The sunshine looks deceptively warm outside this morning, but I've been out to take the garbage out, and I wouldn't want to spend too much time there unless I had a warm coat on. It's 9:00 a.m. and the grass is still white with frost. On the other hand, at least the sun is shining. Last week, when we had a whole day of working with the cattle planned, it was rainy, cold, and windy all day long. I think my fingers only started to thaw out about Wednesday.
With a crew of Glen, myself, our two daughters Sandy and Jesse, and friend Jenn, we brought the whole herd in from pasture, and got them ready to push them through the cattle handling system we had rented from the CO-OP in town. We had to innoculate all the calves for Blackleg, and tag them all with radio frequency ear tags - there were 55 to do, but somehow with all that was going on we missed the two smallest. How this could have happened sure had us scratching our heads on Sunday morning when we discovered that we still had two tagless calves out there. The only way we can figure they managed to dodge the tagger was to duck under the corral gates before they got to the crowding pen. As we have to get them all back in for a booster shot in the next month, it will be taken care of then. Maybe by then, they won't fit under so easily - besides, we'll be on the lookout for escapees next time!
Besides the calves, we had to trim hooves on a couple of adult animals, and cut back the horns on one cow whose horn had curled back into her face and was pressing into her skull. This can be a messy job as, even though the horn is just like a fingernail and doesn't have nerve endings so there is no pain, it is supplied with blood. The last time we did the job (on another cow) she bled a lot and the clotting powder the vet had sold us was totally ineffective. Jesse had a different plan this time - from her feedlot experience she had learned to touniquet the horns with a bull bander. We just pulled one up snug around her horns, trimmed the horns right back, and took the touniquet off the next morning. I don't think she lost a tablespoon of blood. Glen, on the other hand, will remember the experience for a while. When he went to pull the band off it snapped on him just like the gigantic rubber band that it was; his finger was still throbbing hours later.
It was a long, cold, full day. I had made a big pot of chili for noon, but when we all trooped back up to the house after 6:00 there was nothing ready to eat. Glen said he was buying us all steaks at the bar so we cleaned up and headed off to town. After all that fresh air and exercise it was all we could do to stay awake long enough to eat supper and go home. Oh well, there's no better sleep than after a hard day's work.
Glen is working today, building another oil lease up so I have the day to myself. This whole summer has been out of the ordinary - the weekends spent doing things other than gardening or housework. I haven't got my windows cleaned, the flower beds are still all cluttered with dead plants, and the house needs a thourough cleansing. To be quite honest, I don't even know where to begin - hence I sit, sipping coffee, in the office writing my blog and thinking of other projects I'd have more fun with. But ... I'd better get back to the real world.
5 comments:
Jocelyn;
Your statement at the end of "I don't know where to begin" pretty much sizes up the way we feel around here. It frosted here Thursday night, and for East Tennessee that is an early frost, we don't see the first frost normally for another week to a week and a half...it frosted Thursday night and last night as well.
We have had three litters of rabbits born in the last five days. We lost one of the new babies last night when mama drug it out of the nester, apparently by accident, and squished it-a real shame.
Perhaps we will see a bit better weather in the coming week.
Dave;
It's supposed to snow today - I don't know if they're predicting for it to stay or melt, but the thought is depressing all the same. Glen would prefer a foot of the really heavy, wet stuff that would still have time to melt and fill the duggout. Water is a real concern here right now. It's crazy as a few hundred miles north in Saskatchewan they couldn't even plant their crops this year because it never quit raining and the ground is still covered with water! We're sure hoping that turns around next year.
Jocelyn
I am reminded why I live in the South when I read you saying that it was due to snow there-has it?
Snow this early here would be highly unusual-we don't see the first flurries until mid-November. We do live in the mountains, however, so when the snow does come it is heavier, deeper, and colder than the valley below (which often gets no snow at all)-heavy snowstorms are not uncommon in the Smokies, while the areas around them will see nothing of it.
I've always thought that the Smokies would be a wonderful place to visit. I've read about the hiking trails through parts of that counrty - I'm sure I'm not fit enough to tackle anything but the sissy trails, but that would be the way to see it!
Jocelyn;
I live here and I'VE never done anything but the sissy trails, so you aren't alone. I once made it to the fire tower near the top of Clingman's Dome...but I needed help to get up there!
The view was certainly worth the sore feet, though
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