Ok, I haven't started a thread here since last December, it looks like. Pretty quiet here..........either there are no farmers, or the farmers are all still busy "farming".

The corn and soybean harvests are all pretty well finished in southern Wisconsin. Our renter came and got the 23 bred/springing heifers from our home farm a couple of weeks ago. We still have 12 at the other farm. I suppose he will bring us a few more for here at home, but the Spousal Unit doesn't want any animals at the other farm over winter.

There are lots of big round corn fodder bales in the fields that have been made for bedding.

The trees are leafless, but the temps have been so "un-November-like" this year. I mowed my yard 2 weeks ago for the last time. It's been in the 40's the last week, and supposed to be 50 tomorrow, with rain. MUCH better than snow. So, for the farmers, this has been a great year to get things done without the interruption of bad weather.

The SU has been cleaning out a fence row along a pasture for an upcoming "project". I think that will be done today; it's been going on for a couple of weeks. Our woodpile is getting bigger, but we no longer have a wood furnace. Time to look for some wood buyers again.

Since the fall was so nice we were able to take 2 RV excursions that we normally wouldn't have done because of cold weather. We went to Scott County Park down by Davenport, Iowa. Our friends Jack and Gail came with their RV and we had a great time bicycling the path in Davenport along the Mississippi River. They even got us to play our first game of disc golf...............frankly I think it's just a gussied up name for adult frisbee.

So, any other farmers out there any more??? Porkpal........you still kickin'?????

We had a relief milking job a couple of weeks ago, and another at the same farm last week. It's the guy with the double 8 milking parlor, so it wasn't too bad. Had calves to feed too, plus a fresh cow to milk, but with 2 of us it didn't take long. The SU didn't have to mix feed, so while I started milking, he cleaned the freestalls, then when he was done he came and helped me. The guy has 2 groups...........about 100 cows total. I've been using our milking income for the camping fees at the campgrounds. It's our "fun" money. And we DO have fun with the RV.

We too are having a warm fall after an unusually wet summer. The pastures grew so thick and fast that I couldn't keep them shredded. I felt like I spent my entire summer on a tractor. I just shredded the last of the mare pasture yesterday creeping along at the speed of a walking egret (the cattle egrets love it when they hear mowing and hurry to catch the bugs that get stirred up). This year they could stroll along in a leisurely manner as the shredder could not handle the thick, tall, juicy grass at any speed faster than second gear low range! I could have easily pastured an extra 75 cows this year and five years ago (the year it never rained) I was overstocked at half the usual herd.

Currently I am mainly occupied with racehorse re-hab: two with leg injuries and two with a neurological disease. It is yet to be determined whether any of them will be able to return to work. The chickens have been molting, so only my best customers are still getting eggs. I should have added some new pullets last spring but... And I planted the winter garden late so not much home-grown produce for Thanksgiving this year. Maybe next year I'll be organized and efficient - maybe.

I love reading about your farming activities, Anna and Porkpal. Both of my sets of grandparents had farms in Indiana. They were dairy farms. In the beginning they milked by hand, but in later years they all got set up to do it with machinery. I used to love hanging around.
We had cotton fields by us while I was growing up. Later on in NM we were next to chili fields. I love it all!

The closest I've gotten is growing a few herbs in the greenhouse to share with local restaurants. It seems like it might be a good niche market if someone could have a very large greenhouse and grow more unusual veggies and herbs.

Anna, we also love to RV but can't seem to get away enough. We go out on average only 2 or 3 times a year. It is fun and we love visiting new areas!

Karen, we NEVER intended to purchase an RV, especially not one of the monumental proportions that we did. As first-time RVers, we bought a 44 foot Cyclone toy hauler (so we can take the Harleys with us if we want). The old 20 year old farm truck wasn't gonna cut it, so we got a truck to pull it.

We have had it for 2 summers and it is a WONDERFUL get-away. People asked the Spousal Unit........."where are you going to park it??" He asked "what do you mean, park it?..........wherever I decide to stop is where I'm going to park it." I said "jeez, people, it has wheels for a reason.........."

We never could have done something like this while we were still actively milking and farming. This was so unlike anything we have ever done I know we shocked the socks off of everyone we knew. One friend asked me "I know this is none of my business, but I just HAVE to ask............did you 2 fall out of bed one day and hit your heads and decide to do this???" I told him "yup, pretty much the way it happened".

We try to go somewhere a couple of times a month during "non-winter" months. The plan is to go south for the winter...........probably Texas.........but it's just not possible for a couple of years yet. Maybe visit Porkpal???? What we would really like to do is find some part-time work wherever we'd "park it"...........I know I'd like some type of farm work. I'm not afraid of physical labor and I have no aversions to anything "dirty"............read animals and cleaning pens. We are both responsible and can "take charge" if needed.

