Haybine breakage

Today I learned what was making the odd noise I heard yesterday on my haybine.  Initially when I start cutting hay today, no noise.  After a little but the noise returned.   Then it got louder.  I kept going.  On my 7th cut row today the haybine stopped cutting the hay.   The 'wheel' still turned but the sickle bar stopped moving.  The sickle bar is attached to the equipment that moves it back and forth, an 'arm'.  I had never looked much at this area of equipment before, so I had to spend some time just to figure out what was missing.  A round object with stuff that can compress inside it is attached to 'arm' with a bolt.  I found the bolt and the round object were missing.  I looked around where the breakdown occurred but found nothing.  

I have a couple extra sickle bars.   That is where I get more 'teeth' when one breaks.  Earlier this morning, before starting to cut hay, I replaced a broken sickle 'tooth'.  Initially I tried to use the round object from another sickle bar but it was looking that it may not fit correctly in the sickle bar on the haybine.   So I replaced the entire sickle bar with yet another sickle bar I had.   That meant transferring four sickle 'teeth' back to the original bar.  I also found a bolt that would fit.  Off to again cutting hay.

No more 'helicopter' sounds from my haybine. Three or so rows later the helicopter sounds were starting to return.  I checked the bolt and found it had broken.   Before losing the round object I went and got another bolt.  Not ideal but it should work.  I got one fourth of a row cut and then checked the bolt.  The bolt's nut was gone.  Because the 'arm' area had room above and no room below, I put the bolt in from the bottom (through a small hole in part of the bottom) so the bolt would be flush and the extra part of the bolt with the nut would be at top.  To not lose the bolt without a nut where it would fall out the small hole in part of the bottom, I got another shorter bolt and put it in from the top.  The bottom of the bolt doesn't come out the round object, and therefore no nut was added to the bolt. But the bolt should stay in place and did for the rest of the day.

The 'arm', the sickle bar, and the hole where the round object goes.

Another sickle bar with the round object.  And the round object when I got it out of this sickle bar.  The hole is where the bolt goes.

Back to cutting hay.  Rows later part of the haybine's PTO driven bar that slides in and connects to bar that attaches to the tractor, felt off.  On my hayfield corners I raise the haybine and stop the PTO moving it as I circle around and back to the hayfield.  This way I don't have missed uncut grass on my corners.  When I stopped the PTO and started to drive around part of the bar came off.   Huh?   I reconnected the bar and started to cut again.  On the next corner the same thing happened.  So I went and got some tools.

On the part that attaches to the tractor a 'button' pops in and out to hold the bar end to an indentation in the tractor's PTO drive.  On the haybine's end a bolt should fix it to the indentation there.  But it wasn't.  There was a bolt with a nut against the top of the bolt.  Why?  I don't know.  To not overtighten the bolt?  I replaced the nut with a thinner nut and then tightened it to the haybine's end.  It now holds and doesn't fall off.

Crazy breakdowns.

So I lost a few hours of cutting time today.  And important hours.  I started cutting hay at 12:30 pm.  All afternoon I had no problems where the grass would lie on the haybine's bed and stop the sickle bar.   I could even cut hay in the second slowest gear and not have to use the slowest.  After 7:30 pm the grass laying down started to be a problem again.  Why?  We still had sunlight on the hayfield.  After the shadows came across the hayfield from the setting sun, more 'lay down' problems and slower going.  I quit tonight by 9:30 pm.  I still almost an hour of light, but the hassle wasn't worth the effort.

It should take me less that 2 days to cut my field, not three.  Barring any other wierd things happening tomorrow I should finally get my hayfield cut.  I hope so!

Starting to cut hay

Our rain chances are gone and this afternoon I started to cut my hayfield.  I would have liked to start the hay cutting a week to 10 days ago, but the weather forecasts kept having heavy rain in the forecast.  It didn't happen for us.  Of course, if I had cut my hay last week then we (I) would have had heavy rain.

I was going to start cutting at 2 pm but that got delayed to 2:30 pm because I discovered one of the cattle's salt blocks was covered in manure.  I needed water - and a wire brush - to clean the manure off the salt blocks.

The start of the haying didn't go smooth.  The initial area was grass and not alfalfa.  And the grass was tall enough to lay on the haybine's bed, and thin enough to not get pushed back by the rotating wheel.  So I had to stop a number of times to pull the grass off the bed as all that grass would start to stop the sickle bar from moving.  I also had a grassy area at the south end of the hayfield where I had to stop and clear the bed a handful of times.

At one point when restarting the haybine I heard a ping as something flew into the tractor cab through the open window and hit the back of my seat.  I found a broken bolt.  Where did that come from?  I couldn't find out where.  So I continued to cut hay.  Later Donna found where the bolt came from on the haybine.  The PTO shaft has eight bolts where the shaft is attached to the haybine.  One bolt is missing.  The end of the bolt is still in the haybine and will be a challenge to remove so I can add a new bolt.

