In heat, rain showers, log splitting, etc

One of Dan's heifers - Number 17 - is in heat.  This morning, instead of taking her siesta by the house with the rest of the herd, she walked to the fence by the road occasionally bellowing.  That got the herd up and they cut their siesta very short to follow her.  Number 17 paced along the fence looking at the neighbor's cattle across the road.  Even though Number 10 followed her everywhere either placing his head on her rump or trying to hump her, neither he or any of the other of Dan's "boys" have what it takes: balls.  All my cattle are girls.  However the neighbor's cattle don't have the balls either either to satisfy her.

By the afternoon she settled back down, started eating again and stuck closer to the herd.  She'll pass out of heat in a day or two.  The sooner the better.  Horny heifers can cause trouble.


I didn't get any weed spraying done Friday as we had off-and-on light rain showers with occasional slow thunder.  I wish we got more than the "settle the dust"' showers, but as it has been warm and dry I'll take anything I can get.  Off in the distance it looked like it rained harder.  They also got a few lightning strikes.


I still am catching pocket gophers.  To the best of my knowledge I have cleared the north and middle pastures, and have cleared 3/4 of the south pasture.  I have trapped 67 so far this year.  When I look across at the my southern neighbor's field I see dirt mounds, so there is the source for future pocket gophers.

When I walk across the pastures to check on the traps I also knock the seed heads off the Canadian Thistle weeds and have most of them clipped.  That will give me a chance to 'catch up' with the herbicide before the thistle goes to seed.


I spent a little time splitting some of my logs for firewood.  I had some arborvitae logs, and even though they have been drying for a couple years now, I find the wood very dense.  They are near rock-like except my axe does sink a very little bit into the wood.  I've had to cut some of my logs in half yet again to have a chance to split the wood.  Even then I often have to use a sledgehammer to push the splitting axe through the wood.  I think I am through all the arborvitae logs, thank goodness.


Kyle hasn't had a chance to check his entire bone-yard for a water pump for me.  Apparently his dad had taken and used the pump he had in mind for me.


One of my neighbors asked me to keep an eye out for his eyeglasses when I ride my bicycle along the road.  The neighbor had set his glasses on his pickup before driving to another neighbor's place and now can't find his glasses.