Sunday Drive Rescue........

Our conversation after breakfast,  (I know, I know.  Don't be so shocked. I do do this once ever so often. And yes, it did surprise my Farmer too.  But after all, it was Sunday.  Can't a girl make her Farmer breakfast without everyone wondering why?  Okay fine.......so I needed to butter him up a bit. No big deal. You'll learn why.)  Anyways, back to our conversation.......

My Farmer >  I'm gonna take the pickup and go drive around and check on things.

Me >  I'll ride with you. 

My Farmer >  Ok.  Get ready.

As I'm getting ready, I decide to make me a cup of tea to go.

My Farmer >  Are you making a cup of tea?

Me > Yes, why?

My Farmer >  Do you think this is a frickin' Sunday drive or something?

Me > Uhhh. Duh!  We ARE driving in the pickup and it IS Sunday!

My Farmer >  O.K. Fine.  He says through a grin as he walks out the door. 

Gotta love my Farmer.  😃
Then as we are driving down the road, he learns why I fixed him a nice big hot breakfast.

Me >  Would we have time to go get my 4-wheeler unstuck?

Yep, when I was doing my midnight cow check, I went through some snow that was a little to deep.  You know; in the dark it is really hard to tell how deep that crap is.  Anyways, long story short, of course this happened at the far end of the field, so I had to walk back.  I was not a very happy person.  Now remember when I talked about being brave checking the cows in the middle of the night because I was on an ATV.  Well I remembered that last night! as I headed back through the field, without my ATV, on foot, in the pitch black night, with a flash light that was almost dead, and a small headlamp on my head.  As the cows started getting a little restless, I realized that they could only see the headlamp coming at them and it might have been freaking them out a bit.  I started freaking out a bit! I am sooo not brave without my ATV.  So I jumped over the fence and walk the rest of the way to the barn on the road.  Waaaay less scary there. 
I am not driving through any snowbanks tonight and I am making sure my flashlight is fulling charged.  You should always learn from your mistakes, when you are Livin' the Life, the Farm Life that is............

Not Fun when it's Cold.....

Well, my midnight cow check duty is not fun anymore. Tonight, the moon is just under full, the sky is clear, the stars are shining, but it's frickin cold! Its suppose to be 15 degrees! Ugh. I really want to just crawl into my nice warm bed and go to sleep, but these are the nights that it is most important for me to do my part and check the cows. There is usually nothing going on when I go out, but you just never know when I might find something in trouble. If a calf is born when it's this cold, we have to make sure he gets up and eats. If it's too cold and if the momma is not aggressive enough at licking him, the calf could just lay there and freeze to death. And thats never good.
There was a new baby calf born this evening just before dark. He had gotten up and eaten from his momma, but he was still pretty wet. I will look for him and make sure his momma picked a warm place to bed him down.
 Well, it's almost time for me to go check things. I believe I will be putting on my insulated coveralls tonight and my warm fur hat. And I'll be driving the pickup over. That warm pickup, with the heated seats, waiting for me, after riding around on the 4-wheeler, through the cows, in 15 degrees temperature, will be mighty nice.  Yep, thats Livin' the Life, the Farm Life that is.......

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.  😉 )

Rain, Wind, and Snow makes life not so enjoyable

Diary of my last few days......

 Day 1          Forecast......RAIN

9:00........All is good in the cows, so I am having another cup of my morning brew and doing a bit of office work.

12:00......I have lunch ready, however my Farmer arrives and informs me he has a meeting, and no time for lunch.  That's what I get for fixing it before I see the whites of his eyes.  In the fridge it goes. Guess we have lunch for tomorrow.  With my Farmer gone, I am solo at afternoon calf watching duty. (that's ok....he was solo all morning)

 12:30......It is pouring down rain, so I decide to wait a bit to see if it lets up.

1:00........Still pouring.

1:30.......Decide I have to buck up and go check the cows.  Dang.

1:45.......Found 4 new babies, 3 had eaten, 1 just getting up, and 1 cow that was starting to calve.  

2:30.......Decide to go visit my mother-in-law for a bit to get out of the rain.

