RUG HOOKING BLOG

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I'm a mother of four grandmother of seven and great grandmother of three. I live with my husband in the house that we built with the help of my brothers and will have been married for 57 years this February.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

IS IT TIME FOR THIS FARMER TO RETIRE YET?


Here are some pictures of part of the farm. We have lots of land and I wasn't up to taking more pictures after work. I had to go home and cook supper.

Farm life is hard work and the days are long and we work in all type of weather. Up early and dealing with mother nature 365 days a year. The cows are milk  and fed twice a day and when there's grass they are put to pasture and then moved to new pasture as needed.


I couldn't get all the cows in one picture as they were spread far and wide. I think that the white cow was mooning me. hahaha...


This is Big Boy. A bull that I raised from a small calf. We use him to breed the cows that we can't catch in time for the breeding technician. He's happy when he get a girl friend, not so happy when they are taken away from his harem, hahaha...
Big Boy is huge although he appears small here. He's mean when he gets upset and sometimes scary.

This part of the barn is the old barn, it has low ceilings.


These are my bigger calves. The black one in the centre laying down is one of the triplet. It was difficult to photograph them inside the barn as the bars are in the way. I had to hold the camera high and hope for the best. They are all getting big and heavy.


Some more of my bigger calves. There are 13 in these three pens.


Looks can be deceiving as it looks like the heifer calf is knee deep in hay but the hay in the bottom of the  picture is in the manger. They stick their heads in between the larger bars to eat hay from the manger.


This is the one of the old red barns. We store hay up in the loft of the red barn. It's huge and high up there. A big hole was cut in the side of the barn to hoist the big round bales up there. One of the employee last year rip the side of the building with the tractor and didn't bother to repair the damage. It's still  has not  been repaired and the employee is no longer working here.

The cows do not bed in this old barn. It is only used to hold them until they are all milked and their bedding barn is cleaned out and they are let go in the new barn to eat hay and drink and lay down.

 This barn is built in an L shape. You can see the other roof going the other way by the silos. I work in the area by the silo.


This is our new red hay wagon.  It's an amazing piece of equipment. It holds 12 large round bales of hay and it unloads them in a neat double rows. It has taken the place of all the other hay wagons.


Here in the distance, are the 5 big hay wagons that we no longer use since acquiring the new red hay wagon. They were used for small rectangular bales and were labor intensive.


These two silos are out of commission are no longer holding silage. They have deteriorated a lot and need to come down.  I work in that section of the barn. The older heifers are mostly housed in this shelter in the back. They are out during warmer weather and inside in the winter.


All the hay that was in these three piles have been moved into the new tarp building so our hay will stay dry. The low tarp building wasn't big enough to hold all the hay.  So now we have two tarp building full of hay plus the hay that is up in the hay loft in the red barn.

This is our older tarp building full to the brim.


This is grass silage bales all wrapped in white plastic. They look like huge marshmallows. We no longer use the silos to store the hay silage and it would be very expensive to replace.

Here is another shot of the grass silage and you can see the wrap hanging on the side. You can see part of the new bedding barn behind the grass silage bales.


This is the side of our new barn. Not a great shot but it had rain and I didn't want to walk in the mud without my rubber boots on.


This is the lane that runs by the silos and leads to the highway. On the left of the picture is the short cut to my house.



Can you see the path that leads to my house which is hidden behind a big maple tree on the other side of the hedge and a big cedar tree this side of the hedge?  There's an opening in the hedge  to go through.

I haven't showed the big tractors, and other machinery or even the milk house. Maybe when I have more time I'll take some more pictures.

Thank you all for visiting one part of my world.  JB

29 comments:

  1. It is a large operation for sure. You have mentioned your son working with his Dad does his wife work on the farm at all?
    Cathy

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    2. I can't spell.... My son is separated with his common law wife years ago. He lives alone in his house next door.

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  2. Julia,
    I LOVED seeing the pics of your farm! MY what a huge operation you have! I love that red barn and those big old silos..... interesting how farming is changing. I see those marshmallows and have always wondered what they store.. now I know! Are you thinking of retiring soon? I sure couldn't blame you! Gosh it's a lot of work..... but I bet it keeps you skinny!!
    Get some good rest Julia..... thanks so much for taking all the photos!! Really really enjoyed them!!
    Hugs!!!!
    Cathy G
    p.s. that Bull sure looks scary!!

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    1. I'd love to retire so I could tend to the house and gardens better and hook. But I shouldn't complain. I have an income and I'm not at the farm all day. I'll retire when my husband decides he wants to retire but he wants to keep on farming for a while. He doesn't know for how long. Sigh...

