Update on the "Convincing Process "

UPDATE!!!
It's official.......She LOVES him!!!!!!

 My Farmer and his most loving and loyal companion stepped into the corral with bitch mom yesterday and she went after them.  That is a sure sign that she is convinced.   The calf is hers.  She is truly his protector now.
I am so thankful that she finally has accepted him.  And he is happy too.  You can just tell.  He is a bit more perky.  He is a happy calf because he once again has a momma that loves him.  And momma's happy cuz now she gets to be let out of the corral and back out to pasture with the rest of the herd with her most wonderful baby.  (I took a short video of them and I will try and post it on my Facebook page.)

I told you my Farmer would win.  He is pretty dang good at "convincing".  Yep, life is good now.  Everyone is happy......as we are...Livin' the Life.......the Farm Life that is.

The "Convincing" Process of Grafting a Calf.......

We have had two sets of twins this year. Both mommas took both twins.  (yes, sometimes a momma cow will walk away from one of the twins)  A momma cow can raise twins but it's pretty hard on her, unless she's a milk cow (meaning she has tons of milk, which neither of these cows did). It's also hard on the babies.  Neither will get the nutrition they really need. We've handled twins in different ways in the past, depending on the situation. We've let a momma raise both twins because she seemed to have lots of milk (I sure felt sorry for her by the end of summer. She was skin and bones),  we've supplemented twins with a bottle (which was a pain in the rear end),  and we've taken one twin off and made it a bottle fed baby (real cows milk is always better then the replacer milk).  The ideal situation is to graft one twin on to a different momma, one that has lost her calf. (which I guess really isn't ideal, since that means you lost a calf)  Anyways..... This year we have lost two babies, so we were able to put a twin from each set on a different momma. The first grafting went very smoothly. The new momma accepted her new baby right away. They are doing great. The 2nd grafting is not going as smoothly. We are now into day 6 (or maybe its day 10. These days seem to be running together) and bitch mom still does not like the new baby.  She has "braclets" (they are really called hobbles) on her back legs so she can't kick him. But she sure can head butt him!  (I tried to video it, but, of course, she wouldn't do it while I was recording)  Of the twins, my Farmer picked the bigger, stronger calf to graft on. Good choice. He is more aggressive, so he just keeps going at it no matter how much she butts him.
I have mixed emotions as we are doing this grafting process.  I watched these twins for three weeks. They were always together. Eating, sleeping; they were so cute. Then we split then up. Gave one a new mom that is not nice to him. He went from having a loving, caring momma to having a bitch mom. Poor guy.  His twin and real momma, however, are happy and don't even seem to miss the little guy.

Once the gate was opened, momma and twin leave and don't look back.

Its seems sad and maybe even a bit mean, but in the long run, both calves and cows will be happier and do better. But for now, we still have to work on bitch mom and continue to convince her that she loves her new baby. And she will. LOVE him that is. My Farmer will "convince" her.

My Farmer "convincing" bitch mom and talking on the phone. (Multi tasking)

On the first day of this "convincing" process, my Farmer had to stand inside the corral with a "big stick", mostly to "look intimidating" to bitch mom, while baby ate.  She may have been a tad bit more upset this first day because of her new "bracelets" that my Farmer had just put on her.  (I'm thinking maybe she isn't a leather type girl?  Maybe she wanted studded jewels on her "bracelets".  Who knows.)  Anyways...... She wouldn't let the baby eat unless we were standing in the corral.  (well, I would stand outside, of course)  Baby learned real quick that as soon as his Farmer showed up, it was time to eat.  We don't have to stand inside the corral all the time now.  We just kind of hang around, and when she head butts him, we yell at her and she stops.  Most of the time, anyhow.  All I can say is, she better get a mind adjustment soon though.  This is getting real old, doing it three times a day.
Once we are done with the "convincing" process, and she realizes that he is her calf and she's his loving and caring momma, her whole attitude will change.  Now, she could care less if we are around the baby.  When she decides she Loves him, she will not even let us close to her best ever baby. She will have become his best ever protector! (I'm hoping anyways)  Cuz that's how it is. Ya just gotta get the "convincing" process done. 
And that's what we do.  It's all part of  Livin' the Life, the Farm Life that is......

Baby and Bitch Mom.

UPDATE!!!     My Farmer has taken bitch mom's "bracelets" off!  She still doesn't completely love him yet (shes still in denial), but we're getting close!

Crap, Bam, Plop, He's Out......

I did it!  Another first!  I pulled my first baby calf all by myself! With my bare hands! Well, I did have some gloves on and momma cow did helped, a little.   Here's the (long) story.......

