Might be spring one day.

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That weather is not unusual for you, is it? Shoot, we have had such swings that I would have rathered had just cold and some snow here and then start warming up now. We have had in the 70's through parts of Feb... unheard of.... nights from 20 to 50's and days about 10-20 degrees warmer than normal many days. The forsythia is blooming, the daffodils are out, the decorative Bradford pear trees are in bloom; and the fruit trees are very very close to flowering... and now it is forecast to get back down in the 40's days and 20's nights by the weekend.....it will be the end of many of the fruit trees production if it does what they are predicting. We have had all the ice that has done more damage breaking trees this year, then 2 days later we get 50-70 degrees. Totally see-saw weather...
 
Every time I get to thinking that spring is just about here Old Man Winter shows me that I am wrong. It was 18 degrees with about 2 or 3 inches of new snow this morning. One new calf this morning, one new one yesterday afternoon, and another born around 3:00 this afternoon. The weather does seem to bother them at all. It certainly doesn't bother my dogs.

P2273086.JPG
 
farmerjan said:
That weather is not unusual for you, is it? Shoot, we have had such swings that I would have rathered had just cold and some snow here and then start warming up now. We have had in the 70's through parts of Feb... unheard of.... nights from 20 to 50's and days about 10-20 degrees warmer than normal many days. The forsythia is blooming, the daffodils are out, the decorative Bradford pear trees are in bloom; and the fruit trees are very very close to flowering... and now it is forecast to get back down in the 40's days and 20's nights by the weekend.....it will be the end of many of the fruit trees production if it does what they are predicting. We have had all the ice that has done more damage breaking trees this year, then 2 days later we get 50-70 degrees. Totally see-saw weather...
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Sister, you ain't lying. I'd rather it be cold until May than this back and forth.

gcreekrch said:
Winter sure hanging on.View attachment 27074View attachment 27075View attachment 27077View attachment 27078View attachment 27079
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You may not like me much, pard, but I'm praying for your green up because that looks like the kind of weather that freezes your nose hairs and I wouldn't wish that on anybody.
 
I doubt it is much consolation, gcreek, but we have more snow than you do. It just keeps
piling up. I'm not sure where it's going to go when it melts. Probably a flood, but it's going to take awhile to melt these drifts and piled up snow. I'm ready for some bare ground.
 
1982vett said:
:unsure: A few years ago we never really stopped mowing.

I got about half of it mowed last week before the deck belt came apart. Haven't got back to it yet.
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I cleaned the pool filter cartridges yesterday and it was a messy endeavor but thankfully only has to be done every 5-6 months except this was the short fall/winter cycle when sorry no account belly slithering OTHER PEOPLES DAMN TREES all drop **** in my yard and pool and I have to deal with their tree loving crap.
 
greybeard said:
I've now mowed twice in 2023.
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Me too. Gonna hit 80 the next 3 days, then a cold front comes through Thursday, and temps will drop to the mid 60's for a couple of days. Every year I see these pics from our northern and Canadian members, and I can't imagine having to fool with cattle under those conditions. As hard as it is to turn a profit on cattle down here, I don't see how they make it with the increased feed and other inputs they have vs us down here...where if you don't overstock you won't even need hay except a little for when you have to put one up for something. Northern and Canadian cattlemen are a hell of a lot tougher than I am..my hats off to them. Down here, a man maybe 2 or 3 generations off a farm, can buy some land, have some local farmers fence it in for them, build working facilities, get help and advice from their co-op or feed store on pasture and hay. We have one close by here that will not only sell you fertilizer and seed, but will actually apply it, plant or drill your grass, etc. There are plenty of people like myself that can help these people get the right kind pf cattle for their situation. No wolves, bears, cougars or blizzards to deal with. Most anyone can actually produce calves to sell. I venture to say people like that could not do that up north. I'd venture to say that anyone successfully raising cattle up north are truly experts. I doubt there are any ameture, hobby farmer types up there.

I consider myself at least fairly knowledgeable about cow-calf operations down here...most years turned a good profit, though most of that is from buying and selling. But I am here to tell you, I don't think I would survive my first winter in the cattle business up there. A northern or Canadian cattleman could move down here, and do it with one hand tied behind their back and their eyes closed!
When I was in college, I worked as a lifeguard at the beach on a Naval Rec Center on the lake here, entertaining their wives and daughters :) I had a friend that owned a local dive shop, who had spent 3 years in SEAL Team II in Nam and surrounding countries. Yeah, we both drew a check from the Navy, but his job was like raising cattle up north. Mine was like raising cattle down here.
 
