Allot got done today and I can sure feel it! Even after supper I rolled up 3/4 mile of electric fence by hand, (on foot), in the neighbor’s corn stubble field that he let me graze this past fall/winter/spring and I’m so very thankful for that! This morning when taking cow/calf pairs out to pasture #2 there was a little electric fence work that needed doing pronto, this of course after a feller has cattle there and you first notice the goof up on the fence. Yes, even I make mistakes. Well, I was redoing the fence wire and another family member hooked up the juice as I was working on it. Ya ever hear of talking in tongues?? Well, I sure was when that jolt went through me! I couldn’t have spoken English if I’da tried. This is some new fangled fencer for remote pastures. Now most solar or battery fencers ain’t worth a hoot as far as I’m concerned. Just tickles the cattle is all and after a few years of calves running over the countryside because of low powered fencers in remote pastures without electrical hookup I decided to declare war and bring in the big guns if there was such a thing. Well, we found a high powered battery fencer who’s price would even make the current president of this nation balk at the price and hooked er up and old Tom was the fence tester today! There’s a burn blister on my left index finger from the shock, and that was through gloves! So as I recovered and gradually got my senses and English back I had to smile even as my finger was blistering, “are them cattle in for a surprise!” was what I was thinking. I just wish I could be there when it happens! Well, I know the Bible say “vengeance is mine say the Lord”, but I ain’t perfect and I sure would like at least a little payback on all the times those cattle were out in the big drought years we had the last few summers!
So that’s the current happenings around here and of course tomorrow is Wednesday and that means church night only thing is we ain’t going to be in our own church. We’ll be at a different one helping out with a local Hispanic outreach, did that this past December too and it went very well. We’ll see how that goes and when its all said and done focus more on rural farm ministry. Although the Hispanic thing is right up that alley because most of them work in local agriculture. I know it’ll be good no matter what happens and am looking forward to it tomorrow evening.
Christian Farm and Ranchman 
Morning Tom,
As a gold card carryin member of the fence testin club, I gotta say, I was laughin out loud here this morning. I gotta be careful doing that though, cause my job here ain’t supposed to be any fun!! 🙂 . My best mark was a stripe across the forehead, when I bent over to pick up a dropped tool… Its funny, I didn’t have to explain that mark to anybody at the seed store…. They just all stood there grinning… 🙂 I’ll tell you what though, usually I end up testin by forgetin to turn the dadblamed thing off. The only person I can blame is myself… at least you has an excuse!!
Good day for me. I got caught up on all the mowin. Now I’m looking for a weather window to hay…. Looks like a week or two yet. The ground is saturated here. If I do get a window, I gotta watch it moldin underneath. I’m not a fan of flippin hay with the rolobar, so I think I might be waitin a while…
Finally out of first Chronicles and into Kings. Now already there has been a coup attempt. Back to the excitin reading. You were right about the NLT. The bible now reads like a novel rather than plodding through the thees and thou’s… Good stuff!!
Well, I’d better get at it. Did you ever get that tractor back with the oil leak?? Mine are all ready to go. One three point lift went bad on me, and I’m figurin, that can wait till next winter…. anyway….
Have a GREAT day,
Brad
Morning Brad!
Yup, got that JD 6410 back more than two weeks ago, works great, and it was a nice drive for and hour and forty five minutes with that tractor from the county seat where the shop is located at. Use it every day for manure hauling and will soon hook it up to the corn planter. Love the radio in that thing, can listen to Christian radio for hours when in the field.
All my strange reactions have settled down from that fence testing yesterday morning although I still know the future 🙂 I gotta get another one of them fencers! This is good! Them cattle will never know what hit em!
Hay is a few weeks away yet around here but is looking really good at the moment, such a deep lush green, something I haven’t seen for years! The fields wintered over just great and everything is lush!
So today fix up more fence, haul some more manure, maybe,just maybe move a few more pairs. Then this evening see what happens with the Hispanic thing at a local church. One never knows! Then when that is past start on the rural ministry dream that’s been in my heart for the last few years. I’m ready! Finally have some direction to all of this.
So, gulp down this coffee and get myself going. Another day the Lord has made!
God Bless!
Morning Tom, Sounds like you need to be careful who mans the switches 🙂
Tom,
I am curious as to what brand of fencer you bought. Isn’t it amazing how easy it is to get yourself zapped?