At our "just before dark" check, we found a cow that was starting into labor but still a ways off. She had wandered away from the rest of the herd and found a small bare knob. Bare ground is good. However it was a very small "isle", surrounded by snow, and had a creek close by. Bad place to have a calf. Deep snow all around, no level ground, and a creek less than 10 feet away are 3 strikes again a new born calf trying to get up after he is born. My Farmer and his most trustworthy and helpful furry companion, Cooper, after some persuasion, got her off of her "high and dry" knob and we pushed her back to the feedlot to a better spot to calve.  Figuring all is right for the evening, back home we go so my Farmer can get some sleep before his 3am check, figuring I will wake him if needed on my watch. When I go back out to check things, I find that the cow has returned to the knob. She is standing up there on her "high and dry" knob like she is King Queen of the Hill and very proud. It actually strikes me as kind of funny. She still has not calved.  There is no way I can get her off the knob and to a better spot by myself, (remember I may talk big, but really I am a tad bit afraid of the cows, especially the ones in labor.  They tend to have an attitude.)  I decided to give her some time and hope for the best, and check on her again in a bit.  When I go back out, I find her laying down, still on the knob. She has pushed the calf's head and front legs out. However, she can't push anymore because her head and back are down hill and with the calf part way out, she is pretty much immobile. Another reason the knob was not a good place to calve.  (But she wouldn't listen to her Farmer now would she.)  She's in trouble and needs help. I phone my Farmer, but it goes to voice mail. Dang it! I should have put his phone by his head!  Ok...this calf needs to come out NOW. His head and tongue is swollen so I know he's been there for awhile. Crap! What do I do?  I hear my Farmer's voice in my head say "well just grab a hold of his legs and pull".  Now I have seen him do this many times, and I have been there to help pull.  It's always a tough pull for him, so how am I gonna do it by myself?  Now, my fear factor is setting in. Can I do this and can the cow get at me. With the position she is in, there is no way she can hurt me so I've got to try.  I grab ahold of his legs and pull.  He's a slippery, slimy, BIG, little guy and he's pretty stuck!   I'm not strong enough to pull him.  Double dang. I continue to pull and will him out, starting to get frustrated,(and I guess I was very much panicking at this point, as I will point out later) and then momma pushes!   And BAM!  He comes out half way! Holy shit! Then my phone rings. It's my Farmer. And calmly he says "Whats up Shirl?" I can't believe he's so calm! I have a crisis here!  Calmly, I'm sure, I tell him I need help. The cow is down on her back and she can't push the calf out.  He's on his way, he says. Well he better frickin' hurry!
I know I have to finish getting the calf out. I can do this I tell myself. So I pull some more, yelling at momma to push and yelling at baby to come and then PLOP! Just like that he plops out. Yes!!! We did it!  I clean out his month and nostrils. He's breathing and alive. Hallelujah! What an adrenaline rush! I can not get momma up but my Farmer gets her up when he (finally) arrives. (I shouldnt be so hard on my Farmer.  He really did come to my rescue in good time.)
Both momma and baby are alive. So awesome. If I would have waited another hour, the story would have been different. They both would have died. Yep, I saved the day...well night.....I did have a little help....but I'm still CLAIMING IT!
After we got back to the house, my Farmer checked his voice mail. Evidently, when I called him I forgot to hang up and you can hear me yelling or "willing" the baby to come out.  Sounds like maybe I was in a bit of a panic mode. This little "recording" really was funny.  He suggested that I put it on my blog.  Really?!?!  I don't want to embarress myself.  Its ok to laugh at him but not me. 😉
My Farmer took the pair to the corral to keep on eye on them.  Here are some pictures.  You can still see the mud on the side of momma cow, and the baby's head and front legs are still a bit swollen.   Momma and baby are both doing fine.

The other wonderful thing to come out of this situation..........I get a new pair of gloves!  There is no way I am putting those gloves back on.  Way to gross!  And if you know me, you know that new gloves make me very, very happy.  And that really is... Livin' the life, the Farm Life that is.........

A Picture Post

Last week I decided it was time to get active blogging again (which if you look back at my past blogs,  I make this plan alot)(and fail at it).  The goal I set for myself is a new post once a week.  Well here it is the end of the week and I still have no new blog.  I have one started but it still needs tweaked.  So instead of stressing over not finding the time to get it finished, and staying true to my goal, I've decided to just post a blog of pictures.

I'm happy with that. Simple. Done.  Until next week. 😊

Why Oh Why do we Farm???

