Some Bad Boys
“OK you guys… There’s a new Sheriff in town.” I warn my latest captives, “I locked ya up, and yer stayin’ locked up.” The rogue bandits eyeball me suspiciously. “What are you lookin’ at Charlie?” I say in a gruff voice. “You better just be glad I didn’t use my whip back there in the corral.” Charlie glares at me, longing for me to venture to his side of the bars. It’s not just Charlie, the whole group moves their weight nervously from one foot then back again waiting for my next move. Slowly, I reach behind me. In one quick and practiced lightning fast move, I pull my trusty feed bucket! Yep, feed bucket.
These guys should have been weaned in the spring. With the delayed planting and rains, I could never get them corralled. Normally the bulls would have been castrated by now and they would be a little more manageable as steers. My wife once asked me why some bulls are aggressive. My answer, “Bulls are bulls”. These 700 pounders have decided they are grown up. Especially one Charolais in particular. If you think a 700 pound bull is small, see how many times you can get out of he corral before he catches up with you. They get bigger as they get closer!
Luckily I only have 3 of their sisters left to catch. The bad news… There are 30 more on another pasture. There’s a new sheriff in town… and he’s a little nervous!
Finally Finishing Up Hay
I have had so many hay posts, you probably think nothing else goes on around here. For this time of year, you would be almost correct! Visitors love the farm sights and sounds, but remember, we are out here everyday working in the sun. I did take some scenic pictures you may enjoy while I finished up the hay raking.
The old M Farmall did pretty good this year. It had a sputter I couldn’t quite get figured out. When I would apply the brakes, or turn up a hill, the goverver would kick in and vroom, we were off again! Dad bought this old tractor back when it was new. I have been using an Oliver 880 to rake the last couple years. It was surprising to me to get back on the narrow front end tractor with power steering. Nice cornering with the old basket rake!
I raked a large hill reminiscent of our Pennsylvania trip. The hay was thin here and I rolled 3 windrows into one. I had to make it heavy enough for the baler guy’s big round baler. I think he appreciated the view from the hill. He didn’t complain about the raking.
Then I headed to some terraces around a large pond. The hay here was almost too heavy to double rake. The baler guy’s new baler makes good 5X6 bale. I estimated this patch to be about 8 acres. When the baler guy was done, we had 41 bales in this little field!
I could mow some more waterways. I could mow some more pasture. So far we have a little over 400 big round bales this year. At 13 dollars a bale to roll it up, I better quit. Fertilizer, equipment, and custom baling costs are up again. Beef, my end product, is not.
Feeling Independant
I actually took July 4th off to see a parade. It was a nice, but short hometown affair. A few firetrucks, a bagpipe player, 8 political trucks, one float, and the Shriner fire trucks. The length of the parade was not as important as just taking a break. The hay, planting, and cow chasing had left Honey Bunches with a desire to go see how town-folk live. Luckily for me, they didn’t overpower her with a school band or twirlers or… well, I don’t remember anything but the bagpipes that were memorable.
What brought on this trip de jour? Here is a rundown of the previous week. We disked, field cultivated and drilled beans again. The rains have delayed us to the point of giving up, but a dry week meant bean planting time. My mom said, “I wish I could help you out”. I took her literally, and that is her driving the tractor with the field cultivator. Without her help, the beans would not have been in before the next rain.
A lot of hay got mowed raked and baled. I broke a perfectly good rake. Despite all repair efforts, I ended up borrowing a rake from a neighbor.
In the end, all down hay was baled before the rains moved in. I wish I could have hauled all the bales in before the rain kicked in. I did however, haul all the bales to the tops of ridges and out of the low lying areas. Now I need to fix my rake. I know how things happen around here, and I would like to return the neighbor’s rake while it is still in one piece!
One cow celebrated her independence by doing a dance.
Try as we may last year, this old girl refused to leave the pasture with the other cows. Through the winter we hauled hay to her. I am not sure how she got water since she would run away every time we tried to chop ice for her. Through sub-zero temps and 6 foot high weeds she has been happy to hide in this pasture alone. After I mowed part of the pasture, she was amazed at her ability to run free again. I got this pic as she kicked up her heels and once again headed for the ditch.
Happy Independence Day, you crazy cow!
More Cows
“We need some replacement cows”, said Mom. I had to agree with her. We have lost quite a few over the last few years. Many of them are getting older and are either not producing or have one foot in the glue bucket. I guess I have my reasons for stalling.
1. Cows are expensive. I never seem to get any more money when selling calves, but the cows keep going up.
2. Breaking ‘em in. New cows don’t know where the gates are. They don’t know what I am doing when I drive into the pasture.
3. The old cows remember where the fences are supposed to be!
Mark Your Calender!
My next “Salt Creek Radio Show” guest will be Patrice Lewis. I read an article she wrote for “Backwoods Home”, and had to find out more! Patrice has also written for “Grit”, “Countryside”, “Backhome”, and other magazines. Her move from California to Northern Idaho has inspired her to write several books. If you are interested in crafting for an income, I would suggest buying her ebook “The Home Craft Business“.