It took an hour and a half to make the first pass around the hayfield.  I could only go in the lowest gear.  The second pass had only one stop for me to clear grass from the haybine's bed.  That row took 45 minutes to go around the hayfield.   Still, slow going.

On the fourth or fifth row I was able to go in the second lowest gear and made it around the field in 30+ minutes.

On the sixth row the haybine started to make an odd sound.  It would only occur when I was moving forward cutting hay, not when the haybine ran when standing in one place.  I couldn't figure out what was causing the noise.  It sounded like helicopter blades when rotating.     Touka... touka... touka...

I needed someone to stand by the haybine when it made the sound.  I couldn't tell what was causing the sound when sitting in the tractor.   I called Curtis.  No answer.  I called Wyatt. He had no idea what could cause the sound as he never heard something like that on his haybines, and he wasn't at home.  I called Chris.  He never heard that sound on his equipment.  Donna was coming over to bring me some taco soup for supper.  I had her stand by the haybine.  She couldn't hear the sound even though I could.  And her hearing is much more sensitive to sound that my poor hearing.  I get lots of comments from Donna that I talk too loud.

I had Donna drive the tractor so I could stand by the haybine to listen at the sound.  But Donna drove slow and the grass was at the level where it lay on the haybine bed and stopped the sickle bar.

So I gave up trying to listen at the sound.   The haybine still cut the hayfield though I was now back to the lowest gear.

I had predicted I would cut 14 rows.  I only cut 9 3/4 rows.  On the ninth row I started encountering "bad" grass areas and had to stop a number of times to clear grass off the haybine's bed.  I thought I would be able to cut 10 rows as the last section was taller alfalfa.  But the alfalfa started to just lay on the haybine's bed and stop the sickle bar.  I couldn't feel dew on the grass and alfalfa, but something was causing everything to fail and lay down.  So I quit for the day.

9 3/4 rows in 8 hours of work.  Slow work.  I had hoped to cut enough of the hayfield today so I could finish the hayfield tomorrow.  Maybe not at this rate.  If I remember right, it is 34 or 37 rows to cut the hayfield, though the "higher" the row count the shorter the row.

Oh yeah, towards the last few rows, when I again had the "haybine bed" problems, I no longer heard the strange "touka" noise from the haybine.

So I'll see how tomorrow goes.  Once again a challenge to cut my hayfield.  I am pretty certain I will buy in the future a mower-conditioner (MoCo) and a larger tractor to make my hay cutting easier.

Grass just laying on the haybine's bed and stopping the sickle bar from moving and cutting.

Protecting trees in NE pasture

I had let the cattle into the NE pasture a day before I had planned.  That is because I wanted to first fence a couple of evergreen trees to protect them.  In a half a day the cattle already started to abuse the trees. Today I fenced the trees.  I had to cut off the broken branches.

While fencing the first tree Haynes came over to check things out.  He was well behaved.  But I was kneeling on the ground and Haynes is big. It would be bad if he decided to act up.  So I stood up and took a break until he left.

I also took a picture of Sugar's brand.  She had the brand when I bought her.  It doesn't look pretty to me, and it must have hurt when she got the brand.

Cattle into NE pasture

This morning I found cow 60 outside the fruit tree area and in the NE pasture.  She found a spot away from the metal fence posts I added last night and she squeezed through.   She now wanted back into the fruit tree area to feed her calf.  I opened the gate to let her in.  While the other cattle were not near the gate when I initially opened the gate, the little red calf ran outside while cow 60 ran inside.  Getting the calf back into the fruit tree area was harder than getting cow 60 inside.   The calf ran here and there.  Eventually the calf ran to the corral panel area and squeezed through them before I could reach her.

The fruit tree area is getting eaten down.  You can see the cows got to one of the cherry trees.

Time for the cows and calves to be let out into the NE pasture.  But I had some things I needed to do first.

I wanted to move the metal feeders and then harrow the corral and the extended corral.

The corral... before and after.

The extended corral... before and after.

Where the metal feeder had sat.

I also wanted to get the haybine out of the NE pasture.  I'm going to finally cut my hayfield in a few days.  Rain has been in the forecast the past week.  But it has been scattered.  I only got a few drops a few times.  But if I had cut my hayfield, it would have come and poured over the ranch.  This afternoon I rode my bicycle.  Five miles from home I saw a guy cutting a field.  He had a "mower-conditioner" (MoCo) which I would like to get to replace my haybine.  But I heard they require a high PTO number to run.  I stopped and asked him how much PTO is needed to run his MoCo .  He said 135 hp.  My tractor's PTO is 60-65 hp.