This spring has been a long one.  Lots of really yucky weather seems to make one rather "grouchy", especially when you are working out in it.  I was pretty negative in my last writing, which I apologize for, as that is not my intention with my blog.  However, maybe it's good to let you know that I do have bad days.  Days I wonder what I am doing here.  Those miserable days seem to make a person wonder why we do what we do.  The thoughts in my head seem to shout... "I'm sure there are easier jobs out there!....Like inside a building!"
As I was out checking cows again the other day, I once again asked myself why. It had been raining and snowing that morning, again.  It was windy and cold, and my thoughts were heading in that direction.....Why do we farm!?!? It's for sure not for the money! And it is not because its easy!  It's definitely not the glamour job that some people think it is.
I stopped on top of a hill and just sat for a moment.  Pondering this question, I looked around at my surroundings.  Suddenly, the wind became a whisper, the blue sky started to peek out from behind the clouds, the sun shined its warmth across my face and a different view formed within my mind and maybe my soul.

What does make this farming life worth it?

Sitting out in the middle of a field and soaking all in....sights, sounds, smells.

The sound of a cow mooing to her new born calf.

Watching a brand new calf attempt to stand for the first time.  And once he has his legs planted firmly underneath him, he miraculously makes the way to momma's utter for that much anticipated and nutritional first meal.

Watching the hay fields bare up, after being buried underneath layers of snow for 5 months (or is it 10 months), turn green and begin to grow.

The "I'm wakin' up" smell of the pasture grass after it is harrowed.

Watching a fox hunt, sneak up, then pounce on his unsuspected prey.

Listening to 150 black birds (yep...I counted) lined up on the power line and fence line singing joyfully as if saying "Hello Mr. Sunshine!"

Watching an eagle or hawk glide flawlessly in flight over head.

The smell of fresh turned dirt as it boils out from behind the plow.

The sweet fragrant smell of a newly cut hay field.

Watching the pride on my Farmer's face as he looks out across his field of oats that has grown chest high.

The pride we feel watching our calf crop enter into the auction ring.  Knowing that all those sleepless nights during calving season was worth it.

Realizing that someone in my Farmers family, has been in the same spot, doing the same thing, on the same land for over 100 years.

Yep, I AM.......Livin' the Life........The FARM LIFE that is!!!!
And I am truly blessed.

(However, if it frickin' snows again tomorrow.........the why will be back.  😉 )

A Day of Confusion.....with Lots of Experts.

Today was a confusing day.  That's what my Farmer said when we got to the house this evening.  Let me explain.  During morning check on the cows, my Farmer found three new baby calves.  Two with their momma's and one all alone.  After looking around and not finding any cow looking for a calf, my Farmer assumed that one of the cows had had twins and she claimed one and not the other.  Not knowing which cow it belonged to, but knowing that neither cow could raise two calves anyways, he brought the lone calf to the corral figuring this one would have to be raised on a bottle. Really didn't want another bottle baby, but that's how it goes. First step was to give the calf some colostrum, which is vital to a new calf.  This is where the confusion started.  He would not eat.  Since he would not suck the bottle, my Farmer had the feeling that the calf had already eaten. (We have found that new born calves will not suck on the bottle if they have already eaten from their momma's)  At lunch we were discussing the situation and we decided it might be a good idea to check the herd again to make sure he didn't just overlook the momma.   When my Farmer got out to the herd, sure enough, he found a cow that was looking for a calf.  Yay!!  He went back and got to calf, took it out to the momma.  She sniffed it, then walked away.  Dang it!  Now my Farmer was thinking he confused the cow by taking her calf so he separated them from the rest of the herd, thinking that maybe it would help if they were by themselves.  Once in a different pasture, just the two of them, she once again sniffed it, even kind of acted interested, then walked off.  More confusion.  The pasture this cow was now in has lush green grass, which the other place did not, so all she was interested in was eating.  Now my Farmer started thinking that this cow was just starting to calve and was just looking for a calf, but had not calved.  Which sometimes they will do this.  This is where I entered the picture, adding to the confusion as best I could.  I had been fixing fence, which I was on my third day of doing all by myself, which I am not very good at, which I was getting very tired of doing, which is why I decided to quit early, knowing my Farmer needed my expertise.  Ha!  I was excited when I drove up and seen that he had found the momma!  Then he tells me he thinks its not the momma.  I say, being the expert that I am,  I think her bag has been sucked on and she doesn't look fat enough to still have a calf in her, so I think its hers.  My Farmer says, being the expert that he is, it is not hers.  However, with my little input, it makes him question himself.  Yep, that's my job.  More confusion.  We decided to run her to the corral and help her to love her calf, cuz we are all confused, remember!  Once there my Farmer wonders if we should go ahead and run her in the chute and check to see if she has a calf in her.  Wow, now that is an idea!  I second that.  That's what we do.  And guess what, we helped her find her calf.  In the birthing canal!  Yep, she was calving!   Believe me, she had not been showing any signs of being in labor, except for the looking for a calf part, (and chasing after the dog).  We went ahead and helped her calve....and life is now good for them.  She found her calf.  The other little critter, well she is my responsibility now.  And getting her to suck on a bottle....yea, I was able to do that.  You just have to have a little motherly experience and a lot of patience.  And I am an expert on that.   That's livin' the life......The Farm Life that is......

