First off, the neighbor that has helped Captain for the last ten years passed away this summer, so Captain has been missing his friend these last weeks. A positive side to this is that Young Man and Cubby have been helping so we have had more time with them than we usually do.
Not even halfway into harvest, our old combine had finally had enough and went to the Great Scrapyard in the sky. A positive note here is that we were able to find a replacement quickly, and Captain says it has been fun using a machine where "hey...everything works!"
Last weekend as Captain was really getting going on corn harvest, our semi, which Captain lovingly calls The Little Pete, also gave up the ghost and died on us. Another positive note, we were able to arrange with CHS in Kasson to haul the remainder of our crop for us at a lower cost than what buying a different semi would be.
While Captain is off fighting those battles, I am waging my own war on the home front. Calf Country has been a struggle this fall as we have had a bug move through our babies, and we lost a few before we found an effective protocol to detect and treat the virus before it could really take hold in any more babies.
Part of this protocol is that I walk through their little calf neighborhood every two hours to make sure no one is deathly ill. Should I happen to find one that is even remotely "off," the rest of the protocol kicks in which involves administration of electrolytes, antibiotic, and an anti-diarrhea medication. With this action plan, we have decreased morbidity rates to almost nil. Go us!
Apparently feeling smug about one thing just causes another thing to happen. Once we got that GI thing under control, we had a couple of babies do this weird thing where their tongues would stick out the side of their mouths while they were trying to suck a bottle...which just plain didn't work. I remember my mom had that in a batch of her calves back in the day, but I can't remember what it is or how to treat it. The calves generally outgrow or get over that oddity within a day or two, but it's annoying to deal with it while it's happening.
The other thing--on a much brighter note--that has been new this fall is that Gammy and I have been walking three mornings a week at the high school. It's a community education offering, and we are amazed that we are the only ones who are taking advantage of it. I really thought there would be oodles of people walking those hallways! Not so; it's just me and Gammy. That's okay, though. We get nearly 5,000 steps in before 7:15 a.m., plus we solve a lot of world problems while we are at it!
As we get ready to gather with friends and family for Thanksgiving, I need to remind myself to quit being a whiny ass and be grateful for what I have: my health, a good job, family that is close by and close-knit, and good friends with whom I can share my joys and burdens.
From Chez Brogan to your chez, Happy Thanksgiving!!
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