Low Tech Geo Thermal Heating and Cooling for Above Ground Cattle Water Tank

Sounds like a very technical and complicated process.  It is not.  It is a very simple process after you understand how to do it.  When my husband first brought it up, I was very skeptical and thought here we go again.  He doesn't question my hair brained ideas and projects so I support his unconditionally. When he had every thing set up I put on my work boots and grabbed by work gloves. Of course it helps if the neighbor has a back hoe and is as curious as I was to see what he had planned.  This project was done October 27, 2012, not in February.

He had organized all his supplies, 2--7 foot long  x 18 inch diameter plastic heavy duty drain tiles,  2 wooden frames to hold the tiles in place (in the hole while back filling), a piece of 2 inch rigid foam insulation that he cut a little larger than the bottom of the tank, shovels, rakes, the neighbor with his back hoe.  And of course me, my camera, and our dog.

The stock tank had already been emptied and cleaned, and he had portable gates to set up to keep the cows, calves, and bull out of the way.  They are nosey, and want to be right in the middle of everything.  Wild they are not.

After digging a a hole 7 foot deep and wide enough for both the tiles and frame we were ready.  The tiles with the frame at the top and bottom already attached (the frames were built for a tight fit) were lifted by the bucket on the back hoe with a chain of course and lowered into the hole.   After making sure everything was level and centered back filling was done.  Next the 2 inch foam insulation.   He cut holes in the insulation so the it fitted around the tiles .  It was explained to me that the natural heat from the ground would keep them warm in the winter and cool in the summer.  The tank was replaced and filled with water. 

We have had a lot of extreme weather here so far and it does work until we hit about 20 degrees.  It is an improvement for him in the winter considering we do not have stock tank heaters (no electricity at the farm).  My husband said he is still breaking ice but it is not as thick as before.  I am hoping it will keep the water cool in the summer, I know I don't like to drink plain hot water. 

As you can see from the pictures our calves liked the freshly dug dirt.  Play time.

New Hereford Bull Calf born, Our Hereford Bull, and Januray 2012 flood water!!!

Last Saturday January 12, 2012 we added to the herd again.  The calf we were waiting on, Mama did breed on the clean up cycle by the bull.  She is an older cow and is the Boss of the herd.  My husband swears she waits until he has given up and when she sees him coming into feed she just drops a calf on her own terms.  He intended to check her again for signs of a possible birth and was maybe going to put her in the barn.

Needless to say he saw the calf and started moving equipment to get her and baby up.  I had just left to go to our daughters for a visit.  So I was not helping this time.  After hours of working and having it all strawed down he ended up carrying the calf to the barn and Mama followed.  He told me that he thought it was going to be a lighter weight calf until he picked it up.  They had to go into the barn because our temperature that day hit close to 60 degrees, rain and dropping temps were predicted for the night.  The calf could have frozen to the ground during the night.  We did get 3 1/2 inches of rain that night and washed into the barn so  the next day he added more straw and everyone is warm and cozy now.  He is moving them out of the barn probably Sunday or Monday of this week.  The little fellow is already jumping around and running in the pen, so he is a healthy little fellow Mama maybe getting older but she is a really good mother.

We did have some flooding , river bottom flooding(back water).   Eventually it did cover the road and at times we can get flooded in for up to 14 days or more. We live on a curve and it floods us in both ways.  We get out by 4-wheeler to a vehicle we move out (to the neighbors) prior to flooding. We have lived here so long we are educated on river bottom flooding.

Mama, baby, and flood waters are OK now.

I have posted baby pictures Jarhead born January 12, 2012, a picture of our Bull Harry born May 11, 2009, and flood pictures(before water got over road ).  Also a picture of what I call our swamp.

Definitely Snowed In More Snow On The Way

Christmas was not white with snow this year, but we did get 10 inches starting at 3:00am on the morning of December 26.  We are snowbound even 2 days later.  Our road will be the last one that sees a snow plow or not at all.  We were prepared for a big snow so we will just do daily tasks and enjoy the quiet time.  My husband is keeping the farm related tasks done, takes a while wading snow with a ton of cloths and shoes on.  So far I have not had to break out my Carhartt polar bibs and insulated boots, but I will if he needs help. This will be a good time to get my taxes organized before January 1. 

We are supposed to get rain, freezing rain, then snow tonight so we will see what tomorrow looks like.

Christmas Day was really nice.  We all met at our Daughter and Son-in-Laws house Christmas evening.  We had too much food as usual, but that is what Christmas is about.  I took about six pounds of fudge for all the grand kids to enjoy.  All the grand kids were happy and had fun unwrapping their gifts and that is what is important. 

Our pets, several cats and One Spoiled Rotten Dog do not like the snow.  Snow does not phase the cattle, they just go about their business, eating hay, feed, hitting the water tanks and just milling about.

My seed catalogs are still coming in and I have found several new things I want to add to the garden this year.  All those beautiful Sunflowers will be hard to resist, so several new varieties will find their way into the garden.

