48^ this morning and a strong wind all night- drive way ?ÿis a skating rink this morning-
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One of my favorite's from our old friend Charlie.?ÿ Hope you're not as leaned out as this steer.
MRs File informs me that I could stand to shed a few pounds, and I’m working it but I’m not in danger of blowing away anytime soon. Haven’t had that much snow- but we have the ice
That ain't no steer paden. That's an old cow with bad teeth trying to survive her last winter. When I was a kid, my dad and granddad would screen out old cows with bad teeth in the fall so they didn't suffer like that poor cow.
Gene nailed it.?ÿ Old cow trying to hang on until Spring.?ÿ When buying or selling cows age is a big factor to take into account.?ÿ As a rule, that is determined by the teeth present and their condition.?ÿ Typical ages reported at the auction barn run from 1+, 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 followed by BM for broken mouth (some teeth left) followed by A meaning aged, suggesting effectively no teeth left.?ÿ An aged cow can rip off enough soft material such as fresh grass to keep going but has to gum it enough to swallow.?ÿ Tougher material, such as dry, rough hay simply will not be masticated sufficiently to have adequate digestive qualities.?ÿ The wear and tear on the teeth has a great deal to do with the roughage they have consumed over their lifetime.?ÿ Thus, a five year-old may have the teeth of an eight year-old if living in tougher conditions food-wise.?ÿ Under good conditions a cow can live to be 20 years old, but that is a definite exception.
Cow marketability is influenced heavily by stage of pregnancy.?ÿ Typical identifications may be 1,2,3,X or O.?ÿ The first trimester is stage 1, the second trimester is stage 2 and the third trimester is stage 3.?ÿ A cow who has recently calved or not pregnant will identified as "open", either X or O depending on the sale barn preference.?ÿ Another common practice is to slap on a paper tag with its color signifying the stage, e.g., third stage is green.?ÿ The buyers can quickly tell the age and state of pregnancy of the animal being sold.?ÿ It would be wonderful is there was a way to get an accurate reading on "orneryness" and label the cow accordingly.?ÿ Too many times the reason a young to middle aged cow is at market is because she possesses a certain quality that is not conducive to superior breeding and handling.?ÿ That is, she can jump higher, run faster and is meaner than her owner who had better learn to get a head start on running and finding the best place to jump before her head and his posterior are united with great force.
In case anyone is in search of a broken mouth/aged cow that is open, I can make you a heck of a deal.?ÿ One of my old gals slipped a calf yesterday.?ÿ That means it was premature and didn't have a chance of survival.?ÿ I found enough of it an hour ago to make that diagnosis.?ÿ Damn.
What in hell are y'all talkin' about? I always thought a "Chinook" was a salmon or a helicopter.?ÿ Must be some secret northern speech code like when one of our own members actually FROZE some poor soul named Norman in an icebox and got away with it! ?????ÿ
What in hell are y'all talkin' about?
Chinook winds, or simply "Chinooks" are warm winds that blow into this part of the world, this time of year, off the ocean, out the southwest (as in Hawaii). As they pass by the Pacific Northwest they dump tons of rain (we had 9 inches of rain in Portland during January). By the time it gets to Montana the moisture has mostly dropped out and only the warm wind remains. That melts the snow, partially.?ÿ Of course?ÿ "warm" in Montana this time of year means a few degrees above freezing at best. It only lasts a short time and then the cold comes back and turns all that melted snow into glare ice.?ÿ
The good news is: The Ground Hog DID NOT see his shadow this morning, and we will soon be enjoying the warm soft breezes of Spring!
In the 1993 movie, Groundhog Day, with Bill Murray every morning at 6:00 a.m. his clock radio plays the Sonny and Cher classic "I Got You Babe", thus the reference in the above comic
We will be waiting to see Bill Murray and that crazy Pennsylvanian groundhog, Phil, in a Jeep commercial during the Super Bowl.
