farm life

Fencing again

Steve HardinLeave a comment

The weekend was another one of those catch up ones. We ended up doing the things that had been put off but still needed to be done for various reasons. These weekends don’t feel as productive to me but they have to be done.

The Apprentice came out early Saturday and we prepped for fencing. This meant greasing the John Deere. This was a job I thought she might know how to do. The Apprentice assured me she had driven a large tractor before, a huge tractor. Yes, she had driven it but had not ever greased the fittings before. We ended up with grease on some things that were not fittings, but together we managed to get it done. We ended up laying out T posts and wooden stays all round field #1. We ran out of wooden stays! So I ended up splitting some of our own from the old cedar posts I had kept on the farm. I was able to get three stays from every post. I ended up breaking two shingle hammers doing it. I need to use the hand axe instead to get a weightier hit when splitting the post. I think I have enough posts left to split at least another 100 stays. After that I will have to buy some more. I always forget that the prep work for the fence is about half the install time. It takes a lot of time to measure and toss out all of the needed items. Doing this makes the fence go up a lot faster when the actual build begins. We even drove in some T posts by hand. This was not a job that the Apprentice does well. But she killed it when it came time to digging out the barn. Different muscles were used in each action. The post pounding muscles need a lot more work.

We spent most of Sunday out in the orchard. We had to pick the nectarines but they were not quite ripe. There was a huge storm coming into California and was supposed to bring potential flood levels of rain. The branches were already breaking on the nectarine tree so I figured it would be prudent to pick them now before the rain and storm ruined them. We tossed all of the tiny ones and any that had been eaten by earwigs over the fence for the cows and sheep to eat. We tossed out a lot of fruit and still ended up taking about 60# into the house and spreading it all over the dining room table to ripen over the next 1-2 weeks. I filled the entire table and was glad we fed the marginal stuff to the animals.

I even ended up going over to our Italian plum tree and tossing about 20# of fruit from the lower part of the tree over to the animals also. The branches were bending under the weight of all of the fruit. The pastures are getting pretty dry, we are a desert climate so I opened up the orchard for the cows and sheep after the Apprentice and I moved T posts and fencing wrap around all of the trees and raised it up back to it’s original high level. The cows still came in and reached up and ate all of the leaves, fruit and small branches they could reach. This has raised the branch level up significantly on all of the trees. There are still more Italian plums than we can safely eat left on the tree. This does not include the little yellow plums up in field #4 that should be ripe around the same time. The Asian pears are still not ripe yet and the fruit is very small this year. I will probably need to thin them harder next year to get a bigger pear.

The last half of Sunday was spent pounding posts into the ground. We even hooked up the post hole auger and switched out the 12” auger for the 6” auger. It was supposed to rain and I figured if I could get the 6” hole completed then the 12” auger should just follow the hole and tear it up. It just sits on the top of the dirt when it is super dry so following a hole should make it easy. We also put on the Texas T-post driving tool and filled the tractor bucket with gravel and 150# of steel tractor weights. We did manage to get some of the T-posts pounded in with the tractor. We also bent several of the posts in an attempt to use the tractor to pound them in. The heavier T posts make using the tractor doable.

Alpaca are sheared!

Steve HardinLeave a comment

I was able to finally catch up with a new helper, The Apprentice. They messaged me this morning and stated they could come out later in the day. This gave me enough time to work on some inside chores and do some laundry. I like to write blog entries on Sunday morning. I made breakfast shit on a shingle as there was extra time. It turned out very nice, I sent a picture to the child as she was not here for breakfast.

Once The Apprentice messaged me I headed out to get ready. The third manure spreader needed to be unloaded so I picked it off of the trailer with the tractor and put it next to the other two. We flipped gates and got everything ready to push the alpaca up toward the barn. We walked down and I fed apple slices to the three Musketeers and Snoop on the way to the barn and The Apprentice walked behind them encouraging them to follow. Once we got them into the barn lot we snagged one and let the games begin. They are so painful to shear. I had to use two blades for each alpaca. I really needed three blades. I think if we had done them earlier in the year there would not have been as much grit, dirt and rocks at the base of the hair. This would have made the blades last longer.

