Summer time

Once again time has flown by and it is now time for the summer work to begin if it hasn't already.  Here on our farm it is  time to make sure that all the cattle are doing well on the pastures. So there is the constant job of checking the pastures for thistles, fencing problems, and putting out mineral for the cattle.  The reason we check our pastures is to ensure that the cattle are not having any health problems along with making sure that we are not spreading any noxious weeds. One of the biggest around these parts is the musk thistle which is pictured below.  This is one weed that us kids have started to hate.  We are the ones who are usually sent to the pastures to check out everything along with combing the pastures for this stubborn and noxious weed. There may be some who think this is a beautiful and pretty flower, but looks can be deceiving and such they are. This weed can grow anywhere from a couple of inches to many feet tall.  The plant flowers and then once it is done flowering it will spread many hundreds of seeds which are very light weight and kind of look like a large dandelion seed. Once the plant hits this stage we hope to have them already sprayed and killed so that it does not spread  further into our pastures or any neighboring pastures.  This control of the weed takes lots of time on the four wheelers with the sprayers on back and a mineral bag to collect the flowered heads in, so we can burn them later so they will not spread. Many others also use a shovel which is another good tool to take out this nuisance.

 

We also are trying to get all of  the fall crops into the ground which isn't possible right  now since we had about an inch and three quarters of rain two nights ago.  We were glad  to see the rain come but not so happy to see some hail.  The hail we received was anywhere from pea to quarter size in diameter.  This now gives us time to catch up on the small projects around the farm such as getting all the winter equipment greased and put away for the summer.

As the summer comes we are looking forward to a busy and hard working time.  Summer brings many tasks along with it some of which are made for the men and some are made for us 'kids' to do.  Although we all chip in where needed there is always something to do whether it be the dishes or checking the pastures there is never a dull moment on our farm. I hope you all enjoy your summer if it is a break from school or just that time of year once again, have a safe and fun summer.