Commencing Operation Christmas Miracle Trip 2010: PTR

[Lady Lallie]

I'm joining in on your fabulous PTR. I spent a nice relaxing afternoon, pretending to look busy at work but instead reading your entire PTR.

OKay, I have to ask. What is chopping sileage?

I love all the pictures you have posted from your past trips and of your parents' 50th anniversary, how sweet!

I love your DD's new zebra outfit, VERY cute.

 

[Lady Lallie]

I totally forgot to mention...I use your same method on my husband and it works. I'm so glad I have a name for it now.

 

[PoppyGirl]

I'm joining in on your fabulous PTR. I spent a nice relaxing afternoon, pretending to look busy at work but instead reading your entire PTR.

OKay, I have to ask. What is chopping sileage?

I love all the pictures you have posted from your past trips and of your parents' 50th anniversary, how sweet!

I love your DD's new zebra outfit, VERY cute.

I totally forgot to mention...I use your same method on my husband and it works. I'm so glad I have a name for it now.

Oh, thank you!!! I wish my camera had taken the photos better (must be the camera...can't be "user error" ) because it's actually much cuter in person. Oh well. There I was in the dining room last night...LATE....hanging up all our Disney stuff and taking photos. Good thing DH didn't come downstairs! He already thinks I'm beyond help!

Chopping silage: OK....well, DH grows corn to feed his cattle. We harvest the ears of corn and feed them that part, but we also chop the stalks into little pieces, and then we have these giant trenches at the farm (or some farms have silos--those big tall round buildings) where we store it. It gets all nice and fermented and the cows eat it to make good milk. (I learned when I was nursing my children to think like a cow: "Eat....sleep....produce milk"... and that taking alfalfa pills and drinking beer increased my milk production--wala! Just like a cow!) (And while I'm thinking of it, let's not take that analogy any further either! One time I had a fever and mentioned to DH that my temperature was 101. He responds: "Wow. That's the same temperature as a cow." ) ( Just kidding!)

So basically it's a way of using the entire corn plant to feed the cattle. They also chop hay sometimes and make "haylage" (My dad never did that in the midwest but I guess out here they do).

They have these big farm machines called "choppers" (my brother says I have an "amazing grasp of the obvious") and they hook it up and a truck follows alongside it in the field collecting the sileage. Here's a picture I found on the web:

Then the trucks dump it in the trenches and DH drives over the top of it with his heaviest tractor to pack it down. Then they scoop it out to with a skid loader to feed the cows after it's had a nice long time to ferment. And boy does it smell yummy. (NOT!!)

So there you go. I'm betting no one will ask me any farm questions any more...you're all screaming "TMI! TMI!" You were reading this for fun and relaxation....not a giant farming lesson!

 

[Lady Lallie]

That is VERY cool. I loved my farming lesson. I've always wanted to live on a farm, (don't ask me why, I'm not fond of hard work) so I like the information!

 

[PoppyGirl]

That is VERY cool. I loved my farming lesson. I've always wanted to live on a farm, (don't ask me why, I'm not fond of hard work) so I like the information!

That's funny! But you wouldn't last long on a farm if you weren't working hard! We had some friends who visited us from Mozambique, Africa (I think I posted a photo of DH with them earlier). Their daily existence is about true survival (where will I get food today?) but they told me that they had never known anyone who worked as hard as my DH. I could not believe it when they told me that.

 

[jenseib]

Sounds like you do it slightly different than us. We have a chopper that is pulled by a tractor and then it shoots into a wagon pulled behind the chopper, then they just keep exchanging wagons. Do you take the corn off before chopping then? Ours is all, the corn, the stalks, etc. I should go take a picture, because he is across the road doing it right now.
We put it in silos. We also chop hay too. I think a different chopper attachment is used for hay though.
I love you farming talk! Wonder why? LOL!
How many cows do you milk. I think we are usually between 150 and 200, but usually more closer to the 150 area. Sometimes even less. How many times a day do you milk? We do it twice a day, but I know some local guys do it 3 times a day.
And we are all about better milk quality, rather than abundance. I know some guys (especially those factory farms) milk the cows till they are practically ruined, but Skip would rather have higher quality milk. Which we get paid better for then.

 

[PoppyGirl]

Sounds like you do it slightly different than us. We have a chopper that is pulled by a tractor and then it shoots into a wagon pulled behind the chopper, then they just keep exchanging wagons. Do you take the corn off before chopping then? Ours is all, the corn, the stalks, etc. I should go take a picture, because he is across the road doing it right now.
We put it in silos. We also chop hay too. I think a different chopper attachment is used for hay though.
I love you farming talk! Wonder why? LOL!
How many cows do you milk. I think we are usually between 150 and 200, but usually more closer to the 150 area. Sometimes even less. How many times a day do you milk? We do it twice a day, but I know some local guys do it 3 times a day.
And we are all about better milk quality, rather than abundance. I know some guys (especially those factory farms) milk the cows till they are practically ruined, but Skip would rather have higher quality milk. Which we get paid better for then.

