It isn’t small talk for those who work with and for Mother Nature. It’s as important as it gets. Seventy plus degrees Fahrenheit is nothing to complain about. Combined with a wicked wind - farmers are getting some late haying done.
Things here have been okay. Busy, but not quite as manic. I discovered a mouse residing in the desk last week. She found it so inviting she had her babies there. I was not spending much time in the house or doing paperwork, obviously. The mouse mama was. Just in case I didn’t have enough to do - I demolished her home and evicted her and the family. That was only the beginning. I dread hanta virus. It’s surprising that I don’t have more mice problems on this place. That was the first one I’d seen in the house in ages. Rocky (the cat) lives on the porch these days, but he and the dogs keep the rodent population in check.
We had a strange downpour on Friday. I was pleased to find that the storm did not destroy the creek crossing. That was a first. Instead of fixing the fence, I spent the weekend tossing things out of the flooded basement.
The pairs are in the hills.
The heifers are at home in the pasture.
All the cattle seem content.
I called the dentist’s office first thing Monday morning. They gave me an appointment for that afternoon. Wow! As I was getting ready to go out the door, my doctor’s office called. They had a cancellation - if I could make it on Tuesday, they’d fit me in. Wow again! That moved my appointment up two months. Both visits went well. And lunch out is always a treat - as is good company.
My lawnmower seems to have decided that it’s no longer a self propelled model, so now I’m pushing. I have half the meadow ( I mean lawn) done. I may develop upper body strength after all. Or maybe buy a new mower. Well, so much for mowing - it’s raining again. Oh no, make that
hail . . . how’s that for instant gratification. Digital cameras are great. Yes, I know, I should turn the computer off during a storm.
Since Thanksgiving the roads have been bad. But we’d been here, dealing with the regular day to day things - and our own dramas.
Yesterday we went to Billings. My husband was scheduled for another test. He was driving when we went off the icy road before we’d gotten ten miles from home. He managed to get the pickup out. A big THANK YOU to the couple who stopped and kept an eye on the traffic as we manuevered back on the road. We were fortunate that it happened where it did. A quarter of a mile away in either direction would have been another story. We went back home and traded vehicles. We took the farm pickup.
We still arrived in time for the appointment. But to say we were anxious would be an understatement. We locked the pickup and went in the hospital. Six hours later, I went out to bring the pickup around. There I found that the keys no longer open the doors. Either door, either key. I don’t think that the pickup had ever been locked before. We stood in the cold parking lot, weighing our options. The tools buried beneath the orange twine did not include a screwdriver. But all were readily accessible and worth more than the pickup. What a brilliant idea of mine, to lock the doors.
I called a friend who arrived with some smaller tools. THANK YOU, Don. The Baron forced the vent window and opened the door. Then he insisted on driving. The roads were clear, and we made it home - safe and sound.
Okay, the corn is gone, but this is a bit ridiculous. . .
The weather is changing.
You can view the photo larger by clicking on it.
Have a couple of minutes to blog. I should be sleeping, but - oh well…
I did go to Billings & get the pump motor the other day (and a few other parts). I had the misfortune of being behind a row of traffic from Edgar to Laurel. The leaders of this pack were a pickup with travel trailer & a pickup with a Bobcat on a trailer. There were several vehicles between me & them, so I resigned myself to going 45. At least the construction at Rockvale has been completed… By the time I got to the interstate I was maniacal. I was in the left lane heading east at my usual lead footed pace when a car cut me off without signaling. Good enough cutoff to make me hit the brake. I put my lights on. Hmm - maybe she didn’t see me. Then she proceeded to travel at 50 mph. The right lane was as close to bumper to bumper as it gets in Montana, but I really didn’t want to start some of my BQE maneuvers. So I continued behind her. She had several opportunities to get in the right lane, but chose not to. At this point I tooted the horn at her. So she slowed down some more. When she decided to get into the right lane she “threw me the rod”. So I tooted the horn again, smiled & waved at her.
Since I was close to homicidal, I just went to pickup my motor, figure out how to get around the construction and get into Fasteners, stop at Costco and head home.
Yesterday was so busy I can hardly remember what the heck I did. Which is how it goes here more often than not. I did some amateur dog grooming - as long as the dogs could stand it. Got lots of laundry done. I did get lost in the weeds of my garden for a while. The weeds are still winning the war. The sweet corn is late this year, we just started getting some. I knew that as soon as the racoons hit it - it would be ready. The guys finished the grain, Hooray! Just in time too. We don’t raise malt (beer) barley, but feed barley. So instead of loading trucks and sending them on their way - we load the trucks and then unload them into grain bins… Well, the barley looks good - and we have lots of it. Which would be even better if we had someone who wanted to buy some of it! But the reason it was good timing was because it started to rain here as soon as we finished the last load into the last bin. And it rained pretty good for a while.
Today was spent in the hills moving cattle. The morning started out cool, then it got hot, then it got cool again, and later it poured. I had packed a lunch. It’s funny how food seems so much better when you’ve worked hard and eat outside. We had ham and tomato sandwiches, hard boiled eggs, chunks of cheddar, and grapes. Simple & good, sitting on the back of the pickup… My father-in-law and I took turns with driving the pickup/trailer and riding my horse. Most of where we go cannot be reached with a vehicle. We three spent some time on foot, too. We spotted some strays on the way back home. So we dropped the trailer near the road, and headed up as far as we could with the pickup. We started walking up to get to the draw that we had seen the cattle in. It started sprinkling. My father-in-law was going to drive back down. He said, “By the time you get to the top it’ll really start raining.” Gee, thanks… that’s exactly what it did. My sea level lungs were straining. My boots had ten pounds of alkali mud on them. My clothes were soaked. My hair was too, and streaming across my face. And I was enjoying every minute of it. After a while we got to the top. Found the girls and their calves and got them started down. Much easier on the lungs, not so good on the knees…
When we did get home, we unloaded the horses. They got a good brushing and a little extra oats. We fed the cattle at home. It was still pouring. It was close to seven by the time I’d put things away. Thank goodness for leftovers, since I was starving. Put on a fresh pot of rigatoni, heated up the sauce and meatballs. Then I get to clean it all up again.
Well, it looks like we’ll be riding again tomorrow - so I probably should say “Goodnight”.
