Today I attended the annual Creston Volunteer Fire Department auction. The auction started at 9:30 am but I never got there until noon. They always have lots of stuff so no need to be there from the beginning. From the looks of things they probably won't finish today - and they have 4 auctioners going at once.
Lots and lots of stuff - mostly junk (in my opinion). But others have a different view as most items are selling. Only 3 items I am interested in: a larger size picture (I want the frame), 2 metal farm fence gates, and several rolls of field fence (can't have too much field fence!)
However the items I want are in different rows than what the auctioners are currently on. I was there for a few hours and each auctioner made at most only 1/2 of the row they were on. I decided to take a break and go back later to see if I can bid on the items I want.
Tomorrow is the car/boat/vehicle auction part of the auction. This year they have less items consigned than the previous years I attended the auction. A Ford tractor looks to be the size I am looking for, but I'm not going to buy a tractor this way as who knows what condition the tractor is in, and I don't want to spend time repairing it.
The only item I am interested in tomorrow's auction is a cattle squeeze chute. It is in pretty good condition. I saw Dan and Sue at the auction and we checked the squeeze chute out together as they had missed seeing it. They already have a squeeze chute that he and Sue use to brand and give shots to their cattle.
Dan sold some cattle this past week in Missoula and said the market is so-so right now. Naturally if you have black angus cattle in good condition you'll get top dollar. Has to be black as other colored cattle are discounted in price by the buyers.
Yesterday was a halfway decent day and I did various things outside. I took a hammer and pounded in the nails that have started to work their way out of the fence around the yard. Tap, tap, tap. Yup, sound's silly but needed to be done.
I transplanted a bush I had gotten last spring. It was a free bush when I bought other items at the Plains, MT nursery sale. I wasn't sure it would grow (or even what it was) so I plopped it in my fruit tree area. It did grow but I also had planted other bushes and plants later and I decided to move the bush before my grapes grew up and together. I moved the bush to the front yard. Naturally on a cloudy day the sun came out briefly when I had the bush out of the ground.
In the afternoon I tried burning some more. I burnt a few overground spots here and there in the NE pasture. I also burnt the "odd grass" area south of the hayshed. The burning here had to be babied as plenty of green grass was growing here slowing the fire down. The reflection from the metal sides of the hayshed warms this area so this is why the green grass is plentiful here. A similar thing happens south of my house as my tulips there are now coming out of the ground.
I burnt in the corral area where I had the cattle last fall. Plenty of hay and manure here. The top layer of hay was dry and that burnt, but only the top layer. Lots more there!
After a late lunch I burnt the grass along the west fence line to the hayfield. Or tried to as it was now cloudier as the front approached, and more humid. Even with a good breeze the fire didn't want to "go". After an hour of babying the fire I called it quits. Another day I will try.
So I checked my pocket gopher traps. I had trapped 5 gophers in my 6 traps. Pretty good, eh? I am up to 15 gophers so far this year.
One can tell it is spring by the potato trucks. The semis from Washington State have been visiting the potato farm north of me for the past few weeks now. Every day at least two long semi trailers come and go.
Well, time to go back to the auction to see if I can buy the items I am interested in.
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