I wish there were more days like this! After helping Farmer Rick get a good start on milking, my first lesson pulled into the driveway. Off we went to the horse barn!
We saddled up and headed out down the road. We had several stops to make, so we scooted right along. It was a planned trip. I want my students to be able to handle their horses in many situations outside of an arena. A horse can be a completely different animal once removed from the confines of an enclosed space. Since I had several invitations to drop off to surrounding neighbors, it would be a good opportunity for my student to encounter barking, sniffing dogs, scary horse-eating items in yards, and curious kids. Although this particular student and I have ridden on the road before, it would be a good opportunity for her to experience mounting and dismounting on a horse that has one thing on its mind - green grass and buddies at home. But we survived the trip, horses acted up a couple of times, but we managed to keep things to a low roar. 3 hours.
Once home, Farmerette saddled up her gelding and we both headed out in the opposite direction from home and delivered invitations in that direction. We had a wonderful ride. 2 hours.
After loosening the cinch on my mare and putting her in an empty stall for a few minutes' rest, I headed to the house for a quick bite to eat. Once lunch was done, my mare and I let the cows out on the hayfield for a couple hours of grazing. What a beautiful day! The sun was warm on our back, the cows were rather content - most stayed away from the road. My mare was able to get in several mouthfuls of tasty green grass once the cows were settled down - all was good. After two hours of grass munching, the cows were ready to come back to the night pasture and rest in the sunshine before being brought in for milking. My mare was unsaddled and out to her own pasture in a quick five minutes. 2 hours.
So, after seven hours saddle time, I was ready for a little break from the action before evening milking, but as I headed down the driveway, Farmer Rick pointed to the tracted and cornpicker and asked for some help. So the dog and I jumped in the cab of the tractor and headed out to the field. Four loads later, it was time for evening milking. But as tired as I was, who could complain after spending the most enjoyable day in quite some time - in the saddle on a good horse, on a beautiful sunny day.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
That Darn Cow!!
Sunday Morning. Yep. One eye on the clock, one eye on the chores.
All of the cows came quietly into the barn. It was a nice calm morning, no wind, no rain. All the cows but one. For the purposes of this blog and being polite, let's call her "Red" rather than what we would have liked to call her by the end of the morning.
Once all of the herd had filed into their tie stalls, we started chores. Red didn't come in. But we rather expected that. She has developed quite a hatred for our new border collie puppy. Those two just do not see eye to eye, and I think our puppy likes to rub it in. One bark and off to the woods goes Red. We had left Sadie (puppy) in the milkhouse while cows came in, just to make sure that she would not upset Red. But even with Sadie safely tucked away, Red still stood at the gate furthest from the barn just staring at me as I walked out the door to bring her around. Well, do you remember the story from your Sunday School days about when Jesus cast the demons out of the man on the seashore? The demons went into the pigs and they went crashing over the bluff into the sea. So when Red saw me come out the door, she stared me down, then took off like a bullet, straight across the cow yard, crashed through four 2 x 6 x 16 boards on the fence, shattering each one, then proceded to rip across the recently harvest cornfield towards the woods. The old dog managed to head her off before she got there, but we spent the next 20 minutes weaving in and out of machinery that's lined up along the fenceline out back. I've never seen so much burdock, pigweek, buttoneweed, and all kinds of prickly weeds! I became a walking magnet, getting stuck and prickled with every kind of weed barb imaginable! There were so many weed seeds and pricklies stuck to me when we finally came out of there (without the cow, of course) that I think there should be enough dispersed around the farm to provide us with plenty of weeds throughout the fields next year.
Four wheelers are wonderful.
If it had not been for needing to get to church right away, I would've saddled up and gone after Red. But in the interest of time, I jumped on the four wheeler and headed out to the prickly weed patch once again. By the time I got there, the old border collie had rounded her up, (by way of passing through two 4-strand barb wire fences) and had her safely in the night pasture, munching hay with the bred heifers.
So, all in all, we managed to clean up, head up to church, only arriving 10 minutes late. Only one bad thing - when you get there late, the only seats are guess where? Way up front! Oh No! What happens to an exhausted farmer when you plunk them down in a soft comfortable chair with nothing to do but sit in one place for 45 to 60 minutes after putting in a full day's work before 9 am? You guessed it! Lights out!
