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.
Sunday, November 1, 2015
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......
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Cow Stuff
We officially finished harvesting on the 14th. C worked on picking up the last weedy stuff that they had swathed and J finished it up. They had helped a couple of neighbors finish in between working on our last few acres. It's a good feeling to be done. M had been throwing around the idea of seeding some winter wheat especially after we got a 1/4" of rain but ultimately decided it wasn't a good idea and he wanted to be done farming for the year. We do have a few acres to spray still.
We were very happy to switch gears and do some cow stuff. First up was pregnancy testing our heifers. We like to have them ultrasounded to determine their approximate due date and to do that accurately they have to be done in the first 90 days of pregnancy, and ours were right at that point. We (or the vet) picked a beautiful day to be out working cows with a day that wasn't too cold or too hot or too windy. A rare day in our world.
Our nephew and his friend from Rapid City were here for a week so they got in on the fun. The first order of business was getting the heifers moved home. It can sometimes be an adventure to get them out of their pasture as there is a coulee that can only be crossed on foot, and they are generally on the wrong side of it. M took a bale on the pickup to try to lure them across if that was the case. Lucky for us they were on the right side of the coulee and didn't even try to hide in the tree grove as they sometimes do. So the move home was uneventful.
We had several hours to kill until the vet was scheduled to arrive so we mowed and cleaned up around the barn. The 4-foot weeds in front of the barn door were unsightly and in the way. We then headed to our house for lunch. When we got back to the barn after lunch there were heifers everywhere. We had left the gate between the holding pen and the corrals open so they could make their way in, but we had also left the barn doors open. Ordinarily the gate in the barn would be closed, but the last one through it didn't close it (blame it on the rookies from the city) so the heifers, who are curious things, found their way into the corral then into the barn and then out the other barn door and into the yard. Not much of a problem, however, since they were used to being fed in the corral all winter and ran right in as soon as someone opened the right gate.
The preg testing went pretty smoothly and we were pretty happy with the results of our artificial inseminating. We've got some nice looking heifers. It's hard to judge their size until we get them in the chute, and then we realized they are considerably bigger than last year's crop. We pulled the bulls out and took them to the bull pasture and then trailed the heifers back to their pasture. We plan to test the rest of the herd later in the month.
A few days ago our neighbor was ready to move his cows from CRP up to graze his hailed out pea and lentil fields so we helped with that. It was a bit of a chilly morning so I dug out my hat with ear-flaps. I was not taking a chance on being cold out there! The first cold snap takes a little getting used to. Again, we didn't have much wind so it was actually a pretty nice morning to be out on the prairie.
I finally had time to go to my mom's place to mow. Thankfully, the grass wasn't too high so it wasn't a bad job, but it sure looked nice when I got it done. As I was mowing an airplane buzzed me a couple of times. It was my brother who flew in for the weekend. An airplane overhead always takes me back to my childhood when my dad flew all the time. It was great to have a visit with my brother. He's such a great guy, and I don't see him nearly often enough.
We've had a couple of deaths in our elderly extended family in the past couple of weeks so have had some time with M's side of the family, and last night we attended a wedding for one of R's childhood friends so we've been out and about a lot more than is normal for us. I guess it's good connect once in a while. We forget that sometimes.
We were very happy to switch gears and do some cow stuff. First up was pregnancy testing our heifers. We like to have them ultrasounded to determine their approximate due date and to do that accurately they have to be done in the first 90 days of pregnancy, and ours were right at that point. We (or the vet) picked a beautiful day to be out working cows with a day that wasn't too cold or too hot or too windy. A rare day in our world.
Our nephew and his friend from Rapid City were here for a week so they got in on the fun. The first order of business was getting the heifers moved home. It can sometimes be an adventure to get them out of their pasture as there is a coulee that can only be crossed on foot, and they are generally on the wrong side of it. M took a bale on the pickup to try to lure them across if that was the case. Lucky for us they were on the right side of the coulee and didn't even try to hide in the tree grove as they sometimes do. So the move home was uneventful.
