Dairy Daze...and Now Beyond

Every spring when I set out those little sweet potato slips I always marvel that they will eventually take over the area and become a writhing mass of lovely vines. They are very popular with the deer and groundhogs. Hubby's aunt's sweet taters were decimated by the deer. The tater part didn't get a chance to develop. The deer would eat the leaves as soon as they grew. My mother in law's sweet taters were decimated by a groundhog; they could see it running for cover sometimes when they went out there. Originally they'd thought it was a deer getting them, so they set a hotwire, but the leaves still kept disappearing. ARGH! I think just now they have finally started growing out, but we aren't too sure that the roots will have time enough to develop. You are supposed to wait until just before frost before you harvest; but I always jump the gun. I pulled maybe 3/4 to 2/3 of ours already last week. I couldn't wait to see what was under there. This was my take so ...

So this past summer in the dairy department has been off and on. We have had two sets of twins born; both either bull/bull or bull/heifer combos...meaning that we had to sell them. The cows all seemed to coordinate births. In early Aug we had two cows go on the same day, and the same on another day in early Sept I believe. I think we have had 9 calves since early Aug, and maybe 2 or 3 in July. (It's hard to concentrate here, I have a pot of pinto beans w/ ham soup on the stove simmering; it smells very distracting.) We don't have a regular calf buyer anymore, but hubby just puts them on Craig's List and we usually have a buyer within 24 hrs. One guy came for two little bulls. He called when hubby wasn't here and asked me how big the calves were. Well, they weren't the biggest bulls we've had but they were fairly average sized Holstein calves. That's what I told him. Well, he shows up with a fairly flimsy dog kennel; the kind where the top lifts off...

OK So remember the post before the pallet post, just two posts down? Remember? Tonight as Ellen and I were walking down to get the 4-wheeler just out of the blue she says; "He has a key." Me, rather bewildered: "What?" Ellen: "The bull has a key to open the cow. I think he opens her back." Me, starting to catch on: "Why does he need to open the cow?" Ellen, with a sigh at my density: "So he can put in the seed in. The seed to make a calf." Me, trying not to giggle: "Oh." And that's where I left it because if I started trying to explain she'd want to see things for herself and we haven't gone beyond where we were at the last discussion. And it has been a long day and I didn't feel up to discussing penises. What I really need her to understand is how to wipe herself after using the potty, and how to not get both legs into the same underwear hole when dressing herself and practical things like that; not bovi...

Here, because I don't know what else to blog about, but I need to blog about SOMETHING, is a random photo from my files. This is a shot of a place out west of us, close to the Kansas border. The place must be 20 acres or so of cleared, rolling land. The owners have filled it with piles and piles of rotting pallets. Piles of pallets and old broken down trailers. We drive by this place on our way to get alfalfa, or to go to the tractor supply place out there near Lockwood. Every time we go by there we always like to speculate on why someone would fill their property with piles of pallets. Certainly they must be snake magnets. I can't imagine why someone would actually want to do this to their property. But to each his own, I suppose.

August 20, 2011 Last Monday, I believe it was, Ellen and I were walking down over the ridge to get the 4-wheeler from where hubby leaves it after his round-up. As is usual, the bull was standing there in the trees, a ways behind the milk barn. (He follows the herd up the hill and then stands there while hubby shuts the gate on him. He later decides he wants to join the cows and pushes the gate down to get to them. But that is a different story.) Ellen has seen the bull numerous times. We have had many discussions about how cows have udders and give milk, but she’d never really thought about what the bull is for…until that night. As we were walking by she suddenly asked; “Mommy, what does the bull do?” Trying to keep it light and unthreatening (to myself, not to her) I replied: “He eats grass and sleeps all day.” “No, Mom,” Ellen wasn’t satisfied. “What does he DO?” GULP Weeeelllll… I jumped in with both feet and just gave her the truth, since she obvio...

A few days ago, on Monday evening right after milking, we looked up the road and saw a little black cow and calf on the verge of the road, sniffing over the fence at our herd. We knew she'd end up being trouble of one sort or another. We were right. We had no idea where she came from. We surmised she'd come from the little herd just behind the 12 acres across the road. But the owners live in Marshfield and we have no idea of their names or phone numbers. We hoped she'd go on about her business and find her way home. I didn't want to mess with her as she's a beef cow and they tend to be aggressive when they have a calf. A couple of people either stopped and told us about "our cow" that was out (Nevermind the fact that we don't run beef cows.), or honked loudly and repeatedly as they drove by. Finally, at about 8:25 pm, a car pulls in. It was the owner of the cow. She'd actually come from about 2 miles from here (hubby said the ...

Ha ha. Ellen went to a cousin's birthday party last night. Well, I took her there of course. The cousin turned 8, but she has a younger sister who is Ellen's age. They had hit it off at a family reunion back in May. There were quite a few older children there, mostly family members and friends of the teenaged sister, so Ellen was quite shy at first. However she got her bearings, after a little cake and keem, and ended up having a fine time with her cousin. This is a picture of them. This cousin's birthday will be in Sept, so perhaps there will be another party to go to soon. And it has been revolving around in my mind that since Ellen's next birthday will be year number FIVE, perhaps we should have a party for her. We shall see. Where to have it is the question.