Got up to 31 today but didn’t feel like it. Cold wind blowing. Supposed to be colder tomorrow and then warm up. I will hope so.    Got an old buddy coming to Spearfish tomorrow night for the Heritage show, I think we will run in and watch. 

I wondered when we were gong to start seeing reports like these.

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=12727

As far as I can find out, bio-diesel will be the only way to really help at all. And it ain’t great.

Another thought on all this.

Distiller’s Grains Promote Growth of Deadly E. coli

Wednesday, 13 February 2008

Researchers at Kansas State have determined by looking at beef carcasses that cattle fed distillers’ grains (ethanol byproduct) have twice as much E. coli 0157 compared to cattle fed regular feedlot rations. E. coli 0157 is a new acid-resistant form of E. coli that is particularly deadly to humans because human stomach acid does not kill it. This form of E. coli has developed due to the grain feeding of ruminants which turns the rumen fluids acid. It is seldom found in animals that are finished solely on grass. With grassfed animals the rumen stays near neutral in pH and consequently does not promote the acid resistant form of E. coli.

    We celebrated Gabe’s third birthday today seeing as most of the family was home. The birthday is on tuesday, but you take your chances when you get them when everyonbe is ove an hour away. He got all the candles blown out first try and here he is giving his cousin gus a ride on his new trike he got for his birthday.       Icy old world out there this morning. I didn’t want to drive the team on that stuff so they got the day off and will continue to take it easy until they get sharp shod or the ice goes away, whichever comes first. Seems like when I used to use a team I had to shoe them about every other winter on the average. Hmm, wonder what I did with that stick of aztez! 

• Kids came home last night, so Kass went with me to feed with the team this morning and ran the lines to back up my verbal use of the word “Whoa”! Worked good. Team worked well and it’s another real nice day. 
• Sounds like we are going to get some nice weather for a while. Maybe some snow, which is fine with me. It’s all moisture!
• There are some things about this site I am not too happy with.  Like having to do what I am here with these dots, instead of paragraphs. Might be a different way to do it and I’m just to ignorant to figure it out. 
• Also the fact that I can’t post larger photo’s on here is making me cranky. Like I need an excuse to be cranky! 😉
• Working on the Grandkids saddle too, today. Gabe’s 3rd birthday is Monday so I’d like to have it for him to ride. We get nice weather and he will be going with me horseback I suspect. I’m already almost a year behind with him! His Dad helped me and another guy trail cattle when he was 3 weeks shy of his 3rd birthday. ‘Course he was riding Peppy who was a real good little Welsh pony. Gabe has Buck who his Dad rode when he was a little kid. Yup, Bucky is a good ‘un! A real Indian pony. I wish more little kids had them. Just minature horses and no bad pony habits. But lots of get up and go.

• What a beautiful day! Sun shining. Sparkling snow. Very little wind. Don’t get much better than this at this time of year.
• 
  
• Went and fed 2 bales with the team today. They worked real good other than they don’t understand to wait at a gate when I open and throw it back or shut it. I had to make a run at the wagon twice. The second time when I jumped to get on I whacked my shin bone! Ouch! So I fixed the bob sled and when Cindy got home we went out and she held them and trained on them when I was off the sled and had holler’d  whoa at them. Hopefully it will help. They just walked along like a good broke team. I had them in several pretty hard pulls today and they handled it real well. More I’m around them, the better I like them. 🙂

 

• Just Like a Chinook

She come on strong and warm and totally unexpected.           

 

Just like a chinook during one a’ them long hard spine cracking winters

 

when even the stones groan.

 

My spirit quivered.   

              

Been a while.

 

You bury things deep in a spell like that

 

and time                      takes time

 

to thaw feelin’s

froze deep as all that.

 

Quick. Like a wink. A brief flurry of dancin’

 

 

hand grabbin’ romancin’

 

 

that settles your heart into spring.

 

And then’s gone. 

 

 

And after one a’ them passages of short hollow gut feelin’s winter come back                           

 

and then softened like new fallen snow.

 

 

Spring snow.

 

 

And I knew that I’d make it.

 

 

All quite unexpected.                 Just like a chinook.

 

 

 

 

By my pard, DW Grothe.

 

 

 

 

I bet you like this one, huh Jim? 🙂 

 

Linda from Just Another Day on the Prairie  has started a new way to collect and keep all the different Ag based blog sites. Go check it out.  This is where you join up. 

What a nice day! No wind and warmer enough to try to melt the snow. Hooked up the team and fed a bale for the first time with them. They handled it pretty well, tho’ I would hate to make them haul a bale very far if the snow amounted to too much. The mare is a little lite and a little young yet, but in another couple years I think they will be crackerjacks. They even stood calmly and waited while I closed the gate after feeding. I hope to keep using them every day now unless I have to fight drifts.  I used to read the Smnall Farmers Journal, a great magazine all about using teams, and they always said, in reference to your team, “The more you use them the better you will like them. The better you like them the more you will use them.” They were right!

Snow eater today. Not real warm, up to about 36 or 37, but a wicked northwest wind and it sure crusted it up. What snow is on the flats will stay there now, looks like. Drove the team around. First time I’ve drove them in quite awhile. Ought to go try feeding a bale withy them tomorrow. Might need to call a neighbor to ride along tho’. And I never did get the new planks on the bale wagon, tho’ I think it would hold up for a spell. But there is no longer a seat on it. We’ll see. Got some cows coming in I am supposed to pick up on thursday. Good reason to get to feeding with the team.

Lige has something new he does. He sticks his tounge out and smiles! Me and his Mom tried to get a good picture of it, but this is about the best we could do. Not too bad for a little guy who was born in November! By the way, everybody else calls him Eli, but I like Lige better. Reminds me of one of them old Beaver trappers back in the 1800’s.