Rain clouds were around.  After taking with the guy, when walking back to my bicycle it began to rain.  It was less than a half mile before I could reach some tree to stand out of the rain as it was raining real hard.  Yup... cutting hay and me and it would then rain.  After the rain stopped I rode home.  A half mile down the road, the road was mostly dry.  I think it only rained there because I stood in a freshly cut hay field.

After I got the haybine out of the NE pasture and parked it in the harrowed extended corral area, I greased and checked out the haybine.  When done I noticed a replacement heifer was in the middle pasture.  She had somehow got through the fence to get there.  

The rest of the herd stood at the south/middle pasture gate and were mooing as they wanted to join this one heifer.

Since the cattle were at the gate, I guess it is time to let them into the NE pasture and also let the two cows and calves out of the fruit tree area.  The cattle from the south pasture ran to the NE pasture.  Except for a fat cow and a few calves who walked there.  By the time we reached the NE pasture some of the cows and Haynes ran out of the NE pasture and back into the north pasture.  I had to close the gate as the rest of the cattle wanted to run out of the NE pasture to join the few in the north pasture.  After a little while the cows and Haynes in the north pasture came back to the gate and I let them into the NE pasture.  I then let the two cows and calves out of the fruit tree area.  One calf was a pain as, instead of going through the gate to join the rest, he would run past the open gate to look through the fence on the other side.  Over and over.  Finally he ran through the gate when I went to get the salt block to bring through the gate.

It has been a dry Spring.  I'm starting to get some yellow grass.

Haynes was keeping an eye on cow 110.  She might becoming into heat.

Cattle jailbreak by cow 60

This evening as it was getting dark I noticed cow 60 was in the NE pasture.  Apparently she had pushed the large chain-link fence up and out and got under it. Cow 10 and both calves were still in the fruit tree area.

It was an effort to get cow 60 back into the fruit tree area and to be with her calf.  Cow 60 didn't want to go back.  Afterwards, as a temporary fix, I pounded a few extra metal fence posts and wired the chain-link fence to the posts.

Calf 14 and petunias

Today calf 14 stayed in the fruit tree area.   Much of the time he laid next to calf 13 when calf 13 laid.  Calf 13, being older, is more active and doesn't sleep as much as calf 14.

Here are some more photos of my petunias.  Donna and her sister Jane told me to make sure I water the flowers.  One should listen to women, so I water the flowers every day.   The flowers are doing well, even though several nights it got cold overnight.  31 degrees briefly one night, then 30 degrees for a half hour the next night.

Calf 14 - Day 3

Day 3, calf missing again.   This morning I checked on the two cows and calves and couldn't find cow 10's calf.  I walked around and around the fruit tree area.  No calf.  Cow 10 seemed fine and not missing her calf.  Where is the calf?

I checked the NE pasture where I found the calf yesterday.  No calf.  I walked along the NE pasture and the fruit tree area fence to the road.  No calf.  I checked the road's ditch and found the calf in the ditch under the branches of the buffaloberry tree that sits in the corner of the fruit tree area.

I opened the gate to the NE pasture and when I approached the calf, he ran inside the NE pasture.  Then along the fence to the area where yesterday he slipped under the corral panel.  He desperately tried to go through the corral panel.  I moved the corral panel end and he ran inside to his mother and started to drink from her.

Why doesn't he stay in the fruit tree area with his mother?   At least for the rest of today, he did.

See the calf in the first photo?   Second photo... there he is.

Also this morning, one of the panels protecting the rhubarb plants was moved so the cows could get to the rhubarb plants.  The cows had unhooked the wires holding the panels in place.  Fortunately they weren't able to get to most of the rhubarb plants. That is because rhubarb leaves can be harmful to eat.

And I found this calf laying in the rhubarb area.

Calf 14 - Day 2

This morning at 7 am I heard a cow mooing oddly.  So I got dressed and went out to see what was going on.   I found cow 10 standing in the fruit tree area and calling out.  Cow 10 was looking out across the fruit tree area.  Where is her calf?   I looked around the fruit tree area and no calf.

I noticed that a corral panel acting as a fence was bent up in the bottom.   Other years the cattle would eat grass in the NE pasture before the fruit tree area and some would want to eat grass in the fruit tree area earlier and would put their head under the corral panel and try to lift it up and would bend the panel at the bottom.  Maybe the calf rolled under the panel.

Inside the fruit tree area and laying next to the next corral panel was cow 60's calf.

I then looked in the NE pasture just outside the fruit tree area fencing and found the calf laying curled up in the tall grass.  

When I went to the calf he jumped up and ran.  He ran along the panels and then the fence all the way to the fence by the road.  His mother, and cow 60 and her calf, ran along on the other side of the fence.  I herded the calf back away from near the road and towards a gate.  He ran past the gate back to the corner section with the bent panel.  Then he tried to go through the panel but couldn't.  I detached the panel from the corral fence post and the calf ran into the fruit tree area to his mother and began to drink from her.