Warren Allison said:
Me too. Gonna hit 80 the next 3 days, then a cold front comes through Thursday, and temps will drop to the mid 60's for a couple of days. Every year I see these pics from our northern and Canadian members, and I can't imagine having to fool with cattle under those conditions. As hard as it is to turn a profit on cattle down here, I don't see how they make it with the increased feed and other inputs they have vs us down here...where if you don't overstock you won't even need hay except a little for when you have to put one up for something. Northern and Canadian cattlemen are a hell of a lot tougher than I am..my hats off to them. Down here, a man maybe 2 or 3 generations off a farm, can buy some land, have some local farmers fence it in for them, build working facilities, get help and advice from their co-op or feed store on pasture and hay. We have one close by here that will not only sell you fertilizer and seed, but will actually apply it, plant or drill your grass, etc. There are plenty of people like myself that can help these people get the right kind pf cattle for their situation. No wolves, bears, cougars or blizzards to deal with. Most anyone can actually produce calves to sell. I venture to say people like that could not do that up north. I'd venture to say that anyone successfully raising cattle up north are truly experts. I doubt there are any ameture, hobby farmer types up there.

I consider myself at least fairly knowledgeable about cow-calf operations down here...most years turned a good profit, though most of that is from buying and selling. But I am here to tell you, I don't think I would survive my first winter in the cattle business up there. A northern or Canadian cattleman could move down here, and do it with one hand tied behind their back and their eyes closed!
When I was in college, I worked as a lifeguard at the beach on a Naval Rec Center on the lake here, entertaining their wives and daughters :) I had a friend that owned a local dive shop, who had spent 3 years in SEAL Team II in Nam and surrounding countries. Yeah, we both drew a check from the Navy, but his job was like raising cattle up north. Mine was like raising cattle down here.
Click to expand...
There have been a number of well respected cattlemen visit here. Several have said if we can ranch here successfully we could do well anywhere in the world.
 
gcreekrch said:
There have been a number of well respected cattlemen visit here. Several have said if we can ranch here successfully we could do well anywhere in the world.
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I agree with their opinions 100%. If you moved your operation down here, you would probably be bored out of your mind, except maybe calving time and weaning. Only thing is you'd probably need to add a little ear to your herd, down where I am and further south. :)
 
Few more inches of fresh snow this morning but rather mild at 26 degrees F. 17 Feet of snowfall so far this season so its deep out there. Typically about 5 more weeks of winter UP here.
 
-25c here this am, at least when the sun is out there is some heat to it now.
Back around 2000 there was an influx of ranchers from Alberta, some lasted a couple of years, others didn't make it through BSE and that hangover. 20 plus years on and there are just 2 or 3 of us still at it around here, there is a huge learning curve to successfully raising cattle in central Manitoba compared to south & central Alberta and it's mostly an east move not that far north.
Silly thing is I would do it all over again!
 
Warren Allison said:
Me too. Gonna hit 80 the next 3 days, then a cold front comes through Thursday, and temps will drop to the mid 60's for a couple of days. Every year I see these pics from our northern and Canadian members, and I can't imagine having to fool with cattle under those conditions. As hard as it is to turn a profit on cattle down here, I don't see how they make it with the increased feed and other inputs they have vs us down here...where if you don't overstock you won't even need hay except a little for when you have to put one up for something. Northern and Canadian cattlemen are a hell of a lot tougher than I am..my hats off to them. Down here, a man maybe 2 or 3 generations off a farm, can buy some land, have some local farmers fence it in for them, build working facilities, get help and advice from their co-op or feed store on pasture and hay. We have one close by here that will not only sell you fertilizer and seed, but will actually apply it, plant or drill your grass, etc. There are plenty of people like myself that can help these people get the right kind pf cattle for their situation. No wolves, bears, cougars or blizzards to deal with. Most anyone can actually produce calves to sell. I venture to say people like that could not do that up north. I'd venture to say that anyone successfully raising cattle up north are truly experts. I doubt there are any ameture, hobby farmer types up there.

I consider myself at least fairly knowledgeable about cow-calf operations down here...most years turned a good profit, though most of that is from buying and selling. But I am here to tell you, I don't think I would survive my first winter in the cattle business up there. A northern or Canadian cattleman could move down here, and do it with one hand tied behind their back and their eyes closed!
When I was in college, I worked as a lifeguard at the beach on a Naval Rec Center on the lake here, entertaining their wives and daughters :) I had a friend that owned a local dive shop, who had spent 3 years in SEAL Team II in Nam and surrounding countries. Yeah, we both drew a check from the Navy, but his job was like raising cattle up north. Mine was like raising cattle down here.
Click to expand...
I was thinking the same thing.
That's some tough Cowboys up there.
Our cows have really slowed down on the hay the last couple of weeks, other than a pasture of heifers I don't think we'll have to put out anymore.
I am enjoying the cool temperatures, our summers are brutal.
 

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