Thursday, June 13 2019
Thursday, June 13, 2019
The day started with Henry and me in the office. Gina was off to work early, so he sat on the floor eating paper sourced from one of my reference bins while I worked on the computer. Oscar, of course, was still sleeping.
It was raining again today; my cropping counterparts are plagued by the wet weather, but the perennial grass I manage daily has been largely unaffected. Good sod is a beautiful thing. I’m rather enjoying the cool, in fact, because the grasses are thriving, flies are suppressed, cattle are comfortable, and I don’t have to worry about shade in the grazing system. When the blast furnace of summer arrives, I know I’ll be wishing for this time of year, so I might as well enjoy it while it’s here. Just not vocally in front of anyone who’s trying to plant corn.
Today’s big accomplishment was some fence clearing. Greenery hangs on the electrified wires and sucks voltage out of the system, increasing the likelihood of herd departure. Vegetation is a tough dilemma when it comes to fences; the stuff grows persistently and only equal persistence can keep it cut back. I don’t want to spray and weedeaters tend to fail when faced with the multitude of stems, so my go-to tools consist primarily of a hand scythe and some pruners. I work on troubled sections when I have time, and only by accepting the fact that the job is vital and must be done have I been able to discipline myself enough to commit time. By working on a piece at a time, I’m experiencing success this year.
I made a couple short videos about pasture diversity today, submitted my article for the Leader-Vindicator next week, and sorted out inventory for the Pittsburgh run on Saturday. Planning ahead always makes for a smoother launch on market day. Tomorrow I’m looking forward to attending, for a few hours, the marathon bachelor party for my soon-to-be brother in law at his family’s camp. I’ll do a little extra planning in the morning so the cows won’t need their mid-day paddock shift, providing opportunity for my disappearance from the property. As always, though, the cows will call me home much sooner than those who have the freedom of leaving work at work whenever they please.
They’re calling for a little more sun tomorrow.I’ll look forward to not wearing my rain suit all day. It’s a wonderful garment, but the thing stinks.