tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9944299525563755542024-03-12T16:28:55.457-07:00Mindless RamblingsThe title pretty much says it all. There will be a lot of farming related posts here as well as some ancient family history and photos. Another family history blog I have is at....
http://nevardblog.blogspot.com/Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.comBlogger786125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-11232415368985615412024-01-22T06:33:00.000-08:002024-01-22T06:33:23.880-08:00Some INteresting Readinghttps://www.amazon.ca/Grave-Error-Misled-Residential-Schools/product-reviews/B0CP465ZPP/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-64122783641152536592024-01-18T12:58:00.000-08:002024-01-18T12:58:13.277-08:00Jan 18 diesel testI wonder if this will work. My lazy man's way of making a blog post. Just shot this video less than an hour ago. Its still colder and miserable than normal even for Sask.
<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/9xzOIzd9ACA?si=63j9h9F-ZpxeUR_H" frameborder="0"></iframe>
Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-30396321827863409802024-01-09T06:15:00.000-08:002024-01-09T06:15:39.372-08:00Warmest Year Yet???Interesting co-incidence that I woke up to the coldest day yet this winter at -15F. While in the background "climate change radio" (CBC) comes out with the headline that 2023 was the hottest year on record. Theres times I really need to turn the radio off. I can remember one hot day last summer. Canada Day, July 1 was aboout 90F so I decided it was too warm to drive the Merc to the local car show. Other than that I don't remember any extreme heat. Fall harvest, if anything seemed cool and damp. I'll agree that December was well above normal temps and hardly any snow. I guess that is the "warm spell" that has thrown the average temp for the year into the above normal category.
I miss the days when all we had to worry about was pollution and the coming ice age. (1960s)
In the meantime I'll keep warm by the burning fire.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUEGPVX0WHFLSqXVRHGFFnPk9XifESjmneo12kqVgS5Al6LXPFu3TAZIsV6z2M4dc4uW22GZb_y4BKCQS5H00tQyMfSq5b8mhiNrnF_g7BUuqXQPaxCa0Fbx9xqrWtkdZVi3yWf-6AV5gxcNdV25vjsR5y6dCettBHhGdrIaSRqcqM2w5Oitmuqu3nPICX/s4032/IMG_5517%5B1%5D.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUEGPVX0WHFLSqXVRHGFFnPk9XifESjmneo12kqVgS5Al6LXPFu3TAZIsV6z2M4dc4uW22GZb_y4BKCQS5H00tQyMfSq5b8mhiNrnF_g7BUuqXQPaxCa0Fbx9xqrWtkdZVi3yWf-6AV5gxcNdV25vjsR5y6dCettBHhGdrIaSRqcqM2w5Oitmuqu3nPICX/s400/IMG_5517%5B1%5D.JPG"/></a></div>Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-69068728797233165512023-12-04T10:15:00.000-08:002023-12-04T10:15:27.530-08:00Price of Beef
FB won't let us share news on there platform anymore so I'll just have to make do with here and Twitter, or "X" as somebody re-named it.
Seems the climate fanatics think we can save the world by stopping raising cattle and eating beef.
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/markets/first-they-came-for-the-cars-then-the-cows/ar-AA1kW92J?ocid=socialshare&pc=ASTS&cvid=fd68ba94f03a45e18e3dd927debac42f&ei=40
Ok, guess blogger follows the same rules and won't make it easy to share. Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-22627995875862580552023-10-17T06:37:00.000-07:002023-10-17T06:37:52.343-07:00Bad Luck or No Luck At AllThats an old expression that comes to mind lately. Although I should not complain too much as I have a lot of help to try and keep the wheels turning. Two combines here on the farm, either one of which should be able to handle the 700 odd acres of crop without a problem. And yet here I sit with both broke down and the last 40 acres of canola swaths still in the field. Cloud and showers in the forecast for today so it will be just a matter of covering things up to protect them from the rain and then try to fix the problems when weather permits.
The canola swaths have been a nightmare to put through either combine. The self propelled IH did pretty well but suffered from the abuse of these big canola lumps hitting the feeder and finally something has #@*ed up inside the feeder house causing me to park it. Too dark the investigate much so the John Deere pull type was put into duty after some hydraulic hose replacement to at least cut oil consumption by half. It worked pretty well in spite of numerous feeder house plug ups that are very time consuming and strenuous to unplug. Luckily I have my nephew available most of the time to help out.
