I currently have four superior, intellectual people following my blog. I know that there are more of you out there who are ashamed to admit that you can't get through the day without reading about how many eggs I gather each day.
I would like to welcome Punky to my Follower's list, it was very brave of you to own up to reading my blog faithfully. If you don't know what I am talking about, you just need to scroll down a little ways in the right hand column of this page until you see the "Followers" area, then click on "Follow this blog" to add your name to the list. Don't be afraid, no one will know who you really are if you don't use your real name.
Also, just in case you are interested, we were away from home most of the day today. I went with my DH on one of those quick trips to pick up a fuel tank/tool box combo for the back of the new truck. Of course we actually came home with a fuel tank/tool box combo, another bigger fuel tank and a 6 ft. yard box. The only reason that we didn't make it home with a new rifle was because the man who had it for sale wasn't home.
These quick trips always last most of the day and my DH comforted me with the fact that I got to stop at one yard sale. The one yard sale that I got to visit was actually where we bought the fuel tank/tool box combo that we had gone after in the first place, so that was pretty painless for him.
I did buy three pairs of shoes, a purse, assorted ribbon and yarn and two teddy bears, so the day wasn't a total loss. Plus I got a Heath Blizzard from Dairy Queen.
The chickens were locked out of the barn/house today, which means that we don't know where they laid their eggs. We had a short egg hunt before it got dark and found only one out in the yard and a few in the goat/chicken shed but where the rest of them laid, we do not know. I added this last paragraph for those of you who love my egg reports. And by the way, I do have a couple of faithful egg buyers now, who are good for two to three dozen eggs each week.
I will also add this for those who need some goat news, Calico is giving one and one third quart of milk per day now. She would give more if I milked twice per day but I am not willing to put forth that effort, since we aren't using all that she is giving now.
Showing posts with label truck. Show all posts
Showing posts with label truck. Show all posts
Monday, October 13, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Cows and Calves
We don't have cattle anymore, we didn't have the greatest luck with raising calves though we have done it most of our lives. We lost our favorite cow and it was hard on both of us, so we sold all of our other cows. I do miss calving and I really miss going to check on the cows, even in the middle of a cold winter night.
I got to do a little calf handling yesterday morning and I enjoyed it. We have always helped our neighbor and close friend with his small cattle operation. He has a few black Angus cows and a gorgeous bull, he takes his calves to the Springville Feeder Auction that is just a few miles away.
We normally load and haul his calves for him, but someone else had volunteered to do it yesterday, which was perfect because my DH had to work, he is back to working six days a week again.
The person who was going to haul them came early yesterday morning and realized that there was just no way that he could do it. Our neighbor's farm is mostly hillside and very steep, getting a trailer to his holding pen usually takes a tractor but since we haven't had rain for weeks, it could be done with a 4x4 truck. The problem is that it is a small area and there is not any room for mistakes.
I was sleeping soundly and deeply when the phone rang. I didn't try to answer it because my back has to adjust slowly to achieving vertical status. I could hear the message that was left on the answering machine and recognized the voice. I was a little annoyed about the timing but I thought that it was nice that the neighbor was coming to haul off our trash. I got up, got dressed and gathered all of the trash and was just walking out the door with it when he arrived. I tried to hand it to him but he didn't seem anxious to take it.
He explained his problem to me and I groggily comprehended that he had said that he was coming to get the trailer and not the trash. So I sat the trash down without explaining it to him. As my bad luck would have it, our new shiny black Ford diesel 4x4 truck had the trailer hooked to it and it was pulled right up to the barn/house. It would have to be backed up and turned around. I am not a great trailer backer and my neighbor may be worse.
I got the keys, started the truck and he walked up to the window and asked me if I would do it with our truck instead of having to unhook it to do it with his truck. I told him that I would try if he would fix me a cup of coffee before we started. So I went back into my house, brushed my teeth, wiped the sleep from my eyes, turned the truck and trailer around and headed for their house. His wife had my coffee ready when I arrived.
I got the truck and trailer up the hill to the pen. I somehow managed to back right into perfect position on my second attempt. Everything went like clockwork, I worked the trailer door, my neighbor was in the pen pushing the calves from behind and his wife was reinforcing the gate on the other side of the trailer, so that the calves wouldn't see a hole to go through.
