Highlight of the Harvest

Each year the Doubleb enjoys the "moonlight grape harvest" of the neighboring vineyard.  A team of 20 pickers, cart and box handlers, quad and tractor drivers converge in competition.  There is alot of gleeful and fun shouting, taunting and cheering for the first to get to the end of the row.  https://youtu.be/WMwKObCx9HQ    Not a great night video, no night vision camera.

A tractor hitched with a large wagon and more boxes added as necessary to carry home the cargo is assisted by a quad.  This vehicle goes is in front of the pickers to load the individual crates as fast as possible so that the race to row's end continues unimpaired.  Traversing the rows and grabbing the vine ripened prize is met with gameful cheer, a comaraderie that speaks to having won and lost with the same crew in another vineyard.

Last night they must have lost one of their big stands of flood lights because as they stood on our side of the vineyard, clearly they were losing flashlights to pick until the light from the other stand came into view.

We enjoy this finalization of summer's harvest, sitting on our upper deck, watching in anticipation as the light shines thru the pines.  We glimpse movement and hear the cheering, it's an exciting end to an evening and properly crowns the harvest season.  Thank you.https://youtu.be/WMwKObCx9HQ

September's - Bailin' Time

Our first season of cutting, raking, bailing and we've made it to the third cut, more than ready in September.  Hitching the mower to the tractor and loading up the trailer - so excited!  The pasture has growing and getting good irrigation from my new sprinklers, scientifically spaced to include every  possible. Packed a lunch, grabbed my cowboy hat and dog and I'm ready to rock n roll. 

After the first two passes, mower kept gumming up, but I cleared the obstruction and am back at it until the "Holy crap, the worst happened and the chain is stuck".  Requires re-loading onto the trailer and haul it back to my shop for a look-see.  Hopefully, it will be an easy fix and I can re-load, drive back and finish the cut by sunset.  But no........

Without giving chapter and verse of the worst case scenario, let me just say this.  I order the part, paid extra freight charge for next day arrival, studied up on you tube, dreamed of new equipment, while checking for Fedex once each hour.  And just when you think things can't get worse, you're reminded you have a tax appointment for your extension.

Arriving home, after a rousing good time with our tax consultant, I spy the part's package, it's 7:45pm, I'm anxious to start but worn out from thinking so hard on why I have spent so much money trying to cut my own hay.  My tax lady was less than impressed and in her own non-judgemental way, may have indicated that I may want to reconsider.  No matter, enthusiasm cannot be thwarted easily, tonight is a harvest moon and tomorrow a new day.  I shall persevere.

Finally at 3:30am, I wake my wife and say "let's go chase the moon, find some coffee and donuts", thinking I'll be jump on the repair project and still be able to go to our grandson's football game at 10a.  There is nothing open in Grass Valley at 3:30 in the very early hours of morning, except the corner gas station at Pleasant Valley Road.  Coffee but no donuts, they aren't delivered until 630a.
We drive, to Safeway, Savemart, Raleys, and end up outside Daily Donuts, they open at 5am, or slightly thereafter, as the case may be.

Home, home at last, find my dog, get the part - realize I can't hold my eyes open, I need a nap.
Yup - it's Bailin' Time for all us farmers....Goodnight!

And Thar She Blows -

Upon returning home from looking at the park's little crisis, we grabbed a snack, cleaned the kitchen, (using the water) and prepared to be in for the night, as it was almost 10:00pm.  We heard a huge noise which caused us to investigate outside, walking around, but found nothing out of place.  We assumed it was the "snowbeast" as he assembled all 140lbs of dog molecules to jump off the porch and chase the deer away from his "turf".  Oh had it been so!  Filled up a glass with ice and went to the sink for water - "Oh what fresh hell is this?"  "Cliff, we have no water!"  "WHAAT?", says he in complete disbelief.  Now is almost 10:30pm and he begins to make the water investigation rounds, starting with 'where up at the house area is the water running', before tromping down to the pasture and following the 800'+ of water lines.  No wet spots are detected.  Into the shop, everything looks good.  Okay - onto the well house - "Ahha, water is everywhere"  Valve at the wellhead blew, ran the well dry and the motor was still on trying to refill.  Oh brother, parts, thinking, focus is necessary after a long day of repairing electrical light switch and being treated to Leatherby's Ice Cream by youngest.
The life of a rancher.  It's the way we roll!  Thank you Cliff!