When the Pressure drops.....the Calves drop....

I believe this to be a true statement.  When the air pressure drops, we can always count on lots of babies to be born.  And the other day was no exception.  The weather here went from sunny and hot one day to cold, snowy, rainy, and windy the next.  On the sunny day we had 3 calves born, which has been about our norm.  All jumped right up and took to eating with no problems. The next day, the cold, rainy, snowy, windy day, we had 8 calves born.  And since it was cold, they are slower.  4 went to the corral and two got to spend the night in the calf house to warm up.  The others did get up and eat on their own but it took them a while to do so. (When I say it took a while I mean over two hours, because if conditions are right, a calf can be up and eating within an hour or less.)  This makes for a long day for my Farmer (well, and me of course).  My Farmer and I have a system when it comes to bringing the calf and its momma to the corral, and usually it works pretty smooth.  He puts the calf in the ATV trailer, which he built sides for,  the calf can stand up, but can't jump out, and the momma can see it and sniff it, which usually means she will follow it all the way to the corral.  Usually.  And this is a one man job.  It seems if I go out to help, the momma freaks out, thinking its a trap, and she will not follow.  So my job is to close the gate at the corral as soon as she goes through it.  Sometimes, once the cow realizes that she has been lead through the gate, she will freak out and try to turn around and run, not caring whether you have her calf or not. So shutting of the gate is a very important job (well ALL my jobs are very important, right?!? Haha).  I have to hide so she can't see me and then leap into action once she is through the gate.   The other night, as I was sitting in my hiding position, I was admiring the beauty of my surroundings.  The sky was incredible. Picture perfect.  I was suppose to be very still as not to spook the momma, but I just HAD to snap a picture!  To share it with all of you, of course.  And I did.  I was sneaky enough, momma didn't spook....Thankfully!  But don't tell my Farmer, we need him to think he had my full attention.   And he did, of course.....kind of.
Hope ya like the picture cuz .......This is...... Livin' the Life......the Farm Life that is. 

Snow Painting......the Farmer way

My Farmer and I did a little "snow painting" yesterday, the farmer way.  Let me explain.  One of the problems we have when we get a lot of snow around here (note I said one because there are many) is that it can be hard on our wheel lines.  If the snow covers them then crusts, it will pull the lines down as the snow settles.  Believe it or not, the snow can crust so hard that as it pulls the line down it can break the pipe.  One year we had enough snow that it pushed down hard enough to flatten the metal wheels.  Crazy! And wheels do not roll so well not round.  Snow is an interesting object.  Anyways, to prevent this from happening, we remove the snow from the pipes.  In the years past, or lets say when my Farmer was younger and had lots of energy, he would walk the wheel lines and shovel the snow off.  As he became, ummm, lets say "wiser", he started saving the ashes from our fireplace and spreading them on the pipes, which made the snow soften and melt.  It worked pretty darn good, only we never really had enough ashes to do all the lines.  Well....this year we used lime.  This is where the "snow painting" comes to play.  We put lime on our fields every year, something about needing it for the ph in the soil or something, not my expertise so thats all I know.  So my Farmer decided why not use lime instead of the ashes, should work the same.  I like the idea of using the lime.  We have lots of it AND it comes in pretty colors.  Now let me admit something here, I normally do not help my Farmer do this task.  Main reason.....he does it early in the morning, when it is cold out.  I guess that is two reasons, early and cold.  Yesterday, the sun was shinning, it was a beautiful day, I went outside for a little walk and there he was, working, and I had a guilt moment. But he was riding on top of the snow with the atv so I didnt have to walk, it was a gorgeous day, and I did need a little exercise.  Turns out, it was kind of fun painting the snow.  We had purplish lime and a beautiful pink color lime.  I kept wanting to make flowers or something, but I was suppose to be working, it was a job, and the boss was watching.  I did manage to snap a picture or two, when he wasn't watching.  hehe. 