The actual chopper is attached to the tractor. We either harvest the grain in which case we don't usually chop or chop the entire stalk with the grain. We've had very little rain all summer and so not much grain on the stalks. When it's green we can chop, but when it's fully matured corn and the stalks are all yellow, then we harvest just the grain.

We milk between 100-120 cows, twice a day (4:00am and 4:00pm). Those 3 times a day people are nutty if you ask me! DH is the same as yours--he wants the highest quality milk. The vet says he has the healthiest herd in our county and he strives for what they call "12 month quality awards" every year for his milk--in our co-op you get a higher price for the highest quality of milk. Are you part of a co-op? We are in MD/VA and our processing plant is in VA. They ship all over the south--Marva Maid is the brand.

Oh, I know something I wanted to ask you--do you drink the raw milk from your tank? We do sometimes but the pediatrician had a cow ( pun intended) when I told her. I don't tell her any more! In MD it's illegal to sell raw milk, but we can drink it ourselves.

 

[jenseib]

Ok, your thing looks similar to ours. I think ours does 3 rows at a time. And yes, we harvest some of our corn too when it's yellow. We combine it and some goes to the cows, and some to the elevator.
We milk about 6 AM and 5 PM.
No we don;t drink our milk. It is illegal for us to sell it too. Skip has had it before, and he says it's gross...and I'll take his word on that one. I think technically we aren't allowed to even drink it too.
Our milk goes to Wisconsin. I'm not sure if we are in a co-op. Could be and he just never used that term. We definately strive for higher quality too. I knwo for awhile our milk was even classified as being able to be used for arganic yogurt (for Dannon, I think). But now it's not the case, because other farmers on the milk trucks route aren't and it gets mixed...or something like that. But during that time we got paid even more for that.

I did take some pictures tonight, but the sun was at a bad spot so alot didn't turn out too good. I'll try to get them on the computer tomorrow.

 

[Tinker_Tam]

You ladies with the dairy farms are really teaching me a lot. I must admit, I have grown up in a VERY small town in Central PA (huge farm country and Amish near by) and I had no idea what happened to the corn stocks after the corn was pulled off. I just assumed that they were thrown away some where...Does that show how naive I am??? Brenda is so full of questions...I will have some things that I can share with her next time we go by a farm. She'll think I am the smartest mom ever!!!

 

[jenseib]

You ladies with the dairy farms are really teaching me a lot. I must admit, I have grown up in a VERY small town in Central PA (huge farm country and Amish near by) and I had no idea what happened to the corn stocks after the corn was pulled off. I just assumed that they were thrown away some where...Does that show how naive I am??? Brenda is so full of questions...I will have some things that I can share with her next time we go by a farm. She'll think I am the smartest mom ever!!!

Actually when you combine corn (when it's yellow in the fall), the combine only keeps the grain and spits out the stalks and cobs. And most let it go to waste. But sometimes we do bale it. Not always, but sometimes. We then use it like straw for bedding ,etc.

 

[Tinker_Tam]

Actually when you combine corn (when it's yellow in the fall), the combine only keeps the grain and spits out the stalks and cobs. And most let it go to waste. But sometimes we do bale it. Not always, but sometimes. We then use it like straw for bedding ,etc.

Ahhhh! So I wasn't so wrong after all! Makes me feel like I have learned something!

 

[stephielela]

I love the AKL outfit you picked for your DD. I am like that too, for our Sept trip I am making sure all of my outfits and Jacks fit the park we are in at least a little bit... I don't know what I will do about December, the weather is just so unpredictable!

 

[PoppyGirl]

I love the AKL outfit you picked for your DD. I am like that too, for our Sept trip I am making sure all of my outfits and Jacks fit the park we are in at least a little bit... I don't know what I will do about December, the weather is just so unpredictable!

Yes, I thought about the unpredictablility of the weather.....when we had our 2007 trip, I packed for summer and they had some very cold weather while we were in FL...into the 30's at night! We ended up buying sweatshirts and mittens! After every ride I'd be asking DD "Do you have your mittens?" (That's a conversation I never expected to have at WDW!!) So for right now I'm planning for both....personally I hope it's cool. I don't do well in hot weather. I need the sun though. The last few years, going to FL or CA in the winter for a week has gotten me through. Especially last year when we were buried in 5 feet of snow here!

 

[stephielela]

Yes, I thought about the unpredictablility of the weather.....when we had our 2007 trip, I packed for summer and they had some very cold weather while we were in FL...into the 30's at night! We ended up buying sweatshirts and mittens! After every ride I'd be asking DD "Do you have your mittens?" (That's a conversation I never expected to have at WDW!!) So for right now I'm planning for both....personally I hope it's cool. I don't do well in hot weather. I need the sun though. The last few years, going to FL or CA in the winter for a week has gotten me through. Especially last year when we were buried in 5 feet of snow here!

