Christmas.
We were hoping to haul cull cows to market last week, but the roads were too wet and we couldn't get trucks and trailers in and out so they finally were hauled out today. We had some rain overnight with some ice, but it wasn't too slick. We didn't want to have to feed them all for another week.
I'm still hoping for bad weather (well, almost) so I can pin M down to do some paperwork. I made him a to-do list today so we'll see how that goes. We have a vacation planned in December so a lot of that stuff has to get done before that. Wish us luck!
M wasn't home at the time, and I was the bearer of the good news when he did get home. Man, was he mad! Neither of us slept very well that night, worried about where they might have gone, and were up early and out of the house as soon as the sun was up to try to find them. We thought they would head to the cows, but there were no gates down or holes in fences and no sign of them there. We finally spotted 11 (of 60 to 70). We started pushing them toward home with the pickup and got them just about there when they circled and spread out and headed the wrong direction. At that point I went to get a 4-wheeler and M grabbed a bale to try to entice them without too much luck. Then we went to get a few cows to move with them. That wasn't so easy either since the cows didn't want to leave the herd. Finally, we got a few cows to move and R rounded up the calves for the second time and the two groups met and moved easily home. So far, so good....except we were still missing 50 to 60 head.
M was wondering where to look first and R said "just follow the holes in the fences", but there was really just one hole. From there they headed south and east and found an open gate that led to a small pasture and then to a water corral. I had gone south into the neighbor's pasture but just got up the hill, looked east and saw them so went to join R to push them home. I always say that M wants to do things the hard way before trying the easy way to see if it will work. He didn't think we'd be able to push them home without some cows along, but that would have been a few miles for the cows and more work for us. R and I were able to push them home without much trouble. We were trying to push them slowly so M would have time to get gates and panels ready before we got there. That wasn't so easy, and he barely had enough time. They are going to have to have some time to settle down so probably won't be granted release again until after Christmas.
We were hoping to haul cull cows to market last week, but the roads were too wet and we couldn't get trucks and trailers in and out so they finally were hauled out today. We had some rain overnight with some ice, but it wasn't too slick. We didn't want to have to feed them all for another week.
I'm still hoping for bad weather (well, almost) so I can pin M down to do some paperwork. I made him a to-do list today so we'll see how that goes. We have a vacation planned in December so a lot of that stuff has to get done before that. Wish us luck!
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Shipping Day!
Wow, it's been a busy weekend, and we are exhausted. The week(s) leading up to shipping day are a little stressful....especially when it coincides with hunting season. We had all our cows moved close to home and really didn't want a hunter to leave a gate open somewhere. M was doing gate checks a couple of times a day for the past week.
The work started on Tuesday when the guys moved our younger cows and calves home. It was a windy, cold, wet day, but I was willing to go help if they thought they needed me. I never did get the call (thank goodness) and M was SO cold when he got home. Then Thursday afternoon we moved the big bunch home. Actually, they kind of moved themselves when they heard M start the tractor to put some bales out. We only had to chase in a few stragglers.
After we were done there we headed cross-country to the neighbor's to grab their stock trailer and take a tractor over to move some dirt and put some bales out there. He has a nice corral setup and a portable scale so we're able to ship right out of there. It's so nice to be able to do that.
The cattle market has gone south since we contracted so we were a little concerned that the buyer would back out (we've heard stories of that happening) or trucks wouldn't show up or something. We were relieved when he called our neighbor on Thursday night to confirm, but he did say that he'd only have two trucks on Friday and the other two wouldn't be there until Saturday. As long as we were "weighed and paid" we could work with that.
We had to get everything in Friday morning, sort off the cows and then sort the calves by sex. Complicate that by having some of our neighbors calves, some share calves, and cull cows to cut off. Complicate it more by having a gate come open and a bunch of steer calves get mixed up with the heifer calves that we wanted to keep for replacements. Then we had to haul by trailer-loads cross-country to the neighbor's. Thankfully, I got out of most of the sorting because I had to go with the first load to keep a count of the neighbor's calves, the share calve and our calves.
By the time we got all of ours sorted and over to the scale, the trucks were loaded (3 actually showed up instead of 2) and the checks were written it was 4:00. I think we are starting to have too many calves to do it the way we are now.
Then I ran home, took a quick shower and headed to town to babysit Sawyer. I was a little afraid that I'd be ready for bed before her. We had tons of fun and I got home about 2:00 am.
