I was so excited today when I realized that today is the last day of September. I was agonizing through the month of August. I thought it would never end, and now September blew by without me noticing. It is still in the triple digits, but October is sure to bring cooler temps....I hope.
We have been busy with lots of things this past month. Donald has had to travel out of town more this month than usual, so that has kept me even busier (hence my surprise at the seemingly sudden end of September). The Freedom Ranger chicks have officially been moved to the pasture and are of little interest to the mares sharing the acreage. The chicks are busy pecking the bugs that wander into their space, nibbling the grass, and gorging on the grain supplement. I was able to purchase a bag of organic chick starter from the Modesto Mill in CA. I have since been informed that a local feed store will now have the organic grains available, so I can just pick up a bag while I run my endless list of errands.
The waterer that Donald designed for the chicken tractor was assembled and installed and has worked perfectly. There are no leaks and the 7 gallon bucket has provided 4 days of water so far. It is still half full (feeling optimistic today apparently) and I am keeping track so that I have an idea of how often it will need to be refilled.
The chicks are all very healthy and have adapted well to their environment change. They are now going on their 4th week. At ten weeks they will be processed. I will hold back a few for future breeders so we can continually replenish our stock.
The Bourbon Red turkeys are getting to be of age now. I have about 6 that are ready. It looks like I will be doing some small scale butchering on my own in the very near future. My biggest challenge is to find a pot or container large enough to put the turkey in to heat in water in order to loosen the feathers to clean the birds. I have several items I am searching for to get this job done.
We will need to get ourselves a freezer very soon, as one of the lambs will be heading to the University of Arizona meat lab. With a minimum of 6 turkeys and a lamb, we will be appliance shopping soon.
I was able to purchase some grass fed beef from our Casa Grande Farmers Market. I made a batch of sloppy joes with it and I really think it was the best I'd ever made. I don't know if I just got the seasonings perfect or the difference in the meat was really the key. I stopped by this week, but he was not there. I was very disappointed for I was going to test out another batch of sloppy joes. Maybe next week?
We have separated the chicken breeds and genders in the poultry barn. This makes the care and maintenance so much easier. We still need to install automatic waterers and feeders, but the end is near.
We did have to hire someone to hay for us this cycle. Donald was out of town and I didn't feel confident I could do the entire job without his assistance. We were surprised at the relatively low fee charged for the ten acres. The bales are three-string at 100lbs. Some of our clients will not like this as they prefer the lighter two-string bales, but more of concern to me is Donald having to load the 100 lb bales by hand and then unload them for deliveries. I am thinking that we will save the heavy bales for smaller orders. I know he is not looking forward to the extra weight. In the end, we were relieved to be able to find someone reasonable and not have a disaster occur trying to coordinate Donald's schedule with the haying. The job is done and the fields are irrigating as I type.
Speaking of....gotta run. Time to check the fields.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Resident Ranch Dog, Bear
I feel compelled to dedicate some time writing about Bear the dog. Bear came to us here at the ranch several years ago now. He originated somewhere up in the valley with a young family that couldn't keep him. They had young children and he was still an energetic pup that apparently knocked the kids down, and as those of you that are parents know, the kids' safety comes first. Bear is a Rottweiller/Labrador cross, so he has significant mass as a male dog.
From the city, Bear was relocated with a new owner, our neighbor, about a mile or two away to act as a guard dog. From what we are told, he was already a few years old when he was relocated south of interstate 8. He lived there for several years, but soon took to wandering in search of company. He eventually found us and our neighbors, both with several female dogs. He oscillated between the two of us, perhaps indulging in his "male" status and the admiration he was given by the "girls. He still returned home at this point, but was soon driven to visit us frequently as a result of one of our female dogs....not fixed.
It became a real challenge to let our dog out, because Bear would be camped out waiting for her. We would have to try to lock Bear in a horse stall, so Star the yellow Lab could go out a couple times a day. He grew wise to this and would steer clear of us in his pursuit. We used a horse halter at one point to control him. It took at least two to let Star out. Donald decided to lock him in our laundry room while Star went out. This worked a couple of times, although Bear was extremely leary of entering the house. Donald would spend the time petting him while Star went out. Eventually, Donald thought that this was the solution and went out to do some work with Bear in the laundry room and Star outside. When Donald returned, Bear had dug his way through the drywall next to the door, ripping the insulation out and starting on the exterior siding. The door trim was splintered. Star was lying outside the door waiting to go back inside and he knew she was there.
We tried to get the owner to take Bear, but Bear would run back, escaping from whatever containment was used; a regular Houdini. Bear, eventually adopted our family after his past owner beat him, mistakenly thinking he had killed a visiting toy sized dog. As it turned out the little dog had choked on a chicken bone and Bear had carried it to the owner. They assumed he had killed the dog. Bear never returned and has stayed with us ever since.
Bear especially enjoyed running with our other Lab, Moon. She was a chocolate Lab that would go hunting for rabbits or whatever lurked in the desert with Bear and our other neighbor's dog, Dozer. The three developed some rather advanced techniques for flushing rabbits and other rodents from pipe and holes. Here's a link to see Moon and Bear in action. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHxRVQBt0eQ They weren't very successful in this specific attempt, maybe because a member of the team was missing.