Due to John Deere's ridiculous belt drive system for the feeder chain it is impossible to turn it backwards by hand because the belt just slips. One man needs to turn the lever while the other holds pressure on the belt so things turn. Otherwise its hand work with hooks and saw to remove a handful of straw at a time. My grandfather Nevard would be shocked to see me using his mitre saw to cut canola stalks out of the combine feeder area but thats what I'm doing.
The John Deere gave out on a beautiful harvest day suffering a breakdown of a bolt in the shoe area. Its fixable but going to take time. The showers forecast will give plenty of time to work on it. Of course it is located on the second farthest away field so repairs involve plenty of driving back and forth for tools, parts, etc.
There can't be much good weather left at this time of year. Will I finish before winter sets in? Will the grain be dry? <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1T_bYw5ySNbuWbxVbUxgfKrRS1EYnDFE8je2qUn2fCPJqPDJBWl5rtmoN4jif3_h0norOWenIxHT9jmty43IQddiwQvJu8kpZtzwosEtUlK3CVFFJWjrO4MdqYmx5lvdN1wvR94Kntg-dJ5PdHByteBuEd6HtwvdW0mOooviSPfhTKRwe6bE8pP90tZs/s4032/IMG_5029%5B1%5D.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1T_bYw5ySNbuWbxVbUxgfKrRS1EYnDFE8je2qUn2fCPJqPDJBWl5rtmoN4jif3_h0norOWenIxHT9jmty43IQddiwQvJu8kpZtzwosEtUlK3CVFFJWjrO4MdqYmx5lvdN1wvR94Kntg-dJ5PdHByteBuEd6HtwvdW0mOooviSPfhTKRwe6bE8pP90tZs/s320/IMG_5029%5B1%5D.JPG"/></a></div>Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-14478019076898357472023-10-05T19:35:00.000-07:002023-10-05T19:35:35.300-07:00Fall WinterIts supposed to be fall but feels more like winter today. Temp struggling to hit 40 with fine rain and raging NW wind. I went to work on a few things on the combine but soon lost my enthusiasm in those conditions. It has been parked for six days waiting on some decent weather.
I'm down to my last field but it is the worst one. Good as far as crop yield but a bit of a nightmare to get through the combine. I did my best trying to swath the nearly six foot tall canola but still left intermittent lumps of swath where it plugged going through the swath opening. Some of these piles are so big and knitted together that I just lift the combine header over them and drive on. Not worth the frustration and exertion of unplugging the feeder chain yet again. Not to mention the time lost.
The stress on the combine and operator is high. Next year better be a shorter variety of canola that my swather can handle.
I'm even seriously considering putting the sidelined IH 1660 in the field hoping it might handle the lumpy swath better. Just need to rig up an oil leak catcher at the gear box and keep on adding oil to replace what leaks out.
Supposed to be a nice weekend and then a few days of good weather. Will it be enough for me to finish? I wouldn't bet on it. The last day it took me 5 hours to do a 12 acre patch of canola swaths. At that rate I'll need a week of good weather to finish.
Signs of snow falling this evening. Its cold enough. Sask Energy will be happy as my furnace is running. <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7d8yZ7qpGLiF_nGe743glR1MaIdnr_1EbQcHQeA2OMVcwclbD7YJzm1pLzP_b5dTUjbo6rS3RtcnCfQufy6ZSt50W5aP3SmtLkqeyjBxhxR0LMH_CmkL2QHxSYgsDDJrKNWLCy23pwUCOR76tjL-8f0GnB9BNiWLYTXyoD6fCDIe1k1AqvsISDKczbfNM/s3328/2140%20Oct%205.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="2247" data-original-width="3328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7d8yZ7qpGLiF_nGe743glR1MaIdnr_1EbQcHQeA2OMVcwclbD7YJzm1pLzP_b5dTUjbo6rS3RtcnCfQufy6ZSt50W5aP3SmtLkqeyjBxhxR0LMH_CmkL2QHxSYgsDDJrKNWLCy23pwUCOR76tjL-8f0GnB9BNiWLYTXyoD6fCDIe1k1AqvsISDKczbfNM/s320/2140%20Oct%205.JPG"/></a></div>
Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-84735102930661203132023-06-14T08:15:00.000-07:002023-06-14T08:15:33.275-07:00Garden Progress June 13<iframe style="background-image:url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/z9x4AfjT240/hqdefault.jpg)" width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/z9x4AfjT240" frameborder="0"></iframe>
I've done a couple of these garden updates already but never got around to editing and uploading. So finally one makes it to yt. The month of May has been a blur in fast forward and the garden has not had the attention it needs. Potato bugs are making progress, as are the weeds. Its either too hot, too many mosquitos or I'm too busy with other farming stuff. The fancy new rain gauge was free thanks to a post I made on fb that drew the attention of a site that records rainfall and wanted me to become a reporter.