M let me sleep in a bit on Saturday while he went to Richland to meet the last trucker and show him where to go. I called him when I got up and he said to come over in 45 minutes because we were preg testing the neighbor's cows. How about an hour and a half? I had stuff to do, was moving slow, and it was cold and windy so I didn't want to go out. They didn't really need my help anyway, but I did show up. We were done with that job by 1:00. Then we had lunch and we helped the neighbors pack up to head back to Harlem, relieved that the weekend was over.
Today M made me go help him do cow chores since R was gone hauling calves for C's step-kids. I didn't want to go, but it was a nicer day than I thought. And, I got back at him by making him help me do some things outside when we got back.
We can't let up now, though. Tomorrow they have to move our replacement heifers and bulls closer to home (and I have to get the calf check to the bank!). Wednesday they have cull cows to haul to the sale in Glasgow and Thursday they have calves to haul for another neighbor. Then, maybe we can rest a little.
The work started on Tuesday when the guys moved our younger cows and calves home. It was a windy, cold, wet day, but I was willing to go help if they thought they needed me. I never did get the call (thank goodness) and M was SO cold when he got home. Then Thursday afternoon we moved the big bunch home. Actually, they kind of moved themselves when they heard M start the tractor to put some bales out. We only had to chase in a few stragglers.
After we were done there we headed cross-country to the neighbor's to grab their stock trailer and take a tractor over to move some dirt and put some bales out there. He has a nice corral setup and a portable scale so we're able to ship right out of there. It's so nice to be able to do that.
The cattle market has gone south since we contracted so we were a little concerned that the buyer would back out (we've heard stories of that happening) or trucks wouldn't show up or something. We were relieved when he called our neighbor on Thursday night to confirm, but he did say that he'd only have two trucks on Friday and the other two wouldn't be there until Saturday. As long as we were "weighed and paid" we could work with that.
We had to get everything in Friday morning, sort off the cows and then sort the calves by sex. Complicate that by having some of our neighbors calves, some share calves, and cull cows to cut off. Complicate it more by having a gate come open and a bunch of steer calves get mixed up with the heifer calves that we wanted to keep for replacements. Then we had to haul by trailer-loads cross-country to the neighbor's. Thankfully, I got out of most of the sorting because I had to go with the first load to keep a count of the neighbor's calves, the share calve and our calves.
By the time we got all of ours sorted and over to the scale, the trucks were loaded (3 actually showed up instead of 2) and the checks were written it was 4:00. I think we are starting to have too many calves to do it the way we are now.
Then I ran home, took a quick shower and headed to town to babysit Sawyer. I was a little afraid that I'd be ready for bed before her. We had tons of fun and I got home about 2:00 am.
M let me sleep in a bit on Saturday while he went to Richland to meet the last trucker and show him where to go. I called him when I got up and he said to come over in 45 minutes because we were preg testing the neighbor's cows. How about an hour and a half? I had stuff to do, was moving slow, and it was cold and windy so I didn't want to go out. They didn't really need my help anyway, but I did show up. We were done with that job by 1:00. Then we had lunch and we helped the neighbors pack up to head back to Harlem, relieved that the weekend was over.
Today M made me go help him do cow chores since R was gone hauling calves for C's step-kids. I didn't want to go, but it was a nicer day than I thought. And, I got back at him by making him help me do some things outside when we got back.
We can't let up now, though. Tomorrow they have to move our replacement heifers and bulls closer to home (and I have to get the calf check to the bank!). Wednesday they have cull cows to haul to the sale in Glasgow and Thursday they have calves to haul for another neighbor. Then, maybe we can rest a little.
Saturday, October 31, 2015
A Day That Will Live in Infamy....for me
My father died today,
A piece of me is gone.
He no longer walks the earth
But so much of him lives on.
He left so many things behind.
I wear his scowl, his eyes, his hair.
And when I gaze upon my son,
I see my father there.
He made me laugh, he made me cry,
He made me mad, but strong.
He showed me how to live a life
And taught me right from wrong.
I know he loved me fiercely,
The way he held my hand told me it's true.
And when we saw a little girl,
With tears he whispered, "she looks like you."
His last words to me were
"It's okay, don't cry".
Mine to him should have been
"My love for you won't die".
I miss my daddy........
A piece of me is gone.
He no longer walks the earth
But so much of him lives on.
He left so many things behind.
I wear his scowl, his eyes, his hair.
And when I gaze upon my son,
I see my father there.
He made me laugh, he made me cry,
He made me mad, but strong.
He showed me how to live a life
And taught me right from wrong.
I know he loved me fiercely,
The way he held my hand told me it's true.
And when we saw a little girl,
With tears he whispered, "she looks like you."
