Rain swells river

Some of us experienced some significant rain over the weekend and others not so much.
At my house, we received around two-10ths of an inch but the Emo Agricultural Research Station got just over an inch.
We also are working with a Ph.D. student who is doing some work on a few of the rivers/creeks in our district and he sent a text telling us the La Vallee River went up 20 cm over the weekend, so it should be sampled.
That seems quite significant.
Meanwhile, growing conditions for our hay and pasture have been great–and, alas, the weeds, as well. Spraying has been challenging with strong winds or wetter conditions.
We harvested all our first-cut hay yields at EARS but now we need the right weather to get the rest of the forage cut and baled up. It looks like this week might be a good week or we can at least cross our fingers that it is.
Many farmers have been plugging away with haying and some have started a bit earlier because the fields are looking so good. I was hoping to make some square bales before we really get into it but I shall see (there just seems to be a shortage of hours right now).
The deer flies and bulldogs are really attacking the cattle now. That usually means the pasture is pretty good. Cattle are huddling up and not enjoying them at all.
Some have been adding garlic to their mineral mix and I have heard good results from this (I think any relief would feel good).
We built a new area for our alpaca–they have access to part of the shed that my horse spends most of his days now because of the bugs. The horse and the one group of cows completely were freaked out about our new additions.
But it only took a few minutes for everyone to figure each other out and now everyone should have all they need for the time being.
The alpacas now look like standard poodles after they got all sheared up earlier this month!
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If you are driving by, you should be able to see the hops climbing from the highway now. As well, our second bunch of plants arrived.
Unfortunately, they were shipped terribly and looked rough upon arrival. The greenhouse assured us they are tough plants so they are in the ground now and we are hoping they will pull through.
The water over the weekend would have been appreciated by them.
We’re not sure yet if we will have to string them yet this year but either way, we might get the string up so it is one less job to do in the spring.
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Thanks to those who came out and worked at the sales barn in Stratton on Saturday. We realize it is tough to take time to come to the sales barn when there is plenty of work to do at your own place.
It is really appreciated and with our barn being community-owned, we must plug away and keep the place in good condition.
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The latest “Catch the Ace” pot is now more than $7,000 so you might want to get in on the fun! Tickets cost $2 each and our next draw is the Friday (June 22) at 7 p.m. at the Emo Legion!
Last week’s weekly winner went away with about $400.