All of the cows came quietly into the barn. It was a nice calm morning, no wind, no rain. All the cows but one. For the purposes of this blog and being polite, let's call her "Red" rather than what we would have liked to call her by the end of the morning.
Once all of the herd had filed into their tie stalls, we started chores. Red didn't come in. But we rather expected that. She has developed quite a hatred for our new border collie puppy. Those two just do not see eye to eye, and I think our puppy likes to rub it in. One bark and off to the woods goes Red. We had left Sadie (puppy) in the milkhouse while cows came in, just to make sure that she would not upset Red. But even with Sadie safely tucked away, Red still stood at the gate furthest from the barn just staring at me as I walked out the door to bring her around. Well, do you remember the story from your Sunday School days about when Jesus cast the demons out of the man on the seashore? The demons went into the pigs and they went crashing over the bluff into the sea. So when Red saw me come out the door, she stared me down, then took off like a bullet, straight across the cow yard, crashed through four 2 x 6 x 16 boards on the fence, shattering each one, then proceded to rip across the recently harvest cornfield towards the woods. The old dog managed to head her off before she got there, but we spent the next 20 minutes weaving in and out of machinery that's lined up along the fenceline out back. I've never seen so much burdock, pigweek, buttoneweed, and all kinds of prickly weeds! I became a walking magnet, getting stuck and prickled with every kind of weed barb imaginable! There were so many weed seeds and pricklies stuck to me when we finally came out of there (without the cow, of course) that I think there should be enough dispersed around the farm to provide us with plenty of weeds throughout the fields next year.
Four wheelers are wonderful.
If it had not been for needing to get to church right away, I would've saddled up and gone after Red. But in the interest of time, I jumped on the four wheeler and headed out to the prickly weed patch once again. By the time I got there, the old border collie had rounded her up, (by way of passing through two 4-strand barb wire fences) and had her safely in the night pasture, munching hay with the bred heifers.
So, all in all, we managed to clean up, head up to church, only arriving 10 minutes late. Only one bad thing - when you get there late, the only seats are guess where? Way up front! Oh No! What happens to an exhausted farmer when you plunk them down in a soft comfortable chair with nothing to do but sit in one place for 45 to 60 minutes after putting in a full day's work before 9 am? You guessed it! Lights out!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Heifers are Home for the Winter
The trailer backed up to the barn door for the last time yesterday. We've been busy bringing a load or two of heifers home from across the road each day. Summer pasture has dwindled, so it's time to bring them home so they can keep growing on silage and hay.
For the fifth straight year now, we've been averaging 80% heifers! Sure, it can be a blessing, but when your land can only support so many cows, it can be a challenge making sure that we have enough feed. We are very thankful that we have them though, because this has been a hard year on our older cows. We just shipped two yesterday that we didn't want to try to baby through another winter. One had a broken bone in her foot. She limped quite bit during the summer, but the limp was undistinguishable by early Fall. We were afraid she'd have a hard time getting up and down when they spend more time in the barn this winter. I hate having to make the decision to ship any cow, but we have to make room for the next generation to take over.
One of the heifers that we brought home is actually due in a week. She sure doesn't look like it -and boy is she ever touchy! We have her in the barn now, trying to get her used to the daily routine of hearing the milkers run, stepping in beside her to milk her neighbor, and so on. She sure likes the silage - that's a big help!
Time to head to the barn - then head out to the hayfield to graze the herd by horseback two hours before getting ready for work. One more week of grazing the old hayfield and it'll be done. The horses always look forward to taking the herd out. Once the cows are contendly munching, my horse gets to graze the grass along the edges of the field. He sure enjoys that!
For the fifth straight year now, we've been averaging 80% heifers! Sure, it can be a blessing, but when your land can only support so many cows, it can be a challenge making sure that we have enough feed. We are very thankful that we have them though, because this has been a hard year on our older cows. We just shipped two yesterday that we didn't want to try to baby through another winter. One had a broken bone in her foot. She limped quite bit during the summer, but the limp was undistinguishable by early Fall. We were afraid she'd have a hard time getting up and down when they spend more time in the barn this winter. I hate having to make the decision to ship any cow, but we have to make room for the next generation to take over.
One of the heifers that we brought home is actually due in a week. She sure doesn't look like it -and boy is she ever touchy! We have her in the barn now, trying to get her used to the daily routine of hearing the milkers run, stepping in beside her to milk her neighbor, and so on. She sure likes the silage - that's a big help!