On the show, Patrice and I will discuss cows, home schooling, farming, writing, her move to rural life… (Dang, maybe I need 2 hours!) You don’t want to miss this one! Tune in to my radio show at 6 P.M. Central, Sunday the 18th. You may want to take a look at her site first, because we will take any calls and questions you may have.
Why Am I Sore This Morning?
Have you ever had one of those dreams? One so realistic, it takes a while to realize it didn’t happen when you wake up? I was having one last night. Here is what I remember…
OK you cows! Sortin’ time is comin’, and I don’t want a repeat of last year! We are gonna do a practice run, and we will ALL stay calm and relaxed! If you look straight ahead, you will see a gate. When I walk behind you, you will not jump the fence, you will not bend the corral gates, and you definitely will not chase me over the fence! You will proceed in an orderly fashion through the gate into the sorting pen. Once there, you will remain calm, but alert. If you feel anxious or bored while in the sorting pen, cud chewing is allowed.
You calves pay attention! You are part of this process too! Watch your mama’s and follow them. Do not watch me. Every year some of you calves stare at me and when you turn around your mom’s are gone. This is usually followed by a chase over 80 acres as you try to find them. They are in the sorting pen. Stay with your mamas!
Now! You two bulls! I know you don’t get along. I know you don’t like being in confined spaces. This year I will not wait for you to reconcile your differences. I will not speak in soothing voices as you tear down the corral. I will not coddle you, or call Dr. Phil. I have new batteries in the Hot Shot, and you will behave yourselves!
As for you Honey Bunches! When I say shut the gate, I mean shut the… then I remember a loud WHACK!
That’s where I woke up. I guess I talk in my sleep.
Sunday Goin’s On
It’s Sunday morning and winter weather has moved back in.
Poor Scout can’t find his buried treasures with the new snow. At least we are warm and cozy here at the cabin. Blueberry muffins and some good thick bacon help warm the inside!
While the snow blows outside, I have been adding some short videos to the Salt Creek Life page. See Videos up there at the top of the page? Meanwhile, Honey Bunches is preparing to head to her mom’s house. Her Mom is about 75 miles south of here, but if the snow keeps coming, she can make it to work from there.
I am preparing to bundle up and go feed the cows. They will be glad to see me coming with the bad weather. Once they are fed, I need to stop off and see my 5 year old niece. She is hoping I bring her a birthday present. We don’t need a disappointed little girl running around here!
Later on, I will be on the Renegade Farmer radio show with Zan Asha. You can find those links in the post below. Tune in at 5 P.M. Central to hear the show.
That sounds like enough for a Sunday. It’s supposed to be a day of rest ya know! Everybody stay warm, and I’ll be talking at ya later!
Is It Spring Yet?
Is It Always This Cold Here?
Time for hunkerin’ down again. Looks like more winter weather is on the way. All here on the farm are sure ready for some spring warmth. At least the water should continue to run this go ’round. While the temperatures are expected to get back down in the single digits, it will warm up to the 20′s during the day. We are anxiously awaiting Groundhog Day. I don’t know if Punxsutawney Phil is very accurate, but maybe he will give us some good news! Until then, the calves will keep their hooves crossed.
This Week…
As you can tell by the picture, Scout wants a ride on the new addition to the Salt Creek miniature tractor collection! The little Farmall needs a new carb, but I was happy to find it did fit in my little storage shed as I had hoped. It runs fine with the choke on full. Scout said I should replace the carb so it will run better. He is such a perfectionist considering we don’t even know what breeds he is a mix of.
After a week of fighting the cold, frozen waterers, and slick roads, the calves made it to market and sold today. They brought pretty good money, but not what they were bringing a couple years ago. Sometimes breaking even is a blessing!
I did an interview with Tipper from Blind Pig And The Acorn. It was a real battle. The phones and music files had issues. I stuck with it and luckily for me, Tipper did too. She is truly a patient woman. I have tried to fix the flubs in the show with little success. You can hear the interview by clicking the Salt Creek Radio link. There is a large section of white noise about 2 minutes in, but if you can get past that part, the last 35 minutes were great. Since the phone issues kept us from doing all the trivia questions, I am working on a plan to put a few here on my site. Stay tuned.
Starting To Warm
It looks like we are finally going to put the sub-zero temperatures behind us. The pipes are still frozen, I am still hauling water, but most of the danger has subsided. I never got around to posting pictures during the coldest weather, so here are a couple. The first one shows the thirsty calves crowding around the water tank as I begin hauling water. It takes a several trips a day to keep them satisfied. My estimate is about 200 gallons a day!
The next picture shows the calves enjoying some hay
I unrolled for them. They were glad to get their hooves off the icy ground for a while. So far none of them are sick. Getting them to a lot where they had access to the barn at night seems to have helped. Maybe the waterers will thaw by the end of the week.
