First bonfire for 2014

Back on Saturday May 31 Tammy and I had the first bonfire for 2014.  I had two tree stumps dug around and decided to burn the smaller of the two.

Later the stump looked like an alien monster rising from the flames.

Here is a short video of the fire:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xwvvmj3vT1g&feature=youtu.be


Before...

After...

After the bonfire: no more stump

Daisy came out with me when I filled in the hole.

Checking out my work

How can I fill in the hole if you lay there?

Peek-a-boo!

Unburned wood on top of the filled in hole.

Sitting and looking for mice while I filled in the hole. No mice found.

Cattle jailbreak

At 8 am Jan called to tell me that there were some cattle in the front yard of the house across the street from her house.  She wasn't sure if they were mine but there were some black and white cattle.  I was sure they were mine and that the bull made a jailbreak.

It had rained overnight and was still misting.  I ran through the tall wet grass in the hayfield over to the neighbor's house. While crossing the hayfield I saw some of my cattle in the south pasture.  So not all of them had gotten out.

When I got to the neighbor's yard I found that none of the cattle were mine.  They looked to be Jamie's cattle, my neighbor across the street.  The person living in the house heard Jan and I talking and came outside.  When Jan went in her house to call Jamie, some cattle in Jamie's pasture came up from the creek.  When the loose cattle saw Jamie's cattle they crossed the road to get to the pasture.  I opened the gate and the cattle went inside.  Mission accomplished.

Or so I thought.

By the time I walked home I saw a pickup pulling a red stock trailer slowly driving down the road and then stopping across from Jamie's pasture.  I talked to the couple and learned they were missing seven cattle from where they were pasturing them a quarter mile down the road. 

Oh... yeah... there occasionally were cattle in a field down the road.

The couple lives elsewhere and by co-incidence had come up to get and take some cattle to the livestock auction when they found some were missing.

I offered to help them retrieve their cattle from Jamie's pasture.

Jamie doesn't have a loading facility for cattle, just a small gate in one corner and some extra moveable corral panels, of which we used two inside the corral. The couple had a few corral panels in their trailer and we used them to secure a path from the gate to their trailer.

The seven cattle were mainly short horn cattle with two Holstein (ugh) cattle.  Jamie's cattle are Corriente cattle with long horns.   The seven cattle were pretty tame and all had names which the woman used when calling and talking to their cattle.

One of the couple's cattle was a little bull and he got easily distracted by the cows.  And one of the couple's Angus cross cow was flighty and ignored their calls.  The guy and I entered the pasture to herd his cattle.  I was a little nervous about the long horns on Jamie's cattle but they were all calm.  One was too friendly and kept getting in the way.  The woman was enticing her cattle with cow "cookies" and Jamie's cow kept trying to get one too.

Eventually we got his cattle separated and loaded into his trailer.  It had started to rain while we were herding the cattle so I was very wet by the time I got home.  When I got home I got out of my wet clothes and went back to bed to sleep for an hour.

At least none of the jail breaking cattle were mine.

Spying Jamie's cattle

Tammy's gone

Tammy left for Minnesota today.  She ended our engagement and moved back to Minnesota to be close to her family.  She wasn't happy.  She hated the house (including that bathroom remodel as all she could see were the flaws in my mudding and painting), didn't like ranch life and didn't like me.

She felt I..

• talked too much,
• went into too much detail when talking,
• talked about stuff or people that didn't interest her,
• talked about boring stuff,
• repeated myself,
• was too analytical, 
• was negative or doubted everything, 
• thought that I thought I knew everything, 
• talked during TV shows and movies,
• talked about stuff she already knew,
• etc.
• and etc. as I can't remember all her complaints about my talking.

An example of me doubting things (according to Tammy) was when she told me she found  a moving company that would come from Billings, MT and haul her stuff to Minnesota for about $500 more than what she could rent the moving van for.  That is not counting the gasoline she would have to pay for if she rented and drove herself.  I asked her if the company was a nationally known company.  When it wasn't, I told her she should check to see if the company was reputable.  Then she got mad at me and said I doubted everything and she hated that about me.  I had read about and seen TV news shows about some moving companies that charge way more than their estimate and held the stuff hostage until the owners paid the higher price.  I just wanted Tammy to be careful.

