All the cows and heifers should have been bred by Toby now. But this evening when I was moving an irrigation line I saw Toby courting the #90 heifer. He was always near her. Sometimes he would rest his head on her back and sometimes he would lick her back. It would appear the 90 heifer was about to go into heat. The 4-H heifer was bellowing from the neighbor's place as usual the past few days as I think she is in heat, but Toby ignored the 4-H heifer and paid attention to the 90 heifer.
If the heifer is in heat then she missed getting pregnant on her first two heat cycles, and that would mean she would calve just before mid-May.
Tuesday, August 06, 2019
Sunday, August 04, 2019
Cattle shuffle
Time to rotate the cattle to the south pasture from the north pasture. Before doing so I wanted to swap Mama cow and her calf out to the herd and one of the heifers into the corral to keep Diamond company until she has her calf. Whenever that will be! I want Mama to be near Toby as starting today this is the earliest she could come into heat. I don't want Toby to miss Mama's heat cycle. The sooner she gets impregnated the better.
Donna helped. We put Diamond in the loading corral to have her out of the way. Mama and her calf were in the NE pasture by the cock-eyed gate. So I closed the corral gate to keep them out of the corral.
Toby again was in the corral. I had let him in the corral in the morning when moving pipes as he was hanging out at the gate looking for Mama and Diamond. He became interested in my moving pipes and when I crossed from the hayfield into the north pasture he came over. Then he moved down the fence to near the gate with the hayfield. I have temporary green corral panels along the fence to fortify the fence as it is old and crappy. The corral panels end one post short of the gate. Toby walked over there and initially reached through the fence to the end of the last pipe I had moved. Then he thought about eating what grass he could reach in the hayfield. He was bulging against the fence. I could see him breaking through. So I opened the gate to the corral and called for him. After thinking about it for the longest time he sauntered over and through the gate.
Before I let Toby out of the corral in the afternoon I sprayed him with some insecticide to help with the flies and bugs. He wasn't too keen on being sprayed and would walk away when I tried to spray him.
Once he was out of the corral the herd came from the far side of the pasture to where I have the irrigation pipes spraying water. When they want something they walk through the water. But when they don't want something...
Around and around Donna and I herded the cattle and each time they turned from the spraying water and ran past us. Finally I got some hay and set on the ground just outside the corral. Then all the cattle walked through the water. I got Beulah's heifer into the corral. With that done I then let Mama and her calf out of the corral.
The cattle ate the little hay quickly. I opened the gate to the middle pasture and called. As I walked to the south pasture gate they knew what was up and came running past me. Occasionally I had to turn and look to make sure a cow wasn't going to run me over. A little before I reached the gate I saw Mama's calf run past. Uh, oh! Where's Mama? I turned to see Mama speeding like a missile past the other cows to reach her calf. In the confusion of cattle she overshot her calf. When her calf called out she stopped and turned to look to see where she was. Maria was coming and was unhappy Mama stopped in front of her. Those two got into a fight pushing head to head. As Maria is half again (at least) as large as Mama she pushed Mama backward. By the time I opened the gate their fight was over and the cattle poured through the gate to the south pasture.
Enough excitement for the day.
Donna helped. We put Diamond in the loading corral to have her out of the way. Mama and her calf were in the NE pasture by the cock-eyed gate. So I closed the corral gate to keep them out of the corral.
Toby again was in the corral. I had let him in the corral in the morning when moving pipes as he was hanging out at the gate looking for Mama and Diamond. He became interested in my moving pipes and when I crossed from the hayfield into the north pasture he came over. Then he moved down the fence to near the gate with the hayfield. I have temporary green corral panels along the fence to fortify the fence as it is old and crappy. The corral panels end one post short of the gate. Toby walked over there and initially reached through the fence to the end of the last pipe I had moved. Then he thought about eating what grass he could reach in the hayfield. He was bulging against the fence. I could see him breaking through. So I opened the gate to the corral and called for him. After thinking about it for the longest time he sauntered over and through the gate.
Before I let Toby out of the corral in the afternoon I sprayed him with some insecticide to help with the flies and bugs. He wasn't too keen on being sprayed and would walk away when I tried to spray him.
Once he was out of the corral the herd came from the far side of the pasture to where I have the irrigation pipes spraying water. When they want something they walk through the water. But when they don't want something...
Around and around Donna and I herded the cattle and each time they turned from the spraying water and ran past us. Finally I got some hay and set on the ground just outside the corral. Then all the cattle walked through the water. I got Beulah's heifer into the corral. With that done I then let Mama and her calf out of the corral.
The cattle ate the little hay quickly. I opened the gate to the middle pasture and called. As I walked to the south pasture gate they knew what was up and came running past me. Occasionally I had to turn and look to make sure a cow wasn't going to run me over. A little before I reached the gate I saw Mama's calf run past. Uh, oh! Where's Mama? I turned to see Mama speeding like a missile past the other cows to reach her calf. In the confusion of cattle she overshot her calf. When her calf called out she stopped and turned to look to see where she was. Maria was coming and was unhappy Mama stopped in front of her. Those two got into a fight pushing head to head. As Maria is half again (at least) as large as Mama she pushed Mama backward. By the time I opened the gate their fight was over and the cattle poured through the gate to the south pasture.
Enough excitement for the day.
Saturday, August 03, 2019
Cockeyed gate photos
A couple photos of the gate Toby bent. While the tube diameter makes you think this is a light-weight gate, it is not. Whatever metal HW uses in their brown gates, this is one tough gate. So it took Toby some effort to bend it even this much.
Note: Usually the water quickly seeps in the ground and does not pool. However there are a couple areas where the water does pool when I irrigate. These tend to be rockier areas.
A reminder of what Toby looks like.
This evening when I was moving the irrigation line Toby took the opportunity to stand at the main corral gate looking for Mama or Diamond. It's been less than 24 hours. He also checked out any cow that walked nearby him. What a horn dog. I kept one eye fixed on him when I moved pipes near him or where he was walking. He behaved.
I am working on reattaching the field fence to the south pasture hayfield fence. I had hung it on the fence after rebuilding the fence this Spring with the intention of reattaching it later. But I found the cattle took most of it off the fence and rolled and pulled and twisted the field fence. *sigh* So it is time to securely reattach the field fence now. I just need to straighten it out first.
Note: Usually the water quickly seeps in the ground and does not pool. However there are a couple areas where the water does pool when I irrigate. These tend to be rockier areas.
A reminder of what Toby looks like.
