Friday was a busy day. Jim and I got an early start and went up to the village. The usual crowd was in the diner. The topic of discussion was whether the school board really feels that their proposed modernization will be accomplished without cost to the taxpayer as they indicate on the expensive brochure they've mailed to every resident. Consensus was that there is no such thing as a free lunch.

We went back to the farm and hooked up the cattle trailer. Rochester walked right in and, after a few safety checks, we were off to Pennsylvania. Fortunately we had enough diesel to reach Pennsylvania since fuel is always cheaper there. It was $3.35 here and $2.66 in PA.

We used the GPS to route us to our destination. There were no problems and the farmer was waiting. Rochester walked off the trailer into his new home like he was at home.

It is a very nice farm on top of a hill. They have excellent cattle and I'm sure Rochester will do his best to increase the size of the herd.

We came back by a different route suggested by the GPS. We were glad that we didn't bring the bull that way as he would likely have become trailer sick.

There was some very slippery snow first thing Saturday. We had a rescue call for a car overturned up on the main road. Hopefully, the drivers injuries weren't very serious. After the call, I came back to the farm. Jim and I took our weekly load of baleage wrap to the town dumpster. It is amazing how a roll of plastic wrap 12 inches in diameter by three feet long turns into a full truck load of trash each week.

We blew bedding materials into the pens and took care of our usual chores. The weather cleared up and it was a fairly decent 36 degrees and cloudy,

Verne came over and we loaded his bull Natemin for the trip from our place back to Verne's. Nate will now do clean up duty on his home farm. This is not exactly the same as in baseball where they have a cleanup hitter.

After dropping Nate, we loaded one of our cows. It took quite a while as she really didn't want to go into the trailer. We wanted to get her back here as she is due within a few weeks. We also loaded another of Verne's yearling bulls for the trip to our farm.

They were very cooperative on this end which was good because we were on a tight schedule. Jim is an Eagle Scout and knows two young men from the southern part of the County who are being inducted as Eagles tonight. Another of Jim's friends is also an Eagle and he drove Jim to the ceremony. A very nice part of the Eagle ceremony is when any Eagle Scouts in the audience are asked to stand and join in. At Jim's ceremony, several of his guests were Eagles from years past.

Mary and I expect to have a quiet evening. Eileen is out doing last minute visiting with friends before she flies back to Nashville tomorrow evening.

This is Thanksgiving Day. Since Tuesday we've been stuck in a damp, raw weather pattern. Day and night, it has stayed about 35 and murky. Hopefully, tomorrow, we might get a little sun.

Chores are now routine. The cattle are just hanging out passing the time. Eileen had three wisdom teeth out on Tuesday. She is feeling better now. Not much of a way to spend a school vacation.

As usual, we have a turkey from a farm just across the lake from us. Over the years they have become a mammoth operation. Last year, they sold out to a conglomerate. We hope the turkey tastes as good as usual.

There's a lot of shooting. A neighbor got an eight pointer just up the road.

Today is a good day to reflect on how truly fortunate we are. All of us have good health. Eileen and Jim are doing well in school. We hope this finds you well also. Happy Thanksgiving.

Sunday was off to a cold start. We had another four inches of snow and we wanted to plow the road so the neighbors wouldn't have any trouble. Being it was Sunday, a lot of summer camp owners come out to check their camps. A few of them sometimes don't realize that our dirt road drives a little differently in winter. I plowed and Jim did chores. We don't have a sander to deal with ice and slippery conditions. So, we have to think ahead before we plow. Sometimes it's better to leave the snow to get rutted for a little traction if we expect icing.

The sun came out after lunch and the snow on the road pretty much melted away. I was able to get the long promised picture of Peter our tame steer. We weighed him the other day and he is finally starting to do something other than get taller. He's up to 1015 pounds. We think he is about 15 months old.

We went off to the airport get Eileen later in the afternoon, had her hoped for Chinese meal and were home by 7:30. She seems happy to be back but college certainly seems to agree with her.