As we were putting the fencing around our house to contain Moon and some newly acquired pups, Bear discovered the cooler temperatures under our house. He was determined to have access to the underside of the house, but still have the freedom to roam. He promptly dug under the fence and allowed all of the other dogs access to their freedom. Unfortunately, the pups were never focused enough to stay with the older dogs and would distractedly wander until they were lost. We took several late night, early morning trips into the desert searching for them. We drove stakes into the ground where Bear would dig out or in, and had to invest in an electric line that ran the base of the fence. Late one night as Bear was digging in or out, he got the one shock that put an end to the digging for good. He now lives outside the fenced in area of the house. As the pups grew to size, Bear lost his reign on the pack. For his safety, we keep him separate from the Great Pyrenese. Zeus is now the Alpha male inside the fence, Bear is Alpha male for the rest of the property.
Before Bear learned his lesson, he let Moonie out one time to many. We have since lost Moonie, she drown in an irrigation ditch. Dozer still visits early in the morning and the two old men go through the motions of hunting rabbits. But they don't leave the property, and they don't really give it their all anymore.
Bear steals turkey and duck eggs and buries them in the horse stall shavings. He buries my horse fly masks, and I have yet to find one that I had custom made. He is innocently destructive, causing all kinds of extra work for us. He will smell a rabbit or something around a bale of hay, and he will rip into it and throw hay everywhere trying to get to whatever it was he smelled. He lies in the water wells under the trees absorbing most of the water so the trees get short-changed. He crawls into the horse water troughs to cool down for a bit, muddying it for the horses.
Bear spends the night running the property, barking at whatever is out there. During the day, he mostly sleeps unless someone comes to visit. He is intimidating looking. He has a docked tail, so there is no indication that he is wagging when strangers approach. He is lithe and silent, so he sneaks up on people. Several people that have come out to do different services at the ranch, ask if he is "okay." They are obviously worried that he may attack. I have been known to tell them various threats like, "as long as you don't have a criminal record, he will be fine. I don't know what it is about him, but he can always sense that." Or, "as long as you stay 5 feet away from me, he'll be okay. Just don't break that barrier or he'll become extremely protective and violent."
Bear has been bitten by rattlesnakes at least three times that we know of. He has developed quite a calloused nose from lifting metal pipe by sticking his nose in and using it as a lever. His ear swelled up one time and we drained it, but it has a rather lumpy-cartlidge feel to it now. He used to have to be wormed regularly, as he consumed so many jackrabbits and such. In his later years, he seems to be keeping clear of that diet. Maybe because his girl Moon isn't here to catch them for him, and he doesn't have the energy to do it himself. Winters are harder on him than summers. He gets very stiff and sore in the winter. He has been given old horse blankets for bedding some winters. Donald has been known to wrap Bear up when Donald returns late from work, and the next morning Bear will still be curled up underneath.
Bear has never been house trained and won't get into a vehicle. I am not sure what would happen if he needed to be doctored. We would probably have to sedate him to get him into a truck to transport him. He was never "fixed," so he continues to be a nuisance. I know that he fathered a litter to one of the neighbor's Heelers a couple years back. We feel guilty, but Bear really doesn't belong to us. He doesn't belong to anyone. He is a survivor.
From the city, Bear was relocated with a new owner, our neighbor, about a mile or two away to act as a guard dog. From what we are told, he was already a few years old when he was relocated south of interstate 8. He lived there for several years, but soon took to wandering in search of company. He eventually found us and our neighbors, both with several female dogs. He oscillated between the two of us, perhaps indulging in his "male" status and the admiration he was given by the "girls. He still returned home at this point, but was soon driven to visit us frequently as a result of one of our female dogs....not fixed.
It became a real challenge to let our dog out, because Bear would be camped out waiting for her. We would have to try to lock Bear in a horse stall, so Star the yellow Lab could go out a couple times a day. He grew wise to this and would steer clear of us in his pursuit. We used a horse halter at one point to control him. It took at least two to let Star out. Donald decided to lock him in our laundry room while Star went out. This worked a couple of times, although Bear was extremely leary of entering the house. Donald would spend the time petting him while Star went out. Eventually, Donald thought that this was the solution and went out to do some work with Bear in the laundry room and Star outside. When Donald returned, Bear had dug his way through the drywall next to the door, ripping the insulation out and starting on the exterior siding. The door trim was splintered. Star was lying outside the door waiting to go back inside and he knew she was there.
We tried to get the owner to take Bear, but Bear would run back, escaping from whatever containment was used; a regular Houdini. Bear, eventually adopted our family after his past owner beat him, mistakenly thinking he had killed a visiting toy sized dog. As it turned out the little dog had choked on a chicken bone and Bear had carried it to the owner. They assumed he had killed the dog. Bear never returned and has stayed with us ever since.
Bear especially enjoyed running with our other Lab, Moon. She was a chocolate Lab that would go hunting for rabbits or whatever lurked in the desert with Bear and our other neighbor's dog, Dozer. The three developed some rather advanced techniques for flushing rabbits and other rodents from pipe and holes. Here's a link to see Moon and Bear in action. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHxRVQBt0eQ They weren't very successful in this specific attempt, maybe because a member of the team was missing.
As we were putting the fencing around our house to contain Moon and some newly acquired pups, Bear discovered the cooler temperatures under our house. He was determined to have access to the underside of the house, but still have the freedom to roam. He promptly dug under the fence and allowed all of the other dogs access to their freedom. Unfortunately, the pups were never focused enough to stay with the older dogs and would distractedly wander until they were lost. We took several late night, early morning trips into the desert searching for them. We drove stakes into the ground where Bear would dig out or in, and had to invest in an electric line that ran the base of the fence. Late one night as Bear was digging in or out, he got the one shock that put an end to the digging for good. He now lives outside the fenced in area of the house. As the pups grew to size, Bear lost his reign on the pack. For his safety, we keep him separate from the Great Pyrenese. Zeus is now the Alpha male inside the fence, Bear is Alpha male for the rest of the property.
