Not Like Planned

Joe, Emily and Keiran headed out Sunday to hike 100 miles of the AT trail through Shenandoah National Park.  

Things seemed to be off to a good start.  

Joe's pack weighted 25-30 pounds.  Emily messaged me Monday that she didn't think Joe was going to make it.  

Tuesday Joe called me and sounded like things were fine.  He had slept better and liked hiking in shorts instead of long pants.  

Wednesday, he called it quits.  

After 40 miles he wondered what he was even trying to do.  He was just walking in a green tunnel all day and not sleeping well at night.  He said it was torcher.  He came around to my way of thinking that it was a "forced march".  I drove 4 1/2 hours to go pick him up.  He was very disappointed to have not finished.  I think if I had gone, it may have made things a little better for him.  Maybe we will try some shorter destination type hikes in the future.  

Meanwhile, Emily and Keiran have continued on.  Emily has been taking some great pictures.  

We plan to go pick them up on Monday.  

 

Good and Bad

We had a calf that had not been doing well for a couple of days.  This morning, we spent over and hour in the rain looking for it, then another hour trying to get it to the barn.  We ended up having to haul it in the tractor loader.

I thought we were just going to run down and give it an antibiotic shot so I didn't even wear a raincoat.  Once Joe roped it and we examined him, we saw that it was theileria from the ticks.  So the plan changed to get him to the barn with the cow and do a blood transfusion.  

But it was also Camp Mimi day with Sadie and Allie.  I finally got the transfusion done but it was very complicated.   Back at the house, Allie had to have a change of clothes and I had to have my third change.  Sadie just took her clothes off and didn't want to put anything back on.  I was at least able to convince her to put on a tee shirt.  

After a late lunch, I pulled out a game from my youth,  Hands Down.  The "slam-o-matic" was a big hit.  

Then we played a game of Lego, Race to Build It.  Sadie wanted to play a second time but Allie just wanted to play with the blocks.  I ended up taking Sadie to the TV room for another surprise game.  Allie didn't last long by herself with the Legos, and she joined us.  

We spent the rest of a rainy day (almost 2 inches) playing Wii Fit.  

They had a ball.  But there was lots of reminders about how to take turns.  We sent them home after supper and probably ready for bed.

Joe and I then went back to the barn to check the calf.  It died while I was giving it more IV fluids. It was a rough day. 

 

Mooving

Just a few more days before Joe leaves out with Emily and Keiran for their epic hike.  The Long Trail got changed to the Shenandoah portion of the AT trail.  Much shorter, easier hiking and closer to home.  All good choices for Joe's first outing.  Meanwhile, I have been shadowing him more since I will have to take care of things while he is gone.  

We moved the cattle at Julian's to a field with more grass.  

I always think moving cattle is very picturesque.  

Then we moved the replacement heifers to a different field and moved the cow/calf pairs back here from across the creek.  

Then we got ready for hay to be moved.   That is Joe up there in the tractor bucket with a chainsaw.  Isn't that how you are suppose to trim limbs?  Tree limbs that is.  None of Joe's limbs got trimmed in the process.  

We buy all of our hay and it is hauled in on a big flatbed truck.  Trimming the branches and covering root and rocks helps out the hauler.  

And the goats enjoyed the trimmings. 

Last Revision (Maybe)

You may remember me making a birdbath HERE.  It went through many revisions as multiple parts broke.  The last straw was when we had a new roof put on last December.  The roofing crew backed over it and shattered the white glass lamp base.  Today I decided to try to resurrect it.  

It is not as elegant as before, but maybe it will be more durable. 

I used the same hubcap and weighted base that I constructed before.  I used some old lamp and ceiling fan parts, a doorknob, 

and an insulated plastic cup from Dollar General that I got for a penny a couple of years ago.  I don't know what I was saving it for, this I guess.  

To top it off, I used a bubble glass light shade that I got from the Big Bens Dealz Store on $1 day. 

                                          
 I think it turned out good enough.  Now  I need to dig down and bury the base a little bit for more stability and to make it look more balanced.  

Camp Mimi

Yesterday Mike brought Sadie and Allie over early. I thought it would be great to ride Clyde in the morning before it got too hot. I talked them out of playing dress up and we headed to the barn. 

Allie is very proud of herself that she can walk across the cattle guard without any help now. 

We had to make a stop at Golden Boy (not his real name) for some comments on how cute he is. 

Draper and GB followed us into the barn so he got some brushing also.  I love how calm he is so far. 

After rock, paper, scissors Sadie got to ride first. She did a lot of trotting. She is holding on less than not now while posting. (Sorry, no pictures, it talks all my effort to keep Clyde trotting). Allie might have lost the going first game, but Joe entertained her with scooping poop. When it was her turn she even let Sadie lead her around. 

Then she wanted to ride all by herself. She did great but still no trotting.  After that, they doubled up and I lead them 1/2 a mile down to the mail box and back. I think we managed 2 hours with Clyde. 

After that, I took them to town for some errands and stopped at Wendy’s for a late lunch.  Then back home for naps before Virginia camp to pick them up. Another fun day a Camp  Mimi. 
 

All Night Long

We weaned our fall calving cows yesterday.

It was pretty uneventful but a long process.

After sorting off the cows, we loaded up the calves, 

15 at a time. 

It took 4 trips to haul them all to the house. 

Then we got to listen to this, all night long. 

 

Halter Breaking

Golden Boy (not his real name) is a month old now.  It is time to start formal training. 

I have been having to handle him a lot already in order to pull ticks off.  There is no good chemical tick control option for a foal under 3 months old.  In a couple of more weeks, I can give him an ivermectin dewormer that might help some.  But until then, it is a matter of rubbing him with fly spray and pulling off the ticks.  

The tick bites are very itchy.  You can see all the rubbing he has been doing. 

He has been doing great with letting me put the halter on and take it back off.  I have started adding some pressure to turn him side to side.  He seems to be a quick learner.  His reward is getting his tick bites scratched.