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  3. Thanks for the tour. I love seeing other peoples' farms! You've sure got a lot of hay bales. Your cows ought to be happy, for sure! :) I know the feeling of wanting to retire...that's how we're feeling right now. Kind of like our cows have us held hostage!!

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    1. I love that analogy. The cows are keeping us hostage. hahaha...

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  4. Julia, I had no idea your operation was that large. My goodness.....you really are an amazing woman.

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  5. Wow Julia, no wonder you are tired. Walking so much and taking care of that all is a ton of work. Take more pictures I really, really enjoyed looking at everything. I love your barns and I like to see how you store silage now compared to how you used to and I like seeing your hay all piled up. That is amazing just like I really enjoyed seeing all of your cows and calves.
    I would love to come work on your farm. I know how to muck out stalls and I know how to feed. :)

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  6. Loved the tour! What a huge business ... No wonder you look so healthy with good muscles ...

    The town I just visited , Tillamook, had a jillion farms and there was a HUGE potty smell ... guess ya get used to it but your place by itself has a lot of cow potty!

    Can you sell that stuff for fertilizer? Guess you use it for your own fertilizer haaa oh me I'm afraid I'd make a lousy farmer but I'm sure glad there are farmers ...

    I like ice cream very much ;)

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    1. Since we have a liquid manure pit in the back of the barn, and are no longer using the silos, there is hardly any smell anymore even on sultry nights like years ago.

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  7. Farmers work so hard and are so under paid, under appreciated, and yet loved by the common man who knows that without good farmers like yours we would starve. What a fun tour..thanks for sharing! I love seeing your world. You need to see the cute video on youtube called "Farm it mabye" by Lil. Fred..very cute video about dairy farming. I know you'd love it! Have a great day!

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  8. Wow! That's a LOT of hard work! So many animals to care for and also the structures on the land! You do have a beautiful "office" though! ;-) You are also blessed to have so much hay... LOVE the old red barn... thanks so much for sharing!

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  9. My goodness you and yours work hard! It must be rewarding to own and work your own farm. Love the black and white cows!
    Thanks for the tour,
    Robyn

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  10. There's nothing light and easy about farm work!
    Julia, I don't know how you do it day in and day out. But I guess there is no retiring either.
    I hope you are able to take some time to relax and enjoy yourself. Have you spent any time in that lovely gazebo?

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    1. I don't sit down very long, a few minutes now and then. I have so much weeding to do.

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  11. Wow! What a big place and a big job! Thanks for the tour. Sarah

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  12. Wow! What an educational tour Julia! Love seeing all the cows and the peek into your wonderful world!

    xo
    dulcy

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  13. Thank you and so many other farmers for your hard work!
    The picture of the red barn and the silos in the back would make a beautiful rug. I know it may not be practIcal to leave the silos but I think they are gorgeous and in a few years will be all but gone across America .

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  14. The silos have not been used for 4 years now and are slated to be demolished as soon as possible as they are no longer safe... They are a landmark from the aircrafts point of view, so we've been told.

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  15. No, farmers never retire. They live a hard life and a deeply satisfied life working the land.
    I love farmers and everything they provide.

    We had dairy cows and alfalfa a few years YEARS ago. It was a hard life but I knew that what we were doing was worthy of the toil.

    Love you all the more for it.

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  16. Oh my! Julia I had no idea you farm was so big! You run circles around most people without barely trying! I just don't know how you do it! I'd be falling asleep in the stalls! LOL!

    Char

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    1. Char, some days I feel like I'm half asleep, hahaha...

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  17. Julia ~
    Thanks for the tour. I had the impression your farm was big, but not THAT BIG! I grew up on a very small farm. (My parents both worked outside the home.) No one has any idea how much and how hard the work is. How many acres is it?
    Hugs :)
    Lauren

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  18. Lauren, we have 300 acres of farm land and 300 acres of forest land. You're right, it's a lot of work and we can never catch up either on the farm or at home. JB

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  19. Oh my gosh, Julia, I just don't see how you can do all that work. I am very impressed, but I do think it would be extra nice if you could retire one of these days. Dick and I retired 21 years ago when I was 64 and Dick was 55. We just decided that being together was a lot more important than his working a few more years just to get a bigger pension. We have really never regretted it.

    I wish we had traveled a bit more when we were younger, but we felt like we needed to save money for our later years. I'm sure it was a good idea in the end.

    Thanks for your last comments. Yes, we do love our beautiful great granddaughter and I am so glad to hear that her mom is starting to feel better. If only Andelin could get her days and nights turned around. In another month, they will let her cry it out. It really doesn't take long to train them right.

    Just when do you plan to retire? Or will you just keep working until you wear out?

    I loved looking at all your beautiful pictures. Your farm is huge, and so well run. It must be very satisfying on a deep level, even though it is truly hard work.

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