Thoughts from the Middle of Nowhere

Well, I finally started to feed the cows some hay earlier this week. With the lack of snow cover the cows were doing okay on the grass available but I penciled out, yes in this day of computers, PDAs, and calculators I still am more comfortable with a pencil and paper, what my hay supply looked like and I see that I will have plenty of hay to make it through the winter. So I will take a little better care of the cows and not graze the grass so short and feed hay. I don't know that the hired hand is too thrilled with the prospect but that is what he hired on for.

It gets a little monotonous around here when we are feeding hay to everything. It's a grind every day of the same thing without much a change in routine. I wouldn't give it up though, it my be a grind but it's my grind and I like it.

All the lessons of history in four sentences: Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad with power. The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly small. The bee fertilizes the flower it robs. When it is dark enough, you can see the stars. Charles A. Beard

The feed is doing the trick. A few days ago I talked about how a some of the calves were coughing and not feeling good and I thought some feed would do the trick. It did. The calves are perking right up, the sick one is better and there is no visible coughing in the herd. Damn I'm good.

We finally got our first load of cake in for the cows and started feeding them. I took the cake spreader out to the hills and started honking like mad to attract the cows attention. Boy, did that ever get their attention. They come on a dead run from overf a mile away to get some cake. At least they aren't lacking for energy the way they came running in.

I will continue to cake the cows until I get them in to start feeding them. It sure is nice to have the cake to start supplementing all the critters. As worthless as the grass was this year they need it.

The difference between people and ideas is... only superficial. Richard Rorty

Yesterday I got the replacement heifers in so that the young person who got the Merit Heifer that we donated could pick her up. While getting the heifers in I noticed quite a few were coughing and one was acting a little sick. The sick one was not coughing but had a snotty nose, glassy eyes and had no energy.

With the sick ones and the ones that are coughing I think the biggest thing I could do to help them is to start giving them a little bit of feed. They have been out on native pasture since weaning with no supplement and it's just getting to be too much for them. Not enough green feed with it freezing every night so I will start feeding them. Hopefully that will get them over their little problem and gaining weight again, or so I hope.

I always seem to do this. I stretch the calves out long enough on native pasture that I get a sick one or two before I start to feed them. A little hay usually fixes thing right up and I save feed costs until then. It will be nice in a way to start feeding a few. It will feel more like winter is coming.

To find joy in work is to discover the fountain of youth. Pearl S. Buck

BTW, I notice on the main page for the Merit Heifer program is a picture from a couple of years ago of the young lady with the heifer we donated to her. Pretty good looking heifer if you ask me.