Guess I'll try again.

[Wannabefree]

Yeah...Labs take a while to calm down. I have seen 4 year olds that still chew and are hyper. That's one reason why I don't have one, and every one I ever had has a hankerng for fresh bird meat. It has been cold here too, but not THAT cold! Sheesh! Hope y'all thaw out soon!!!

 

[hqueen13]

*waves* crawling out from under my rock for a bit to say hello. Hope you haven't frozen solid up there!

 

[Icu4dzs]

Here is something I learned this week. It falls into the category of "O, yeah!"

A college student at the Griffith University in Australia was the winner of a contest which was to see who could write the best definition of a term, recently added to the lexicon. This year's term was "Political Correctness" The student who won wrote:

Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rapidly promoted by mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a piece of sh*t by the clean end.'

Just thought it was accurate enough to share.
Things on the farm are (other than cold) going well. The JD 3520 with the front mounted snow blower is a gift from G*d. It works so much better than the other piece of equipment I had. I actually spend my time clearing snow rather than changing broken shear bolts. I don't have to drive backwards and it isn't very loud. Of course the drawback is that I am NOT in a cab but I prefer the open station for most jobs so the cab is fine for the "big JD".

The dog is still very rambunctious and probably will be for quite a while. I am told maybe up to and beyond 3 years...O my, will I survive that long?

The cows are well. No more issues so far this year despite the cold. I have them confined to a small field behind the main barn where they can get into the main barn and out of the wind. I feed them on the west side of the main barn and keep the east side clean...sort of.

The last remaining hen is still alive but I'm sure, quite lonely. She has the 12 x 12 coop all to herself. Poor thing...

The Llamas are still with Wilbur. He is "halter training" them before he brings them so I will be able to handle them. I am now thinking it might be good to wait till warmer weather but they are cold weather tolerant so I guess it doesn't matter.

Other than one day with +36*F, we have been averaging -10*F. It has stayed down as low as -17*F for many days and that does get old but then the snow stays light and fluffy and is easy to move with the blower.

I am working a tremendous amount this holiday season. I really will want to take some time off in January and just "veg out". I need it.

The canning shed is coming along. It is +6*F today outside but nearly +35*F inside. It will be warmer once the insulation is completed. The Kitchen Queen is doing its thing and will cook me out once the insulation is done. Hurray!!!

In all, things are going well. No major calamities so far...which always worries me as to "What will go wrong next?"

Warmest Christmas wishes to all. Keep your hearts and minds on HIM who makes this season so special to us. Give of your heart to those you love.
Be happy in your work and take time to tell others that you love them.
Saepe Expertus, Semper Fidelis, Fratres Aeterni
Trim sends
//BT//

 

[hqueen13]

Glad things are going Well, Trim.
Warmest wishes to you, literally and figuratively

 

[Icu4dzs]

Contrary to popular belief, I am still alive despite the -20*F we have been having for the past month. I was on the road from 22 DEC to 5 JAN so now am back to a more regular schedule. Am spending a lot of time chasing the frozen water fountains for the cows. They seem to like drinking water so they are less than enthusiastic about eating snow...but they will do it. I've kept them in one small field behind the main barn and they appear to tolerate that. No more elopment by the two miscreant calves...
Worked way too much all DEC but hope that will level out.
Waiting for at least some days "above 0*F"...who knows?

The chicken is still alive although I am certain she is lonely. She is the lone survivor of the most recent massacre by what I am guessing was a weasel.

New tractor with front mounted snow blower is definitely worth the effort. Haven't had to change a single sheer bolt in about 4 trips around the farm. Gotta love that. I see where I am going and able to adjust it much more easily. Not having to drive backwards and spend most of the time, changing sheer bolts in sub-zero temperatures with bare hands...Oooohhh I hate that!

LIfe is still better here on the high prairie than any where else for me.
Happy New Year to all

 

[hqueen13]

Glad to know you're hanging in there! Having spent the last day dealing with these 0 temps I don't envy your life! I couldn't Do it!

 

[Denim Deb]

Neither could I. I'm frozen as it is.

