What Have You Been Doing?

[C Thompson]

We have been fencing too. Hay has been in the stackyards for over a month and the cows have been home just as long.Most years we are done the cow stuff by now but we tried to sell some calves in early September and didn't like the offer so we decided to keep them till the price got even crappier.It worked! We will send the heifers to the feedlot soon and try to market the heavy end of our steers for the banker and probably keep the lighter end and grass them next summer.The fall has been quite mild and we have lots of grass so the cows are in good shape yet but the market doesn't look like it will improve soon so we will have to move on shipping and weaning before much longer.In the meantime we can fence and fence and fence.

[mytfarms]

As for me, we didn't have enough grass here in Colorado to even consider haying with a passing glance. Unless, of course, we wanted dirt bales! Yesterday, I went to my weekend job of helping a local guy work on tractors and clean up sheds so we can work on more tractors. I can't clean corrals 'cause I haven't yet found a drawbar for my little tractor to haul along the manure spreader. Up here, we're praying to find enough hay to feed the 5 of the 11 horses we had left. Got rid of a few at the sale 'cause feed is just so dang high! Still haven't weaned calves because we're waiting for that 205 day weight mark. Even with brown grass, the warmish days and little rain shower we got last night might help that grass green a little yet. Sure would be nice for those calves.....

[I Luv Herfrds]

Got done with the training around noon yesterday. Got home and immediately got started cutting calves and cows.
Got the cows preg checked and poured.
We were running the calves through the scale chute. One tried to turn around and I had a brain fart and stuck my hand in there to rap him on the nose and he pinned my wrist against the side. Pretty bruised up, but doesn't seem to be broken.

Cows are now out to pasture. Calves are in the pens and the ones we are selling are ready to be loaded when the truck gets here. The ones we are keeping are in their pen and eating their heads off.

Shipping one bull that has turned mean. He flattened a gate this morning and the hubby was almost under it. Need a new gate now.

[Cal]

Finished up the last of the hay millet and 3rd cutting alfalfa, got the balers cleaned up and put away, finally got done planting wheat, had a horrific wind that did some assorted damage....got 3 fields blowing even though were in no till summerfallow, used bale processor with chute raised up to put alot of poor meadow hay on them to get them stopped blowing on the poorer ground and it worked well....hauled bales to processor with overgrown Canadian bale hauler , put up some more windbreak that will be used during calving, and don't think we'll ever get done hauling hay or weaning calves....need to get the sprayers cleaned up and winterized....wheat prices took a dump so probably won't be hauling much of that for a while, let it sit in the bins.

[mrj]

The 'older' generation on the ranch took a 36 your vacation last weekend. That's hard work when it follows a week of 12 hour days spent hauling hay home and 10 out of the 36 hours is spent driving!

But worth it to meet with part of our NE family for an overnight stay in Sioux Falls, plus a few hours with friends at Dell Rapids we don't see often enough.

Have any of you attended a marching band contest? Our 15 year old granddaughters' high school band participated in the Festival of Bands at Sioux Falls.....and won the overall grand champion sweepstakes prize, so she was very happy. The contest is a LONG affair, with 3.75 hours of preliminaries, then 4.5 hours of finals. And we didn't get there in time for the parade!!! The Bellevue West band was on their buses by 4:30AM and probably got home about 3:00AM the next morning! Our granddaughter was very happy to stay overnight in SF with her mother and grand parents! It was interesting, lots of great music and intricate marching and directing by the students. Band Directors are not allowed to participate, so the Drum Majors do the directing. Carly plays the vibes, bass drum and gong, so doesn't march.

Ranch work has been haul hay, work cattle with our circle of neighbors, with one coming up Saturday which might finish the pre-weaning stuff.

Getting set up for delivery of DDG took quite a while. A 'storage facility' was constructed of hay bales forming the sides and one end, rubber matting laid on the ground, crude rafters for the tarp roof set on some salvaged timbers set on the bales.......and it is all standing after being filled!

Preparing a site, and moving an older mobile home to the ranch for a grandson took quite a bit of time. Next will be attaching the skirting, hooking up water and sewer and propane. After a final round of mouse control and a final clean-up, move the dog house, and he will be set.

The other chores have been keeping mineral out, checking water for leaks. Rural water systems can really pump a lot of dollars worth of water down the draw when you aren't watching! Does anyone know of any sort of shut-off to prevent huge losses? We haven't had major ones, but sure don't want to, either. Fuel prices make it a hard choice between daily checking and taking a chance on less often.......we have gone with a bit less often, but sure keeps us more timely with getting minerals our when we know the water lines haven't been checked in a few days!

We weaned calves off our older and cull cows last Friday.

We sold open hiefers a week ago, and are selling cull cows today.....if the showers will let the trucks get to them!

Still have lots of hay to haul, about 15 miles, one way, for quite a few of them. Got the nearest ones, as they were on planted hay fields that will get too soft if it rains. Probably almost half done. At 34 bales per load, it takes a while!

Still have to wean the biggest bunch of calves, but that will be close to home. Then we will need to bring the early weaned calves home.

The trail drive to bring cows home from patures 40 miles or so north of us will happen in a couple of weeks, I think. Fun, but hard work. They use a horse drawn chuck wagon and will be on the road a couple of nights, or three. Pretty hard to find places to stay overnight, so really appreciate the good friends who allow us to camp on their places.

We need to do some fence repair and building, and have some windbreaks to put up. I need to finish the fall yard work, and we expect a painter/handyman to show up next week for work on our house. I suggested we take a week off the ranch work and do it ourselves....which apparently made the cost of hiring it done look a lot less high!!!

We have had some beautiful fall days.....and hope for many more. We would like a little rain, but sure don't need any of that snow. Hope it stays in the mountains where it belongs! It is predicted the Black Hills will get snow this week-end. Just in time for the Home Builders fall parade of homes! I want to go to that Sunday, so hope it isn't enough snow to make roads messy. I desperately need to do some shopping (paint, caulk and screws for house repairs, not fun stuff!), so can't even car pool with friends. But will get to stay overnight with grand daughters and their parents, so that will be fun.

mrj

[leanin' H]

Took some cows to a leased meadow tonight. Their calves are here on feed. We feed all our steers out and sell as fat beef. Had my wife and kids help me take the bunch of cows tonight and they enjoyed the ride. Took my camp out to the ranch thursday night to get ready for bring cows of the top of the mountain this snowy weekend. It will be chaps and slicker weather for sure. Brought home a load of firewood after dropping the camp. Tomorrow afternoon i'll load the horses and head for the ranch for the gatherin'. Plus i got a day job and manage to get in 50 to 55 hours a week there. It's all good! Gotta love stayin' busy this time of year!