I had to take Jim to school this morning since Eileen needed the car for errands and catching up with friends. It was a lot warmer this morning when I got back which makes chores a lot easier. After a lot of vacillating, I sold our soybeans today. The price was up a bit and you really wonder where the economy is headed. So I went on the bird in the hand theory.

I had an unexpected email from a friend this morning. He said he was watching TV and there I was. The show was about a murder that took place in our County in the early 90's. One of my positions back then was as a County Fire Investigator. The victim was found near the ruins of her burnt out home. It didn't bring back fond memories. I remember how sad we were at the terrible end that befell the victim.

A light, wet snow started at supper time. This is a storm as compared to Lake Effect. It looks like we're on the periphery so it shouldn't be too much bother. Eileen still has the car so Jim took my truck to his Order of the Arrow meeting. It's an organization within the Boy Scouts.

The over night snow wasn't as bad as forecast. We only had about 4 inches. Nonetheless, I thought it would be a good idea to do a trial plow run. Everything worked well.

We are not quite ready for the man from the Weather Channel to stand in front of the hardware to do his broadcast as happened a few years back. That one really got the folks in Florida buzzing.

Jim and I continued to work on bedding. The cattle really seem to appreciate the bedding mounds. It seems a little early to be dealing with winter. Spring seems a long way off. We also worked on neatening up the shop.

I came home from the diner with an excellent pie. A friend came in and said he had to wait until the bank opened at 9. He said his wife had asked him to bring down some blueberry pies for the Historical Society fundraiser. I told him that it would be a lot easier for him if he had one less pie to carry. We always enjoying supporting the Historical Society.

We went to Mass this evening as Mary has to work early tomorrow. They were having a bake sale as well and Mary got us a banana nut loaf. Just another facet of small town America.

We have to pick up Eileen at 4 tomorrow afternoon. She has asked us to take her to her favorite Chinese restaurant after she arrives. The weather looks like we'll still have a little snow. When you live in upstate New York you expect to have snow so it shouldn't be a problem.

It has been snowing off and on all day. As I write this evening, it's coming down about two inches per hour. The weather forecast is for it to continue through Sunday. Typical lake effect storm. We are south of Lake Ontario and the cold wind is blowing over the relatively warm water. The lake is 48 degrees and the air 21 degrees tonight. This causes moisture to be wicked up and then dumped as snow over the land. If you are scientifically oriented, it is called orthographic lifting.

We used our bale processor to blow mulch hay and straw into a big mound for the Minnesota Lowlines. They are all snuggled into it just like a feather bed. They must be tired out from frolicking in the snow all day. They must think they're back in Minnesota. The pens in the Coverall are open for the others to come and go but they are outside eating. The bulls are all in their shelter.

The vet called to say that Rochester passed his Brucellosis test and that he was mailing the health papers. We'll probably take him to Pennsylvania the day after Thanksgiving.

Our daughter Eileen is on her way home from college for Thanksgiving. She has stopped in Baltimore to see some friends and we pick her up at the airport Sunday afternoon. It will be good to see her.

Today would have been my father's birthday. He was born in Belfast, Ireland in 1907 making him 101 today.

Winter like conditions continued with no respite in sight. Tomorrow's forecast is for considerable snow. I mounted the snow plow on the 6415 so we're ready for heavy weather if we get it.

I usually check the animals first thing in the morning and then head up to the Village Diner. There is a group that has been meeting over breakfast for years. We manage to discuss all matters of importance ranging from local to global. I'm sure that there are similar groups in every small town in America. It's strange when you consider that we feel that our solutions to a problem are practical and almost always different from those posed by the politicians.

During winter things slow down. The main project is to get the animals fed and check that the water hasn't frozen. We're just about finished moving the baleage over from Fire Lane 11. This is deer season and there are lots of hunters around.