Today's forest fire smoke is the worst I've seen so far even with a strong South wind blowing. Too windy for crop spraying so maybe a chance to catch up on garden work. Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-10054181288382786712023-03-19T18:03:00.004-07:002023-03-19T18:03:52.086-07:00March 19 Snow Levels<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/tY_N7UF6WIc" frameborder="0"></iframe>
Preview looks ok, lets see if it works. Spring is officially just a couple of days away but you'd never know it around here. Below normal temps and very little melting going on. Just enough to cause doors to freeze up and become even harder to open than normal. Like great uncle Jack used to say, "We get 6 months of winter and 6 months of poor sleighing". Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-87501698092592324982023-03-13T07:21:00.001-07:002023-03-13T07:21:40.481-07:00Winter ContinuesHope it ends soon. This latest storm left such hard drifts of snow that the snow blower could hardly cut into it. Just finished and a bearing broke on the auger drive so the blower is down til I can get it apart and a new bearing installed. At least it is not super freezing cold like it has been. I can still move snow with the blade on the bigger tractor but that leaves huge ridges and piles of snow that just catch more snow. And eventually we run out of room to pile snow. Diesel fuel is not getting any cheaper last time I checked.
Picture from yesterday's activities. At least the scenery was nice.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUuS00G8fCJbYP1RNbM1S9rSBgRVRfHzEbXRAn-4I03vGL6epXbW5TYtq9hQ7hWWwVGurTkTIXevK9jC-kAioNkkCYrsAcXH6ObnDTZBqh04D2_cbq5_s2-wsLuh-ePp4Cz4iCfRRT5gn4s7lai7hM8GJglZviH3Xo2fKAz8sRndHo8y8plAbcVYZvtg/s2816/IMG_4246.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="2112" data-original-width="2816" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUuS00G8fCJbYP1RNbM1S9rSBgRVRfHzEbXRAn-4I03vGL6epXbW5TYtq9hQ7hWWwVGurTkTIXevK9jC-kAioNkkCYrsAcXH6ObnDTZBqh04D2_cbq5_s2-wsLuh-ePp4Cz4iCfRRT5gn4s7lai7hM8GJglZviH3Xo2fKAz8sRndHo8y8plAbcVYZvtg/s400/IMG_4246.JPG"/></a></div>Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-69678162868670184392023-02-20T17:42:00.003-08:002023-02-20T17:44:10.709-08:00Jigsaw PuzzlesI've enjoyed wasting a good many hours of my life putting together jigsaw puzzles over the years. I recently found that there were online jigsaw puzzles that could be made out of my own photos. I can see where that could be pretty addictive. Heres one from 1958 from right here in sunny Saskatchewan.