I also have tinnitus and the loud ringing in my ears makes it hard to hear certain sounds.  Tammy often got very annoyed when I asked her to repeat what she said.

So our conversations dwindled away.   As our interests didn't have much overlap the conversations tended to be about Daisy or things she wanted to talk about.  If people don't talk, even about trivial stuff, the relationship gets disconnected and starts to fray and unravel.

So I didn't argue for her to stay as I can't change the things she hates.  It was up to her if she wanted to stay or go and she chose to go.


Tammy was nervous about driving a truck and pulling her minivan on a trailer behind the truck.  I offered to drive her in the truck to my brother's house in North Dakota which is over halfway to Minnesota.  From there the roads are flat and straight.  But she didn't like that idea.

A friend of Tammy's suggested renting a u-haul trailer instead of a truck.  Tammy ordered a hitch for her van.  Before the hitch arrived she started packing.  The boxes began to add up and she doubted everything would fit in a 6 by 12 ft trailer so she reserved a truck.

Once she had most of the stuff packed I thought everything would just fit in a trailer. In addition to being easier to drive, the trailer would be $500 to $600 dollars cheaper than a truck.   I offered to load the stuff in a trailer and if the stuff didn't fit reload it in a truck.  But the u-haul dealer had another hold on the truck.  Once Tammy rented the trailer she would lose the truck.  So she called me to come to the dealer to look at the trailer.  I still thought the stuff would just fit.  We measured the inside of the trailer which is a few inches smaller than 6 by 12 ft.  While Tammy had a goodbye supper with a number of her friends I laid out an area the size of her trailer and carried out the boxes she had packed so far and the piece of furniture I could manage by myself.  Then looking at what was left to pack I felt certain everything would just fit.  If a handful of boxes wouldn't fit, Tammy could replace their contents for less than $500.

Tuesday we went to Walmart to get a receiver and ball for the hitch.  I had an extra 2" ball she could have but Tammy insisted on a new ball and not a used one from me.  We got the u-haul trailer.  I loaded everything in the trailer by packing it tight.  I had to reposition some stuff as the heavier stuff weighed down the front too much for my liking.  The trailer hitch still rode lower than I care for but it rode low even with the trailer empty.  I worked from after 10 am till almost dark at 10 pm other than a break for lunch and another break to work the bull and turn it loose.


Since Tammy hadn't returned the engagement ring I asked for it back since she ended the engagement.  Initially she said she had packed the ring away and didn't know where it was.  Then she admitted she didn't plan on returning the ring to me.  She said all her friends agreed that since I "suck at relationships" Tammy didn't have to return the ring to me.  Beside Tammy said she didn't want me to give the ring to another woman and ruin her life too.  So I didn't get my ring back.

Tammy left at 7 am this morning to begin her two day drive to Minnesota.    She was emotional and slammed the screen door on her way out of the house which I later had to fix.  She was cursing as she walked to her minivan.  Since she was pulling the trailer she couldn't tear out of here but she was quickly gone.

I'm sad.  I remember the good times and the promise of more. But when someone is unhappy and you can't fix it, it is best to let them go find happiness.

Cows meet bull

After a couple days cooling his heels in the corral it was time for the bull to meet the cows.  He has been moaning off and on the past couple days since he was lonely without company.    First he needed to get an ear tag as he has no brand on him.  No one else around here has a black white faced bull but it is good to have some sort of identifier in case he gets off the property.

Late afternoon I took a break from loading Tammy's stuff into a u-haul trailer.  Tammy has no interest in cattle and ranch work so my friend Donna came over to watch in case something happened and I got hurt handling the bull.   Donna has had many years experience with cattle.

The bull's neck was so thick, that while he could get his head and neck through the head gate he couldn't cause the head gate to catch and lock.  Fortunately he was calm even after I lightly grabbed his ear.  I quickly tagged his ear.  I was so quick he could hardly react.

I also sprayed Ivermectin on his back to control parasites.