So, if you drive by and see this image, you now know the reason. 
Well, the sun is shinning, there are three more wheel lines to do, and I had so much fun yesterday, I think I will go help my Farmer finish.  Besides, have you ever riding on top on the snow with your ATV?  It is a blast!!!   That's livin' the life.......the Farm life that is!

Lots of Snow keeps a Farmer Hoppin'.

Its been a little crazy around here lately.  We have been getting a lot of snow, which is a good thing,  it just keeps us hoppin'. Plus we have had a lot of wind and power outages.  Besides feeding our 250+ head of cattle,  we also have a snow removal business.  Our daily schedule has been get up way before dawn (which I totally do not like), blow snow for 12 hours, feed cows, eat dinner, sleep, wake-up and start over.  Thankfully we have had a little break in the weather so we could pay a little more, and much needed, attention to the cattle.  We have 100+ weined calves watering off of a well.  Which is a little worrisome when the power goes out.  Or when the power company warns you to be prepared for it being out for a couple days!  The cattle NEED water. Period.  Luckily it has came back on within 5 hours or so.  Thank goodness.   The big cows are in a field with a creek running, so we do not have to worry about their water if the power goes out.  What we do have to worry about is making sure they GO to water. Some of them can be lazy and not want to trudge thru the deep snow to the creek.  (Fyi they do eat snow and get a little water that way)  We also have to make sure they can still get to the creek and that it is not frozen over.  So thats what we did yesterday.   I snapped a picture of my Farmer shoveling the path to the creek for his cows. 

You can see how deep the snow is......level with the wagon and the belly of the bulls.  I am, of course, sitting in my warm tractor, listening to christmas music.  Hehe.  However, I was a little worried that I might get stuck down there, and I was really hoping I wouldnt drive into the creek, beings how I couldnt SEE IT!  But alls good, I didnt run into the creek, and I didnt get stuck, only almost 3 times.  I could have blown my way out with the snow blower, but that is for the last resort. Its a challenge to see how much snow I can actually drive my tractor through while pulling a wagon.  Makes me feel powerful. Hehe  (Unless I do get stuck,  then I feel pretty stupid, especially if I have to have my Farmer get it unstuck. Never a good situation.) One of the reasons for driving so close to the creek is to make a path for the cows. Also if we feed them closer to water they will more likely go to water.
Well, since today is Christmas Eve, and I am not plowing snow, I best get some packages wrapped before my Farmer calls for my help in whatever comes up.  Haha
But ya know,  thats Livin' the Life......the Farm Life that is.  I am thankful to be living in the most wonderful winter wonderland.
MERRY CHRISTMAS! ! !

See ya when the sun comes up.

As I am sitting here in my living room, drinking my morning brew, watching the beautiful sunrise, my mind wonders back in time.  Memories of my Farmers grandfather, and one of his many saying  "see ya when the sun comes up".  Sitting here in this house that was once his, looking out the very window he did, looking at the same view he did every morning for over 60 years...this morning I think I get it.  I always wondered why he said that instead of goodbye or see ya tomorrow.  Watching the sun rise is magical, its awe-inspiring.  The feeling of greatfulness, the feeling of thanks for life, the feeling of a new beginning, the feeling of peace....these are all the feelings that awaken in me as I sit here and watch this event. I can Imagine him thinking the same when he looked out.  Only I'm sure he wasn't sitting, still in his pj's.  Nope, he'd be standing, dressed, ready to start the day. He didn't just start his day.....he started it watching the sun rise. 

Ok....done dreaming......back to reality.  To be honest, I am not a morning person. My Farmer gets up early and has always told me that morning is the best part of the day.  I argued that night was better.  I am trying to change my ways.  But I am starting to think that I could start to like this morning thing. As long as I can sit here by the window, stay in my pajamas, drink my morning brew and not talk to anyone until I'm ready.  Yep, just maybe I can get use to it.  With that said.....See ya when the sun comes up.

  After all, tomorrow never comes, but the sun does rise.