His last words to me were
"It's okay, don't cry".
Mine to him should have been
"My love for you won't die".
I miss my daddy........
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
More Cow Stuff
We've been busy, busy, busy with cow stuff. We normally preg test our cows the day after we ship calves, but we also help with the neighbor's at that time so it gets to be a bit much. Since harvest was finished early we decided to preg test at the same time we vaccinated calves. The vet was happy to do it earlier as that helped him out, too.
First we had to get them all moved closer to home. The first group we moved was over at Opheim. I pulled our old loading chute over and wondered if it was going to make the trip. M has been dragging his feet on buying a new one since we only use it once a year. My brother and dad built the corral that we work out of over there many moons ago, and it is showing it's age. Of course, the herd was at the far end of the pasture, but we got them in without too much trouble. The guys debated about whether they would separate the calves from the cows which we normally do but decided not to bother. The first group was a bit reluctant to get up the chute and onto the truck so I was trying to prod them along and all of a sudden one cow jumped right through our old loading chute. Progress ground to a halt while we tried to find wood to repair the gaping hole in the chute and get the cow back in the pen. It was finally repaired, and we continued to load the truck. Since the cows and calves weren't separated, M had to gate them in the trailer so we ended up not being able to get them all on the truck. That meant we had to cram two bulls in the front of the small stock trailer and then get some calves in and hope to have room in the back to get a 4-wheeler in. We did it, but it was a tight fit. Then we had to unload all the fencing stuff from the back of the pickup so we could load the other 4-wheeler in it.
We hauled everything to our neighbor's corrals and then M and I trailed them up to our fields while R went to dump off the bulls. From there we rode the 4-wheelers to the pasture where the big herd was to get them moved into a closer pasture. M had opened the gate a few days earlier and moved the mineral tubs to see if they would move themselves, but we had to do a sweep to be sure there was nothing left in the far pasture. I haven't been around that pasture much so was a bit concerned about getting lost when M went one way and told me to go another. I wasn't sure where I could cross the coulee so was happy when I met up with R. The only animals we saw were some mule deer bucks. I think R is planning to go back there when hunting season opens. There were some nice ones in there. I was a little nervous riding those hills with the sun in my eyes, just hoping I wouldn't fall in a hole or off a cliff.
The next day I had an appointment in Glasgow so missed out on trailing the next group from Richland north to our fields. When we moved them across the highway to the south we had one that wouldn't cross. Thankfully, she had gotten over her fear of the highway when she had to cross on the way back and the move went smoothly....even without me.
We were scheduled to preg test on Sunday and the vet wanted to start at 8 am. That meant we had to do some rounding up on Saturday.....in the wind and rain. Poor M was really the only one that got really wet. I was in a pickup and R was in the Ranger which has a cab. First we moved the small bunch to the corrals at the neighbor's where we were going to work and then moved the big herd to the fields where the small bunch had been. The big herd had been hugging the fence line wanting to move west anyway so we just had to let the fence down and get out of the way as they streamed in. We did have to round up a few and push them in the right direction, but it wasn't too difficult. I felt bad for M and volunteered to ride the 4-wheeler back so he could warm up in the pickup. I was surprised how wet I got on the short ride.
Thankfully, Sunday's weather was better. Kind of damp but not really raining. The vet is always late and this time was no exception. In his defense, he spun out on a big hill trying to pull the hydraulic chute up and J had to go rescue him. He had another place to go to when he was done with us so he whipped through 300 cows pretty fast....especially when he could see rain heading our way from the south. Our new bulls apparently did their job well and someone is going to be very busy in March since the majority of the cows will calve in the first cycle. Hope we don't have a major snow storm then!
The vet left and then we had 300 calves to vaccinate. That is always challenging since they don't go through the chute quite so easily. R and Tigh worked hard pushing them through. By the time we were done it had started to rain again and we still had to move the pairs west to the fields. This time it was Tigh who got wet since M was in the pickup checking gates, R was in the Ranger and J was in his Can-Am which at least has a roof.
We settled in to eat some chili and warm up, but looked out the windows and saw cows coming back. M went to investigate, but it was getting close to dark so there wasn't much he could do. As we were heading home we noticed that the cows had broken down a gate. Apparently they weren't all paired up and were looking for their calves. Another time I was happy that I was going to be at work the next day and didn't have to deal with getting that all straightened out. It took M and R a few hours to get them all to where they were supposed to be.
The weather has been so nice that M and R have been doing a lot of corral and fence work. Some of it is repair work and some is remodeling. It seems that every year M comes up with a plan to make working cows a little bit easier. Then today the pump for the cow water went out....something that had to be dealt with immediately. It's always something.