Before Bear learned his lesson, he let Moonie out one time to many. We have since lost Moonie, she drown in an irrigation ditch. Dozer still visits early in the morning and the two old men go through the motions of hunting rabbits. But they don't leave the property, and they don't really give it their all anymore.
Bear steals turkey and duck eggs and buries them in the horse stall shavings. He buries my horse fly masks, and I have yet to find one that I had custom made. He is innocently destructive, causing all kinds of extra work for us. He will smell a rabbit or something around a bale of hay, and he will rip into it and throw hay everywhere trying to get to whatever it was he smelled. He lies in the water wells under the trees absorbing most of the water so the trees get short-changed. He crawls into the horse water troughs to cool down for a bit, muddying it for the horses.
Bear spends the night running the property, barking at whatever is out there. During the day, he mostly sleeps unless someone comes to visit. He is intimidating looking. He has a docked tail, so there is no indication that he is wagging when strangers approach. He is lithe and silent, so he sneaks up on people. Several people that have come out to do different services at the ranch, ask if he is "okay." They are obviously worried that he may attack. I have been known to tell them various threats like, "as long as you don't have a criminal record, he will be fine. I don't know what it is about him, but he can always sense that." Or, "as long as you stay 5 feet away from me, he'll be okay. Just don't break that barrier or he'll become extremely protective and violent."
Bear has been bitten by rattlesnakes at least three times that we know of. He has developed quite a calloused nose from lifting metal pipe by sticking his nose in and using it as a lever. His ear swelled up one time and we drained it, but it has a rather lumpy-cartlidge feel to it now. He used to have to be wormed regularly, as he consumed so many jackrabbits and such. In his later years, he seems to be keeping clear of that diet. Maybe because his girl Moon isn't here to catch them for him, and he doesn't have the energy to do it himself. Winters are harder on him than summers. He gets very stiff and sore in the winter. He has been given old horse blankets for bedding some winters. Donald has been known to wrap Bear up when Donald returns late from work, and the next morning Bear will still be curled up underneath.
Bear has never been house trained and won't get into a vehicle. I am not sure what would happen if he needed to be doctored. We would probably have to sedate him to get him into a truck to transport him. He was never "fixed," so he continues to be a nuisance. I know that he fathered a litter to one of the neighbor's Heelers a couple years back. We feel guilty, but Bear really doesn't belong to us. He doesn't belong to anyone. He is a survivor.
Friday, September 3, 2010
September At Last
I am so relieved that it is finally September. Of course, that is primarily because of my memories of the month in other parts of the country. In Ohio, September marked the ending (sometimes abruptly) of summer, Black Swamp Arts Festival in Bowling Green, jackets becoming a requirement (although they never were packed for the summer), and the start of the school year at the university. Maryland, was a little delayed compared to Ohio's temperature decline, but started the process of the color changes in the leaves (and there were lots of leaves to change compared to the sparse sprinkle here in the desert). Now September gives me strength to push forward through the end of the very hot season here. I believe this year has been the most difficult for me personally.
As Donald's work load has required him to be away so much of the time, the farming responsiblities have fallen to me. Now I am not a strapping young buck that has the strength to toss bales around or wrestle with heavy machinery, so when those challenges would arise, I simply had to wait until Donald came to take care of things for me. If I ran into a problem first thing in the day, the progress for that day would come to a halt. This has made me very frustrated at times. The solution, albiet late in the season, was to try and hire a helper. That proved to be a challenge in and of itself. With the controversy involving the immigration within the state of AZ, the risk of hiring a worker of Hispanic descent could get one in trouble if the worker proved to be illegally in the country. So we looked to high school aged kids that might be looking for summer work. Many leads fell to the side, as calls were not returned. I really need someone available during the week to help as needed as I am working the fields or any of the other projects around the ranch, but high school has started back in session. We finally had some help this past weekend from a young man from Casa Grande.
As Donald and I are scrambling to get things done on the weekends (assuming Donald doesn't have to work), the tumbleweeds are continuing to grow. I decided to have the tumbleweeds cleared as a starting point for our helper, and then have him load some hay for delivery. The idea was that Donald and I were to try and get some repairs done while our helper worked. As the day wore on, I realized the tumbleweed clearing was being done, but not to my expectations. A lot of the weeds were left and with just the humidity in the air it seems, could rejuvenate and would probably be as lush as they were in a matter of a week or two. Not really, but those blasted weeds are hardy pests. So that task was not going to be done by this particular helper to my specifications. He was able to load hay and worked with Donald so that Donald could show him how to organize and eventually load on his own. Donald usually takes an hour tops to load a full trailer for delivery. As it turns out our helper was not able to keep up with Donald in strength or speed. The next load we had him work on his own and it took him almost two hours to get the job done.
