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One Week's Work on the King Farm by Naomi Monday, August 28th Today finds us picking up from last week when we spent all week cutting corn and putting it in the silo. It will serve as the cattle’s winter feed. First order of the morning is feeding cattle; we have a feedlot and are just starting to get in the cattle for the winter. A cattle buyer buys cattle for us and sends them out on a cattle truck. Sometimes we receive cattle several times a week. We just received 33 head last night. They averaged 727 pounds and go straight into the feedlot. This morning we were also loading out cattle we had sold. These cattle are at our north place where our son Steve lives. He and Barry, the hired man, were taking care of this while Danny, my husband, feeds here and checks on the health of the new cattle we just received. The grass needs mowed, but the mower needs repairs. We had taken the blower off a week earlier to make a quick fix. It needs flanges around a couple of bearings and put back together. The guys were working on one of the trucks we use to haul silage. The springs needed fixed before we started the second round of silage cutting this week. After getting the truck torn down and the cattle checked, Danny went to Dodge City (a town about 25 miles away) to get the truck repairs and supplies. It had been several weeks since either one of us had had time to get to Dodge. Steve and Barry finished fixing the mower. By then it was lunchtime and too hot to mow (the thermometer was nearing 100 degrees). Instead, I head to town to get a couple of baby gifts plus the usual household supplies, dog food and groceries. I stopped in a carpet store to see if they had any new samples; we are needing new carpet for the kitchen. After stressing that it would be at least a week before I could return them, I choose several samples and head home. The crew was just finishing up the truck – the repairs had taken most of the day when I drove in the driveway. I made supper and unloaded things from town. By that time, the evening was gone and we went to bed. Tuesday I spent the morning mowing. After lunch, the guys worked cattle and got things ready for us to start cutting the sorghum silage. We were cutting a field only 1/2 mile from the home place. I spent the afternoon cleaning house and catching up work on a Bible study I had missed the last two times. Wednesday Had another call from the neighbor whose cattle were in our feed yesterday; they had cattle out and thought some belonged to us. So Steve and Barry went to check this out. They were glad to come home and report that none of them were ours. (We identify our cattle with a brand on the left side. The brand is a K with a mill iron (looks like the outline of a derby hat over it.) They then checked the cattle we had received last night for sickness. It was time to started cutting silage. By the time we get through the morning chores, it is about eleven or noon before we can ever get to the field so I had packed our lunches. We had only hauled a few loads when I stopped to adjust the setting on the treat (a liquid solution used to help preserve the silage) and realized I had a couple of pinholes in the radiator of the truck. I called Steve on the two-way radio and parked the truck at the shop. About that time, Danny pulled in with the cutter. After several calls, we found that the closest place that had the part we needed was Dighton -- about 40 miles away. I headed for the parts and they worked on the cutter and my truck. About half way to Dighton, I realized I had not turned the water off in the stock tank behind the house. Normally I would pick up the cell phone and call the farm but I didn’t have a cell phone with me as the one usually in the pickup was in the cutter and mine was in the car. The man at the parts store was kind enough to let me call and see if they needed anything else before I headed home. I was also able to tell them about the water. Danny told me they were able to do a quick repair and were back in the field. I got home to find the message about the water had never gotten to the house. Of course it had overflowed making a mess around the tank! Shortly after I returned, the cutter was brought back to the shop and the needed repair made. When it comes to silage cutting time, we are always rounding up all the help we can find. We need one person on the cutter, two or three truck drivers and two people out at the silage pile -- one to push the silage up and a tractor driver to pack it. This year we have a high school student who helped us this summer. Aaron comes out after school. Charlie, an elderly friend of the family from town, drives the tractor and Kay, Steve’s fiancée, helps in the evenings after work.
Thursday Things were going fine until about 2 o’clock when my air conditioner decided to quit. Oh well, I’ve driven many loads without it before. The dogs, Wolfe and Ben, like to ride with me in the truck. After the AC quit, it was really too warm for them so I let them off as they were better off staying in the shade by the house. About 5:30 or 6:00 in the evening, a cloud started to develop in the west. The cloud helped cool the temperature down a bit and looked liked it could be full of rain. We are awfully dry and do wish it would really give us a good rain as it has been weeks since it has rained here. A few sprinkles began to fall, making the windshields dirty. What a refreshing smell and feeling! Our hopes for a good general rain were dashed as the cloud headed off to our south leaving only a picturesque view of the neighbor's field of big round hay bales and our field of green silage glistening as the sun came back out to shine on the moist earth. With the field being only slightly dampened, we continue to cut. When we finally got to the house, I could see that the UPS man had been there and delivered an order from Penney’s and my Mary Kay order. I’m also a Mary Kay consultant, and had put in an order last Friday. I didn’t bother to open either one. It was bath and bedtime. Friday I was told as soon as the repairman from town came my air-conditioned truck could have Freon and I would be cool. Several loads later, he arrived to deliver fuel and Freon. Unfortunately that didn’t solve the problem and I would work the rest of the day without the air conditioner. I was sure glad this was the last day for silage cutting. If everything went well and we didn’t have a major break down, we would finish cutting the 130 acres we had started three days ago. Since we were short of help today, Steve had to push up and pack the silage; he switched back and forth between tractors to do whatever needed done. After 17 loads for me, 48 total loads for the day, at about 7 p.m., we finally pulled out of the field. Twelve rows were left standing. These will be chopped a load at a time as the new cattle arrive. The fresh silage helps them get off to a good start. Kay came by after work and arrived just about the time we were finishing up. I think everybody was glad to be through. Tonight I spent some time going through my Mary Kay order and putting it up. I also had a chance to look at the new fall products that had arrived yesterday. Saturday We had hamburgers for dinner. At 2:30 p.m. we started for Wichita. Three hours later we arrived at the racetrack. It is a very hot day. Temperature reads 107. There is a good group of sprint cars; 35 draw for starting positions. I’m afraid we didn’t draw too well. There were nine cars in each of the first three heats and eight cars in the last heat. Each heat is eight laps. Steve did well; he started seventh in the fourth heat and ran third. Based on his heat finish and passing points, he started 9th in the A feature. After lots of other heats and a feature from a different car class, and the B Feature in the sprint division, we started the A feature - the last race of the evening. The car was set right and Steve was making good progress up through the field of cars when the gears in the rear end broke and we were through for the evening. What a disappointment. The track was serving steaks after the races, and that made us about an hour later getting home. We arrived home and fell into bed at 3:30 a.m. Sunday I hope this has given you a glimpse of what life on the farm can be like. |
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