Saturday evening our first sign of the monsoon season reared its ugly head. The dust storms are incredibly dangerous if you are unfortunate enough to have to drive through them. It is equivalent to the "white out" of a blizzard. We arrived home safely and really anticipated only the dust and strong winds. However, the thunderclaps boomed around 1:00am and the rain began to pound the roof.
It was the first rainfall in years that I didn't awaken to a panic worrying about the hay being uncovered or a tarp being shredded by the strong winds exposing the hay. Our hay barn did its job and I slept with an occasional explosive thunderbolt jolting me awake, but drifting back to sleep fairly easily. Of course the next morning when we realized the mud was bad enough that we could not get the truck out to deliver hay, we had some concern. Fortunately, the heat dried things up and we were able to get the deliveries done, albiet in the heat and humidity of the day.
This season will not be as stressful as past because of the hay barn. The devastation of losing tons of hay to the rain was very difficult. The tarping of the hay was futile. The sustained winds that we get turn heavy duty tarps to gauze-like material. We invested in a tarp that was used on a tractor trailer and could never get anything heavy enough to keep it from being air-lifted and thrown clear of the hay stacks. So we are thankful for the hay barn this season. As the hay accumulates, the vehicles will get moved from the highly sought shade. Eventually, vehicle shade, well reservoir shade, pasture shade and tree shade will be added through out the property. "Grow little trees, grow...."
I am trying to be positive and acknowledge the progress through the worst of the hot summer. The girls begin school next week, and I always have associated the start of a school year with cooler temperatures. It may be an illusion, but it gives my mind fleeting moments of peace. With the start of the school year, Emma will be gone for the full day of school. She has been my ranch buddy for many years now. I will take on some of her chores when necessary, so that she can go to traditional school. Erin will be a senior this year and will spend part of her day riding some of our horses. The fair-weathered rider that I am, will hope to join her when the temperatures really do cool some.
With the start of the school year, the ongoing concern regarding flooding begins. As the rain floods the Tucson area the water is somehow diverted north to the Greene wash. When this wash runs to high we really have no access out. When the rains were anticipated in the past we would have Erin stay at her grandparent's. But they don't return from the Oregon ranch until mid-October, so we have to be creative. There is a rather tricky route that follows dirt farm roads along the wash west for awhile, and we can use that if there is no rain here, as the roads are passable. If it rains here, the roads are very muddy and we can't drive on them safely. So the monsoon season that extends into the school year always leave my anxious. Now if I could find a monster truck for the express purpose of crossing the high water in the wash and manuevering on the muddy roads, that would knock a few points off my stress factor.
The other change that has occurred since the start of the monsoon season is the return of the toads. We were just questioning what had happen to the enormous number of toads that we had had in the past. We had not seen a single toad until the Saturday night the rain came. They must have known it was coming for they came out and started eating the numerous crickets that have suddenly appeared. The Colorado River toad and the Spadefoot toad are our resident species. The Colorado River toad is poisonous and excretes its poison from glands behind its eyes when tormented. We have had a dog get a hold of one of these and luckily survived. The neighbors' dog was not so lucky. "Moonie" the chocolate Lab halucinated for three days, salivating buckets of slobber. When you looked into her eyes, her eyes would roll around unable to focus. If you can catch a dog with a toad, you must imediately flush their tongue with a long blast from a hose. This will remove some of the poison. I worry about our young Pyrenese getting a hold of one this season. They love to play and something as tempting as a toad may be a problem. They have however seemed to have learned that the rattlesnakes are serious business and have developed a distinct bark that alerts us now. We had our second rattlesnake in the yard just last week. Even the next morning the dogs were jumpy when they smelled the lingering scent of the snake. If the toads are back, they better eat their share of the mosquitoes or they are not welcome at all.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Hot, Humid July
We've been very busy with the latest cutting. This is the second cutting for the season on the third fields and will probably be one of the best. We will take a sample in to have it tested. Of course, now is the laborious time for Donald, as he hand-loads the trailer and unloads to clients. I will organize the deliveries, depending on the number of bales different clients are needing. I think Donald prefers the partial loads, as he gets a break as we travel to the next delivery site.
The irrigation water is running now as I type. It will be interesting to see how quickly the water is able to travel to the end of the field now that the grass has been mowed. The last irrigation on field 3B took 12 hours. Normally, it would take 5-6 hours, but the grass was so long and thick, the water had to really push its way through. As it was pushing through it was also soaking into the ground, so it took a great deal more water than our "flash" waterings.
The weather is incredibly hot. The thermometer here has read between 110-117 degrees for the past couple weeks. Now the humidity has arrived. Monsoon rains seem inevitable, but nothing so far. The horses have been able to go out to the pasture at night, since the mosquitoes have waned. I bring them into the barn by noon, so they're in for the heat of the day. Pasture 1B finally has enough growth that it is worth it to have the horses out to graze. 1A is still too short, so I toss some hay in from time to time.
Time to get back to irrigating.
