Walking the group from a paddock back to the barn. The old time way to call cattle in Bruce County is "Coo Bos" and its origin is the Scottish reference to highland cattle; Coo= cow Bos= the Latin genus species Bos taurus taurus.The herd is super happy today, but I wish they were chill. They know where the apple trees are. Pigeons startle a cow and in an instant she runs at me like I wasn't there. Cicada in the background. Moving gates and sorting out the cows. Weaning nose-to-nose.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

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The old water line is tough to work with. No leaks. Making the unused electrical feed neat and secure (this bowl is energy free). Lots of water pressure. Stripping the concrete forms. I cut myself. Setting the water bowl in place is not easy by myself. Getting it going went really well. Podcasts I listen to sometimes focus on exciting stuff, not grunt work like this. Installing the 2x6 barrier allows access to both sides of the bowl.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

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Late summer pasture move. Reasons for moving the cows. Finishing up by checking the water, salt, and mineral. Soybeans are maturing.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

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Lots of detail here, 'cause everybody wants to hear about concrete forming! LOL I ramble on about how the concrete pad will meet the requirements for the installation of the bowl.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

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Growing cover crops and grazing cattle is the best! Rapids in the Kincardine Creek between two pools. Simple three point hitch spline repair. Difficult tire packer repair. Breaking out concrete in the barn. Perfect growing conditions for germination. Fade out with river sounds.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

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The manure-compost pile has warmed up. The tire packer is very broken and I'm glad nothing else was damaged when it came apart. I calculated that the seeding density for this cover crop mix is 44 seeds per square foot, which is very high and I'm glad about that. Looking ahead...but for now, it's time to get some rest.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

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Rambling while unloading seed bags. Big problem with the seeder metering mechanism. The right way to live my life.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

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Early morning. Recording while checking compost temperatures and walking the soybean field. Pulling weeds tall weeds, trying to decrease the seed bank. Making the disc sing. Magnet finds more fence wire  and a plow point. Lots of prep for seeding the cover crop...

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

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Overall, things are going great this summer, but I'm late getting the cover crop planted. First disc needs to be repaired, and the supplier to the machine shop is slow to courier the bearing that's needed. Also, the new tractor needs a lot of attention before it can be used reliably. It would be easy to miss one key maintenance issue that could result in costly damage to the tractor. Right now I'm really focused on the flushing and conditioning the radiator and coolant system. It sounds basic but that sort of thing is a really big deal. There have been so many things to manage to farm organically, and I haven't done a good job with farm composting. The cattle manure is a valuable input and it is best applied as finished compost instead of fresh manure and straw. So, the manure has been moved to a field edge where it has been windrowed. I'll record temperature data and rolll the windrow periodically until it is fully composted, then apply the compost to the field that currently has soybeans next spring along with a cover crop. As usual, the cows and calves are happily grazing their paddocks.

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

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I would advise anyone to trust the engineered specifications for tractor fluids, and don't follow the advice of the retailer...it's important. Custom repairs are a lot of fun. The way that animals forage for food is a lot like the way humans have managed Earth's oil resources. Early on cattle graze plants that have the lowest perceived cost:benefit ratio. Pasture plants that are palatable and easy to access. Later, less palatable plants or those that are farther away are grazed. Isn't that analagous to the manner that we have obtained oil?

Find your place in the world. Dig in, and take responsibility from there. - Gary Snyder

Please contact me with your own stories.
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