This evening when I was moving the irrigation line Toby took the opportunity to stand at the main corral gate looking for Mama or Diamond. It's been less than 24 hours. He also checked out any cow that walked nearby him. What a horn dog. I kept one eye fixed on him when I moved pipes near him or where he was walking. He behaved.
I am working on reattaching the field fence to the south pasture hayfield fence. I had hung it on the fence after rebuilding the fence this Spring with the intention of reattaching it later. But I found the cattle took most of it off the fence and rolled and pulled and twisted the field fence. *sigh* So it is time to securely reattach the field fence now. I just need to straighten it out first.
Friday, August 02, 2019
Chicory, and Toby was in a mood
Patti knows flowers and she sent me an email that the flower I had posted about several days ago is Chicory. https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/chicory
This morning when I went out to move irrigation pipes Toby was restless. He was walking the corral fence. The cattle were at the far end of the north pasture closer to the river. A short time later the electric lines going from the power pole by the garage over to the road went whipping. The power pole is in the NE pasture by my garage. The pole is anchored in the ground by a support cable. Toby had walked by the cable, and being in a 'mood' didn't care that he hit the cable. That must have moved the pole which then whipped the two power line wires.
Okay! That's enough! Time out!
When Toby walked back into the corral I carefully opened the gate to the corral south of the barn. He walked through and I shut the gate before Mama and Diamond could come through the gate. Toby spent the day in that corral. I let him out in the evening when I moved irrigation pipes as one line would go right through that corral.
Toby went to join Mama and Diamond eating grass in the NE pasture. The one irrigation line went through the corral to the west side of the NE pasture. It was then I discovered the gate between the north and the NE pastures was bent. The bottom of the gate on one side was bent up and the one end of the gate was cockeyed. Toby, when he was in a mood in the morning, must have put his head under the gate and tried to bend it up and out. I also found a large walk-through corral panel in the north pasture that I had leaned against the 'buffalo' fence next to the gate laying on the ground. The gate - the strong HW brown metal - held. The gate still works. But now on my to-do list is to somehow bend the gate back in shape. *sigh*
When I finished moving the irrigation pipes, and as I walked back to the corral, I wanted to check to see if the irrigation water made it all the way to the gate. That would help keep Toby away if he got in a mood again the next morning. I heard a loud noise at the buffalo fence and saw several calves run away from the fence. Speckles and her calf was at the north pasture side of the buffalo fence. On the other side was Toby. He had banged on the buffalo fence. The fence held. The cattle in the north pasture should have been all bred and no one in heat. But Toby, having been away from them for a few days now, wanted to check them out. And, no, the irrigation water didn't quite make it to the fence and gate.
Toby was standing among my stacks of boards and had to back up to get out. Of course he knocked some of the boards over. I opened the cockeyed gate to let Toby into the north pasture. Mama, her calf, and Diamond were also here and wanted to get into the north pasture. I was able to keep them in the NE pasture and let Toby out. I did have to move quick with the gate as Mama's calf wanted to follow Toby. I had to cut him off before he darted through the gate without getting Mama mad.
Of course in 24 hours or so Toby will be bellowing to get back with Mama and Diamond. Diamond still hasn't had her calf. Diamond is pregnant as all get-out and could calve any day now. Maybe Diamond is having a bull calf as bull calves have a slightly longer gestation than heifer calves. I can't wait for her to have her calf as then everyone can be altogether.
Pennycress, weed hay, the gift that keeps on giving.
Chicory is a good example of an invasive species that remains sparsely scattered during early population establishment and then within a few short years shows up in masses everywhere.Darn. It is such a pretty flower. … I mean: weed. Today I pulled up the two plants I found the other day, and the plant I found today when moving pipes. I may have to spray in the future. The plants already have a large root and I couldn't pull all of the root out with the plants.
This morning when I went out to move irrigation pipes Toby was restless. He was walking the corral fence. The cattle were at the far end of the north pasture closer to the river. A short time later the electric lines going from the power pole by the garage over to the road went whipping. The power pole is in the NE pasture by my garage. The pole is anchored in the ground by a support cable. Toby had walked by the cable, and being in a 'mood' didn't care that he hit the cable. That must have moved the pole which then whipped the two power line wires.
When Toby walked back into the corral I carefully opened the gate to the corral south of the barn. He walked through and I shut the gate before Mama and Diamond could come through the gate. Toby spent the day in that corral. I let him out in the evening when I moved irrigation pipes as one line would go right through that corral.
Toby went to join Mama and Diamond eating grass in the NE pasture. The one irrigation line went through the corral to the west side of the NE pasture. It was then I discovered the gate between the north and the NE pastures was bent. The bottom of the gate on one side was bent up and the one end of the gate was cockeyed. Toby, when he was in a mood in the morning, must have put his head under the gate and tried to bend it up and out. I also found a large walk-through corral panel in the north pasture that I had leaned against the 'buffalo' fence next to the gate laying on the ground. The gate - the strong HW brown metal - held. The gate still works. But now on my to-do list is to somehow bend the gate back in shape. *sigh*
When I finished moving the irrigation pipes, and as I walked back to the corral, I wanted to check to see if the irrigation water made it all the way to the gate. That would help keep Toby away if he got in a mood again the next morning. I heard a loud noise at the buffalo fence and saw several calves run away from the fence. Speckles and her calf was at the north pasture side of the buffalo fence. On the other side was Toby. He had banged on the buffalo fence. The fence held. The cattle in the north pasture should have been all bred and no one in heat. But Toby, having been away from them for a few days now, wanted to check them out. And, no, the irrigation water didn't quite make it to the fence and gate.
Toby was standing among my stacks of boards and had to back up to get out. Of course he knocked some of the boards over. I opened the cockeyed gate to let Toby into the north pasture. Mama, her calf, and Diamond were also here and wanted to get into the north pasture. I was able to keep them in the NE pasture and let Toby out. I did have to move quick with the gate as Mama's calf wanted to follow Toby. I had to cut him off before he darted through the gate without getting Mama mad.
Of course in 24 hours or so Toby will be bellowing to get back with Mama and Diamond. Diamond still hasn't had her calf. Diamond is pregnant as all get-out and could calve any day now. Maybe Diamond is having a bull calf as bull calves have a slightly longer gestation than heifer calves. I can't wait for her to have her calf as then everyone can be altogether.
Pennycress, weed hay, the gift that keeps on giving.
Thursday, August 01, 2019
South middle pastures gate fix
Off and on recently I worked on fixing the gate between the south and middle pastures. If you remember that earlier I had mentioned that Toby broke several posts the gate attaches to.
