Another Day on The Ranch



Farm Limo Loaded

 Busy day , which you are not supposed to have in winter because everyone knows farmers just pretty much sleep from November to April.  Speaking of sleep, I didn't get much last night as I set my alarm. Whenever I set my alarm it means I have to get up early for something important and then I worry all night I'll oversleep so I wake up every few minutes to, you know...check the alarm.

Set for 0600 this am which means I got up at 0530. The puppy, Ashland, 3/4 Shepard, 1/4 Husky, 100% hell on wheels, was actually the one with the very important appointment, to see a man, with a knife.

At 4 months it was time to kiss his dreams of parent hood goodbye. At 0645 he and I and a steamy mug of hot coffee compliments of the hubby, headed down the driveway over to Piper City, and I handed the pooch over. Managed to throw some hay to horses on way back up the lane and then hit the computer while Keith and Aaron, our helper on Tuesdays,  did outside chores .

Sent out meat invoices, completed some very important work on a project I will tell you all about on Friday, (I'll give you a hint. It involves Lawyers, Guns and Money) and then jumped back in the truck with Keith and sow Sophie.

 Well, she was in the trailer behind us. Not that we are above hauling livestock inside the actual vehicle with us (calves to nursing homes, goats to 4-H meetings , chickens to schools etc...) But Miss Sophie is BIG. She is the gal going to Pennsylvania soon to enroll in the University's new research program on heritage hogs.

Doc drawing blood on first stick. He is a most excellent vet.

 She needed more blood tests, a repeat of those done last month to make sure she is still free of Brucellosi, Pseudorabies and PRRS and her final health exam which would allow her to be transported across state lines. Dr Whitman and Sophie are becoming well acquainted these last few months, with him inspecting parts of her our own Mad Max has never seen. Which reminds me of the time I fell asleep with my obstetricians hand buried in my...well you know. I was very pregnant, very tired and had just gotten off a 12 hour night shift. Lying on a soft cushy bed or a hard exam table when you are exhausted, same result. Instant snoring. Until he introduced that cold metal utensil. Woke up fasts I did. Poor guy almost lost his arm, not too mention his expensive diagnostic tool.

Where was I?

Sure. Pigs. So done with Sophie, we locked up the trailer and went back inside for the pup. Unhappy he was. And so whiny, the big baby, you would think he had just had surgery. Keith, the nicer one of this couple, carried him to the truck.

Ashland, at 4 months, quite the handful

 Funny. I've had a few surgeries over the years and I can't remember anyone carrying me to our vehicle. I do however, vaguely recall a rope and a pulley.

Back home again, we needed to see if Sophie would fit in our calf box. If yes, then we could transport her to PA in it (placed in the back of our pick up)  instead of taking the whole livestock trailer which would cost us quite a bit more gas and time. Backing up the truck...

 a little more.....

good.

Miss Sophie jumped right in, as if she heard the whole discussion, turned around once to demonstrate adequate room and hopped back in the livestock trailer.

Mind your head Sophie


 

Enough room to turn around, lay down, stand up. Minimal wind sheer
well lit, soft bedding. Yup, she'll take it.

 After that some more emails to the program coordinators  at U of Penn, a brief farm meeting between the two of us, while Aaron loaded hay and straw into the horse barns. Lots more phone time on the Project To Be Announced  Friday. Keith took Aaron home and look at that, it's 3 o'clock. Nap ? or lunch?

I ate some leftover honey cake on my way up the stairs.