It's Sunday afternoon, on the long weekend in August, and we're doing what we usually do - getting ready for harvest. I remember last year when we actually went camping with my brother and sisters; that was one for the record books - it's not often you can get a farmer off the farm when the grain is ripening and the hay needs stacking.
We are done baling hay now. Mitchell finished that job earlier this week, but there was no sitting back and taking it easy after that. Glen has been working most of this week and Mick has been out at the farm catching up on some of the jobs that needed doing. One of Glen's main concerns this past while has been the weak current going through the electric fencing. The last thing that we want is our cows losing their healthy respect for the snap they get when they touch that wire. The voltage is just high enough to make them want to leave it alone - if they discover that the jolt isn't any worse if they just plow right through it than if they just stand there, it won't take them long to figure out that one good run, and they're through the pain and into the field or ditch of their choosing.
We haven't had any rain in almost a month now so the ground is very dry. Not only could the crops and gardens use a rain, but dust-dry ground is not a very good "ground" for electricity, either. The charge just drains off and there's not much snap in the wire. Another problem is that plant life (weeds and grasses) can grow up and touch the wire as well, which also drains the charge off. Mitchell was sent out to check the wires for these problems the other day, and while he was chopping down cat tails as he went through a slough he tripped and fell into the water and against the fence. He had been doing a good job of clearing off the plant drain so there was a good jolt - especially with him so wet. He says his arm still hurts, and my cell phone, which was in his pocket at the time, is also fried. I don't know if the dunk in the water would have killed it on its own, but the jolt of electricity certainly finished it off. Now Glen and I both have new phones.
On the other pasture's fence Mick said he found the problem right away. There was a tree that had fallen against the fence. He said there were cows not too far away who were reaching through the wires for grass on the other side, and when he lifted off the tree, they all jumped back and bawled with surprise. They won't be going anywhere near it again for a while.
This afternoon the men are out trying to get our old swather ready to cut the fall rye. Every year fixing the poor, olf thing gets to be more of a project. From my point of view, I think we could lease a combine with a straight-header and get the job done in one day, but what do I know? Oh well, the job will get done, one way or another.
I am on two weeks holidays at the moment. My original plan was to spend the first week doing gardening and writing (different projects I'd promised to work on) and the second week camping in the mountains with my sister from Calgary. I'm not too sure how things will all work out now as there is a family medical emergency with one of my brothers-in-law. I am trying to get all these projects all caught up so I'm free to go if need be. I was up by 6:00 yesterday morning to pick, wash, prepare, and pickle yellow beans and cucumbers, and also picked and shelled two rows of peas before supper. I think I was asleep the minute my head hit the pillow last night. There's nothing like a hloiday weekend to make you feel relaxed, eh?
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