Installing the railroad ties as new posts took a little longer due to Toby the bull checking out the new post.
Here is a 40 second video of Toby scratching against the railroad tie I am trying to put in the ground: https://youtu.be/Ol-9e_7NGPA
In the middle of the hole I was digging for the railroad tie I had to break out parts of an old ancient tree root.
Daisy also came to 'help" me and supervise my work.
I installed the two railroad ties on the left as posts with my current style of boards linking the two railroad ties. On the right I added boards between the existing posts to try to balance the look on each side of the gate.
Installing the railroad ties as new posts took a little longer due to Toby the bull checking out the new post.
Here is a 40 second video of Toby scratching against the railroad tie I am trying to put in the ground: https://youtu.be/Ol-9e_7NGPA
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| What a nice-looking bull! |
In the middle of the hole I was digging for the railroad tie I had to break out parts of an old ancient tree root.
Daisy also came to 'help" me and supervise my work.
 |
| Peek-a-boo! |
I installed the two railroad ties on the left as posts with my current style of boards linking the two railroad ties. On the right I added boards between the existing posts to try to balance the look on each side of the gate.
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Flowers in the hayfield
This morning when moving irrigation pipes I saw two bright blue flowers growing in the hayfield.
I don't know what kind of flowers they are but they are pretty. The photos don't do the flowers justice.
I have covered the hayfield once and now am on the way back moving pipes. The grass and alfalfa are sure liking the water. The weather here now is hot (about 90 degrees), sunny and dry.
I don't know what kind of flowers they are but they are pretty. The photos don't do the flowers justice.
I have covered the hayfield once and now am on the way back moving pipes. The grass and alfalfa are sure liking the water. The weather here now is hot (about 90 degrees), sunny and dry.
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Irrigation has begun
After 8 days, on Wednesday July 24, I finally got my irrigation started.
I was a little late starting because I was waiting on the irrigation guy, Myron. Late May I discussed swapping a valve on a pipe I bought last year to a valve that would fit my valve opener. I also planned on buying/making some shorter aluminum pipes to replace some of my heavy steel pipes. Myron had to check to see if he had any valves the size I needed. I never heard from him; then got busy baling my hay and other things. While I had tried in May to get this done - before irrigation season started and Myron got busier - it is now July and Myron is busy. Once we connected and talked we agreed to wait till later as he couldn't get to doing what I wanted now.
So... Wednesday July 17 I started to lay out the mainline. It takes a day to lay out the steel pipe because it is heavy steel pipe. Then usually the next day I lay out the sprinkler pipes. This time it took me almost two days to lay out the sprinkler lines. I had been keeping the cattle in the middle pasture so I could leave the south pasture gate open in order to get the pipes. But when I worked on the sprinkler lines many of the cows walked around the river and into the south pasture, slowing my work down as often I had to open and close a gate. Also, when - usually only two or three at a time - cows' udders filled with milk they would moo and demand for me to open the gate to let them back into the middle pasture and their calves.
I had one sprinkler line laid out and most of the backup line laid out when I relented and opened the gate between the south and middle pastures and let all the cattle into the south pasture. The cows were by the gate occasionally pushing against it, and then the bull came to scratch/push on the wood post the gate attaches to. Rather than have him break the weak post I opened the gate. The cows and bull and calves all rushed through and went to the south side of the south pasture.
After I finished laying out the backup line I went to eat as I was starving by now. What I forgot to do was close the south pasture gate to the hayfield. When I finished eating I came outside to see Toby the bull in the middle of the hayfield. The rest of the cattle were still in the south pasture but Toby, when he came back to go and call out for Mama and Diamond, found the gate open.
It was easier than I expected to herd Toby towards the south pasture. I had closed the gate I had left open on the north side. It didn't matter. Toby wanted to wander towards the south side gate. Naturally the cattle in the south pasture now saw us and most came to the fence and towards the gate also. As I shooed the calves away and opened the gate the south neighbor's horses came up to the fence. That got Toby excited and he began to jump up and down and shake his head. The horses ran off but now Toby was away from the gate I wanted him to go through. A little more time - to let him calm down - and a little coaxing and Toby came through the gate into the south pasture. Fortunately he wasn't in the hayfield long enough to overeat the alfalfa and bloat.
Toby then wandered back to the north side gate but it was closed. I also had the gate to the middle pasture closed. He began to rub against the weak post and in 15 minutes knocked it over and went into the middle pasture so he could be closer to call out to Mama and Diamond.
*sigh* Whatever. I have more irrigation prep to complete. As I had bought one 40 foot aluminum pipe last year I now had two extra 20 foot steel pipe sections. The river bends along the property and the middle pasture goes a little further west than the south pasture. When I irrigate I ended up pivoting the pipes from the last valve to reach all of the middle pasture. Moving the two pipes down there should eliminate or at least reduce the need the pivot the middle pasture sprinkler line.
I thought adding the two pieces of pipe would not take long or much effort. How wrong I was!
First I had to enlarge the exit hole in the shed for the pipe's new position.
Because I was short two pipes when I redid the irrigation mainline years ago I angled the pipes from the irrigation shed to the fence line. Now that I added two pipes I straightened the line from the shed to the fence. The angled line - now straight - went into the middle pasture.
When I had angled the line I redid the short pipe that exited the pump as that old pipe was backward. That, and another custom made pipe, caused the length to be longer. I removed the 10 foot custom pipe but I was still off a little bit. A tree and its side root was in the way of extending the mainline. If I instead removed a 20 foot section another tree was in the way. So I went back to removing the 10 foot pipe and humped the mainline over the side root.
As you can see below I had to slowly angle the mainline away from the fence.
Steel doesn't bend like aluminum pipes do. I had taken a number of pipes apart to help the move. One gasket tore and I had to walk back home to get another one - a 15 - 20 minute round trip walk. When I put the pipes back together, the pipe that had torn its gasket wouldn't fit back together, even if I used a sledgehammer to help fit the pipes together tight. Apart. Together. Apart. Together. Over and over. The pipe would not fit back together completely so I could re-hook it. After numerous attempts the new gasket tore. Before I walked back home again I took a gasket from another pipe. Now the pipes fit together completely and I didn't even have to use a sledgehammer. Identical gaskets. Go figure.
The other problem was the corner pipe. Because of the angled mainline I had a custom corner pipe made from the old crappy corner pipe. The new corner pipe was at a 110 degree angle. I now needed a 90 degree angle. I could fit the 110 angle pipe into the other pipes. But after I started irrigation and got to full pressure one end of the corner pipe wanted to slip out, even with the metal stakes I had placed in the ground to support the corner pipe. The corner pipe leaked terribly.