The vet came after lunch to check Rochester's TB test. He passed. We expect to get the Brucellosis test results tomorrow. So, hopefully, we'll have the health papers by the first of the week. It looks like we are about 4 plus hours from his new home. While he was here he preg checked a few cows. We have had one cow that has failed to settle for some time. She was in heat yesterday and Remote Control worked diligently to insure that she gets pregnant. The vet checked her and couldn't find any apparent internal problems. We'll watch her carefully to see if she cycles again in three weeks. If she does, she might be facing a future in the food industry.

Our neighbor continues to work with the pet steer. She has him wearing a halter again. He is literally head and shoulders over the others. They eat through the spaces in the sides of the feeder and he eats over the top. I'll try to get a picture of him posted.

Well, I think you can say winter is here. It was snowing right along when Mary and Jim came home last night. This morning, there was the better part of eight inches on the ground.

You might have read recently that some scientist has determined that cattle like to face north. When I went to check them this morning, they were,in fact, all facing north except for those eating. There is always an exception to every rule.

It takes longer to do chores when it gets cold. But everything started and worked.

Our summer neighbors stopped by unexpectedly and we enjoyed morning tea with them. He is a retired farmer and his wife a retired school teacher. They are looking forward to going to Florida for the winter. They are not looking forward to it being cold in Florida as it apparently was today.

The vet is coming back tomorrow to read Rochester's TB test. I have two cows that I'd like to preg check. They were not interested in coming down to the main barn. I'll have to try again in the morning. Our bull was very interested in one of them so I think it is safe to say she is open at the moment

After lunch, the sun came out and I was able to clean up a bunch of manure and hay from a feeding area. I like to keep these areas clean since I don't like it to look like I have short legged cattle.

We had an excellent dinner tonight of our own grass fed beef. It's nice knowing where your meal comes from. We also had a nice bottle of wine that our friends brought from Minnesota when they brought our most recent group of Lowlines. Living in the Finger Lakes wine region, it's a little different to be drinking wine from Minnesota. We don't usually think of it as a wine state. It was excellent and we thank them for it. We do have a friend down the road whose daughter is married to a wine maker from Minnesota. There might be something to this Minnesota wine.

The forecast for later in the week is lots more lake effect snow. I think I'll take the loader bucket off the 6415 and put on the plow tomorrow. Winter can get old real fast. We are just under a mile from the main road and there are five other families on our road. Between my tractor and an neighbor's old town plow truck, we are able to keep the road open all winter.

Our trip to New jersey went very well. We spent Friday night in Scranton. The hotel used to be the DL & W railroad station. The lobby was quite ornate. We were quite impressedwith Scranton. We had done a piling job across the street some years ago when Jim was younger. I bought him a train for Christmas one year at a store next to the hotel that billed itself as " the world's sixth largest Lionel train Store." It was sad to see that they had gone out of business with just the Lionel sign remaining.

Mary's sister lives in a home she rents on a farm. It's quite unique to find a several hundred acre farm surrounded on all sides by suburbia. They run grass fed Herefords and always have a Jersey dairy herd. They sell beef and make and sell cheese. They are completely surrounded by localvores so they were doing a brisk business while we were there.

It was 70 degrees with severe storms forecast.We went on further to visit my sister and her family. She had recently had unexpected major surgery. She seems to be doing quite well. We had dinner with them and headed home. We didn't run into any storms and were glad to be home.

Sunday morning, the weather had changed back to nasty grey clouds, cold and raw. Jim and I did chores and rearranged the bulls. We now have five yearlings all in their winter quarters.We got Rochester all set in a pen for Monday's vet visit.

Monday, the vet came and Rochester very amiably walked right into the chute so the vet could draw blood and give him the TB reactant. We had enough snow to cover the grass but not the road. Monday night, I had a County Fire Board meeting. It was snowing full bore on the way home.

Tuesday, I did chores and went through my first winter freeze drill. It had gotten down into the low 20's last night. I was glad to see that all the water works was working well except for one waterer. A piece of dirt must have gotten into the float valve and the waterer was overflowing. I took off the cover and flushed it out. The cattle all seem comfortable with the weather. All the weaning noise seems to have ended. It's snowing again as I write this with 4 to 6 inches likely by morning. By winter standards, that amount is negligible but at this time of year it's a good reminder of what's to come.