Shop Talk with Brew

I think I am really enjoying having the shop at my house.  It use to be at my in-laws house but when we put the pivot in, as those that had been following me know, we had to tear down the old shop, which actually was an old potato cellar before that.  So then my garage became the shop.....kind of.  The garage is a lot smaller so not everything out of the shop got moved here.  There is a lot of cussing sometimes when my Farmer is looking for something that use to be in the old shop.  Because now if it is not in the "new" shop, there is only like 5 other places it could be stashed.  Some times it takes all day or even months to find it.  Well, there is still one item we are still trying to find that he knows exactly where it was in the old shop and remembers taking it off the wall and moving it to a place where he could find it.  A safe place....evidently...... in a very secret place.  Haha.  It'll turn up some day.  And I know this from experience.  After we buy a new one.  HA!  So anyways, back to why I am liking it here at my house.  Even though my car has to sit outside 60 percent of the time,  the driveway is always full of equipment, and my yard under the shade tree becomes the work area, it does have its perks.  I can just step out my door (in my pajamas if i want) and visit with my Farmer when hes working, while drinking my morning brew or in the evenings having my cocktail.  That I am liking.  Yep...one more good thing about Livin' the life......the Farm life that is.

The Year of Twins

  We just had another set of twins born.  I am happy to report both are alive, standing, and have eaten.  That's our third set this year!  Evidently it's the year of the twins.  Its like its in the air or something.  And its not just the air in our area.....its all around.  We've seen this before.  It seems that when one ranch is having a lot of twins, most others are too.  (I haven't actually done a scientific survey across the whole country, we just ask the ranchers we know).  And its not just with twins.  Some years its the year of the backward calves.  And believe me, those years are NOT fun years.   My Farmer is sure there is something to this......some unknown factor of the universe that effects things here on earth in ways we can't explain.  I don't known about that, but I do find it very interesting.  What I do know is now we have added to our work load, bottle feeding two calves.  But that's all part of Livin' the life, the Farm Life that is, and I'm ok with that. 

Farming can be "Slicker then Sh**!"

You know the saying...."slicker then shit".  Well I learned the other day what is slicker then shit.  "Ice" covered with shit.  Yep that's me.  I was helping my Farmer in the corral putting in a head catch, preparing for calving season.  I knew it was slick so I was being very careful, but then just like that I went down.  And luckily, my Farmer just got a new "smart phone" and has figured out how to use the camera on it.  This picture is now his screen saver.  Nice huh.  I actually landed very gracefully.  As you can see, I didn't even get my pink hat dirty.  (Very flattering picture of me....but my Farmer keeps asking me if I have posted it yet.) (He thought it was way funnier that it was in my opinion)

And the calving has begun.  This year we decided to calve the heifers before the cows.  It has been going very smoothly.   We have them seperated from the cows, in a pen close to the road so we can keep a close eye on them.  So far, they have all calved on their own with no problems.  Of course,  thats how it works since we have the head catch in and all ready to help those that need it.  But we are not complaining.

And that is sooo  Livin' the life.......the FARM life that it.......

It's All About Making Choices..........

My Farmer has started plowing our fields and as he does every year, he asks me, "Are you going to plow for me?".  And as always my answer is "No".  (Well, actually in my head it's "Hell NO!")  It's not that I couldn't do it (after all I am a women, therefore I can) (tehe), it's just that I choose not to.   This is one piece of farm machinery that I have refused to learn how to use.  I have learned to combine the oats, swath and bale hay, disk, cultivate, or rip the fields, but I do not plow.  My Farmer informs me that it is one of the simpler implements to operate, but I do not care.  I have watched (and rode) with him as he plows and it is pretty simple.  The plow goes in the ground on one end of the field and when you get to the other end, you lift it up out of the ground, turn around and repeat.

But it's the turning around on the ends that I have an issue with.  When My Farmer turns around on the ends of the field with the plow, he makes a figure 8 using the tractors speed to get the momentum to flip the plow over.  When I turn around on the end of a field, I prefer to slow down and gently turn around.  It's just to darn scary to me to go fast and I choose not to be scared.  I have learned that life is all about choices.  I choose not to be scared and I choose not to plow.  The other reason that I do not plow, is also the reason I do not plant.  I can not drive a straight row.  I know, those people reading this that have plowed say that it's easy to go straight plowing, cuz one tire is in the furrow or something like that.  But, believe me, I would make it crooked.  There would be parts gone over twice, which is a waste of fuel, and other parts not touched at all.  Not good I'm sure.  And I have heard My Farmer complain about unplowed parts (when someone else plowed, not me).  I find it ironic that no matter what he is doing in the field, he knows where the spot is that did not get plowed.  It's like he is actually a part of the field.  It's weird.  And finally, maybe the biggest reason that I have refused to plow, is that the tractor we hook the plow on to is an open cab tractor.  Meaning no windows or doors (or radio).  And it is usually a little chilly this time of year, to say the least.  SO once again I am choosing.  Choosing to stay warm, inside, by the fire. 

