From Bad to Worse

Today was our first real cold day of the winter, about -10 this morning, and it did not go well.  M went out to start his bale pickup and the battery was dead.  So, he started another pickup so he could use it to jump start the bale pickup.  It started but wouldn't come out of park.  He let it run awhile thinking that maybe if it warmed up it would go into gear--not!  Then he started our good pickup which was in the garage, backed it out and jump started the bale pickup.  I was watching out the window and told him I didn't think the hood on our good pickup was latched.  It wasn't, and it won't latch.  Something is wrong with the cable that runs from the cab.  Not sure how we're going to fix that.  By that time M was a bit upset and cursing the weather.

We went to do cow chores and found all the cows at home crowded around the wind break.  M finally felt sorry for them and rolled out a couple of bales of hay.  The pickup died, and we had a moment of panic that it wouldn't start again, but it did.  A friend showed up to look at some pasture so he and M took off to do that.  I was really hoping they wouldn't get stuck somewhere.  I didn't want to go rescue them.

They came back for lunch and to watch the Cat-Griz game.  The Cats (our team from Montana State) were leading the conference (undefeated in conference play) and ranked #1 in the nation.  The Griz are from the University of Montana and if they won would share the conference championship with the Cats.  It is a HUGE rivalry in the state, and we Bobcat fans are a bit outnumbered (but a lot nicer).  Anyway, the game went from bad to worse and the Cats lost--at home to the rotten Grizzlies.  Ruined our whole day!

After the game we put a light fixture in our kitchen that we had gotten in Rapid City a month ago.  We are trying to find something to replace our fluorescent fixtures and are not having much luck.  We don't think these are going to give enough light so we may be back to square one.  I think it's time for wine......

First Winter Rescue

Just before dark on Friday I got a call from M and heard the dreaded words, "I'm stuck.  Come get me."  He had been out and about checking on some hunters and got stuck in a coulee where the snow had blown in.  He had been across it the day before, even pulling an auger, but it had warmed up enough that the snow was soft and slick.  As he tried to come up the other side he spun and was sucked sideways into the deep stuff.  So deep that he could barely get the door open.  When I came upon him I wasn't sure where he wanted me to go so tried to stop and also slid sideways.  I was dangerously close to also being stuck (and walking home in the dark), but with much cursing he managed to get the second pickup out, and we went back to the farm to get a tractor.  M plowed a track through the snow with the tractor and then pulled the pickup out backwards.

I tried to lighten the mood by commenting that we do such fun things together, but I'm afraid if it's starting already it could be a really long winter!  I think about how many times R rescued M last winter and with him gone that leaves me.  I don't think that's a comforting thought for either of us.  M had better be more careful!

Snow!

We had a drastic change in the weather over the weekend with our first snow--and not just a skiff but several inches along with enough wind to create some drifts.  We were not impressed.  We were up early on Sunday morning with the phone ringing.  M had loads of cows and calves to haul and the owners were calling to discuss the roads and weather.  We did our cow chores and discovered one of the waterers was starting to freeze up so M had to get that figured out (which he did) before he took off in the truck.  Since I was dressed for the weather I decided I might as well shovel the drift off the driveway.  As it turned out, I did it way too soon since it continued to snow lightly most of the day.

The snow made for an interesting drive to work on Monday morning.  First I had to get out of the yard with my car.  I made the mistake of stopping to close our gate and couldn't get going again with the slight hill.  I had to back up and take another run at it before I made it out.  The highway was icy in spots--very icy, in fact.  I felt like I didn't have my winter legs under me so it was a nervous drive to town.  Thankfullly, the sun was out and the road had cleared off by the time I headed home.

They looked pretty good for November.....

What a difference a day makes.

Monday was the first day in many months that M didn't have a plan for his day.  He almost begged me to tell him what to do (not really, but it sounded good).  He actually worked on some paperwork without me having to drag him to his desk.  We did more of that on Tuesday morning.  I wondered aloud about when farming got so complicated between crop insurance reports, state land reports and government program documentation.

Tuesday afternoon we hauled some old couches out of our basement to the dumpster and headed to R's house to get it winterized and bring his couch (that he made me buy from him when he left) home.  It made me sad all over again going to his empty house.  M was a bit frustrated that I was not good help with the heavy lifting, but we managed to get everything loaded and unloaded.

Today M was back in the truck so I was on cow chore duty.  It was a beautiful day to be out.  I like to stand at the gate and wait for the heifer calves to come check me out.  I've already picked out my favorites. They are a bit curious, and sometimes they'll come up and lick my hands.  It's also fascinating to watch them stick their tongues up their noses.  Makes me laugh anyway.  Yeah, it's the little things.