Our time is valuable, and we have worked hard to make sure that expenses are always kept to a minimum for the obvious reasons. We decided that the per hour payment was not effective and the tasks were not being done to our expectations. We have offered him a project for a price and have calculated how much time it has taken Donald to do the work in the past. We offered him a price that allows him double the time it should take. We want him to shovel the last section of the concrete irrigation ditch that accumulates the sand and dirt from the irrigation water. We need it cleared so that we can move forward on preparing the fourth fields for planting. Something that is becoming more pressing as the season wanes. We will see if this chore is accepted, and evaluate the work to decide if we need to try someone else.
The mosquitoes have been an issue, but we are hopeful to have a solution to this problem soon.
The house that was on the property when we arrived is another culprit in the frustration factor. The house is very small for four people, with no real storage, and it provides a constant flow of repairs to keep the basics functioning (water, electric, and structure). "Cabin Fever" was definitately a contibuting factor to the difficult season. The ongoing diversions of the repairs on the house has taken our time away from the ranch projects that we have wanted to complete.
It seems that the demands of the ranch as a whole really have stolen from our family this season. Maybe the realization that Erin is a senior in high school and will potentially be leaving next year makes my feel guilty for not spending more time with her and the family in general. I suppose everyone has these concerns to some extent. I have made a family getaway a priority in October when both girls have a fall break. I just hope I am successful in the preparation, planning and execution of what turns into another project.
I have ordered our broilers for our first attempt at raising meat chickens. I am excited about this and have worked out a setting that will be minimal work on my part once the chickens are put to pasture. I will talk about this at another time. The lambs should be going in for processing later this month, early October at the latest. I am seriously considering holding on to one of the rams and getting a ewe to provide us with some "workers" for next season.
I would like to put together a mobile pen that would conform to the borders that divide our hay fields. The sheep would be put in the pens and they would eat down the grasses that grow on the borders, leaving the fields to grow for haying. They would "earn their keep." I have lots of these ideas, just no time to move on them....
The fall should be exciting with the processing of our first bunch of Bourbon Red turkeys. We will have a surplus for our needs, so I will calculate the cost of raisng the birds and sell accordingly. I intend on doing the same with the broilers. With all the uncertainty of our food industry, the opportunity to avoid the unknowns as much as possible is satisfying. The fact that we have the ability to do so is rewarding. Rewarding in so many ways.
As Donald's work load has required him to be away so much of the time, the farming responsiblities have fallen to me. Now I am not a strapping young buck that has the strength to toss bales around or wrestle with heavy machinery, so when those challenges would arise, I simply had to wait until Donald came to take care of things for me. If I ran into a problem first thing in the day, the progress for that day would come to a halt. This has made me very frustrated at times. The solution, albiet late in the season, was to try and hire a helper. That proved to be a challenge in and of itself. With the controversy involving the immigration within the state of AZ, the risk of hiring a worker of Hispanic descent could get one in trouble if the worker proved to be illegally in the country. So we looked to high school aged kids that might be looking for summer work. Many leads fell to the side, as calls were not returned. I really need someone available during the week to help as needed as I am working the fields or any of the other projects around the ranch, but high school has started back in session. We finally had some help this past weekend from a young man from Casa Grande.
As Donald and I are scrambling to get things done on the weekends (assuming Donald doesn't have to work), the tumbleweeds are continuing to grow. I decided to have the tumbleweeds cleared as a starting point for our helper, and then have him load some hay for delivery. The idea was that Donald and I were to try and get some repairs done while our helper worked. As the day wore on, I realized the tumbleweed clearing was being done, but not to my expectations. A lot of the weeds were left and with just the humidity in the air it seems, could rejuvenate and would probably be as lush as they were in a matter of a week or two. Not really, but those blasted weeds are hardy pests. So that task was not going to be done by this particular helper to my specifications. He was able to load hay and worked with Donald so that Donald could show him how to organize and eventually load on his own. Donald usually takes an hour tops to load a full trailer for delivery. As it turns out our helper was not able to keep up with Donald in strength or speed. The next load we had him work on his own and it took him almost two hours to get the job done.
Our time is valuable, and we have worked hard to make sure that expenses are always kept to a minimum for the obvious reasons. We decided that the per hour payment was not effective and the tasks were not being done to our expectations. We have offered him a project for a price and have calculated how much time it has taken Donald to do the work in the past. We offered him a price that allows him double the time it should take. We want him to shovel the last section of the concrete irrigation ditch that accumulates the sand and dirt from the irrigation water. We need it cleared so that we can move forward on preparing the fourth fields for planting. Something that is becoming more pressing as the season wanes. We will see if this chore is accepted, and evaluate the work to decide if we need to try someone else.
The mosquitoes have been an issue, but we are hopeful to have a solution to this problem soon.
The house that was on the property when we arrived is another culprit in the frustration factor. The house is very small for four people, with no real storage, and it provides a constant flow of repairs to keep the basics functioning (water, electric, and structure). "Cabin Fever" was definitately a contibuting factor to the difficult season. The ongoing diversions of the repairs on the house has taken our time away from the ranch projects that we have wanted to complete.
It seems that the demands of the ranch as a whole really have stolen from our family this season. Maybe the realization that Erin is a senior in high school and will potentially be leaving next year makes my feel guilty for not spending more time with her and the family in general. I suppose everyone has these concerns to some extent. I have made a family getaway a priority in October when both girls have a fall break. I just hope I am successful in the preparation, planning and execution of what turns into another project.
I have ordered our broilers for our first attempt at raising meat chickens. I am excited about this and have worked out a setting that will be minimal work on my part once the chickens are put to pasture. I will talk about this at another time. The lambs should be going in for processing later this month, early October at the latest. I am seriously considering holding on to one of the rams and getting a ewe to provide us with some "workers" for next season.
