Thursday-Joe has been helping every milking lately. I have appreciated being able to get out of the barn a bit early and taken the opportunity to get to town a bit earlier to work on year end details. I am also finishing up the details here at home but they are much less time consuming than my other job. Domenic did the normal feeding and then washed pipeline. Bruce and Jim would let out a row, he would clean it and then Bruce and Jim would get the cows back in. These 2 groups of cows have a lot of heifers in them so dealing with them takes a bit longer. While Domenic was cleaning, Bruce and Jim managed to get the door frame replaced that Bruce damaged with the skid steer. To do this they used a post and jack and jacked up the header. They then replaced the side frame with a 3"x10" oak plank 8' tall. They used a hammer drill and anchors to secure the plank in place against the stone wall. The edges against the stone have to be filled in with mason cement and the door has to be built and hung. It was a great day to be working on the south side of the building in the sun and mid 40's for temperatures. Lumber has been purchased and in our basement for quite awhile so it is just a matter of taking the time to get it done. Bruce has his weather guardian angel working over time with such nice (for December) temperatures. I talked to Bruce's sister the other day and she asked if there was still a cement project waiting. Bruce has a reputation for testing the limits between the end of fall and the arrival of winter and many cement projects over the years have been covered with corn fodder so the concrete could cure before it froze. I am glad to say there are no concrete projects on the list any time soon : )
Ed called to let Bruce know he found a dead steer in his yard. Bruce went over to investigate and realized it was the animal that had the infected knees earlier this year we had treated and babied for a couple months. Earlier this fall he had been treated for pneumonia. We can't say we are surprised since he obviously had some issues. It is still frustrating....but we tried.
Friday-We woke up this morning to ice. I took my ice cleats along for feeding calves because the driveway was already packed and slippery yesterday. By the time we got done milking it had started to snow so I really didn't need them. Joe helped milk and Domenic fed again. With the ice we decided to let the pipeline washing wait. There was no point in letting the cows out and taking the chance that they would slip and get hurt. Bruce had an appointment in town and by the time he got back Ed had started cleaning the yard we are renting from him. He called when he was nearly done and Bruce got some stacks to bed the cattle with. The evening finale was me milking with Joe until Bruce was done feeding, and then Bruce and Joe milking while I fed calves. The two heifers that had been treated and milked last passed their drug tests so we could milk them along with everyone else. It has been awhile since we have had no special needs cows.
We received the bill from the Harvestore people today. The process, and rent of the auger, has cost us just under $1,000. We were both a bit surprised it was that expensive but it didn't help that the first auger was too short and they had to install a second auger to get corn out. Since Bruce replaced the motor already himself he is going to give them a call about the $250 in rent for the auger use.
Saturday-Bruce and I milked together today. It has been awhile! Joe will be busy doing school things for the coming weeks so we won't be seeing much of him. It was foggy today! The temperatues were in the 40's and make no sense at all for this time of year. Bruce and Ed decided to clean the lower barn here and bed it with corn fodder stacks. That means all the outside yards have been cleaned and bedded this week. With a forecast of 40+ mph winds the stacks that are still left in the field are causing concern. Ed offered to haul them to where the rest of the stacks are while we milked tonight. We have no special needs cows and the heifers seem to be behaving. Bruce explained to the one causing all the trouble that if she didn't learn to behave her attitude would be addressed at the local stockyards. She has been well behaved the last 2 milkings! Maybe he should have given her a talking to awhile ago!
Bruce has found that the electrical box in our pole shed is corroded and has blown some fuses. The caulking around the power line entrance has failed and water seems to have been following the line down into the box. He called the electrician but in the meantime we will just keep the power turned off when we aren't in there.
We have completed our last farming day for 2011. When I started these writings my intention was to do it for one complete year, covering the seasons as they came along. I haven't decided where to go from here. I do intend to post some pictures yet when I have time and computer cooperation. I hope in the process of reading this you have learned something you didn't know before. Every year, even after all this time, we learn something : ) Happy New Year!
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