We had several hours to kill until the vet was scheduled to arrive so we mowed and cleaned up around the barn. The 4-foot weeds in front of the barn door were unsightly and in the way. We then headed to our house for lunch. When we got back to the barn after lunch there were heifers everywhere. We had left the gate between the holding pen and the corrals open so they could make their way in, but we had also left the barn doors open. Ordinarily the gate in the barn would be closed, but the last one through it didn't close it (blame it on the rookies from the city) so the heifers, who are curious things, found their way into the corral then into the barn and then out the other barn door and into the yard. Not much of a problem, however, since they were used to being fed in the corral all winter and ran right in as soon as someone opened the right gate.
The preg testing went pretty smoothly and we were pretty happy with the results of our artificial inseminating. We've got some nice looking heifers. It's hard to judge their size until we get them in the chute, and then we realized they are considerably bigger than last year's crop. We pulled the bulls out and took them to the bull pasture and then trailed the heifers back to their pasture. We plan to test the rest of the herd later in the month.
A few days ago our neighbor was ready to move his cows from CRP up to graze his hailed out pea and lentil fields so we helped with that. It was a bit of a chilly morning so I dug out my hat with ear-flaps. I was not taking a chance on being cold out there! The first cold snap takes a little getting used to. Again, we didn't have much wind so it was actually a pretty nice morning to be out on the prairie.
I finally had time to go to my mom's place to mow. Thankfully, the grass wasn't too high so it wasn't a bad job, but it sure looked nice when I got it done. As I was mowing an airplane buzzed me a couple of times. It was my brother who flew in for the weekend. An airplane overhead always takes me back to my childhood when my dad flew all the time. It was great to have a visit with my brother. He's such a great guy, and I don't see him nearly often enough.
We've had a couple of deaths in our elderly extended family in the past couple of weeks so have had some time with M's side of the family, and last night we attended a wedding for one of R's childhood friends so we've been out and about a lot more than is normal for us. I guess it's good connect once in a while. We forget that sometimes.
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
A Big Mess
Harvest is winding down, thank goodness, but we can't say we're done yet. The guys are still helping some neighbors, and we have a little bit of our own left. A year like this one just creates a mess. No matter how dry it is the weeds seem to do just fine. In fact, in a dry year they can be more of a problem since there is less competition from the crops that are struggling. So, since we received close to 4" of rain with the hailstorm, the weeds have taken off....along with all the shelled out grain on the ground. The result is that our fields are almost greener now than they were in June. I keep joking that if the weather holds we could cut a second crop. In reality, the sprayer is going to be really busy and will have to cover every acre...possibly twice, to conserve soil moisture and avoid a mess in the spring.
The weeds also create a problem in the fields yet to be harvested, making it more difficult to cut and raising the moisture of the grain. And that is why we can't say we're finished. We have some acres planted to a new variety of certified wheat and M is hoping to get some seed back. He tried to cut it last week but the weeds were too much of a problem. If they spray it with Roundup to kill the weeds it kills the germination of the wheat so it won't be any good for seed. So, they are waiting a bit to see if the weeds dry up some so they can get those last few acres cut.
There was a big rain in the forecast for last weekend so we had a few calls from neighbors asking us to help them finish up. One neighbor had had a heart attack so J went to help his son for a couple of days while M went to help another neighbor. Our time with the rental combine is up now, though, so M is without a ride. And then, the predicted 2" of rain ended up only being 0.2" here. Gave us time to go watch Jared play football, though.
I was happy to put away my harvest lunch gear, but I didn't get off so easy. Last week M was running around cleaning up some hailed out wheat and asked me to follow him with the grain cart. That consisted of a little bit of driving and A LOT of sitting! M's selling point on the plan was that we could have a nice picnic in the field; however, it took him longer than he thought to finish the piece he was on so we ended up eating our picnic lunch at home before heading west. Everyone else had better things to do so I didn't mind helping out. We didn't get home until dark so it was a long afternoon. Good thing C suggested that I take two books along. I was halfway through one and finished it and started the second.
You would think that we could take a breath and relax for a minute but that is not the case. R is off hauling bales, J and C have been spraying, and M has had a lot of things going on including trying to get everything lined up for our crop insurance claims. Our nephew from South Dakota is here this week so we're trying to keep him busy and hopefully we'll work on some of the fire debris cleanup.