Then it was time to release him to go meet the cows.  The corral gate was wide open but he was more interested in checking the full corral out.  He would go around the corral but not through the gate.  I am really cautious around a bull so I didn't press him like I would a cow.   Still Donna and I tried to encourage him to go out of the gate.  A few times he appeared to start getting agitated so we backed off.  Then Daisy appeared.  As Daisy crossed the corral to me the bull saw her and ran and jumped after her.  Daisy quickly found shelter in the loading ramp area.  Finally the bull went through the open gate and left the corral.

The cattle were visible in the south pasture and while I am sure the bull has seen them, there were also cattle a quarter mile to the north, and there was a light breeze from that direction.  The bull looks like he could easily go through many of my fences and I didn't want him to get any ideas about going in that direction.

I had the middle pasture gate open and Donna and I gently herded the bull towards the gate while he just wanted to eat grass.

Once the bull entered the middle pasture he ambled straight towards the south pasture gate, which was closed.  When the bull stopped to scratch his head on a downed tree I went ahead and opened the gate.  Then Donna gently herded the bull.  Then he saw the cows and trotted to the fence.  The cows who has been taking a siesta all stood up and intently watched us.  Once the bull came through the gate the cows came to the bull.  Immediately the bull started sniffing around Momma.  Hmmm... I wonder who might be in heat.

I went back to loading the u-haul trailer.  From a distance it appears the bull and cattle were getting along.

I think I have a name for the bull.  When trying to entice the bull to come out of the loading corral, then the corral, I kept calling him "Buddy".  "Hey Buddy.  Come on Buddy.  Over here Buddy."    Buddy sounds right for him.

Buddy the Bull.

Pre ear tag

Just after getting his ear tag.

Checking the corral out

Meeting the girls...

Following Momma

Here is a short video of Buddy meeting the girls:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARevUwyjSJw&feature=youtu.be

-

Bull

Today I bought a two year old bull.  He seems gentle with a easy going disposition.  He has fathered several calves, which I've seen. He was mounting one of the owner's heifer who was in heat. The owner sold the bull because he has a small herd and he didn't want inbreeding.

He is a good bull, and one suited for my small operation, but not a great bull.  So I didn't have to pay an arm and a leg for him.  Great bulls are generally selling for $2000 to $3000 with some going for more.

This bull had a registered Angus father and a white faced black mother.  Dan thinks it is possible there may be a Holstein way back on he mother's side which may account for the bull's white face and belly.

I got the bull Sunday afternoon.  Their loading facility is a gate and a couple panels to funnel the animal to the gate and trailer.  Not an ideal loading facility if the animals do not want to load into a trailer.  And with a bull I had reservations on how easy this would be.

Francisco, the owner, had his kids helping.  Getting in the way were sheep they had wandering in their little corral.  The owner tried to entice the bull with a bucket of grain but the other cows and sheep were more interested.  After several requests by the owners the kids finally secured the sheep.

Good thing the bull was easy going because with this set up else someone could have gotten hurt.

Francisco eventually got the bull in the handheld gates by the trailer. One small calf also followed the bull in.  The bull turned around to look at everyone instead of going into the trailer.  Francisco put some grain on the trailer floor and got in the small area to encourage the bull to get in the trailer.  He did.  But so was the calf.  Francisco grabbed the calf.  The bull started to turn around.  Francisco drug the calf out of the trailer and I got the trailer door shut before the bull could get out.

Actually easier than I expected.

For now I am holding the bull in the loading corral so he can get used to the area and I can observe him to see if he remains gentle at a new place.  So far so good.  He does some mooing as he doesn't want to be alone, but he doesn't pace or toss his head.  The wind was from the north and I believe he smelled the cattle a half mile up the road.  My cattle are in the south pasture and the bull would moo when they came out from the river and trees and he could see them.

The horses hung around the corral so he had some company of livestock. I tried to get one or two steers away from the herd in order to keep the bull company.  I got only one steer through the gate before the cows and heifers crowded around the gate. I haven't upgraded this gate so it is a barb wire gate which makes for difficult handling when trying to move only a few animals through the gate.

I tried to herd the steer to the corral but he got more and more agitated the further I tried to herd him away from the herd.  So I gave up.  I left the gates between the corral and this pasture open in case he gets curious about the corral and bull.