Free Martin - Whaaat?

We introduced two newbies into the herd this morning.  They came from a ranch up in Oregon House, she was culling some of the younger calves that would be sent to market.  Interesting though is that this steer and heifer are Angus twins.  Even more interesting is that is was revealed to me that the heifer has not been tested but is probably a "free martin".  I've never heard this term before so imagine my surprise when I was told that when twins are born and are of the opposite sex, and have shared the same blood supply - the girl calf will, in all probability, be unable to conceive.  This is normally due to the underdevelopment of female parts because of a lack of hormones.  ERGO - free martin.
Of course still hoping there was a small chance they might be wrong, I asked the vet to verify and sure enough, this heifer will not breeding but will make a good feeder.

Meet the girls May '16

We were lucky to find laying hens to replace our free range brood of last year that met their fate, one at a time from the hawk that hunts once a month.  I just hate that I lose my girls, but I love the idea of uncaged egg layers.  These new girls are good layers.  Free roaming is new to them so they are still sticking close to their house.  As they get braver they'll begin to venture out further and further.  We're getting 4-7 eggs each days so that's plenty to supply the family.  My only complaint is we have one pecker, that golf balls are not curing.  I'll try to increase the protein, but after that, it's mustard,   and my hope she'll get a beak full.

Palais de Hen is completed

In April 2014, after the buildout of the "palais de hen" was completed, we bought nine hens from the Farm Store, we were told they would be ready about the 3rd week, so we waited, put in fresh straw and wood shavings and finally went to collect our new pullets.  However the first batch only had 4 of the breed we wanted, we were disappointed but collected them to settle them in until we could pick up the other 5 the following week.

Each group had to be handled separately, given their own space in the house about 3 days before allowing them in the fenced space but after two weeks we had hens running amuck.  It was the coolest thing, pulling up in the gator and they would gather like the paparozzi at a rock star concert, waiting of course, for scratch.

Henrietta, as Cliff began calling the largest pullet, was the friendliest with the biggest personna, not afraid of anything, if you wanted the other chickens to do something, she was the ticket.  One day we discovered her staying in the house, we thought she might be nesting, ya know, getting ready to lay.  But woefully, she wasn't eating and something was wrong, she died two days later, we still don't know why.  We had chosen 3 Rhode Island Reds and only two of all other breeds and lost a Rhody too.

All the Gold in California - Water

    Raindrops fell in April thru mid May and the green metamorphosis has been delayed until later this month.  We at the Doubleb are grateful for the water droplets, the cloudy days and the work delay that a late spring means.  Watering has been delayed until this week, so that means three week more water over the damn, and back into the water supply - Every little drop helps.

We Think His Tractor's Sexy

Our equipment search paid off, finally got the mower, rake and baler to pull behind "Ole Blu" 

And after all the clearing, grading, smoothing, trenching, irrigation lines, planting we GOT HARVEST!            1st real cut Springtime 2016

 

Free Range Chickens and the Snow Beast

On a recent trip to Wyoming we discovered "guard dogs" an article in an eastern Nevada paper caught my eye.  Apparently these dogs, groomed to guard herds of sheep, were abandoned and left to wander when the herd moved to harvest.  Some of them survived, many have been rescued, some of them left to manage on their own, turned wild.  Throughout the article was the impressive thread of the breed's gentleness and tranquil nature, their excessive curiosity and most important was how they come to be "protectors". 

We call him the "Snow Beast" 

At a skinny 4 month old he was a playful, chew it up, curious puppy that loved rides in the truck.  He has found every way under the fence, apparently he believes my neighbor's cows also need his protection.  His friendly and gentle spirit has made him a favorite of everyone from the mail carrier to our neighbors who call frequently to let us know he is visiting. 

Bear is great with the little kids in our family, playful with visiting dogs, he pretty much ignors the chickens, wants to play with the piggers and pretends he is a charging bull, to get the steers to chase him.  

He is Cliff's best friend and has shown him on more than one occassion how to dig in the dirt, the proper way.  He's great company on those long walks checking the fenceline and is considerate about where to do his "business" so it is not a pile in the backyard.  Sweet natured and lovable is our Bear.  I'm so glad we found out about this breed.

2015 The good the bad and the ugly