Checking pregnant cows

Technically Friday, March 10, can be the first day for calves to be born.  We're getting close.  Or maybe even closer.

Today, after putting out another large hay bale for the cattle, I looked at the cows as they stood and ate.  Here are photos of many of the cattle.

The udder will increase as they fill with milk, but that can only be a few hours before the calf is born.  I look at the vaginal area as that starts to swell earlier than the udder fills.  And the tail top will thicken and start to rise.  When the tail starts to lean to one side, it is getting close.

In the first photo, a cow is on the left and the bull is on the right.  His tail doesn't change.

In the right photo, Panda is the cow on the right side.

The following photos are of Sugar.  See how her tail is starting to tilt?  I think she will be the first cow to have a calf.  Maybe even before Friday March 10?  We'll see. 

I will have to check on Sugar every day.  As you can see there is snow almost everywhere, and our overnight lows are predicted to be in the teens and daytime high temperatures will be in the low to mid 30s all this week.

I shoveled the manure out of the loafing shed.  That is in case I have to put Sugar and her calf in the loafing shed to be warmer.

Cow #110 is not as close as Sugar, but she and Panda may be next to give birth.  Cow #110 is the cow I have to put in the loading corral runway so her calf can initially drink as #110 always initially rejects her calf.  Yesterday and today I had to shovel the snow out of the area where I put #110 and her calf.  It took two days of shoveling snow as the snow is very, very hard and is not melting in the shade of the loading corral runway's fence.

Skull ice

We got a little above freezing for a little bit this afternoon.  So a little, little bit of melting went on.  Not much, but a little. The last of the snow on the pole shed roof melted, but then froze before it could hit the ground.  I wish we would get more melting going on each day.

Chewed electrical cord

Donna bought me a new stock tank heater for Christmas as my current stock tank heater was old and starting to fall apart.  Good thing I didn't take out the old stock tank heater yet and put in the new stock tank heater,  I discovered yesterday that the calves reached through the corral fence and chewed the old stock tank heater's cord into two pieces.  Also, it was good it was warmer the past few days as I had unplugged the stock tank heater.  

You can see how the one rail is discolored due to the calves sticking their head and neck through the fence and using the rail to rub against.  The cattle never chewed the electric cord before, but there is a first time for everything.

Also, I forgot to mention yesterday when posting about the recent snow and putting out large hay bales for the cattle, that the last two bales at the hayshed entrance were half covered in snow.  At least now I shouldn't have to deal with snow on the bales in the future, especially since we still have snow in the forecast.

Also, the wooden pallets these hay bales were sitting on were frozen into the ground under ice.  I spent some time today using my metal pole to chip the ice and free the pallets so I could remove them.  Otherwise they would be in the way when I get more hay bales from the next row of hay bales.

More Winter weather

The last day of February was another Winter day.  

The weather forecast predicted maybe up to an inch of snow.  I woke up to, I believe, 4 or more inches of snow.  Even after I shoveled the driveway today I have this snow left to shovel.

Today here is one of my Winter snow piles.  When will it go away?

Our normal high temperature should be 40 degrees.  We struggle to get above freezing.  So, little melting is going on.  What did melt came back in this latest snowfall.  When will Winter end?!

Yesterday it was time to put out a large hay bale for the cows and another one for the calves.  I don't like setting the bale in the snow so I had to use the tractor to re-clear the latest snow.  When clearing the snow for the cow's bale a cotter pin came off (broke?) - that's a first - and I had to go find my spare cotter pin to help hold the bucket onto the tractor.

Also, with the cold weather the ice is barely melting.  Since the new bale is in the north pasture, that meant I had to go use my metal bar to break the ice in the river so the cows can drink.  A lot of work as the ice is still thick.  So thick I could stand on the ice as I broke it off at the edge.  At the end I had to jump off and onto the shore as the latest ice pieces broke free.  I made it.

Cold and frozen

 After a cold week we are back up to the freezing mark for a high temperature.  Time to put out another large hay bale for the cattle.  The last two hay bales were just outside of the corral so the cattle could shelter out of the wind in the loafing shed and also drink from the water trough.  

