Corn Picking Time

The chill is in the air, the corn has dried down enough to pick, so off we go!  Watching the corn roll through the corn picker head and seeing the big ears drop into the gravity box is kind of exciting as we see each box fill up to the top.  Usually I'm running the picker while Farmer Rick is unloading into the elevator which takes the corn up into the corn crib.  If we fill both cribs up, we have enough for grain for the cows for about a year and a half.  This corn is ready much earlier than last year when the moisture content was so high.  We were combining our corn on Christmas Eve, trying to beat a snowstorm that was coming in.  At the top of a hill in one of our fields, the back of the combine dropped into a huge hole which turned out to be one of three bear dens in the expanse of an 18 acre field.  The back axle of the combine snapped in two and there she sat.  So on Christmas Eve, while most are sipping hot chocolate and enjoying time with family and friends, were were out in the swirling snow, down in some not so good smelling stuff (poke your nose in a bear den sometime - you'll understand!), jacking up the combine to swap in an axle that we had gotten from a neighbor's combine that was junked out sitting back in the woods.  But, the guys managed to fix her up after a full day of work and got the corn in so that we could enjoy a nice holiday.

A chilly morning indeed

By the time I get the laundry on the line before chores this morning, my fingers will probably be quite numb!  Not too many days left to hang out laundry to dry - unless I want it freeze-dried.  But it sure saves on the propane bill when every load of laundry doesn't have to go through the dryer.  Goodness knows that the money saved on propane can certainly be used somewhere else on the farm!
Once the laundry is up, the dogs and I will head to the night pasture to call the cows in.  It's really neat, and kind of spooky sometimes to see these creatures emerging from the darkness at the edge of the woods, slowly coming into view as they lumber up towards the barn.  The dogs trot from cow to cow, giving them a slight bit of encouragement to pick up the pace, or give a playful nip to those who are wanting to stay in bed just a little bit longer before they make that morning trip to the barn.  Sure am glad I don't have the dogs as my snooze alarm!

The machinery is home

After a long and bumpy trip, our machinery that we purchased in Illinois is home safe and sound.  Farmer Rick had it all chained and strapped down so that it wouldn't shift.  Sure wouldn't be any fun rounding up two gravity boxes and extra tires after they bumped down interstate 90/94!  All went well on the home front with chores except the loss of one of our daughter's baby hogs.  The horses were all glad to see me and were full of nickers and whinnies . . . UNTIL . . . I brought out the wormer.  They're all easy to do, but they despise this task that we do every three months.  Now that we've had a couple of hard frosts, the timing is just right to get 'er done.  I also took one of the geldings out and longed him for about 20 minute.  The coyotes were singing and yapping the whole time we were out there.  They sure were making alot of noise down in the woods.  The neighbor's cattle were pretty upset about all of the noise.  I hope that they are all OK.  Once the snow is on the ground, I'll do more riding at night after chores, but right now it's too hard to see any other critters that may be out there with us.  Usually even the old mare doesn't get spooked when out at night, but the last few times she's been edgy too.  This old cow hand is getting too old to deal with coyotes and bears at night, even with the dogs out there with me.  That's OK, because we're planning on hitting the trails again this weekend to catch some of the last spectacular views of fall color before the wind blows the last of the leaves off of the trees!

Pigs in the Kitchen!

What a distinct odor greeted my nose when coming down the stairs this morning.  One of our daughter's sows farrowed last night and she refuses to nurse the little ones.  So Farmer Rick did what any other good farmer would do.  He offered the sow a few beers and after she toppled over, the little ones nursed and all were happy!  Since he didn't want the sow to lay on any of the little ones, they were loaded up into a bright yellow tote and brought up to a nice warm farm house to spend the night.  They are scurrying around in their makeshift home, warming themselves under the heat lamp.  We'll soon be heading to the barn for morning milking, taking them with us so that they can fill their little tummies.  They'll soon be snug again under their heat lamp, dreaming little pig dreams of filling their bellies and getting into trouble!

The squash just keep marching in

What a year for squash!  Each day we gather in more and bring them to the house.  After running through the steamer and scraping out the bright orange flesh, we cool it down and put in freezer bags.  Couldn't resist making a pumpkin pie from the squash last night.  Very good - Yummy!  Also works great for sweet potato pie.  Frost is on its way for the weekend, so that may put an end to most of the garden.  There's still plenty of tomatoes and banana peppers out there that need to be gathered.  Always so much to do!  Farmer Rick is almost finished filling silo.  I chopped while he ran the blower, putting the silage from the wagons into the silo.  Running the tractor with the chopper with it isn't too bad now that we have a cab tractor.  Much of the noise is difused from the sound gard cab on the tractor.  Plus, when it's windy and cold, I can turn the heat on!  After years of doing all of our tractor work out in the cold, heat, wind or sun, we really appreciate having a tractor that keeps us out of the worst of the elements.

Back from a quick vacation

It's not very often that Farmer Rick and I get away from the farm.  We had very reliable help cover chores for us while we were away.  Although, it never fails, one cow (who had cancer) died, two went off feed, and one came down with mastitis. I don't know if cell phones are a blessing or not because we received daily, sometimes hourly updates on what was going on.  You try to put the farm behind you for a few days, but it never seems to be that far behind, staring in your rearview mirror!  Somehow, when we returned from our travels, we managed to bring home two gravity boxes, three kittens, two rakes for the barn and lead ropes for the horses.  It's true, the farm is never that far away, physically and from your heart.

Maybe we'll get that hay up today!

After a whopper of a thunderstorm yesterday morning, the sun finally came out.  Suprisingly, the hay looked pretty good when raked up, so maybe it'll make some decent hay after all.  Would be nice to get it in the barn today.
We have been keeping a close watch on my old jersey cow.  She has been very ill for a couple of days.  The vet checked her over yesterday.  We have meds we're giving her, but she's not responding.  She is due to calve mid October, but not sure if she's gonna make it.  Each one of our cows are special, and it is so hard to lose one.  The grandmother and mother of this old girl were both shown by our oldest son at the county fair.  Funny how they would never place real high in the classes, but year after year they'd keep coming back whereas many of the cows that were shown against these old girls never lasted in their herds quite like these cows.  They just keep going and going.  We have bred for longevity for several years and have found that these cows have feet and legs that will last a long time.  They may not give near as much milk as some, but they're built for grazing and many years of productive life.  When the cows are out on pasture for the night, it's interesting to look out across the pasture. The jerseys and jersey cross cows are always the last to lay down.  They will graze and make good use of the pasture that the holsteins just pass over.  They all have their own special personality and love a good scratch on the head when they're snapped into their tie stalls in the barn for milking.  One exception is "Cuddles" the holstein cow.  She'll just about run you over looking for a pat and scratch!  She just calved and is milking well.  This is her 6th calf - a bull.  She's been having bulls ever since she was a young heifer.  But her mother was the same way.  She lived to 18 and had two heifers, all the rest were bull calves.  One of her heifers was struck by lightning along with the heifer standing next to her.  So the only offspring we have out her mother - Polly - is Cuddles.  I think she's a keeper.  Farming . . .what a challenging life, but I wouldn't want any other!