Bulling

The last cow to arrive (the one with the split hooves and limp - which is almost gone) is just now going into heat, or is cycling again as she may not have gotten pregnant if she cycled once since arriving here.  Buddy the Bull is keeping constant attention on her and is always by her side.

Dan was by yesterday to look at the cattle.  We didn't dare get too close to the pair, especially as Buddy was giving us the stink eye.  We then checked out the other cattle.  While doing so the cow and bull wandered over.  So be safe we slipped through a fence.  Buddy would push any other cattle away from her if they got too close. 

From the previous photos... you may say... the cattle got it wrong.  Shouldn't the bull be mounting the cow?  When the cow first comes into heat she often does what is called "bulling", or mounting of other cattle.   When she is in what is called "standing heat" is her prime time to be inseminated by the bull.  That will probably be in a day or so.


Dan and I had gotten busy and the first feeder cattle sale is coming up quick on Thursday.  It looks like we will miss this one and instead send some of our cattle to the feeder sale on Sept 18.  I still have grass but I had hoped to reduce the herd size this Thursday to better ensure I have enough grass to last till first snow.

Picnic in the Park: Marley's Ghost

Tuesday evening I went to the last Picnic in the Park concert for 2014.  I missed the first half hour because I am building a new livestock feeder south of the barn and I didn't go until I was at a good stopping point in the build.

The band was: Marley's Ghost.

"The band can sing and play anything with spot-on feel, from roots to rock, blues to bluegrass, gospel to stone country, which is what they’ve been doing – to the ongoing delight of a fervent cult that includes many of their fellow musicians – throughout their first quarter century as a working unit. Their trademark multi-part harmonies never cease to captivate, whether on record or in live performance."

The band was excellent.  They are not a local band.  They have been together 25 years and it shows as they are a tight unit.

Their web site (http://www.marleysghost.com/) has some their music you can listen to.


I don't know what it is about concerts.  People always seem to leave before the end.  Usually the music gets better with the last songs getting better and better as the band wants to leave you with their best impression.   Yet people leave before the last song.  I'd rather miss the beginning and stay to the end.

A few videos of their songs:

Folk:   Alabama John Cherokee   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9PFfEFjUPk&feature=youtu.be

Blues: Traveling Riverside Blues  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur91lFh7dt0&feature=youtu.be

Gospel: Story of Job                          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nelgAIqZwC8&feature=youtu.be

Weed spraying done

Saturday I finally finished spraying all the pastures for weeds.  I'm not sure why but I had more weeds this year than last year, and some pastures were worse than other pastures. I think the very wet June activated old seeds and then the hot and dry July and August allowed the weeds to flourish while the grass went dormant.

The north and middle pastures had more weeds, the other pastures about the same, and less in the hayfield.  Last year I think I had all weeds sprayed in about two weeks.  This year it took me about a month of mostly intensive spraying.

Knapweed and Yarrow were worse.  Other people I talked with thought their knapweed were worse too.

With my late start to spraying some of the weeds had formed seed heads.  But most of my weeds looked to be first year, or second year with a Fall 2013 start and, outside of knapweed, many of those weren't mature enough to form seeds.  I went around with a clipper and plastic bag and collected the thistles' seed heads before 98% of them opened and spread.

I started spraying back when it was hot and dry.  This was not a good time to start as the weed metabolism was slow to almost dormant.  In the beginning it would take a week for the weeds to show the effect of spray.  Once it began to rain mid month this August the grass and weeds picked up.  Then I could see the spray's effect within a day or two.  The spray back when it was hot and dry did work as those weeds are dead now.

The NE pasture was the first to be sprayed.  At the end it was the last to be sprayed as I went over it again and caught the weeds I had missed and the new weeds or growth since the rain.  A week after the rain started it appeared that the new Fall weeds had started as I seen a number of what appeared to be starter weeds.

Saturday, having finished my property on Friday, I sprayed the yard of the old couple to my north.  They had mainly knapweed with a fair amount of yarrow.  Even though they mow their yard, the knapweed is persistent in forming flowers for later seed heads and will do so at any height.  With the view from my fence I thought one 4 gallon tank of herbicide would cover their yard.  I ended up spraying almost 5 tanks worth of herbicide. Half of their yard was nothing but weeds and no grass anymore.

While this year was a 'step back' year, overall I am making progress in my war on weeds.  I had to remind myself fighting weeds is a multi-year process.  Seeing all the areas that were way worse in the past helped.

