Coyote Ridge FarmsWelcome To Our Rural Blog

As with most of the summer, we have had plenty of rain.   In the last 2 days we’ve received approx. 4 inches of precipitation… enough is enough already.  And with the heavy dew of each morning, it’s getting tough to do things around here.  I was able to get a few miles of the road ditches mowed, but that was about it.  Usually, I am able to mow the entire ditch, but nowadays, the bottoms remain.  Most of the ditches either have water in them or they are so soft with mud only a fool would attempt to cut it.

It looked as if some of the forecasted rain was going to miss us last night, but Carol mentioned that we got some heavy showers last night.  As things we drying of toady, it rained again for 45 minutes or so.  Wonderful.  No mowing hay today.

Tomorrow it is suppose to be windy and sunny.  I’m hoping the wet downed hay will dry a little so I can rake and bale it during the next day or two.  I’d like to get some of our hay field cut as well.  Anticipating the chance to do some baling this week, Carol picked up some baling twine… so we’re ready.

Or is it?

After baling for Farmer Mike on some rented land he controls, it was time to do a little baling here on this farm. We have about 3 straw bales remaining for the goats and then we’re out… completely.  The straw we have been using for bedding has been from the stockpile we set aside 2 years ago (2008).  It’s a wonder it’s lasted this long.

A few days ago, Farmer Mike offered his John Deere, small square baler for us to use.  Well, I thought we should take him up on his kind offer.  We have approx. 300+ bales to bale and rain has been in the forecast for days now.  Normally, I would use the the neighbor’s JD 24T baler, but with time being a luxury we did not have, I needed to get our season straw baling done ASAP.

After driving the tractor to Mike’s, I hooked up to his baler, with hay basket behind that.  The drive, on a tractor, takes some time.  All the while I was thinking I should just use the neighbor’s baler… it would have be quicker.  Well, well, well, I couldn’t have been more wrong.  Mike’s baler is a little bigger than the neighbor’s and has more teeth on the pickup.  I was able to bale in 2nd gear, with no problems.  Before picking the baler up I had raked 2 windrows straw into one larger on.  Needless to say. I was glad I went the extra mile for this more modern baler.  And with the hay basket catching the bales as I bale, was a true time saver.  This device is wonderful.  One can easily bale about 70-75 bales and haul them with you.  There is no going back to get the bales, putting them on rack and bringing them back to the place.

Here I am using a bale basket while baling our wheat straw.

The first day, we had nearly all the straw bales baled.  Not put away, but baled.  The bales we did get put away, Madison helped with.  The next day, we put most of the baled oats straw in the loft. When Carol was busy with Chas, Madison would be in the loft, helping me pile bales until I could get in the loft to stack them.  We had a few issues with the bale conveyor,  but after some minor repairs, we were back in business.  Later, I went out to the field and made a few rounds in the wheat field for 70-80 bales of wheat straw.  It was smooth going. I really liked Mike’s baler.  Gotta get me one of those.

As I was finishing up with the baling of the wheat straw, it started to drizzle.  No biggy, I was headed home anyway.  Oh crap! We need to put this stuff away.  After pulling into the yard, I helped Carol stack the rest of the load of oat straw (on the ground) into the barn.  When we got done with those bales, we still had the hay basket still full of bales.  I was quick to drop the load off near the barn – that’s when the work really started. Austin (just back from work), Carol and myself high-tailed the wheat straw into the barn.  We already had some straw in the loft, but we like putting bales along the outer walls of the barn.  By doing this it helps hold the heat of the animals during the cold winter months.  It makes a huge difference.

The last couple of days reminded me of when I was growing up, helping my dad and grandpa do the baling, in the 1970′s.  It seemed we always baled straw on some of the hottest, most miserably days of the year.  It was just the way it was done back then I guess.  Today, we started the day with temps in the 90′s°F with high humidity.  Later in the day, Carol mentioned to me that our weather station alarm went off – I had it set to sound off at 95°F.

Again, using Farmer Mike’s baling equipment was a Godsend.  I’m sure grateful for his help and so glad I never p*ssed him off when was younger.  I don’t think we could be doing nearly as well as we are without his help and guidance.

Carol knew what to do.  She started canning jam.  She had a few flats of strawberries and some stalks of rhubarb that needed to be preserved so she made 9½ pints of strawberry-blackberry jam, and the same amount of strawberry-rhubarb jam.  She then made some cheddar cheese from our raw goat milk.

I, on the other hand, went outside in between rain showers to do a little of this, then a little of that.  One of the tasks was to pound a single post in the vineyard.  Carol and I decided it was time to reinvest some of our time back into the grapes.  We want to string high-tensile wire between the posts for the vines to cling to.  We’re hoping to have better luck with the grapes this year.  Last year we were hit by hail.  The storm took the vines down to the ground.

Tonight, Carol and a friend went to the livestock auction in Hutchinson, MN.  Carol set out to buy some meat goats, if there were some available at an affordable price… we’ve been selling quite a few goats here at the farm and felt we want to give our customers a good selection in which to choose from.  This will be Carol’s first livestock auction experience.

