Mailbox

Today I fixed my mailbox.   It appears someone backed into the mailbox's post and knocked it over.  Probably drove into my driveway to turn around and, being dumb as a rock, backed straight up and hit my mailbox post.  It is hard to over estimate how dumb many Flathead drivers are.  You'd think being so far off the road would make the mailbox safe from being hit.

While having the post two feet in the ground makes for a solid post, it was not solid enough against a vehicle.

I dug out the hole and put the post back in the ground.  I also updated the mailbox protection.   I formerly had a board and supporting boards to protect the mailbox from the snow thrown by the county snowplows.  Having the boards meant I had to clear snow away from the mailbox when it snowed.  So I cut some scrap boards and boxed in the mailbox and covered it.  I moved the mailbox flag to outside the box.

Hay cut and problems

Wednesday at dark I finished cutting most of my hayfield.  Today I cleaned up and cut the corners for each row cut.  Earlier this month my neighbor across the road asked if I would put my cattle in his field to eat the grass down.  Too much of a hassle to move my cattle there.  He then asked if I would cut his field.  I had cleaned and put away my hay equipment and had other problems to attend to, and the field was not worth the effort.  Today I looked his field over again.  Twice.  I decided not to cut his field.  The grass is dry and most likely has little nutritional value.  And his field is filled with many, many... many pocket gopher mounds. His field is the source of the pocket gophers I get each year in the east side of my hayfield.  While the grass could be cut and baled to be used as bedding for the cattle, it is not worth the hassle.

This evening, as I was about to leave for my evening bicycle ride, I noticed the cattle bunched along the south pasture / hayfield fence.  No... wait... make that in the hayfield.  The cattle had just entered the hayfield and still were near the hayfield fence.  To get in the hayfield they lifted one of the two gates up off the hinges.  The gate was still chained to the other gate but that didn't matter.  I guess I should be glad the cow - probably Maria - didn't break her neck sticking it in the gate to lift the gate off its hinges.

I got my neighbors, Rusty, and Calvin and his wife and we herded the cattle.  Newly in a forbidden field the cattle were all excited.  Instead of running back through the open gate they ran to the corral.  From there we herded them through the gate into the north pasture.  All this excitement got the bull excited and he ran around and jumped inside his part of the corral.  Once the cattle were in the north pasture everyone calmed down.  Thankfully I discovered the cattle's jailbreak almost as it happened.  Until it dries, second cutting alfalfa is too rich for the cattle to eat.  They could bloat and die.

Then when I planned again to leave on my evening bicycle ride I discovered my mailbox had been knocked over this afternoon/evening.

Seriously??!!

I'm not supposed to go on an evening bicycle ride?   The mailbox is set a short distance off the road where one has to drive one tire off the road to reach the mailbox.   But you know how bad Flathead drivers are.  They can't seem to stay on the road.

The post is a cast iron pipe.  It doesn't seem to be damaged, just knocked over and out of the ground.  It took quite some hit to do that.  Wonder what damage there was to their vehicle.  Tomorrow's projects are to put the post back into the ground, and work on the hayfield gate.  Just what I need... more projects.

Irrigation end, hay cutting start

Saturday night I ended my irrigation for the year.  Sunday I put the sprinkler lines away.  Monday I put the mainline away.  Sunday afternoon to Monday morning it rained.  Of course... after I finish irrigating.

I would have liked to have waited a few more days before I started to cut my hay to let the field dry more.  But the clock is ticking.  It is almost September and our weather pattern changes.  July and August are dry, then by September the rains return with cooler weather.  And rain is in the forecast.  Also, it is recommended to have at least four weeks between the last cut of alfalfa and a hard freeze.  The first freeze is usually mid September and a hard freeze in October.  Time is running out for me.  So I started to cut my field today.

I should have suspected the day would be rough when I discovered my rear bicycle tire was flat this morning when I planned on going for a morning ride while the dew dried.  After I patched the tire my neighbor Jan needed help.

I greased the haybine before using it.  When I hit my head on a tree branch the second time while greasing the haybine I got a saw and got rid of the branch.  It was from a box elder tree so the cattle were happy to eat its leaves.   This wasn't the only time I hit my head today.  Later when fixing the haybine I would hit my head.  By the end of the day the top of my head was scratched and sore and my blood pressure went through the roof and the cussing started each time I hit my head.