Friday was another amazing day, 67 degrees and blue skies at lunch time. We had a flurry of phone calls and emails with a gentleman in Pennsylvania who has agreed to purchase , Rochester, a full blood yearling bull. He comes by the name in an odd way. The day he was born, I had some surgery in Rochester, NY, thus the name.

I was looking over his weight records. He sure has gained on baleage and looks great. his picture is on the sale page of the web site.

Since the bull will be going out of state, the vet is coming Monday to do a TB and Brucellosis test. He'll have to return Thursday to read the TB test site. If everything is fine, as we certainly expect, he'll give us health papers to bring with us when we deliver.

Mary and Jim and I will heading off in the afternoon to visit both of our sisters who live near each other in New Jersey. A friend will come by to feed and check on the cattle. Feeding is pretty basic for grass fed animals. Just make sure that there is hay baleage in the feeders so they can feed free choice.

Today was a typical fall day: heavy , cold rain in the morning and clouds and blue sky in the afternoon.

We moved several pieces of equipment indoors for the winter. The calves and cows have pretty much stopped bawling and decided to get on with their lives.

I went to Syracuse in the afternoon and met Mary and Jim for dinner. My oldest daughter called from New Hampshire to discuss her new job. Then, my youngest daughter called from college to talk about her new found interest in geology. Then, my second oldest son called from Florida.

All in all, an easy but satisfying day.

The weather was somewhat better today, partly cloudy and around 50.

We moved baleage from the next lane. We don't own the land between us and our next fields. So that means we have to go out and down the main road . When the weather is decent, we bring over wrapped bales. There are only about fifteen left there now. We are feeding two bales a day plus some square bales to the bulls. We will probably be feeding until early May unless global warming really kicks in. It looks like we will have enough.

Our neighbor really enjoys Peter the Brown Swiss pet steer. She stops every day to pet him and give him a treat. She has horses and keeps kidding about putting a saddle on him. I see that he now is sporting a red halter. Maybe the first step in getting him saddled up. We have heard of people saddling a cow but never seen one. I'm trying to figure out how to include a picture. When I do, Peter will be one of the first to appear.

The calves and cows are quieting down a bit. They were quite loud all day as they become used to being weaned.

Late in the afternoon, a friend stopped by to look at an Allis-Chalmers Model C that we restored last year. The picture shows Jim getting ready to hook it up to tow to our shop. it's a little hard to see details but the tractor was really ready for a makeover.

It's an excellent tractor now but a little small to play much of a part in modern agriculture. It has a sickle bar mower and we used it a little to mow under the fences. It's kind of fun to operate.

You have to know that this tractor bridged the gap between horses and today. It must have been quite a thrill for a farmer to take off plowing with it after walking behind a horse or mule. Lots of older farmers have told me that this model was the first tractor they ever drove as a child. Imagine that they used to let youngsters drive a tractor. Hard to imagine in the context of today's society where there is always some government agency looking after your welfare.,

The dingy weather continued today. We are located just south of Lake Ontario. This time of year, the lake is relatively warmer than the air. When the wind blows over it, it picks up moisture which drops out over the land. Now it's rain, later it's snow and lots of it.

Jim had a day off from school for Veteran's day. When I was in school, it was called Armistice Day. My father was a World War II veteran so we always celebrated the day. It was also my aunt's birthday 11/11.

We went and looked at some concrete bunk feeders. We found a good bargain and ordered some. We'll get them next week. We stopped at the Walmart of the farm world to see about having some feed through panels made so we can attach them to the bunks.

Soybean prices took a good sized drop today. We're going to continue to store ours and hope the price goes up.

In the afternoon, we finished weaning the calves at the farm today. We are doing something similar to fence line weaning. The calves are in pens and their mothers are free to come and go in the barnyard. The theory is that it is less stressful for both if they can see and smell each other. It doesn't seem to cut down the noise as the calves are bawling for their mothers as usual. It should quiet down in a day or two.

