Colonoscopy

Today I had my first colonoscopy exam.  I scheduled the exam a few months ago.  Sure... it ended up being after I finished cutting hay and before I start baling hay.  Like I'm not busy right now.

The prep was not much fun but the procedure was fine.  I think I was supposed to be completely knocked out but I wasn't completely out.  I remember hearing the doctor and nurse talking and somewhat felt the exam.  But it seemed like I was in a dreamlike state.  I remember the talking, but like waking up from a dream, the further from the dream the less likely I am to remember the dream's details - in this case what the conversation was about.

Before the exam I met the doctor for the first time.  He mainly wanted to tell me of three risks of the exam and to stress how low their chances are.  One risk is a tear in the intestine.  When I mentioned that shouldn't be a problem since that could be fixed, he said it would require surgury.  The implication - unsaid by him - was that it would be in a hospital and maybe not by him.  He then emphasized the chances of a tear are something like 1 in 5,000 procedures.

"What the heck... let's start the exam."

The exam was good other than finding one polyp. The office will test it and let me know the results in a week.

The polyp looks different depending on the view.

Hayfield cut

Tuesday evening I finished cutting my hayfield.  I started at 12:45 pm and finished at 10:15 pm with just a break of 45 minutes to eat dinner Donna had brought over.

Cutting of hay went much better than on Monday.  I had no hay jams.  When Donna came over at 4 pm with food she was concerned I wouldn't finish my field on Tuesday and said I had to pick up the pace.  She needed the swather Wednesday afternoon as Wyatt was going use it to cut Donna's field.

I also had a concern as early on a wild female turkey was in the field; and each time I came around the turkey would head further into the grass.  I was afraid I would unknowingly run over her or her  nest.  Later when I switched from cutting on the sides to cutting a path in the middle the turkey headed out into the previous cut area with her six young chicks.  Good.

Here is a photo of the long tool I used to turn the sickle bar when it got stuck.

Hayfield before I cut it.

Instead of continuing to go around the edges with the hassle of turning the corners, after a while I began to go back and forth in the middle and expanding out the area cut.

Here is a 17 second video of the swather when I had the tractor's cab window open: https://youtu.be/Sh2JsmxsCCo

Here is a 21 second video of the swather when I had a tractor's cab window closed.  Notice it is much quieter: https://youtu.be/mWvpCRh2VUY

Starting haying

Today I finally started to cut my hay.   Saturday was the auction.  Sunday was an all day hike.  So I didn't get the swather until Monday afternoon when Wyatt got off work.

My tractor's hitch is higher than Wyatt's tractors' hitches so he had to readjust the swather's hydraulic cylinder seen in the back on the left side.  The cylinder's pin was a pain and we had to jack up the swather and remove the wheel to get the cylinder adjusted.  Otherwise I wasn't able to lower the swather all the way to the ground.

Then I drove it to the ranch.  That was tricky.  It was after 5 pm and traffic was heavier.  The swather swings in when not in use but I still had a wide footprint.  All the mailboxes were on my side of the road and I had to weave in and out to avoid them and the oncoming traffic.  I didn't hit anything, thankfully.

As you can see below it was a tight fit through one of my 16 ft gates.

The first row along the fence I had to cut backwards.  Backwards because if I continued to cut in this direction the tractor would always drive over the standing grass and not the cut field.

Now I am beginning the second row.  As you can see the tractor is going over the cut area.

The grass is tall and thick in the field nearer the barn and house.  Even though I went in the lowest gear the hay clogged the swather.  I had to shut off the swather before getting a rake to use to remove the excess hay.  A short time later the swather's belt began to smoke.  I took a break to let it cool off.  When I started again the belt began to quickly smoke again.   After talking with Wyatt I learned the sickle bar was stuck. I had seen that the tines and roller bars were moving but I didn't notice the sickle bar wasn't moving.  Once I rotated the sickle bar with its wrench I was able to again swath hay.   By now I was only able to finish the second row before the dew started settling on the grass.

And here I thought I would have all my hay cut on Monday. Not even close!  It is nice that the grass is so tall and thick - but it does make cutting it slow.

Here is a 17 second video of the swather in action: https://youtu.be/Sh2JsmxsCCo

Snowline auction

Saturday an auction was held to sell off the Snowline Christmas Tree Company stuff.  They also had some farm equipment stuff. I went for the farm stuff.  Donna came along with me.