I hadn't planned on doing a second hay cutting so after I finished the first cutting I had parked the haying equipment under trees until I build my machine shed.  The equipment was parked close together which caused a problem when I went to move the haybine.  I had inches to spare but the haybine wanted to go left and then I didn't have inches to spare.  Things got worse before they got better and I finally got the haybine out without damage.

I removed the pocket gopher traps from the hayfield.  My shoes only got a little damp so most of the water had evaporated by then.  The alfalfa and grass is thick.  They are also full of moisture so the cut windrows are heavy for their size.  It may take a while for the hay to dry.

The grass/alfalfa is so thick one can't see the pocket gopher dirt mounds.  Since this is a new field the pocket gophers had to create all new tunnels.  That meant larger than normal dirt mounds.  The dirt is still wet.  All that together caused problems.  A number of times I had to stop and remove the dirt from the haybine as it was preventing a clean cut.  After repeated clogs in one spot on the haybine I discovered a rock guard was broken.  My guess is a dirt pile broke the rock guard.  This was my first time replacing a rock guard so I had a learning curve before I figured out the secret to changing the rock guards.

The rock guard break was at the start of row four.  Before I was done with row four I discovered a thin strip of grass/alfalfa not being cut.  A sickle blade in the rock guard next to the replaced rock guard was broken off.  On the to-do list once the field is cut is to walk row four to find the broken blade before I drive over it.  I suspect another dirt mound broke the blade off.  And I'm having the haybine cut at a higher space than usual.

It took me three hours to cut four rows.  Incredibly slow.  Usually I cut my field in eight to ten hours.  I had to cut the field waaay slower than I usually do.   I estimate I only cut a quarter to a third of the field today.  So much for being done in one day.  The plan is to put in a long day and finish the cut tomorrow.


Now I understand how my dad could have missed an irrigation pipe in the field and run over it with a haybine.  I made sure to double check that I removed all the pipes.

The broken rock guard protects the rightmost two blades.  The middle blade was not protected.  How I discovered the rock guard was broken was when the grass/alfalfa kept getting caught on and bunching up on the unprotected blade.

A nice looking alfalfa field.  My windrows are fairly heavy.  I suspect I may not fit all of the bales from this cutting into my hayshed, which will be a hassle.

A turkey was hanging out in one corner.  This time around I discovered why.  She had baby chicks.   They wanted to stay in the tall grass.  So I had to go slow, stopping often to let them get away.  In the photos you can see the mother; her chicks had followed her back into the tall grass.

After several rounds I couldn't see the turkey.   But then the grass moved so I slowed up.  Out of the grass ran Daisy at full gallop.  She ran from the grass to the yard.  She must have been looking for the turkey chicks to play with.   After this I no longer saw the turkeys or Daisy in the tall grass.

Cow leg wound update 3

I remembered my camera when I changed the cow's bandage this afternoon.

The wound continues to look better. She still limps badly; but she does get around.  No defecating this time when I changed her bandage.

Middle / north pasture gates and fence work

Back in the end of May and beginning of June (when Blogger was not forwarding posts in emails), and before all my crises in June and July, I added several gates to, and rebuilt a section of, the fence that separates the north and middle pastures.  Crises aside, I have completed a long term improvement project this year.

There was only one gate in that fence, and that gate was on the east side of the pasture.  There were no gates elsewhere, especially the west side near the river.  The fence was a three strand barb wire fence and I could step over the fence, but more gates were needed.

First I had to rebuild the end of the fence.  The fence formerly ended on a high river bank where the barb wire was wrapped around a tree.  The tree died and last year broke off.  Enough of the tree remained standing to anchor the old fence.  The fence line also bent to go to the tree.  Eventually the rest of the tree stump will rot and fall over.  So I put two railroad ties in the ground as posts to anchor the end of the new fence and removed the small bend in the fence

New anchor fence and old fence.

Once the anchor fence was built I had to pause as the cattle needed to be rotated into the middle pasture.  Once the cattle were rotated back into the south pasture I continued with the fence.

Length of fence rebuild: from left to right of photo.

I installed a 12 foot gate I had bought on Craiglist last year.  The bottom of the gate has an extra rail.  Before I bought the gate the previous owners had left the gate sit in horse manure and the bottom (now second to the bottom) rail was rusted out.  I had my neighbor Curtis weld a pipe I had to make a strong bottom rail.