This is where the calf was laying.

After breakfast later I saw the cows and cow 60's calf were laying in the fruit tree area near the box elder trees and the stacked irrigation pipes.  Where is calf 14?  I walked around and around.  I found the calf in the opposite corner near the road and driveway gate.  But still in the fruit tree area.

I left him be although I preferred he would lay near his mother and away from the road.  An hour later I went for a bicycle ride.  He was still laying there.  A few hours later when I got back home he was still laying there.  Ok... you had enough time away from your mama.  I walked over to him and he jumped up and ran across the fruit tree area to his mother.  He then started to drink from his mama.    When I looked hours later he was walking near his mama as she walked and ate.  That's better.

Calf 14 - 10's

This morning I found my last calf had been born.  I'm not sure when as the mother no longer had her afterbirth.  Could have been early last night.

The calf is a male.    That makes 8 males and 6 females born this year.

Look at the color of the calf.  Red.   The mother is black and Haynes is black.  So red?  Then I thought about it.  Haynes's mother was black and his father was red.  So he has some red genes in him.  Cow 10's is black, but her mother was red.  And her grandmother was red.  So she has red genes in her.  Last year cow 10 had a black calf.

Trying to see if the calf was a male or female this morning was hard.  The calf had energy and kept running away and I couldn't lift its leg to look.  But running after the calf and looking, finally I saw his scrotum hanging down.

This afternoon Donna came over to help me band and ear tag the calf.  The calf had just drunk from his mother and was laying down.  I was able to grab hm and hold him down before he could get up to run away.

Donna like's Haynes' calves.  His male's scrotums are larger than Toby's calves were, and it is easier for Donna to make sure that both balls are banded.

Trying to reach the calf to check if it is a male or female.

Cow 60 and her calf share the fruit tree area.  Now calf 13 will have a companion to play with.  Calf 13 was born 20 days ago.  You can see he has been growing.

I will keep these two cows and calves in the fruit tree area to eat the grass down.  That should last less than a week.  Then they can go and join the other cows and calves in the pasture.

Petunias

This morning Donna got me out of bed to receive some flowers.  Her sister Jane had extra petunias and Donna doesn't have any more place to put the flowers.  Then she remembered my tulip beds around my house.  Most of the tulips are gone so I have room for the flowers.

By the time I got out of bed Donna already had found a hoe to work the dirt.  My shovel is still out where I am getting rid of some hawthorn trees.   Her sister Jane showed up shortly with the petunias and they planted them for me.  It makes my place look prettier.  Now my job is to keep the petunias watered and alive.

We'll see how the petunias will do.  I don't know where they were last night/this morning.   I see our temperature had dropped briefly this morning before 4:30 am down to 31 degrees.   June has been a cold month for us.   We struggle to have a high temperature of 60 degrees.  Colder than normal.  Our overnight low tonight was predicted to be 40 degrees.  It is 39 degrees right now.  I hope we warm up soon.

Yard tree update

Here are some updates about the yard and fruit tree area trees.

My apple tree.  Unknown variety of apples.  Plus a photo of the apples.

The transparent apple tree.  Plus a photo of the apples.

I'm not sure when I planted this winesap apple tree.  Over ten years ago.  The cattle got to it in the past.  Plus winter kill and whatever else throws it back in some years.

Main apricot tree.  No apricots again this year.  The tree blooms too early.

This apricot tree was knocked back by the cattle many years ago.  It grows, but doesn't seem to get bigger.

The black walnut tree in the fruit tree yard.  Winter kill knocked it back apparently this year.

My oldest black walnut tree.  In the front yard.   It grows, but black walnut trees grow slowly.  This tree is 10 to 15 years old.

A younger black walnut tree in the front yard.  This is how I protected the tree from the cows.   And after I removed the fencing protecting the tree.

My hazelnut tree / bushes in the yard.   They grow.  I think the deer may eat on them later in the year.  Not the cows as I protect them from the cows.  I would have thought these trees/bushes would be bigger by now.

This pear tree was knocked back last year when the cows got through the fencing and ate a lot of the leaves.  Then the winter kill knocked it back more.  But now the tree is coming back from the roots.

My small English walnut tree is doing great this year.  (No photo).    

Last month I had talked with a guy down the road whose hobby/job is pruning trees and knows about fruit trees.  He said this past Winter killed one of his pear trees.   In the past he could only get his English walnut trees to last up to 5 years.  Where we live, we are on the edge of where English walnut trees could grow.   This tree is 15-20 years old. This tree was hit hard hit by our cold Winter last Winter.   I thought the tree had died.   The guy said wait, maybe the tree will come back in June.  A few days ago I saw the tree is trying to come back to life.  I hope it makes it.  This is my favorite tree.