It was kind of funny.........when I told my Mom that we had purchased this behemoth, plus a new truck, her reaction was NOT what I expected. She said "Oh, that sounds like fun............when can we go???" She had her jammies packed that night. This was in Feb of 2015. In June of that year I told the SU "can we go somewhere soon? I know we can't get away for a whole week (because he was helping a couple neighbors), and I know my Mom would LOVE to go RVing.........and I know that she couldn't handle a whole week anyway". So we settled on going to Door County, which was a 4 hour drive and we were only going to stay 4 nights. Mom grabbed her jammies and we had a wonderful time. I am SO glad we did it, because in August Mom suffered a brain aneuryism and died. I would have felt horrible if it would have been "just talk" and we never did it.

Anyway, here is our "farm diversion".................I have told people that in the beginning I was almost ashamed of telling people how big it was, but "have pretty much gotten over that by now"............

Edited to add.................after I looked at the pix after clicked "send" I figured I better clarify that the truck in the first pic is NOT ours........it belongs to our son. He, his GF and our grands came on that particular trip, hence all the bicycles, but you can see the Harleys under the front of the RV.

Love it! I just wouldn't want to pull it! Ours is smaller and hard enough to pull around in unknown areas. You'd need pull through spaces for sure. Backing it would not be fun. That is so good that your mother got to enjoy the trip.

Oh..............we've had "back in" spaces and the SU does great. It's not like he never backed anything up before we got this. LOL Just have to "vet" your campgrounds first and be sure they can accomodate our size. I haven't driven the whole outfit yet. I might at some point, but the SU tends to be a bit........ummmm.................well, you know...............

I think he should give you a lesson! I always want to know how to do everything....'just in case'. That's great that he can back it with ease. I know I couldn't!

I know I "can"............right now I just choose "not to" because I don't need incessant carping about what I am doing wrong. If he was incapacitated I would/could do it. Right now I'll just sit back and let him be in charge.

Anna, how fun! Love your side deck. We are in the process of selling our 8' slide-in truck camper which we've had for almost 10 years and are considering a small Class C, 5th wheel, or a bumper-pull trailer. Can't decide which, so looking at them all. Yikes, though, 44' is HUGE! Several years back (when both of us were still working) we took my Dad's 24' 5th wheel on a road trip but found it just too big at the time, and we subsequently sold it. I now wish we still had it - would have been the perfect size. Funny how things change.

When we were looking at them, we went through a few and then the SU said "you know, I think the question here is............could we LIVE in this for 3 or 4 months without killing each other". The answer to all of them that we had seen to that point was an emphatic NO...........The Cyclone has enough room where we can each get away from the other if need be. There is a door between the bedroom and living room, and one between the living room and "garage" (where there are 2 queen sized "Happy Jack" beds.)

Know the feeling well. In our truck camper only one guy can move at a time. But as Gary continuously tells me, 'We're in the bed of a pickup...' Needless to say, we spend most of our camping time outside! I'd like something in the 20-24' range, with a slide for a bit more breathing space. Strangely, many seem to forego an oven (!) but they all have microwaves. Seems so backward to me. I'm slowly getting my punch list down tho.

Deb. the small ones that do have ovens aren't worth much. Our oven is too small to hold more than a tiny pan. No turkey or anything large. Even a 9x13 pan won't fit in ours. We normally just use the stove and microwave, or the outside grill.

Our camper stove is tiny also, but I've just bought small pans to fit. Can't imagine being without one. On our 2-month winter trip last year, we only ate out a handful of times. I have no use for a microwave (except perhaps as a good spot to store bread). I'd love an outdoor grill, but thus far we've not had room for one.

Ours came with a grill called an "RV-Que". It stores under a bench, and has hooks on the outside of the trailer to hook it on, and has gas fittings right on the trailer for it. Pretty handy!

I had to laugh, Deb. My mom only used her microwave to store her bread! We can't live without one. We heat water, and leftovers all the time, and actually use it for some cooking.

My oven will actually hold a 9x13 pan, but not any room to spare in there. LOL I use my microwave lots. I do put the bread/buns in there while traveling.

Karen, I'll have to keep my eye out for the RV-Que for our next rig, whatever that turns out to be. Sounds lovely. I have seen that the newer RVs have combo convection/microwaves, which seems like a better use of space to me -- except both require electricity and we usually dry camp. I also think the newer generators are much less obtrusive (noisy) than older models.

I would love to find a quiet generator. We can't stand the noise. I can't even stand the noise of the AC. We often dry camp too.

Our A/C is noisy, but i just ignore it. Better than sweating to death.