I rebuilt the fence from the gate to my anchor railroad ties.  I upgraded the fence from three (and in a couple short sections - four) strands of barb wire to six strands.

Once I completed that work I rebuilt some of the fence going east.  I wanted to rebuild the fence past the apple tree.  Each Fall Buddy the bull would break the top wire of the three strand fence and hop over the fence into the north pasture so he could eat the apples that had fallen on that side of the fence.  While I no longer have Buddy I don't want Toby the new bull to learn this habit.

Apple tree

Out past the trees, about at the point where I decided to end (for now) the fence rebuild, I decided to add another gate.  I had a galvanized metal 10 foot gate I had no plans for.  At times, I cross this section of fence and therefore this would be a good spot for a gate.

While the holes for the one gate and anchor end of the fence were easy to dig in the soft dirt in the trees (other than adjusting for a tree root or two), the railroad tie holes for this second gate were another story.  I was back digging in rocky and gravel territory.  I only dug holes for three posts and two of the holes were a lot of work breaking loose, with a metal bar, the rock and gravel in the ground.  A 45 minute job per hole.

Ground beef sold

I sold all my ground beef.  I kept the beef tenderloins for myself.  I could have sold a bit more as I was 11 pounds short for the last request.  People were buying more after tasting and liking what they first bought.  Friends of friends wanted some ground beef.  Donna and Jan were great help in networking their friends and finding buyers for me.

Because I thought I would have more trouble selling 700 or so pounds of ground beef I painted over one of Tammy's old "Womens Expo Today" signs.  I planned on painting "Ground Beef For Sale" and setting the sign by the road.  All the beef sold before I could paint the words.

Wednesday I changed the injured cow's bandage by myself.  Donna is recovering from having one knee replaced this week.  The cow's leg is still healing.  A bit more "goo" than last time, but still it looks like healing is continuing.  (I forgot to take a photo.)   The cow defecated once again after I wrapped the white bandage and before I could wrap the outer layer.  I cleaned the white bandage best as I could of the manure splatters.

The cow still limps bad.  I suspect that even if she heals she will have a bad limp.  Most likely hamburger next year after her potential calf is weaned.


Apple season has started.  Something is up this year as many apple trees do not have apples.  None of my trees have apples and a number of friend's trees also do not.  Must be because of global warming.  I still have a few neighbor's trees I do get apples from.  All the pear trees are loaded.  My pear tree has the most pears ever and some branches are bent way down from the weight.

Bicycle lawn ornament and irrigation

At the Monday auction I got a bicycle lawn ornament.   Once I saw the lawn ornament in person I knew I had to have it.  It is made of solid metal, not tin.   While the wheels turn, it is not a wind ornament.

I am nearing the end of irrigating.  This evening I reached the road and finished the south side of irrigating.  I have a few days left on the north side.  Because I have a few shortened lines due to going around the house, I made three lines from the two lines (and by adding a few extra pieces of pipe.)

Because the north line will continue east, I moved the current north line to the east of the three lines.  The middle line is "new" pipes.  Because the south line will eventually be stored west in the pasture, the west line of the three lines is nine of the fifteen south line pipes.   Therefore more carrying of pipes than usual.    And the extra carrying now will reduce future carrying of pipes through wet irrigated fields.

I expected this evening irrigation pipe move to take a little longer than the usual almost two hour move; but it took way longer.  New pipe configuration meant adjusting some of the hook and latches.  The smoky skies meant the three quarters moon was more orange and didn't shine much light.  By the time I was moving the third line it had gotten dark.  That slowed me down.  I'll see in the morning how straight my third line is.  And because one sprinkler ended up right against a fence I had to replace the 40 foot pipe with a 30 foot pipe.  I hadn't used this pipe before and the hook and latch had trouble working with the next pipe.  Once the water was flowing, with a flashlight in the dark I found the two pipes were partially separated and leaking badly.  Before long hardly any water would be thrown from the sprinklers.  Twice I had to pop off the last pipe to release pressure so I could try to re-hook the pipe.

I had a few extra pipes than normal so in the morning I'll see how far the sprinklers are throwing the water.

All told it took me almost four hours to set the pipes tonight, for a total of six hours spent today moving pipes.  I have two more days left and I'll be done for the year and I'll be so glad.

