Sunny and warming. Stan is hauling heifers off to summer camp this morning and the barn swallows are back. There was one sitting on a wire singing at breakfast time. Wonder what they sat on before electrical wires?

We had a calf this week that bled badly from its navel. Stan worked on it, got it stopped and treated it, tubed it with some fresh colostrum. When went out midday to sweep up feed, it was still alive. A little later he went out and it was stretched out dead. Sometimes you just can't save them.

Guess I'll get some seeds planted. It's a little late, but I still have 5 or 6 weeks before planting out time, so it should be fine.

Sorry about your calf Kathleen.

Poor baby. It's always sad to loose them. It must have had internal problems besides what was obvious.

The cow I mentioned a few days ago was able to get up soon after the calf was delivered. She was moving slow and carefully for a couple of days.

Our weather is finally feeling spring like, 78 yesterday, mid 70's today, and two nights above freezing. I've been weeding, cultivating and watering my garlic and onions, also cleaning flower beds. I think I am about 5% completed with that. I never get completely finished. My flower beds almost all connect so it is hard to find a place to stop. The lawn has been mowed twice, with the clippings going for mulch in the vegie garden.

The irrigation water is already in short supply. It isn't looking good.

It is sad to lose a calf. When I worked on my uncle's dairy farm, it seems we lost one or two every year. I have yet to lose one now that I have beef breeds. A lot has been done to produce "calving ease" bulls, and it seems to work.

A thunder storm came through and I never finished my post. (Yes, we got some rain!)

It does not sound as if your loss was caused by a calving problem; do you have any idea what started the bleeding? Was the cord torn too early/short?

It definitely wasn't calving difficulty - I think maybe Mary is right about the internal problems. Holsteins don't look delicate, but they do have issues. This was a first calf heifer, I think - maybe she just wasn't ready to put it all together.

warmer here, highs in the 60s and a little rain coming later and some tomorrow. I'll have the grandkids as it's a teacher inservice day. If it comes off nice for even part of the day, we are going to 'sort' the sticks and branches in the yard - some to keep for all those things that kids seem to need a good stick for, and some to burn. I'm hoping it works out as a slightly tricky way to get the yard cleaned up.

I have my springtime cough and wheeze going on. I have way too much to do for this to drag on too long.

Stan is going to buy a big round baler tomorrow. He told the salesman at the New Holland dealer down the road to keep the used one they got in last week and he'd be down with a check. I think there is some negotiating to be done as one price was quoted early and then another price was quoted when Stan said he'd take it. It will all be friendly. Still a lot of dithering on the cows here, maybe I'll have to work up some friendly negotiating of my own.

Is this the first round baler you've had? We lost our hay lease and don't do hay any more, but round baling does take a lot of the effort out of haying. I hope Stan gets a good price.

When I was a kid, (1950's) there was one guy making small round bales, not like the big ones we see today that weigh about 8-900 pounds, these might have weighed 1-200. He was sick one winter and his brother fed for him, and was so frustrated he said anybody who baled his hay in those round things should be castrated! These big ones do require some special equipment to handle, and I think they take up more storage space. My brother in law uses them. And he says there is much less to go wrong with a round baler. Kathleen, I am assuming yours will be chopped before feeding.

My uncle put up those little round bales. I thought they were a pain too, but they were supposed to take less storage space. Around here the round bales are huge: 1500lbs and are often stored in the field which means you lose a considerable amount to weathering.

We had an Allis-Chalmers little round baler when I was little. There was a hay catcher that would lift the bale up and over and onto a hay wagon with someone fast and strong (my dad) to stack them and take them to the barn where the hay cradle (aka the spider) put them up in the hay mow. We kids would straighten them into rows for the hay catcher to grab into them. Since then, it's been all square balers with automatic kickers. Stan has used the neighbors round balers before, so he has some experience in baling (and fixing). I'm assuming that he's going to be putting these up to sell, but then I'm not real caught up on his thinking processes lately, so who knows? I also think this means no haylage, but again...

Our nice day decided to rain earlier than predicted (surprise!) and it just feels chilly and damp. So much for my plans for tomorrow.

Bummer! I thought your stick sorting sounded most creative.

Teacher in-service here tomorrow too. I offered to keep the grands, but I have to work at Equity at 1 pm, so said Grampy can keep them occupied till I either get done and back here, or their dad gets off work and picks them up. Well............from the time the SU told DS that the kids could come here and the offer accepted, the neighbor we milk for sometimes called and wanted to know if the SU could go help him in the field tomorrow. His dad (90 years old) drives tractor and helps, but he had some pretty serious health issues a couple weeks ago, and at 90 he's not bouncing back like HE thinks he should. Hasn't been able to get out of his jammies yet, but he's thinking "maybe" he'll be able to help. Ummm.........Harold, I don't think so. LOL

So, the grands and I will go pick up some lunch fixings for Grampy and take them down to him sometime during the morning. Next-yard neighbor Peg said she would be home and the grands can go up there while I go to work. Their son, Jake has a good time with both Austin and Aleigh, so it will all be good. In fact, they stayed overnight there last night. Too funny.

I think Tuesday is when I start my teaching regime...........the guy that is starting milking and wants me to "teach" him. Heaven only knows how THIS will go.

So, the inservice day was a little glitchy, but worked out. We watched a show about finding wooly mammoth bones in the tundra in the moring and when the rain eased off, we went out and found some wooly mammoth bones in the back yard. But only after the six year old said, Grandma, you are going to work, I just know it! It's tough when the grands are as smart or smarter than you.

If I hadn't had the darned cold, it would have been a much better day, but I think I've turned the corner on that. We are in the midst of 70s and fair skies for the rest of the week. Ah, spring.

The morning milker started his new day job today, so Stan is it. Waiting to see how this goes...

Lucky Stan. LOL

Ok, we're done with April. Take over here The thread "May!" in Farming forum