Here we go, a new thread for a new month. We had rain overnight and are in a green fog this morning. Leaves are popping out and the grass is growing. Stan has the heifers out for the summer, and the cows will go out soon - they beller all day, jealous girls.

We have one little heifer who will go down in the old orchard who is scared of every thing. She jumps at her shadow, won't get closer than 6 feet away from any of the other heifers, although she'd been tied next to them all winter, is afraid of the rain, the fence( but will scoot under it if she is more frightened of something else), heaven help us if she meets a frog or toad!

I moved a bunch of alocasia and colocasia out of the g'house yesterday. Not far, in case I need to move them back in, but temps are sposed to be in the 50's at night, plus rain a couple days. They will like that.

Had a chore job Sunday night..............place is a nightmare. I didn't have to milk; just feed calves (another nightmare) and I helped the guy milking switch cows. Well, I milked a few while he dealt with the bucket cow in the pen. Told the SU that if he called me to actually DO the milking, I would probably tell him no as his barn has too much of the pipeline that is waaaay too tall for me to plug in the milk inlets, and no cement curb for me to stand on to get them in. Not fun being vertically challenged.

I hear you! Stan is 6'4", I'm 5'2" we've always had a bit of an issue with things arranged on the high side.

It is interesting to hear about the arrival of spring in other parts of the country. Our growing season started about a month early - a good thing after last summer's "non-growing" season. It has been consistently in the upper 80s for a couple of weeks now and I have shredded nearly all the pastures and paddocks - some more than once - and am now clearing weeds from fence lines.

Kathleen, if that heifer stays in your herd she ought to be a real joy to milk!

Anna I used to help out on a farm owned by tall people and they had built everything themselves so that even things like kitchen counter tops and work benches were about chin high for me, and forget about reaching the cabinets or shelves above!

With any luck, we will have sold the herd before she comes up. Stan is talking that he won't be milking after next year. A girl can dream...

- And he has said that how many times before?

Actually, he's always said he didn't plan on milking after he turned 62. His back peddling consist of saying that that didn't mean it was going to happen on his birthday!

Well,Kathleen, let me be the first to tell you that the life after cows is WONDERFUL!!!!!!

My vet that used to do our herd check just called me and wanted to know if I was interested in a part-time job doing health papers at the sale barn. I told him possibly in the fall, but no way now. My summer is full.

I've heard that from many farmers who got out - most of them actually stayed out...

Stan wants to put the cows out, but we're in a scattered thundershowers and just plain showers area until Friday, so he'll probably wait. He's got some other stuff to do to keep him busy. I'm going to the chiropractor and then a friend and I are going to cruise the nurseries. SIL is up from KY and will be here for lunch and then another friend and I will take our cameras back to the woods - if it isn't raining.

When people asked my uncle what he was going to do when he retired from dairying he replied, "I'm going to get a rocking chair and sit out on the porch - after a while I may even start to rock a little."

Kathleen, I hope you take some great pictures - for us.

My SU says when people ask "what do you do now that you're *retired*?? (Frankly, we are NOT retired, just a different job life, as he still seems to come in with bovine excrement, grease, and dirt on his person and clothes..........). His reply is "I have come to realize that I do not need to be doing something ALL THE TIME". I say "He has become quite adept at putzing".

Just helped a heifer deliver a big beautiful heifer calf. Hey, I still know how to do a few things. Stan is, of course, gone, but Blaze let me know I was needed, him and the horrendous cow moans. There is no other sound like a cow giving birth that I can think of at the moment. I'm just glad there were no complications - it had it's little blue nose out when I got there so it was mostly just helping her ease it out and then dragging it up to her. She was standing up by the time I got the calf to her and had cleaned - good work little first time momma!

We are looking at the possibility of 80F today - I'd be happier with 75, but at least they aren't talking any frost for the foreseeable future. The walk in the woods yesterday was lovely. There weren't even too many bugs. I got some pictures, but haven't gotten them in the computer yet. I'll post a few when I do.

Stan put the cows out for the first time yesterday afternoon and there was the traditional old bossie thinking she's a calf romping about. Two of them went at each other in a more playful than serious way and they both fell over - nuts! My friend had never seen cows out for the first time and thought it was hilarious.

I am looking forward to Kathleen's pictures from her walk in the woods. I too recently took a walk in the woods, but I was carrying fence tools instead of a camera as my hot wire was working poorly and a quick inspection of the fence running through the open fields with the help of my crabby mare proved that the problem had to be back in the trees. Inspired by Kathleen's recent article, I tried to name as much of the vegetation along the way as I could - I think I did pretty well! If only I had brought a camera I could have taken photos of a few unknowns to identify later. At least I did get the fence working as well.

Got 17 more pots of grass put in my grass bed. Hope I can get the last 17 in tomorrow.

"Grass"? What sort of grass (or grasses)?

Stan's got the cows in the paddock right behind the older machinery shed. There's so much grass that they walk in, put their heads down and don't move for several minutes. We had rain almost all day yesterday and this morning 'early' spring is definitely over.

We've been working on the house that our youngest will be moving into next week. It will be so nice to have them all here. Stan had to replace the floor under the toilet yesterday and I've been working on the bathroom cupboards. I need to go up later and clean the bedroom floors so we will be ready for the movers on Sunday.

We put the 35 heifers that were in the heifer barn out into the cow barnyard on Monday. Keeping them penned on there for a couple days, then we will let them down in the drylot, then after they get acclimated to that he'll open the gate and let them down in the pasture. We'll still supplemental feed in the bunk, as the pasture isn't that big. Hope they will respect the electric fence that is around there. That is why they are still in the barnyard........elect. fence around that.

Guy that rented the farm is mowing haw as I type. He chops it all.

Back to coloring my posters for the pork producers BBQ. B&W posters were 65 cents apiece..........if we would have wanted the 4-color it would have been $2.25. So I bought colored pencils and am coloring a bunch of them up. Meeting tonight to distribute posters and tickets. Event is June 27th.

I'll help! I love coloring - or at least I did in kindergarten, no one lets me do it now...

I'll have to take a pic.

Hm, if ya'll wander over to the container forum, you can see how I'm making a vertical garden. Of course I can't do things on a small basis..........it's a 4x4 foot pallet. LOL

SU has been "farming" the last 2 days. The guy that rents our cropland and we raise heifers for asked SU if he'd want to run the brand new discbine. Well, of course he would. Plastic still on the seat, radio works. This morning after he got his clothes on, he came over to where I was sitting and said "smell my clothes". Smelled like new plastic and the inside of the cab. LOL I guess he will be hauling loads in when they get started chopping. Talked like later this afternoon...........by MY clock it already is "later this afternoon". And he is still mowing.

Got my vertical planter all planted. Yes, I will take a pic. AFTER I hose off the grass that the mower blew over the top. Just finished mowing "the estate"...............looks ready for company. Anybody coming? I will make treats if you let me know ETA.