I ended up calling Myron, the irrigation guy, and he had a short used 90 degree corner pipe for $25. Or a long 90 degree corner pipe - new - for $80. I tried the short corner pipe. It had a better hook and latch than my old corner pipe so I didn't stake the pipe. I did replace the hook with a shorter hook that I had. All the pipes have 9/16 size bolts and nuts. The hook bolt was 9/16 but the nut was an odd nut. Once again I had to walk back to the house and get another wrench. I brought a 5/8 wrench and a crescent wrench. Even the 5/8 wrench wasn't the size of this odd bolt. Fortunately I had also brought a crescent wrench.
Under full pressure the corner pipe stayed hooked but it tilted. Therefore it leaked. A lot. I tried pushing on the corner pipe. I wiggled the connecting pipes. One connecting pipe was held together with wire as the half shell clamp would not work. And I couldn't fit a collar on as you can see below. The metal band that holds the half shell clamp was in the way on this pipe. Well.. when I wiggled this pipe to try to stop the corner pipe leak the pressure was too much for the wire and it broke in two and the pipes separated and the water rushed out.
That was it for that day. It was getting late. Nothing was going right. It was for the best to take a break.
The next day I used a hacksaw to cut off the metal band. The band was welded to the pipe on each side where the "loop out" is located to hold the half shell clamp. I got one side cut. I decided to cut faster on the other side and quickly broke the hacksaw blade. *sigh* I figured I could use the broken blade to finish the cut in the time it would take me to walk back home to get another blade. Nope, it ended up taking longer to cut the band off.
With the band off I could position the collar and hook. Now the pipes hold together under full pressure.
I redid the corner pipe's hook. The hook's collar is two bolts. I removed the front bolt holding the hook and moved the hook to the back bolt. This made the connection tighter. Because the pipe was a corner pipe one can't adjust the position of the collar as the collar needs to be loose in case the pipe goes left or right. And being so short there was no room to move the collar along the pipe. I also put four metal stakes around the corner pipe. Nothing moved and no more leaks when under full water pressure.
The other major problem I had when I tried to start my irrigation pump was that I couldn't get prime. I pumped and pumped the priming pump and I wasn't filling the intake pipe. Not only wasn't I filling the pipe there was really no water in the pipe. The foot valve wasn't working. I just bought that thing three or four years ago. It should work.
Photos below show the parts of the foot valve.
http://valveproducts.net/foot-valve/4-basic-parts-of-a-foot-valve
The bottom part is the 'flapper' or disc of the foot valve. As you can see it is misshapen. It appears to be made of leather. I take the foot valve out of the water each year so it doesn't get damaged when the river freezes. I think the leather shrunk.
I tested the foot valve and it wouldn't hold water even though the flapper completely covered the opening of the seat (the metal ring) that flapper sits on.
I even put putty around the seat in case it leaked water there. Still leaked.
So with my neighbor Curtis's help we made a new flapper out of some rubber he had. We made the new flapper large enough that it covered the edge of the metal cage, and when bolting the cage to the unit the bolts went through the outside of the flapper to hold it in place.
It still leaked.
So I bought a plastic piece to screw onto my PVC pipe's screw-on connector. It cost me $3.61 and I gave the millennial or Gen Z female cashier at Home Depot $5.01. The extra penny confused her and she gave it back to me. I told her I didn't want pennies in change but she had already entered $5.00 in her cash register. So I said take the penny and add it to the .39 cent change and give me .40 cents back. She froze. Apparently she couldn't add 1 and 39 to get 40. I was getting frustrated as she wasn't doing anything other than trying to count on her fingers. Another older cashier supervisor came walking over and my cashier then quickly gave me my change. The next day I looked and she had given me a quarter and two dimes. .45 cents. These young kids these days can't add worth a darn.
Curtis has a lathe and the next morning he trimmed the new screw-on plastic piece so it could fit inside the short piece of aluminum pipe that we could not unscrew from the foot valve. We glued it. I drilled and put a couple of screws from the plastic piece into the pipe in case the glue failed. I didn't want the foot valve to slip off and getting washed down the river. Success! (As you can see in the above photo.) I then was able to screw the foot valve on to the PVC pipe below.
Now that I fixed the foot valve I primed the pump with water. I pumped and pumped and pumped. It seemed like it was taking too long. I checked the intake pipe by thumping it and there was water in the pipe. I pumped and pumped and pumped the priming pump some more. I must have pumped for over a half hour. Finally I filled the intake pipe and started the pump. Immediately water sprayed from the priming pump's shutoff valve. The water quit spraying when I closed the valve.
Okay.... I can deal with this later when I shut the pump off. I then ran into my previously described problem with the 90 degree elbow and had to shut the pump off. After I fixed the elbow problem I decided I would continue to delay fixing the shutoff valve leak. However the next time I started the pump, closing the shutoff valve did not stop the leak.
*sigh*
The intake pipe was still full. I unscrewed and took off the priming pump and shutoff valve, used a pan to top off the water in the intake pipe, put a plug in the pipe and started the pump. I ran into another one of my previously described elbow / pipe separation problems.
The next day when I made my final fix to the elbow I also found another shutoff valve. The broken shutoff valve was 1 inch in size. All I had were 1/2 inch shutoff valves. But dad had lots of miscellaneous pipes and connections. I barely cobbled together a reduction from 1 inch size to a 1/2 inch then back to a 1 inch size.
It worked and I was able to use the priming pump to top off the intake pipe and start the pump.
Looking at the broken shutoff valve my guess is that I had left the valve closed over Winter. There must have been water in the valve and when it froze it expanded and split the valve.
So now I am moving pipes twice a day. I start before 8 am and 8 pm. Depending on the pipe configuration it takes me 1 hour and 45 minutes each time to over two hours. The 8 am move is before I normally wake. But I wake up naturally, move the pipes and go back to sleep until I get my 8+ hours of sleep before I wake up naturally again. Not ideal as it messes up my day, but I get the pipes moved.
The first morning I went back to sleep and slept from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm. 4 hours! I woke up exhausted as I had the craziest dream. I dreamt I saw one of my cows run and jump my south fence like it was show jumping horse. As I went to the fence the southern neighbor was my real life northern neighbor Calvin and his wife. The land went uphill and there were a lot of trees. There were lots of fenced pastures and holding pens and small buildings among the trees. They told me all my cattle had escaped from my pasture into their pasture but they had rounded up most of the cattle and sent them back to my pasture. Five or six of my cattle remained missing and I went to look for them among their various pastures.