I would like to put together a mobile pen that would conform to the borders that divide our hay fields. The sheep would be put in the pens and they would eat down the grasses that grow on the borders, leaving the fields to grow for haying. They would "earn their keep." I have lots of these ideas, just no time to move on them....
The fall should be exciting with the processing of our first bunch of Bourbon Red turkeys. We will have a surplus for our needs, so I will calculate the cost of raisng the birds and sell accordingly. I intend on doing the same with the broilers. With all the uncertainty of our food industry, the opportunity to avoid the unknowns as much as possible is satisfying. The fact that we have the ability to do so is rewarding. Rewarding in so many ways.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Nonsoon for Us
As it turns out, we have not really gotten any significant rain for our fields this monsoon season. Now don't get me wrong there has been rain, some severe flooding rain, but not for our fields. At one point the rain came down so hard and fast that it couldn't soak into the desert fast enough and flash flooding almost prevented me from returning home one afternoon. The Greene Wash was running at 3 feet and there was no way I would attempt crossing anything like that in my Toyota Prius. There is a rather round about way to avoid the wash, but the road runs high above the wash and is a rather frightening 60 foot drop. As the rain water runs off this high road the sides erode making it very dangerous if you were to break away the edge of the roadway. Ironically, we had only gotten approximately a 1/2" on our fields, as the rain all fell just north of us.
It rained just the other evening. It was a powerful downpour in the city of Casa Grande. I was very frightened that we would have wet hay and felt devastated. I contacted our neighbor and we hadn't gotten anything. I was very relieved, but we sure haven't caught any breaks in the "free water" allotment.
We put up about 25 ton of hay this past weekend. I experimented with higher stacks, trying to maximize the space under the hay barn. I am getting rather spoiled having my car under shade this season. It is truly amazing the temperature difference in the car when it is in the shade versus direct sun. I will be busy scheduling deliveries for the next couple weeks. Of course, Donald will be busy loading and unloading hay, which will be exhausting in the heat we are having currently.
I am trying to find someone to help out around the ranch with some of the more strenuous tasks that I can't managed. With Donald working as much as he does for his "real" job, many of the tasks fall to me and I am not capable of doing many of them. My first lead panned out, but fear not, I have another lead. It is discouraging not being able to make any progress, only maintaining (and barely at that).
We had to have the baler "tuned up." And when we started baling this current cycle things were not going well. The bales were bursting open because of the string adjustment and the wiper arm. I had to deal with the service guys that were sent out to re-adjust the baler. I suppose most guys don't expect a woman to be out doing farm work and these guys didn't seem sure as to how to interact with me. I found them patronizing. I don't fault them, it is probably a novelty to deal with a woman in such circumstances, but it is offensive. It took them around 4-5 hours to finally get things baling properly.
As a result of their intentions to just bale one row of hay to test the baler (that didn't prove enough since they failed to get it adjusted in that length of time), and then another, and then another.....they ended up baling erratically. What I mean by that is they chose random rows to bale and ended up dropping bales into windrows that then had to be rolled off. When I bale a field, I usually come up the eastern most row and then return down the middle. Each looping pass is repeated this way starting to the east and returning just west of the last baled row. You can only turn the tractor with the attached baler to the right, so you are limited to the pattern to take on the field.
By the time they got done testing the baler, the rows were a disaster for me. When it came time to run the bale wagon through to pick up the bales, which also turns to the right, the bales were in total disarray in the field. After you have developed a routine and time is of the essence, this is not appreciated in the least. What normally can be a comfortable ride in the air conditioned cab of the tractor, picking up bales, turned into an aerobic workout (climbing up and down the stairs on the cab to reposition bales) and a sun burn to boot! I was picking up bales for 6 hours with a delivery in between and then another 2 hours to finish up at 11:30 pm Sunday night.
The experience of stacking hay with this particular bale wagon is nerve racking. You really are as tight as a guitar string anticipating the crash of the stack. Knowing that the stack has to be rebuilt for the next to have a chance at staying upright, leaning on the last stack, is enough for me to do my absolute best manuvering and placement to avoid. By the time I got done, I could not get to sleep for hours.
I met with the mosquito guy today. He incorporated me into a trip from Texas. I am excited about the possibility of decreasing the mosquitoes by 90%. Yep that's the percentage he quoted. Not that I could figure out any real quantitative measurement of that (I'm sure there is some way, but I'm not standing out there counting them!). He told me the real problem is my neighbor's dirt ditch that is located just to the south west of us. He showed me the larvae that consumed the available standing water in the ditch left from my neighbor's watering this weekend. He told me in this one relatively small area, millions of mosquitoes were developing. UGH.
There are two products forms that we will use according to his plan; granuals and briquets. The granuals will be spread over the neighbor's dirt ditch a day or so after he waters (I will have to coordinate with him to see if he is willing to cooperate with this). These will also be spread over our fields just after a cutting cycle on dry ground. After watering, we are to deposit the briquets into the port holes where standing water accumulates at the head ends of our fields. He told me we were doing a good job at managing the water to minimize the time that it stands on the fields. I was pleased, for this has been our intention. The briquets are designed to last for 90 days. They are reactivated each time they are in contact with water. The granuals will need to be re-distributed every 30-45 days. He suspects that this may be lengthened for our fields don't seem to be the culprit for the mosquito egg deposits.
