We're on baby watch

Our small herd of six heifers spent the summer in Grassey's pasture with Baby Bull....

...who did what he was supposed to do. Bruce knew that anytime after March 1 we could have some calves so he sorted them off and they are in the luxury pen with the barn, lean-to or old hog house for shelter.

#25, the heifer on the right, is the first one to start making a bag, the first sign of impending birth.

Bruce feeds them at night, it been proven that if a cow loads up with food before going to bed, she will be unlikely to give birth until morning. 

I wonder if they have ever tried that with women? That would beat going to the hospital in the middle of the night.

They get a half scoop of yummy silage that has been fermenting under a tarp all winter, with a sprinkle of mineral for healthy babies.

WOW, close your eyes girls, here it comes.

Look at that fat tummy and the cute little udder.

"She's just a little rude, don't you think??"

After feeding his girls, Bruce stands and communes with them, that hopefully will make them feel a bit more kindly toward him if he has to start poking around in their nether regions.

Wouldn't you like to be in on this conversation?

Last chemo???

Well, a girl can hope. Dr. Rao gave me a gift on Monday, she said as of this one, I have had the full regime of chemo so now she was ordering a PET scan in three weeks to see how things look. If it is clear, I will go on a maintenance treatment for the next two years. Every six months I will go in one day a week for a month and get a dose of Rituxin which is not a chemo drug but an anti-body that will hopefully keep me in remission. The best thing about this drug is that no shots are required afterwards, so I can look forward to days, weeks and months of freedom, if my scan is clear. 

This is my new mantra.

Lets all adopt this, our world would be a better place.

Thank you all for your continued prayers, I'm so blessed to have you at my back.

"Now Stinky, I'm putting you on lookout while I raid the coop....."

Little Miss Murphy is a sneaky dog, she discovered I had a suet cake in the chickens scratch yard and one nice day while I had their gate open, she slipped in, removed the cake and holder from the twine that it hung from a rafter and carried it off. When I finally found the holder, it was empty but not open so she had quite the time eating the suet cake.

The next time I let the chickens out, I only opened their coop door so Murphy could not get at the new suet cake, but did I say she was sneaky? I came home and found Mollie looking at the coop, Murphy went into the coop and squeezed her body through the small trap door that led into the scratch yard and was trying to get the suet.

Darn dog!

Murphy got a licking and was told, once again, to stay away from the chicken coop. Then I had to reassure Mollie that she was my Good Dog, she takes it so to heart when Murphy is in trouble.

We had a nice afternoon so I again opened the chicken coop door, the dogs were right on my heels and I sternly told Murphy to "STAY AWAY FROM THE CHICKEN COOP!!!" But what Murphy heard was, "STAY AWAY FROM THE CHICKEN COOP UNTIL I'M OUT OF SIGHT!!"

I knew I couldn't trust her and could watch the coop from the house, sure enough, Murphy soon sauntered casually by the coop, looking at the door, then walking on by. Back to the coop, look over her shoulder at the house, and then walk by again. Finally I saw her stop and look in the coop, then back over her shoulder to see if I was tearing out of the house intent on doing bodily harm. She finally installed Stinky as lookout.

"Now watch the house and sound the alarm if you see a crazy woman coming."

"Right boss, I'm on it, but what is this smell on the door?"

"I'm going in....."

"Gotcha, but what is that out in the grove?"

"She really is going in."

"Hmmm, Hmmm, Hmmm, what is behind the door? Was there something I was supposed to be doing?"

"Oh, right, Murphy, she's coming!"

"Sucks to be you, Murphy. Go take your medicine."

"I'm SO SORRY!!! I won't do it EVER again!!"
(At least today.)

Don't let that pitiful face fool you, after her punishment, she was off, tearing around the yard as though nothing ever happened. It was Mollie who needed to be reassured....

"You are my GOOD DOG!"

Payday!

Mornings are my time, I get up, put my lovely, fluffy robe on that was a gift along with the fluffy socks, go downstairs, make coffee, build a fire, check emails and read my tablet while waiting for the fire to catch. Finally, when I am sure the horses are ready to revolt, I pull on my overalls and go do chores, then come in and get dressed, make the bed and start planning what to cook for dinner.