3:00......Time to check on things again.  As I get on my ATV, I think to myself, (well I may have said it out loud, with a few more added words) Dummy,  you should have parked in the garage!  As I am now sitting on a very wet seat. Dang it!  New baby has eaten. Yay!  Cow that was calving has feet sticking out.  Good, I think.  Best drive up close and make sure they are pointing in the right direction.  As I approach the cow,  my first thought is oh my.  On my 5th or 6th drive by, I finally admit that the feet are pointed wrong....this baby is coming backwards.  It will not be born alive without help.  I make a frantic call to my Farmer.  "Where are you?"  He is 30 minutes away.  Dang it again!  I tell him to drive fast.  I get the calf puller and open the necessary gates that I can so everything's ready when my Farmer arrives. By the time my Farmer arrives to my aide, (which seems like hours!) he proceeds past me to open the only gate I have not opened, because ALL the other cows are standing in front of it, and he yells to me to "bring her".  Bring her?!?!?!  Are you kidding me?  By myself???   Ok....I have bonded with her for the last 2+ hours...I can do this.  And guess what?  I did!!  WooHOO!!  Yay for me!!  In the pen she goes, and my Farmer hooks up the calf puller and out comes the calf......ALIVE!   Thanks to me. 😊 I know, my Farmer pulled him, but I caught that there was trouble, which sometimes is the key.   By now it is time to feed, and doctor all the other new calves.

7:00.......Finally to the house for a bite to eat, and warm up.  Oh, by the way.....did I mention it was raining!!  And had been the whole time!  I was wet, wet, wet.  My Farmer asks me how long it had been raining.  SINCE HE LEFT!!!!  

8:00........Back out to check on things.  Our backwards calf has eaten and is doing great! They are both let back out into the pasture.

9:00.......Back home and my Farmer heads to bed.

10:30......I go back out just to check and make sure all is good.  All is good so I too call it a night.

Day 2             Forecast.......WIND

9:00....... I feel like being nice so I fix my Farmer breakfast. (He was out for early check)

10:00......The wind is blowing really hard, and I do not want to go out, but my Farmer needs my help. All my clothes are still wet from yesterday, so I have to find some other gear to wear.  As I am driving over to the pasture, I watch a tree fall across the county road.  Yep, my friend was right, we are having hurricane force winds.  Crap.  Today is not going to be fun.  We start moving the cows that have calved to another pasture. We are in the middle of herding, have the cows and calves almost to the gate when it starts hailing.....hard.  Dang!  We can't turn and head for shelter, we have to keep pushing the cows through the gate.  Holy moly that hail stings, especially when it is coming in sideways!  I am really starting to wonder about this life.  This is not fun.  

1:30.......Head to the house for lunch....which is fast, cuz it's yesterdays lunch!

2:30.......Back out to the cows.  The wind is still blowing really hard.  I hate the wind.  Especially when it is mixed with sleet and hail.  All day is spent in the cows.  Making sure the new babies get up and eat, then get doctored.

The wind blew one of our wheel lines almost into the road.  This is just crazy weather!  I am starting to wish I had an office job.

8:30.......Head home for dinner and call it a night.  Its warmer tonight, and all seemed quiet, so no late night check tonight.  Thank goodness!!!

Day 3               Forecast.......SNOW

8:00.......My Farmer reports we had 2 new babies over night and both are doing fine.  

9:00.......Sitting in my office, wanting to do paperwork and not work outside.

9:30.......OK, fine.  I bundle up and head out to the field.  The winds not blowing, its not raining, however snow is predicted.  And sure enough, as soon as I crawl on my ATV and head out to the pasture, the snow starts.  Really?!?!  I have had enough of this stupid weather.  And the weatherman is predicting snow for the next 5 days.  Oh ya, of course!  That's what happens during calving season.

I am sooooo not liking this life right now.

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!

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.......

And you do WHAT in the winter??