I remember when this neighbor first got cows and my Husband started helping him, it was hard to get across to him that he needed to be quiet and calm when working with cattle, he is a little excitable. Yesterday he was telling his wife that she needed to be completely quiet. To which I added, that she shouldn't move unless something tried to push through her gate. Then he gave her a club, so, I guess he finally gets it.
The calves loaded fairly easy and then I had to turn the thing around again to get it out of there. This is where I got nervous, it had to be done in inches because of the limited space. We were going down a steep and rough hill with the trailer loaded this time and those calves each weighed around 500 lbs.
I didn't hit the gate at the right angle and couldn't get the trailer past the gate post, there was no way to back up and try again, it was just too steep and my load was too heavy. I suggested that he might be able to pull me backwards with his tractor but his wife came up with a better solution. She told me to tell him to cut the gate post. But she also told me that it would have to be my idea or he wouldn't go for it. So I suggested it to him and he went for the chainsaw.
The real problem came when my DH got home and heard what happened. He was upset to say the least. He said that he would never have taken the new truck up there. He would have used the neighbor's tractor, because he wouldn't even take our tractor up there. I asked him finally if I would ever hear the end of it and he told me, no.
I am sure in 10 years when the truck develops some mechanical problem or he ever gets a flat tire, it will be my fault. But I am used to it, everything is always my fault anyways.
I got to do a little calf handling yesterday morning and I enjoyed it. We have always helped our neighbor and close friend with his small cattle operation. He has a few black Angus cows and a gorgeous bull, he takes his calves to the Springville Feeder Auction that is just a few miles away.
We normally load and haul his calves for him, but someone else had volunteered to do it yesterday, which was perfect because my DH had to work, he is back to working six days a week again.
The person who was going to haul them came early yesterday morning and realized that there was just no way that he could do it. Our neighbor's farm is mostly hillside and very steep, getting a trailer to his holding pen usually takes a tractor but since we haven't had rain for weeks, it could be done with a 4x4 truck. The problem is that it is a small area and there is not any room for mistakes.
I was sleeping soundly and deeply when the phone rang. I didn't try to answer it because my back has to adjust slowly to achieving vertical status. I could hear the message that was left on the answering machine and recognized the voice. I was a little annoyed about the timing but I thought that it was nice that the neighbor was coming to haul off our trash. I got up, got dressed and gathered all of the trash and was just walking out the door with it when he arrived. I tried to hand it to him but he didn't seem anxious to take it.
He explained his problem to me and I groggily comprehended that he had said that he was coming to get the trailer and not the trash. So I sat the trash down without explaining it to him. As my bad luck would have it, our new shiny black Ford diesel 4x4 truck had the trailer hooked to it and it was pulled right up to the barn/house. It would have to be backed up and turned around. I am not a great trailer backer and my neighbor may be worse.
I got the keys, started the truck and he walked up to the window and asked me if I would do it with our truck instead of having to unhook it to do it with his truck. I told him that I would try if he would fix me a cup of coffee before we started. So I went back into my house, brushed my teeth, wiped the sleep from my eyes, turned the truck and trailer around and headed for their house. His wife had my coffee ready when I arrived.
I got the truck and trailer up the hill to the pen. I somehow managed to back right into perfect position on my second attempt. Everything went like clockwork, I worked the trailer door, my neighbor was in the pen pushing the calves from behind and his wife was reinforcing the gate on the other side of the trailer, so that the calves wouldn't see a hole to go through.
I remember when this neighbor first got cows and my Husband started helping him, it was hard to get across to him that he needed to be quiet and calm when working with cattle, he is a little excitable. Yesterday he was telling his wife that she needed to be completely quiet. To which I added, that she shouldn't move unless something tried to push through her gate. Then he gave her a club, so, I guess he finally gets it.
The calves loaded fairly easy and then I had to turn the thing around again to get it out of there. This is where I got nervous, it had to be done in inches because of the limited space. We were going down a steep and rough hill with the trailer loaded this time and those calves each weighed around 500 lbs.