Pictures of New Hereford Calves

Baby sitting while mom eats (born 10/18/2012)

Resting a few hours old (born 10/18/2012)

Dirty nose from playing in dirt (born 9/15/2012)

Still getting a bath a few hours old(born 10/18/2012)

I am clean mom (born 10/18/2012)

Finally I can sleep (born 10/18/2012)

After nap and bath (born 10/18/2012)

Lets play (back calf born 10/8/2012-calf in fromt 9/15/2012)

 OK I"ll move (born 10/8/2012)

We are bored (Calf on left born 9/15/2012-calf on right born 10/8/2012)

Time out (calf born on 10/18/2012)



These pictures were taken on 10/18/2012.

Heifer--born 9/15/2012
Bull calf born 10/8/2012
Bull Calf born 10/18/22012

New Herford Calf, Fall Garden clean up

Since I last posted we have been busy getting everything finished for winter.  Needless to say the fall house cleaning came to a complete standstill.  We have been trudging along trying to beat the fall rains.  When I woke up and it was raining I was thrilled that I can catch up in the house.  I even had to schedule grocery shopping around all the work.  Thank heavens I keep stocked up on food.  I feel that if I have a 30 day supply on hand going into winter we won't get slammed with a blizzard.  We will have to see if that works out again this winter.

Every day has been spent picking gourds, gather what has been left in the garden, and gather hickory nuts. My gourd drying racks are almost filled, the last of the hickory nuts are picked up, and the vegetable garden is done.  I pulled down the last of the tomato plants yesterday.  I have two more days picking gourds and I will be done for 2012.  That will give my husband time to get lime spread on the hay fields, garden, and pastures.

October 18 we had another calf born.  He is a big one, we stayed with her for two hours that she was in hard labor.  My husband was 5 minutes from calling the Vet in when here he came.  I named him Bruiser because he was so big and he probably bruised her on the way out.  I felt so sorry for her, but she is fine and so is her baby.  Here is a picture of him he after Mom cleaned him up.

We have done several other projects in the last twelve days and I will post more about that later.  I need to get back to work.

 

 

 

 

 

Do Herford Cows Wear Raincoats?

We babysat for 4 of our grand kids last weekend.  The main topic of conversation for the two youngest ones was "Do you Cows wear rain coats when it rains?".  Of course my answer was "No they like to stand in the rain".  Then came the "Do they wear winter coats, hats and boots when it snows?".  Again the "No they like to stand out in the snow ".  Finally after every weather question they could ask, they were satisfied.  That is our job as grandparents to answer all the seemingly obvious questions we all take for granted as adults.  I grew up on a farm and just understood how things are. After we have returned to this life in our retirement year, now is our job to share all this with our grand kids.  We enjoy them and all their questions and I just hope we are giving the right answers and they are learning about this way of life.  Grand children are the greatest joy there is, and you do not understand how much joy you receive until you experience them.

Speaking of joy, yesterday was clean out the barn and spread lime day.  We had borrowed a skid steer form the neighbors and it really wasn't a horrible job.  My husband was operating the skid steer and spreading the manure on the pastures with hos tractor and spreader, I was the boots on the ground with all the hand tools person.  I am definitely experienced with these and the day went just fine. It was a long 10 hour job, but we beat the rain and it is done till spring.  Of course it was impossible for me to stay clean but unlike last spring I didn't fall in it.  When that happened it was up half way to my knees when I was pulled to ground the only option was to roll out.  I thought it was solid ground and it was a nasty experience.  None of the cows got out and everything ended up just fine.

We do have one calf that is really fun to watch.  The little heifer that was born Sept. 15 of this year chases cars.  She runs the length of the fence on the road side chasing any car that pasts.  We may have to watch her, she may end up a jumper and we will be calls in the middle of the night she has escaped.  Keeps life interesting.

Another Hereford Calf Born

At 7:15 pm Monday, October 8, 2012, we had another addition to the herd.  A little Hereford bull calf was born.   We are awaiting the arrival of 2 more before fall calving is complete.  He is a little cutie, but all babies are cute in my book.  Mama was a 2 year old heifer, but she calved easily without any help from us.  We always leave them alone and let them handle it.  We have been very lucky with the girls, one set of twins a year and all live births without any calves being rejected.  Yea, no bottle feeding yet!!! 

These pictures were taken yesterday at around 2:30 pm so the calf is approximately 20 hours old.  We are very pleased with the little fellow. 

With all this going on trying to get every thing wrapped up before winter gets here I am at the point of total disorganization at the moment.We will get every thing done somehow. 

I am slowly trying to clean up the rest of the garden, we had frost on Monday and Tuesday Night so the garden is done.  I am fighting a weed patch trying to get gourds pick to dry.  We have to clean the barn (scoop out with the tractor and loader then spread manure on the pastures), spread lime in the feed ways of the barn and the holding pens (yes I will be helping with this).  I have fall cleaning to finish, store all canning supplies, store potatoes, do some mending, make a blanket for youngest Grandson's Birthday, clean my workshop, continue to gather Hickory Nuts(they should be done soon), and I probable will find more to do. 

