A few more cow photos....

By Sunday evening we had about 4 inches of snow. I wanted to see the cows Sunday "morning" (more like 10 am) so Farmer J let me tag along again.

The adventure started with a serene drive making the first tire tracks out on the country roads.

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When we pulled into the first field Farmer J spotted a cow in the second field who had jumped the electric fence so we raced over to field #2. 

Cow in the road, cow in the road, Good God Almighty there's a cow in the road!

I don't understand how Farmer J can spot this black dot half a mile away. When he asked me if I saw it, I fibbed and said I did.

How did he jump the fence? I think it was the snow that brought the ground up to a certain height that allowed the cow to jump the electric wire. How do you get him back on the field? Well, these animals weigh over 600 lbs so you definitely don't get out of your car. They aren't smart so the minute they see a truck coming they get scared. If you were to approach them on foot they might freak out. Or like last year, they might charge at you - which is what happened to Farmer J. Each animal is different. We just pulled up next to him, honked the horn, corralled him near the fence and he jumped right over.

Again the cows were not friendly and I could only catch a few shots. There are black cows, white cows and these orange cows. I like the look of the orange ones. Farmer J says people don't like the taste of their meat so they are usually used for other purposes.

With 4 inches of snow they had to dig for that wheat. See the mouthful he got? Love it!
Farmer J does put out dry hay, but they prefer the fresh wheat and rarely enjoy the hay. 

Yee haw!

Snowed In Saturday

A Winter Weather Warning was issued over the weekend. My plans for the weekend were to take a belly photo in front of the cows saying "at least I'm not as big as a cow! (yet)". But when Hubby and I woke up to find it 29 degrees outside we didn't want to get out of bed. Trying to be a good wife I woke up and made breakfast while Farmer J warmed up the truck. I was still set on getting some cow pictures so we headed out to the fields. 

At the first field Farmer J left me in the truck and he walked out to a water tank for the cows. If I had went with him I would have had to jump over an electric fence which I probably couldn't do 6 months pregnant. 

That green (above) isn't grass, it's wheat! The cows eat this throughout the winter and the wheat still grows back good and strong by spring for a nice harvest. The cows on this field were huddled in a corner too far for me to snap a photo. They looked so cold!

At the 2nd field, the cows were around the water tank but they ran away as soon as we pulled up. Last year's cows were much friendlier!

Here are a few who were a little interested in me. See the snow on their backs? I could never be a rancher, I felt too bad for the cows...even though hubby says they are fine. Gotta love that marbling (that's fat in restaurant language).

I'm sure you are wondering how a farmer makes money from a rancher by letting cows eat their crop. Well I was wondering and I found out how it's done out here. The cows are weighed! When the rancher picks up his cows in the spring they should weigh more than what they weighed when he dropped them off. So it's up to the farmer to keep them fed and watered if he wants a nice profit later. *Now you know!

Here is what Farmer J did Saturday. He broke up the ice that formed in the water tank over night. He ended up pulling out 3" thick slabs of ice. Heavy, cold and wet..not a fun job. He does have warm gloves under those plastic gloves, but still I couldn't even stand outside taking pictures the entire time he was out there. 

Hubs dropped me off at home after these two fields. It had only been an hour but I was cold and had had enough. I'm such a baby! Oh that's right, I'm pregnant...I'll use that excuse. While I was home cleaning I could hear ice beginning to fall. It had been two hours since he left.  The fields he went to were further from home, but the water tanks have heaters so he doesn't need to break ice - unless the heaters stop working. Turns out, the heaters did stop. He made it home for lunch with ice and snow hitting the ground as he walked in.

After lunch we looked out the window to find a winter wonderland!  Complete with snow lined pine needles, the soft sound of falling snow and what I call a "collision of holidays" - my jack-o-lantern covered in snow. 

I took these photos from inside my house. Love the snow but this city girl hasn't gone country yet! I'll stay inside with the heat on for now...

Grits,

P.S. As of 3:00 pm the snow had stopped. However there had not been a salt truck or plow by to clear the roads, everyone knows someone with a tractor or 4x4.

Weekend Update

NBC Saturday Night Live Weekend Update

No, not that weekend update...but I do love Seth Meyers!

My weekend update, which consisted of:

 

Going with Farmer J to the cows to give them water.  They were thirsty and started running right up to us.  I am still not comfortable around these cows, I've seen too many rodeos!  J says they aren't snakes or coyotes, I'll see a cow coming if it wants to charge at me.  But they usually just stare at us or run away.  Them running at us was a new thing.  In the end they posed for a picture so I can't complain!

 

I attempted this drawer organizer.  Instead of stacking shirts and pants on top of each other, roll them up and slide them next to each other.  This way you can see what is in your drawer without messing everything up.  My drawers are packed tight so we'll see what happens when I start wearing these clothes.  Will they all unroll into a huge mess?  Stay tuned....

 

On our way to Valentines dinner (on Saturday) I attempted this new scarf knot.  I loved it!  I kept un-tying and re-tying it at the restaurant.  We did have an HOUR wait...(no reservations)

 

Found this tutorial on Pinterest which led me to Meg's Blog

Super easy: end 1 over-under, end 2 under-over, done!

 

We went out to eat at Stella's, an Italian restaurant I am officially in love with.  After the hour wait, I found out Lubbock does have some nice restaurants.  Ok, one.  I've only been to one, but we'll get there.  When we got our oyster appetizer J asked "Are you going to take pictures of the food all night?" which I really meant 'if you get to have your phone out I get to have mine out' so we both put our phones away and enjoyed each other's company.  It was a blast.  A great first Valentines as a married couple.

 

Identity Thief

 

Before dinner we saw Identity Thief. It started at 4:30 and we figured since it's been out for a while there was no rush. We got there 5 minutes before the start time and the theatre was PACKED. We sat in the third row! I guess everyone went to the 4:30 movie and then out to dinner. Identity Thief was a funny movie. J said he would have done the same thing Jason Bateman does in the end. I won't spoil the movie, but if you've seen it and know J, you'll understand.

 

How was your weekend?  Hope it was great!  When did you celebrate Valentines Day?

High Heels!

Seed

Farmer is growing sesame seed this year.  I'm intrigued to see what a sesame plant looks like. But before the plant you need the seed. 
So what does a sesame seed look like?  Go figure!



I don't know why I thought this seed might look different.  I thought it could be bigger or darker, but nope.  It looks exactly like the top of a BigMac.  Now we'll have to wait and see what the plant looks like.  If the plant looks like a hamburger bun I will have died and gone to fast food heaven!