Now on to my other projects put on hold during my war on weeds.

Cattle break in

Usually the problem is the cattle getting out.  This afternoon I found three little calves in the corral.  The heifer seen outside the corral pushed a board in and the calves crawled through.  One black and one red calf went back out when I herded them.  The other red calf ran this way and that way in the corral before she went back outside.  She made such a fuss that most of the herd came running over to see what the commotion was about.

Brian and Neal's second day

I already wrote about Brian's first day on his visit to Montana and Glacier Park on my Tall Pines hiker blog (http://tallpineshiker.blogspot.com/2014/08/highline-trail-with-brian.html).  Here is what we did and saw on their second day here on Tuesday August 12.

A chance of afternoon rain was in the forecast so we got an earlier start.  Glacier Park was still crowded.  We did a mix of souvenir shopping, car sightseeing, and short walks along the Sun Road.  We were unable to stop at Logan Pass.  The parking lot was full and a female ranger was blocking vehicles from entering the parking lot.

Later we saw another female ranger pull a vehicle over at the Jackson Glacier overlook.  She had pulled up behind the vehicle and her vehicle was blocking the eastbound lane.  I spoke with the family later and they told me they got a warning about driving too slow and weaving in their lane while sightseeing.  Oh brother.  They were nowhere close to being as bad as some sightseers.

In addition to driving the entire length of the Sun Road, we also visited Many Glacier Valley and hotel, and Essex, Montana where Neal had hoped to find the hat he regretted not buying when he was last here four years ago.  The store no longer carried that hat.

It was a long day and a tiring day.   For Brian and Neal's third day I stayed at the ranch and sprayed weeds while they drove over the Sun Road again and saw more sights.


Here is a link to photos of the sights we saw:

https://plus.google.com/photos/109566462412251958234/albums/6049901021821173761?authkey=CK3ntNmqzaCwlAE

Here is a video of different parts of Baring Creek coming out of the Sunrift Gorge:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAOV_bKE4SQ&feature=youtu.be

Livestock mischief

I tend not to trap pocket gophers in the areas the cattle have access as the cattle are so darn curious they often disturb the traps.  But with so few pocket gophers this year (only 11 so far) I decided to put out a couple traps to get a recent pocket gopher.

I waited until the cattle were taking their noontime siesta under the neighbor's trees to dig the holes and place the traps.  I placed a small metal rod with no plastic milk jug as a marker in the area of (but not next to) the two traps. I tried to set the marker among alfalfa to somewhat hide it. In the evening I found the metal rod bent to one side, one trap covered with dirt by the cattle, and the other trap broken as a cow stepped on it down in the hole.



In all of the large hayfield, they found the traps.  They must have seen me way across the field when I set the traps.

And the cattle would have to step on one of my good round traps.  The company doesn't make round traps anymore, only square ones.  I find the round traps better on the occasions the pocket gophers avoid the square traps for some reason. 

Also, in the evening the horses were up to no good.  I have the gates to the south part of the corral closed.  Coming back from spraying weeds, and finding the broken trap, I found the horses in the south part of the corral.  They somehow had lifted one gate off its hinges until it fell over.  Then they walked over it to get to the south pasture.

The gate was on my list for an upgrade once I finish the nearby well and water trough work (waiting on a new pump).  I chased the horses out of this area, re-hung the gate, and added a temporary wire so it can't be lifted off the hinges.   The horses were right at the gate once I finished my work but they couldn't get through the gate.  I know the white horse masturbates using this gate so that may be how it was popped off the hinges.   The owner says the white horse is not masturbating on the gate, it must have worms and has an itchy butt.  Having an itchy butt from worms is better than having a masturbating horse?

Tarping hay

While round hay bales tend to shed water, placing a tarp over them is a good idea, especially when the bales are right next to one another.

Many of the tarps I own have one or more holes in them.  None of the tarps are large enough.  I was able to find and buy one tarp large enough to cover 28 of the 29 bales.  The tarp is 30 by 50 feet.  Or maybe a bit larger.  I had measured the bales at 32 by 53 ft.    It is nice to have a single tarp as water could get in where smaller tarps meet.   The tarp set me back $119.

The weather forecast has a good chance of rain starting tomorrow and lasting through the weekend.  Isolated scattered rain shower for today usually means I don't get rain.  Not today.  I was able to get the tarp over the bales just before the rain came.

Then I was able to get the tarp tied down on the corners just before the wind picked up.  I tied the tarp down in many spots in case the wind gets to howling.

