Time To Go Bye Bye

You will never guess where I just came from! I'll give you a hint...it has something to do with cows.  

If you guessed putting cows back in, you are a winner! 

I just happened to get up off the couch on this lazy Sunday to go put some dishes away.  I looked out the kitchen window and saw four cows walking around on our freshly planted lawn! GRR!!  I yelled at Logan, changed clothes, and was out the door to jump on a 4-wheeler.

Turns out, the ENTIRE South lot was out roaming about the yard.  We quickly managed to get all of the cows and calves back in in a matter of about 20-25 minutes.  Pretty good timing, huh?!  We chained the gates tight and drove back up to the house.

We then spent the next 10 minutes FIXING OUR LAWN!! We had many large footprints to rake over and smooth out.  Of course, we had just started to see some grass pop up and the dang cows had to come mess it up!  It is time for them to go to pasture!

Farm Girl Tip #136: Watch out for cows in your yard! When they are ready to go to pasture and eat some green grass, they will let you know! AKA--they will break out of their lot and walk around your yard to find grass! Cows.................

Spring Cleanup

Spring has sprung and it is time for a little spring cleanup around the farm.  Logan and I spent a Saturday morning cleaning up around the yard.  As I was taking the 4-wheeler around the farm picking up garbage and house scraps, Josie decided she wanted to go for a little ride!  She isn't spoiled at all....

Farm Girl Tip #135: If you have a dog and you are doing yard work, you may have to give your dog a ride because she will want to help!

The Bulls

A few weeks back, the farm gained a new member...Billy the Bull.  Logan and I went out to see Billy, and all of the other bulls, after we ate supper.  We went out and talked to the bulls for quite some time when both Logan and I found some friends.  My friend is #67, but he did not want to be touched.  He only wanted to follow me around and stare at me because I am so cute!

Logan's friend on the other hand felt like he needed some lovin'.  Logan went right up to him and started petting and scratching him.  He absolutely LOVED it! I wish my friend would have let me pet him!!

A few days after we gave the bulls some lovin', they got a new piece of jewelry! They all look pretty sharp with their new earrings made by yours truly!

Farm Girl Tip #134: Every once in a while you will need to give you bulls some love and give them new jewelry.  They like new bling!

Spring Break

Towards the end of March, my mom and I took a little spring break vaca to sunny Florida! We did a whole lot of nothing, including sitting by the pool until 2:00, shopping, and sitting by the pool until it closed. While mom and I were basking in the sun, my dad and Chet went out to the farm and were put to work!  It was kind of a reverse psychology deal...we vacation, they work! HA!

BUT...The best part of the whole vacation was when I was sitting by the pool, soaking in the warm sun, getting my tan on, when I accepted a 1st grade teaching position! Definitely a great way to start my spring break! 

Farm Girl Tip #133: It is great to live on a farm because there is always work to be done and there are always family members who want to help! But, it is even better to be on vacation so you can get away from working! :)

Draggin' Mud

If you live in the country, or perhaps you see it in town, it is a muddy mess everywhere you look.  On the farm, our farm yard consists of gravel and mud, which when combined, make a sloppy mess.  When you try and drive in this sloppy mess, you create large ruts which destroy the yard.  Beings that it has been so nice out, you can only imagine how bad our yard looks with vehicles and tractors driving around.  

While the guys were out working today, Logan called and told me that if I get bored today, I could hook up their little dragging system to the 4-wheeler and drag the yard.  So that I did.  I plugged in my headphones, turned on some music, hooked up the dragging thing (yes thing, because I don't know what it is called), and off i went circling around and around and around to make the yard look pretty.

And how pretty does that yard look now! If only it could stay that way for a while....

(Don't mind the mail stuffed into my coat...I didn't want it to blow away with this nice SD wind we are having!)

Farm Girl Tip #132: If you like to get outside on a nice spring day, and you like to drive round and round in circles (or figure 8's), then this job is for you!!

Gorgeous [Winter] Day

It sure feels like Spring outside beings that it was almost 50 degrees today!  However, Spring is not for another week, so I have so say that it was a gorgeous winter day!

Since it was such a nice day outside, Logan and I decided to take a stroll through the calves to see how they were doing.  The calves sure love this weather! They were basking in the sun, running around, and playing with each other.

It is so nice to feel the weather changing! It puts everyone and everything in a happy, cheery, and playful mood!

