farm life

Rooms are always a work in progress

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Annmarie’s laser cutter died so we got another one, this one is upgraded and will do circular items and will cut thicker material and can etch into metal directly. It has a water cooled laser. We did not really compare any measurements so when it arrived we realized it was significantly larger than her old one. I had to build a table top to go onto the top of the old TV stand we are using as the base. We also had an old Victrola cabinet in there for the 3D printer but they both would not fit. Gingerman and I made them fit but it was not pretty and did not pass the quality inspection later done by Annmarie. We agreed that a shelf for the 3D printer would take up less space and I had kept an old table leaf that I was able to cut into a shelf. I used the leftover wood from the table top to cut the other three shelves out. We may put shelves under the 3D printer but I will wait until Annmarie requests those. She will need to use the space for a while before those will be used. I may but a narrow one directly under the printer so she can put her filament rolls on it. I will need to use book ends or build some so that they don’t roll off.

I had to run ductwork along two walls to accommodate the fumes. I decided that cutting another hole in the wall to the outside and moving the exhaust fan and power was not going to work for me. I might have to do this three more times and I did not five holes in the wall. I was able to use some low profile dryer venting and keep it fairly close to the wall. I taped all the joints so the exhaust fumes stay inside the duct. This laser has a really good exhaust fan so between it and the one on the outside of the office the fumes will get moved right out and the longer path should not be much of an issue. There is a lot of push/pull action happening in regard to the exhaust.

My plants on the breeze porch are doing very well. When I got this plant it was six inches high. The only thing I seem to be having trouble with is starting the new African violets. I have always had trouble with it but this year I have not been successful. I ordered some root stimulator and hopefully that will solve my problems. I am starting to root new plants so I can get them ready for Christmas. I usually take at least 30 plants into work as presents for the ER staff. I have a couple of new plants so I wanted to offer a little more variety. I add a few plants every year to the collection. I have enough room for another six African violets and was hoping to fill it up this year. They tend to be fairly expensive when buying them at the store.

It shoulda worked

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Last week we did get a lot of stuff done. I was able to “mow” the front hillside with the animals. Normally one would think our new front fence would be sufficient, but it is not. Both the young Border Collie and Border Terrier can get past the fence, one jumps on top of it and drops just past the fence in the little spot before the rocks, the other just crawls through it. This meant we needed to get them locked up in the back garden area. They can run out into the orchard, lavender patch and back garden area. Chance, Border Collie, figured out how to jump through gate so we blocked that, then she learned to jump in the corner next to the post so she can jump on top of the gate, this requires a little scrambling but the upright post helps her stabilize. Once settled on top she just jumps down. Gingerman and I installed a cattle panel onto the top of the gate that raises it another two feet, she cannot jump it now.

Once that was done it was safe for the animals to come into the front hillside. I didn’t count on the cows liking it so much that they came in every day. It took about a week for everyone to knock it down sufficiently. Of course there were consequences, the cows broke a part of the plastic irrigation pipe that took me a few days to figure out. I could not figure out why there was a swamp in the making in one area and that same side was not getting watered. The dogs loved the swampy area, it’s cool and muddy.

We sold the last horned brown Dexter cow we owned. She was the nicest of the batch but compared to the black ones she was the craziest we had on the farm. She was very pregnant and a proven mother about six years old. We sold her for $1800. The price of cattle currently is crazy. We have of course cut the herd down dramatically last year. We will only have three cows for slaughter next year. We only have five female cows left. Our bull will come off the group at the end of the month. We will pull the rams off the sheep at the same time.

The fruit continues to come on at an unrelenting pace. Gingerman went up with me to pick yellow plums. Using the tractor as a platform is more efficient than a ladder. Plus, I get to steer and not pick fruit! We picked about 40# of plums and Annmarie made jam. We gave a large portion away and will just let the rest drop to the ground. The sheep will clean them all up.

Too much fruit

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Labor Day weekend was spent getting ready for the next thing whatever it is. Annmarie wants me to get the Dodge pickup cleaned out and the Ford diesel up and going. I bought two new batteries for the Ford and the Gingerman got them in and the pickup started. He has spent a few days tinkering with it and it is running pretty smooth. It just needs a couple of quarts of power steering fluid. Plus, he found a brand new tire weight on the ground so it will need to go back in and have the tires rebalanced. I was able to unload the sand out of the Dodge. I needed space to fit a piece of plywood and there wasn’t any with the sand still riding around in the truck bed. I needed to get the replacement throttle cable ordered for the compactor so that we can spread the sand out and pound it in place. I left the sand in the bags so that the cats would not use the gazebo as a personal toilet.

I was able to snag some shelves at a reasonable price and got them installed on the shop wall. I am going to move all my various anchor bolts into one section so I know what I have and can find it when needed. The left side is plumbing and air line brass parts they came with the organizer. Slowly but surely we are getting organized. It is much easier to find things when they are in their place.

I spent one single day doing nothing but picking fruit. I picked 24 cups of tame blackberries then about 8# of plums and then nectarines. The bad part about picking the fruit is when you pick that much you have to do something with it. Our large upright freezer is stuffed full of frozen fruit. I truly believe we have enough to get through the next year. Irregardless of that the fruit trees just keep producing. I have taken boxes of plums and nectarines to work for the produce table in an effort to give it away. So far it disappears fast enough that it doesn’t go bad. I kept track of how many blackberries I have picked in the last six weeks, 21.5 gallons! That is a personal best. Annmarie has made jam and syrup that we have canned. So we have canning supplies all over the house as we process fruit. Making your own food does take time.