The #1 question this time of year is....."What do you guys do during the winter?"  As I think about it, what do we do.  We always start out with a list of things to do, mostly mechanic, maintenance, that sort of stuff,  but as spring comes along, there is very few items checked off.   So I sat down to figure out what my Farmer really does with his time in the winter and why he gets less done in the winter verses the summer.  I know why I don't get as much done.......cuz I don't like the cold, but this isn't about me it's about him...hehe.

His day starts as the sun comes up, in the summer time that's about 6, in the winter its 9. ( Now remember, this is my Farmers schedule, not mine......i DO NOT get up early.)  The day ends as the sun is setting low in the sky, summer days around 8, winter days around 5 (or earlier).  At this point, my Farmers work day has gone from a 14 hour day in the summer to, approximately 8 hours in the winter.   His main chore in the winter is tending to the cattle.   Between morning and night, this usually takes about 3 hours a day.  Except every 4th day it takes an extra hour or so to load up the wagons with hay.  So that takes us down to 5 hours of daylight, except every fourth day its 4 hours left.  Then there's lunch.  Since he doesn't always get much of a lunch break in the summer, he makes sure he takes at least an hour for lunch in the winter.  I think something about hibernation comes into play.  So now let's say we are down to 3 to 4 hours of the work day left, let's say 3 cuz hibernation happens more often then not theses days.  Then there's the "honey do" stuff.  Keeping me, I mean the house, stocked with firewood.  A very important job and we will give it a half hour.   Now I have never timed him, but I am sure it takes him at least 1\2 hour every day just to put on and take off his winter gear.  I know it takes me twice that long.....because he tells me!   Evidently he has timed me.  So by my calculation, he has 2 hours left in the day to do mechanicing.  Oh wait, I didn't take into account his daily "meetings" or "conference calls" with his Farmer Friends.  Ok, so that takes the rest of the daylight hours that were left!  No wonder by the time spring comes there isn't anything on the "to do list" marked off!  Oh well, there's always next winter.

Now after doing this, I realize that that leaves way more down time, or in the house time, or together time.   No wonder we feel lucky when we both survive the winter.  But ya know, that's livin' the life......the Farm Life that it. 

Baby it's cold outside......but the shipping must go on.....

I sure did want to call in sick today.  6 degrees out side and I did not want to go out in the freezing elements and work.  But couldn't do that......no one to call when you are your own boss and/or are living with the boss.  Today was shipping day for the yearlings and of course I am my Farmers number one helper (ya right, like he says, I have to be there to make sure he does it right) so I had to be there.
Fortunately, I got a new pair of Carhartt overalls for Christmas, to keep me warm and looking good.  My old pair were mens and were really big and baggy on me.  These are still big, but they are womens and they are purple. (and yes I am smiling)  I still look like a blimp with them on, but I'm a stylin' blimp. 
Loading the yearlings (calves that are about a year old) can be interesting, but my Farmer has developed a pretty good system.  He sorts off about 3 at a time and runs them up into the trailer.  My job is to stand inside the trailer and keep the loaded ones from coming back off and then getting out of the way when more come on.  Oh ya, plus to count them, which seems to be hard for me.  You'd think loading three at a time it'd be easy to keep count, but it's not, for me anyways.  I forget easily.  As far as standing in the trailer as the critters load, I try to be brave as I do this......but really I am not.  This morning I told myself, be brave they are just yearlings and they are not gonna hurt you.  Then I over hear my Farmer telling a new helper that if the animal comes toward you to turn your body so your back is toward it so if and when it kicks, your knees will bend in the right direction.  WHAT!! Have I been told this before?  I know it's very good advice, but now I am spooked.  However I am totally stylin' in my new overalls, so why would one try and kick at me.  Right?  And I was right.  Not one tried to get me....I mean kick me.  Everything went smoothly,  and now they are off  to market which means pay day for us.  Yeappy! 

As I said it was 6 degrees when we left the house, but by the time we were done, the sun was shining, it had warmed up to about 12 degrees and it was a beautiful morning......still cold, but beautiful.   Turns out I am glad I couldn't call in sick.   I really did enjoy the morning.....but DO NOT tell my Farmer.  I can't let him know I enjoyed getting up early with him.....it would totally ruin my image.