We do have 3 different types of mosquitoes, with elaborate latin names. Two are what he referred to as vectors, meaning they have the potential for spreading West Nile Disease. The one that we have the most of are not carriers, but have the unique gift for laying eggs that remain dormant until water arrives. It seems that through the past 6 years of irrigating and the addition of neighbors that irrigate, we have increased the population of this particularly gifted mosquito. The vector mosquitoes are the ones that would be developing in my neighbor's ditch. As he described the population explosion, these 100.000 mosquitoes breed and each have 100,000 more and they each have 100,000.....and if they didn't hatch this watering they will the next opportunity.
He developed a plan for us that would be the least expense for both product and equipment. He explained that there are better ways and more convenient ways to distribute, but this plan will keep the cost to a minimum. He also recommended a "knock-down" product that we can put in our sprayer that we currently have, for times when the wind blows the mosquitoes in from distant fields and they grab hold of things on our property and hang around for blood meals. He recommended having this handy.
He was an interesting fellow that has traveled all over the world to mosquito-problem areas. He has survived West Nile Disease and had frightening statistics on the other mosquito-related diseases that are prevalent even here in the US. He was able to talk about the mosquitoes by their names and geographic locations, life cycles, diseases carried, and other such information that just succeeded in making me itch!!
I am hopeful that his 90% decrease is accurate. I just can't see continuing our work here if it will be overrun with mosquitoes preventing us from getting our work done, let alone enjoying an evening under our star-packed skies.
Time to go and get the meter reading for the books.
It rained just the other evening. It was a powerful downpour in the city of Casa Grande. I was very frightened that we would have wet hay and felt devastated. I contacted our neighbor and we hadn't gotten anything. I was very relieved, but we sure haven't caught any breaks in the "free water" allotment.
We put up about 25 ton of hay this past weekend. I experimented with higher stacks, trying to maximize the space under the hay barn. I am getting rather spoiled having my car under shade this season. It is truly amazing the temperature difference in the car when it is in the shade versus direct sun. I will be busy scheduling deliveries for the next couple weeks. Of course, Donald will be busy loading and unloading hay, which will be exhausting in the heat we are having currently.
I am trying to find someone to help out around the ranch with some of the more strenuous tasks that I can't managed. With Donald working as much as he does for his "real" job, many of the tasks fall to me and I am not capable of doing many of them. My first lead panned out, but fear not, I have another lead. It is discouraging not being able to make any progress, only maintaining (and barely at that).
We had to have the baler "tuned up." And when we started baling this current cycle things were not going well. The bales were bursting open because of the string adjustment and the wiper arm. I had to deal with the service guys that were sent out to re-adjust the baler. I suppose most guys don't expect a woman to be out doing farm work and these guys didn't seem sure as to how to interact with me. I found them patronizing. I don't fault them, it is probably a novelty to deal with a woman in such circumstances, but it is offensive. It took them around 4-5 hours to finally get things baling properly.
As a result of their intentions to just bale one row of hay to test the baler (that didn't prove enough since they failed to get it adjusted in that length of time), and then another, and then another.....they ended up baling erratically. What I mean by that is they chose random rows to bale and ended up dropping bales into windrows that then had to be rolled off. When I bale a field, I usually come up the eastern most row and then return down the middle. Each looping pass is repeated this way starting to the east and returning just west of the last baled row. You can only turn the tractor with the attached baler to the right, so you are limited to the pattern to take on the field.
By the time they got done testing the baler, the rows were a disaster for me. When it came time to run the bale wagon through to pick up the bales, which also turns to the right, the bales were in total disarray in the field. After you have developed a routine and time is of the essence, this is not appreciated in the least. What normally can be a comfortable ride in the air conditioned cab of the tractor, picking up bales, turned into an aerobic workout (climbing up and down the stairs on the cab to reposition bales) and a sun burn to boot! I was picking up bales for 6 hours with a delivery in between and then another 2 hours to finish up at 11:30 pm Sunday night.
The experience of stacking hay with this particular bale wagon is nerve racking. You really are as tight as a guitar string anticipating the crash of the stack. Knowing that the stack has to be rebuilt for the next to have a chance at staying upright, leaning on the last stack, is enough for me to do my absolute best manuvering and placement to avoid. By the time I got done, I could not get to sleep for hours.
I met with the mosquito guy today. He incorporated me into a trip from Texas. I am excited about the possibility of decreasing the mosquitoes by 90%. Yep that's the percentage he quoted. Not that I could figure out any real quantitative measurement of that (I'm sure there is some way, but I'm not standing out there counting them!). He told me the real problem is my neighbor's dirt ditch that is located just to the south west of us. He showed me the larvae that consumed the available standing water in the ditch left from my neighbor's watering this weekend. He told me in this one relatively small area, millions of mosquitoes were developing. UGH.
There are two products forms that we will use according to his plan; granuals and briquets. The granuals will be spread over the neighbor's dirt ditch a day or so after he waters (I will have to coordinate with him to see if he is willing to cooperate with this). These will also be spread over our fields just after a cutting cycle on dry ground. After watering, we are to deposit the briquets into the port holes where standing water accumulates at the head ends of our fields. He told me we were doing a good job at managing the water to minimize the time that it stands on the fields. I was pleased, for this has been our intention. The briquets are designed to last for 90 days. They are reactivated each time they are in contact with water. The granuals will need to be re-distributed every 30-45 days. He suspects that this may be lengthened for our fields don't seem to be the culprit for the mosquito egg deposits.