https://jigex.com/NHyoa
<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 600px; max-height: 90vh; border-style: solid; border-width: 2px; border-color: #888" allowFullScreen="true" src="https://www.jigsawexplorer.com/online-jigsaw-puzzle-player.html?frm=1&url=aHR0cHM6Ly9zY29udGVudC5meXFyMi0xLmZuYS5mYmNkbi5uZXQvdi90MS4xODE2OS05Lzk0MzAwN18xMDE1MTM4NDE4NzU3MTY4OV8xMTY4NzYwMTMzX24uanBnP19uY19jYXQ9MTAzJmNjYj0xLTcmX25jX3NpZD0yYzQ4NTQmX25jX29oYz1relpJU0JCVUZQb0FYOW8wTk5lJl9uY19odD1zY29udGVudC5meXFyMi0xLmZuYSZvaD0wMF9BZkFncmkzODBYZGpqbWVlbmd0RjNKdTR5N001SDF3bzFzVE53V1RqUlpsX2hnJm9lPTYzRjg5Njc0" title="Jigsaw Puzzle">Jigsaw Puzzle</iframe>
<a href="" target="_blank"></a>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPM4uQLMvUBzudi7BE7Yaet7fzhB_32jg8TwmeZZpGfAEM0W0h1TqeUZ1oCVjjzDClfBcPLzJh7PC4XuOWeoM19z9eb9GOyJro_iZQMqcWz2bQt3B2cQWn8a1B9haNWa0071rxiJKovFlcIAd_XpeQ-fw_1Qaax0ntGKzqJvpUbz9W1siZ3LeXWlCCRw/s792/Winter%20of%2055-SNOW.gif" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="320" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="612" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPM4uQLMvUBzudi7BE7Yaet7fzhB_32jg8TwmeZZpGfAEM0W0h1TqeUZ1oCVjjzDClfBcPLzJh7PC4XuOWeoM19z9eb9GOyJro_iZQMqcWz2bQt3B2cQWn8a1B9haNWa0071rxiJKovFlcIAd_XpeQ-fw_1Qaax0ntGKzqJvpUbz9W1siZ3LeXWlCCRw/s320/Winter%20of%2055-SNOW.gif"/></a></div>Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-71020950569326708182023-01-06T20:19:00.000-08:002023-01-06T20:19:14.682-08:00Outstanding SceneryJust had to shoot some video today showing the amazing "hoar frost" scenery we have been seeing most of the week. Its been a rare break from the miserable winds that we get way too much of in a normal winter. Fairly mild too for us. I needed to get to town for mail and groceries anyway as it must be a couple of weeks since I was in town. Still working on getting over the last of this cold I've had since the beginning of December. Its definitely one of the longest lasting I can ever remember and I have gone years without having a serious cold.
The sunshine and blue sky today definitely adds to the photos and videos. Kind of the Paul Simon "kodachrome effect" in which we are made to think all the world is a sunny day.
Ok, I was trying to post the scenic video here but either my Sasktel internet is way too slow to handle it or else blogger is getting stubborn. I'll just try to post the link.
https://youtu.be/IDXVZ_8y5V0
And maybe a picture?
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjauaWDeP1-bZugq8prJ_OZTzbU6TFVkY9xWVlf8518JqMI8iYgykAlWAY_oWAyDbQmkqVVx4WjciQozC7Dvaz-_WFhxYW7LMuRUMOP72q66nZPzySgIXvlRBLbR1d4uQxNlU6jQMrp4Lh54yoWkXduFFSvzN8KHgKptg38Lu9P62J1bhewuX8puCvkZw/s4032/IMG_4354%5B1%5D.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjauaWDeP1-bZugq8prJ_OZTzbU6TFVkY9xWVlf8518JqMI8iYgykAlWAY_oWAyDbQmkqVVx4WjciQozC7Dvaz-_WFhxYW7LMuRUMOP72q66nZPzySgIXvlRBLbR1d4uQxNlU6jQMrp4Lh54yoWkXduFFSvzN8KHgKptg38Lu9P62J1bhewuX8puCvkZw/s400/IMG_4354%5B1%5D.JPG"/></a></div>Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-60836563409244337862022-11-09T19:00:00.000-08:002022-11-09T19:00:10.250-08:00Still AliveYes, I'm still alive but have not posted anything since July. Blogger can be difficult sometimes but seems to work tonight.
Wow, is it winter, and early. Going below zero (F) tonight and enough snow drifts around to make it heavy walking around the yard. I've shovelled the bare minimum needed to get around and open doors.
Everything is starving it seems. Cattle eat up the hay in the feeder real fst and complain for more. Two missing cats returned home to make a total of 7. I have doubled the cat food rations along with some baked potatoes. They clean it up nd will come to the house and sit outside the door accusingly as it they are starving.
Ground up a load of oats for cattle feed yesterday. Although it ran over into two days as I got an unexpected late start. The tractor ran out of gas just after sundown and I was not about to try and finish in the dark. The cold Northwest wind was none too encouraging plus I had a bit of a headache and sore shoulder after slipping in the grain hopper tank and landing hard.