This year I finally broke down and bought one of those fence fault finders. I got tired of spending lots of time trying to find faults, often with a cell phone in hand and another family member back at the energizer turning the fence off and on so that I could disconnect sections. If you get your signals wrong, or forget what you last told the family member, you might find that you get a little energy added to your body.
Jim V
Afternoon William!
A feller learns the hard way eh! But being the forgiving person I am I hold no hard feelings 🙂
Hey Jim!
I gotta go look at the box, it was purchased online from Farm Supply and is a Gallagher or something like that.(I didn’t do the online purchasing, that’s just not me 🙂 ). I’ll get you the specks when I have time. An awesome thing, powerful and good for remote locations. Gotta move around 50 head today to pastures. Just got done tuning two pastures up and getting em ready.
Hey Tom!
Thanks for sharing your ‘Electrifiying Day’. I needed a outloud chuckle and smile, today. (great use of descriptive words, I imagined I was standing there watching it happen). However, I’m sorry to hear of your blister… even through a glove? WOW! That Gallagher must be the kind I’ve heard called a ‘weed burner’ type. Gotta watch them, they can catch pastures on fire. No doubt, those cattle will respect it!
And Brad… Sorry for your ‘forehead mark’, but you added another chuckle and grin…especially because I can see how it could happen, while picking up a tool. Thanks for sharing. I needed to read this. lol.
Blessings! Kris
Hi Kris!
Well, just got done moving the cattle on pasture for the season and now I can get down to field work without worrying about the cow herd’s dwindling supply of hay. And believe me, it was dwindling! So in a little bit off to the Hispanic outreach at a local church and see how that goes. And with working on two different pastures today I’m happy to report that I didn’t get shocked, not even once! Made my day!
Oh Lord, does it feel good to have made another lean winter through! Life will be a tad bit different out here tomorrow knowing that fact and now its just hauling manure and planting corn for a while. Oh, also gotta get our potatoes in one of these days! 🙂
I’m really glad that you enjoyed our electrifying experiences we’ve been discussing! Makes them shocks worth it! 🙂
Blessings to You All Over Your Way!
had a electriflying day did ya! 😉
bee there done that, but aint going to say where i got it 😕
how was your day today?
Good Morning Folks!!
Well, I do believe that after 4 days, this ol time adjustment is about back to normal. Whew… just in time.
Tom, I can’t believe we’ve been bellyachin about a drought the last few years. Now I’m about to be bellyachin about too much water. Thats alright with me though. I guess it wouldn’t be right not complaining about something.
How did the Hispanic thing go?? I’ve started back to my Wednesday night bible study. I might not always agree with everything the speaker says, but he sure does make you think. I do like that.
Well, I guess I gotta think about finishin that ol barn tomorrow. The only thing left is to cut myself into pieces with that tin. Maybe havin it be so wet is a blessing in disguise, so I can get it finished.
Alright, I’d better get at it. My new and improved loader and grapple are going to start gettin a workout too. That barnyard is gettin taller. I’d better start knockin it down before it starts getting mistaken for the barnyard of Babel or something…. 🙂
Have a GREAT day,
Brad
Morning All!
Hard time pulling myself out of bed this morning! The aftermath of last night’s Hispanic thingy and also the combination of a large load of cattle moving yesterday and having them cows on pasture and chores done with them till October, (I hope).
So you’d figure a guy like me could kick back now and take er easy, not the case though. Gotta separate the three steers this morning for early morning butchering and weighing but I get home from the Hispanic outreach and find out my help for this morning is busy with something else. Typical! So here I am alone to do this stuff. The help got some sort of excuse like his wife is having a baby!! And it’ll make me grandfather the fourth time! And my first reaction is, “how do I sort them steers?” and “can’t she wait till tomorrow afternoon 🙂 “. In reality though I’ll get the job done and I’m waiting for a call to tell me that the daughter in law got the job done too 🙂 Uh, Brad, you couldn’t possibly make it up here by 8 AM this morning to give me a hand , could you?? 🙂
Last night went really good in the local church and by the time the thing was half over there was Hispanics still showing up. We had us a little Hispanic church service with music and preaching and stuff. Then there was games afterwards and all is well.
So I gotta run as soon as this coffee is done with, hard to chat this morning with the day changed because a baby decided today is the day! Folks that want to learn about farming might not have considered this in there learning, how days can change, the best laid plans of mice and men changed, but all will be well by this evening 🙂
God Bless!