… and inspected.

For the most part, I had the fencing project [north of the creek] done yesterday.  But today I added the finishing touches by installing temporary gates to the paddock entrances.   Just before that, I called my local Natural Resource and Conservation Service (NRCS) official and asked him if we could schedule an inspection time/date.  He said, “How about 1:00 PM today?”  My response was, “Um, OK.”  That’s when I put the temp. gates in place and connected the fencer unit.  And right on time, the NRCS guy pulled into the drive.

On an aerial map, I showed him what fences I built/completed and how to get out to the newly installed paddocks.  Roughly a half an hour later, he and his assistant were gone.  I’m hoping everything met government specifications.  That’s how I built the stuff.  I even built it better than what was called for.  While I was fixing the fencing for the goats and sheep (on the south side of the creek) I could see that the inspectors were photographing my fencing – and admiring it, I’m sure.  Once they were gone, the rains came… again.   So far this month, we have had 13 days with precipitation and only 2 day without.  What a change from last year.

Here’s hoping the fencing passed inspection.  Whatever the case, the Scottish Highlander cattle are in some tall grass now.  In some areas of the paddocks, I could only see horns and tail.  I’m assuming all the other parts, in between, are there as well.

After helping the neighbors with chores this morning, I was in the mood to do a little fencing… why not!?  I’m awake already and it looked as though rain was on its way.  “Gitter-done.”

I quick loaded 4 cattle panels onto an old hay-rack.   Recently, I have been using this type of cattle panel as semi-permanent gates.  Today would be no exception.  Once loaded and hooked up to the pick-up, I headed to the new pasture area, north of the creek.  Within 45 minutes, all 4 gates were in place and the new 10 acre pasture was now secure and could be used for grazing.

With only a few odds-n-ends to take care of, the Highlanders will be able to cross the creek to enjoy the waiting pasture grasses in an hour or two.  The main task to take care of was the transitioning of the old fence with the new and to make sure the fence wires that crossed the creek were still intact.  The time it took to do this was much less than I thought – easy-shmeezy.  It was now time to let the cattle out (or in, depending on your perspective)… or at least let them know they were able to access the crossing area of the creek.

Once I located most of the cattle, it was time to call them.  Within seconds I have a half dozen, long-horned, cows and heifers running and bucking in my direction.  They know that when I call them it is time to move to new grass… and they were more than a little excited.  Horns were flailing and mud was flying.  Once they got to me, they settled down a little, but when I heard the pounding of hooves, I was quick to turn around to see if they were gunning for me or not.

The cattle waited for me to walk though the gate opening near the crossing before approaching the creek bank themselves.  As they started to eat the grass, I could hear a faint “moooo.”  I looked to the east but couldn’t see anything in the old pasture… then I heard another call.  It was LaVerne and she was running towards me like a big red locomotive.  Apparently, she saw the others eating the grass and she wanted some of that action as well.  Within seconds, she approached the crossing and was ripping the tall dark green grass from the bank, with her mouth.

As the highlander cows and heifers devoured the grassy bank, it started to rain.  I had hoped the girls would cross the creek while I was standing there.  Instead, I simply got wet.  It seemed they were quite content where they were.  Hopefully, they will find their way across the waterway before too long… and w/o incident.  Once out on the north side of the creek, I feel confident they will stay there… it’s the crossing area that concerns me.  Winter was not kind to this portion of the fence line and it was/is a bit entangled and full of duck weed and old cat-tails.   Soaking wet, I headed to the house with fingers crossed.

Although not much will be gotten done today, we are enjoying the sounds of the much needed rain.  It is so appreciated.

After the “mishap” with the Oliver tractor yesterday, could things get any worse?  Yepper!  They sure can.

Since the Oliver was still setting in the field from last night’s break-down, Carol and I went to fetch the beast at about 6:45AM.  At 45°F, I told her to take the van to the fields so she wouldn’t have to ride on the tractor with me – it was cold. 8-O  I got out there with the IH 560.  Our first attempt to pull the Oliver was a no-go.  The 560 wouldn’t pull it with the corn planter behind it.  So, back to the place I went to get a bigger tractor.  I was trying to hurry, as I knew Carol had to get cleaned-up so she could be ready and waiting for her friend who had a medical appointment in the Metro.   Well, the bigger tractor was able to pull the Oliver and planter – easy-shmeezy.  As soon as we had the tractors close to the homestead, I told Carol that we were good and that she had better get going before her ride arrived.  I went back to the house to help with our oldest daughter Chastiti’, in case her van came and Carol was busy.  It turned out that Carol’s ride was late, but by me being in the house it allowed Carol to get some of Chas’ medical charting done and faxed.

About a half hour after Carol and her friend left, it started to rain.  Off and on, off and on.  This last rain shower as been going on for about an hour+ now… and the winds are crazy fierce.  It doesn’t look good for planting corn today, or the next day… or the next.   Rain, rain, go away.  Please come back another day.