In one holding pen with a loafing shed I found three of my calves among their animals. I tried to herd just my calves out of the holding pen but one of their animals slipped through the gate with my calf. They I realized the other animals were monkeys. I had a devil of a time getting the monkey back into the holding pen and my calf out. Finally I got the monkey in and my calf out.
Then Calvin had two teenage boys who came to help with my the other two calves. We had to each carry a calf. We walked through various fields with small fences and gates. Then it was a walk downhill to my pasture. I had a choice of wooden stairs or walking on the hill next to the stairs. I took the stairs but with the wiggling calf I fell at the bottom of the stairs. Someone was at the gate to my pasture and opened it and I chased the calf inside.
Then someone said we should take a car and drive around looking for the last of my escaped cows. A group of us in the car drove on a paved winding road with lots of houses on each side of the road. I realized I couldn't see the backyards of the houses and that must be where my missing cows were. When we got to an intersection where two roads came together I got out of the car.
Then I woke up. I was exhausted. I don't need active dreams like this when I'm getting more than the usual amount of exercise by moving the irrigation pipes.
Part of my mainline pipe lies along the south/middle pasture fence and does not get moved as you can see ants have built a mound over the pipe.
I was a little late starting because I was waiting on the irrigation guy, Myron. Late May I discussed swapping a valve on a pipe I bought last year to a valve that would fit my valve opener. I also planned on buying/making some shorter aluminum pipes to replace some of my heavy steel pipes. Myron had to check to see if he had any valves the size I needed. I never heard from him; then got busy baling my hay and other things. While I had tried in May to get this done - before irrigation season started and Myron got busier - it is now July and Myron is busy. Once we connected and talked we agreed to wait till later as he couldn't get to doing what I wanted now.
So... Wednesday July 17 I started to lay out the mainline. It takes a day to lay out the steel pipe because it is heavy steel pipe. Then usually the next day I lay out the sprinkler pipes. This time it took me almost two days to lay out the sprinkler lines. I had been keeping the cattle in the middle pasture so I could leave the south pasture gate open in order to get the pipes. But when I worked on the sprinkler lines many of the cows walked around the river and into the south pasture, slowing my work down as often I had to open and close a gate. Also, when - usually only two or three at a time - cows' udders filled with milk they would moo and demand for me to open the gate to let them back into the middle pasture and their calves.
I had one sprinkler line laid out and most of the backup line laid out when I relented and opened the gate between the south and middle pastures and let all the cattle into the south pasture. The cows were by the gate occasionally pushing against it, and then the bull came to scratch/push on the wood post the gate attaches to. Rather than have him break the weak post I opened the gate. The cows and bull and calves all rushed through and went to the south side of the south pasture.
After I finished laying out the backup line I went to eat as I was starving by now. What I forgot to do was close the south pasture gate to the hayfield. When I finished eating I came outside to see Toby the bull in the middle of the hayfield. The rest of the cattle were still in the south pasture but Toby, when he came back to go and call out for Mama and Diamond, found the gate open.
It was easier than I expected to herd Toby towards the south pasture. I had closed the gate I had left open on the north side. It didn't matter. Toby wanted to wander towards the south side gate. Naturally the cattle in the south pasture now saw us and most came to the fence and towards the gate also. As I shooed the calves away and opened the gate the south neighbor's horses came up to the fence. That got Toby excited and he began to jump up and down and shake his head. The horses ran off but now Toby was away from the gate I wanted him to go through. A little more time - to let him calm down - and a little coaxing and Toby came through the gate into the south pasture. Fortunately he wasn't in the hayfield long enough to overeat the alfalfa and bloat.
Toby then wandered back to the north side gate but it was closed. I also had the gate to the middle pasture closed. He began to rub against the weak post and in 15 minutes knocked it over and went into the middle pasture so he could be closer to call out to Mama and Diamond.
*sigh* Whatever. I have more irrigation prep to complete. As I had bought one 40 foot aluminum pipe last year I now had two extra 20 foot steel pipe sections. The river bends along the property and the middle pasture goes a little further west than the south pasture. When I irrigate I ended up pivoting the pipes from the last valve to reach all of the middle pasture. Moving the two pipes down there should eliminate or at least reduce the need the pivot the middle pasture sprinkler line.
I thought adding the two pieces of pipe would not take long or much effort. How wrong I was!
First I had to enlarge the exit hole in the shed for the pipe's new position.
Because I was short two pipes when I redid the irrigation mainline years ago I angled the pipes from the irrigation shed to the fence line. Now that I added two pipes I straightened the line from the shed to the fence. The angled line - now straight - went into the middle pasture.
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| I added the short fence so the cattle wouldn't kick and move the pipe when they walked down to the river. |
When I had angled the line I redid the short pipe that exited the pump as that old pipe was backward. That, and another custom made pipe, caused the length to be longer. I removed the 10 foot custom pipe but I was still off a little bit. A tree and its side root was in the way of extending the mainline. If I instead removed a 20 foot section another tree was in the way. So I went back to removing the 10 foot pipe and humped the mainline over the side root.
As you can see below I had to slowly angle the mainline away from the fence.
Steel doesn't bend like aluminum pipes do. I had taken a number of pipes apart to help the move. One gasket tore and I had to walk back home to get another one - a 15 - 20 minute round trip walk. When I put the pipes back together, the pipe that had torn its gasket wouldn't fit back together, even if I used a sledgehammer to help fit the pipes together tight. Apart. Together. Apart. Together. Over and over. The pipe would not fit back together completely so I could re-hook it. After numerous attempts the new gasket tore. Before I walked back home again I took a gasket from another pipe. Now the pipes fit together completely and I didn't even have to use a sledgehammer. Identical gaskets. Go figure.
The other problem was the corner pipe. Because of the angled mainline I had a custom corner pipe made from the old crappy corner pipe. The new corner pipe was at a 110 degree angle. I now needed a 90 degree angle. I could fit the 110 angle pipe into the other pipes. But after I started irrigation and got to full pressure one end of the corner pipe wanted to slip out, even with the metal stakes I had placed in the ground to support the corner pipe. The corner pipe leaked terribly.