At one point on the last alpaca as I am trying to milk the second to last blade I stopped cutting any hair. Yet I still managed to slice out a divot of skin from my left thumb tip about 3/32” deep. It bled a lot. The Apprentice told me to just pore some of the powder dust for the alpaca toes onto my wound. It’s some kind of styptic powder designed to stop the bleed. I did it and it burns! The blood kept breaking through so I had to go find a first aid kit, a nonstick cotton pad and a roll of tape to get the bleeding stopped. I then forced my left hand into a leather glove to hold it all together. This worked very well for controlling the bleeding. I managed to barely get the last alpaca sheared. I had to use an old blade to get the final hair cut off.

We then went out to check on the red plums in the orchard, they were overripe and had fallen off the tree. I tossed them over the fence to the sheep. The Italian plums are just starting to turn colors so I give them 1-3 weeks still. The nectarines were all red and fairly big but still very hard. I think they need another 1-2 weeks. We tossed apples over the fence to the sheep and the Asian Pear has another 1-2 weeks. I will need to pay better attention to the orchard for the next 3 weeks. We swung by the garden and picked 3 pints of blackberries. Annmarie will now have fresh fruit for breakfast.

We then went out to the barn to discuss how to dig it out with the tractor. I had forgotten how hard it is to drive the little tractor in and out of the barn. After walking The Apprentice through the process I decided that they could dig out the edges of the barn and hand dig the momma baby area. The tractor can be used to move the debris once it is tossed outside the barn. They will be out in the morning to give it a whack. We will see.

When I came inside and took the bandage off of my injured finger it was black from the weird styptic powder. After a shower the edges of the wound are black. I think I chemically cauterized the wounds with the styptic powder. It never started bleeding again even after I held it under the shower for 10 minutes. Now I will have to wear a weird bandaid until it heals.

Mowing lawn

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It’s hot in Eastern Oregon, this means everything that doesn’t have water on it all the time is dead, brown and ready to burn. Due to the coyote problem we are now feeding the sheep last years hay in the ram pasture so they cannot get out to be coyote food. We have been watering our front hillside to get the clover well established. It is loving the heat and the water. I decided it was time to let the sheep into the yard. Now after the earlier fiasco this summer with the puppy jumping the back yard fence to get in with the sheep we cannot use the back yard fence as containment anymore. So we are resigned to using the two overhead runs we have in the front yard. The runs work well but the dogs are used to tearing up the front yard and running all over usually. They don’t like the runs. Unfortunately, the sheep getting chased all over the front lawn is a bigger problem so the dogs get some run time.

The screwy part of this is that the puppy, Chance, has been doing great on the 30’ lead when working the animals. She listens, she stops, she goes left/right, rarely do you have to use the lead to stop her. She is just over 1 year old but doing very well. This lulled me into complacency. Friday I put both dogs in the back yard, opened the gate with them both laying down and then took chance by the collar while Mouse stayed down at the open gate. After Chance was on the run, I got Mouse, no problems. The sheep got to stay in all day and at dinner time I ran them out of the yard. They wanted back in at one point for an evening snack but I told them they would have to wait until the next day.

Saturday, I was feeling pretty confident. I let the sheep into the front yard and got the dogs into the back yard again. I opened the gate, both dogs were in a down position and I took Mouse first this time. I was almost to the run, 6 seconds, before Chance broke and took off after the sheep. Fifty sheep tearing up the yard is rough on standing structures, two sheep almost knocked themselves out by hitting the upright grape posts, one sheep slid across the bridge and pushed out the paneling to fall off the bridge, two smashed into the already sheep broken outside lamp. I could not call the puppy off. I was standing in front of the sheep trying to get her attention when she singled one out. She just kept after it. I finally tossed a very large branch at her along with an impressive amount of vocal discouragement. I missed her but the combination got her attention and she ran off to an empty hillside. Annmarie had heard me “discussing” the sheep issue with the dog and hollered out for her to lay down, she did. I calmed down and was able to tell her to stay and walked over to her and got her collar and walked her to the run. The hardest part is to praise her for listening. The sheep got to finish eating in peace. Last night I again used the lead and she pushed them out of the yard without incident.

