Sunshine and scours, some good and some bad, helped start the work week around the rock pile. We enjoyed a really calm and nice Sunday, checked everything early and found no problems, went to church and rested the rest of the day. Then this morning I found two calves scouring pretty bad. I believe it is due to too much milk, and yet they are old enough to take a bunch of that and be fine. I got them caught and dosed them with scour medicine and prayed!
Old Dog pays for his keep when I need him. He helped me catch the calves and does it in a quiet and calm manner. We walked them into the little corner panel pen and the old cows basically ignored us. I am a believer in throwing up a pen in the corner of the pasture for just such a need. We take it down as soon as the calves get too heavy to handle without a chute.
The turtles are thick as fleas on a dog's back in the pond by the barn. I don't remember ever seeing so many on one log. I'd bet, if I were a betting man, that the fish in that pond are mighty few now, and I do not intend to restock it until we reduce the turtle population. Also saw an old blue heron there eating all the frogs. What to do about all the vermin is a good question.
To add to the headaches of dealing with vermin, the coons are loving the feed we have in the grain bin in the barn. Today, I will try to coon proof it with the hail proof wire. The offspring will have to help and we will certainly surround the entire bin. The fat old coons not only eat it; they mess it up pretty bad. I wish the fellers that hunted coon were still young and had the yen to do it around here. We are blessed with a multitude of possum and skunks, and the coons are about to take over.
Jake Summers came by late yesterday to ask for extra riders to get his cattle caught for spring work. He buys all his cows at sale barns and none of them are easy to deal with. They are in the third trimester when he buys them and calve out, so he makes some money and then sells as pairs when the calves weigh around 250 pounds. I don't know what kind of meds or work he intends to do, but I will be there to help. Jake has a good place and, when we finally get the old hides caught, it is not a hard job. But, sometimes the first thing is the toughest!
I am so tired of eating rabbit food again! My close relative has been on a salad kick and she drains all the flavor off the scant little meat she adds to the salads. I try to smile and agree that the food is healthy, but you know how hard it is for me to be decent when served weeds three times a week. I suspect it will stop when she loses the two pounds she gained during the winter!
It is my opinion, and everyone has one, the lack of hay in barns around here has brought on a hay-cutting frenzy. We haven't been able to start yet, but the fellers at the coffee emporium are full of talk about it. Seems all the equipment is oiled, sharpened, greased and fueled. The long spell of cold weather nearly did us all in. The cost of good big bales was so high that some fellers visited my banker for funds. So, watch for machines on the roads, be prepared for the roar of motors and worn out fellers. It is coming!
Bill is the pen name of the Gravette area author of this weekly column. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 05/16/2018