Cattle sales are picking up. We have a man coming next week who has a serious interest in a bull. We also spoke to another man that is interested in a few young cows and heifer calves.

Sunday was a dreary and chilly day. We did our chores in the morning and relaxed a bit. We moved out our old washing machine and hooked up a different one. Mary thinks the old one died from doing our barn clothes. It would probably help if we did a better job of cleaning our pockets. There was an amazing assortment of coins and bolts and nuts and even a small jack knife in the innards of the old washer. We have taken a vow to make certain our pockets are empty. The way the economy is going, they will be empty anyway.

Mary had to work until 2PM. We decided that all three of us would go to Mass in a nearby city at 5PM. This is a special Mass for this region to allow those who have had to work etc. a chance to go late.

Before going to church, we had an important duty. As I mentioned earlier, a neighboring farmer had died late last week as a result of a farm accident. His calling hours were scheduled from 3 until 6 on Sunday.

We got there about three twenty and had to park way down the street. The line ended by the NAPA store. We happened to be in line with a husband and wife that have alpacas. Mary has had a Christmas sweater from their store but had never met them. She was wearing it and was glad to have waiting in line. It is apparenty quite warm. I had also sold them a manure spreader that was a bit too small for our cattle. Apparently, it works quite well for the more dainty alpacas.

We have been going to calling hours at this funeral home for years. This is only the second time that we can recall the viewing line this long. What a wonderful tribute to the deceased and his family. We are glad that we live in small town America where basic values and traditions like these remain intact.The weather was quite chilly and damp but the mist hold off until we were inside. The line wound all around the various rooms of the funeral home in a serpentine fashion. It was odd when we saw people who had been considerably ahead in line now standing along side.

We offerred our condolences. A son-in-law had made up a unique green and yellow handout with details of the deceased's life and lots of pictures of him on his green tractors. It was six thirty by the time we left. The line was almost as long as when we got there. So we missed Mass but hope that God didn't mind since the 5th Beatitude is "Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted."

The weather wasn't much better on Monday. I went with a friend to the equipment dealer to look at our square baler. After lunch, the buyers came and we loaded the six Angus and sent them off to their new home.

I was supposed to go to a County Fire meeting tonight but it was postponed a week. It feels good to have an unexpected night off.

Today was more like a typical late Fall day. It rained heavily all morning and then the sun was in and out of a grey sky. It stayed reasonably warm around 50 degrees.

The electrician was back and we finished our water project. Since we started to build this farm, we have installed over 1200 feet of water line; two wells and two all weather Jug waterers and 6 yard hydrants. We have all season water wherever we might need it.

We got the cattle pregnancy reports and all eight tested pregnant. That is certainly good news. I called our buyer and he will be here Monday afternoon to pick up all six full size Angus.

Today, Friday, looks like the last of the good weather.

We've just been continuing on routine chores. We're waiting to hear about the pregnancy test on the Angus. Verne overnight mailed the samples Wednesday afternoon and was assured by the Post Office that the lab would be sure to have them by 3PM Thursday. Well, they arrived this morning and it takes a day to get the results. So, hopefully, tomorrow, we'll know.

Yesterday was not a good one in our town. An older farmer who was an acquaintance of ours was killed in a farm related accident. We don't know the details but we offer our condolences to his family. Today, several neighbors worked to get the rest of his crop in. It is nice to live in a communiuty where people have old fashioned values of helping a neighbor in need.

The Farm Agent came out this afternoon to look over our operation. We had a nice visit that was cut short when I had to go on a fire call just down the road. Thankfully, it was just a burnt out appliance motor.

I also got copies of our farm maps from Farm Service Agency. I was pleased that my estimate for soybean acreage was within a half acre of the maps. I also spoke to the grain elevator folks and confirmed how many bushels we have stored.

So, lots of little things done. The electrician came last night and tonight to trench in some electric and water lines. He seems to be busy in the day light with other work. We worked late both nights. He promised to be here tomorrow morning to finish up. If he does, it looks like we'll be working in the rain.