Tammy's yard sale, day 2

More stuff was sold. Tammy was making deals to get rid of stuff. It was not as busy as Friday as there were lots of things going on Saturday around the Valley.  Brandi took her son to the traveling dinosaur exhibition at the fairgrounds.  I offered to sit and be backup for Tammy but she wanted to handle the sale by herself and told me to leave.  I worked on a pathway along my garden. 

More of my stuff was also sold.  I even sold a rock.  A guy was checking out my red windmill.  Before I could tell him it was not for sale he asked if the rocks around the windmill were for sale.  I had placed some small to medium sized rocks around the base of the windmill.  I ended up selling him one rock for $2.

Here is tonight's sunset.

Tammy's yard sale

Tammy is moving back to Minnesota and today and Saturday she held/is holding a yard sale to sell extra stuff she doesn't need or doesn't want to move.  Brandi, a friend of Tammy's from down the road, brought some of her family's stuff to sell and also to sit and help Tammy out with the sale.  Brandi brought her youngest son (Chase) along and he was a handful.  Chase has an inexhaustible supply of energy and questions.

Tammy and Brandi mostly filled up the tables with their stuff so Tammy didn't want any of my "shit" to be added to the sale.  I was able to put a few of my bigger items on the sidewalk and sold three items I've have had at a yard sale for three sales now.  I finally sold the big old fashioned adjustable chair and the last of my dad's old RV parts.  The one buyer said he planned on mounting the mirrors on his wife's ATV.

Tammy and Brandi sold lots of stuff.  Lots more to sell on Saturday.

Out in the pasture I noticed one cow kind of off by itself  part of the day.  With a binocular I could see it was one of the two brockle faced cows.  The last cow to have a calf is a brockle faced cow.  I walked out to find the cow was not alone as at a distance the tall grass hid some of the smaller cattle laying nearby.  And no, she did not have a calf.  Also notice how well she has been at getting rid of her winter fur.

Livestock well: screen

After lots of pumping it didn't look like the sand was clearing up in my livestock well.  I didn't want to wait days or a week to see if it cleared up.  If it didn't clear up that meant an expensive cost to bring the drilling rig back to pull the pipe and put a screen in later.

The screen was not cheap.  $500.  That is why I didn't make the decision quickly.  In the end having a screen would save money in case the sand didn't quit and ended up damaging the pump or clogging the sprinkler heads.

Paul had to order the screen and didn't get it prepared until a Sunday.  Yes, Sunday.  Later in the week Paul was leaving for France to play clarinet in a band for D-Day ceremonies.

Monday he pulled the well casing out of the ground and attached the screen to the pipe before pushing it back into the ground.  I didn't see this on Monday as I was clearing viruses off and fixing Tammy's laptop computer, and a rain shower came around the time Paul came in the afternoon.  By the time I finished with Tammy's computer Paul had pushed the pipe and screen into the ground.

The screen is stainless steel, 5 ft long and almost 6 inches in diameter.

Paul welded a metal section to the top of the screen.  Apparently this part slipped inside the well casing with the screen sticking out of the end.

A cap was welded on the bottom of the screen.

While the screen looked more solid than open, here is a view from inside.

 

Small gravel and sand from the bottom of the well.

The screen works well.  The water quickly cleared up and a five gallon pail of water only showed a few grains of sand.

The screen doesn't appear to have slowed the water flow down at all.  A 3 hp pump pumping about 50 gallons a minute for three hours only drew the water level in the six inch pipe down a couple inches.  When the pump was turned off the water level returned to normal within a minute.   It appears the amount of water I can pump may be more limited by the pump size and how much I want to spend on a pump.  Not a bad problem to have.  Still, the cost of pumps are not cheap so I will be limited from that end.

Now to install a pitless adapter and get a pump and pipe hooked up for the livestock water trough.  Another larger pump will be needed for watering the corral, etc.  That will have to wait until an electrician can look at my wiring.  While my uncles and I rewired the barn a few years ago, the wires leading to the barn do not appear to have a ground. With a larger pump it will be important to have appropriate wiring.  Plus the house's circuit breakers are very old.