Time to head to the barn - then head out to the hayfield to graze the herd by horseback two hours before getting ready for work. One more week of grazing the old hayfield and it'll be done. The horses always look forward to taking the herd out. Once the cows are contendly munching, my horse gets to graze the grass along the edges of the field. He sure enjoys that!
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Weather's turning Colder!
The first mention of snow is in the forecast. Brrrr! We have stocked the woodpile and filled the barn with hay. Farmer Rick mentioned that he would like to cut one more field of hay and try to get it in before the snow flies. We'll be stuffing it in the rafters!
The horses are putting on their winter coats. Thick and fluffy. I've noticed that the wooly bear caterpillars are more brown than black - I believe that signals a cold winter. We also made note of the corn husks. They are wrapped rather tight this year. That usually indicates a cold winter also. We'll see!
The corn picker will soon be coming out of the shed and get greased up. In the meantime, we're busily working on the north end of the dairy barn to seal it up, replace a door and two upright beams so it'll be ready for winter. Anybody who's had cattle knows how hard they are on barns. Just take three large cows that are in a hurry to get out the door to their pasture, or a couple of heifers using the doorposts as scratching posts - and you know what I mean. There's always something to fix or repair on a farm. Seems like there's always more projects that there is time or money! The Greenhand farmer is finding that out really quick. Things don't stay nice and pretty for very long. It takes constant upkeep to have things looking neat as a pin. Take general home repairs and multiply by the number of cattle in your barn and that will just about bring you to a running total of how many repairs there are to do around a farm at any given time. Pigs are also very hard on barns, gates, and any dirt floor. There's a very good reason why many hog farms have concrete floors - pigs are notorious for rooting up gates and fences. Every once in awhile one of the big sows gets out and gets into my flower beds. Time to call the dogs and put her back in her pen!
Stay warm. Take the time to smell that crisp fall air and find one more decent apple on the tree before the cold winds blow!
The horses are putting on their winter coats. Thick and fluffy. I've noticed that the wooly bear caterpillars are more brown than black - I believe that signals a cold winter. We also made note of the corn husks. They are wrapped rather tight this year. That usually indicates a cold winter also. We'll see!
The corn picker will soon be coming out of the shed and get greased up. In the meantime, we're busily working on the north end of the dairy barn to seal it up, replace a door and two upright beams so it'll be ready for winter. Anybody who's had cattle knows how hard they are on barns. Just take three large cows that are in a hurry to get out the door to their pasture, or a couple of heifers using the doorposts as scratching posts - and you know what I mean. There's always something to fix or repair on a farm. Seems like there's always more projects that there is time or money! The Greenhand farmer is finding that out really quick. Things don't stay nice and pretty for very long. It takes constant upkeep to have things looking neat as a pin. Take general home repairs and multiply by the number of cattle in your barn and that will just about bring you to a running total of how many repairs there are to do around a farm at any given time. Pigs are also very hard on barns, gates, and any dirt floor. There's a very good reason why many hog farms have concrete floors - pigs are notorious for rooting up gates and fences. Every once in awhile one of the big sows gets out and gets into my flower beds. Time to call the dogs and put her back in her pen!
Stay warm. Take the time to smell that crisp fall air and find one more decent apple on the tree before the cold winds blow!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Sweet Corn Season is Here!
Wow, has the summer ever gone by fast! We've had hay to bale, corn to spray and cultivate, the county fair, and now - sweet corn to pick and sell! What started out fourteen years ago as a pocket change enterprise for our young boys, has grown into an 18 acre, hand-picked undertaking every August. When milk prices were so low, we needed a niche market to help to strengthen our cash flow. Once we got the business off of the ground, and God blessed it, there was no looking back. We have a great crew of pickers that helps us out. They show up every evening at milking time to head to the field to begin filling the three trucks. On nice evenings, the picking goes fast. There have been times, though, when we've really had to hurry up to beat an incoming storm, or when the boys were still in school - Friday night football games! Farmer Rick and I used to be able to do it all when they were still around the farm, but now that they're grown, we need the help. Farmerette is a big help too, but she is often helping me milk while the crew is picking.
