We have been truly blessed to have splendid weather so far into the autumn season.  This has allowed a considerable amount of extra outdoor work to be accomplished – making up for the lack of such earlier in the year due to constant rain.

However, signs of winter are moving across the country, so it’s time to get serious about it.  We’ve been feeding some hay since it was nice and dry, but that seems to be past for a while, so back to grazing.  Too bad for deer hunters at all the rain this firearm season.

At all places, we’ll have set up two polywires across an ungrazed paddock ready for winter stockpile grazing.  With the warm weather, we’ve been able to keep the stock on paddocks with only a little regrowth, but that will soon change once the nighttime temperatures drop below freezing.  It’s important, too, to not graze too short this time of year unless you are purposefully doing so to ‘set back’ the existing grass and root system.

At my south Missouri farm, Dallas, Christian, and I worked nearly all daylight hours to set out hay bales for bale grazing, clearing brush, and building hi-tensile perimeter fence.

Friday morning, however, we finished up and took some leisure time.  We don’t often do that.  Ziplining in the southwest Missouri Ozarks.  Branson Zipline  is an awesome place to go with great guides.  Fun time.  And, yes, even I stepped off the platform into a 100 foot freefall!

With cold weather coming, it’s time to address the livestock water tanks.  Allen sat down this morning to make a list of his tanks, which he’ll either shut off and drain or some he’ll turn on the leak valve and allow the water to run through the overflow pipe.  The moving water won’t freeze up.  He has 74 tanks to attend to while i only have 10!

Cheers!

tauna