I wanted to put the next large hay bale out further in the pasture.  I want to spread the location of the manure and leftover hay around the pasture.  Putting the hay bale further out was a lot more work than I thought.  First, the feeder in the middle pasture was frozen into the ground.  I know it sounds odd, what with all the snow and the frozen ground.  But the last time I used the middle pasture feeder the temperature was in the high 30s.  And the cattle's body heat warms up the area around the feeder as they eat, and their hooves break up the ground.   And Haynes likes to push things around.   While he was in the corral he pushed the tub of mineral lick all around the corral.  And one time he pushed it out of the corral, then back into the corral.  So of course he likes to push the feeder.  I found the feeder pushed into the broken ground / mud.   Then our last cold snap re-froze that ground.   The feeder was frozen into the ground.  I had to go get and then use an axe to chop the ground around the "legs" the feeder sits on.  And some of the "legs" were in ground with rocks. And a couple of the "legs" were completely in the ground all the way up to the side of the feeder.  After a lot of effort I chopped the "legs" loose.

Here is what the "legs" look like.  This is the feeder that sits just outside the corral as I didn't have my camera when I chopped the "legs" free in the middle pasture feeder.

The other work I had to do before putting out a hay bale was to chop some ice in the river.  Due to how the river flows it seldom freezes, unless the temperature gets to the teens below zero.  This past week the coldest temperature was only 7 below.  But the river froze over.  Solid and thick.   So thick I couldn't use the long board I usually use to break the river ice.  I had to go and get a sledgehammer and a long metal bar.

I initially used the sledgehammer to break the ice.  I almost broke through the ice when the sledgehammer handle broke.  What?!!!   That doesn't happen to me.  And I'm just hitting ice.  But the ice was hard.  

I then had to just use the metal bar to chip and poke holes through the ice.  Around and around the hole to make it larger.  I also used a shovel to remove the broken ice from the water.  Anything to make it easier for the cattle to drink the water.

Then after all my work I was able to haul out a large hay bale.

Donna told me late this afternoon that the weather forecast for the second week of March has another major cold snap coming.  Great.  Just great.  Calving is suppose to start the second week of March.  Normally it is warmer when calving starts and there is less snow.  Global warming ya know. The temperatures are getting colder.

Hayshed hay

Yesterday I used the last hay bale sitting outside the hayshed.   Yay!  Mostly an end to having to clear snow off the outside hay bales.  The remaining hay bales at the outside edge of the hayshed may get a little snow on their outer side if the wind is "wrong".   And starting Monday night that may be the case.  The weather forecast has winds predicted to be up to 50 mph along with 6 to 12 inches of snow.  After that, then cold with below zero temperatures.  Oh joy.

Flat bicycle tire and coyotes?

Saturday and Sunday I rode the same 26 mile bicycle route.  Sunday, three-fourths of a mile from home, I noticed my front bicycle tire looked like it was getting low.  I stopped and checked the tire.  I found a little bit of wire sticking out of the tire.  The wire was hair thin.  How such a small and thin wire was able to get into and then through the tire is a mystery.   It reminds me of the small wires that caused my bicycle tires to go flat back in December.  I never had this small wire problem before.

Bicycle tires have wire imbedded in them where the tire is against the wheel's rim to help hold the tire on the wheel when the tire is inflated.  The wire I found was not at this location.

I 'googled' and found other people have had this problem.

"Probably a steel belted radial wire."  There are no "steel belted" or radial bicycle tires. The wire came from a worn automobile tire.  A car tire, not your tire. I started seeing these flats around 20 years ago. These flats didn't exist in the '70s and '80s. Steel belted auto tires were still new. No debris yet from old worn ones. 

Great.  Just great.  Another way to get a flat bicycle tire.

Also, this evening just before dark, I was in the north pasture when all of a sudden I heard lots of loud barking and 'calling'.  It sounded as if it was from across the river, maybe even up on the ridge with trees.  It sounded like a pack of animals.  It sounded more like coyotes and not dogs.  It went on for about 5 minutes and then died down.  My take is that a pack of coyotes went after a deer.  My cows are on this side of the river eating hay in the middle pasture.   It was getting dark so I'll have to count the cows tomorrow.  More likely coyotes and not wolves.  A few weeks ago Donna saw a large animal cross over her property and the property next to hers.  She said it didn't look like a dog or a coyote and wondered if it was a lone wolf.