I've been ready to get back to cow stuff and will be getting my wish when we pregnancy test our heifers tomorrow. Yay!
The weeds also create a problem in the fields yet to be harvested, making it more difficult to cut and raising the moisture of the grain. And that is why we can't say we're finished. We have some acres planted to a new variety of certified wheat and M is hoping to get some seed back. He tried to cut it last week but the weeds were too much of a problem. If they spray it with Roundup to kill the weeds it kills the germination of the wheat so it won't be any good for seed. So, they are waiting a bit to see if the weeds dry up some so they can get those last few acres cut.
There was a big rain in the forecast for last weekend so we had a few calls from neighbors asking us to help them finish up. One neighbor had had a heart attack so J went to help his son for a couple of days while M went to help another neighbor. Our time with the rental combine is up now, though, so M is without a ride. And then, the predicted 2" of rain ended up only being 0.2" here. Gave us time to go watch Jared play football, though.
I was happy to put away my harvest lunch gear, but I didn't get off so easy. Last week M was running around cleaning up some hailed out wheat and asked me to follow him with the grain cart. That consisted of a little bit of driving and A LOT of sitting! M's selling point on the plan was that we could have a nice picnic in the field; however, it took him longer than he thought to finish the piece he was on so we ended up eating our picnic lunch at home before heading west. Everyone else had better things to do so I didn't mind helping out. We didn't get home until dark so it was a long afternoon. Good thing C suggested that I take two books along. I was halfway through one and finished it and started the second.
You would think that we could take a breath and relax for a minute but that is not the case. R is off hauling bales, J and C have been spraying, and M has had a lot of things going on including trying to get everything lined up for our crop insurance claims. Our nephew from South Dakota is here this week so we're trying to keep him busy and hopefully we'll work on some of the fire debris cleanup.
I've been ready to get back to cow stuff and will be getting my wish when we pregnancy test our heifers tomorrow. Yay!
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Heifers and Harvest
We are plugging along with harvest. It's been kind of depressing since everything they've been cutting has been damaged by hail and/or laid over by wind. They have finished with all the lentils and are cutting wheat now. M and R swathed some of the wheat and baled it up to use for straw.
We've had a few weather delays during which we took time to do some cow stuff and some cleaning. We had some painters coming to paint the fire-damaged grain bin. There was a lot of fencing supplies stacked around it so all that needed to be moved. R had taken our Polaris Ranger to Miles City to get it worked on so he missed out on all the fun. It was a hot, humid day after some rain and it wore us out. When we finished that project we decided we'd better move the heifers since we didn't know when we'd get another chance. That actually went a lot more smoothly than we thought it might although the stupid things seem to have a hard time going through a gate once they get to one.
We also needed to move our two big bunches of cows and pull the bulls off. It was super hot last week so we were up at 5 to try to beat the heat. There is a small holding pen that can be accessed from two pastures. The day before, M and R set up panels to make an alleyway to run the bulls up and into the trailer. They had also brought my 4-wheeler up the day before so while M took me to get it R started rounding up the first group of cows. They were headed toward the gate when we had a breakaway of about 6 pairs--all were cows we were pasturing for our neighbor. M and I and Junior got them rounded up and back to the gate. Before we started, M had told me that I needed to be inside the gate so that they didn't head up the coulee when they got through the gate. However, I was there too late and just inside the gate there's a drop off so that I couldn't get around in front to head them off. At least not without breaking my neck! Finally R got there to help me and we got them turned before they got too far and sent them to the holding pen. Junior helped get the breakaway pairs headed back in the right direction and then I didn't see him again. I thought he was with M, but he wasn't. I was concerned that he had gotten kicked and was hurt lying in the pasture somewhere, but no, he was laying under the pickup at the holding pen. Sometimes he gets confused as to who he should listen to or help when M and I are both out riding so we wondered if he just gave up and found some shade. I also wondered if he was not feeling well since he had thrown up a little before we headed out.