The amazing weather continued. It was probably a first to be outside working in a tee shirt on November 5.

Verne came over and we drew the blood for the cattle pregnancy test. We got the samples mailed and should have results Friday. The prospective buyers came as well. They are nice folks and it looks like we can build an ongoing relationship. I've always been relationship rather than transaction oriented so that is good.


I received the weigh slips for our soy beans. We had a good crop. Now I need to decide whether to hold them or sell. The price was up yesterday but dropped a lot today. It's hard to understand how an election can influence the price of soybeans. I called the Farm Service Agency to get my field maps. Then, I'll be able to compute our actual average acre yield. It will be around 43 bushels which is a good yield.

I got 15 bales of soy waste on the neighboring field done and there is probably enough waste for 15 more.

Our daughter called from college in Nashville. She has plane reservations for Christmas. Particularly in light of the weather it is hard to realize that Christmas will soon be here.

Our beautiful weather continued with another almost 70 degree day. I got our Kuhn mower conditioner all pressure washed and ready for storage. There's an amazing amount of gunk that accumulates under the hood.

I also moved a round bale feeder and brought over some gravel to create a better pad. We fed the cattle baleage through the processor and they continue to really eat it up.

The electrician reappeared to finish up some plugs and get power to our new cattle waterer so the heater will work when needed.

Late in the afternoon, one of our friends came to combine his beans. This is land that we surround on all sides that is owned by an absentee owner. He is not interested in selling and our friend has rented the land for several years. It's a new red combine which is quite a break from tradition since our friend has had an all green farm for many years.

While we were looking over the combine, a man and his wife and a colleague came to look over the six full size Angus. We made a deal but he wants them pregnancy tested. We think they are all bred but we will use a test that is new to us. It involves drawing a small amount of blood from the cow's tail vein. The vial is then sent to a lab which guarantees 97 percent accuracy. We will get the samples tomorrow and should have results by Friday.

Verne arranged to have our friend set the combine to windrow the bean waste. I'll bale them tomorrow and we can truck them to Verne's at our convenience.

Yesterday, Sunday, was an unusual day. I unexpectedly had an opportunity to go to Buffalo to see the Bill's football game. Mary and Jim had planned on going but Mary felt a little off Sunday morning and decided not to go. Jim and I rushed around and got chores done and took off for Buffalo. It's about two and one half hours down the Thruway to the stadium.

We stopped in a Thruway rest area. While waiting for Jim, I ran into, almost literally, a college classmate and his wife. They live about two hours east of us but we don't see them often. They were on their way to Florida. We had a nice but brief visit.

The Bills lost. It is quite an experience to see the game in person. Many of the fans are a little rough in their speech and don't appear to be dehydrated. As the game went on, some of them became even more hydrated and vocal.

Today was a dreary but dry and warm day. Verne says that we have someone coming tomorrow afternoon to look at the six Angus. I moved around some equipment to get ready for the electrician who is supposed to be here tomorrow to finish up.

It's supposed to be almost 70 and sunny tomorrow. I'll get the pressure washer going again to finish cleaning up equipment so we can put it away until Spring.

Saturday November 1, 2008 was another beautiful day. Brilliant sun, blue sky and 50 degrees. Being Irish, I have somewhat of an awareness of old Irish customs. In the Druid world, today would be the first day of winter.

Jim and I continued to get ready for winter. We are still experimenting with the most efficient way to feed. The bale processor works well. We chopped up a bunch of straw for bedding and blew it into the pens.

We took our dog, Patches with us up to the barn today. He is a mostly, we think, Jack Russell Terrier. Mary says he is like a pogo stick with ADD. He likes to run around around the outside of fence. On a previous trip, he find out how electric fences feel. The cows mostly ignore him or just look at him as though wondering what does that foolish dog want. He likes to ride in the tractor. We have to be careful because if we take our eye off him he'll look for barnyard substances to roll in. This is not good.

We went to mass in Jordan and got takeout subs for dinner. Later, we went over to our neighbors and watched the Syracuse football game. Amazingly, they won.