Time For Something New...

It's been a season of changes around here, and this week, they became reality.

On Monday morning, David, a young Amish neighbor who is starting out farming, came to choose which of our cows he wanted to purchase.

On Tuesday we sent several cows that he didn't want, to a dairy sale.

Yesterday several older cows went to the sale barn, and early this morning Jim and I headed to the barn to milk for the last time...

It was pretty cold, but thankfully not windy...

We finished up milking and kept our eyes on the clock, anticipating the cattle hauler arriving soon...

He first transported some cows from another neighbor and then arrived at our farm...

The cows cooperated quite nicely as they were loaded onto the truck.  Off he goes with the first load...

Last trip down Clearview Road...

...and here they are, settling into their new home!  Henry, age 2, looks on...

Our job for the next hour or so will be draining all the water lines in the cow stable.  We don't need any surprises when the weather warms and we turn on the water again to the barn!  For now we'll water the heifers with a hose from the milk house into a stock tank.

It's the end of an era, and as we expected, we have mixed emotions.  One thing that helps is knowing that most of the cows went to a neighbor, and will be helping him get off to a start in dairy farming. We've felt a lot of support from friends and family, and are looking forward to what's next.  What all that is, we don't know yet, but we're slowly piecing it together.

Jim and I spent almost twenty-five years working together, and we think that over all it went very well!  We might not get to eat three meals a day together any more, but we'll be fine!

For now, we still have some heifers and a couple of young calves that will keep our fingers in farming for a little while!

PA State Farm Show...

Jim and I are glad for the opportunity we had to go to the PA State Farm Show in Harrisburg  between milkings on Monday!  The kids were both still home on break, and chose not to go with us. They helped with the morning work and agreed to feed the cows at lunchtime, so we could get on our way in good time.

You never know what kind of traffic you might encounter in that area, but we  had no delays until we got to the parking lot.  We parked about a mile away, and took a shuttle bus that dropped us off at the door to the complex.

I always enjoy the butter sculpture.  Each year it has a different theme,  and is unveiled at the opening of the farm show.  It is carved from 1000 lb of butter, and features individuals wearing super hero capes...a doctor, an athlete, a soldier, a firefighter and a dairy farmer...

We wandered through various exhibits.  This one featured old tractors that were restored by various FFA groups...

We saw many, many animals , but I only got pictures of a few.

These piglets were about two weeks old, and growing fast!

I'm not sure what breed of cows these are, but I thought they were especially pretty...

This steer was getting his pre-show bath...

There were lots of displays...veggies, flowers, fruits, baked items, and more, too numerous to count...

We were there for several hours, and could have seen so much more if we'd have had the time.  Throughout the week there are lots of animal judging contests and special events. Tomorrow,  I'm  taking my mom up to see the Sheep to Shawl contest.   She has always wanted to see it, and I never have, so it will be a new experience for us both!

And Just Like That...It's Fall...

What a difference a few days can make!

The past weeks have been...IMHO...horribly uncomfortable.  The humidity has been so thick you could just about cut it, and the temps just couldn't come down.

Yesterday we spent the day at Eric's final home cross country meet.  How did he become a college senior so quickly?!  It was a beautiful day for running...overcast and in the mid 70's.  First day we've had weather like that in a very. long. time.

He had a great race...

...and the team had a great finish, winning the invitational.  He's 3rd from the right...

Afterwards, as tradition has it, the team and families held a tailgate potluck.  My fingers were freezing by the time we were finished, but I'm not complaining!  As long as there's a blanket to throw over me or a sweatshirt to put on, I'm good.

This week we finished our silage harvest. With all the rain we've been having, the guys have been burning the candle at both ends.  They've been putting in really long days, trying to keep up with all the farms that they need to get to before the corn gets too dry.  The equipment arrived at 1:30 am, and sat waiting until they arrived around 8 am...

For some reason, the silage pipe kept getting plugged up.  Jim is up at the top, and Mark is sitting on top of the blower, working at getting it open...

The last load of silage...

The guys moved on to the next farm quickly, and took the blower with them.  Silo gas, which can be deadly, forms when fresh silage is put into a silo.  To deliver fresh air into the silo, farmers usually run the blower when working inside the silo for the first day or so.  The gas doesn't form right away, so Jim quickly leveled the silage and we set up the unloader after lunch. I was at the bottom of the silo inside the silage room, lowering the unloader at his instruction.  I found our kids' handprints in the concrete, where we had reinforced with shotcrete years ago.

Eric...

...and Jenna...

Things change so quickly!

For now, we hope to enjoy fall!  The West Lampeter Fair is this coming week, and I'm sure we'll be spending a lot of time there.  It might be a muddy mess (it's raining, again!) but it will happen regardless!  It's one of the highlights of the year for us. Goat, sheep, pig and dairy beef shows, baked goods, contests, fair food, and much more bring the community together for a great time.

3rd Cutting...

The weather, the weather...it's all about the weather! 