Ice

This has been an icy Winter.  By that I mean, some melting goes on, but not completely.  Where I had cleared most of the snow, the remaining snow melts to water, then freezes to ice.  Our high temperatures is in the middle 30s; enough for some melting, but not enough.

And this icy is slippery.  And not level.  I end up walking much slower on the icy areas as I don't want to fall and break something.

Muck around the calves' feeder

The weather is changing. It snowed overnight last night.  Temperature overnight and today was at or above freezing and the snow is wet.  The forecast predicts a cold front arriving starting Saturday and our overnight lows will be below zero.   The wet snow will turn to ice.  So I shoveled snow today around the backyard and off some of the driveway.  Too much to shovel in one day.  I shoveled snow off the hay bales outside the hayshed.  I still have 10 bales sitting outside the hayshed.  It will be nice when those bales are eaten up and gone.

I also shoveled the muck away from the calves' feeder.  I'm trying to not let it build up like before.  It looks like the feeder is sitting in a bowl, but that is because the higher area is due to the snow and ice.  The ground is level in this area.  The calves' body heat melts the snow and ice where they stand when eating.

Tool breakdowns

A few Saturdays ago I had a day of tool breakdowns.   My pickup has mudflaps. 

A few Saturdays ago I discovered the right mudflap was gone.  I wasn't keen on the mudflaps as they advertised where the pickup was bought.  But I left them on.  With one mudflap gone - and missing - I removed the other mudflap.  It was a job to do.  The two bolts holding the mudflap bar to the bumper was rusted solid.  Finally after a lot of effort I got this mudflap off.

Then I turned to the water trough's pump and pipes.  I have a cobbled together set of pipes that go from the valve on high down to the water trough.  That way the way the water flows into the trough nicely and doesn't splash out.  

Well.. with the cold weather one of the pipe fittings started to leak.  Maybe tightening the pipes would fix the leak.   Nope.   I had to take the pipe fitting off the valve.  That was easy.  Maybe why the leak happened.  But to remove the bad pipe from the other pipes... it was a problem.  The fittings didn't want to unscrew.  Just like the bolts on the mudflaps.

I thought I would use my propane torch to heat up and loosen the fittings.  But the torch would not light.  Even when I tried to use a cigarette lighter to light a fire, a fire would not stay lit.  So I put the pipes in my vise.  I still couldn't unscrew the pipes.  I tried harder and... I broke the vise.  What?!

I finally unscrew the pipe fittings.  I had to put two pipe wrenches on the two sections and between standing on the wrenches, and then using a hammer against one of the wrenches I finally unscrewed the two pipe fittings.  Thankfully the pipe wrenches did not break.  The thread on one pipe fitting was ruined, but I didn't care.  I think the end of the thread was already bad where it had screwed into the valve and that is why it now leaked.

I bought a new pipe fitting and the leak is now gone.  I am a little leery about the pipes filling the trough.  As you can see in a previous photo I had previously wrapped a wire around the pipes and attached it to the fence rail. That is because the cattle push on things.  I don't want them to break the pipes.  After I fixed the leak the pipe fittings now seem to be further away from the rail.  I'll have to come up with something new to hold the pipe in place against the cattle's pushing on them.  Because the cattle like to break things.  A few days ago I discovered they had broken one of the cross boards in the long wooden feeder in the corral.  The cross boards are to protect the long sides of the feeder when the cattle push against them when eating hay.

The propane torch.  I ended up buying a new pipe with a lighter.  It appeared the old lighter had quit working.  Well.. the new pipe and lighter didn't work.  No propane would come out of the bottle when the pipe and lighter was screwed into it.  Today I took the bad pipe and lighter back to Walmart and bought a new pipe with lighter.  I'll see if that works tomorrow.

The broken vise.  I showed it to Curtis.  He said he could weld it back together.   And he did.  Then when I put the vise back together the bar that goes across would not fit into the welded piece.   So I gave the entire vise to Curtis and he made it work.  So now my vise is working again.

One of the brake cables on my bicycle broke yesterday.  It should be a 10 minute fix as I have extra cables.  The brake cable housing was also bad.  I have an extra housing.  But the newer cable did not want to go into and then through the housing.  After working on the problem - and even drilling the housing's ends to have larger openings - I finally got it to work.  I also tried to true my bicycle wheels as each wheel has a slight wobble.  The wheel's spokes didn't want to turn.  *argh!*   What's next?  The wheels are better, but not 100% true.  Maybe next year I will buy new wheels.  I'll see.  Hours later I was done and was able to ride to Walmart to take back my propane's pipe with lighter to exchange it.