We do have 3 different types of mosquitoes, with elaborate latin names. Two are what he referred to as vectors, meaning they have the potential for spreading West Nile Disease. The one that we have the most of are not carriers, but have the unique gift for laying eggs that remain dormant until water arrives. It seems that through the past 6 years of irrigating and the addition of neighbors that irrigate, we have increased the population of this particularly gifted mosquito. The vector mosquitoes are the ones that would be developing in my neighbor's ditch. As he described the population explosion, these 100.000 mosquitoes breed and each have 100,000 more and they each have 100,000.....and if they didn't hatch this watering they will the next opportunity.
He developed a plan for us that would be the least expense for both product and equipment. He explained that there are better ways and more convenient ways to distribute, but this plan will keep the cost to a minimum. He also recommended a "knock-down" product that we can put in our sprayer that we currently have, for times when the wind blows the mosquitoes in from distant fields and they grab hold of things on our property and hang around for blood meals. He recommended having this handy.
He was an interesting fellow that has traveled all over the world to mosquito-problem areas. He has survived West Nile Disease and had frightening statistics on the other mosquito-related diseases that are prevalent even here in the US. He was able to talk about the mosquitoes by their names and geographic locations, life cycles, diseases carried, and other such information that just succeeded in making me itch!!
I am hopeful that his 90% decrease is accurate. I just can't see continuing our work here if it will be overrun with mosquitoes preventing us from getting our work done, let alone enjoying an evening under our star-packed skies.
Time to go and get the meter reading for the books.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Working With Nature
We will be cutting this weekend again. We had to adapt to Mother Nature's contribution a couple weeks ago. We had flash flooding just north of us. In the end, our fields probably only got about a half inch. You wouldn't have thought it after seeing the condition of the roads and desert and the rushing waters. We irrigated to fill out the fields' growth for this next cutting. Now we have a tremendously thick and long stand to hay.
The thicker and longer the grass, the longer the curing time....theoretically. But with the desert temperatures we are forecast it won't take too long. It will be interesting to see how the baler handles the hay. We had to replace the knives that cut the baling twine and general maintenance completed these past couple weeks. I hope that it works like a charm, for it will be taxed with the workload of the next cutting.
Summer is dragging on, but we are making plans for the fall. We intend on seeding the horse pastures for a winter pasture this year. We have in the past, but we really didn't put too much effort into the planting. We used a broadcast seeder and watched oodles of black birds feast before the seeds could germinate. Drill seeding may be the way to go. We decided that the winter pasture will be our main focus for our horses' feed this year. The summer Bermuda pasture was a dismal failure this season. The Common Bermuda has taken over the field, but really is not growing well. The mosquitoes prevented the horses from being out like we would like for their peace of mind and of course feeding. We're hoping that the mosquitoes won't be a problem through the winter and we will turn the horses out as much as possible this year.
Time to get the mower on the tractor for the first phase of this cutting.
The thicker and longer the grass, the longer the curing time....theoretically. But with the desert temperatures we are forecast it won't take too long. It will be interesting to see how the baler handles the hay. We had to replace the knives that cut the baling twine and general maintenance completed these past couple weeks. I hope that it works like a charm, for it will be taxed with the workload of the next cutting.
Summer is dragging on, but we are making plans for the fall. We intend on seeding the horse pastures for a winter pasture this year. We have in the past, but we really didn't put too much effort into the planting. We used a broadcast seeder and watched oodles of black birds feast before the seeds could germinate. Drill seeding may be the way to go. We decided that the winter pasture will be our main focus for our horses' feed this year. The summer Bermuda pasture was a dismal failure this season. The Common Bermuda has taken over the field, but really is not growing well. The mosquitoes prevented the horses from being out like we would like for their peace of mind and of course feeding. We're hoping that the mosquitoes won't be a problem through the winter and we will turn the horses out as much as possible this year.
Time to get the mower on the tractor for the first phase of this cutting.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Tumbleweed
This past weekend was spent entirely on clearing tumbleweed from the sides of the irrigation ditches. I included a link giving some more information about this incredibly invasive, fast-growing, prickly menace (just click on the word Tumbleweed above). I have heard that at some point Russian Thistle aka tumbleweed was used to try to prevent soil erosion. Like so many things we try to use for some seemingly good purpose, there are side effects. These weeds grow so quickly and are so opportunistic. If a jack rabbit pees these tumbleweeds set up shop and start growing. I also have heard that in their very early tender beginnings that they are edible. I haven't tried them, but the stage is short-lived at best, for they develop into little prickly branches very quickly. Gloves are a must, for the needles are very fine like some cactus, and difficult to get out of the skin.
At the edges of the concrete irrigation ditches, the tumble weed seeds are deposited and make use of any water leakage to get started. If you sat long enough, you could probably see them grow. The problem with them of course is that not only do they make things look unkept, but they become huge vegetative walls blocking access to the ditches. Eventually, the wind blows and they collapse into the ditches and drag at the top of the oncoming water. They catch debris in the water and create back ups that can overflow (that water new seeds to start their growth). In the meantime, another row has started to replace the now fallen wall, continuing the cycle. When it comes time to check the water levels or ports, you can't see through the tumbleweeds if left unchecked.