The irrigation water is running now as I type. It will be interesting to see how quickly the water is able to travel to the end of the field now that the grass has been mowed. The last irrigation on field 3B took 12 hours. Normally, it would take 5-6 hours, but the grass was so long and thick, the water had to really push its way through. As it was pushing through it was also soaking into the ground, so it took a great deal more water than our "flash" waterings.
The weather is incredibly hot. The thermometer here has read between 110-117 degrees for the past couple weeks. Now the humidity has arrived. Monsoon rains seem inevitable, but nothing so far. The horses have been able to go out to the pasture at night, since the mosquitoes have waned. I bring them into the barn by noon, so they're in for the heat of the day. Pasture 1B finally has enough growth that it is worth it to have the horses out to graze. 1A is still too short, so I toss some hay in from time to time.
Time to get back to irrigating.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
June Status
We have decided to focus our energy on the established third fields and planting the fourth fields. The second field is not growing like it should. We suspect that a common Bermuda has taken over completely and compaction is limiting the roots efficiency. Common Bermuda is like turf grass for a lawn. Some giant Bermuda seed that you purchase will have a small percentage of common. Unfortunately the common chokes out the giant over time. In the meantime, the same is true of our horse pastures. We have decided to fence off the second fields and put the horses out to graze the fields. The horse pastures will be given some time to put some height on and eventually we will put the horses back on the pasture. We will have to rip and replant the second field with giant Bermuda at a later time.
The third fields look fantastic; weed free and lush green. This cutting will be terrific. We plan on having the cutting tested at the Wetmore Labs, so that we have an idea of the nutritional content. I would love to put some of this away for our horses, but I suspect it will all be sold before we can get it out of the field. We have this huge hay barn ready for stacks, but we are selling the hay so quickly it never makes it into the barn.
The animals seem to be dealing with our high temperatures. I was concerned as to how our Jacob lambs would handle the heat. They are in complete shade and have an enclosed area for privacy/security. So far they have only been eating our Bermuda grass hay. I also have a salt block for them and give them baking soda every few days to help their tummies. They have "hay bellies" and giving them the baking soda makes me feel like I am doing something to help prevent bloat. I am told that the alfalfa is generally the culprit when it comes to bloat, but just to be safe they will get their baking soda. A "hay belly" is just a big round belly.
We set up an poult pen next to the turkey trio. It too is completely shaded. Today I set up the mister so that both turkey pens have a mist spray. The little ones are doing well so far and are thriving. I took a couple turkey eggs yesterday (Emma has stopped incubating until the weather cools again), and stuck them under "Quacky" the mutt duck. I may have a couple more poults in a month.
"Quacky" is our resident duck. She really doesn't serve a purpose other than she is the offspring of a couple of Emma's favorite ducks. "Quacky" is a devoted mother to her her infertile eggs; poor thing. Yesterday when I put the turkey eggs in her nest, I removed some of the older duck eggs to throw out. She seemed perfectly happy to accept the speckled eggs and was on them this morning when I fed and watered her. This duck is one of the loudest I've ever heard.
The chickens are coping with the heat so far. The misters were moved into the coop house, so that the Orpingtons in the hutch can have some cooling as well. I repaired a hanging metal feeder and hung it in the coop yesterday, so that there will be less waste (ground feeders get dirt kicked into them and get kicked over occasionally) and the bugs or rodents don't have easy access. I can also fill the container with a generous reserve, so that the chickens always have food available.
The tortoises are active morning and evening. They are enjoying their open pen and have been chowing down on the greens, vegetable and fruit scraps. They are voracious eaters and rather interesting to watch at mealtimes. They remind me of the computer generated dinosaurs in movies. I remember thinking that the movie dinosaurs didn't look real to me, but after watching the tortoises I see how the robotic movements actually are realistic.
The grapes and trees seem to be doing well. The blackberries are struggling. I may have lost one already. I noticed this morning that it looks like some rabbits may have gotten to one of the Thompson grapes. I will have to secure the chicken wire to keep those cottontails and jackrabbits out.
The chicken stalls are still in progress. We work on them as we have time or temperatures allow. When the thermometer is reading 114 degrees, it is hard to get motivated to go back out into the heat to do anything. We are getting ready to put up the panels that will seperate the first two stalls.
The dogs are all shedding out their hair coats. Titan the pyrenese has the thickest coat of all. We take turns brushing him daily. Some days we can brush out a couple grocery bags full of shed hair. Needless to say the vacuuming chore is demanding. We let Titan in for the day and out at night. Zeus stays out day and night. He has claimed the underside of the house for the cooler temps, but doesn't allow Titan under with him. Bear is making due with horse and hay barns for shelter from the sun. He occasionally will take a dip in the horse trough, and always enjoys when we irrigate. Generally, he is a muddy mess, but he is a desert survivor.
We will be irrigating again this week, so that we will have our next cutting sometime during the beginning of July. We want to make sure we get a good length for nice bale flakes. I think we will do an overnight watering, so that we can get it all done and over with. We will start around 2:00 pm and switch fields through the night until all the fields have been watered, ending sometime the next morning.