Taking Advantage of a Nice Day

We have a feeling that our nice days are dwindling down so we're trying to take advantage while we can.  I spent the day cleaning out some of the outbuildings.  I hauled sacks of aluminum cans to town along with empty feed sacks and boxes that had just gotten thrown in the quonset.  Then I tackled our garage.  I've been waiting for help but realized that wasn't going to happen so I dug in.  I threw away some boxes and other junk, moved things around and swept it all out.  It'll probably look good for a week or so.

M has been super busy hauling cows and calves and seeding grass in some CRP for the neighbor.  He attempted to seed some grass near our place, got 6 acres in and got stuck so I guess that project is on hold for awhile.  He's been a bit panicked about getting the seeding done before it gets really cold but should be able to finish tomorrow.  I often ask him if the words "over-extended" mean anything to him.  I did actually hear him tell someone "no" on the phone this morning and was surprised.  Trust me, that doesn't often happen (only when I ask for something).

There are plenty of items still on the fall to-do list so we're really hoping the weather holds out a little longer.

Tribute to My Daddy

On this day seven years ago I lost my dad to cancer.  It was a day a lot like this one, gray and cool, and I'll remember it forever.  No one asked if I was ready to let him go, but I definitely wasn't.  I'm too much like him, not a talker, and I'm sorry that he and I didn't have more time to do more connecting.  I've been thinking lately, though, about how many things are ingrained in me from my childhood that I never thought about or realized before.  Like not driving in a field.  We do it a lot around here for various reasons, but it always bothers me and my family thinks it's funny.  And not driving over a gate, always pulling it out of the way.  Other people might not understand, but I find it so interesting to think about how the lessons learned as a child stick with you.  Makes me hopeful that maybe something I tried to teach my children actually stuck with them.

As we were having a glass of wine to toast my dad's life, M said he didn't think my siblings really appreciate how much our son is like my father.  I often say that I have a whole new appreciation for my grandmother after raising J who is the spitting image of my dad in so many ways.  If I ever wonder what my dad would say about something, I just have to ask J.  He looks like him, he thinks like him, he acts like him in so many ways.  He can make things and fix things, works hard, is loyal and stubborn, just like my dad.

My dad was smart and taught me a lot.  He would make me do math problems in my head all the time.  He was tough but I eventually realized that he was a softie underneath and his bark was worse than his bite.  Some of my favorite memories are of him carrying me up to bed when I was little and would fall asleep curled up in a chair and the way he held my hand and told me not to cry on my last visit to him.  He loved us fiercely but had definite ideas about how we should behave.  We all grew into strong people who call a spade a spade just like he did.  Someone I once worked with said my "bullshit meter" was too acute, meaning I just didn't deal well with the frivolous.  I inherited that from my dad.  Several of my siblings and I also inherited the "Buster look."  Many times he didn't have to say anything to us, just give us the look, and we knew we were in trouble.  I think we all probably inherited his heavy foot on the accelerator.

We used to joke that no man was ever good enough for his daughters.  He was a worrier, always wanting us to be happy and successful.  I was lucky because he and M had a great relationship and respect for each other eventhough he didn't want me to marry a farmer.  They had a lot in common and would talk for hours.  When M and I were dating I would meet him at the door or outside because if he came in he and my dad would talk and talk and we'd never go out!  I used to say that my dad liked M better than me, but I was his little girl so that couldn't have been true.

My dad, to me, was always a bit larger than life, and I was in awe of him.  He'd be gruff and tough one minute and the next he was buying something from a guy on the street because that guy needed some cash.  He liked adventure and fun and had lots of stories to tell.  I tried to get him to record some stories so we'd always have them, but he never did do it. 

Sometimes it seems like he just left us, and sometimes it feels like he's been gone so long.  I think of him every day and wish he was here because I still have so much to learn from him.  I just wasn't done with him yet.  Rest in peace, Daddy, I love you.

Cow Days

The past few days have been dominated by cows.  On Friday we continued to work on making sure the barn and corrals were ready.  R and M's sister (Pam) arrived from Rapid City to help with the calf shipping.  M put everyone to work.  R and I worked on repairing the windbreak that was broken by snow, Pam helped with digging post holes, J and Jared finished cleaning manure out of the corral and set up the new chute.  P supervised all the work.  M finally put in the short alley way from a back pen to the barn--he'd been thinking about it for awhile, just hadn't had time to do it.  We put in a new post and hung a gate that had to swing two ways and it turned out just perfect.  He was pretty impressed with himself that it worked just like he had envisioned it.  When R saw what he was doing he wondered why he hadn't done it sooner as it would have made his life a lot easier during the winter.  We decided that it would a good time to get everyone together for our annual post-harvest family dinner so off we went to Dutch Henry's Club in Peerless.