They had the bulls sorted off in no time and the cows and calves kicked out in to the pasture by 7:30. Their panel set up worked really well and R said it was almost too easy. I was hoping that statement wouldn't come back to haunt him. M took off with the trailer to haul the bulls to a different pasture and R and I and Junior went to round up the next bunch. Junior was very helpful this time in getting the cows away from the water since he could go where we couldn't get to with the 4-wheelers. He got a bit sidetracked, though, and had to lay in the water a few times. We had that group of cows in by 8:30 and R headed home to get to the field while M and I took those bulls to their pasture. We also had to move salt and mineral tubs and the oilers and check some gates. He had been telling me about a rock formation that the neighbors carved their initials in when they were kids and we were finally in the area so he showed it to me. The carvings look pretty good for being there for 85 years!
M loves being out on the prairie with his cows and I had the distinct impression that he was dragging his feet and didn't want to go back to his combine. He finally did, though.
I don't mind working with our cows, but I get a little miffed when I have to chase someone else's. One Saturday I had been out in the field all afternoon helping the guys get moved from one place to another. I was hot and tired and wanted to have a shower, a glass of wine and put my feet up. When I got close to home I noticed cows heading up the drive toward my yard. I was not happy! As soon as I got to the yard I started honking my horn and chasing them and they headed south. Our neighbor is renting some of his pasture to a friend who had had a fire on some of his land and needed a place for his cows. Our neighbor assured him that they would check the fence so he didn't have to worry about it. Ha! They never check their fences. The neighbors were at a wedding so R got in touch with the owner and he came (from quite a distance) and got them back in just before dark. I was happy that I had gotten home before dark and gotten them out of my yard! M said he was hoping they would have broken a flower pot and gotten me really fired up. I did leave the neighbor a voice mail as I was chasing cows down our wheat field in my Jeep. Funny, he never did call me back. I did notice that someone was up fencing the next morning, and I haven't see a strange cow near my place lately.
I don't seem to get much done around home these days between making lunches, hauling lunches, cleaning up from making lunches and being on call whenever someone needs a ride or a part or fuel. (It's taken me three sessions to get this blog post done) At least I don't have to be out there for hours and hours day after day. I really don't know how they do it, especially on a year like this one where they are just cutting crap.
I was really happy to have some time with the grandkids. They make me smile every day.
We've had a few weather delays during which we took time to do some cow stuff and some cleaning. We had some painters coming to paint the fire-damaged grain bin. There was a lot of fencing supplies stacked around it so all that needed to be moved. R had taken our Polaris Ranger to Miles City to get it worked on so he missed out on all the fun. It was a hot, humid day after some rain and it wore us out. When we finished that project we decided we'd better move the heifers since we didn't know when we'd get another chance. That actually went a lot more smoothly than we thought it might although the stupid things seem to have a hard time going through a gate once they get to one.
We also needed to move our two big bunches of cows and pull the bulls off. It was super hot last week so we were up at 5 to try to beat the heat. There is a small holding pen that can be accessed from two pastures. The day before, M and R set up panels to make an alleyway to run the bulls up and into the trailer. They had also brought my 4-wheeler up the day before so while M took me to get it R started rounding up the first group of cows. They were headed toward the gate when we had a breakaway of about 6 pairs--all were cows we were pasturing for our neighbor. M and I and Junior got them rounded up and back to the gate. Before we started, M had told me that I needed to be inside the gate so that they didn't head up the coulee when they got through the gate. However, I was there too late and just inside the gate there's a drop off so that I couldn't get around in front to head them off. At least not without breaking my neck! Finally R got there to help me and we got them turned before they got too far and sent them to the holding pen. Junior helped get the breakaway pairs headed back in the right direction and then I didn't see him again. I thought he was with M, but he wasn't. I was concerned that he had gotten kicked and was hurt lying in the pasture somewhere, but no, he was laying under the pickup at the holding pen. Sometimes he gets confused as to who he should listen to or help when M and I are both out riding so we wondered if he just gave up and found some shade. I also wondered if he was not feeling well since he had thrown up a little before we headed out.
M and R sorting out the bulls
The bulls in their pasture. I had to take a photo because it's greener than it's been all summer.
Odd for August.