We have almost made it through June. May was pleasant. Not to bad, but we still have July and August to survive. Here's to desert survival.
The third fields look fantastic; weed free and lush green. This cutting will be terrific. We plan on having the cutting tested at the Wetmore Labs, so that we have an idea of the nutritional content. I would love to put some of this away for our horses, but I suspect it will all be sold before we can get it out of the field. We have this huge hay barn ready for stacks, but we are selling the hay so quickly it never makes it into the barn.
The animals seem to be dealing with our high temperatures. I was concerned as to how our Jacob lambs would handle the heat. They are in complete shade and have an enclosed area for privacy/security. So far they have only been eating our Bermuda grass hay. I also have a salt block for them and give them baking soda every few days to help their tummies. They have "hay bellies" and giving them the baking soda makes me feel like I am doing something to help prevent bloat. I am told that the alfalfa is generally the culprit when it comes to bloat, but just to be safe they will get their baking soda. A "hay belly" is just a big round belly.
We set up an poult pen next to the turkey trio. It too is completely shaded. Today I set up the mister so that both turkey pens have a mist spray. The little ones are doing well so far and are thriving. I took a couple turkey eggs yesterday (Emma has stopped incubating until the weather cools again), and stuck them under "Quacky" the mutt duck. I may have a couple more poults in a month.
"Quacky" is our resident duck. She really doesn't serve a purpose other than she is the offspring of a couple of Emma's favorite ducks. "Quacky" is a devoted mother to her her infertile eggs; poor thing. Yesterday when I put the turkey eggs in her nest, I removed some of the older duck eggs to throw out. She seemed perfectly happy to accept the speckled eggs and was on them this morning when I fed and watered her. This duck is one of the loudest I've ever heard.
The chickens are coping with the heat so far. The misters were moved into the coop house, so that the Orpingtons in the hutch can have some cooling as well. I repaired a hanging metal feeder and hung it in the coop yesterday, so that there will be less waste (ground feeders get dirt kicked into them and get kicked over occasionally) and the bugs or rodents don't have easy access. I can also fill the container with a generous reserve, so that the chickens always have food available.
The tortoises are active morning and evening. They are enjoying their open pen and have been chowing down on the greens, vegetable and fruit scraps. They are voracious eaters and rather interesting to watch at mealtimes. They remind me of the computer generated dinosaurs in movies. I remember thinking that the movie dinosaurs didn't look real to me, but after watching the tortoises I see how the robotic movements actually are realistic.
The grapes and trees seem to be doing well. The blackberries are struggling. I may have lost one already. I noticed this morning that it looks like some rabbits may have gotten to one of the Thompson grapes. I will have to secure the chicken wire to keep those cottontails and jackrabbits out.
The chicken stalls are still in progress. We work on them as we have time or temperatures allow. When the thermometer is reading 114 degrees, it is hard to get motivated to go back out into the heat to do anything. We are getting ready to put up the panels that will seperate the first two stalls.
The dogs are all shedding out their hair coats. Titan the pyrenese has the thickest coat of all. We take turns brushing him daily. Some days we can brush out a couple grocery bags full of shed hair. Needless to say the vacuuming chore is demanding. We let Titan in for the day and out at night. Zeus stays out day and night. He has claimed the underside of the house for the cooler temps, but doesn't allow Titan under with him. Bear is making due with horse and hay barns for shelter from the sun. He occasionally will take a dip in the horse trough, and always enjoys when we irrigate. Generally, he is a muddy mess, but he is a desert survivor.
We will be irrigating again this week, so that we will have our next cutting sometime during the beginning of July. We want to make sure we get a good length for nice bale flakes. I think we will do an overnight watering, so that we can get it all done and over with. We will start around 2:00 pm and switch fields through the night until all the fields have been watered, ending sometime the next morning.
We have almost made it through June. May was pleasant. Not to bad, but we still have July and August to survive. Here's to desert survival.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
First Cutting
The first cutting usually is rather bumpy (literally as well as figuratively), as the fields grow at different rates, machinery seems to need to work out kinks after resting for the winter, and our tolerance for the heat has not developed. The growth rate for the fields is varied, resembling a bad hair cut growing out. As the ground has compacted the growth is slower, where the gophers have tunneled the aerated soil produces a long-bladed, dense, green patch. As a result the mower has an inconsistent feed of grass to cut, sometimes sparse, sometimes choking. We were fortunate this first cutting that the mower didn't choke on wads of hay, locking up, and overheating. When this does happen, the PTO has to be shut down immediately, and the task of clawing through the grass to free up the cutting blades is required. I have to admit when this has happened in the past, it was early morning and lying on my back under the mower (turned off), the smell of the freshly cut grass was so fragrant, I actually took a moment to enjoy the smell. Of course by the end my fingers were cramped and the moment of enjoyment was a fleeting memory. But no problems with that this time. Donald and I rode together on this part of the process and it went smoothly.