I ended up calling Myron, the irrigation guy, and he had a short used 90 degree corner pipe for $25. Or a long 90 degree corner pipe - new - for $80. I tried the short corner pipe. It had a better hook and latch than my old corner pipe so I didn't stake the pipe. I did replace the hook with a shorter hook that I had. All the pipes have 9/16 size bolts and nuts. The hook bolt was 9/16 but the nut was an odd nut. Once again I had to walk back to the house and get another wrench. I brought a 5/8 wrench and a crescent wrench. Even the 5/8 wrench wasn't the size of this odd bolt. Fortunately I had also brought a crescent wrench.
Under full pressure the corner pipe stayed hooked but it tilted. Therefore it leaked. A lot. I tried pushing on the corner pipe. I wiggled the connecting pipes. One connecting pipe was held together with wire as the half shell clamp would not work. And I couldn't fit a collar on as you can see below. The metal band that holds the half shell clamp was in the way on this pipe. Well.. when I wiggled this pipe to try to stop the corner pipe leak the pressure was too much for the wire and it broke in two and the pipes separated and the water rushed out.
That was it for that day. It was getting late. Nothing was going right. It was for the best to take a break.
The next day I used a hacksaw to cut off the metal band. The band was welded to the pipe on each side where the "loop out" is located to hold the half shell clamp. I got one side cut. I decided to cut faster on the other side and quickly broke the hacksaw blade. *sigh* I figured I could use the broken blade to finish the cut in the time it would take me to walk back home to get another blade. Nope, it ended up taking longer to cut the band off.
With the band off I could position the collar and hook. Now the pipes hold together under full pressure.
I redid the corner pipe's hook. The hook's collar is two bolts. I removed the front bolt holding the hook and moved the hook to the back bolt. This made the connection tighter. Because the pipe was a corner pipe one can't adjust the position of the collar as the collar needs to be loose in case the pipe goes left or right. And being so short there was no room to move the collar along the pipe. I also put four metal stakes around the corner pipe. Nothing moved and no more leaks when under full water pressure.
The other major problem I had when I tried to start my irrigation pump was that I couldn't get prime. I pumped and pumped the priming pump and I wasn't filling the intake pipe. Not only wasn't I filling the pipe there was really no water in the pipe. The foot valve wasn't working. I just bought that thing three or four years ago. It should work.
Photos below show the parts of the foot valve.
http://valveproducts.net/foot-valve/4-basic-parts-of-a-foot-valve
The bottom part is the 'flapper' or disc of the foot valve. As you can see it is misshapen. It appears to be made of leather. I take the foot valve out of the water each year so it doesn't get damaged when the river freezes. I think the leather shrunk.
I tested the foot valve and it wouldn't hold water even though the flapper completely covered the opening of the seat (the metal ring) that flapper sits on.
I even put putty around the seat in case it leaked water there. Still leaked.
So with my neighbor Curtis's help we made a new flapper out of some rubber he had. We made the new flapper large enough that it covered the edge of the metal cage, and when bolting the cage to the unit the bolts went through the outside of the flapper to hold it in place.
It still leaked.
I still had my old foot valve. I tested it and it held water and did not leak. I also liked the design better. The flapper was of a solid material and flapped back, and not up, to open and let water in. The flapper did not get in the way of the water flow.
The old foot valve had been in the river (79?) years and the valve has corroded and bonded to the short piece of aluminum pipe screwed into the foot valve. Curtis and I had tried multiple ways to unscrew the pipe from the foot valve: oiling, heating, pounding, sometimes all three at once and we couldn't budge the pipe from the foot valve.
So I bought a plastic piece to screw onto my PVC pipe's screw-on connector. It cost me $3.61 and I gave the millennial or Gen Z female cashier at Home Depot $5.01. The extra penny confused her and she gave it back to me. I told her I didn't want pennies in change but she had already entered $5.00 in her cash register. So I said take the penny and add it to the .39 cent change and give me .40 cents back. She froze. Apparently she couldn't add 1 and 39 to get 40. I was getting frustrated as she wasn't doing anything other than trying to count on her fingers. Another older cashier supervisor came walking over and my cashier then quickly gave me my change. The next day I looked and she had given me a quarter and two dimes. .45 cents. These young kids these days can't add worth a darn.
Curtis has a lathe and the next morning he trimmed the new screw-on plastic piece so it could fit inside the short piece of aluminum pipe that we could not unscrew from the foot valve. We glued it. I drilled and put a couple of screws from the plastic piece into the pipe in case the glue failed. I didn't want the foot valve to slip off and getting washed down the river. Success! (As you can see in the above photo.) I then was able to screw the foot valve on to the PVC pipe below.
Now that I fixed the foot valve I primed the pump with water. I pumped and pumped and pumped. It seemed like it was taking too long. I checked the intake pipe by thumping it and there was water in the pipe. I pumped and pumped and pumped the priming pump some more. I must have pumped for over a half hour. Finally I filled the intake pipe and started the pump. Immediately water sprayed from the priming pump's shutoff valve. The water quit spraying when I closed the valve.
Okay.... I can deal with this later when I shut the pump off. I then ran into my previously described problem with the 90 degree elbow and had to shut the pump off. After I fixed the elbow problem I decided I would continue to delay fixing the shutoff valve leak. However the next time I started the pump, closing the shutoff valve did not stop the leak.
*sigh*
The intake pipe was still full. I unscrewed and took off the priming pump and shutoff valve, used a pan to top off the water in the intake pipe, put a plug in the pipe and started the pump. I ran into another one of my previously described elbow / pipe separation problems.
The next day when I made my final fix to the elbow I also found another shutoff valve. The broken shutoff valve was 1 inch in size. All I had were 1/2 inch shutoff valves. But dad had lots of miscellaneous pipes and connections. I barely cobbled together a reduction from 1 inch size to a 1/2 inch then back to a 1 inch size.
It worked and I was able to use the priming pump to top off the intake pipe and start the pump.
Looking at the broken shutoff valve my guess is that I had left the valve closed over Winter. There must have been water in the valve and when it froze it expanded and split the valve.
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| Cobbled together pieces to make a 1/2 inch valve work. |
So now I am moving pipes twice a day. I start before 8 am and 8 pm. Depending on the pipe configuration it takes me 1 hour and 45 minutes each time to over two hours. The 8 am move is before I normally wake. But I wake up naturally, move the pipes and go back to sleep until I get my 8+ hours of sleep before I wake up naturally again. Not ideal as it messes up my day, but I get the pipes moved.