Earlier this week I learned I can get a second cutting of my first year alfalfa field.  When getting cost quotes from the two seed dealers this Spring I asked about first year alfalfa.  No fall grazing by the cattle until the ground freezes as the cattle will pull some of the alfalfa root-and-all out of the ground.  Weeds.  The first year yield will be lower than average.  And no second cutting.

But my go-to guy Chris said earlier this year I could get a second cutting.  The internet did not counsel against a second cutting.  And finally Jorden from the local ag extension office said they did second cuttings and it was ok to do so.

And most of my alfalfa has gotten tall and thick.  I am having trouble finding the pocket gopher dirt mounds in the hayfield.

So change of plans.  I plan now to cut the field again.  Ideally I would have the field cut and drying right now as the weather is dry and the temperatures in the afternoon warm.  But I am not done irrigating due to a late start from all the problems with the first cut.   What about next week?  A big weather pattern change.  The end of dry and warm weather and it is forecast to be cool and wet.

Always a challenge to get anything done.  So, we'll see if I can get a second cutting this year.  Everyone says to do a last alfalfa cutting at least four weeks before a hard freeze to give time for the alfalfa plants to do a little re-growth to better prepare the roots for next Spring.  Time is not my friend right now.

Rodeo at the Fair

Friday and Saturday nights Donna and I attended the rodeo at the Flathead Fair.  Donna likes the bull riders and I like the Indian races.

Funnel cakes - which I remember from the North Dakota and Minnesota fairs - was very popular with the rodeo attendees and I think that was the most common food item people were carrying.   Friday night a couple ladies sitting next to us shared some of their funnel cake with us.  I thought it was good but Donna said she didn't like it.

The rodeo clown was the same guy from the past few years.  Most of his jokes and his routine we have heard multiple times.

Indian race

Here is a 14 second video of the Indian race when the riders transfer horses: https://youtu.be/DRWV01atblE

This guy was more entertaining that the rodeo clown.  He hammed it up and danced and tried to engage the rodeo clown for the longest time.   This good ol' Montana boy seemed to be pretty happy... and probably drunk.

Cow leg wound update 2

I changed the cow's bandage again today.  Bandage number 4.  Her wound continues to look better.  She seems to be stepping on that foot a little more.

She defecated twice before going into the loading chute and head gate.  She defecated twice more standing there.  Once after I took the old bandage off.  So I had to get a pail of water and clean manure off her wound.  And off my pants leg hit by the splattering.

Avoiding the manure while wrapping her leg was a challenge

This afternoon I talked with  another rancher I know who has lots of cattle.  He also has a cow who badly cut her leg.  He suspects some tendons were also cut.  His solution was to see if the cow makes it.  He did remove the maggots from the wound.  The maggots didn't return and the wound appears to be healing. He suspects removing the dead flesh is why the maggots didn't return.

He has had cattle with lumpy jaws ("Sometime they can live a long time.").  This year he had a four day old calf who was injured and lost sight in one eye.  She spent three weeks, twice a day, either bottle feeding the calf or teaching and helping it drink from its mother before the calf made it.  And his mature bull got a twisted penis ("Like a corkscrew").  Fortunately he had a younger backup bull he could use to breed the cows.

So he wasn't entirely sympathetic to all my cattle problems this year.

Bison Range visit

On the way to see Phillip Phillips in concert in Sandpoint, Idaho last Saturday, Donna and I took a side trip to visit the National Bison Range in Montana.

Here is a map of the Bison Range. (https://www.fws.gov/uploadedFiles/NBR%20Tearsheet%20Page%201%20and%202%20testfixed%20FINAL.pdf)

We saw most of the Bison in the area between points 2 and 3 on the map.

It took a little under two hours to drive the loop through the Bison Range.

Lots of fires in western Montana.  I was surprised the sign didn't say the danger was extreme.  The temperature was 100 degrees as we drove through the Bison Range.

The Bison Range has animals other than just Bison.

Bison in their "wallow" area where they take dust baths to keep the insects and flies off of them.

Unlike the idiots in Yellowstone National Park, we stayed in the car the entire time and waited for the bison to move off the road before continuing on.

The bull

From area 4 on the map, looking back down on area 3 where we saw most of the bison.

From area 6 on the map looking down an east to the Mission Mountains.  Normally one has a great view of the Mission Mountains.  With all the smoke ad the haze from the heat - no view today.

On the map, near Antelope Ridge  (area 7)

Here is a 40 second video of the Bison bull grunting:  https://youtu.be/2lI9hzSpYDI