They had the bulls sorted off in no time and the cows and calves kicked out in to the pasture by 7:30. Their panel set up worked really well and R said it was almost too easy. I was hoping that statement wouldn't come back to haunt him. M took off with the trailer to haul the bulls to a different pasture and R and I and Junior went to round up the next bunch. Junior was very helpful this time in getting the cows away from the water since he could go where we couldn't get to with the 4-wheelers. He got a bit sidetracked, though, and had to lay in the water a few times. We had that group of cows in by 8:30 and R headed home to get to the field while M and I took those bulls to their pasture. We also had to move salt and mineral tubs and the oilers and check some gates. He had been telling me about a rock formation that the neighbors carved their initials in when they were kids and we were finally in the area so he showed it to me. The carvings look pretty good for being there for 85 years!
M loves being out on the prairie with his cows and I had the distinct impression that he was dragging his feet and didn't want to go back to his combine. He finally did, though.
I don't mind working with our cows, but I get a little miffed when I have to chase someone else's. One Saturday I had been out in the field all afternoon helping the guys get moved from one place to another. I was hot and tired and wanted to have a shower, a glass of wine and put my feet up. When I got close to home I noticed cows heading up the drive toward my yard. I was not happy! As soon as I got to the yard I started honking my horn and chasing them and they headed south. Our neighbor is renting some of his pasture to a friend who had had a fire on some of his land and needed a place for his cows. Our neighbor assured him that they would check the fence so he didn't have to worry about it. Ha! They never check their fences. The neighbors were at a wedding so R got in touch with the owner and he came (from quite a distance) and got them back in just before dark. I was happy that I had gotten home before dark and gotten them out of my yard! M said he was hoping they would have broken a flower pot and gotten me really fired up. I did leave the neighbor a voice mail as I was chasing cows down our wheat field in my Jeep. Funny, he never did call me back. I did notice that someone was up fencing the next morning, and I haven't see a strange cow near my place lately.
I don't seem to get much done around home these days between making lunches, hauling lunches, cleaning up from making lunches and being on call whenever someone needs a ride or a part or fuel. (It's taken me three sessions to get this blog post done) At least I don't have to be out there for hours and hours day after day. I really don't know how they do it, especially on a year like this one where they are just cutting crap.
I was really happy to have some time with the grandkids. They make me smile every day.
And M is always happy to get a hug at the end of the day.
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Holy Water!
Wow, a lot has happened since I blogged last. My mom always lets me know when I've been slacking!
We completed our AI process which went really well, put bulls out, moved cows several times, and finished our haying. There was not much hay to be had due to the cold spring and dry summer. We didn't even cut a couple of our usual hay fields. M kept telling me to plan a trip because haying wasn't going to last long, but I knew better. The CRP opened up for emergency haying and R had a friend who bought a few cows and has no equipment to hay with so we did the haying for him for half the hay. Win-win. By the time that was finished it was time to think about harvest.
We had one good day of cutting peas, 400+ acres, on Sunday, and C started desiccating lentils. The lentil plant will keep growing even as the seeds are dry and ready to harvest so they spray to kill the plant and dry it out to make it easier to cut and keep the moisture down. They didn't get too carried away because of the weather forecast for rain on Monday and Tuesday.
I went to work on Monday and when I left work it felt so hot and sultry--one of those days when you can feel a storm coming. I got groceries, went for my weekly visit with my granddaughter and made a stop to see the in-laws. As I drove out of town heading west I noticed the sky was very ominous, enough that I was afraid of what I was driving into. I tried to call R to see if he had put his pickup inside in case we had some hail but didn't get him so I ran into Richland to check. J and Jared were still there so we put a few more vehicles inside along with our pontoon boat. They were predicting 60 mph winds, and I didn't think the boat would do very well in that! Then J had to hurry home to get some of his stuff put in.
M was home when I arrived and I suggested we put the Jeep in our shed and he moved one of our pickups behind some grain bins. Then I moved all my flower pots into the house as the wind started to really howl. We weren't in the house long before all hell broke loose and it started to rain....hard, like an inch and half in 20 minutes hard....and then the hail began to fall. That's such a horrible sound to a farmer....and a farmer's wife. We were eating supper and M couldn't finish because he was sick to his stomach. There weren't too many hailstones really but they got bigger and bigger to about marble size or slightly larger. Thankfully, the wind kind of quit when the hail was falling which probably saved our west windows. We had a neighbor who lost theirs. I'm so thankful I made it home before it hit. Our neighbor to the north said she had an amphibious vehicle because the water was over the road when she was heading home. The rain came so hard and so fast that we couldn't see a thing out our windows.