The first morning I went back to sleep and slept from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm. 4 hours! I woke up exhausted as I had the craziest dream. I dreamt I saw one of my cows run and jump my south fence like it was show jumping horse. As I went to the fence the southern neighbor was my real life northern neighbor Calvin and his wife. The land went uphill and there were a lot of trees. There were lots of fenced pastures and holding pens and small buildings among the trees. They told me all my cattle had escaped from my pasture into their pasture but they had rounded up most of the cattle and sent them back to my pasture. Five or six of my cattle remained missing and I went to look for them among their various pastures.
In one holding pen with a loafing shed I found three of my calves among their animals. I tried to herd just my calves out of the holding pen but one of their animals slipped through the gate with my calf. They I realized the other animals were monkeys. I had a devil of a time getting the monkey back into the holding pen and my calf out. Finally I got the monkey in and my calf out.
Then Calvin had two teenage boys who came to help with my the other two calves. We had to each carry a calf. We walked through various fields with small fences and gates. Then it was a walk downhill to my pasture. I had a choice of wooden stairs or walking on the hill next to the stairs. I took the stairs but with the wiggling calf I fell at the bottom of the stairs. Someone was at the gate to my pasture and opened it and I chased the calf inside.
Then someone said we should take a car and drive around looking for the last of my escaped cows. A group of us in the car drove on a paved winding road with lots of houses on each side of the road. I realized I couldn't see the backyards of the houses and that must be where my missing cows were. When we got to an intersection where two roads came together I got out of the car.
Then I woke up. I was exhausted. I don't need active dreams like this when I'm getting more than the usual amount of exercise by moving the irrigation pipes.
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| It is not my choice to place the sprinkler so close to the cherry tree but I am limited in pipe placement. |
Part of my mainline pipe lies along the south/middle pasture fence and does not get moved as you can see ants have built a mound over the pipe.
Saturday, July 27, 2019
Bull back in NE pasture
I am trying once again to have Toby the bull in the NE pasture. Each day, multiple times, he hangs around the middle pasture gate mooing for Mama and Diamond. It is getting annoying. Last night I have moved one sprinkler line to run south of the barn, making the line shorter. So the pipes don't get too much pressure I decided to also run four pipes off a valve in the middle pasture. Toby was near the middle pasture gate as I moved pipes. I moved two pipes. As I walked back to get the other two pipes at the gate I saw Toby starting to walk towards me. (I try to always keep an eye on Toby when in the same area as him.) Then Toby began to get excited. He put his head down and started to hop up and down as he moved towards me. I yelled and waved my arms and he stopped hopping up and down. Before he could start back up I ran to the gate and up and over it. Toby followed. He rubbed his head on the gate and then on the railroad tie the gate was chained to. He is getting frustrated he can't get to Mama and Diamond. I had to drag the pipes through the hayfield to get around Toby.
Today I put some of the temporary corral panels along the fence where Toby had broken through before. I had one other area where the fence boards are on the 'wrong' side of the fence. I put a couple of corral panels against the fence there.
Toby was the middle pasture gate yet again this afternoon and I let him through the gate. He immediately went to the corral. Mama saw him coming and she came to the corral gate. After moving Mama back from the gate multiple times I was able to get Toby through the gate. He immediately went to 'checking' Mama. For the first hour he constantly accompanied Mama around the corral and NE pasture.
Mama should not be coming into heat yet. Apparently cows will come into heat 50 to 60 days after having a calf, and I read for beef cows it can be 45 to 55 days. Also, if the cow is exposed to a bull the number of days can be up to ten days shorter. So, a minimum of 35 days if all conditions are right. Mama gave birth July 1. So the earliest date Mama would come into heat would be August 4.
Hopefully Toby being with Mama and Diamond settles him down. I have closed the driveway gate to the road in case he does get ancy and breaks a fence again.
Today I put some of the temporary corral panels along the fence where Toby had broken through before. I had one other area where the fence boards are on the 'wrong' side of the fence. I put a couple of corral panels against the fence there.
Toby was the middle pasture gate yet again this afternoon and I let him through the gate. He immediately went to the corral. Mama saw him coming and she came to the corral gate. After moving Mama back from the gate multiple times I was able to get Toby through the gate. He immediately went to 'checking' Mama. For the first hour he constantly accompanied Mama around the corral and NE pasture.
Mama should not be coming into heat yet. Apparently cows will come into heat 50 to 60 days after having a calf, and I read for beef cows it can be 45 to 55 days. Also, if the cow is exposed to a bull the number of days can be up to ten days shorter. So, a minimum of 35 days if all conditions are right. Mama gave birth July 1. So the earliest date Mama would come into heat would be August 4.
Hopefully Toby being with Mama and Diamond settles him down. I have closed the driveway gate to the road in case he does get ancy and breaks a fence again.
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| Mama and Toby |
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| Temporary corral panel fence fix |
Monday, July 22, 2019
Bull breakout
Diamond still has not had her calf. So she and Mama and her calf are still in the coral and NE pasture. I think Toby has bred all the cows and heifers in the pasture with him. So he goes and calls several times a day to Mama and Diamond. To make matters more annoying is that he knocked over the end fence posts to the middle/south pastures gates. So Toby can walk to the middle/north pastures gate to stand and bellow to Mama and Diamond.
I am busy trying to get my irrigation going - and having problems - so I haven't time to fix these posts. Yesterday, late afternoon, Toby was again standing at the middle/north pastures gate. The rest of the cows were in the south pasture to the far south end. I decided to let Toby into the north pasture and then to the corral. I figured he has bred the cows and heifers and I would let him check Mama and Diamond out to see they don't need his 'loving' right now. Maybe then he would stop his bellowing to them.
When I opened the gate and Toby walked through, the cows way in the south must have seen as they came stampeding across the south and middle pastures to the middle/north pastures gate. They got there and then started to bellow to demand that I re-open the gate so they too could be let into the north pasture.
Before Toby could get to the corral gate he found leftover hay I had cleaned from the haybine last week just outside the corral. I had to wait for him to eat it. By now Mama noticed the ruckus and came into the corral from the NE pasture. Then Diamond came. Once Toby finished eating the leftover hay it was a hassle to get him through the gate and into the corral and not to let Mama, her calf, and Diamond out.
Toby checked Mama and Diamond out, the herd quit bellowing, and things settled down.
This morning I went for a short bicycle ride. When I returned I discovered Diamond, Mama, her calf and Toby were in the yard. I shut the gates to the road and went back and shut the small gate to the hayfield that the cattle somehow missed seeing open. Toby must have scratched on the fence between the toolshed and garage, and being a weak fence (it is on the fence to-do list - just now a higher priority) with boards on the 'wrong' side of the fence and therefore can be pushed out, and Toby pushed several boards off the fence.