Finished the job up this morning after feeding hay. The old tractor sat out all night on the belt and was none too eager to start necessitating a trip dragging the big batter booster and cords across the yard to finally get started. The starter drive is getting so bad on this old Cockshutt that I might have to resort to crank starting soon.
Then spent a lot of time perusing parts books online and then on the phone ordering what I hope will be the necessary parts to get two tractors back on the job. Yes, currently both my snow clearing tractors are out of commision and I'm beginning to need them. It will take about $1400 worth of steel washers to get the big blade tractor (2090)'s clutch working properly again. The little John Deere 2140 that will run the snowblower currently sits in the workshop waiting for me to finish the fuel injector replacement that I began over a week ago. Complications of course. I somehow lost a critically important part (fuel line nut) in the course of removal and have spent hours with a trouble light and down on the floor searching for it. I finally gave up and ordered a new one today. Sure enough, a few hours later I did find the lost part.
Now if I can just get the fuel lines threaded onto the new injectors without cross threading and ruining them I might just get it back to gether and running.
l Earlier this week I hauled home the last of this summer's hay bales that had been left out in the hundred acre woods. Being cold and miserable weather I opted to use the comfortable and warm 2 wheel drive 41 year old pickup truck. It took some time and effort to load compared to a front end loader but was much more comfortable on the 5 mile drive home.
I guess theres more but I'm not writing a book here.
Naturally there is some video to go along with everything I do.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><iframe class="BLOG_video_class" allowfullscreen="" youtube-src-id="c5zXuyXjQv8" width="320" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c5zXuyXjQv8"></iframe></div>Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-16532664752914704772022-07-10T12:15:00.016-07:002022-07-14T11:30:22.552-07:00Roads And FencesInteresting article from my area about big farmers wanting to farm the roads as well as all the land.
<a href="https://saskdispatch.com/articles/view/a-road-allowance-and-the-farming-gold-rush?fbclid=IwAR1ihaiYznxqB8SGD7Q8BPiVmlnVw8JQ7cJ11EYqIZ5741r8Q0mrPYK6Hk0"></a>
For unknown reasons the link did not work so try again. <a href="" target="_blank"></a>
https://saskdispatch.com/articles/view/a-road-allowance-and-the-farming-gold-rush?fbclid=IwAR1ihaiYznxqB8SGD7Q8BPiVmlnVw8JQ7cJ11EYqIZ5741r8Q0mrPYK6Hk0
Good growing conditions for crops and gardens here this year. Much better than last year when it was so dry.
<iframe class="BLOG_video_class" allowfullscreen="" youtube-src-id="X8q1xndi2JY" width="400" height="322" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/X8q1xndi2JY"></iframe>
Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-87793241335643323002022-06-13T15:15:00.001-07:002022-06-13T15:15:58.035-07:00Seeding Done and Video UpdateI finished up crops seeding just over a week ago. Just a little later than normal but whats in the ground is off to a good start with plenty of moisture. Chem fallow spraying done as much as possible but due to a shortage of glyphosate of any kind I had to leave a couple of fields for tillage weed control. I'll try not to complain too much about the outrageous high price of diesel fuel and cultivator shovels because I haven't got the bill for the glyphosate yet either. No matter what we want this year it is going to cost way more than it did last year.
On the slim chance that many people will actually be interested enough to watch it I have uploaded a video update today to youtube.
Garden is doing great. Early potatoes are well up out of the ground and should be eating new ones by mid July. Hope so as the old ones in the bin are pretty rubbery.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe class="BLOG_video_class" allowfullscreen="" youtube-src-id="lJbGv0fGhWo" width="320" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lJbGv0fGhWo"></iframe></div>Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-42568257712798993082022-05-20T13:27:00.000-07:002022-05-20T13:27:07.565-07:00May 20 SnowToo cold and miserable to do much outside so I put out a new video of today. Cold enough I need to cover up the few potatoes that are out of the ground already. Ove six inches of rain so far in May which is good but it would be better if we had a chance to get the crop planted. Getting late already.
<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/5WuaoYDrbWE" frameborder="0"></iframe>Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-91046432537594378892022-05-13T13:27:00.001-07:002022-05-13T13:27:42.565-07:00Drought Might Be OverAs much as we needed rain here it is a bit poor timing. Just when we should be in the field planting crops we are now rained out with over 3 inches over the past week. I managed to get out in somewhat muddy conditions and finish applying anhydrous and glad I did it yesterday. Some of the big acreage guys are well into it with many acres seeded but I'm guessing many like me have not started.