Raking requires the mower to be removed from the tractor and the next implement attached. Sometimes we just use the little red tractor with the open cab for this, but the back hoe was still attached and we will be needing it soon for other projects. It is not the easiest implement to remove nor re-attach. So the big John Deere pulled the rake and all went well. The trick is to figure out which way the rake throws the wind row and make sure there is enough room for the tractor pulling the baler to make it through for the next step of the process.
Dust devils are a very irritating phenomenon in the desert when you have light, airy hay neatly arranged in wind rows on a field. For our first cutting, I arrived with the tractor towing the baler all ready to bale the hay, when I discovered that a devil had driven its way across the field dragging my beautiful rows with it! Progress was thwarted! I went back to get the gator with a pitch fork to re-assemble the rows for baling. Now this is 10 acres of hay. The tractors were claimed by other implements, so re-raking didn't seem like the solution. Needless to say after the first 5 acres, I squinted through my sweat-filled eyes at the pick-up truck and decided it was going to work, pulling the rake. The devils had reeked havoc and re-raking was a necessity. As I fired up the truck the low fuel light lit up for me. Our teenage daughter, in attempts to make it home by curfew, had not filled up the truck and left it empty for me to discover. My nice morning of baling was delayed. But once the truck was fueled up and the rake was on, progress began again.
The day was hot by the time the baler was chugging away, but the air conditioned cab kept me going. The baling went smoothly with only one broken bale. Sometimes when the strings transfers to the next spool, there is a glitch in the first tie or two and the bale drops out the back of the baler and explodes. I leave them till the end, re-bale them, and drop them crosswise on the field so that they don't go to hay clients. The re-baling re-cuts the grass and the flakes of the bale don't hold together well. I take them for our animals and open them in a hay cart, so that they are contained and feed from it. Overall the baling went well. The way I proceed with each part of the process is that if something goes wrong and I am not able to muscle through, shake/jiggle or kick something to work, then I quit until Donald comes home and fixes it. Normally, that keeps me sane. However, Donald has been sick the last couple of weeks and the pressure was on to get it all done, so that he didn't have to fix anything.
The final portion of the job; picking up all the bales and stacking them. Now I have developed a rather refined stacking technique of which I am rather proud. I enjoy showing the stacks to Donald when he comes home and he expresses his relief that he didn't have to do it by hand. Simple pleasures. The bale wagon picks up the bales as you drive by, drags them into a rack, tosses them up on a table and continues until the table is full. The table then lifts up vertically and tips the layer slightly past vertical, leaning against some fingers. This continues for each layer, with a slight modification in the arrangement on the tie tiers, until the stack is loaded. I then back the wagon into the hay barn and tip the whole stack to a vertical position on the ground and push away to leave it standing. During this pushing, I chant to the stack "stay up, stay up." And if it does the process continues, leaning one stack against the next. It is very satisfying.
Oh but not this time. The first layer loaded and lifted, and dropped one bale off the uppermost corner. I shut everything down and proceeded to crawl up on the table and hoist the bale up to my thighs, pressing against the layer of bales still in place. My technique, because I lack the upper body strength to throw bales at will, is to roll the bale up overhead and finally push it onto the open space above. I discovered while the bale was overhead why it had been rejected. It was what we refer to as a "banana bale." One string ties tighter on one side of the bale than the other and the bale has the inclination to bow like a banana. As I realized this, I was able to lower it and remove it from the wagon for a later pick up for our use. I tricked the wagon into picking up one more bale and called the girls for help. Remember these are teenage girls that are not predisposed to farming activities. Begrudgingly they arrived. I gave them instructions on how we would lift, roll and press the bale up to the top. I forgot Emma wasn't as tall as Erin and I, until the bale was at an angle pointing down towards Emma, with Erin screaming, "push Emma!" And Emma screaming, "I can't reach that high!" Erin and I scrambled into new positions and strong-armed the blasted bale into position. We were covered in hay, spitting it from our mouths. But I was then able to move forward, and the girls zipped back to the house before more was asked of them.
I should have known things were not going to go well from there. The wagon started pulled stunts like leaving the table up and then after pushing and shoving on my part, lowered itself at an excrutiatingly slow pace, almost in spite of me. The rail that tosses the bales to the table would stay up and finally a bale was stuck in the shoot. I wrestled with that bale and pulled and tried to push it back where it came from, until I decided that my attempts to save Donald from any additonal labor were defeated. I took my gloves and left the tractor in the field with the bale wagon choking on the bale, and dragged myself back to the ranch house.
As it turned out Donald had to hand load all the bales into the trailer. He also had to fix the bale wagon. Which was the bale wagon's fault because it didn't put something back where it belonged before I shoved another bale in its throat. It better get its act together before the next cutting or I'm not sure what I'll do to it.