One more reason I like my life.  Choices.  And I choose livin' the life, the farm life that is......

Helping out the local hunters......

My job today was swathing hay.  I really enjoy this job, mostly because the unit has a cab, (unlike my tractor when I turn hay), it has air conditioning (that actually works), AND it has a radio (that actually picks up a station),  totally a plus.  So I just sat there all afternoon, going back and forth, rockin' out to the radio, enjoying the beautiful scenery in my comfy cab, cutting hay.   Besides making hay,  I decided today that I was also the animal food bank.  Explanation:  There are mice that live in the field.  With the hay so tall, the mice can easily run around,  hiding from their predators making the hunting a little more challenging.   Once the hay is cut into windrows, the mice have less area to hide.  This makes it a little more "easy pickings" for the "hunting".  There is always a hawk or two flying around ready to dive after that mouse that is scurrying around trying to find a new hiding spot after I swathed over him.  Then there's the fox that is sneaking around looking for his next meal.  And today I had a coyote following me.   I never seen him actually catching anything,  but he was definitely checking things out.  And he was totally not afraid of me.  Usually the foxes will hang around until you come close and then they will leave.  But this coyote was there the whole time I was cutting.  I would get close to him, then he would put a little more distance between us, (actually enough so I couldn't get a good picture) (which really is difficult to do when you are trying to drive straight) and then he would move back to where I just swathed.  It really was kind of odd but very entertaining to watch him.  If you look real hard, you can see him in the picture. 

And he didn't distract me too much.  My swathes weren't too crooked..........

Tied to the Ranch for the Winter.............

I took my camera over to the corral and snapped some pictures of our weaned calves. You can see the mommas in the background behind the fence.  We actually just rebuild this corral fence last year, so this years weaning process has been a test for the fence.  And it past!!

These are the cute little critters I blogged about last spring.  Growing up so fast.  I personally don't think they are cute anymore.  We will keep these critters in a pen and feed them some good hay until about February, then we will sell them. 

Ok, so maybe they are still kind of cute.  But with the weaning of the calves, comes the end of the "get away together" time for my Farmer and me.  No long vacations for us. (like we really do that, but a girl can dream) There are only 2 windows of opportunity during the year when we are not tied to the ranch and can get away together for more than 12  hours; in the spring when the cows are back on grass and we haven't started irrigating, and in the fall when the irrigation has stopped and we have not begun feeding the cattle.  (Oh ya, if it rains TONS during the summer, we can get away.)  We are the only ones here on the ranch now, so one of us has to be here to feed.  I really enjoy going places with my Farmer, especially when we get to spend the night away, go see a movie, go out to dinner, do some shopping, and just in general relax together.  Oh wait,  that last part didn't really go together, shopping with my Farmer and relaxing.  As memory serves me, it's really not that relaxing shopping with him (unless it's equipment shopping, which then is not relaxing for me cuz that just means big $$$).  Ok, the longer I think about it, it really means he has to be here to feed.  He's just fine by himself, and I will do just fine by myself shopping, seeing a movie, eating out, and coming home the next day.  Yep, second thought, I'm totally OK with that.  To bad he's tied to the ranch........but that's life, the farm life that is.

Spud Harvest

We dug potatoes last week.  It took us a whole 2 hours to harvest our potato crop.  It took longer to hook up to the digger then it did to dig them.  Yep, that's me picking up the spuds.  I finally got my Farmer to snap a picture of me working so I could post it.

 Here is my Farmer in the tractor starting down the potato rows.  He is pulling the cross-over digger.  This machine digs 2 rows at a time.  

 As the blades go down in the ground under the potatoes, the dirt and potatoes go up a chain that has a slight bounce to it.  As it all travels up the chain, the dirt sifts out, leaving the potatoes on the chain.

Then the potatoes fall onto another chain that is crossing over in another direction.  This chain then drops the potatoes on the ground.  Typically, the spuds would drop between 2 un-dug rows and then another digger would come along and pick up the two un-dug rows along with the dug potatoes, so 4 rows total.  The spuds then travel up the chains on that machine and eventually travel up a conveyor that dumps them into a truck.  Since we only have a few to dig, we skip this last part.  No big digger and no spud truck.  We just pick them up by hand and put them in sacks to store in the potato cellars.  And now instead of filling the cellars with 30+ semi-loads of potatoes, we put a pickup load in.  It also seems pretty crazy to use the one machine for such a small amount of spuds, but we have it so we use it.  And it does go faster than just using a shovel.   