Farm related stuff

Elevators for loading Christmas trees.  In the background a machine for wrapping the trees in a bundle.

I bought these nails for $12.50  They will be used to build more heavy duty fence.

The reason I attended the auction: a 14 ft heavy duty gate.   This gate will replace the one Buddy bent in the corral when leaning over the top of the old gate in an effort to reach and sniff the cows.

This gate is a Powder River gate.  New this gate sells for $299.99.  I bought this gate for $125.   There was also a 12 ft Powder River gate and I passed on that one as I don't need a 12 ft gate.   At $259.99 new maybe I should have bought a Powder River gate to replace one of my 12 ft gates.

The gate has a lever latch system.

See how heavy duty and solid the gate's rails are.

This gate is heavy.  While awkward to load in a pickup box I can usually handle loading gates.  This one was a struggle.  Donna had to hold the gate up while I re-positioned myself to get the gate in the pickup box.

We were at the auction from 11-something am until 4 pm.  At least this time I got what I wanted to get.

Donna's Mustang

Donna loves Mustang cars.  Years ago she owned one.  She never lost her love of Mustang cars.  Recently an opportunity came up to buy a 1964 Mustang - and she did.   She got it today.

The car has a cool rumble sound when it runs. Here is a 12 second video of it: https://youtu.be/8FJYz3S_IUU

Rhubarb and dirt

It rained on Tuesday and is supposed to rain on Friday.  So I haven't cut my hay yet.  Lots of people misread the weather forecast for this week and have hay down and wet.

Thursday night I decided to dig the weeds and grass from around my rhubarb plants and my three remaining strawberry plants.   In past years I have lost most of my strawberry plants to weeds and grass, and all my raspberry plants.  So if I didn't remove the weeds and grass now from my rhubarb plants and remaining strawberry plants I may lose them too.

It took longer than I thought it would, but I got it done.

Hot air balloon

Wednesday was a beautiful day at the ranch.  In the evening a hot air balloon floated overhead.

Longest day irritations

Happy Summer Solstice!

I am waiting for a four day stretch of dry weather before cutting the grass for hay.  So far three days is the longest between rain.  Lots of people this year have gotten caught with their hay lying in the field when it rained.  Maybe this weekend may be the start of a four day dry period.  I'll see...   The weather forecast lately seems to change once we get closer to those days.  Otherwise this is frustrating as I am ready to go for cutting the grass and am holding off on larger projects until the hay is done.

I also want to redo the steel mainline irrigation pipe across the pasture so I am ready to irrigate once I cut and bale the hay.   But this is a hassle as the long ago owners cut one section of steel pipe to be shorter and added a sleeve to join and work with a 90 degree elbow.  Replacing the sleeve and elbow is proving to be tricky.  I see tomorrow if my irrigation guy has - or can make - the parts I need.

In the meantime I mowed the yard.  I got the yard mowed but not the extra areas as the lawnmower - which was acting odd - quit.  Acting odd in that I had to leave the choke on to run the lawnmower. Eventually that work around failed.  I replaced the spark plug and that didn't solve the problem.  Donna had a similar problem.  She said the ethonol in the gas ruined her lawnmower's carburetor.  And the same thing happened to her son-in-law and daughter's lawnmower.  Curtis has also heard of this happening.  Guess I'll have to take my lawnmower in to the shop tomorrow.

While dealing with the lawnmower the cattle started to make a loud ruckus out in the middle pasture.  So much racket I had to walk out there.  I found Beulah and Cow #60 in the south pasture with around eight calves.  The rest of the cows were in the middle pasture along the fence and loudly mooing up a storm.

I went to the gate and the cattle in each pasture did also.  But the cattle in the middle pasture wanted to go into the south pasture much more than the south pasture cattle wanted to go back into the middle pasture.  The middle pasture is full of tall grass.  But you know cattle...

Once Buddy came to, and stood by, the gate I gave up.  It is two days earlier than I had planned to move the cattle into the south pasture but I went ahead and opened the gate and let everyone into the south pasture.  The cattle went crazy with excitement and ran around and around before settling down to eat.

I walked the fence all the way to the river to find where the cattle crossed the fence.  I didn't find any sign of a broken fence.  The river is still high enough that the gravel bars the cattle used in the past to move between pastures are still underwater.  The cattle weren't wet; and even the big cows made it across, I serious doubt the calves could have crossed the water.