I am hopeful that the kinks are worked out, and I am more tolerant of the heat if I do have to assist the machinery in its part of the job. The first cutting of the season was anti-climactic because of the mechanical difficulties. But it is done and the irrigation waters are flowing as I peck.
Raking requires the mower to be removed from the tractor and the next implement attached. Sometimes we just use the little red tractor with the open cab for this, but the back hoe was still attached and we will be needing it soon for other projects. It is not the easiest implement to remove nor re-attach. So the big John Deere pulled the rake and all went well. The trick is to figure out which way the rake throws the wind row and make sure there is enough room for the tractor pulling the baler to make it through for the next step of the process.
Dust devils are a very irritating phenomenon in the desert when you have light, airy hay neatly arranged in wind rows on a field. For our first cutting, I arrived with the tractor towing the baler all ready to bale the hay, when I discovered that a devil had driven its way across the field dragging my beautiful rows with it! Progress was thwarted! I went back to get the gator with a pitch fork to re-assemble the rows for baling. Now this is 10 acres of hay. The tractors were claimed by other implements, so re-raking didn't seem like the solution. Needless to say after the first 5 acres, I squinted through my sweat-filled eyes at the pick-up truck and decided it was going to work, pulling the rake. The devils had reeked havoc and re-raking was a necessity. As I fired up the truck the low fuel light lit up for me. Our teenage daughter, in attempts to make it home by curfew, had not filled up the truck and left it empty for me to discover. My nice morning of baling was delayed. But once the truck was fueled up and the rake was on, progress began again.
The day was hot by the time the baler was chugging away, but the air conditioned cab kept me going. The baling went smoothly with only one broken bale. Sometimes when the strings transfers to the next spool, there is a glitch in the first tie or two and the bale drops out the back of the baler and explodes. I leave them till the end, re-bale them, and drop them crosswise on the field so that they don't go to hay clients. The re-baling re-cuts the grass and the flakes of the bale don't hold together well. I take them for our animals and open them in a hay cart, so that they are contained and feed from it. Overall the baling went well. The way I proceed with each part of the process is that if something goes wrong and I am not able to muscle through, shake/jiggle or kick something to work, then I quit until Donald comes home and fixes it. Normally, that keeps me sane. However, Donald has been sick the last couple of weeks and the pressure was on to get it all done, so that he didn't have to fix anything.
The final portion of the job; picking up all the bales and stacking them. Now I have developed a rather refined stacking technique of which I am rather proud. I enjoy showing the stacks to Donald when he comes home and he expresses his relief that he didn't have to do it by hand. Simple pleasures. The bale wagon picks up the bales as you drive by, drags them into a rack, tosses them up on a table and continues until the table is full. The table then lifts up vertically and tips the layer slightly past vertical, leaning against some fingers. This continues for each layer, with a slight modification in the arrangement on the tie tiers, until the stack is loaded. I then back the wagon into the hay barn and tip the whole stack to a vertical position on the ground and push away to leave it standing. During this pushing, I chant to the stack "stay up, stay up." And if it does the process continues, leaning one stack against the next. It is very satisfying.
Oh but not this time. The first layer loaded and lifted, and dropped one bale off the uppermost corner. I shut everything down and proceeded to crawl up on the table and hoist the bale up to my thighs, pressing against the layer of bales still in place. My technique, because I lack the upper body strength to throw bales at will, is to roll the bale up overhead and finally push it onto the open space above. I discovered while the bale was overhead why it had been rejected. It was what we refer to as a "banana bale." One string ties tighter on one side of the bale than the other and the bale has the inclination to bow like a banana. As I realized this, I was able to lower it and remove it from the wagon for a later pick up for our use. I tricked the wagon into picking up one more bale and called the girls for help. Remember these are teenage girls that are not predisposed to farming activities. Begrudgingly they arrived. I gave them instructions on how we would lift, roll and press the bale up to the top. I forgot Emma wasn't as tall as Erin and I, until the bale was at an angle pointing down towards Emma, with Erin screaming, "push Emma!" And Emma screaming, "I can't reach that high!" Erin and I scrambled into new positions and strong-armed the blasted bale into position. We were covered in hay, spitting it from our mouths. But I was then able to move forward, and the girls zipped back to the house before more was asked of them.
I should have known things were not going to go well from there. The wagon started pulled stunts like leaving the table up and then after pushing and shoving on my part, lowered itself at an excrutiatingly slow pace, almost in spite of me. The rail that tosses the bales to the table would stay up and finally a bale was stuck in the shoot. I wrestled with that bale and pulled and tried to push it back where it came from, until I decided that my attempts to save Donald from any additonal labor were defeated. I took my gloves and left the tractor in the field with the bale wagon choking on the bale, and dragged myself back to the ranch house.
As it turned out Donald had to hand load all the bales into the trailer. He also had to fix the bale wagon. Which was the bale wagon's fault because it didn't put something back where it belonged before I shoved another bale in its throat. It better get its act together before the next cutting or I'm not sure what I'll do to it.
