Toys for Boys

Every time J has to feed for us he and has trouble rolling out the old bales he says we need a bale processor.  A couple of weeks ago we had to stop at the John Deere dealer and they just happened to have some so we looked at them and M visited with the salesman about them.  Next thing I know there's one sitting in our yard "to try out".  We all know how that ends up, don't we?

For the uninitiated, the processor basically chops up the bale and shoots it out the side.  This one also has a bin for grain which is part of why M thinks it is a good idea.  We have 5000 bushels of pea, lentil and wheat screenings.  We grind that and feed it to the calves with buckets but don't have a good way to get it to the rest of the herd.  M's good friend and livestock guru says the cows can fill up with more pounds of food eating the chopped hay and gain better.

We've been using it for about a week.  M is happy with how his cows and calves are cleaning up the hay, even the old stuff.  I think it is a lot more hassle than rolling out bales, especially since he sends me to grab bales for him with the pickup.  The other day M said we need to make up our minds if we're going to keep it or not.  I voted no, but I'm pretty sure I don't really get a vote.  He hasn't given me the official word, but I'm pretty sure we'll be keeping it.  I think J may be sorry that he suggested we need one.

Reflections on Turning 50

Everyone keeps telling me that this is my 50th birthday.  I still believe there is a grievous math error somewhere.  I don't feel 50 (well, parts of me feel about 80) and hopefully don't look 50 :)  I have many reasons for doubting.

If I was 50,

• I wouldn't still have acne issues.
• I would have figured out what to do with my hair.
• I would be more accomplished at something.
• I would have more friends.
• I would not be so timid about some things.
• I would have a "cause".
• I would have been more places and done more things.
• I would be stronger.
• I would be "wiser".

I could probably go on and on.  I remember crying on my 40th birthday, "my life is half over and I haven't accomplished anything!"  I hope that wasn't entirely true, and I guess the list above just gives me things work on before I'm 60.

Birthdays aren't all bad--I got some great gifts and heard from a lot of people.  And, like my boss is always telling me, "birthdays aren't bad, just think of the alternative".  Plus, I'm getting closer to the senior discount, Medicare and retirement!  So, I guess I will just embrace who I am, what I've become and continue to try to be a better person.

Gifts from my siblings--pillow, blanket and mini branding iron.  I love them (the gifts and my siblings)!

Branding My Girls

After months of struggle (mostly on the part of my mom) I finally was successful in having my dad's brand transferred to me--gotta love bureaucracy (gotta love more that I spelled that right on the first try!)  It's been a few years since his brand has been on an animal, but I have always like his brand and didn't want it to be lost.  So begins my story of having my own few head of cows.  I had picked out one of last year's heifers, but it got R's brand on it by mistake--yes, I always sacrifice for my children.  So when we weaned this year's crop of heifer calves and I started feeding, I picked out two that I wanted.  One based on the mothering ability of her mother and another just because she was friendly and I liked the look of her.  Just before we were going to run the others through to brand I mentioned that there was another one that I liked because of her look and her size so M said I could have her, too.  It will be interesting to see if I am a good judge of cow flesh.

We ordered an electric branding iron (since my sister has the originals and says she MIGHT give them to me if I come to Kentucky to get them) and it finally arrived last week so this morning M decided it was time to get my girls branded.  I hated to do it and upset them as I've gotten kind of attached.  My three are always the first ones to the gate waiting for their feed, and I didn't want them to associate me with a bad experience.  They were pretty calm and didn't seem too fazed by the procedure so I think they'll be alright in a few days.

As I was hauling feed this morning I thought my dad was probably looking down on me and shaking his head in wonder that I've become the cow person that I am now just like he laughed and shook his head the first time I told him I'd been busy cleaning pig barns.  I hope he's proud of me and the work I do and that I'm carrying on his legacy and proudly displaying his brand once again.  I think it looks so good.

Catching up

My computer has been on the fritz so I've been out of touch.  It's almost sad how much I depend on the dumb thing.

Yesterday I did something that I don't think I have ever done on February 1st--rode my bicycle. That tells you what an odd winter this has been.  The temps lately have been back up into the 30s and 40s.  I even saw someone in flip-flops a couple of days ago--weird!  I heard that the groundhog says we'll have six more weeks of winter.  Six more weeks of this winter we can handle.

A few weeks ago we had to make a quick trip to Billings to see my back doctor.  I have been looking for a bicycle for a year or more--even my boss has been scouring Ebay to help me find the perfect one.  Anyway, I had recently bid on one on Ebay but didn't get it and was kind of bummed about it.  We happened to drive by a pawn shop on our way to Sears, and they had bikes hanging up outside.  M insisted that we go look at them and they had one like I had been looking for--and the price was half off.  It was meant to be mine.

Yesterday when we got back from chores it was so beautiful out with no wind, about 32 degrees but it hadn't started melting enough to get muddy so I decided to take the bike out for a little spin.  I love it!  I need to go a little farther every day so I can get in shape.  I'm sure I won't be able to do that every day in February...in Montana. 

Flat Stanley arrived at our house from Arizona a few days ago so we took him out to feed and see the cows.  We're also thinking about taking him to the Rapid City Stock Show and PRCA rodeo this weekend since we happen to be going that direction.

Flat Stanley and me out feeding

Trying to get Pete to sit still and get in the picture--didn't work too well

In the calf pen with my girls

Old Neighbors and Old Friends

Yesterday we attended a funeral for a lady who used to live just a few miles (through the hills) from us.  We farmed their place for them for a few years until they sold it to our new friends and neighbors, John and Holly, and we still farm it for them.  We've lost so many of the older folks in our neighborhood, and it's always sad to lose that history.

While at the luncheon afterward, I ran into an old friend from college.  We lived across the hall from each other in the dorm when we were freshmen.  She grew up between Scobey and Wolf Point and gets back once in awhile to visit her parents so I've seen her a few times in the years since college.  Her brother is married to the daughter of the lady who had passed away.  Yes, small world sometimes.  Anyway, we had a good visit comparing our lives, discussing empty nesting and raising boys (she has 3).  It is so fun to reconnect with someone from the past and find out about their life now.  And, best of all, she told me I hadn't aged a bit.  I think she lies....

Feels Like Winter

So much for our unseasonably warm and dry winter.  Yesterday we had all the makings of a winter day--cold temps, snow and wind.  It was about -10 when we went to feed yesterday.  I made sure I was bundled up and it wasn't so bad.  Just my toes got a little cold.  M had his weekly night out to play darts last night and it was -15 when he got home....but -24 when we got up this morning.  Brrrrrrr!!!

He had forgotten to plug in his bale pickup when he got home last night ( I distracted him with taking the grand-dog out to potty) so plugged it in first thing this morning and let it warm up for an hour or so.  And the temp warmed up to about -20 by the time we headed out.  We worked quickly and could mostly stay in the pickup except to cut the net wrap so it wasn't so bad.  Thankfully, there was no wind.

M hasn't left the house since we got back from feeding so I'm making him do some paperwork and clean out some files.  I've got to take advantage whenever I can pin him down.

J and K picked a good time to be in the Bahamas.  It's always more fun to be somewhere tropical when you know the weather is crappy at home.  Their little Piper, a Morkie puppy, is staying with us while they are gone.  Poor thing doesn't know what to do in the cold weather.  She's shivering so hard when she goes outside that she can't even begin to think about peeing, and even Pete, who doesn't like being indoors that much, is thinking the house is a good place to hang out.

Pete and Piper soaking up some sun

Feeding Frenzy

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

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

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

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