Sunday morning I again let sheep into the yard and put the dogs on the run. I used a leash and took Chance first! Mouse tried to rush past me when I wasn’t looking but he will drop at command as long as he is not locked in on an animal. I got him on the run. Now here is the weird part if we leave the dogs loose they will harass the sheep incessantly. But if we put them on the run I cannot count on the dogs to keep the sheep away from my plants! The dogs will lay down, hold still and allow the sheep to come in and eat the yard around them. The dogs are not even suckering them in close. They will just lay there and let the sheep eat. It is so weird!! The puppy is on the right side of the picture and our older dog is on the far left side. Neither one is reaching for or harassing the sheep. The dogs obviously got the instructions for the leads memorized. I think, they think, they are still on a lead and are following our instructions.

Annmarie got our upstairs bathroom panels covered with cloth. She just needs to run a ribbon around the edges. We needed stronger magnets if we were going to run the fabric over the edges and over the magnets. She tried and it did not work. It looks good and the fabric was a gift from a friend who is no longer. We can look at it and remember her every day.

Barn dig out happening

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I happened to have Tuesday off this week so I spent it fencing! I need to dig some fence post holes but the dead of summer is the wrong time for this to happen. I pulled on the broken railroad tie and fenced over the gate opening. I drove in T posts on either side of the railroad tie and wired it to them. Then I was able to drive in three T posts over the opening. I stretched out fence and tightened it all down. I am now about half way down the fence alongside the wheat field. I am going to continue the fence repair along the road next. This means I will only need to install one new section of fence along the creek side. I need the animals to get into field #1 to eat, half the field is still green due to subterranean water. I need about three days with a helper to get this done. Alone takes about 125% more time. Some things just take longer alone.

Thursday, Mr Flow came out for a couple of hours and dug out the chicken coop. I went and bought more wood pellets to put in there. I use the deep litter method and only dig it out once a year. The wood pellets work great to absorb moisture and keep the smell down. I get the cheapest kind they have, made here in Reith.

The plan on Friday was for him to come out and help me shear the last three alpaca. Nope, he got sick and called off around starting time. I cannot shear the alpaca alone, it takes at least two people and when they are not cooperating that is a hard two. I decided that I might as well start in on digging out the barn as it needed to be done also. It took a couple of hours to tear apart all of the panels and drag them outside. I have to leave one section as it is permanently attached to the wall. The sheep kept jumping over two gates so I created permanent panels to stop that and they cannot be removed.

I managed to get the manure forks installed on the John Deere tractor bucket and started digging out the barn. The tractor is small enough to get in and out of the barn. After two days of digging it out I am about 60% completed and I have only been at it about 7 hours so far. Yesterday, the tractor overtemp light came on. I ended up having to blow down the entire tractor, clean out the radiator and I even took out the air filter and cleaned it out. The tractor has two air filters, one inside the other and the inner was clean. Once I had it all cleaned out and filled with fuel I was able to go right back to digging out the barn. I have it dug out far enough I have to use the pitchfork and shovel out the edges and near the feeders. I just toss it into the middle and scoop it up with the tractor. For some reason I did not use a hat, just a do rag on my head and by that evening I had a lot of sun on my face! The horse has been bugging me while I am doing this so I took the time to give her a total brush down and brushed out her mane and tail. She just stands there and lets me do it.

Annmarie sent me a link from someone who wants to work before going to college. So far, in two days I have not been able to connect or get a commitment. I am hopeful I can as I would like them to help me with the alpaca. I am hopeful they will reach out on Sunday. She also sent me some information on old equipment for sale, yard ornament type. The exact same manure spreader that I already have two of was for sale! I called and got the third one! I will now have enough parts to get one going for sure. I had to back the trailer up to it, toss down the ramps and come a long it into the back of the trailer. It took about 30 minutes to get it onto the trailer. I will pick it off with the tractor forks. It will be a lot easier that way! She had an old 10’ hay rake but honestly it makes the piles too big for my baler and I am looking at putting less money into the farm not more.