We continued to have rain through the night and most of the next day along with high winds. We heard reports of trees uprooted and grain bins laid over. M and I didn't leave the house the whole day. Just before dark the skies cleared a bit, the winds let up, and we saw a bit of sunshine.
Yesterday was a day of damage assessment. M was worried about the cows while C and J did crop assessment. We have land spread out 35 miles from east to west and most of it was hit. Only the acres near Opheim appear to be unscathed thus far. Some is a total loss, and some we're not sure about yet. Is it worth the expense of trying to combine it or maybe hay it? Then there's the problem of getting it cleaned up and ready for next year if it's not worth running the combine over it. Hail makes a mess of this year's crop and can impact the following year's crop.
Then the company we rent a combine from called to see if we still wanted it. That was kind of hard call, too. We've paid half of the fee already and they would maybe forgive the other half due to an act of God, but he decided to take it so it arrived today. J had ordered three hopper bins that we may not need now, and they could be here any day and we have to take them. Another expense we probably don't need right now. M made a decision to take hail insurance on some of the better crop, but that's not the stuff that got hailed. He's really feeling the weight of his decisions and wonders how many more years he has left in him. When I hear him talking about a job at Walmart I know he's depressed! I was proud of J this morning when we were all together and he said, "we have to make a plan, we can't just quit". He's not usually a cheerleader, but he is a man of action.
We have our heifers in a pasture just to the north of our house so M went to check on them. There's a coulee through the pasture and the fence was broken on the west end and there were four heifers out in the ditch. Nice of them to wait until it was a nicer day to get out. He got them in and made a temporary fix until he could get some more supplies, and we spent our day fencing. That was just a small hole. The big one was on the east end of the coulee. Kade and I had some fun catching frogs while R and M were doing most of the work, and the dogs had fun in the water.
From there we went north to the pasture we need to move the heifers to next and found this...
M commented on how fun it is to see your wheat crop hung up in the fence. Ugh! Just over the hill it was washed out in another spot going the other way. We just put this fence in a couple of summers ago but had to pull the posts out since most were bent one way or the other and pound in new ones and restring the wire. We weren't done for the day, either. There were a couple more spots although not as large.
This is what we found at R's. Good thing we don't need to use those gates right now.
This is what my flower bed looked like on Monday....
And this is what it looked like on Tuesday. So sad.
R had been working on the river crossings down by Richland in preparation for moving cows this week and was afraid his work would be undone. We headed there this morning anticipating some work, but that all held up. The river is high, but we were able to move the cows.
Every now and then we have one cow that won't cross the highway, and we had one of those today. They see the white line and freak, I guess. After several attempts to get her across to no avail M and R were able to get her into a corral at our neighbors. R went to get the stock trailer and we loaded her and drove her across the highway and dropped her off again. We won't have that option when we try to get them out of that pasture so I hope she gets over it.
J and his uncle-in-law (?) went to the combines this afternoon to see if they could cut some lentils; however, they made a round and barely got enough lentils to fill the moisture tester.....which is a cup or two. So, they moved out of there to try another spot. It's not going to be a fun harvest, but it looks like it could be a short one! We'll keep our heads up and keep trucking along. After all, this is "next year country".
We completed our AI process which went really well, put bulls out, moved cows several times, and finished our haying. There was not much hay to be had due to the cold spring and dry summer. We didn't even cut a couple of our usual hay fields. M kept telling me to plan a trip because haying wasn't going to last long, but I knew better. The CRP opened up for emergency haying and R had a friend who bought a few cows and has no equipment to hay with so we did the haying for him for half the hay. Win-win. By the time that was finished it was time to think about harvest.
We had one good day of cutting peas, 400+ acres, on Sunday, and C started desiccating lentils. The lentil plant will keep growing even as the seeds are dry and ready to harvest so they spray to kill the plant and dry it out to make it easier to cut and keep the moisture down. They didn't get too carried away because of the weather forecast for rain on Monday and Tuesday.