The 29th hay bale

Still working on getting a tractor to move the hay bales this Winter.

Finally, rain

July was very dry.  After a couple of minor teases earlier this week Friday morning the rain finally came.  And it rained hard.  Thankfully with no wind.

The cattle came in to huddle together by the patio.

Last but not least, Buddy the bull accompanied the new cow. What a gentleman.  She is still limping.  Poor girl.  Her calf was with the herd by the patio.

A 46 second video of Buddy the bull walking with the new cow.  You can hear how hard the rain was falling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoO-6G563mM&feature=youtu.be

I bought this tarp to cover my round hay bales.  With the dry weather I thought I had more time to cover the bales.  Now I will have to wait until the hay dries.

It rained hard.  Combined with the dry hard ground it took a while for the water to soak in.  Daisy came outside to drink as she prefers water everywhere other than her water dish in the house.  Tammy had even bought Daisy a nice metal dish for water and Daisy still prefers water outside.

In the evening another rain event came.  Initially it passed to the east of me as seen in the photos below.  At sunset it began to rain lightly.

Another pair

Thursday Dan asked if I could help him load a cow/calf pair.  He was thinking of buying the pair but first had to take them to the vet.  The really old couple who owned the pair had an old and simple loading facility and if the cattle didn't want to be loaded it could be a real chore.  When we arrived they already had the cow in the short run with boards blocking the way and no gate.  We got the cow loaded with not much effort.  Her calf was in the small outer area with another calf.  It took both Dan and I to separate the calves and get the right one loaded.

The cow had a limp and the vet found the hooves were too long and several hooves had cracks and splits in them and one hoof's tip had broke.  Initially the cow was put in a squeeze chute but to trim the hoofs they needed to lay the cow on her side.  When the cow lept out of the squeeze chute it must had caught the broken tip and broke it all the way off.  The hoof was now bloody.

The vet and his two helpers wrapped a few ropes around the cow's head and neck and body and easily laid the cow on her side on the ground.  The vet showed his helper apprentice how to trim the hoofs with a grinder to shorten them and to reduce the pressure on the splits.

When the ground is soft and not rocky hooves don't get ground down. The vet said being in wet conditions causes hooves to enlarge and sometimes they crack when drying out.  He thought the one hoof with a crack all the way to the hairline would take 8 months to grow out.

I need to watch Momma.  I noticed this Spring her hooves were long.  Her back hooves more so and reminded me of slippers.  She had no problems walking.  I checked when I got home and her hooves are just as long and still no problems walking or signs of cracks.

With no major problems causing the limping Dan decided to take a chance and buy the cow/calf pair.  He wanted to immediately breed her as it is getting late in the season to breed cows.  That meant he wanted to pasture them at my place.  With no rain the grass is not growing so I am not eager to have more cattle right now.  If Dan couldn't pasture the pair with my bull he wasn't going to buy the pair, so I relented.  What's one more cow?  Besides, the bull appears to have satisfied all the cows I have and a new female would make him happier.

When we unloaded the new cow the bull immediately came over.  He hasn't left her side since then.  With his attention, if she is not in heat she may be quickly.

The new cow is the light brown cow.

The bull often sticks his nose up close and the cow's smell can be quite strong.  That is why he then makes a face.

Owl fight

Tonight I noticed something strange about an owl sitting on top of the power pole by the garage.  The owl had a mouse hanging from its mouth.  Daisy was sitting by the house and also saw the owl.  She started chattering at the owl.

A minute later another owl swooped up to the top of the power pole with a loud screech.  There is really only room for one owl on top of the pole.  The two owls started fighting and flapping their wings.  Then the first owl flew off towards the hay shed.  The second owl stood on top of the pole with its back to me.

Did it have the mouse?

Nope.  It started screeching again and then turned to look at me and Daisy before flying back where it came from.

I wish I had my camera, but I didn't and it was over in a matter of minutes.

Shakespeare in the Parks 2014

Another year, another Montana Shakespeare in the Parks play here in Kalispell.   This year: As You Like It

A surprise... I was on time as I got there on my bicycle several minutes before the play started.

I don't know... maybe I'm not fond of Shakespeare plays.  The old way of talking can be hard to follow and each play's structure seems the same.  I'm not fond of long soliloquies of a character speaking his or her mind to the audience.

The actors this year were good so I had no complaints there.  As you can may remember from last year's photos, the production brings their own stage as they visit many small towns in Montana without a stage.

Photos 1 through 3: in the beginning two brothers fighting.

