Have you ever gotten up in the morning, DETERMINED to have GOOD day? All will be right with the world, you will face everything with a smile and pleasant attitude. Nothing will get you down. You are a faith fill woman (or man) of God and praise the Lord, it's Monday a new day!
Then (there is always a then or but or something) you get out of bed get dressed only to find you have over slept by an hour or more. It's OK, after all it's just time, you'll just skip breakfast and get it in an hour when the bottles are warming. You go to the freezer to get colostrum for the new bull calf, and go to check on things in the calf barn only to find 2 calves are sick with scours (that's just the half of it but I won't go into it). You fight getting discouraged after all you were expecting this.
Next you head to the milk barn to start getting the colostrum unthawed. But of course the only buckets there are stuck together. You pull, twist, murmur, and there is possibly gnashing of teeth! And will your fighting to get the buckets apart someone comes and asks "Have you gotten the grain in the bin yet????" NOOOO Not YET, I will be going just as soon as I get these buckets apart. Finally they give and the thawing process can begin.
Next you go back to the calf barn, the tractor STARTS! See it's all OK just shake off the frustrations and overwhelming sense of dis pare. You get the GRAIN and dump it in the bin, then head over to get the first load of brewers grain. You go out dump it only to see that someone is coming from the milk barn to in search of you. This is never a good sign NEVER! Your trying to keep a somewhat good attitude here... Anyway the vacuum pump isn't working right. So you go and try to assess to problem. The best thing to do is call RANDY! he thinks it's just the belts and you can fix that... RIGHT! So you tell them keep milk and you'll fix it after their done.
At this point you finish feeding brewers and go to the garden to chat with your mother. Your in a bad mood, BUT at the elm tree you put a smile on and your going to be happy dang it all! HAPPY! HAPPY!! HAPPY!!! Bless God... After a few minutes you are getting in your grove again. You will be OK. Then you turn around and yet again they are coming for you. You head slumps forward and brace for the worst. And this is what they say "We did what YOU told us to do, now it's stopped and won't go at all, and we've got 4 cows not milked and 4 only half way milked out. NOW WHAT?" You walk off to see if it is indeed the belts. Your in tears you just can't take it. Well it's not the belts. You call Randy... he'll be out after a bit. Now this is what is going through you head... $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
After this you tell them to put the cows back on the lot, and you get the bottles ready for the calves. The two sick ones have to be tubed. And the rest are just as nuts as always. Finally Randy shows up, it's 10:30 by the way. Well it's not the belts, so milk must have gotten in it. So he washed it out, that doesn't work, SO the tank must be to blame... it's plugged up. Clean that, work?? NO Hmmm must be the regulator. You are discussing the length of time it's been since it's been cleaned. So while that is soaking, he fixes the compressor. It's not the capacitor, it's not the black box, it's not the pressure control, he asks you is it out of freon. ???????? How should you know that's what he's for, RIGHT? Right... So your out of Freon, does it work then? NO hmmmm Must be the coil or is it the something else could there be a leak. $$$$$$$$$$ Thankfully no. That would have been $500.00 plus to fix.
And Yup at this point he's been here 2 hours and at $135 an hour plus parts your getting ill. And you've not had breakfast yet and it's after noon. Finally the vacuum pump is working again so you can start milking at least. And he'll be back. NEVER a good sign. This usually means parts... pricey parts.
So you go in and get some cereal and give up on having a good day. Since it will be 1:15 before you get in from morning chores and well what's the point... Tomorrow will be a new day and you can try again then.
I will end on a good note though. Two good things happened yesterday... R. didn't charge us like he could have. He has always been good to us. We are truly blessed with having him as our service guy for the dairy. I will more people were like him. The second thing is I might have found out what is causing the scour problem in our calves. And a treatment! YEE HAW....
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