I didn't hit the gate at the right angle and couldn't get the trailer past the gate post, there was no way to back up and try again, it was just too steep and my load was too heavy. I suggested that he might be able to pull me backwards with his tractor but his wife came up with a better solution. She told me to tell him to cut the gate post. But she also told me that it would have to be my idea or he wouldn't go for it. So I suggested it to him and he went for the chainsaw.
The real problem came when my DH got home and heard what happened. He was upset to say the least. He said that he would never have taken the new truck up there. He would have used the neighbor's tractor, because he wouldn't even take our tractor up there. I asked him finally if I would ever hear the end of it and he told me, no.
I am sure in 10 years when the truck develops some mechanical problem or he ever gets a flat tire, it will be my fault. But I am used to it, everything is always my fault anyways.
Friday, July 25, 2008
It's in the Genes
Since way back when our eldest Son became a young man, I have thought that he inherited his redneckness from my side of the family. He instinctively liked to do the same things that I liked to do as a teenager. That was to go to Jackson County and just hang out in the deep woods.
While other girls my age were doing a lot of shopping and Malls were just coming into existence. I preferred going coon hunting, fishing or just driving around in God's country, if my cousin and I could talk her Dad into it. He never disappointed us. Even if it was in the middle of the night and he didn't have any spare batteries for his flashlight, us kids would just hold each other's hands and run through the woods after him and the coon dog.
Now back to my original thought, I am not a total redneck although I must admit I am mostly one. Just like today, when my Mother-in-law and my Husband's Aunt came to visit. I had perfect manners, I swept the chicken poo off of the front stoop. I consider my Husband's Mother a special guest and I don't mind going that extra mile for her.
My Mother-in-law won my heart years ago, when we were first married. She dropped in unexpectedly one day and told me that I didn't need to mop and wax the floors everyday as I had been doing. That totally changed my life. I don't think that I have mopped at all since then.
Now where was I? Oh, yes, my Son's bloodlines. After what happened tonight, I am not sure that all of our Son's quirks came from my side of the family.
We had gone to our youngest Son's house to see what they were putting in their garage sale tomorrow. They didn't have anything that I was interested in, until I saw the red wagon. I can't tell you how excited I was at the very sight of it. All goat herders should have a red wagon, they are perfect for hauling feed and water. Some goat herders flaunt their wagons, like a trophy. The really snooty ones have John Deere green wagons.
This wagon was purchased for my Granddaughters, it has fold up seats on each end, facing each other. It even has cup holders. This wagon will be perfect for hauling buckets in each seat. Now I can make just one trip and have everything that I need with me. My DH bought a very nice wheelbarrow that is light weight enough that I should be able to use it too.
We were on our way home, it was about 10:30 and we were driving on a country road at about the speed of light. When all of the sudden, our lights went out. Now when you are traveling at the speed of light and your headlights go out there is only one thing that you can do and that is slam on the brakes. This action tends to throw the new red wagon and wheelbarrow through the back glass of the truck. It would have been bad if it had broken that back glass because that would have been twice this year. The first time it was broken by a bale spear.
When my DH hit the dimmer switch the lights came back on and not wanting to lose his momentum, he accelerated back up to light speed. Then the lights went out for good. We managed to get stopped and he turned on the flashers, flashers tend to make me a little sick, when driving down the road at such high rates of speed.
This is where my Husband showed his true colors, he reached for the ever present spotlight, pushed the end into the cigarette lighter and out the window went his arm. This was just perfect, we had much better light than headlights could give.
The thing that really bothered me was that, I offered to get the spotlight and plug it in for him but he had to do it himself while flying down the road with only his dim blinkers for light but he wasn't watching the road anyway, so I guess it didn't matter.
We then noticed this strange, spooky whistle sound, this was bad because then he became focused on how the spotlight was whistling. I told him that they probably don't whistle like that when using them for a headlight at normal rates of speed but that the whistle was probably a warning than he was going too fast. He was still turning the spotlight all different angles to see if he could make different sounds and I resumed my important job of keeping us out of the ditches.