The cows are quite happy too at this time of year because they get the sweet corn silage and leftovers from the day dumped in their feed wagon in the night pasture. Once they see Farmer Rick head out to the field to begin chopping, they begin to sing a chorus of moo's and sometimes get rather impatient as I try to finish up milking before he returns! If the sweet corn starts to ripen faster than we can use it, we will chop off an additional row or two to keep up with the younger corn. So, as the season progresses, we pick our way across the field, closely followed by the corn chopper for feed for the cows. We try not to waste anything on the farm.
I remember a saying from the oldtimer's: "We used everything from the pig but the squeal".
Boy, is that ever true. Even though milk prices have improved over the last couple of months, we know that they won't last long. Having an extra income for six short weeks of the year is a tremendous help in paying off planting expenses and catching up on other bills before the milk price takes a dive again. We are very, very thankful that God has blessed our efforts and continues to provide us with a means to continue this life that we love!
The cows are quite happy too at this time of year because they get the sweet corn silage and leftovers from the day dumped in their feed wagon in the night pasture. Once they see Farmer Rick head out to the field to begin chopping, they begin to sing a chorus of moo's and sometimes get rather impatient as I try to finish up milking before he returns! If the sweet corn starts to ripen faster than we can use it, we will chop off an additional row or two to keep up with the younger corn. So, as the season progresses, we pick our way across the field, closely followed by the corn chopper for feed for the cows. We try not to waste anything on the farm.
I remember a saying from the oldtimer's: "We used everything from the pig but the squeal".
Boy, is that ever true. Even though milk prices have improved over the last couple of months, we know that they won't last long. Having an extra income for six short weeks of the year is a tremendous help in paying off planting expenses and catching up on other bills before the milk price takes a dive again. We are very, very thankful that God has blessed our efforts and continues to provide us with a means to continue this life that we love!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
IT IS SO HOT!!
It's been a week now of very very hot weather. Keeping the cows cool and healthy is a daily (and nightly) challenge. When it's this hot, we keep the cows in during the day and run the funnel fans over them, just to try to keep them somewhat comfortable. If we put them outside, they just stand at the gate and don't go munch grass. They'll then come in the barn, just panting. Sounds like we're in for atleast a few more days of this.
Hay is down, trying to dry. With it this humid, it's rather hard to coax it along to dry. But second crop needs to be in the haymow already, so it gets cut, whether it's going to dry fast or not. There is a chance of rain today, so we'll see if the hay gets washed or not! Rain has been falling rather heavily all around us, but there's a little area in our southern part of the county and the neighboring county that has missed the rain every time. Although I hate to see the hay get rained on, we could use it! It's rather depressing to see the rain go north, the rain go south. Rain goes north, rain goes south. Every time.
But we continue to trust that God will bring us the rain when he's good and ready. He has carried us this far - what else can we do but trust?
Hay is down, trying to dry. With it this humid, it's rather hard to coax it along to dry. But second crop needs to be in the haymow already, so it gets cut, whether it's going to dry fast or not. There is a chance of rain today, so we'll see if the hay gets washed or not! Rain has been falling rather heavily all around us, but there's a little area in our southern part of the county and the neighboring county that has missed the rain every time. Although I hate to see the hay get rained on, we could use it! It's rather depressing to see the rain go north, the rain go south. Rain goes north, rain goes south. Every time.
But we continue to trust that God will bring us the rain when he's good and ready. He has carried us this far - what else can we do but trust?
Monday, July 4, 2011
Summer on a Farm
Blog or pull a calf. Blog or try to get 2000 bales of hay in the barn before the rain hits. Blog or cultivate corn. Blog or fertilize hayfields.
Summer hits with all of its many seasonal duties that consume the day before the beginning until way beyond the end. Everytime I would try to sit down to write a quick note on the page, there would always be something looming over my shoulder that needed doing, and the keyboard would get left for days on end.
But here's a quick snapshot of how things have been going: Cows are enjoying their daily trek to the woods and swamp for their pasture. Farmerette and I love taking a walk through the woods, calling the cows up for evening milking. Usually they are already at the gate, but occaisionally they straggle in, wanting to get that last bit of grass before heading to the barn. Evenings find them outside now, too. The weather has been rather hot, so since we have some leftover hay bales that didn't make it into the haymow, we put several on a wagon at night for them to munch on. As much as I love walking to the woods to bring cows up at night, it's no fun looking for them early in the morning in the dark! So by feeding them the hay on a wagon at night, they stay close and don't wander off to the woods.