Not this morning, I found this laying on the counter when I came down....

.....Bruce's billfold was laying on top, that could only mean we were selling heifers today at Sheldon. He planned this last year when we were working cattle, he usually implants the feeder calves with a protein anabolic agent for growth promotion and better feed conversion in beef cattle and beef replacement heifers. We never implant the heifers that we are going to save for our own future cows and replacement heifers were bringing good money so Bruce did not implant any of the heifers, planning on selling them later. He had to sign this paper to verify no implants.

Today was the day, he made the decision while eating his Wheaties. No lazing around the house, get dressed, get your chores done and be ready to load cattle. I was ready when Bruce called to come help sort, usually he prefers to do it himself because they are used to him but some gates were frozen.

 My job was to be a gate.

I could do that.

Cattle do not like to be separated from the herd, when I got there Bruce already had some sorted off the rest were not happy. They were sulking at the end of the alley.

But as soon as I climbed the gate and started down another alley, they all had to come see just what I was doing.

"SHOO! Get back where you belong!"

Bruce is busy sorting heifers into another pen and running the steers back out into the yard.

Meanwhile, I'm a gate that I hope to heck they don't try to go through....

.....these girls are very amiable and go where they are directed.

Out in the yard are the boys and the smaller girls who are staying home.

The sorting continues and the last of the girls who are going to town are making their way to the barn for loading. Bruce has an alley inside the barn for loading into the trailer and it can be a challenge when they don't want to go. These girls wanted to go, so much that they were trying to charge down the alley two abreast. When they came to the trailer there was only room for one at a time and we had a cattle jam, I was trying get some to back up but they didn't know they had reverse. I pounded, poked and prodded and, in frustration, finally yelled and that got their attention, they shifted and made room and loaded. WHEW!

We had a uneventful trip to the sale barn, got there just as the yard riders arrived with their horses, it saves the workers a lot of steps, now that is a job I would like.

Now that the girls were in the trailer, they didn't want to get out.

Bruce 'encouraged' them to depart.

We decided to stick around and watch them sell and it wasn't long before the first batch came in. We took 11 head, they sorted 4 of the smaller ones off and ran them through first, then the other 7. I thought you might enjoy a little video of the action.

Bruce was a happy camper when we left, it gave us an idea of what the rest of the calves weigh because we have more to sell.

It seem like a long time to wait for a payday since these calves were born last spring. It makes all the night checks, lost sleep, work and worry worth it......

.....and it's a good thing because we will be doing it all over again, soon!

To be continued....

We had a surprise visitor at the farm.

Bruce called one morning from the farm, "You won't believe it but there is a wild turkey hen over here, walking around the shop like she owns the place! 

Last fall when we were chopping silage, I saw three hens at the Leo's pond but never saw them again. Later this winter, we were headed to town and saw a hen turkey at our neighbor's driveway, all by herself. 

I grabbed my camera and drove over, I didn't dare take the Gator and the dogs, they would not understand the concept of "Now be quiet." I found her out behind the shop, tiptoeing through the weeds into the grove.

I ran around the other side and we met up at the junk pile and I started snapping away, expecting to see her either fly or run and she did neither. I don't know if it was my "gobbling", hey, don't laugh, I have made many turkeys gobble back at me at the fairs, much to Bruce's embarrassment, or if she was just lonely but she started walking toward me.

She'd pause.....

....glance around....

...and take a few more steps.

I had some cracked corn with me to entice her but she paid no attention.

Either I wasn't saying the right things or she could tell I wasn't a Tom, but soon she turned.....

.....and strolled off into the grove.

Look how she blends into the background, they have very good camouflage. We've not seen her since, I think she is still looking for her soul mate and it wasn't me.

