Well, here we are on a snowy morning well past any predicted apocalypse and the cows still needed fed,and some of them needed milked and the birds still sing.

happy new year to you all!




we came from here:
The thread "December long cold nights short bright days" in Farming forum

Kathleen, how is your milker guy coming along? Will he continue to milk and care for the cows at your farm, or is he buying and moving?

The bed is sooooo comfy. Even "Kitty" deems it sleepable, as you can see.

SU went out to do his feeding and scraping so he can get in to watch the Rose Parade.

We had a very exciting night last night...........NOT!!! Went to New Year's Eve service at church........wow!!! A whole 12 people there. And probably because, like us, had nothing better to do. Nobody invites us anywhere anymore; guess we must be a real snore. Then after we got home, we had leftover lasagne and the leftover cranberry wine. Story of our lives. I went to bed with the iPad a little after 10 and read awhile. I guess my presence wasn't imperative for the New Year to arrive, eh? LOL

Anna, mine wasn't needed either. I went to sleep, got up and it was next year already.

We made it until almost 9.

I went out to get milk this morning and saw a flock of swans, which I have just learned would more correctly be called a wedge of swans. White on white against the snow clouds, they were calling a blessing in their fluty voices as they flew over the house and barn.

How absolutely cool!

And beautifully said.

Stan is out blowing snow. After the episode last week (he did some snow blowing without asking and met the wrath of one wife and two daughters), he asked his daughter the PA if it was alright and she told him to go slow and not to twist. He is going very slow for him. We had probably 4 inches of snow over the weekend. Tom, the big grandson, blew it out Saturday. He'd never done it before, but said it was quite enjoyable. He's a nut. Then he took the tree down for me and then he said he was going to get going, before we came up with anything else for him to do. He gave me a big hug and got another brownie on the way out. The little grandson is going to have hernia surgery this week and has been VERY huggy. He is always a hugger, but when he worries, you almost have to pry him off. I'm not complaining.

The sun is above the low cloud bank on the horizon and the pale crescent moon is at zenith. Guess I'd better get something done.

It sounds as if all is going well for you - nice to hear!

I'm off to do some rather major fence repair - after having taken a stray puppy to the vet to be spayed. She is a wild thing but plays well with our other dogs so, at least at the moment, is a keeper. The vet thinks she's mostly Border Collie. I'd like to post a picture to see what you think since that's your breed. Rain is predicted tomorrow, so I'd better get to work.

there was a Border Collie running down the road by us yesterday, not one of ours. Don't know where it was headed, but it seemed to be very directed. Probably following a horse and buggy.

Fence fixing is a long way off here, although we are looking at a January thaw this week. Not too thaw-y yet, about 25f at the moment.

Stan is out cleaning off the car. I should yelled at him, but it wouldn't do any good. I have a doc appt. in Erie this morning and he's going to ride along. We both need to get off the farm for a bit.

Supposed to get up into the mid 40's by the end of the week. Maybe some of that snow will melt, but it would take at least a week of that temp to get rid of most of it. We'll take what we can get.

Only 122 calves at Equity yesterday so I was done by about 3:30. Nothing on the docket "off farm" today so hopefully I can finish up the Dec. bookwork (only 2 weeks worth) and maybe get the final figures for the tax lady and send them off to her in Phoenix.

Looks to be sunny..............that always helps the mood.

Here is Hobo, the stray cat I brought home from a milking job last fall. He has his appointment at the vetspital next Tuesday to be made a "Gentleman" and we're going to see if he's housecat material. SU says he will probably fight, but i should go ahead and try. He's such a nice cat, and such a snuggler (to me, anyway) and I'd sure hate to see him get road-pizza'd when the weather gets nice again. I don't think he's very old, and I'm sure not started spraying, so I'm hoping things will go well. And as Red Skelton would have said "oh, you dreamer, you". LOL

Our possible Border Collie turns out to have already been spayed (?) Our road is a favorite dumping ground for unwanted pets (as well as other detritus), but she seems like such a nice puppy, I can't imagine her being a reject. Now if I can just get her to be still long enough, I'll get a picture...

The fence is not finished but it is raining at the moment so I'm waiting for a gap to continue. It is not cold so working in the rain (and mud) is actually an option - motivation, however, is lacking.

Speaking of bookwork, did you people just get a farm census to complete? I usually wouldn't know most of the expenses until tax time; rats, more stuff on the to-do list.

Nope, no farm census. Thank God for small favors. And I never really made an effort to be too precise. Figured it was really none of their business. They already have our tax returns, if you wanna know all that stuff, go look there. Bah!

I like your attitude!

Snowing here, 17 degrees, no wind yet today. We have about 9 inches of snow, most of it came yesterday and a little more last night. We had 2-3 inches left from a week or two ago. Will it keep doing this until March? The snowblower on the tractor does a nice job of clearing the driveway in 2 passes, and the rest of the area around buildings has been plowed and the snow pushed way back in case we do get a heavy snow year.

The big event for the day will be a trip to the feed store, grocery, miscellaneous errands and lunch in town. By then, if the snow keeps falling, hubby will need to get on the tractor again.

Nice kitty, Anna. I hope he is a good boy.

We got the farm census. I think in the 40 years we've been farming, we haven't gotten it maybe 4 times. They just like us, I guess. NYS does one every year, and we always get that, too, and all the extra little statistical inquiries. What fun.

Nice kitty, Anna. I miss cats, but our dogs are anti-cat and I'm not a good enough housekeeper to have indoor pets, especially with the allergies.

Stan is now signed up for cardiac rehab. I talked with the nurse and she said not to worry, she won't let him get away with doing too much, it will show up in the ekgs. It was funny, in retrospect, the look on his face when his daughter said, "What about OPEN HEART SURGERY don't you understand, Dad?"

I've gotten it several years in a row recently so perhaps I am becoming a favorite too.

It sounds as if Stan will get better in spite of himself!

Off to Equity after lunch today.

A milking job tomorrow; both milkings. the place with the nasty cows. LOL

Have you tried singing to them?

Not worth the effort. YOu'd think with as many different people that milk them, they would be able to deal with anything. Guess not. Mostly just bad manners.

- or cows with attitude. My cows are very picky about who handles them and suspicious of strangers. I by myself can get good cooperation; if there is a second person with me they are much more difficult. The horses, on the other hand, seem to be friendly with everyone, quite indiscriminant!