I am hopeful that the kinks are worked out, and I am more tolerant of the heat if I do have to assist the machinery in its part of the job. The first cutting of the season was anti-climactic because of the mechanical difficulties. But it is done and the irrigation waters are flowing as I peck.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Anticipating the Heat
I suppose the word anticipating could really be replaced with the word dreading. The forecasts are predicting triple digits starting Sunday. We have been fortunate that they have held off this long. Usually the triple digits hit in May. In anticipation of the heat, we have to get organized to provide shade, mist, and plenty of water for all living things on the ranch.
Last year we added misters for the poultry. I find plumbing one of the easiest tasks with pvc and all the neat little fittings available. Misters just require the little mist fittings placed in couplings and set between lengths of pvc. We also put "quick release" attachments on most of our hoses. This allows us to easily change from a spray nozzle to an animal waterer to tree or plant waterers. Every little task that can be shortened makes it much easier to withstand long enough to get the chores done before the intensity of the sun roasts you. A quick release versus unscrewing a hose to get the next task done is appreciated, not to mention prevents your hand from getting burned on the metal end of the hose if the sun has already been at work.
Animals need to be watered early in the morning after the water in the lines has cooled. If we run water mid-day out of the hose, the water is so hot it could scald. The animals should be fed early as well, so that they have an appetite. We are learning that the Great Pyrenese (which are not a hot climate dog) are more apt to eat early in the morning than after the heat of the day. Once the heat comes on full force the animals are looking for anything to protect themselves from the heat, so eating is not a priority. Just after the sun comes up, the animals are the most active. The chickens seem relieved to have the opportunity to run around and scratch in the morning.
I had always learned, coming from the east, that watering at night is not preferred because of the potential for molds to grow. Well, the lack of humidity in the desert seems to negate this watering no-no. I find that the early morning watering works, but night-time allows enough time for the water to seep into the earth. Otherwise, evaporation pulls the water away from the plant. I believe that the night watering works best for trees and larger plants. Gardens with lots of mulching and such seem to be okay with the early morning watering as well. The mulching and overgrowth of the plants limits the evaporation somewhat. Watering in the day where water pools can increase the potential for scalding of plant leaves from the reflection of the sun upwards onto the plant.
Shade for plants and animals is helpful as well. I had tomato plants that survived an entire summer under a sun shade material. The direct sun just seems to be to intense for any plant that is labeled for direct sun. Short of the succulents and cacti, afternoon shade gives plants a much better chance of survival. The sun gets to be too intense for the horses as well. We currently have not put our shades in the horse pastures, so the horses come in for the day and out at night. That is, until the mosquitoes get to be so bad that the horses have to be in at night also. I will rotate them out for a few hours in the early morning and evening and in during the heat and mosquito feeding times.
Lifestyle changes are also in order to get through the desert summer. Outdoor chores really need to be done at sun up and sun down. I understand how the "siesta" came into being. You get up extra early, nap in the heat of the day, and stay up late finishing the day. Unfortunately, there are things that have to be done in the heat of the day, so I have yet to accomplish a "siesta" schedule. The other problem with this schedule is that it is also the mosquitoes' schedule. So clothing to protect from the biting pests becomes a necessity. I dress in Donald's old jeans with a long sleeve shirt buttoned to the neck and down to the wrists. Socks (not ankle-socks but crew or something that covers the ankles) with closed-toe shoes prevent the nasty bites on the feet. I always regret the attempt to dash out in flip flops to do something quickly. I always end up with nasty bites that are quite embarrassing when I'm in public with sandals!
Domestic chores have to be modified to keep the house cool. The use of appliances such as the dishwasher, oven or dryer really need to be during the night. Trying to cook or bake in the summer is miserable! If wash requires cold water, you're just out of luck until late fall when the night time temperatures cool enough to cool the water in the water lines. We now officially have warm or hot water from the water lines only. Cool water has to be cooled in the fridge. Showering requires the cold dial only, because if you add the hot dial, you will burn yourself. And that is coming from someone that likes HOT showers.
I am very thankful that we have an air conditioned cab in our tractor. This allows us to do fieldwork anytime of the day if necessary. Occasionally, I will use the little red tractor that is an open cab for raking or other ranch work in the summer. I have to do it at dawn though, and I have driven with a can of mosquito spray, spraying as I ride through the fields. I set the tractor at the highest speed possible to get the job done without throwing the hay into the next field, just to outrun the mosquitos and create a breeze. I much prefer the John Deere.
Last year we added misters for the poultry. I find plumbing one of the easiest tasks with pvc and all the neat little fittings available. Misters just require the little mist fittings placed in couplings and set between lengths of pvc. We also put "quick release" attachments on most of our hoses. This allows us to easily change from a spray nozzle to an animal waterer to tree or plant waterers. Every little task that can be shortened makes it much easier to withstand long enough to get the chores done before the intensity of the sun roasts you. A quick release versus unscrewing a hose to get the next task done is appreciated, not to mention prevents your hand from getting burned on the metal end of the hose if the sun has already been at work.