When Bruce's parents were still living, there were some wild turkey hens in the neighborhood and a friend knew someone who raised wild turkeys so we went up to get a Tom for the ladies. This guy had a lot of turkeys, along with some geese and ducks inside a good sized yard enclosed by a 4 foot woven wire fence. In the center was an old wooden corn crib. When we drove in and the entire time we were there, the turkeys paced inside that fence, back and forth, back and forth. 

"Oh, how I wish I could get out!"

At night all the turkeys went to the corn crib and flew 12 feet up in the air to roost on the rafters!

That was my first clue that they really aren't that smart.

We brought home a tom turkey for the girls and he quickly ruled the farm. We couldn't feed the cats when he was in sight because he would run them off and eat their food. 

Kaiza and her Aunt Susan

Kaiza was about this big when she came to visit the farm with her parents. We went over to see the turkeys, didn't see them so fed the cats instead. Suddenly Tom appeared on the sidewalk, puffing up his feathers, the red dangly thing, the snood, that hangs over the beak, getting longer and longer and he started the thumping in his chest to show us how tough he was.

"Step away from the cat food and no one will get hurt."

Kaiza shrunk against her mom and said, "Scares me!"

We know why that guy kept his turkeys in a pen because they like to wander, first the ladies moved on and we just had Tom, one unhappy turkey. He decided to go searching for them, our niece, Christine was driving up the blacktop toward home one night after a long day at work. She was on the phone with Janet and suddenly said, "Oh No! That Stupid Turkey!" BOOM! Tom came up out of ditch and tried to cross the road, instead it was the end of him and Christine's car grill.

I told you they aren't too smart.

♫Oh, I WISH I were an Oscar Mayer Weiner....♫

Bruce and I were coming home from Sioux City tonight and right outside of Hinton, we saw the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile!!!!

So be alert, those of you on south, it could be coming to a city near you!!!!

Clyde - 3 -- Zoe - 0

We have been overrun with mice this winter, they scurry in the wall, run laps in the ceiling, visit under the sinks and leave their nasty droppings and sometimes come face to face with one of the three cats in the house.

If you were a mouse, who would you fear most? Zoe, who has all her faculties and keeps a sharp lookout for enemies who invade her domain?

Who believes the best way to catch a bird is to try to blend in on the roof of the bird feeder?

Who practices her wrestling moves on the other cats?

Who stays in shape climbing trees?

Who runs a tight ship keeping the dogs in line?

"You don't understand the concept of personal space, do you Mollie?"

Who does Yoga everyday?

This is called, 'Upside down Cat.'

Who practices her moves on the Turbo Go Round, perfecting the rabbit kicks?

And still manages to get several 'cat' naps a day to refresh her.

Or would you fear Clyde, who was accidentally poisoned as a baby and has suffered a severe case of palsy every since? 

Clyde spends his days searching out the best spot to nap.

While Zoe is patrolling the great outdoors, Clyde is keeping an eye on the back yard from the upstairs bedroom.

And spends winter days keeping the couch from getting up and walking away.

With a time out for a snack and another nap in the nearby rocker.

Well, if you put your money on Zoe, you would be wrong, yes, she can catch a mouse but can't do the dirty deed. All she wants to do is play with them and inevitably loses them. The last one was just a couple of mornings ago, Bruce and I were rudely awakened at 5 AM by a "Squeak, squeak, squeak!" By the time Bruce got the light on, Zoe was searching our bedroom, "He was here just a minute ago!" Oh, man, Zoe, not again. This is the third mouse that we have seen Zoe have and lose in the house and this one was way too close to our bed. I didn't want to wake up with a disease ridden mouse curled up in bed with us!

Clyde, on the other hand, gets so excited, "It's a REAL LIVE MOUSE!" The mouse doesn't stand a chance, Clyde chomps and dispatches the little vermin in one, swift, fatal blow. He makes the attempt to clean up the scene by eating the evidence but he just can't stomach the hind quarters. Luckily for me, Bruce is the first one up, found the evidence on the kitchen floor and gotten rid of it, much to Clyde's dismay.

"I was playing with that!"

And Ghost?

Where is she in the mousing department?

"I'm not eating no stinking mouse, I know where the bowl of cat chow is."