He hasn't always been this reckless, going a little too fast maybe but since he took a job as a rural mail carrier. His driving skills have suffered. He says he is a better driver but I don't think so. He does most of his driving with his left hand and left foot while sitting on the right hand side of the vehicle, with his hands constantly sorting mail and reaching into the back seat for more mail. He is a great multi-tasker. I think that he feels that he is a better driver because he has learned to drive without his eyes, he goes by feeling now.
Thank goodness that we only met one car with our new fangled headlight. The DH did point the spotlight off to the right hand side of the road, so as not to blind the poor guy but he still stopped his truck and froze in position at the sight of us, I hope it wasn't anyone we know.
Right before we got home, I asked him what he was going to do. His answers to me were the clincher of the whole matter. He said that we just weren't going to go anywhere after dark and then he said that he might have to think of something else to do before winter because his arm would get cold. So you see my dear Son, you came by it honestly.
(Edited to correct all of my errors, I obviously don't know my left hand from my right and sight is spelled s-i-g-h-t and not s-i-t-e. Let me know if I made any other errors.)
While other girls my age were doing a lot of shopping and Malls were just coming into existence. I preferred going coon hunting, fishing or just driving around in God's country, if my cousin and I could talk her Dad into it. He never disappointed us. Even if it was in the middle of the night and he didn't have any spare batteries for his flashlight, us kids would just hold each other's hands and run through the woods after him and the coon dog.
Now back to my original thought, I am not a total redneck although I must admit I am mostly one. Just like today, when my Mother-in-law and my Husband's Aunt came to visit. I had perfect manners, I swept the chicken poo off of the front stoop. I consider my Husband's Mother a special guest and I don't mind going that extra mile for her.
My Mother-in-law won my heart years ago, when we were first married. She dropped in unexpectedly one day and told me that I didn't need to mop and wax the floors everyday as I had been doing. That totally changed my life. I don't think that I have mopped at all since then.
Now where was I? Oh, yes, my Son's bloodlines. After what happened tonight, I am not sure that all of our Son's quirks came from my side of the family.
We had gone to our youngest Son's house to see what they were putting in their garage sale tomorrow. They didn't have anything that I was interested in, until I saw the red wagon. I can't tell you how excited I was at the very sight of it. All goat herders should have a red wagon, they are perfect for hauling feed and water. Some goat herders flaunt their wagons, like a trophy. The really snooty ones have John Deere green wagons.
This wagon was purchased for my Granddaughters, it has fold up seats on each end, facing each other. It even has cup holders. This wagon will be perfect for hauling buckets in each seat. Now I can make just one trip and have everything that I need with me. My DH bought a very nice wheelbarrow that is light weight enough that I should be able to use it too.
We were on our way home, it was about 10:30 and we were driving on a country road at about the speed of light. When all of the sudden, our lights went out. Now when you are traveling at the speed of light and your headlights go out there is only one thing that you can do and that is slam on the brakes. This action tends to throw the new red wagon and wheelbarrow through the back glass of the truck. It would have been bad if it had broken that back glass because that would have been twice this year. The first time it was broken by a bale spear.
When my DH hit the dimmer switch the lights came back on and not wanting to lose his momentum, he accelerated back up to light speed. Then the lights went out for good. We managed to get stopped and he turned on the flashers, flashers tend to make me a little sick, when driving down the road at such high rates of speed.
This is where my Husband showed his true colors, he reached for the ever present spotlight, pushed the end into the cigarette lighter and out the window went his arm. This was just perfect, we had much better light than headlights could give.
The thing that really bothered me was that, I offered to get the spotlight and plug it in for him but he had to do it himself while flying down the road with only his dim blinkers for light but he wasn't watching the road anyway, so I guess it didn't matter.
We then noticed this strange, spooky whistle sound, this was bad because then he became focused on how the spotlight was whistling. I told him that they probably don't whistle like that when using them for a headlight at normal rates of speed but that the whistle was probably a warning than he was going too fast. He was still turning the spotlight all different angles to see if he could make different sounds and I resumed my important job of keeping us out of the ditches.