A boxing match between the younger brother and a boxer sponsored by the evil Duke and the older brother.  This is where the younger brother first meets Rosalind.

Then most of the cast hides out in the forest.  Rosalind pretends to be a man when hiding.

Touchstone rambling on about something.  Wasn't important.

The ending where most everyone gets married.

Here is one minute from the play:  the boxing scene and a brief bit at the end where everyone is happy about getting married.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45hHxDjPMOk&feature=youtu.be

Chimney cleaning 2014

Another year, another annual chore.  Time to clean the ash from the pipe going from the wood stove and the chimney.  Dirty job on a hot sunny day.  I had a few distractions.  I'm almost done.  Just have to put the pipe back together tomorrow.

I ended up with 9 inches of ash in my bucket.

Two strawberries

My four little strawberry plants have survived.  Today I found two strawberries on the plants.

Cattle news and drama

A few days ago I put the cattle on bloat blocks. The neighbor's pasture is getting eaten down and it is drying up in this heat and no rain.

The cattle went nuts over the bloat blocks.  No wonder that after 48 hours there were only 1/4 left of the three blocks I put out.

A short video of the cattle licking the bloat blocks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFiJyYH3xK0&feature=youtu.be


After I put out the bloat blocks Momma got pushed aside.  Here she is coming towards me thinking I had something else for her.
 

One of my calves

Sunday afternoon I walked to the gate with the neighbor's property.  Beulah and Momma saw me at the gate and led the herd over.  While the rest of the herd caught up Momma strained to get through the gate.  Somebody was impatient.

Two calves were still coming from the far corner when I let the herd into the hayfield.  The two calves ended up following me to the water trough and bloat blocks.  Once they entered the hayfield the cattle were off in the tall grass.  Two thirds of the herd (including Beulah and Momma of course) were already at the corral and yard fences.  The calves stood at the gate and looked out in the tall grass for their mothers and called out.  One of the cows answered back and soon the calves were heading that way.

Parts of the hayfield has grass taller than the calves so it will take a bit for the calves to get oriented if they get separated from the herd.

Already looking at the fresh box elder tree shoots

A calf was calling out in the distance while the herd was by the yard fence.  At first I thought he was lost in the tall grass.  Then I saw he was in the south pasture.  What?!  He slipped through a loose part of the fence.   *sigh*

I opened the gate to the middle pasture and then a gate to the hayfield.  Would he go through the open gates?  Oh no.  Two times I herded him towards the open gate and both times he would veer off away from the gate.

Then he ran south along the fence and headed for the closed gate to Wyatt's field.  --- Oh!  For Heaven's Sake! ---

Before he could slip under that gate I got down there and herded him away from the gate.  I had also opened the south pasture / hayfield gate and this gate he went through.  It may have helped that Beulah was leading the herd to this gate and the calf could finally see another cow and not just me.

Before any cattle could get through the open...

1. south pasture / hayfield
2. south pasture / middle pasture, or
3. middle pasture / hayfield

gates, I ran around and closed all of them before the cattle could reach them.

*whew*

The little stinker in the south pasture calling for his mama.

Even though the cattle are in the hayfield and not the yard, Daisy wasn't sure about them and retreated to a favorite laying place while she studied them.  What's she gonna do when I finally finish my well and put this piece in place?

Horses to the pasture

The yard has been eaten down so it was time to let the horses out into the pasture.

Of course the white horse couldn't wait.  An hour before I let them into the pasture she broke a fence board and reached over to eat grass on the other side of the fence.  Another fence to be fixed.

Here is an example of how I protected my yard.  I wasn't worried about the horses eating the bushes - I was worried they would use them to scratch themselves.  I caught one horse doing this a few years ago.

Red Hot Blue Chips

Another Picnic in the Park concert on Tuesday.  I was way late to this concert.  Even though I filled only half a tank of herbicide the weeds were few and far between and it took longer than expected to empty the tank.

Then as I was about to leave, I checked my bicycle tires.  The rear tire had a small hole.  I was surprised the inner tube hadn't got a flat.  Until I replaced the tire.  The inner tube is from the 1980s when the tubes were made thicker.  Now the goal is light as possible, which means thin and a better chance of getting a flat.

So I got to the concert near the end and only heard the last four songs. Which is a shame as I like this type of music.  They play a mix of Cajun, Zydeco and ‘Bludeco’ (a blues zydeco hybrid) that is high energy party dance music.

Here is a video of one of the songs they played: