Morning

Good morning, good morning. Wish there was something exciting to report on out and about the ranch but there isn't. The cattle are grazing away on what little grass there is and growing fat. It is one of those funny things, when the grass is short and there is not much of it, it packs a heck of a punch and the cattle really do good on it. When the grass is lush and thick the cattle don't gain as well. Must be a survival strategy for the cows and the grass I guess.<br />n<!–more–><br />nIn a way I am a little lost right now. Normally I would be either cutting alfalfa or very close to cutting it and I would be looking at a months hard work to put it up. With no hay to put up I am a little lost for work to accomplish. I know you always here that there is always work to do on a farm/ranch. It is true, but you have to prioritize that work by when it needs done and , if you are a good operator, by what it is going to cost you. I unconsciously made my normal push to get all my work done before haying and have now left myself hanging for things to do. There is a list of jobs to accomplish but some of them are not scheduled to be done at this time and others the cost is not something in the budget right now so I am left hanging. Oh well, a little extra time with the family doesn't hurt my feelings.<br />n<br />nThinking about it the comment that there is no hay is not quite right. You may remember me talking about <a href="http://www.nowherethoughts.net/sarpysam/archives/000289.html">Seeding</a> hay barley this spring. Before we had the rain a couple of weeks ago I had been avoiding looking at it because it had been so dry. Well I looked at it a couple of days ago and there is going to be a little hay to put up on it eventually. The rain storm hit just at the right time to bring it on a little. It came up thinner than it should, but it might make .75 ton to the acre. Just so you know on a decent year it will make 2 ton/acre and a a good year it will go to almost 4 tons/acre so you can see it is quite a bit less than normal. That little bit of haying is only going to take a few days in a couple of weeks so it is no big deal.<br />n<br />nWell thats about it. Like I said, with the exception of some strange e-mails lately, excitement is at a minimum and life on the ranch continues.<br />n<br />n<b>It is always with excitement that I wake up in the morning wondering what my intuition will toss up to me, like gifts from the sea. I work with it and rely on it. It's my partner. Jonas Salk</b>