 

[perchie.girl]

Being a dufus again.... My Opine is irrelevant.... LOL.

deb

 

[Icu4dzs]

Today is Sunday. I am home "for a change". Lot to do on my farm but the good news is that I have been able to find a "farm helper" who seems to like it. Often you find someone who just wants money but really doesn't want to do the work you assign to them.

This one is a young woman in her early 30's. She lives with 4 other women and 3 children. They seem to have bonded as a "family" and are helping each other survive in this "recovered economy" (NOT).

I have been teaching her to drive the big tractor and to use the grapple to lift big round bales and move them. It isn't as easy as it looks from an operator perspective. She is getting the hang of it. I still have to give her hand signals and discuss the technique but she is a "willing learner" and responds to correction amicably. I think she will work out just fine. She has been taking care of the dog since I went away and now that I have one more week on the road, she will keep him till Friday. I play with him when she comes over. He hasn't forgotten me yet...!

The temperature went up a good bit yesterday to +20*F from the usual -20*F so we had a virtual heat wave...Hurray!!!

I did a whole lot of snow clearing yesterday and without knowing it, I actually did break a shear bolt. The snow blower kept working so I didn't realize it till I cleaned it when I was done. It has one on each side so that is why it kept working.

I had hardwood floors installed in the house while I was away and I really like the result. It got all the stuff I had accumulated moved so now I have to sort through everything and find stuff but at least the house looks a lot better. I have always like hardwood flooring and this was the right time to do it. Trust me, it isn't cheap.

Everything up here is at least 1/2 times more expensive than in well populated areas. The other thing that drives me nuts is that a contractor will start a job and leave in the middle of it to start another job and the house is torn up and unlivable. Fortunately for me, THIS TIME, I was away for most of the job. He still isn't finished but at least the house is livable.

It is sooooo hard to get anyone to do things in this area. I paid him over half up front to do the job and then he increased the price, billed me more than agreed and then said he wants the balance before the job is done. I am having some problems with that.

Well, the sun is out (for a change) so I better go get the chores done before it gets cold again.
Cheers
Saepe Expertus, Semper Fidelis, Fratres Aeterni
Trim sends
//BT//

 

[perchie.girl]

Awesome that you could find a worker bee. I have no idea where you are located You mention the cold so I would say MidWest? Any way here I too am far away from contractors that actually have to compete against each other. You find one good one in my area and YOU have to compete for his work. My place is a good sixty miles in any direction from places to buy building materials.

One of the things I do is when I find someone to work on the house I buy the materials. It takes a bit of effort to do but then there is no haggling on material costs. A few years back I had the roof rebuilt and the glass walls converted into siding walls on my green house. I estimated the amount of materials and ordered the wood from Home Depot Because my order was over xx amount (I forget how much) delivery was either free or a nominal charge.

Then When it came time to put the roof on my roofer told me how many shingles I needed and how many sheets of plywood.... (I Do not do OSB) The roofing supply place of choice for roofers is called Discount Plywood here... LOL. So I ordered the plywood from them. Saved about 30 percent on plywood. They too delivered for a nominal fee AND put it on the roof where it needed to be. Shingles were cheaper there too.

The fellow that rehabbed my bathroom went through the DT's while he was working because he had run out of money... The minute I would pay him he would disappear for a week. Sigh. BUT he did an excellent job. When I bought my house the only thing that kept me from falling through the bathroom floor was the Linoleum. He stripped it down to the studs and replaced the OSB sub floor with 3/4 inch thick Marine grade subfloor. Its like standing on a concrete slab in there.... LOL. He set the new shower pan and the next guy did the tiling.
of the shower.

Then I found out that the roofer's helper was a tile guy for floors. I hired him to finish the bathroom.... Unfortunately he was a tweaker.... did a good job but he DROVE ME NUTs.

My next project will be the kitchen And I will have to hire someone to do the hard stuff... walls floors plumbing and wiring. But by now I have a sense of the work involved in doing that stuff so I can have some decent plans drawn up.

deb