So how did the cows and calves get from one pasture to another?  Other than the broken lawnmower this is the most annoying part of all this.

Extra power pole

When the power company came to replace the power pole out in the pasture I asked them to take out the pole by my tool shed.  This pole held the electric wires that ran between the garage and tool shed and the barn.  When I put those wires underground last year I didn't need the pole anymore.  With the pole gone it is one less thing I have to mow around or have in the way when I shovel snow.

Only Daisy still used the pole.  When she would run around the tool shed often she would run up the power pole three to five feet high then turn around and go back on the ground before running off.  I think she liked to show off in front of me.  it has been a few days now and I still catch Daisy looking at where the pole was when she walks around the tool shed.

The truck just barely fit under the sign I have over my driveway entrance.  The pole is 6 ft in the ground and the truck had absolutely no problem pulling the 30 ft pole out of the ground.

This pole is from 1964.  The power company didn't want it and gave it to me.

It was a little awkward for me to move the pole but I was able to with my tractor.

I don't have a use for the pole right now, but maybe someday I will.

New wire and pole

Earlier this Spring I took my very old irrigation pump in to be refurbished.  $690.  I believe the pump - based on the steel (!) mainline irrigation pipes I have - is from the 1940s. The company quit making pumps back in the early to mid 1960s.  The shed housing the irrigation pump is made from the same old rough wood as the barn.  The barn was built in the early 1940s.

I updated the electric wire to my irrigation pump. Since burying the electric wire last year to my barn and outbuildings worked so well I buried the wire to the pump.

I put in a meter base since my wire is now underground.  Daisy helped me.

According to the small plate on the pole, the power pole I come off of was put in place back in 1971.  The electric company decided to replace the pole.   They didn't want the old pole so I have it now.  Another pole in the line of power poles is from 1956.  They left that one in place.  The 1956 pole doesn't have any transformers hanging on it.

The power company's trucks matted the grass down.

So once I cut my hay (hopefully next week) I should be ready for irrigating this year to get a second hay crop.

Happy Buddy

Today I used my tractor to fill in the hole from the last tree stump I had burned on Monday.  That done I could now let the cattle into the middle pasture without having to worry a cow or calf would accidentally fall into the big hole.

First I let Buddy out of the corral so he could rejoin the cows.  Today, June 15, means the first calf next year could be born as early as March 24.  Last year I let Buddy to the cows on June 20 and my first calf was born this year on March 29.  Buddy was happy to be reunited with the cows as every day he would moan mournfully for the cows to be near him in the corral.

Waiting in the corral.

After I opened the gate I climbed up the corral fence in case Buddy got over excited.  Daisy - the black and white - is laying under the fence in front of Buddy with her tail on this side of the fence.

Once Buddy was reunited with the cows he quickly went around to each cow to check if she needed his services.

Enjoying the tall grass in the (new) middle pasture.

In the middle of the photo you can see Buddy make his "face" after checking another cow if she needed his "help".

Beulah was in standing heat today.

Once Buddy checked out all the cows he kept company with Beulah.

Beulah may have the first calf next year.  If not the first (if she is past the most fertile part of her cycle), then perhaps the last calf.

Stump 6 bonfire

Monday night I burnt the last tree stump for now and possibly the year.  Stump 6.

This stump was difficult to dig around due to all the side roots going down and sideways and here and there.  It was was hard to get the shovel between many of the roots to get to the dirt under the 'crown' of the stump as the stump didn't have a main taproot going straight down.  I believe I only dug down two and a half to three feet around the stump.  This was more than enough to burn the stump and eliminate the possibility that the remainder of the stump would work its way up out of the ground during my lifetime.

I chopped off a number of side roots to enable me to dig around the stump better.  A few of the roots still had a little liquidy sap in them.

I started the bonfire around 10 pm after sundown and finished around 2 am.

Here is an example of how the roots made it difficult to dig around the stump.  See how the roots grew together to form the letter "A"?

Daisy joined me a number of times when I dug around the stump.

Start of the bonfire.

Hours after the fire started the "A" still stands.

Near the end of the bonfire.

The next day.  This is after almost a third of inch of rain.  One spot is still smoldering.

Here is a 2 minute 15 second video of various times of the bonfire: https://youtu.be/GLbrCpVjbH8

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