One of the staff at the hospital had asked if her son’s could come out and shoot at the coyotes. I totally agreed to that. They have been out several times in the last week without coyote success. They are working on the pigeon problem. We had none this spring and now have about ten. They multiply rapidly if not kept in check. We are starting to have problems with ring neck doves again also. They are pushing out the native doves. One of the boys, now called Mr Hornet Tamer, has been walking all over the property scouting coyotes. He has found their crossing points and two old dens so far. Unfortunately for him, he also found the hornets living in one of the gates. The gates are metal tubes and the hornets love building nests in them. I usually pay attention and just open the gate quickly. He got popped several times and then called his mom to tell her he was going to the ER. She made him drive back out to me while I was building fence. Nah, he just needed some Benadryl. He slept most of the next day I am told. He did come out later in the week!

Predators 8/ Farm 1

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Friday I went up to field #3 first thing in the morning to attempt to call the coyote in. I am using the new electronic call I got this week. I hung out for about an hour and did not see a single coyote. The quail did not see me as I was hiding behind the cattle feeder. The sheep ran by without seeing me either, yet no coyote showed up. I went down and picked wild blackberries for a little over an hour. I filled all my containers I had brought. I only picked two patches and skipped another three. It was starting to warm up and the hornets like the berries when it gets warm. I went inside and washed them all off and then repacked them into individual bags and froze them. I ended up with 25 snack size bags full. Annmarie uses a single frozen bag every morning in her breakfast smoothie. I try and collect them for her and I will need to collect more in 2 and 4 cup quantities so we can make pie and cobbler throughout the year.

I got all the tools together to go up and work on the fence surrounding field #1. It is a green seven acre field that the sheep and cows need to get into so they can eat for a few more weeks. I had the tractor bucket full of tools and wire and stays to drive up there. Of course I did not take a rifle, there is no place to put it on the tractor, I would have to hold it the entire time. Of course I saw two coyotes running out of field #3 and a dead lamb in the field. They had just killed it and it was almost noon! I dumped off the supplies and went back to the house to get the rifle and call. I spent another three hours trying to call them back and had no luck. We have now decided to lock the sheep into the barn lot and feed them last years hay from the machine shed.

This is honestly a stupid problem. This weekend alone I have spent about 6 hours trying to spot coyotes. Each sheep lost is $100 down the drain. I will keep going out every day until I can kill them. The next evening when I walked up to the find the carcass and hopefully catch someone snacking I had to walk around looking for the carcass. The only thing left after 24 hours was a hide and a spine with a few ribs attached. Nothing else! I of course did not see a coyote.

Sunday I went out to get Annmarie some blackberries for her breakfast, as I froze all the others I had picked. I went out and checked on our thornless berries in the garden. I had to come back inside three times to get more containers. The berries are huge compared to the wild ones. I left some fresh ones for Annmarie and froze another 16 bags. I will need to pick berries again in about four days. I had plans to go up and look for coyotes again but ended up cleaning house instead. Sarah said she would help me shear alpaca after she got done at church. My helpers are gone again for a couple of weeks. So we need to get the alpaca done.

When she got home we rounded up the alpaca and ended up shearing four more in about three hours. The only ones left are the three babies. One of them had crawled down into the ditch and was covered in water so he would not have been easy to shear. We are planning on shearing the rest on Tuesday or Thursday this week to get them all done. Annmarie has been washing the alpaca and is on her second saddle. It is amazingly cleaner when she is done.

My priority now is the fence around field #1, coyotes and finishing the freezer room. I want to store the cleaned and ready to be cleaned alpaca fiber in the freezer room. This will get it out of the house and into one spot. I just have one piece of OSB to install on the wall and it will be ready. Okay, I need to wire five outlets also but that will only take an hour. I can wire the light later. I am pretty sure I stole power from the next room for the overhead light. Basically, I need to get some more stuff done on the old house but it will have to wait until this winter.