Wow, what a day ! Started great with Herbie spoiling me with a cup of tea in bed. Did I want breakfast ? Nope, not yet thanks. Then the aromas of sausage and coffee drifted upstairs, and I decided I was starving. He'd made sausage with onions and mushrooms, fried potatoes, toast and eggs. I took a slice on my Ezekiel bread from the freezer and a duck egg from the fridge, burnt them both to perfection and joined Herbie for breakfast.
Today we planned to complete the channel linking the back pasture, adding a few more gates, and then move the cows into breeding pairs. The wheel for the buggy didn't come as promised, so we loaded fence posts, wire, tools, ice water, coke, into the truck and after Herbie put the post-hole auger onto the tractor, I drove it out to the pasture and Herbie drove the truck. I started digging holes and the cows came and surrounded the truck, curious as all get out. Herbie doesn't like the horned cows and bulls rubbing against the truck, so I called them and had them follow me back to the front pasture, then closed the gate so we wouldn't be bothered by them. Herbie took over making the holes and I drilled the hardware into each post to take the electric wire. Ran new wire, making 6 new gates. We've learnt so much from our first fence about 6 years ago, that more gates are better probably being the biggest. Then I had to go fetch the grain I'd ordered this morning before they closed at 5pm. Back home, Herbie helped off-load a ton of feed. So nice having help. The last few times I did it on my own. Dropped the 400lbs of cow feed down the hatch to the lower barn, together with 100lbs of whole corn. Tomorrow I need to drag them into the feed room and empty them into the feed drums to keep the mice / chickens from messing with it.
Then it was time to move the cows, calves and bulls into the breeding pairs. Move Daisy May into the back barbed-wire pasture. Got her to follow Dolly into the channel, then moved her up it until she reached the necessary gate. Switch positions, Herbie behind her moving her forward, me holding the gate open with the bucket of grain. Fairly easy. Immanuelle, the year-old Scottish Highland / Jersey cross followed Dolly into the channel but Eleanor was difficult. Took us about an hour to get her into the channel, and only after Herbie had slipped in cow poop and re-hurt his already hurting knee, and I fetched the portable fence I had up outside the pasture for the cows going to milking. Saw Doofus had hopped the fence to be with his mum. Moved the 4 of them up the channel, and when I got too close, Doofus hopped the fence again in with Little Red and Seasaidh. I shoo'd them through the new gate into the back L-shaped pasture and closed the gate behind them. Then, took the bucket of grain, and led Gabriel, our black Scottish Highland bull into the lower channel. Herbie got behind him and moved him into the main pasture. I opened the back gate to let him in with Little Red. He immediatelly started setting up a noisy ruckus, then went over to the half fallen dead tree at the edge of the pond to scratch. I thought he was going to pull it down on top of himself, silly boy.
Then I went and opened the gate between the veggie garden and the barbed-wire back side-pasture, so that Parrot, the Jersey bull could be with Daisy May. The horses also ran into that pasture. I'd kept it closed for about 3 weeks so there was lovely, fresh, greens for munching.
Was past Herbies bedtime, so he came to shower while I filled the additional water trough I'd brought out of the shed for Dolly and the heifers, and re-ran the temporary electric fence from the channel entrance up to the lower barn gate. Not exactly sure how I'm going to get Daisy May up for milking in the morning, and then separated from Dolly upon their return. Eleanor is going to be rather loud being separated from her mum, but I need the milk, especially as both girls' production will drop as soon as they're bred.
Staggered upstairs just after 8pm and showered. Herbie cannot get comfortable with his knee, even after some pills, the hot rice pad on his leg, and me rubbing Voltaren cream on his thigh, knee, down to his ankle which was also hurting. Poor guy. I've already gone downstairs twice to re-heat it. Hope everything kicks in that he gets some sleep as that 1:30am alarm is now only 4 hours away.
Praying for Petey, Herbies' niece, who lost her pregnancy today :(.
With all of this today, I didn't get to go to Lizs' Open House this evening. Sorry, Liz, I really wanted to.
Can hear a bull bellowing outside. Think it's Gabriel. Hope Doofus got back in with his mum and the heifers, but it's dark outside and I'm lying here with Herbie.
Yesterday our tax refund arrived in the mail. I was so annoyed with the Credit Union. She wouldn't let me deposit it without both mine and Herbies endorsements on the back. It was made out to both of us, and I was depositing it into our joint account. But no, "they will return it if it's unsigned and we'll be charged a fee". What, the Government will return it unpaid ??? Such bullshit. So I drove all the way back home, hauled Herbie out from under the tractor where he was changing the oil, he had to go clean his hands with that grit cleaner from the shed. Signed the damn thing, I signed too, got back into the car and drove back to the CU, went up to the same girl saying "two fucking signatures". Seriously thinking about changing Credit Unions I'm so annoyed. That was the third strike against them ! Had to do it as I'd written out and mailed the cheques for our delinquent property Winter taxes. Also paid the Summer taxes, a month early.
The box of Smart-wool socks that Andrè sent arrived yesterday too. Wow, so many wonderfully warm socks for Herbie and I for Winter. Thanks Andrè and Tanya. Much appreciated.
Went down to Leslie yesterday afternoon to fetch Anni. Hopefully she'll have a litter of puppies mid October. Amy and Ron want a girl puppy in payment for the breeding.