We have officially hit the busy season. I am not sure which
direction to turn. I could be fixing fence, burning pasture, planting corn or
working calves. It’s funny how that everything hits us at once and it seems
like an endless stream of things to do. However, for all of the stress we have
never failed to get the cows out on grass or the corn planted. Somehow it will
all get done, but that knowledge does not lessen the immediate stress.
That is why this week’s column will be a series of random
thoughts I have had in the past week. With everything going on I am not capable
of any in-depth thought. Thoughts like, I would like to find the engineer who
designed my 1997 Ford F-250 Heavy Duty feed truck and have him take a tire off
after a winter of feeding. For those of you who have not had the privilege of
removing a tire off of one, the lugs holding the tire on are about six inches
long and catch a lot of “stuff” making the tire changing process a long,
miserable chore if you do not have access to an air wrench.
This past week I have clipped and sprayed trees and I have
burned pasture. If anyone from the EPA is reading this, burning is a much
preferred method. It is quicker, cheaper and has less of an environmental
impact. Sure the air quality numbers might spike for a day but I am sure that
more than offsets the decreased amount of herbicide used. The bottom line is
that burning is the only way we will preserve the tall grass prairie we have
left. It does seem as though we are doing a better job of not concentrating the
smoke this year and spreading our prescribed burning out a little more. But if
we don’t burn we will be clipping and spraying a whole lot more.
I ran a wire underneath of my thumbnail on my right hand,
not much of an injury. However, it is amazing how much you bump a sore finger.
Especially when typing. When in the midst of a dry spell it is important to
remember that a 30% chance of rain means there is a 70% chance it won’t. I am
also pretty sure my cows are so bored that they are watching the grass grow.
One morning of forgetting to plug the fence back in after chores and I will
have turned the cows out on the brome, whether I want to or not.
When I take bales of hay out to the cows right now they are
about as excited as I am when we have left-over, clean out the refrigerator
night. One bucket calf adds twice as much time to chores every morning. I am
sure that is not true, but it seems that way. Remembering to turn the water off
is the hardest thing for me to do.
A watched ewe never lambs and the last thirty calves are not
nearly as exciting as the first thirty were. It is turkey season, I sure have
seen a lot of them and they call almost constantly. This time of the year a
farmer’s cell phone battery hardly lasts through the day. I will let you decide
if the last two thoughts have anything to do with each other. On a related note,
I will agree that turkeys (I am talking about the birds now) are weary but they
are not smart. Many of us who hunt them give them too much credit for
outsmarting us (then again…..).
Nothing grows faster than your lawn when the mower is in the
shop. I have also noticed that the weather is always perfect while you are
waiting for a part during planting or harvest and almost always changes once
the part has arrived and the repairs are made. This time of the year you should
always take a jacket and be prepared for colder temperatures no matter what it
is like that morning. If you don’t believe me go to a track meet. We should
also pass this information on to all teenagers.
Finally, it must be spring. This past week I experienced the
migration of the red tractor from its winter feeding grounds to its summer
home. Unlike most migratory species red tractors migrate north for the winter
and South for the summer; at least they do on our farm. Well, enough of my
scattered, random thoughts from my harried mind. Back to work before I get
myself in more trouble.
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