We've had such a unique summer, weather wise.  A cool, wet spring got the corn and beans in late...1st cutting of hay was a little later than usual...and now we've gone about three weeks without any measurable rain.   Earlier this week we had less than 1/10th of an inch while folks almost within sight had at least 1/2" or more.  The crops are getting a little bit stressed, but the forecast is calling for rain over the next week.  We sure hope they're right!

One thing positive about having no rain, is that Jim was able to get some dry hay baled this week.  He mowed a couple of fields on Tuesday evening, and baled it this afternoon...

I never seem to time my pictures right, so that the bales are in the air between the baler and the wagon.  Oh well...

I had the easiest job...

We're very thankful for several loads of nice, dry small square bales of hay.  Yes, balage is easier and faster to bale, especially when the window of nice weather is short...but no one likes to feed it...and we liken dry hay to gold.  There's not much better than dry hay to keep a cow's rumen happy!

Now it can rain.  Please?!

First Heat Wave of 2018...

I'm done.  I've had enough.  I think I'm ready for fall now!

This was the temperature at 5 pm, in the shade...60 % humidity...

 Call me a wimp, I don't care, but my energy level (and my attitude) goes way down when it's like this for more than a day or two. 

The barn actually felt better than I expected tonight.  With all the big fans running, it stayed pretty steady around 78 degrees during milking.  The cows are really feeling it though...milk production has dropped a bit...which is to be expected in weather like this...and a few of them needed to be cooled off with the hose this afternoon...

Today was a milk truck day, so the tank was empty when we started milking tonight.  I like to guess what the interior temperature of the tank will be when we first turn on the compressor.  I'm rarely correct, and tonight was no exception.  I guessed 94...

This is one way the dogs keep cool...

I also tried to guess what the temperature inside the house would be when we came in for supper. Oh how nice it would be to have central air, but I'm thankful for the window unit in our bedroom so that we can sleep well!

On the bright side...I had to borrow my parents' car today to go to an eye doctor appointment.  My Mom rode along, and we went to the dairy store where Jenna works for some delicious ice cream cones...

And another bright side is the breeze coming in the window beside the desk...and the shower that awaits me! 

Stay cool wherever you are!

Happy Cows...

After what seemed like a winter that wouldn't go away, we aren't the only ones who are ready for spring!

The milking cows here at home have been out on pasture several days a week for about two weeks now.  The first morning we put them out, they kicked up their heels with glee! Seriously!

The past few nights have been warm enough that they're out over night as well. The downside is...tying them in their stalls in the early morning is a zoo!  Until they learn the routine, the young heifers are...let's just say they're  very "heifer like", and leave it at that!

Enough words..

Let's get to the pictures of the other farm, where we put the dry cows and heifers into the meadow last week.

First,  we had to get ready...

Jim wanted to give them a small section of the meadow for starters.  The Allis Chalmers D-17 has fence wire on a reel, so he brought it into the meadow...

He dropped fence posts, and I pounded them in.  Gloves are a necessity when handling fiberglass fence posts!

He wrapped the wire around the posts..

And then we tied bale rope on the wire to make it more visible...

Of course, in the middle of it all, I had to just sit down in the lush, green grass and marvel at how spring is actually here!  No matter how dreary or cold the winter, spring ALWAYS comes!

 And of course,  the cows were happy too!

4th Cutting...Already...

The summer has just been flying by...but yet the horrible heat and humidity have made it feel like it's dragging on forever!  We don't remember long stretches of weather like this for a while.  The last two days, however, have been a little better, with a breeze and lower humidity.  :) :)

Jim finished up baling fourth cutting alfalfa yesterday afternoon, stopped to help milk, and then finished wrapping around 9 pm.  I never thought about the view from this field before, but it's the highest field on our farm,and you can see for miles in all directions. The moon was gorgeous...but of course the picture doesn't do it justice...

Jim's mode of transportation to and from the field...the trusty 100...

I got to do something new last evening.  It's been so horribly hot, and we like to get the cows out of the barn in the evening as soon as possible.  Jim or Eric have been taking round bales to the meadow for the cows to munch on in the late evening and overnight.  Neither one of them was available to do it last night, so I got the honors.  I've run the skid loader before, but never moved a round bale.  Piece of cake!  I dropped it in place and removed the plastic and netting.  When Jim came by with the wrapper to wrap the hay bales, he stopped and flipped the rack over the bale and it was ready to go...

The cows know just where the rack is when they head out of the barn for the night...

They can't all fit around the rack at once, so the stragglers have to find something else to eat for a while until it's their turn.  There's always plenty, as it lasts for several days.  They come into the barn so much more content in the mornings when they've had a bale put out for them...

We're ready for the fall like weather to come any day now...the heat and humidity have taken their toll...on us and on the cows.  The milk truck driver told us this morning that milk pounds are way down this week.  All the trucks are about 4000-5000 lb down from their normal loads.  The cows hung in there for so long, but finally said "enough".

How's the weather where you are?  Is the summer flying by or dragging on?