Jobs of the day

Lots going on! It's a nice change from the winter.

They continued grading the sand at the new barn site. More trucks are still coming with sand, and the bulldozer pushes it into place. We drove down there and took pictures and waved. This is the same company that did the dirt work for our concrete feed pad, so they're pretty used to having us watch them.

It looks like such a massive amount of work. The truck driver dumps the trailer of dirt. Then he gets out, unhooks the trailer, gets back in. Dumps the second trailer of dirt. Gets out, hooks the trailer back on. Drives out. Comes back with another two truckloads.



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Kris is continuing to work on the calf cart. He’s fitting it with a tank on the back that we’ll fill with fresh milk to feed to the calves in the new barn.

We used to feed them milk replacer (which is like formula), but with the new setup we’ll be able to use the cow’s milk to feed to them. This will save us money, since we won’t have to buy milk replacer.

He even made it more clear what the cart’s used for:



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The vet came to check the rest of the cows today. Some are pregnant, some are a little pregnant, and some aren’t pregnant. We’ll eventually sell the ones that aren’t pregnant, because they’ll stop giving milk. The ones that are pregnant, we’ll dry up.

The vet checks them internally. He puts on a long, plastic glove that goes up to his shoulder. He feels them on the inside and determines by its size how old the calf is. It took him about an hour and a half to check 50 cows.

I didn't take any pictures of that. Feel free to browse the internet on your own!

Checklist

On this rainy day, Kris is embracing the part of the job where you do ... all types of different work.

He went to a distant town to get supplies to turn his golf cart into a calf cart. He was on the phone trying to get more quotes about the calf panels (the panels in between the calves) so he can order them. He talked to the builder, the excavation company, and the well drillers about the frost laws coming off – possibly Monday. He worked in the office paying bills, switching his email address from his decade-old Hotmail address that has inexplicably stopped consistently working. (Mine too! Anyone else?)

And of course, just the regular twice-a-day feeding. In his free time, he's working on adding on to our swingset.

We're really excited about getting started on the barn! It's more interesting than office work, of course. It's even more exciting than the swingset addition. That's if you ask me, though - not our kids.

Cart it up

Kris’ grandpa built two golf courses. His family still owns and runs one of them. When Kris was growing up, he worked on it most summers. He’s golfed his whole life, really.

So when he started talking about a calf cart, I didn’t know this – it looks like a really tough golf cart.



That’s because that’s what it is. It has diamond plate in the back, it goes fast, it looks durable.

He got it to help him feed the calves in the new barn. Instead of making numerous trips by foot to get milk and feed for the calves, you can drive up and down the aisle and take everything with you. It just makes the whole process speedier.

I think if I pulled that monster up to the course, it just might improve my golf game, too.