He hasn't always been this reckless, going a little too fast maybe but since he took a job as a rural mail carrier. His driving skills have suffered. He says he is a better driver but I don't think so. He does most of his driving with his left hand and left foot while sitting on the right hand side of the vehicle, with his hands constantly sorting mail and reaching into the back seat for more mail. He is a great multi-tasker. I think that he feels that he is a better driver because he has learned to drive without his eyes, he goes by feeling now.
Thank goodness that we only met one car with our new fangled headlight. The DH did point the spotlight off to the right hand side of the road, so as not to blind the poor guy but he still stopped his truck and froze in position at the sight of us, I hope it wasn't anyone we know.
Right before we got home, I asked him what he was going to do. His answers to me were the clincher of the whole matter. He said that we just weren't going to go anywhere after dark and then he said that he might have to think of something else to do before winter because his arm would get cold. So you see my dear Son, you came by it honestly.
(Edited to correct all of my errors, I obviously don't know my left hand from my right and sight is spelled s-i-g-h-t and not s-i-t-e. Let me know if I made any other errors.)
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Insurance Review
A few weeks ago my Husband was returning a hay fork that he had borrowed to a neighbor's house and since it was so close, he just threw it in the back of the truck without tying it in. Big mistake! You know that most accidents happen close to home.
He was within yards of the neighbor's driveway, when someone backed out in front of him, he swerved to the left and ran into a ditch to avoid contact with the offending car. However. the hay spear went right through the back glass of our truck. The driver of the other vehicle was very nice and apologetic, they went ahead to the neighbor's house to call his insurance company and explain the situation to them and that was the end of that.
His insurance company's adjuster met with my Husband the very next day to look at the truck and told him to go ahead and get it fixed, which my DH did, because you can't just go around with a missing back glass. We also got an e-mail from the company telling us where we could follow the progress of the claim online. We honestly didn't think that they would pay off, since there was no contact between the two vehicles and he didn't have the spear secured properly.
We put the new window on a credit card because we didn't have the cash available at the time. But within just a few days we got a call from a nice man who told us that the check for the window was in the mail, sure enough it arrived the next day. We were very surprised and pleased.
Who was this insurance company, you may ask. It was Progressive Insurance. I believe that when an insurance company reacts to claims in this manner they do nothing but increase their client base. When you feel that you have been treated well these days, then you are going to tell your friends and neighbors. It is getting to be so rare anymore that you are treated right and someone isn't trying to rip you off, that you certainly want to sing the praises of those who are just and fair. We feel like Progressive stepped up to the plate and handled this fairly and didn't penalize my husband for avoiding contact with their client's car.
I have been very positive in this blog about the Progressive Insurance Company but I am going to be very negative in the next one that I write about a different Insurance Company that is being very difficult to deal with.
He was within yards of the neighbor's driveway, when someone backed out in front of him, he swerved to the left and ran into a ditch to avoid contact with the offending car. However. the hay spear went right through the back glass of our truck. The driver of the other vehicle was very nice and apologetic, they went ahead to the neighbor's house to call his insurance company and explain the situation to them and that was the end of that.
His insurance company's adjuster met with my Husband the very next day to look at the truck and told him to go ahead and get it fixed, which my DH did, because you can't just go around with a missing back glass. We also got an e-mail from the company telling us where we could follow the progress of the claim online. We honestly didn't think that they would pay off, since there was no contact between the two vehicles and he didn't have the spear secured properly.
We put the new window on a credit card because we didn't have the cash available at the time. But within just a few days we got a call from a nice man who told us that the check for the window was in the mail, sure enough it arrived the next day. We were very surprised and pleased.
Who was this insurance company, you may ask. It was Progressive Insurance. I believe that when an insurance company reacts to claims in this manner they do nothing but increase their client base. When you feel that you have been treated well these days, then you are going to tell your friends and neighbors. It is getting to be so rare anymore that you are treated right and someone isn't trying to rip you off, that you certainly want to sing the praises of those who are just and fair. We feel like Progressive stepped up to the plate and handled this fairly and didn't penalize my husband for avoiding contact with their client's car.
I have been very positive in this blog about the Progressive Insurance Company but I am going to be very negative in the next one that I write about a different Insurance Company that is being very difficult to deal with.
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