The other problem is the little seeds drop into the ditch and catch in the silt and begin growing within the ditch. Before you know it more silt has been built up around the weed and all kinds of weeds start growing in the ditch. With the growth of weeds in and around the ditches, the plants provide a hiding place for all kinds of creatures. The ground squirrels/gophers, lizards, rattlesnakes, snakes in general, and my least favorite, mosquitoes. The mosquitoes are blown through the air and hit the tumbleweed obstacles and hunker down and wait for me.
First we put the scraper on the tractor and scraped just to the outside of the ditch. Unfortunately, a lot of debris falls into the ditch during this process. Sounds easy enough, but the time it takes to change implements and drive the length of the ditches at a mile an hour if you're speedy, takes most of the day. Next the blade is put on the tractor. This tilts and angles so that we can grab more of the tumble weeds that are hanging on and drooped into the ditches. During this process a mound of dirt builds up in the middle of the access road. There are still a lot of tumbleweeds that even survive this scraping. Again, it takes hours to go through all of the ditch edging. Finally (at least for us this weekend), the scraper goes back on and Donald goes into the ditch. He cuts any surviving tumbleweed trunks still rooted in the soil, and flips the entire plant up out of the ditch so that the scraper can scoop the stragglers up and take them away. This also re-levels the mound of dirt that has built up. That doesn't sound too bad, except for the 115 degree temperatures that we have to work in, because if it is during the cooler time of the day the mosquitoes are 20 times worse. And they are bad even mid-day, because their hiding places are being rustled and disturbed. Donald worked with a long-sleeved shirt and mosquito netting, and the ditch edges are now clear.
Unfortunately, we still have to manufacture a ditch bucket to scrap the ditches clear of the silt build-up and any remaining weeds that have rooted within. They have ditch cleaning machinery, but Donald has some ideas for a modified back hoe bucket that we will try. It is a rather delicate procedure to scrap the ditches, because the concrete is rather fragile in places. It can easily be cracked. Any cracks become more area for weed seeds to take root, and water to leak out from the ditch and not necessarily into our fields.
The third fields look fantastic. We even scraped the field edges just for good measure. We are hoping to irrigate by this weekend to keep the fields growing their best. We also received the analysis back from the lab for our hay this week. And gained another client.... the owner of the lab purchased hay this week too.
I will take the time to post the results with an explanation at another time. It is time for me to put on my taxi cab hat and pick Emma up from her first day at high school. This fall should prove to be rather tightly scheduled, especially until haying season is over.
At the edges of the concrete irrigation ditches, the tumble weed seeds are deposited and make use of any water leakage to get started. If you sat long enough, you could probably see them grow. The problem with them of course is that not only do they make things look unkept, but they become huge vegetative walls blocking access to the ditches. Eventually, the wind blows and they collapse into the ditches and drag at the top of the oncoming water. They catch debris in the water and create back ups that can overflow (that water new seeds to start their growth). In the meantime, another row has started to replace the now fallen wall, continuing the cycle. When it comes time to check the water levels or ports, you can't see through the tumbleweeds if left unchecked.
The other problem is the little seeds drop into the ditch and catch in the silt and begin growing within the ditch. Before you know it more silt has been built up around the weed and all kinds of weeds start growing in the ditch. With the growth of weeds in and around the ditches, the plants provide a hiding place for all kinds of creatures. The ground squirrels/gophers, lizards, rattlesnakes, snakes in general, and my least favorite, mosquitoes. The mosquitoes are blown through the air and hit the tumbleweed obstacles and hunker down and wait for me.
First we put the scraper on the tractor and scraped just to the outside of the ditch. Unfortunately, a lot of debris falls into the ditch during this process. Sounds easy enough, but the time it takes to change implements and drive the length of the ditches at a mile an hour if you're speedy, takes most of the day. Next the blade is put on the tractor. This tilts and angles so that we can grab more of the tumble weeds that are hanging on and drooped into the ditches. During this process a mound of dirt builds up in the middle of the access road. There are still a lot of tumbleweeds that even survive this scraping. Again, it takes hours to go through all of the ditch edging. Finally (at least for us this weekend), the scraper goes back on and Donald goes into the ditch. He cuts any surviving tumbleweed trunks still rooted in the soil, and flips the entire plant up out of the ditch so that the scraper can scoop the stragglers up and take them away. This also re-levels the mound of dirt that has built up. That doesn't sound too bad, except for the 115 degree temperatures that we have to work in, because if it is during the cooler time of the day the mosquitoes are 20 times worse. And they are bad even mid-day, because their hiding places are being rustled and disturbed. Donald worked with a long-sleeved shirt and mosquito netting, and the ditch edges are now clear.
Unfortunately, we still have to manufacture a ditch bucket to scrap the ditches clear of the silt build-up and any remaining weeds that have rooted within. They have ditch cleaning machinery, but Donald has some ideas for a modified back hoe bucket that we will try. It is a rather delicate procedure to scrap the ditches, because the concrete is rather fragile in places. It can easily be cracked. Any cracks become more area for weed seeds to take root, and water to leak out from the ditch and not necessarily into our fields.
The third fields look fantastic. We even scraped the field edges just for good measure. We are hoping to irrigate by this weekend to keep the fields growing their best. We also received the analysis back from the lab for our hay this week. And gained another client.... the owner of the lab purchased hay this week too.
I will take the time to post the results with an explanation at another time. It is time for me to put on my taxi cab hat and pick Emma up from her first day at high school. This fall should prove to be rather tightly scheduled, especially until haying season is over.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Monsoon Season
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)