Animals need to be watered early in the morning after the water in the lines has cooled. If we run water mid-day out of the hose, the water is so hot it could scald. The animals should be fed early as well, so that they have an appetite. We are learning that the Great Pyrenese (which are not a hot climate dog) are more apt to eat early in the morning than after the heat of the day. Once the heat comes on full force the animals are looking for anything to protect themselves from the heat, so eating is not a priority. Just after the sun comes up, the animals are the most active. The chickens seem relieved to have the opportunity to run around and scratch in the morning.
I had always learned, coming from the east, that watering at night is not preferred because of the potential for molds to grow. Well, the lack of humidity in the desert seems to negate this watering no-no. I find that the early morning watering works, but night-time allows enough time for the water to seep into the earth. Otherwise, evaporation pulls the water away from the plant. I believe that the night watering works best for trees and larger plants. Gardens with lots of mulching and such seem to be okay with the early morning watering as well. The mulching and overgrowth of the plants limits the evaporation somewhat. Watering in the day where water pools can increase the potential for scalding of plant leaves from the reflection of the sun upwards onto the plant.
Shade for plants and animals is helpful as well. I had tomato plants that survived an entire summer under a sun shade material. The direct sun just seems to be to intense for any plant that is labeled for direct sun. Short of the succulents and cacti, afternoon shade gives plants a much better chance of survival. The sun gets to be too intense for the horses as well. We currently have not put our shades in the horse pastures, so the horses come in for the day and out at night. That is, until the mosquitoes get to be so bad that the horses have to be in at night also. I will rotate them out for a few hours in the early morning and evening and in during the heat and mosquito feeding times.
Lifestyle changes are also in order to get through the desert summer. Outdoor chores really need to be done at sun up and sun down. I understand how the "siesta" came into being. You get up extra early, nap in the heat of the day, and stay up late finishing the day. Unfortunately, there are things that have to be done in the heat of the day, so I have yet to accomplish a "siesta" schedule. The other problem with this schedule is that it is also the mosquitoes' schedule. So clothing to protect from the biting pests becomes a necessity. I dress in Donald's old jeans with a long sleeve shirt buttoned to the neck and down to the wrists. Socks (not ankle-socks but crew or something that covers the ankles) with closed-toe shoes prevent the nasty bites on the feet. I always regret the attempt to dash out in flip flops to do something quickly. I always end up with nasty bites that are quite embarrassing when I'm in public with sandals!
Domestic chores have to be modified to keep the house cool. The use of appliances such as the dishwasher, oven or dryer really need to be during the night. Trying to cook or bake in the summer is miserable! If wash requires cold water, you're just out of luck until late fall when the night time temperatures cool enough to cool the water in the water lines. We now officially have warm or hot water from the water lines only. Cool water has to be cooled in the fridge. Showering requires the cold dial only, because if you add the hot dial, you will burn yourself. And that is coming from someone that likes HOT showers.
I am very thankful that we have an air conditioned cab in our tractor. This allows us to do fieldwork anytime of the day if necessary. Occasionally, I will use the little red tractor that is an open cab for raking or other ranch work in the summer. I have to do it at dawn though, and I have driven with a can of mosquito spray, spraying as I ride through the fields. I set the tractor at the highest speed possible to get the job done without throwing the hay into the next field, just to outrun the mosquitos and create a breeze. I much prefer the John Deere.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Visit to Polyface, Inc in Virginia
We returned from our trip to the east coast. While we were there Donald and I visited the Polyface Farm in Virginia. We spent the morning hiking around the farm, studying the chicken trailers, hog hangouts, broiler rotations, cattle clean up, and poultry butchering station. We talked with several people working on the farm as interns. Matt was spending a year at Polyface learning about the sustainable methods of farming in order to eventually run his own place to provide food for his own future restaurant. He'll spend next year in New England at another farm.
The poultry are all grassfed with lay mash for the layers. They hang out in a fenced in area with a large shelter that is moved every three days, guarded by a Great Pyrenese. The shelter provides the obvious shelter, but also numerous nesting boxes. The shelter is set upon a frame like a sled that makes it mobile. There are also numerous low boxes with 3/4 sheltered, 1/4 wire-topped, that house the broilers, located over another hill. These are moved daily. The manure is high in nitrogen and the constant relocation provides fertilizer for the fields. The cattle were previously located in these fields, evident by the cow pies, from which the birds eat the bugs. Closer to the farmhouse there are several large laying hen barns as well.
The hogs were up over another hill in the woods. We were told that they were there to eat the tubers/roots, and were munching on branches when we visited. The cattle were located around a cluster of outbuildings and we were told that they were "cleaning up." Indeed they were. They were chewing through the weeds that had grown up from the spring rains. We appreciated the fact that the cattle were provided with 24 hour grazing opportunity, so that lying down in the grass, chewing their cud was not thought of as a waste of good grazing time. Grass is plentiful.