I know one of these days I will find out what each of those big tanks of anhydrous cost me but right now I don't want to think about it. Or the many gallos of diesel fuel even a small farmer like me has to burn to get the job done. High grain prices help but I wonder if they also help push up the cost of our inputs? Or can we blame it all on Putin's war?
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicput7jw6YOKEuo6j9wyeZHzns2GAh8xqCJ0HE0jOVlT5ODlkn4vJenS8T7Eosx5FJf0sX8ocjOavjuGcYm2vmAe-_JuU_C_-OOyC18pQoniv-XXVEdk45-J7TukETjIaRCVymJmr_uE1S1UAhUfiqvHeWu8vyOwcnsH2vNQ8XpLn9I8FrkCftEPHH1g/s4032/IMG_3789%5B1%5D.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicput7jw6YOKEuo6j9wyeZHzns2GAh8xqCJ0HE0jOVlT5ODlkn4vJenS8T7Eosx5FJf0sX8ocjOavjuGcYm2vmAe-_JuU_C_-OOyC18pQoniv-XXVEdk45-J7TukETjIaRCVymJmr_uE1S1UAhUfiqvHeWu8vyOwcnsH2vNQ8XpLn9I8FrkCftEPHH1g/s320/IMG_3789%5B1%5D.JPG"/></a></div>Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-37448654228577130722022-04-21T19:18:00.004-07:002022-04-21T19:21:37.168-07:00Easter CalfNot the Easter rabbit. This little heifer was born late afternoon of Easter Sunday. I'd been watching this heifer for the past few weeks thinking she could not be far from calving. She is the one I raised as a pail fed calf a couple of years ago so very quiet.
That evening at feeing time she was missing from the herd. A short walk up on "separator hill" and I was able to spot her out on the "big flat" about a quarter of a mile away.
Still a few snowbanks but most of the fields are bare, but muddy. Hated to make ruts with the tractor but that was about the only option to get out there to check. Sure enough the calf was born just fine but laying on the wet slough ground getting cold. I considered leaving them out overnight but hearing the coyotes howling nearby earlier changed my mind. I already lost one to coyotes back in January.
It wasn't a real heavy calf that I carried out of the flat and set down in the front end loader bucket on a good layer of straw. I headed slowly for home in reverse hoping the heifer would have the sense to keep right up following her calf. I was in reverse and it was a slow trip home. Not quite dark when I got back with it to the cattle shelter. About half way through the journey the heifer realized what was happening and began heading home too. She pretty much caught up to me at the shelter as I was unloading the calf into the corraled off area of the shelter. I was able to entice her to follow me in there with a few handfuls of hay.
Locked in for the night with some hay and water I hoped by morning the calf would have figured out where it's nourishment was and get busy. It did look hopeful by morning and by later the next day there was no doubt this calf and heifer (now cow) knew what to do. So nice when everything works the way it is supposed to.
They are still in the enclosure 4 days later as the forecast is for some nasty weather and I think the calf is better off under a roof than out in the rain or wet snow.
<iframe class="BLOG_video_class" allowfullscreen="" youtube-src-id="QYjR5ufrVq8" width="400" height="322" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QYjR5ufrVq8"></iframe>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqWVONca3wM5EBmblSz98t6rJDjMy9uQfJiraGmYLsXGp_4FR17XfEEYey5u1ILUONJJGvikZxr4_ewzxsUiRwT8RxqrsYmA2w8WE_FTps1XzkKlipF_h_XS83u3RR57i2nqaz-BuzHpUpz9rnzI7ZFLolqjIEApLrXAMVEvecuhIBTVX-2ikFEKGxpQ/s1600/Heifer%20and%20calf.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="722" data-original-width="1173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqWVONca3wM5EBmblSz98t6rJDjMy9uQfJiraGmYLsXGp_4FR17XfEEYey5u1ILUONJJGvikZxr4_ewzxsUiRwT8RxqrsYmA2w8WE_FTps1XzkKlipF_h_XS83u3RR57i2nqaz-BuzHpUpz9rnzI7ZFLolqjIEApLrXAMVEvecuhIBTVX-2ikFEKGxpQ/s1600/Heifer%20and%20calf.JPG"/></a></div>Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-46067940248978024052022-03-08T18:15:00.000-08:002022-03-08T18:15:02.654-08:00Buried The PlowWow, yet another winter storm has buried us in snow drifts. I've been taking pictures of the lawn ornament plow in my yard through this winter and as of today there is only a few inches of the front spindle sticking up through the snowdrift. Got to be a good three feet.
