The Fall Season Begins

The summer season has seem to came and gone faster than I have ever remembered it going.  We have now moved onto a time where the fall calves come off their mothers and the hot summer heat is supposed to go down...but is it? This is also the time when school starts and well it's now a part of my life...not the college life, but I now have acquired a job at my old high school. 



One last meal before leaving momma!

   

Mark leading the cows and calves into the corral.



Things seem to have progressed over the summer with working on the farm. We have just weaned this year's fall calves and boy are they looking good for as dry as we are.  The heat and humidity are a killer on them though. While still at the pasture,we do all the rounding up and loading. Once that is completed we bring them home to begin the process.  During their beginning days in the pens they are bunk broke and water tank broke as well. Since we have had to haul water to pastures due to the extreme heat, some are already water tank broke. We make sure there is water and free hay choice while they are in the first week of being away from their mothers.  Once they are set we begin to change their feed to granular feed consisting of coarse rolled milo. Eventually they will be become feeders and move up to our new pens which were just finished last year.  When they are brought home to be weaned they will get a set of booster shots to vaccinate for respiratory disease and to help them fight any pathogens that might come along.   



Eat up!



Time for supper!

 

Last batch of fall calves brought home.





Look at the uniformity!





Katelin's Fall Hiefer 181K





Sarah's Fall Heifer 172s

With all the new calves being home we seem to have a lot more to do. The chores are not bad at all...unless you don't want to get eaten by the calves. Although we still have the calves at home we still are having to haul lots of water to the pastures since our ponds have been depleted from the hot summer with little to no rain. This seems to complicate the day's activities at times since there have been fields to work, machinery to repair, and errands to run.  All of the things that it takes to run a farm always go together hand in hand.  While some call it work, others who enjoy it as a life and a love call it play. 

I should also bring you up to speed on things with the extended family. The family added a new member, Corina (Neufled) Enns is now married to Darren Enns (my cousin). The entire family took a vacation to the wedding which was in Colorado, except me. I went to New York to a best friends wedding which was on the same day, but got to see my cousin's wedding through pictures and a reception back in Kansas. Grandma and Grandpa did take another trip to Colorado, as they usually always do, to get peaches. Which I may say are delicious!! (As I am eating one for lunch Yummy) Sarah left for college once again for her sophomore year at Hesston College where she is a Resident Assistant of mod 3CN. And the other random things that happened between the last blog and now are: The silage has also been put up and packed as well as a little cutting of alfalfa. But more and more water is being hauled to the pastures. But thankfully the family is all together safe and sound, along with many fall heifer calves which were born right around the vacation time. Blessings to you and yours.