I am almost wishing for the weather to get bad so that we can maybe get away and do something else for a few days. I said almost......
First we had to get them all moved closer to home. The first group we moved was over at Opheim. I pulled our old loading chute over and wondered if it was going to make the trip. M has been dragging his feet on buying a new one since we only use it once a year. My brother and dad built the corral that we work out of over there many moons ago, and it is showing it's age. Of course, the herd was at the far end of the pasture, but we got them in without too much trouble. The guys debated about whether they would separate the calves from the cows which we normally do but decided not to bother. The first group was a bit reluctant to get up the chute and onto the truck so I was trying to prod them along and all of a sudden one cow jumped right through our old loading chute. Progress ground to a halt while we tried to find wood to repair the gaping hole in the chute and get the cow back in the pen. It was finally repaired, and we continued to load the truck. Since the cows and calves weren't separated, M had to gate them in the trailer so we ended up not being able to get them all on the truck. That meant we had to cram two bulls in the front of the small stock trailer and then get some calves in and hope to have room in the back to get a 4-wheeler in. We did it, but it was a tight fit. Then we had to unload all the fencing stuff from the back of the pickup so we could load the other 4-wheeler in it.
We hauled everything to our neighbor's corrals and then M and I trailed them up to our fields while R went to dump off the bulls. From there we rode the 4-wheelers to the pasture where the big herd was to get them moved into a closer pasture. M had opened the gate a few days earlier and moved the mineral tubs to see if they would move themselves, but we had to do a sweep to be sure there was nothing left in the far pasture. I haven't been around that pasture much so was a bit concerned about getting lost when M went one way and told me to go another. I wasn't sure where I could cross the coulee so was happy when I met up with R. The only animals we saw were some mule deer bucks. I think R is planning to go back there when hunting season opens. There were some nice ones in there. I was a little nervous riding those hills with the sun in my eyes, just hoping I wouldn't fall in a hole or off a cliff.
The next day I had an appointment in Glasgow so missed out on trailing the next group from Richland north to our fields. When we moved them across the highway to the south we had one that wouldn't cross. Thankfully, she had gotten over her fear of the highway when she had to cross on the way back and the move went smoothly....even without me.
We were scheduled to preg test on Sunday and the vet wanted to start at 8 am. That meant we had to do some rounding up on Saturday.....in the wind and rain. Poor M was really the only one that got really wet. I was in a pickup and R was in the Ranger which has a cab. First we moved the small bunch to the corrals at the neighbor's where we were going to work and then moved the big herd to the fields where the small bunch had been. The big herd had been hugging the fence line wanting to move west anyway so we just had to let the fence down and get out of the way as they streamed in. We did have to round up a few and push them in the right direction, but it wasn't too difficult. I felt bad for M and volunteered to ride the 4-wheeler back so he could warm up in the pickup. I was surprised how wet I got on the short ride.
Thankfully, Sunday's weather was better. Kind of damp but not really raining. The vet is always late and this time was no exception. In his defense, he spun out on a big hill trying to pull the hydraulic chute up and J had to go rescue him. He had another place to go to when he was done with us so he whipped through 300 cows pretty fast....especially when he could see rain heading our way from the south. Our new bulls apparently did their job well and someone is going to be very busy in March since the majority of the cows will calve in the first cycle. Hope we don't have a major snow storm then!
The vet left and then we had 300 calves to vaccinate. That is always challenging since they don't go through the chute quite so easily. R and Tigh worked hard pushing them through. By the time we were done it had started to rain again and we still had to move the pairs west to the fields. This time it was Tigh who got wet since M was in the pickup checking gates, R was in the Ranger and J was in his Can-Am which at least has a roof.
We settled in to eat some chili and warm up, but looked out the windows and saw cows coming back. M went to investigate, but it was getting close to dark so there wasn't much he could do. As we were heading home we noticed that the cows had broken down a gate. Apparently they weren't all paired up and were looking for their calves. Another time I was happy that I was going to be at work the next day and didn't have to deal with getting that all straightened out. It took M and R a few hours to get them all to where they were supposed to be.
The weather has been so nice that M and R have been doing a lot of corral and fence work. Some of it is repair work and some is remodeling. It seems that every year M comes up with a plan to make working cows a little bit easier. Then today the pump for the cow water went out....something that had to be dealt with immediately. It's always something.
I am almost wishing for the weather to get bad so that we can maybe get away and do something else for a few days. I said almost......
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)