It Was Good to be Back!

So last week Monday I made the trip to my grandpa's dairy to help out with things there. (I also towed one of my two brothers along...he wasn't especially pleased about that.) Well, when we got there, I geared up to help with the vet check. When I worked out at the farm in high school, this was something I did every Monday morning, so I know the routine pretty well. Anyway, I loaded up the GNRH and Lutelyse and tubes and needles and chalks and then my uncle informed me that I would be giving one of the shots. In the past, I never gave the shots because my grandpa was always kinda protective (in my opinion). However, I learned how to give shots while at college and I practiced over my Christmas vacation, so I had a new job. Vet check went relatively smoothly with only one kick. The cow kicked straight back at the vet and managed to bust one of the syringes he had in his tool belt.
After the vet check was done, I got onto the lawn mower. I call it the Monster : ) It has a 72" deck with three blades and 24 horse power. That thing can mow! Mowing was another one of my jobs at the farm, and while my brother had been gradually working up to mowing everything, he was still learning, so I got to clean up after him. I mowed the sides of the lagoons which really needed to be done so that we can watch of leaks. With all the crazy amounts of rain we've been having, the lagoons are filled to the brim. A couple miles south of my grandpa's place, a couple lagoon walls collapsed. It was really bad and we want to prevent that from happening again. So I spent a good two hours mowing, went for lunch, then we moved calves. That morning, we had loaded eight calves into the moving crate (which is just a big cage that attaches to the front of a skidloader). The next task was to set up some polydomes for them and get then move the calves in. I was surprised to find out that my brother John, with all of his 14 years, 6 feet height, and 150 lbs, did not know how to pick a calf up to move it. So I, the big "little" sister, with all my 19 years, 5'6" and 125 lbs, picked up a 50lb (ish) calf and moved him to the polydome while my brother stood there and watched and laughed at how dirty I had gotten moving a different calf. Thanks John...thanks.  That night we fed the calves and then headed home, and overall it was a really good day. It was good to be back.

Countdown til school starts: Move in Monday, class on Wednesday!!!! 4 DAYS!!!!

The Next Stage

An exciting summer at the daycare came to an end on Friday. It was bittersweet to see the kids leave for the final time: part of me was happy that I didn't have to return to the noise and fighting on Monday while the other part of me will miss the smiles and laughs that those kids gave to me nearly every day.
This summer has taught me a lot, including how incredibly easy it is to focus on the negative and forget about all the positive things that the kids are doing. I have also gained valuable tools that I can use any time I work with kids, but I'm getting a good idea of how I will want to raise my kids someday. (We're talking very someday). My kids will have a loving home, but they will learn to be tough and that every fall doesn't mean that they have to cry their eyes out. This is just one of many things that I've come to decide.
However, it's time for the next stage in my summer. I'm going back to the farm tomorrow!!! With all the rain that has come in June and July (16.38" in Sioux Falls)(<--link) the ground is always soft and rain is probably right around the corner. It's actually getting ready to rain as I write this. It will make for an interesting time if this continues through harvest and into this winter. After a hard harvest last fall due to lots of rain, all the farmers are praying that the rain starts to back off this year.
Either way, I'm looking forward to getting back to the farm and then back to school at the end of this month! It's going to be busy, but I'm so excited and I can hardly wait!