I had to shovel to get into the barn this morning and again late afternoon. Its become a snow tunnel to get to the chop bin and the oat chop is getting pretty low. I need to grind up some more oats pretty quick before the bin runs out. Cattle need a little grain to carry them through this cold.
I'm so thankful we got the last of the January grain contract hauled out with only hours to spare yesterday. Weather was already turning bad by mid afternoon but nothing like it got by night time. Roads not fit to travel all across the South end of the province.
The little calf born two weeks ago seems fine out in the cattle shelter with the rest of the herd. I've got mountains of snow to move soon as it lets up a bit. Ran the hundred gallon tank of winter diesel empty yesterday filling up the vac tractor. Don't think I've ever used that much in a winter before. I'm going to mix up a little summer diesel with Howes concentrate to thin it enough that the fuel won't gel in the remaining cold weather that is in our immediate future. I don't want to buy anymore winter diesel at this point even if the fuel truck could get into my yard. And lets not even talk about the cost of fuel. High grain prices are fine but by the time we pay the fuel bills and inflated crop input prices I don't think we will be any better off.
Not complaining too much as I know there are parts of the world where they have cold weather and no shelter or services thanks to a dictator that wants to take over their country by force. How can this still happen in 2022? Has the world learned nothing from past history? Everybody is scared that Rasputin is going to push the nuke button. Its probably a bluff but they do say that dictators don't usually have a retirement plan either.
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<iframe class="BLOG_video_class" allowfullscreen="" youtube-src-id="YSxa7j6HvfA" width="320" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YSxa7j6HvfA"></iframe>Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-42360366967772865582022-02-19T20:09:00.000-08:002022-02-19T20:09:37.696-08:00Looking BackAs this miserable pandemic winter drags on it is entertaining to look back on better times. I've been converting more old home movies to digital from vhs video and uploading a few to my youtube channel. People seem to like them. This latest one shows some kids learning to pedal bikes and drive go karts. Is there a better place to grow up than on a Saskatchewan farm? I can't imagine it.
Hope the "kids" don't mind being on the movie. I didn't identify anybody by name.
<iframe class="BLOG_video_class" allowfullscreen="" youtube-src-id="OzZrB6DCanA" width="400" height="322" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OzZrB6DCanA"></iframe>Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-79322429226425071052022-02-13T17:52:00.000-08:002022-02-13T17:52:54.274-08:00Sunshine Wind and Snow<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/R6FbS5asFag" frameborder="0"></iframe>
We got it all today. Cool and cloudy morning but still looked promising enough to plug in the tractor to finally open my driveway. Sun came out briefly too but by the time I got to the tractor shed it was blowing snow in high winds so I put that idea on hold til afternoon. By afternoon brilliant bursts of sunshine illuminated the blowing and drifting snow. Temp went up above normal but by late afternoon it was headed down into the discomfort zone again so the tractor idea got pushed ahead into tomorrow. I need the driveway open by 1:00 for an appointment but I'm starting to think of cancelling. This has been one crazy winter. Hardly a break between wind storms. Lots of snow for the fields but its being blown off the fields into ditches and yards where it won't do us much good.
On the good news side, grains prices are still at crazy high levels and I have some to sell if the weather ever gives me a few days in a row without wind and blowing snow to get it hauled.
On the bad side, crop input costs have jumped about as bad as grain prices have gone good. And of course the general unrest in the whole country. Interesting times indeed. Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-4422646925602528292022-02-04T08:55:00.000-08:002022-02-04T08:55:07.638-08:00The World Through A KeyholeI call this viewing the world through a keyhole. I know a lot of people access the internet with a cell phone. In fact i am doing that now,but not by choice. Seems my meagre "starvation ration" of 50 gb from sasktel has almost run out before month end.So i am reduced to using my i phone as a hotspot to get internet on my laptop. Which actually works quite well,when it works. Ìt took 2 hours of trouble shooting and experimenting before it connected to my laptop last night.