Here are pictures of Mama and Baby Boy.

The Joy of Gardening, Cutting Hay, and Fall Cleaning

Last week we received 5 1/2 inches of rain.  My garden is on sand and drains well, but this week we are getting more rain.  I am not complaining because we need rain now to have a garden and crops next year.  I will not even complain about snow and severe cold.  In short we need a normal rainy fall and a cold snowy winter.

I still have quite a bit to harvest in the garden, but I did manage to get all the potatoes dug before the rains started.  I do not think I will be making anymore tomato juice this year.  If I do get enough tomatoes to juice and can, then that will be wonderful.  There are still gourds, lima beans, peppers, and cotton to harvest.  Yes I planted cotton (in Southern Indiana) to see it grow.  It has beautiful flowers and I am still waiting to see the cotton to appear. 

My husband cut hay again last Saturday, rain was not in the forecast until Tuesday.  Well it is wet and will have to be picked up with a pitch fork.  We have two pitch forks so I guess I will be helping. 

All these little things make life interesting.  We definitely do not get bored around here.

Since it is cold and has been raining since Saturday afternoon, I have tackled fall cleaning.  I am thrilled to say I have 2 rooms done, from top to bottom, closets, drawer, and rotated clothes.  After all the house is cleaned I am setting a goal to deep clean one room a month so it doesn't have to take so long twice a year to get it done. It will make normal cleaning a lot easier and hopefully I feel like I am always behind.  Sounds like a plan to me, I will keep you informed if it works out.

The good thing about any type of cleaning and or organizing you find things you forgot you had or those misplaced items.  It's an a-ha moment when you find things.  I am looking for a land line phone I bought last spring to use when we loose power,  just a plain jane, no bells or whistles.  I know I bought two of them, but I can only find one of them, the one that is plugged in.  Its is here somewhere, along with a big flashlight.  Sometimes I put things up so my grandkids don't play with them and then I can't find them.  I found a stapler after six months of looking for it.  You just have to love grandkids, they tend to keep us on our toes.

 

The Things I Have Delayed In Doing.

It is here!  All the things I have placed on the back burner and labeled I will get to that later.  All the chores I have done during the busy summer giving them a hit, lick, and a promise(as my Mother always said) have to start being done.

All the fun stuff, cleaning out closets, drawers, cabinets, we all have those fun things that need to be done.  Who wants to look at all this  all winter long?  Not to mention washing wall, cleaning floors, window coverings to be cleaned, and the dreaded windows to be washed.  Fun, Fun, Fun!!!!!!!!!!!

I did some small jobs yesterday.  There will only be time for a few today.  My husband has an appointment with the doctor.  He has traveled all over the world(work related), but mention doctor and it is not a task he can perform on his own.  I will gladly go with him, it is not me that has to be weighed, probed, prodded, and questioned.

We still have garden waiting to mature and be harvested, hay to be cut and baled again, and fall calving to be cycled through.  Last summers heat messed up the breeding cycle and I am afraid this year will be the same.  Weather plays a big part in all our lives, but it makes life interesting.  I am just grateful for anything our garden produces, our calves that are born and all the delayed chores to be done.  It keeps us busy and we all need a purpose in life.

If you retire  just sit down and do nothing, it gets pretty boring.  We retired to keep working.

Will my garden beat the first frost?

Listening to the weather report for our area I am beginning to realize, my garden is getting close to being done for the year (a low of 39 tonight).  Autumn officially starts September 22 this Saturday.  It will be the earliest start to Autumn since 1896.  I wonder if their overall weather was as weird as ours has been this year?

There are still several items growing I am not ready to give up on.  Tomatoes and Lima beans are just now starting to produce.  I am going to wait and see if they beat the frost.   They struggled through all the heat.  I will just wait and see what happens. In Southern Indiana summer heat is not uncommon.  What hurt us was the total lack of humidity.  

Gardening is a gamble.  Just like life and you just have to keep going. 

An update on the new calf.  Mama and baby are thriving.  The little thing is already at a full gallop(my husbands description)  in the pasture.  Hopefully the rest of the cows will deliver soon so there will be little friends for it to play with.

Newborn Hereford Calf

Well the first of the fall calves is here.  My husband went to move hay and called to let me know we had a new addition.  I just love new calves, so I grabbed my camera and went to the farm.  I babysit while he moved hay.  She was cleaning the calf and I had to watch to make sure the baby got on its feet and nursed to get the colostrum immediately. 

Baby is nursing and Mama is fine, tending to her calf and eating grass.  It is amazing how gentle these Hereford Mama's are she was just gently stepping over the calf and nipping grass.

I stayed on the other side of the fence and took my pictures.  Our cattle are so tame it is hard to work with them at times, they want to be petted.   When they are calving we leave them alone they know what to do.   If there is a problem then we will step in and deal with it.