I know what you mean! We were there in Dec 07 as well, and the first 2 days were warm enough to swim. The rest was ok, but not as warm as I would like. I hope its sunny and 60's, 50's at night. That would be ideal! Oh except for 80's gor the first 2 days so we can swim a little

 

[PoppyGirl]

I know what you mean! We were there in Dec 07 as well, and the first 2 days were warm enough to swim. The rest was ok, but not as warm as I would like. I hope its sunny and 60's, 50's at night. That would be ideal! Oh except for 80's gor the first 2 days so we can swim a little

That sounds pretty good to me too!

 

[PoppyGirl]

Well, it's all sorts of excitement around here! The chopping has officially begun. The crop insurance agent came out to assess our corn since we had no rain all summer. Hopefully the insurance will help pay for some of the feed that we'll end up having to buy this winter.

We've had a new visitor to our house....a very smelly one. The other night DH came downstairs to ask me if I had left windows open somewhere because there was an OVERWHELMING smell of skunk permeating our entry/hallway. Ack! Nope. No windows open. As the evening went on we began to smell it in almost every room of the house. (Don't panic--it wasn't IN the house thank goodness!). He is just making himself at home, eating our cat food and nicely spraying ALL around, every side of our home! All the kitties smell like skunk....he even got into the garage--we leave the door up a little so the kitties can come in at night if they want. My car smells too.

The next night...same thing happened. Then I found a kitty who had obviously been attacked (she had lost one eye among other injuries) and smelled horribly like skunk. DH had to have her put down. So last night we set 3 traps around the yard and locked our kitties in the garage. I don't even think he visited last night! We checked all the traps this morning....caught one stray cat (feral) who has been terrorizing our kitties and one of our own cats who was out in the woods when we went to bed. (Poor Bubba--he probably wonders what he did wrong to deserve the cage!) We'll try again tonight. Stupid, smelly skunk!

On the other hand, we hit double digits this week!!!! I"ll be talking to DBIL about taking over for us during our trip and then the kids will be getting their "Mystery Crossword Puzzle" with obscure Disney clues so they can figure out we are going to Disney in December! Woot! Can't wait to see their faces when they find out.

Earlier this week DS asked us if we could do something different for Christmas this year. He said, "Maybe we could all just buy one present for each other and then spend the rest of the money working at a homeless shelter or something." I was so proud of him for saying that!

 

[jenseib]

Wow! I would be so proud too.
I hate Skunks. We get them around here every so often too. It's like they sit on the back porch all night or something. LOL! I hope you catch him....but if you do what are you gonna do with him? Put him down? Just be careful he doesn't spray anyone when you handle the cage!
I think our chopping is done. Well at least till the silo settles down a bit. It's filled now, but it usually settles after a few days.

I hope they have a speedy chopping season with no problems

 

[PoppyGirl]

Wow! I would be so proud too.
I hate Skunks. We get them around here every so often too. It's like they sit on the back porch all night or something. LOL! I hope you catch him....but if you do what are you gonna do with him? Put him down? Just be careful he doesn't spray anyone when you handle the cage!
I think our chopping is done. Well at least till the silo settles down a bit. It's filled now, but it usually settles after a few days.

I hope they have a speedy chopping season with no problems

Well, still no luck trapping the dumb skunk. We've put traps out for two nights. Yes, we plan to "put him down" from FAR away if we catch him. DH & DBIL have trapped and disposed of them before so they know what they are doing.

So far so good with the chopping. We've had hot, dry weather this week and it will continue all week. And no equipment issues so far. DH thinks they may finish up tomorrow (Thursday) in time for us to have date night. (WOOT!!) Our regular sitter moved to CA to start college. We have had Thursday date nights for the last 4 years. We miss her! But I'm going to ask my niece if she is available for this week.

I'm hoping to have time to write another trip installment tomorrow!

 

[jenseib]

That darn skunk is tricky! I hope you get him. We don't have night nights much anymore. Skip thinks Claire should always go out with us. Which is nice at times, but some nights are fun without her too.
Hope you get a nice dinner out Thursday!

 

[PoppyGirl]

Minor panic attack today!! I was going over our itinerary and creating a timed schedule so we know when we need to be where and I discovered that I had accidentally booked the Grand Floridian Cafe instead of the Garden View Tea Room! ACK! OH NO! As soon as I could, I called Disney Dining and got it changed. I had to take a later time, but at least DD and I will still be able to go! And I actually think it might work out better this way--makes our day less "choppy."

I also realized that I think I will need to change a few of our plans for our first EPCOT day. I think we will focus on Future World the first day and World Showcase our second day there. I think that will be much more relaxing and less stressful for both days. In fact I'm actually thinking that our second day at EPCOT is the same day we are doing MVMCP and there's an EMH (AM) at EPCOT, so we may just sleep in until time for WS to open. (WHAT??? Sleep in at Disney World? Who have I become?) We have a resort day...and maybe a day of arriving at the park AFTER it opens.....I'm not sure what's going on with me!

The only thing that worries me about that plan is how crowded the park might be by the time we get there....unless we arrive when WS opens....it shouldn't be too crowded until later. Hmmmm..... then we could just do WS from 11 - 4ish before we head over to MK for our dinner reservation at Crystal Palace.