Catch up weekend

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We keep trying to get ahead but it seems like the chores are winning. I am sure they are piling up faster than we can get them completed. My helper is busy and I have been doing a lot more general keep up so I have not made any movement on any project. We have been processing fruit nonstop. The tall upright freezer is full of six types of fruit. Annmarie has canned plum syrup and jam. We want to make apricot butter and maybe some pear butter also. We are still having to pick tame blackberries every four days and are getting at least 20 cups every time. I am waiting till the season is over to tally up the amount of blackberries that were harvested this year, it is a lot! We are still seeing a lot of bunny rabbits!

We are going to be moving our sheep back over to Hermiston the first week of October. They will be able to hang out for two months eating green grass and then come back just in time to start having lambs. We will take the lambs and cull ewes to sale as soon as they come off the green grass. They will have the most weight and best conditioning then. I have no idea what the sale price will be. I heard this week that feeder calves (500-600#) sold at the LaGrande auction for $4.25/# live weight! That is a crazy high price. We already have all seven of our yearlings sold for $4.25/# hanging weight and are going to stick with that price. Beef prices are going to leap up in the next 3-4 months.

We have started to process our nectarines. I did not think there were very many on the tree. There is probably 100#. I have been selectively picking them half a box at a time. Taking just the ripe ones off the tree. The golden plums are starting to come on and there is a solid 100-200# on the tree and the Italian plums have at least 100#. We have started to just pick fruit and take it into the hospital. There is a communal produce table where you can donate garden produce to other staff, free shopping. It is quite nice and most stuff disappears in 1-2 days so it does not go to waste.

I spent a day weed eating the yard and garden. The Gingerman helped me string wire up into the top gap in the side gate so the Border Collie could not jump through it. It seems to be working so we will be letting the sheep onto the front hillside to knock it down. It is starting to get out of control.

We did manage to get a single piece of oak plywood down on the saw horses and the saw rest assembled. I need to get a new blade for the skilsaw before I cut the cabinet pieces. I need to get that cabinet done.

I did take a couple of hours and cut all of the dead branches out of the nectarine tree. I will be cutting all of the fruit trees this winter. They need shortened, thinned and shaped. It cannot wait any longer.

I really need to get the sand and bricks installed in the gazebo but I have to repair the throttle cable on the compactor again. The thing vibrates and cuts the sheath. Once that is done the greenhouse is next. It is all a work in progress. The parts came this week to fix the little John Deere tractor so that will need to be done this weekend so I can dig out the barn.

On top of all of that and our daughter just had her first baby today and we are now grandparents. So we have been moving things around and setting up an area for the baby as the kids come down and see us almost every weekend. Both the baby and mother are doing well.

Within the next month I will need to hay again! I will be cutting a neighbor’s field that he was been watering since the first cutting. It is going to be a loaded fall season.

Cows for the revenge

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Sunday became the day the Gingerman and I would tag and band calves. I went out and started picking our tame blackberries. They are getting picked about every four days now and we just had a hot spell which they loved. Gingerman came out and helped me finish up, we picked two half flats full of blackberries. I have a running total of how many blackberries we have collected to date, when the season is over I will add it all up, it’s a lot!

The Gingerman had brought his four wheeler over and I took the tractor out to herd the cows into the barn lot. We locked the horse up with some food in the lamb shed so she would be content. If we keep her out she wants to help and in reality she is no help at all. We got the cows pushed down fairly easily. I did notice that the spring in field #3 is dried up. There is no water coming out of the ground in the middle of the field. There is a small spring in the corner that is still running but that one has always ran since we have been here. I did notice that the golden plum tree actually has plums! I checked them today and they have about another week before they are ready. We will give some seeds to the Gingerman and hopefully he can propagate some new trees from seed. The plum tree is probably at least 80 years old. The plums are quite sweet when they are ripe. Our Italian Plum tree has antoher 1-2 weeks before they are ready and there is at least another week on the nectarines. Those are the last of our fruit trees that will need to be harvested. We are quickly running out of freezer space for the fruit. We have an entire standup freezer stuffed full of fruit and there may be just enough room for the nectarines. We will need to take out the tomatoes and process them to make that open space.

We got the cows all pushed into the corral and after sorting off two cows I latched the gate loosely and one of the brown cows pushed it open. Now we had contaminated our keeper group and were going to have to run everyone back through the chute and sort them again. Right after that happened I looked up and the Gingerman was standing fairly awkward. One of the brown cows had bum rushed him and ran into his knee directly or kicked his sorting board and that clubbed him into his right knee. He limped for the rest of the cow fiasco and is currently laying down on the couch with his extremity elevated and an ice pack applied.

We ear tagged the girl first, it went fairly smoothly. The next one was the smaller boy calf. He did not cooperate. We managed to get him banded (both testicles were verified present) and tagged without getting any cow poop on us. I consider this a significant win. Unfortunately, we saved the largest calf for last.

On our way to the ground we both managed to get covered in cow poop. It went downhill from there. The calf had virtually no scrotum. There was only room for one testicle. So we had to just keep trying to get the band on and both testicles pushed through. It took about ten minutes to get both testicles contained.

I mowed weeds with the Kubota because the parts for the John Deere bucket have not arrived. I mowed until the tractor heated up then came back to the shop and cleaned out the dust and weed debris. I also killed all of the puncture vine that was growing in the driveway. I had already sprayed and killed one wave. All in all it was productive despite the weather.