There's an old saying that whatever weather you get on Good Friday is what you'll have for the next forty days. Not very scientific, but we always note what the weather is - and it's usually blowing up a gale. But today is clear with bright sunshine and blue skies, although the temperature leaves a lot to be desired. It's still well below the freezing mark, but the weather guys say that it's supposed to start climbing on Sunday. Let's hope they've got that right.
So far we've only had one calf that didn't get dried off fast enough and ended up with frozen ears. Many farmers have their cows calving in January and February so that the animals they sell in the fall are larger and worth more money, but Glen isn't into babysitting frozen, wet babies at forty below zero so we aim for the end of March. We were supposed to start calving on the 19th of March but somehow a few of the cows jumped the gun. I think we had five babies by then, and since then it's been fast and furious. I think all the first time mothers (heifers) have had their calves - unassisted and doing fine. The older cows don't need as much watching; in fact, Glen is having trouble just trying to keep up with his records of whose is whose because two or three new ones can show up between feedings. He took his record book out with him yesterday to help him sort out Mamas and babies. Our herd sire is a black angus bull and his colouring has come through very well - with the exception of three, all the babies out there are black - and running and jumping and playing together. It's hard to keep track even after they've had their ear tags attached.
This week we've had our daughter-in-law and Jennifer, our two year old grand-daughter staying with us. Grandpa Glen takes her out to the barn when it's time to bottle feed the calf and after the little guy has drained the bottle she lets him suck on her fingers. There are lots of kids who would probably be intiminated by this, but she can't wait to go again. It's a funny feeling - that smooth, warm, slippery mouth sucking on your fingers. All little kids should be able to visit a farm and see the animals.
We still have our last year's calves. Glen says, if he has to, he'll feed the steers out and sell them for butcher in the fall. The heifers we were going to keep anyway to expand our herd. We did ship four of our old cows last week - they were too old to produce another calf and were just costing us feed, so when the neighbour said he was going to take some of his to the auction and had room for some more, Glen sorted these out of the herd and off they went. We got the check for them yesterday - before BSE it would have been over $4,000.00 but not anymore ... $1,250.00 was what we got and we're glad it wasn't less.
Friday, March 25, 2005
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Leaning Sideways
Spring in Saskatchewan! For anyone who has never had the pleasure, spring out in the middle of the Canadian prairies means wind ... make that WIND, the lower case letters just don't convey power of what's going on outside tonight.
There was a cartoon in one of the farm papers a while ago that featured a "You Are Now Entering Saskatchewan" sign in the foreground, and in the distance everything else in the drawing had a lean to it: trees, barns, bale stacks, elevators ... even the sign wasn't quite on the square. One picture is worth a thousand words ...
Not that everything is bent over, of course, but we do withstand our share of wind. Luckily the snow is all crusted over with ice because we've had some warm, sunshiney days lately so there'll be no blizzard conditions out of it, but it's going to be a noisey night with the wind howling into the yard just outside our bedroom window. A few years ago, before we took the old shingles off and replaced them with metal roofing, we had some really noisey nights when the wind started slapping the shingles up and down. Now, with the metal roof the windy nights are quite tame, but when it rains or we get hail - that's another story!
Glen has been busy these past few days being a nursemaid to two new calves born Monday afternoon. We weren't expecting any babies until the end of the month so the cows hadn't been moved into the barns. We try to keep the immenent births under a roof and in fresh bedding, but these guys were born outside in the wet snow, so they had quite a few strokes against them when we found them. They were wet, cold, and weak from being a little premature, and their mother just doesn't know what to make of having two babies. To top that all off, Glen had to go out with a big calf sled and haul them back to the barn, take the babies into the heated well house to dry them (with my hiar dryer) and rub them down. They were too weak to get up and nurse so we mixed up formula for them, too. The larger one is up and nursing off his mom now, but the little guy, although he's come a long way since Monday night, is still getting bottle fed. Glen has named them Dumb and Dumber.
We got caught not selling our last year's calves before the border was due to open. Glen figured if the prices were good before, they'd be better after. I don't know what he was thinking, no one was surprised when the border stayed shut - disappointed, but not surprised - so why had he hung on to the cattle that were ready for market? I have a feeling that we'll have a long time to think that one over. There is a lot of ill will toward the Americans these days. The R-CALF guys are buying cheap Canadian cattle, having it processed here and are selling it in the States, but their case to stop the import of live cattle from this country is that it is unsafe. We all grew up watching the cowboys in the white hats - the John Waynes - show us how to be noble and good, everything that America was supposed to stand for. It speaks volumes now that they appear to only stand for greed.
There was a cartoon in one of the farm papers a while ago that featured a "You Are Now Entering Saskatchewan" sign in the foreground, and in the distance everything else in the drawing had a lean to it: trees, barns, bale stacks, elevators ... even the sign wasn't quite on the square. One picture is worth a thousand words ...
Not that everything is bent over, of course, but we do withstand our share of wind. Luckily the snow is all crusted over with ice because we've had some warm, sunshiney days lately so there'll be no blizzard conditions out of it, but it's going to be a noisey night with the wind howling into the yard just outside our bedroom window. A few years ago, before we took the old shingles off and replaced them with metal roofing, we had some really noisey nights when the wind started slapping the shingles up and down. Now, with the metal roof the windy nights are quite tame, but when it rains or we get hail - that's another story!
Glen has been busy these past few days being a nursemaid to two new calves born Monday afternoon. We weren't expecting any babies until the end of the month so the cows hadn't been moved into the barns. We try to keep the immenent births under a roof and in fresh bedding, but these guys were born outside in the wet snow, so they had quite a few strokes against them when we found them. They were wet, cold, and weak from being a little premature, and their mother just doesn't know what to make of having two babies. To top that all off, Glen had to go out with a big calf sled and haul them back to the barn, take the babies into the heated well house to dry them (with my hiar dryer) and rub them down. They were too weak to get up and nurse so we mixed up formula for them, too. The larger one is up and nursing off his mom now, but the little guy, although he's come a long way since Monday night, is still getting bottle fed. Glen has named them Dumb and Dumber.
We got caught not selling our last year's calves before the border was due to open. Glen figured if the prices were good before, they'd be better after. I don't know what he was thinking, no one was surprised when the border stayed shut - disappointed, but not surprised - so why had he hung on to the cattle that were ready for market? I have a feeling that we'll have a long time to think that one over. There is a lot of ill will toward the Americans these days. The R-CALF guys are buying cheap Canadian cattle, having it processed here and are selling it in the States, but their case to stop the import of live cattle from this country is that it is unsafe. We all grew up watching the cowboys in the white hats - the John Waynes - show us how to be noble and good, everything that America was supposed to stand for. It speaks volumes now that they appear to only stand for greed.
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