Windy Day!

Congratulations to the State of Illinios!

State feels the heat, drops ID requirement for livestock exhibitors -- for now
by Brian Boyer
Apr 15, 2008

Feeling pressure from farmers groups and the Illinois legislature, the state Department of Agriculture will not enforce a new rule requiring livestock exhibitors, including youth showing animals in 4-H fairs, to register with the state. Continues>>>>

but . . .

USDA IMPLEMENTS KEY STRATEGY FROM NATIONAL ANIMAL IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM BUSINESS PLAN


WASHINGTON, April 15, 2008--The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today announced that it has implemented a key strategy from its Business Plan to Advance Animal Disease Traceability by providing National Animal Identification System (NAIS) compliant "840" radio frequency (RF) eartags to animal health officials for use in the bovine tuberculosis (TB) control program.

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The first snake of the season was caught yesterday.

My husband did the cultivating in our field and the good neighbors.

But because of the 49mph winds, he got something in his eye and it scratched up his lens and inner/upper eye lid. He was not feeling to well. The neighbor across the way is a nurse. So I called her and my husband went over there for her to look at it. She had some antibiotics and an eye patch. Did him up right, and he feels a lot better today.

Because of the winds it was hard to get too much done, so that short, but tiresome list I gave you yesterday was not fully completed. But I did promise pictures.

This is my real quickly banny box.

Feel free to compliment me.

Here are the Colombians. (yes Columbine was a sleepy typo)

Today I use the tiller. Please wish me luck and that I don't lose a limb.

Beneath the Planet of the Tractors

We didn't get to the cultivator yesterday. My husband took the center buster over to our good neighbors field to help him out a bit. Today is my husband's last day of semi-retirement, he starts his new job tomorrow, lots will need to be done. We have a long list of must do this now chores, only so that our weekends won't be jam packed. We have plans to hit up some motorcycle rallies this year, and we can't have all this homesteading stuff get in the way. (this is where I would wink)

Shear goats and sheep
put up new fencing
build banny boxes
cultivate garden
plant some of the garden

That is on today's list. I did build a quick banny box yesterday. My good neighbor has some columbine bannies he didn't want. They were his grandpa's. But they don't do well in the winter, grandpa was not wanting to deal with them, though loved them, and now good neighbor doesn't have the time for them. So I took them. The are a gorgeous pair of birds. Remind me to get some photos for you all.

Have you seen Beneath the Planet of the Apes? I love those movies, but the one scene when the apes are entering the forbidden zone and there are all those dead apes hanging like scarecrows, it is that scene that I remembered after we covered our fruit trees. The flowers survived!

Hard Freeze Center Buster

Last night we ran around, placing black trash bags over all our fruit trees that have already began to flower. We even hoped the fence and covered our good neighbor's trees as well. Looking out this morning, I can see the frost covering everything. I hope we were able to save them. Similar thing happened last year, and we lost all our peaches.

The tractor is now being used. We went down to our local farm store and purchased a center buster and a cultivator. And it was no sales tax day! We saved $27US on that. The center buster was put into use yesterday, today the cultivator, and tonight planting. The lowest that the temperature will get the rest of the week is in the 40's. So it won't be until next week when I need to worry about another hard freeze.

Soon, however, we will be worrying about hail and tornadoes.