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Friday, July 13, 2012

Red Sky at Morning, Sailors Take



A nap prolly......I wonder if this bright red ball of fire floating on the sky actually means anything in terms of rain. I very much doubt it. There is an old saying I learned from my boss back when I worked on a farm instead of living on one....in times of drought all signs fail.




 And that tends to prove exactly true. Clouds build up in the sky, dry up and melt away. Red sky is just red sky, morning or evening. If you aren't in one of the drought-plagued areas you would probably be amazed by the dust. Just turning the cows up to pasture is a throat-clogging, choking experience. Normally we just open the gate, but with all the new heifers they have to be bunched up in a tight herd, then stuffed up to the gate, then someone opens the gate and they are followed and pushed through the next gate.



We feel like cowboys. We need bandannas. At least this bunch of newbies has been turned out in the barnyard before so they have some clue about acting like cows. The ones from indoor pens have no idea about fences or being in a herd or anything like that so they have to learn. It can be fun.



You would have had to laugh about the ones we turned out of the sawdust pen. The animal rights folks would have you believe that all animals are at home on the range and want to go to grass and eat clover and all that (studies have proved otherwise...given a choice dairy cows will eat at a feed bunk in the shade rather than walk to grass and
 overwhelming majority of the time), but it just ain't so. Cows like to graze all right, but they love their barn...what's not to like? Shade, cooling fans in summer, warmth in winter, fewer flies, good food....we serve it all up twice daily and they know it.


We turned six yearlings to pasture yesterday, two shorties, one Jersey shorthorn cross and a trio of Holsteins. The instant they got into the barnyard they ran to the sawdust shed pen to try to get in. They were crowding and shuffling around the gate and glaring at us and hooking at the three new ones we put in "their" house. Good thing they don't have horns or they would have torn the pen down.


So much for contented cows on pasture.


Anyhow, everybody stay cool and hydrated...with love from Northview Farm

7 comments:

Rev. Paul said...

I will pray that you get the rain you need, asap.

Caroline said...

Lately, Red sky in morning has meant we have forest fires somewhere to the south and west of us. Thankfully the heroic firefighters have gotten the upper hand on the ones here in the Black Hills and for our Wyoming and Colorado neighbors.

June said...

I sure hope Mother Nature isn't saving up all the rain for a repeat of last summer.

Cathy said...

What a crazy summer. Seems everything is on its ear weather-wise.

And I'm thinking you captured that humongous sunspot in your photo. It released a huge solar flare on the 12th and the CME will reach us on the 14th.

Sure hope you get that rain.

lisa said...

That picture is awesome. I sure hope we get rain but looks like we will sunday, the question is will it be enough or will it miss us completely!

Terry and Linda said...

Man that sun is amazing! What a photo! Or is that the moon?


Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com

threecollie said...

Rev. Paul, thank you sir. It is sprinkling just the tiniest bit as we speak and the dog is shuddering at thunder

Caroline, thank God that they have. Even here in the normally soggy Northeast we are beginning to have some fires. One just yesterday at Caroga Lake

June, OMG, that would be awful! I worry about that too.

Cathy, I couldn't believe that things conspired to show that sunspot. That has never happened to me before. I am hoping that we get to the lake all right and that we have some clear weather for sunrise and sunset shots there. There is quite a vista to the east across the lake.

Lisa, thanks, we need it, even though we are going camping

Linda, sunrise yesterday. There was just a thin cloud cover that allowed the camera to read the sun without glare. Lucky shot and thanks