This little dude was taking a nap...nice blanket he has isn't it?!

And this is my favorite.  The little tyke checking out the camera with him mom in the background. 

Farm Girl Tip #131: If you have cattle, you can relate when I say that this is one of the best things about living on a farm!  If you don't have cattle, just close your eyes and pretend that you have lots of puppies running around your yard.  You can relate! It's the best! :)

On Duty

Well, you've got it! I am officially on calving duty all day today! 

 

The guys are all out hauling beans to town, so there is no one around to watch the cattle.  Since I didn't get called in to sub today, I got put on duty.

 

Although my job may look easy, it's really not.  I have to make sure that I check every single animal to make sure they are not having a calf.  If I miss any, I may never be promoted!!

 

If you look closely in the picture, the cow that is standing is calving.  I must end this post now to watch this cow calve.

 

 

Farm Girl Tip #130: When you are stuck at home, you will most likely be put on calving duty.  Make sure you do your job, or you will be fired!



Getting Plowed by a Cow...Almost

If you read the title of this post, you should be feeling very very lucky that you are able to read this!

I was thoroughly enjoying my lunch at home today when I hear knocking on the deck door.  I turn to look, and it's Logan telling me to hurry up and open the door.  He tells me that he has a weird cow that got out and went out in the corn stalks, down by the crick, and had her calf (which is like a ¼ mile away).  So I get dressed, jump on a 4-wheeler and head out.  

I get out to the field and Logan already has the calf loaded up on his lap of the 4-wheeler (haha!) and I am supposed to walk the mom up to the farm.  Well I tried, but she kept turning around and walking the other direction.  Logan told me he would take the calf up to the farm and then come back to help me with the mom.

As Logan was doing this, I just sat in the field and watched this mom.  She would start to run after Logan, who had her calf, and then she would turn around and run back to where she was....weird. 

Logan came back out and we ran her up to the farm.  We cornered her in a small triangle area with a windbreak on one side, chained gates on one side, and the 4-wheelers on the bottom side.  Logan told me to get off my 4-wheeler and open the chained gate.  I remind you that the cow was circling around in this small triangle area.  I asked Logan if she was going to charge me...he said no, she's nice, just weird.  I said ok, got off my 4-wheeler and went to open the gate.  I tried to get the gate unchained, but couldn't.  I looked up and all I saw was a huge black mean faced cow coming at me.  All I could do was stand there and scream!! The gate would not open.  After I finally got the gate open, the cow had found a way to get out of the triangle area, and I looked up and I see Logan with this huge smile on his face, and maybe a little laugh.  He thought it was funny that I almost died!! 

After this happened, all I could do was laugh at myself because my first instinct was not to jump the fence, or run away, but just stand there and scream! So I guess you could say my farm girl experiences are getting a little more dangerous! Which is probably good for all of you readers! It keeps you in suspense of what will happen next! :)  Unfortunately for  all of you, I hope I don't have any more near-death experiences!

Farm Girl Tip #129: Always know that every time you go out to do something with cattle, you may get plowed down and stepped on.  Never be the one to unchain a gate in a small triangle area either!! You may die!!

Emergency Baby

You will never guess where we had to go on Sunday afternoon...

 Thats right...had to take a cow--which I later found out was a heifer--to the vet for an emergency c-section.  This was one of the longest C-sections I have ever partaken in because A. the calf was huge, and B. the mom ate way to much earlier in the day, so it was hard for the doctor to maneuver around her huge stomach.

After 2 hours, and me almost passing out, we had a large baby bull calf!  

Farm Girl Tip #128: If you think it would be fun to ride along and go to the vet, rethink your decision.  You may want to just stay home so you don't pass out.

Haulin' Pairs

Well it was team wife and hubby today as Logan and I hauled pairs up to the other farm.  This involved getting the moms into a pen, walking and pushing the calves up to the trailer, loading the calves, and loading their moms.

I may have gotten in trouble for taking a few pictures, but I told Logan not to worry about it.  (He appreciates the pictures later on...just not in the moment!)

I mean how cute is this picture of Logan and the babies! He sure is good with these little tykes!

And then theres this little guy who just steals your heart! 

Farm Girl Tip #126: Take pictures as often as you can...even if you get in trouble.  Everyone will appreciate them later! 

Farm Girl Tip #127: Be a good farm wife and help your husband haul pairs up to the farm. It is good bonding time! And probably your date for the day! :)