Our dairy supplier called yesterday morning to see if we wanted the pump fixed, and if so he would move us to the top of the list. Given the fact that the weekend was coming, getting it fixed seemed like a good idea. They also brought along the mix faucet that needed replacing. It wasn't exactly $35 but actually $79 and backwards of the one we have but they were able to mount it with a little creativity and a couple bolts. We still have water heater issues but we have decided the pipeline wasn't washing very well because the faucet system that was broken had been bleeding cold water into the wash. That explains the reason the water wasn't hot enough. Once the faucet was fixed Bruce tested the temperatures on the pipeline wash. 195 degrees! Guess the water heater isn't quite as urgent as we had feared. It was an interesting day to have the milk inspector show up. We definitely were not as "clean" as we should have been with lots of miscellaneous clutter around but overall the important stuff was fine. Milk inspections are based on what they find during their visit. If you have a lot of stuff you aren't doing well you are inspected quarterly. That includes all the bacteria counts that are taken twice a month. If everything seems to be on track you are inspected once a year. For us, the next visit will be sometime again next spring unless something goes wrong with our numbers.
Milking right now seems odd. We have 6 milkers but have only been using 5 for quite awhile. Close to dry cows don't milk as long so you have to move the milkers faster. Fresh cows and uncultured cows create their own chaos. With everyone cultured we can milk pretty efficiently and have started using the 6th milker. With the pump fixed it sounds totally different. We are now wondering how long the problem has been going on. We made good time getting chores done last night so we got to card party, our big "date" night, at a reasonable hour. This morning came too early.
There are serious signs of spring going on here. Yesterday Bruce used the 4-wheeler to haul the grain to the heifers. He started it in the shed, with no dog in sight, and started counting. Fifty seconds later he had a dog on the back, ready to ride. This morning Ed stopped in with a list of parts to add to our order so we can take advantage of the free shipping. There was much discussion about what needed to be fixed before fieldwork. Our equipment is older and therefore requires more maintenance.
Today Bruce needed to clean the lower barn again since we will be breeding the heifers soon. We catch them in stanchions in the building by bribing them with grain, and then have to work around them in the pen. Cleaning and bedding that area just makes it more user friendly for everyone involved. While Bruce was cleaning around the tractor he thinks he hit a high spot in the concrete, he really isn't sure, but he hit the bottom step on the tractor with the bucket and it broke off!!! He continued to clean and then a hydraulic hose broke on the manure spreader so he had to change clothes and run to the equipment dealer, 27 miles away, to get a new one. Thankfully it happened early enough that he could get there by the time they closed at 3. Our son Jim had come home so at least he had good company for the trip. By the time he got everything put back together it was time to start mixing feed so we could get out of the barn tonight at a reasonable hour. I reset our clocks before I left the house and started milking somewhere between the old time and the new time. Morning came too early this morning....tomorrow will be worse with the time change : )
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