We woke up Saturday morning to find we had gotten an inch of rain over night. The forecast was for showers randomly all day so we took the opportunity to go shopping. We have come to the realization that the grass will not quit growing and I am not getting any younger. That being said, it is time to replace our 20 year old mower with something that will allow me to sit straighter and receive less pounding on my body. It was a long day with all the routine chores on both ends but we did find a mower that we think will work well. It currently takes 2.5 hrs with a 48" deck to mow everything and farm yards are not like golf courses.
Yesterday was a full day with the morning and evening chores, along with moving heifer and steer groups to new pasture. We were invited to a picnic which meant Bruce did chores until 3 and we returned at 7 to start the evening stuff. The weather this weekend has been cool with random showers so we again weren't able to chop.
Today, Monday, was a beautiful day. We knew we had to chop something so we could feed cows tonight so the first order of business was putting the new hose back on the tractor and making sure it was working before we did anything else. Every Labor Day weekend the Wisconsin Working Stock Dog Association has its annual stock dog trial. We always try to go. Today we saw lots of pups around, more than last year. Border collies, unlike most purebred dogs, come in a variety of color combinations, sizes and hair length. Today was the finals with the best dogs from the prior 2 days competing with their owners. We saw a dog compete that was missing a back leg. If I hadn't seen it walking earlier, and the announcer hadn't mentioned it, we wouldn't have known watching him run. One dog worked so hard and got so tired that he went and crawled into the cooling tank in the middle of his competition. We have tried to spend an afternoon at this dog trial every year we can. This years judge was from England and there were dogs that competed from all over the country with highly skilled owners. At these trials we have learned that 1. even good dogs can have bad days. 2. good trainers can also have bad days. 3. sometimes you just get a selection of extra stupid sheep 4. border collies consider the command "lie down" merely a suggestion. Stopping is considered close enough. We grabbed supper in town and then came home. Bruce chopped enough to feed the cows tonight and tomorrow morning. All things considered milking wasn't even too late.
I struggled last week, first thinking Wednesday was Friday. Then on Thursday it also felt like Friday to me. Friday felt like Saturday. Today, a Monday feels like Sunday. Tomorrow will be a Tuesday Monday since Monday is generally my day to work in town. Perhaps I will get caught up before the week ends. Gotta love holidays : ) Tonight it is 52 degrees and feels like fall. This is perfect weather for cows!
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