The bad propane torch.

The two pieces of the broken vise.

The bad pipe fitting (on the right side of the photo).

The welded and fixed vise.

The completely fixed vise. Curtis welded the cross bar on the right side.  Otherwise, before, the bar was held into place by two nobs inside the opening.  One of the nobs broke when the larger piece broke.  So Curtis welded the cross bar into place once he was able to get the cross bar to fit into the welded opening.

More walnuts

This afternoon I pruned some branches off my large walnut tree.  I like branches that grow out, not up where they can block higher branches.  When around the tree I found four more walnuts, two on the tree and two on the ground.  I figured I would, even after spending all that time last Fall picking the walnuts off the tree.

Of the walnuts I had picked earlier I have eaten two-thirds of them.  I had put the walnuts in three 16 ounce former cool whip containers.  I have a little less than one container left.  I have a handful or two of walnuts first thing each morning after I get up out of bed,  So far no mold has occurred on the walnuts.

Hayne the bull and the mineral tub

Today I figured out who is responsible for pushing the cut tree logs around the pasture, and who pushed the salt feeder in the north pasture from its place behind two metal posts and over to the hayfield fence.   Haynes!

Today I had the Haynes and the cows in the main corral while I eventually hauled out another large hay bale for them into the middle pasture.  We had a little snow overnight and before I hauled the bale out I shoveled the snow off the backyard.  While I did that Haynes pushed over, and then around the corral, the tub with the mineral supplements the cows were licking.  I went and up-righted the tub and then went back to shoveling snow.  Haynes then knocked the tub over and pushed it around.   This time I waited a little, and for Haynes to walk away a little distance, while before up-righting the tub again.  After I left the corral Haynes knocked the tub over again and pushed it around.  This time I got a camera and took photos, then let him be.  It was pointless for me to up-right the tub until Haynes REALLY got tired of playing with the tub.  That was a long time.

The tub initially weighed 250 pounds.  It might be down to 230 pounds now due to the cows licking the mineral supplement.  Not easy - for me - to move around.  Haynes... no problem.  That must be why the large metal hay feeders end up moved - even with lots of hay still in them.

I also put out another large hay bale for the calves.   Their feeder sits in the same spot since their part of the corral is smaller.  Over the Winter the area becomes a bowl for the feeder to sit in.  That is because the calves poop as they eat.  The manure sits on the snow and then freezes.  Then several feet to about a yard around the feeder the ground becomes muck when melting occurs.  Muck that is hard for me to walk in.  Muck of water, manure, and spillover hay. Thankfully it doesn't make it inside the feeder.  Today I spent some time with a shovel clearing this area out from the feeder to the rim of frozen manure and snow.  It was some effort to do so.  Hopefully this not being such a mess will last a while.

Willow tree

No signs of the beaver(s) the last few months.   In December I did see two other animals along the shore below me.  Not sure what they were.  Muskrats, or minks? 

Here is a photo of the last willow tree the beaver(s) didn't get earlier.  And one photo of the tree they did get.

Mountain bicycle

Year ago I bought a mountain bicycle as a backup bicycle.  I rarely ride it as I prefer my road bicycle.   I'm now going through withdrawal symptoms from bicycling while I wait for my new bicycle tires.   Donna suggested I ride my mountain bicycle.  I got the bicycle out of the garage.  I hadn't ridden the bicycle in so long the tires were flat.  I filled them with air and rode the bicycle. Because it is a mountain bicycle I only ride it a few miles each day.  But this helps while I wait for my new bicycle tires.

Weaning the steer calves

This afternoon I started to wean the two steer calves.  They were born last June and July.  I had planned for the weaning to start the end of this month; but while most of my cows are overweight, the calves' mothers are normal to thin.  So time to start weaning now.

It easier to start the weaning now because today it was time for another hay bale, and I had let the cows and calves into the corral for a little hay in the morning before I put out a large hay bale this afternoon.  Donna came over to help me by handling the gate as I herded the cows.  Initially I handled a gate as the cows and bulls wanted out of the corral to go to the hay bale when I approached the gate to come into the corral.  I made sure the calves didn't get out past the gate.  Then Donna handled the gate while I herded the calves into the south corral to be with the heifer calves.