This is me admiring a nice baker.  This is something my Farmer's grandpa did.  I can still picture him standing beside the sorting table, watching the potatoes go by, and when he spotted that perfect baker he would pick it up, and start gently rubbing the dirt off, almost as if he was petting it.  He knew how hard it was to grow a nice crop of spuds, so he would take the time to admire a nice looking potato.  He took a lot of pride in our potato crops.  I think he is the reason we still grown the large garden spot of potatoes that we do.  I believe it's my Farmers way (and mine too) of staying connected to his family heritage.

The Pipe Is In!!!

Well, we went from getting sunburned and dying of heat on the first day of installing the pipe to being wet and cold on the last day.  It's amazing how the weather can change so quickly.  I am just thankful that we only had one day of rain the whole time we were installing the pipe.  Here are some pictures of the pipe installation.

The first scope of dirt

view looking from the pivot center towards my house

this view is from half way to the canal looking back towards my house

Padded pipe

A very large rock that was in the path.  Now it will be yard decor at my house

 This pipe line is approximately 6200 ft.  It has enough of a drop in elevation to run on gravity, which will be wonderful.  The digging went really well.  There was enough help that I didn't have to get in the trench once to pad pipe. (I have padded pipe in the past.  In fact, that's what I was doing on the day of our 10th wedding anniversary, which I often remind my Farmer.  But that's another blog story)  I just stayed up on top and pushed the pipe closer or handed the guys things so they didn't have to get in and out of the trench to much.  Plus, I took pictures.  I also made the crew lunch everyday.  I usually choose to be involved with the field work and have never really been one to stay at home and make the meals.  But I've really been enjoying making lunch for everyone.  And then in the afternoons, my sister-in-law would bring treats out to the crew.  (and she makes wonderful treats!)  When we were digging potatoes, she would brings us goodies every day.  It became something the crew would really look forward to, and it really helped get through those long days.  So it was great to have this little ritual again.  Now that we are done with the pipe, my Farmer is really going to miss those goodies (and I'm sure the other guys will too).  And I guarantee that I will not be making treats for him like that everyday!   So the pipe is in, except for hooking it up to the canal.  And then the next step is removing things that are in the way of the pivot going around in a complete circle.  Like some trees, old machinery, the shop, power poles, you know just stuff.   This step might take a little while, but heck, we have all winter to get it done.........

A Shinny new item arrives at our farm.....So Exciting!

Things have been very exciting around here lately.  We have been installing a new pipeline and pivot.  We have been wanting to do this project for a long time and now it is finally happening.  It's a pretty spendy project, but in the long run, it will save us time and money.  I wanted to share this with everyone, so I grabbed my camera to capture it in pictures.  My mother-in-law has always taken pictures when a new structure goes up on the farm.  It's really cool to look back through her pictures and see the steps from beginning to end.  So that was my goal with this pivot installation.  The following picture is one I took looking out across the field of where the pivot will go as I was waiting for the truck to arrive that was hauling the pivot.  My Farmer thought I was really crazy for wanting to take a picture of the truck, but I wanted to document every step, and the arrival is the first step. 

Waiting for the truck.  The sun has just peaked over the mountain.

waiting for the truck

still waiting for the truck

I guess I was a little anxious, cuz I had to wait quite a while before the truck arrived, so I just kept taking pictures of the field.  But hey, it was a gorgeous morning.

 Yep, still waiting for the truck, so we might as well check to see if the oats are ready to harvest.

Yea, it's here!!!  I was so excited!  I'm sure the truck driver thought I was totally a crazy woman out there taking pictures of him arriving but oh well.  I gave him coffee so I'm sure he forgot about the picture taking crazy lady.

There it goes, turning into our field.  So exciting!!!  Are you feeling the excitement too?

 This picture is from the center of the pivot looking out across the field.  The truck drives along thru the field and the workers lay out the pipe and all the pieces along the way.  When everything is laid out, they go back and put it all together. 
                                   
This picture is what had been completed at the end of the first day.  The next day I had errands to do in town, and by the time I got home around 3:00 the pivot was all up and done.  It was so amazing how fast they put it up!  I was totally bummed to not have pictures of this process, but oh well, it's up and looking pretty shinny.

AWESOME!!!

 Now we are installing the pipe line that will carry the water from our canal to the center pivot.  This does go a little slower, and I am getting more pictures of it. So once I get a break, I will be posting pictures of the pipeline installation.  So fun and exciting!!!!