We watched the butchering station for a while and talked to a visiting family (ironically from Prescott, AZ) that were helping. They butchered 350 birds that morning and were preparing to cut up many into pieces for sale. A large majority are sold as whole birds, but the pieces drew a larger price for the additional labor.
We are planning on starting some meat poultry during the winter months this coming season. We will attempt to replicate some of the methods that are implemented at Polyface Farms. We will work on a much smaller scale to begin, really just wanting to provide for our family and friends initially. I am curious to see what Salatins' from Polyface think of the Freedom Ranger chickens that they are now just raising.
I chatted with a beef rancher at the Casa Grande Farmers' Market about his farm and our visit to Polyface. He was very excited to hear about it as they will add poultry to their processing this coming year as well. He was familiar with the Freedom Rangers and interested in alternatives to the Cornish Cross commonly raised here for the breast meat. I will have to look into these birds as an option. Emma is opposed to raising most of the birds for meat, but told me that at least the Cornish cross are doomed anyway. They grow too large for their frame and if were not butchered, they would not enjoy a long life anyway because of their mutated size. I appreciated that perspective.
All the trees, grapes and blackberries were mulched this morning. It looks like we will be at 100 degrees very soon. The mosquitoes are terrible already. I contacted the company that manufactures Altosid for information on application rates. I will continue to research mosquito eradication for the rest of my life it seems.
The poultry are all grassfed with lay mash for the layers. They hang out in a fenced in area with a large shelter that is moved every three days, guarded by a Great Pyrenese. The shelter provides the obvious shelter, but also numerous nesting boxes. The shelter is set upon a frame like a sled that makes it mobile. There are also numerous low boxes with 3/4 sheltered, 1/4 wire-topped, that house the broilers, located over another hill. These are moved daily. The manure is high in nitrogen and the constant relocation provides fertilizer for the fields. The cattle were previously located in these fields, evident by the cow pies, from which the birds eat the bugs. Closer to the farmhouse there are several large laying hen barns as well.
The hogs were up over another hill in the woods. We were told that they were there to eat the tubers/roots, and were munching on branches when we visited. The cattle were located around a cluster of outbuildings and we were told that they were "cleaning up." Indeed they were. They were chewing through the weeds that had grown up from the spring rains. We appreciated the fact that the cattle were provided with 24 hour grazing opportunity, so that lying down in the grass, chewing their cud was not thought of as a waste of good grazing time. Grass is plentiful.
We watched the butchering station for a while and talked to a visiting family (ironically from Prescott, AZ) that were helping. They butchered 350 birds that morning and were preparing to cut up many into pieces for sale. A large majority are sold as whole birds, but the pieces drew a larger price for the additional labor.
We are planning on starting some meat poultry during the winter months this coming season. We will attempt to replicate some of the methods that are implemented at Polyface Farms. We will work on a much smaller scale to begin, really just wanting to provide for our family and friends initially. I am curious to see what Salatins' from Polyface think of the Freedom Ranger chickens that they are now just raising.
I chatted with a beef rancher at the Casa Grande Farmers' Market about his farm and our visit to Polyface. He was very excited to hear about it as they will add poultry to their processing this coming year as well. He was familiar with the Freedom Rangers and interested in alternatives to the Cornish Cross commonly raised here for the breast meat. I will have to look into these birds as an option. Emma is opposed to raising most of the birds for meat, but told me that at least the Cornish cross are doomed anyway. They grow too large for their frame and if were not butchered, they would not enjoy a long life anyway because of their mutated size. I appreciated that perspective.
All the trees, grapes and blackberries were mulched this morning. It looks like we will be at 100 degrees very soon. The mosquitoes are terrible already. I contacted the company that manufactures Altosid for information on application rates. I will continue to research mosquito eradication for the rest of my life it seems.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Prison Follow Up
Wonderful news today. The private prison company has withdrawn its proposal for the Casa Grande site. People came together and worked to spread the news and generate community support. The local businesses that would have suffered if the proposal went forward, were instrumental in organizing and providing support for our efforts. It is very satisfying to see the power of the people have an effect.
I started a Facebook Group, NO PRISONS in Casa Grande, AZ that allowed people to post relevant information regarding the opposition to the proposal. I posted all the links I could find regarding the private company and its business relationships in other parts of the world, Letters to the Editor from local papers, and meeting notices to gather everyone to organize. I had never created a "group" on Facebook, so I learned a lot during the process. We ended up with almost 200 members in just a short period of time.
It looks like the company had other sites that they were also pursuing and will put their bid in with another city. My condolences.
I started a Facebook Group, NO PRISONS in Casa Grande, AZ that allowed people to post relevant information regarding the opposition to the proposal. I posted all the links I could find regarding the private company and its business relationships in other parts of the world, Letters to the Editor from local papers, and meeting notices to gather everyone to organize. I had never created a "group" on Facebook, so I learned a lot during the process. We ended up with almost 200 members in just a short period of time.
It looks like the company had other sites that they were also pursuing and will put their bid in with another city. My condolences.
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