Well congratulations ol feller!!! I’ll be over, but I might be a half hour late or so…. 🙂
Good Morning!
Although we do not farm a large scale as most of you, I find even on the small scale we do, there is no end to the work. Not much time for rest. We work from 5:30am until 8:15am outside, and again after we come home from working our off farm job, we are back at it until dark. Just this morning, I seeded more corn: Whapsie Valley, and MN14. Tonight, I will start the seed we saved off last years corn… this will be an experiment, as we have never saved seed from corn to replant. Looking forward to the ending results.
Hope by now Tom, your a grandfather to number four. Congratulations to you and your family.
Have a blessed day, everyone!
Kris
Tom,
I’d sure like to know the make and model of that fencer also. Today we just stung some electric fence around our garden in hopes of keeping the deer out. The solar powered zapper we have is like the one you mentioned where it just gives them a tickle. I’d like one that will put some fear into them. Also it doesn’t work very well with our sheep either.
There is one trick we heard about that we haven’t tried yet and that is to bait the fence with peanut butter. Which isn’t a new trick, we know a bee keeper who bait’s the electric fence around his hives with strips of bacon. When the bears take a taste, well they don’t come back sniffing around his hives for a good long while.
Russ
Hey Kris!
It don’t make much difference if you farm small scale or large, the workload is basically the same. Just the equipment or methods change, but the workload doesn’t. There’s something about it though, where work isn’t like working out, its different on a farm, a person “wants” to do it! I remind myself everyday how I used to dream about farming years ago when I worked out full time. And I appreciate the daily work a whole lot more by doing that!
By the way, little Addie Lynn was born this morning around seven! All is well!
Blessing to You!
Hey Russ!
OK, I finally remembered to bring the fencer’s box in the house so I had better answer yours and Jim’s questions! Its a Gallagher Power Plus B280. A low impedance battery powered fencer. I think it was purchased through farm supply. I didn’t order it, I just pay for it, which I gotta do yet by the way. So I hope that gives you something to go by searching it on the web. This baby has snort, but its a bit hungry on the batteries too. A small price to pay though for added security!
You can buy the Gallagher Tom is using here: http://www.cattlestore.com/p-860-gallagher-powerplus-b280-energizer.aspx
and more information on it is available at the Gallagher website here: http://www.gallagher.com.au/permanent.component.aspx?mktprodid=3007
Tom: 2.8 joules of power, no wonder you were speaking in tongues!!!
Morning Folks,
Sorry I’m late getting in here, bills were taking up my time this morning. But I’m happy to say, I’m through with them and I can buy me and possibly one other a cup of coffee…… so who’s in???
Now Tom…. It’s time to start puttin on a little weight…. that bein your 4th grandbaby, your lap is going to have to get a whole lot bigger!! 🙂 Congratulations again my friend.
I’m off to stop a roof leak on my new barn. Seems the tin needs to be on the roof to keep the rain out instead of on the ground…. Hopefully I’ll have the durn roof finished by tomorrow, but who knows what will pop up….
I had to laugh the other day about your daily list changin. I made a list out once a couple of years ago…. found it the other day… I got about half the stuff done…. ah well we keep tryin…
Have a GREAT day,
Brad
I had to laugh. Last summer I was pulling a few weeds off the field fencing that has electric wire running along the top. This was attached to a nice, new car battery we’d just put on it.
The horses were about 10 feet away, lazily munching on greenery, when I staggered backwards, dazed, wondering how on earth one of them could have possibly kicked me, square in the forehead, from that far away.
Granted, I was not thinking really clearly at that moment. I suspect my brain cells were dancing like water on a frying pan. But the horses had jumped away in fright ~ and then I saw the wire, moving ever.so.slightly.
I’m sure the horses had a good laugh to themselves that night after we’d gone in. LOL
Faith
Hi Faith!
Ah, a head hit! Been there! I remember it well no matter how much I try to forget. There were no horses to blame, just a near by family member that I thought hit me with a three pound maul on the side of my temple 🙂 And that’s what it sure felt like! But in a few seconds I figured out my mistake and begged for forgiveness 🙂 I figure one of these years he’ll speak to me again……
Yup, there sure are some adventures out on a farm eh! And some a person never forgets! I’m just glad it wasn’t a three pound maul cause that might’a hurt the maul and I’m glad it wasn’t your horses giving you a kick square in the head cause that could change your out look in life forever!
Thanks for adding your story here cause it makes my day!
God Bless!