Job done quickly.  Now let the calling for the mommas begin.

Steer calves the other day.

Cattle, hay bale, and snow

Yesterday I put out another hay bale for my "Divas".  I put the bale in another part of the north pasture.   That way the left over / uneaten hay and manure gets spread around the field and is not in just one spot.

I took the photos today.

You can see the size of the area I cleared.  Enough for a few bales before I have to clear another area.   The cattle push the feeder around even with all the hay inside.  Originally the feeder started on the right side of the hay now on the ground.

The cattle like to eat.  One day later this is all that is left of the hay bale.

Apparently the cows like to rub against this little tree.

The steer calves drinking from the river.

Bicycle tire problems

The last day of 2022 I had two flat tires on my bicycle.  In the morning when three and a half miles from home.  I patched my tube as it was a very small puncture. I didn't see anything in or on the tire.  Later in the afternoon on a 19 mile ride I got a flat three and a half miles from home on a different road.  Again a small puncture.  This time I checked and checked the bicycle tire in case the flat was caused by a small wire that came through and was in the tire.  I didn't find anything.  I rubbed and rubbed the area inside the tire.

No more flats.  But the tire now started to distort side to side in one spot.  Okay... but still rideable.   Every day I checked the tire.  After so many days it looked like the tire was wearing through in one spot.   Time for a new tire before I get another flat. 

I didn't have a spare tire and had to go to Walmart to buy one.  My bicycle is old and the rims are still 27 inches, not the 700 C tires bicycles have now.

Some older road bikes (mid 1980's and earlier) used 27-inch tires; these were used on most of the "10-speed" bikes that many of us grew up with. These are NOT the same as the 700C tires found on modern road bikes. Very few, if any, modern bikes are manufactured using the 27-inch tire size, but replacement tires, inner tubes, and wheels are still available for those older bikes.

27-inch tires come in common widths of 1-1/8 inch, 1-1/4 inch, and 1-3/8 inch for some older hybrid and cyclocross bikes.

27-inch and 700C tires are close enough in size that the inner tubes are compatible; i.e. you can use a 27-inch inner tube in a 700C tire, and vice-versa. However, you can NOT use a 27-inch tire on a 700C wheel, and vice-versa.

Walmart had one 27 inch tire although I had to look to find it at the back of the shelf.   Saturday I put the tire on my bicycle and rode Saturday and Sunday.  This afternoon when I rode, a half mile from home, my tire seemed to be rubbing against my brake.  I stopped and looked and saw the tire was starting to come off the rim.  I thought I could ride back home to fix it.  I didn't make it as the tube blew before I got home.

At home I got a new tube and put it and the tire back on the bicycle.  When I filled the tire with air the tire started to come off the rim again.  It turns out the tire had separated in one spot from the metal wire inside the tire that goes around the tire, and this is what holds the tire onto the rim.

I tried and tried different methods on making the tire stay on the rim.  Nothing worked.  I had to give up.  I took the tire back to Walmart and got my money back. The tire was defective.  I looked again and still no 27 inch tires.  I had an employee scan and look on his scanner as to when new tires would come to Walmart.  He said - maybe - January 27.

I went to Target.  Only 700C tires.  I went to the sporting goods store that also sells and repairs bicycles.  I only found 700C tires.  I asked an employee and was told they don't stock 27 inch tires.  They could order one for me, but this time of year, who knows when one would arrive.

If one has to order, I can do that using Amazon.   I just did.  The tires (I bought two) should arrive January 18.   Now I just have to survive with no bicycling available for me for nine days.  For me it will be hard to do so.

2022 bicycle miles

I rode 6275 miles on my bicycle in 2022.  This is less than the 7120 miles I rode in 2021.  So I am riding less miles.   The last day of riding was a challenge as I got two flat tires on my bicycle.  In the morning and then in the afternoon.  I didn't find the cause, but since the two small punctures were in the same location, maybe a small wire entered the tire and I didn't see it to remove it after the first flat.   After the second flat I really checked the tire and found nothing.   I rode 10 miles today and no flats.  So maybe I got rid of the cause for the flats.  I hope so.