While waiting i tried using the iphone to watch a few yt videos and readinng forum comments but as i said, like viewing the world through a keyhole. Incredibly slow and frustrating scrolling side to side and up and down.
I can certainly see why spelling, punctuation, grammer, etc. Are so bad on the net. And abbreviations so popular. I hate pecking away at an onscreen keyboard with one big clumsy finger when i am used to speeding along using all ten fingers and thumbs.. it has taken me half an hour to peck out this short rant which normally should take maybe 2 minutes.
Stressful too. I neneed a rest now.Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-17043855034707207232022-02-03T19:56:00.000-08:002022-02-03T19:56:04.879-08:00Hot Day In JulyIts -20F and high wind chill out there right now so its time to be reminded of summer time hot days when I could take an evening crop tour in the old Merc with the window open. Turn on the vintage "Eskimo" fan for some cool air. I recorded this way back in July of 2021 but just edited it here on Feb 3 of 2022. <div><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/KD8NhhtvPeg" width="480"></iframe></div>Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-50849493692656345482022-01-30T20:50:00.001-08:002022-01-30T20:50:11.481-08:00A Few Rotten Apples<p> <a href="https://pressprogress.ca/head-of-canadian-military-condemns-anti-vax-convoy-protesters-dancing-on-tomb-of-the-unknown-soldier/">Head of Canadian Military Condemns Anti-Vax Convoy Protesters ‘Dancing on Tomb of the Unknown Soldier’ (pressprogress.ca)</a></p><p>As much as I am in favour of this "Freedom Rally" going on in Ottawa right now, this news item really turned enthusiasm down a lot. These protesters desecrating the tomb of the unknown soldier are not the kind of people I want representing me. The guy in that tomb likely died carrying a gun in the name of freedom in World War II. Unlike the loud mouthed knuckle dragger waving his arms dancing on the soldier's tomb. </p><p>No doubt there are some opportunists that see the whole thing as a chance to go out and create mayhem on the streets in the name of freedom. There is even talk there are paid protesters put out there to make the whole thing look bad. Could be possible. Plenty of room for conspiracy theories here too. </p><p><a href="https://pressprogress.ca/head-of-canadian-military-condemns-anti-vax-convoy-protesters-dancing-on-tomb-of-the-unknown-soldier/" target="_blank">Grave Dancer</a><br /></p>Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-29844122407144245182022-01-04T19:04:00.003-08:002022-01-04T19:04:38.697-08:00Snow Trip Jan 4Stormy day to go to town but I had not had my mail in over two weeks. Getting low on cat food too. I can survive on freezer beef and home grown potatoes for months but those cats won't live on the few mice that might wander into the barn. <div>The weather had been so below normal that I kept putting off the trip waiting for a better day. It never came so I took a chance on today. Visibility was poor in blowing snow and the ground was the same colour as the sky. <div><br /></div><div>So now I am well stocked up on groceries and cat food for however long it is before the weather improves. <iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/QoA_q_-OI4E" width="480"></iframe></div></div>Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-994429952556375554.post-85379613326602543072021-12-19T18:28:00.000-08:002021-12-19T18:28:01.511-08:00Sundogs and Blowing Snow<p> The title describes the day. It was quite scenic and almost looked like 3 suns in the sky. Folks in the South country usually question, "what is a sundog". They are actually frost crystals and usually indicate cold and windy weather. They were right on today. It was around 0F which is normally not a bad day for us but with the strong NW wind there was high wind chill factor and it was downright miserable out in the open spaces. Not a day goes by that I don't appreciate the hedges around my yard and the surviving bushes out in the fields. </p><p>It was pretty cool carrying a couple of hay bales out to the feeders with the open Massey tractor. One feeder is located on the South side of a bush and is well sheltered. Comfortable feeding spot for the cattle on a Northwest windy day. </p><p>I think we are a day away from the first day of winter and the longest night of the year. Hibernation is pretty attractive right now. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-qJoZJyDd5U" width="320" youtube-src-id="-qJoZJyDd5U"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p>Ralph Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873610891410100788noreply@blogger.com2