I am hearing this amazing weather could be ending abruptly. It sure has been enjoyable. We have been warmer than in many parts of the province and I have enjoyed bragging about that. (Which will not likely bite me in the butt.) I have been feeding my cows twice a week. During the week it is with lights on the tractor and my headlamp, so it isn’t ideal to see how they are but, on the weekend, it has been a real pleasure seeing them enjoying the sunshine and dry places to relax. Last Wednesday night they were acting strangely while I was feeding them; running around like something was spooking them. I am assuming it was the elk, or the wolves or maybe Sasquatch. I kept thinking the entire time about my girlfriend, who fears the dark and used to dread walking out to the barn during calving season.
My visit to Queens Park was great. We had a jam-packed agenda, but all our meetings were very positive. A lot of the younger staff members were extremely interested in Agriculture but many of them really didn’t understand the beef business. It reminded me of the importance of Agricultural in the Classroom and why we need to continue to talk about what we do so that people understand where our food comes from. I invited many of them to join in on one of the many education days that are offered by so many of the farm groups. These are well-educated people, but they just grew up miles from a farm. We were heading to our first meeting on Monday morning at 7:30 a.m.; we stepped on a crowed elevator and I hear “Kimmie-Jo” – it was a girl that used to live in Emo! It is such a small world.
The Rainy River Cattlemen held their last directors meeting for the 2025 year. We set the dates for our 2026 Cattle Sales: April 25, September 26, October 17 & November 7. James, our Sales Barn Manger, has told us that 2025 was his last year so we are now searching for the next one. If you are interested or would like further information, please reach out to Murray at 807-276-0307. We would like to know by January 5, 2026, so we can work on this at our first board meeting in the New Year. James will be missed. He was so pleased with the staff that had reached out and told him how much they enjoyed working with him. That really made his day!
I was really hoping I had all my data completed by now, but I don’t. I knew it was a mistake to leave the hardest files until the end but that is what I did. I have had a lot of distractions, so it gets me off track. The good thing is that I found all my notes so I will not have to admit misplacing any information. I have a couple of busy weeks ahead of me, so my time is ticking.
I was considering cutting back on the Christmas lights this year because of how much I had going on but then got started at it on Sunday and was enjoying it because I was able to take my jacket off and work without gloves. Then as I untangled the lights and only part strings were working, I was thinking I should cut back again because that must be one of the most frustrating things! You pack them all way working, pull them out and they don’t work. I thought the new style LED lights were going to be so amazing, but they sure haven’t been for me. I tested one of my blow-ups in the house and it blew up the socket. Anyway, I am a long way from being done and I may not be doing as much, I just have to wait and see how things cooperate with me from here on out.