First crop of hay is up. Silo is filled and haymow is half full to the peak of the roof. Second and third crop should fill the remaining section of the barn to the roofpeak if we get enough rain. Spent most of the day after church yesterday cultivating corn. There is much to learn from cultivating. Patience, diligence, staying awake! One thing that I'm often reminded of, is that when cultivating with a four row implement, when you get off by one row, it just doesn't affect that one row, but it affects all four rows! I hate turning corn under by mistake! Not many farmers cultivate anymore with the price of diesel and the time it takes, but we have found that it works very well for us. Since we use a very limited amount of spray on our land, going through and cultivating reduces our weed populations and gives the corn an extra boost. It's almost like applying another application of fertilizer! Many times, just looking at the field the day after it's been cultivated and it looks like it's jumped six inches!
We will soon be broadcasting nitrogen on the corn - should have been done already, but we're running behind due to a knee injury of Farmer Rick. He may need surgery, but we'll know more soon. That will slow us down even more. When he's laid up, I have the full load of chores. Getting up for morning milking at 4:30 am, trying to be to work at 8 am on the days I work, coming home and organizing neighborhood kids to help me unload hay, milk again, clean stalls, do all of the other feeding and cleaning barn, getting in the house by 11:30 pm, showering and getting back up at 4:30 takes its toll. June has been a very long month and it's really drawing my energy level down. Hope to get caught up on things eventually.
Cows are waiting at the gate for morning milking, two are due to calve this week, hay to bale and three more fields to cultivate today - even though it's a holiday for most - the work still goes on on a farm. Maybe we'll get in town tonight for the fireworks - atleast they're after dark and most of our work (for the day) is done by then!
Summer hits with all of its many seasonal duties that consume the day before the beginning until way beyond the end. Everytime I would try to sit down to write a quick note on the page, there would always be something looming over my shoulder that needed doing, and the keyboard would get left for days on end.
But here's a quick snapshot of how things have been going: Cows are enjoying their daily trek to the woods and swamp for their pasture. Farmerette and I love taking a walk through the woods, calling the cows up for evening milking. Usually they are already at the gate, but occaisionally they straggle in, wanting to get that last bit of grass before heading to the barn. Evenings find them outside now, too. The weather has been rather hot, so since we have some leftover hay bales that didn't make it into the haymow, we put several on a wagon at night for them to munch on. As much as I love walking to the woods to bring cows up at night, it's no fun looking for them early in the morning in the dark! So by feeding them the hay on a wagon at night, they stay close and don't wander off to the woods.
First crop of hay is up. Silo is filled and haymow is half full to the peak of the roof. Second and third crop should fill the remaining section of the barn to the roofpeak if we get enough rain. Spent most of the day after church yesterday cultivating corn. There is much to learn from cultivating. Patience, diligence, staying awake! One thing that I'm often reminded of, is that when cultivating with a four row implement, when you get off by one row, it just doesn't affect that one row, but it affects all four rows! I hate turning corn under by mistake! Not many farmers cultivate anymore with the price of diesel and the time it takes, but we have found that it works very well for us. Since we use a very limited amount of spray on our land, going through and cultivating reduces our weed populations and gives the corn an extra boost. It's almost like applying another application of fertilizer! Many times, just looking at the field the day after it's been cultivated and it looks like it's jumped six inches!
We will soon be broadcasting nitrogen on the corn - should have been done already, but we're running behind due to a knee injury of Farmer Rick. He may need surgery, but we'll know more soon. That will slow us down even more. When he's laid up, I have the full load of chores. Getting up for morning milking at 4:30 am, trying to be to work at 8 am on the days I work, coming home and organizing neighborhood kids to help me unload hay, milk again, clean stalls, do all of the other feeding and cleaning barn, getting in the house by 11:30 pm, showering and getting back up at 4:30 takes its toll. June has been a very long month and it's really drawing my energy level down. Hope to get caught up on things eventually.
Cows are waiting at the gate for morning milking, two are due to calve this week, hay to bale and three more fields to cultivate today - even though it's a holiday for most - the work still goes on on a farm. Maybe we'll get in town tonight for the fireworks - atleast they're after dark and most of our work (for the day) is done by then!
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