I Need A Vacation From My Vacation

So, this last weekend was Labor Day weekend. Labor is right. It's what we did, all weekend long.

Starting on Saturday, after Jim got off work, we went out to my mom's. We had three high priority jobs, and 2 lower priority jobs. Shay, her Dexter heifer, is due anytime in the next two weeks. (Still a heifer, this is her first calf). She's had a halter on her since we got her picked up on Valentine's Day. This was not intended or desired, and it was getting very tight. Shay just wouldn't let anyone walk up and mess with her head. Don't blame her, really, but my dad isn't the most livestock inclined man in the world, and couldn't (wouldn't?) help mom corral her and get the halter off. The buckling goats that are destined for food needed castrating. And last, but not least three pigs that needed moving from the South Field to the Hoophouse Pen.

As we got there, the new pig pen was just getting completed. Jim created a stall for Shay, and we got her squeezed in, and the halter off. Once she was squeezed up, and her head immobile, she was quite happy to let us remove the halter. It came right off. We spent about 10 or 15 minutes petting on her, and it gave me a chance to check her out, as Mom was questioning her pregnancy status. After looking her over, I came to the conclusion that yes, she's pregnant, but due closer to the end of her due date range, than the beginning.

Then we proceeded to trick the two bucklings into letting us have access to their hind ends. One boy was done easy enough, but the other one's testicles were very small and held extremely tightly against his body. We decided that rather than risk catching a ureter, we'd just leave him intact for now.

And then, the Great Pig Move. We got them out of the South Field okay, and they began heading northward, but soon saw Green Stuff. That looked much better than the short woman with the red bucket! And the pathway to their new home was somewhat cluttered by t-posts. The oldest kidlet and I moved those out of the way, while Jim, Mom and youngest kidlet rounded up the hogs. Jim eventually got one pig's nose IN the food bucket, and led it right into its new home. Rinse and repeat twice. All done!

The lower priority jobs were moving the goats southward, and moving the sheep northward. Didn't happen. Jim gets off work at 2, takes an hour to drive to mom's. By the time we'd gotten all that done, (doesn't sound like much, huh?), it was 7pm, and we still had a two hour drive home.

Sunday dawned, and we had more work to do. The trailer of hay (borrowed trailer, purchased hay) still had about 75 bales of hay on it that needed unloaded and stacked. Jim got it started, and I went out and helped by dropping hay off the trailer. Then I was off to return the trailer, and he was waiting for someone to come look at a couple of the goats we have here. I got back, Melvin still hadn't shown up, but was close. We visited with them for about 30 minutes, and they left. Time to shoot the Ram. It quickly became obvious that having the proper tools makes a job MUCH easier. Quartering the ram with out a saw was a time and muscle intensive task. Jim did all that work. We put the dismembered carcass into coolers and added ice to cool the meat. Monday would finish that job. On a good note, lamb tenderloins make a tasty meal.

Monday, Labor Day. Jim actually had the day off. From fixing cars anyway. So, in all my braininess, I'd told mom to come out and we'd off the chickens. Mom got here about 11, and we started working on them about 45 minutes later (the scalder water wasn't hot enough yet). Four hours later, we were done with nine chickens, but out of vacuum bags and had no freezer bags available either. So, we called that a day. Still have about 15 birds to do, plus a couple of ducks. The chickens were plenty fat, just not boob-heavy. And then I still had to grind up Ram. With out a meatsaw, or other handy dandy tools, grinding the meat was one of the best ways for us to stretch it out. Jim and I took about 1 1/2 hours to get it ground up, and then I put it in to packages.

Thank goodness it's Tuesday, and no major farm chores are in the offing!