I went to work on Monday and when I left work it felt so hot and sultry--one of those days when you can feel a storm coming. I got groceries, went for my weekly visit with my granddaughter and made a stop to see the in-laws. As I drove out of town heading west I noticed the sky was very ominous, enough that I was afraid of what I was driving into. I tried to call R to see if he had put his pickup inside in case we had some hail but didn't get him so I ran into Richland to check. J and Jared were still there so we put a few more vehicles inside along with our pontoon boat. They were predicting 60 mph winds, and I didn't think the boat would do very well in that! Then J had to hurry home to get some of his stuff put in.
M was home when I arrived and I suggested we put the Jeep in our shed and he moved one of our pickups behind some grain bins. Then I moved all my flower pots into the house as the wind started to really howl. We weren't in the house long before all hell broke loose and it started to rain....hard, like an inch and half in 20 minutes hard....and then the hail began to fall. That's such a horrible sound to a farmer....and a farmer's wife. We were eating supper and M couldn't finish because he was sick to his stomach. There weren't too many hailstones really but they got bigger and bigger to about marble size or slightly larger. Thankfully, the wind kind of quit when the hail was falling which probably saved our west windows. We had a neighbor who lost theirs. I'm so thankful I made it home before it hit. Our neighbor to the north said she had an amphibious vehicle because the water was over the road when she was heading home. The rain came so hard and so fast that we couldn't see a thing out our windows.
We continued to have rain through the night and most of the next day along with high winds. We heard reports of trees uprooted and grain bins laid over. M and I didn't leave the house the whole day. Just before dark the skies cleared a bit, the winds let up, and we saw a bit of sunshine.
Yesterday was a day of damage assessment. M was worried about the cows while C and J did crop assessment. We have land spread out 35 miles from east to west and most of it was hit. Only the acres near Opheim appear to be unscathed thus far. Some is a total loss, and some we're not sure about yet. Is it worth the expense of trying to combine it or maybe hay it? Then there's the problem of getting it cleaned up and ready for next year if it's not worth running the combine over it. Hail makes a mess of this year's crop and can impact the following year's crop.
Then the company we rent a combine from called to see if we still wanted it. That was kind of hard call, too. We've paid half of the fee already and they would maybe forgive the other half due to an act of God, but he decided to take it so it arrived today. J had ordered three hopper bins that we may not need now, and they could be here any day and we have to take them. Another expense we probably don't need right now. M made a decision to take hail insurance on some of the better crop, but that's not the stuff that got hailed. He's really feeling the weight of his decisions and wonders how many more years he has left in him. When I hear him talking about a job at Walmart I know he's depressed! I was proud of J this morning when we were all together and he said, "we have to make a plan, we can't just quit". He's not usually a cheerleader, but he is a man of action.
We have our heifers in a pasture just to the north of our house so M went to check on them. There's a coulee through the pasture and the fence was broken on the west end and there were four heifers out in the ditch. Nice of them to wait until it was a nicer day to get out. He got them in and made a temporary fix until he could get some more supplies, and we spent our day fencing. That was just a small hole. The big one was on the east end of the coulee. Kade and I had some fun catching frogs while R and M were doing most of the work, and the dogs had fun in the water.
This is what we found at R's. Good thing we don't need to use those gates right now.
This is what my flower bed looked like on Monday....
And this is what it looked like on Tuesday. So sad.
R had been working on the river crossings down by Richland in preparation for moving cows this week and was afraid his work would be undone. We headed there this morning anticipating some work, but that all held up. The river is high, but we were able to move the cows.
Every now and then we have one cow that won't cross the highway, and we had one of those today. They see the white line and freak, I guess. After several attempts to get her across to no avail M and R were able to get her into a corral at our neighbors. R went to get the stock trailer and we loaded her and drove her across the highway and dropped her off again. We won't have that option when we try to get them out of that pasture so I hope she gets over it.
J and his uncle-in-law (?) went to the combines this afternoon to see if they could cut some lentils; however, they made a round and barely got enough lentils to fill the moisture tester.....which is a cup or two. So, they moved out of there to try another spot. It's not going to be a fun harvest, but it looks like it could be a short one! We'll keep our heads up and keep trucking along. After all, this is "next year country".
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