It's about time!

Well - it's been over a MONTH since my last entry (Sorry!)! It's been one HOT July around this part of Nebraska! We had 18 days straight over 90 (and a few over 100). We even had a reading of 109! WAY to hot! Not much rain to speak of, either. It's only been in the last 24 hours that it has cooled off again - it is a nice "cool" 82 right now.

I spent a good portion of the month working with hay. The neighbors around have needed help, so I gave them what I could! I drove the tractor and baled for one neighbor for about 2 hours on his alfalfa. He didn't get great yields, but it was bottom ground so it was better than hillside. He was baleing small squares. He gave us 4 pounds of hamburger, and some sweet corn, for helping!

The other neighbor I helped was on two separate places. The first was praire hay on a terraced hillside. It was 40 acres and he got 420 bales off of it - not very good at all! This was his worst year he could ever remember - he usually gets 1500+ off of the same field! The other field was 10 acres of CRP bottom ground with native grasses (a mixture) on it. His yeild was 65 bales an acre from it. He saved 30 acres - 10 for next year, 10 for the year after that - so he would have a back up plan for the next couple of years.

All I did was drive the tractor and pickup for him. He gave me 100 bales for helping! I told him I didn't need that many, but he insisted I take it!

My wife's dad came over the weekend of 8 July 06. He brought 4 Boer cross goats with him. 1 Nanny, her daughter, a "Nannette" (doeling) and a "fainting goat". All are really loving the "jungle" that I fenced off! All that nice lucsious, browse and brush to work over! We sold our two young bil;lys because they were related. I don't think that they were happy to leave! The Fainting Goat is adorable and follows me around like a puppy. We are planning to take her to a Fainting Goat show in Arlington Nebraska next weekend (13 August) and hope to sell her there to someone for a pet. She's real laidback and friendly, so she will make a good one.

We also bought a Boer Billy from a local producer near town. The man obviously knows NOTHING about caring for goats. His ONLY purpose is to fatten them up for slaughter as quickly as he can. I didn't know it until it was to late, but he has been feeding them silage AND dumping it right on the ground! What a MORON! That is a good way to get your animals sick as our Billy can atest to. He developed Listeriosis as a result of the silage and the change to a healthy diet. He lost weight and was so far down, we feared he was lost. We gave him a one time injection of an anti-imflamitory and three shots of Penicillin, twice a day for 5 days. He is now back out with the herd and doing great! The Veteranarian said he'd be better than before IF he pulls through the first 72 hours. I guess he was right, Billy is fatter and much better looking than before,but doesn't like to see my wife! I think he equates her with needles, since she held him while I injected him. He won't even come near ME when he sees her! This is another example of why cattle ranchers should stay away from goats (or vice-versa). The man we bought him from runs the Tecumseh (NE) Livestock Market and treats his goats like small cattle. I've learned a lot from this insident and can see the deasease in his herd now. He, of course, being the idiot he is, cannot see it! I feel sorry for the goats, but there's not a whole lot I can do for them.

The same neighbor that is giving me the 100 bales of hay is also letting me chop down his sweet corn to give to the goats. He lives about a half mile up the road and I go over there every other day or so to chop some. I have been using the trailer for this, so the goats have figured it out! They see the trailer coming down the drive and come running to the fence! They are disapointed when it isn't corn, though! Most of the good ears are gone, but a few small or older, dry ones, still remain. It's pretty funny to watch an adult goat put a 6" ear of corn into a 3" wide mouth and start chewing! It reminds me of a baseball player with a mouthful of "chaw". They sure enjoy it, anyway!

I also got the new FarmShow Magazine. I have a couple of things in there again this issue. I can't afford much, so I have to modify or build my own implements. It is a wonderful magazine - if you don't get it, I might suggest you subscribe!

I also have to build a rabbit hutch in the NEAR future! We are going to "inherit" three Angora Bunnies this weekend. Don't know what I'm gonna do with them, but if it don't pan out, there might be some bunnies for sale in SE Nebraska!

Well - I'm about out of info for this time!