Saturday was spent rounding up cows, one group from the west and one group from the east, into holding pens at the barn.  J brought out his new toy, a Can-Am Commander side-by-side.  We weren't sure he'd use it to chase cows but he did and took Pam along for the ride.  R and Jared were on 4-wheelers and M and I were in the pickup.  When we finished we went to the neighbor's to get their stock trailer.  They had gotten their cows rounded up, too, so we had a couple of drinks with them.  Holly brought wine for me but didn't have a corkscrew.  We ended up opening the bottle with a big screw and a vise-grip.  I wish I would have gotten a picture of that.

Sunday was show time to get the calves cut off from the cows, separated as to steers and heifers (boys and girls) and shipped out.  We had a lot of good help--C, his stepson, Neill, J, Jared, R, Pam, M and me--and it went pretty smoothly.  We sold our calves with the neighbor's and he purchased a portable scale this year so we trailered our calves to his place to be weighed and viewed by the buyer.  He didn't cut any back so must have liked the looks of them.  Our weights were down this year probably because of the slow start the calves had after the rough winter and wet spring.  The steers go to a feedlot in South Dakota and the heifers are staying in Montana to be bred.  Our neighbor's wife, Holly, is like a walking grocery store and had donuts, sandwiches, chips, cookies, pop, apples and candy available for everyone who helped.  There were over 20 people there at times.  The beer came out once all the trucks were loaded and all the work was done.  It occurred to me that it was like harvest in one day instead of six weeks.

Last year we shipped on Talladega race day.  All I asked for this year was that that not happen again.  It did, however.  C and Pam sat in the pickup and listened to it on the radio so the rest of us got periodic updates.

We went back to our place to brand R's heifers since we didn't get it done in the spring.  He had 13 and one was supposed to be mine because he didn't want the white one.  We kept her because she has a good mother so she's got potential.  We saved her for last.  I am in the process of getting my dad's brand transferred to me, but it's not done yet so we couldn't put my brand on her.  I told M he could put his brand on her, but he said we could wait and then proceeded to put R's brand on her--oops!  I told R that's what I always do, sacrifice for my children.

M branding R's heifer

Why is R smiling?  Because my heifer just got his brand on it!

Yesterday was another busy day with pregnancy testing.  We started at the neighbor's and worked about 300 head, had Holly's chili for lunch and then tested our 150 head.  R was hoping he could stay long enough to see his heifers checked, but he and Pam had to take off to head back to South Dakota before we got to his animals.  He was joking that he half hoped one of them was open so he could sell it and have some ready cash rather than waiting another year to have calves to sell.  When one of his heifers turned out to be open (not pregnant) the vet thought he'd be funny and paint a dollar sign on her back.  We got photos to send to R.

The "money heifer".  Yes, it was snowing this morning!

We had a friend come help us since we knew R had to leave right after lunch.  Everyone was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and there was a lot of joking and laughing going on.  The friend commented later that he didn't know working cows could be so much fun--we had a great group of helpers.

This morning I had orders to check on the cows and the heifer calves we're keeping to make sure they were all where they were supposed to be.  A lot of the cows weren't too concerned about their babies being gone but some were still hanging around the corral.  Since it was snowing (ugh) I put the 4-wheelers inside and did a few other chores. We were so lucky that the weather was good and the snow held off while we had so much going on.  This afternoon after M got back from hauling a load of calves I went to help him sort out the open cows that he will take to Glasgow to sell.

It's a good thing my husband loves me in Carhartts and Muck boots since that's all I've been in for the past week.  And yes, diamond earrings go with that.

The To-Do List

We are busy working on the fall to-do list.  At the top of the list right now is getting the barn and corrals ready for shipping calves on Sunday.  Yesterday M was cleaning the corral while I did some mowing in front of the barn.  There was grass up to our necks in places around the farm, and it looked so nice mowed that I did a little more and a little more.  I could still do more but that may have to wait.  It was like a little treasure hunt, too.  I was very careful trying to get through the tall grass and didn't hit anything but found a tiling spade, a steel fence post, a wooden handle, and several pieces of wood.  I also did some mowing around our gate at the main road.  We are remembering last winter and don't want to have anything for the snow to build up in.

Today we worked on the barn and corrals.  We had a cow do some damage inside the barn this spring and the snow do some damage to some of the other shelter.  We had to put a new support pole in the barn, we put a quick latch on one of the gates that gets a lot of use when we're sorting, repaired some shelters by replacing some wood that was broken by the snow and wind, and hung a new gate.  Of course, M did the heavy lifting and hole digging.  I was more the finder, runner and holder.  He needs someone with more muscle than me for a lot of what we did today.

Of course, on our last little project just before we were ready to head home M smashed a finger.  We're not sure there's enough Aleve in the house for the both of us tonight!