Diamond was near the house and I was able to herd her through the gate by the garage. Once she realized what happened I had the gate shut. So she ran to where they had broken through the fence but I had already had nailed the boards back on and placed a few steel posts to brace the fence. Diamond wasn't happy.
Mama's calf was all excited and running like the wind all over the back yard. Mama has calmed down a lot of being over protective of her calf and I was able to herd both of them into the corral. By now Diamond had run around and came into the corral so she could try to get back into the back yard.
Toby was in the back yard, and after Mama and her calf went into the corral, he ambled over to the gate. But he stood there and did not want to go into the corral. Even whapping him lightly on the head with my sorting stick didn't faze him and he turned and walked back into the yard. Then Mama's calf ran like the wind through the partially open corral gate and back into the back yard.
*Argh!*
I ran after the calf, and Mama seeing me run after her calf then came running from the corral towards us - and me! Fortunately I got the calf turned around and she ran back to Mama who then stopped coming after me. I got them, and now also Diamond again, back into the corral and closed the gate.
I decided to let Toby eat for the time being and would try getting him back into the corral later. The grass in the yard is better than the pasture. I hadn't had time to mow it since I had the heifers eat it down, and the grass is green, young, tender and tasty.
I would be fine with these cattle eating the grass back down except that I had de-cattle proofed half the yard. For example, the walnut trees are not protected and the cattle love those leaves and would eat the entire amount of leaves. So I stayed and watched Toby. So did Mama, her calf, and Diamond. They all stood at the corral gate to watch. So I opened the gate to the south corral and put the three in there and shut the gate. Then I could leave the main corral gate open. Toby walked all over the yard. When he wanted to check out the small walnut tree I rapidly waved the sorting stick in the air and then hit the ground in front of him several times. He backed off and went elsewhere. Finally he walked to the corral gate and I encouraged him to keeping walking into the corral.
From there I let him out to the north pasture. He walked over to rest by the corral fence and I wanted him to go through the gate to the middle pasture so he could then go to the south pasture to re-join the herd. He stood there and chewed his cud. First Red saw and she came to the middle/north pastures gate, then rest of the herd came. Once ther herd was there Toby slowly ambled to the gate, and then s-l-o-w-l-y ambled through the gate to re-join the herd.
*sigh* I have irrigation to fix and I didn't need to spend all this time on the cattle. But, that's the way life is sometimes.
Here is Toby in the evening as I was working on fixing the broken fence posts to the south/middle pastures, as I was at an impass until tomorrow on the irrigation fix.
I am busy trying to get my irrigation going - and having problems - so I haven't time to fix these posts. Yesterday, late afternoon, Toby was again standing at the middle/north pastures gate. The rest of the cows were in the south pasture to the far south end. I decided to let Toby into the north pasture and then to the corral. I figured he has bred the cows and heifers and I would let him check Mama and Diamond out to see they don't need his 'loving' right now. Maybe then he would stop his bellowing to them.
When I opened the gate and Toby walked through, the cows way in the south must have seen as they came stampeding across the south and middle pastures to the middle/north pastures gate. They got there and then started to bellow to demand that I re-open the gate so they too could be let into the north pasture.
Before Toby could get to the corral gate he found leftover hay I had cleaned from the haybine last week just outside the corral. I had to wait for him to eat it. By now Mama noticed the ruckus and came into the corral from the NE pasture. Then Diamond came. Once Toby finished eating the leftover hay it was a hassle to get him through the gate and into the corral and not to let Mama, her calf, and Diamond out.
Toby checked Mama and Diamond out, the herd quit bellowing, and things settled down.
This morning I went for a short bicycle ride. When I returned I discovered Diamond, Mama, her calf and Toby were in the yard. I shut the gates to the road and went back and shut the small gate to the hayfield that the cattle somehow missed seeing open. Toby must have scratched on the fence between the toolshed and garage, and being a weak fence (it is on the fence to-do list - just now a higher priority) with boards on the 'wrong' side of the fence and therefore can be pushed out, and Toby pushed several boards off the fence.
Diamond was near the house and I was able to herd her through the gate by the garage. Once she realized what happened I had the gate shut. So she ran to where they had broken through the fence but I had already had nailed the boards back on and placed a few steel posts to brace the fence. Diamond wasn't happy.
Mama's calf was all excited and running like the wind all over the back yard. Mama has calmed down a lot of being over protective of her calf and I was able to herd both of them into the corral. By now Diamond had run around and came into the corral so she could try to get back into the back yard.
Toby was in the back yard, and after Mama and her calf went into the corral, he ambled over to the gate. But he stood there and did not want to go into the corral. Even whapping him lightly on the head with my sorting stick didn't faze him and he turned and walked back into the yard. Then Mama's calf ran like the wind through the partially open corral gate and back into the back yard.
*Argh!*
I ran after the calf, and Mama seeing me run after her calf then came running from the corral towards us - and me! Fortunately I got the calf turned around and she ran back to Mama who then stopped coming after me. I got them, and now also Diamond again, back into the corral and closed the gate.
I decided to let Toby eat for the time being and would try getting him back into the corral later. The grass in the yard is better than the pasture. I hadn't had time to mow it since I had the heifers eat it down, and the grass is green, young, tender and tasty.
I would be fine with these cattle eating the grass back down except that I had de-cattle proofed half the yard. For example, the walnut trees are not protected and the cattle love those leaves and would eat the entire amount of leaves. So I stayed and watched Toby. So did Mama, her calf, and Diamond. They all stood at the corral gate to watch. So I opened the gate to the south corral and put the three in there and shut the gate. Then I could leave the main corral gate open. Toby walked all over the yard. When he wanted to check out the small walnut tree I rapidly waved the sorting stick in the air and then hit the ground in front of him several times. He backed off and went elsewhere. Finally he walked to the corral gate and I encouraged him to keeping walking into the corral.
From there I let him out to the north pasture. He walked over to rest by the corral fence and I wanted him to go through the gate to the middle pasture so he could then go to the south pasture to re-join the herd. He stood there and chewed his cud. First Red saw and she came to the middle/north pastures gate, then rest of the herd came. Once ther herd was there Toby slowly ambled to the gate, and then s-l-o-w-l-y ambled through the gate to re-join the herd.
*sigh* I have irrigation to fix and I didn't need to spend all this time on the cattle. But, that's the way life is sometimes.
Here is Toby in the evening as I was working on fixing the broken fence posts to the south/middle pastures, as I was at an impass until tomorrow on the irrigation fix.
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