2022, animals, Farming Update, home, Nature, Seasons, Uncategorized, Weather, work

Better Bring A Jacket

105 Comments

Today’s post comes from Ben.

Had a freeze here this past week.

It was 28° on Wednesday morning. We lost the other creamy colored duck. And the next morning a coyote was howling just 100 feet below the house. At first, the yipping noise they make sounds a little bit surreal and I ran outside to see what was going on. Even the dogs came running back to the house looking at me like “Did you hear that? What the heck is that??“ I yelled and the dogs remembered they’re supposed to deal with stuff like coyotes and they took off after it. Kelly was out the other door slapping her ‘bird away’ boards together. There’s too many leaves on the trees yet, and the corn and beans still out there and too much coverage for things to hide in and it’s tough to see much. And that’s why, a few days later, I was out in my pajamas hunting a coyote. 

I was standing at the kitchen window filling the tea pot and I saw something moving out in the pasture. It was too far away to tell clearly what it was, and by the time I got my crocs on, and found the shells for the rifle, (which were behind the toothpaste box), and got out there to a better vantage point, there wasn’t anything to see. But as long as I was out there already, I fed the chickens and let Rosencrantz and Guildenstern out of their pen. Rosie and and Guildy are doing good.

I realized all the chickens spend a lot of time hiding, so it’s not just them. (See the first paragraph.) Course hiding under a bush seems more helpful for attacks from above than from coyotes.

Bringing pears in the house was the solution to eating them. They soften up and taste really good.

I have seen a couple guys combining soybeans around here. The freeze kills the stem and they harvest better that way. A few more days now and everyone will be going full force.

I still get some dairy magazines in the mail and I spent a bit of time wondering what I would have changed if I still had cows. My whole calf raising situation would have been the first thing to improve. I’d have needed to get them out of the dairy barn pen and into individual stalls somewhere.

Adding more cows and getting out of the stanchion barn would be important, but where and how I’m still not sure. We’re on low ground and it’s wet and I don’t know where I could have built, or how, or if I even would have wanted too.

Kelly asks me sometimes if I ever wanted to be one of those big farmers with thousands of acres? Well, the machinery and toys are fun, but it also turns into more management and less actual work at some point. So I don’t know.

As I’ve always said, just add more zero’s to the bills and income.


Done anything stupid in your pajamas?

105 thoughts on “Better Bring A Jacket”

  2. Never done anything I remember, but when I was a kid I was really embarrassed to be seen in them. We were in what is still my favourite house (we left around 1960), only thing was that the front yard was highly visible from the Isaac’s place (no relation to my son). I don’t know why I would ever NEED to go out the front in my pyjamas, but somehow it cropped up once or twice. I went to school with Linda Isaac, and was terrified she’d see me. She might even tell the other kids on the bus!

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  3. Big farming, I don’t see it for you, Ben. You’re practical, and like to be doing things. And maybe you wouldn’t like to have a bunch of employees who weren’t necessarily your friends.

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  4. No freeze here as yet. We usually get rain when there has been a hurricane in the Gulf, and there is a good chance of showers here today. I plan to spend most of the morning in my pajamas, and I may take a nap later.

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  5. Rise and Shine, Baboons,

    Years ago I went out on our deck in my pajamas in the morning to water my potted plants without noticing I did not put on a robe. Our neighbor, whose deck is close to ours, came out onto his deck. I said Good Morning. He said, “I’m not saying anything with you dressed like that.”

    I was so embarrassed.

    I have been wildly busy of late. My intern has arrived in our office which requires a lot of orientation and preparation. At home the end of the summer garden has arrived. I need to empty pots and take down some sunflowers. I have been canning jam. Last night I made several gallons of tomato soup. It is waiting in the refridgerator for canning.

    There is a Master Gardener indoor plant sale next weekend. I am working on that, too, which has my volunteer hours racking up quickly. After that, I hope things slow down.

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  6. I think we’ve had a light frost. We have a lot of butternut squash in the garden that I hope will ripen more before we have to bring them in. Anyone know at what point we do that? Husband may remember…

    I go out in my pajamas to get something in the garage or patio fairly frequently in the morning. The neighbors right across the “fence” do too, so I’m in good company. And there’s an opaque fence on the alley side…

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    4. I think they tolerate the light frosts and you can leave them out for awhile as they ripen. I don’t know at what point the harder frosts will hurt them. I have left them as long as possible.

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    2. Better than the dream I thankfully, rarely get now, where I’m back at the farm I worked on when I left school, usually dodging around hiding, usually naked.
      Actually, I take it back that yours is better, I don’t know that.

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  9. Halfway OT: when I first knew Jane she had a pair of shiny white pyjamas with big black dots. You should have seen how cute she looked. (And she still would)

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  10. Uhm, so yeah. I accidentally started a grass fire from our burning barrel. We live out in the country. Then, fire started towards the neighbor’s house. I was in PJs running around, dragging hose, calling the fire dept, etc. They got here and were able to get it put out before it made it past the neighbor’s fence. Once I got inside and everyone was gone, I realized I had a pretty good size tear in my PJ pants and half my butt cheek was hanging out…the whole time. I guess I ripped it somehow dragging hoses from all over. IDK. Good times. From then on, no more burning barrel! LOL

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  12. “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story” (Mick Wooolet, one time Editor of “Motor Cycle” magazine.
    In fact Jane bought me a pair of pyjama bottoms in case I ever go to hospital, which I very occasionally have..

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  13. That’s Woollet, two o’s, two l’s. Not really a fan, of the “book” in his era, but at least I should get his name right.

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  14. Way back in the day, when I was still smoking (so over 30 years ago), I drove up to the convenience store at midnight in my pajamas and bought cigarettes and ice cream. I really just wanted the cigarettes, but I felt too desperate going to the store for just them so that’s why I bought the ice cream as well.

    I’ve also driven a couple of times to Dunkin’ Donuts in my pajamas, but that’s drive-through, so it’s not quite the same.

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  15. I may be mistaken, but there seems to be a vogue in some quarters for wearing pajama bottoms as regular pants in public. I know I’ve seen very pajama-like bottoms in stores and on the street. Anyone know what that’s all about?

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    1. Jane has at least one pair she wears when it’s hot, and Eva round the corner seems to like them. I don’t really, but I neither take nor give criticism about dress. And I tend to be the one who doesn’t fit in, anyway.

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    2. Used to see that a lot several years ago, now not so much. Never really understood what that was all about, either. Then again, there are so many fashion trends that I don’t get. Bizarre hair colors is one of them, insanely long fingernails is another.

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      1. In honor of our pajama discussion, I changed into mine early. I cleaned out the garage this morning and also planted some bulbs and got thoroughly filthy in the process. I had to hose myself off before I even came back in the house. I took a shower and was starting to put on clean clothes when I thought “why put on clean clothes for just a couple of hours.” So I just put the jammies on early and now I’m working on my studio.

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  16. Actually, when I come out of a bath or shower, I do wear what you call a robe. We say, dressing gown. I realise now that I don’t care if someone comes in the house. But I wouldn’t go out the front door.

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  17. Because of my sensory issues when I am home I wear loose tshirts and baggy exercise drawstring pants, the sort of thing many people wear to the gym. I wear them out on the patio or down to get the mail and such. I shower at bedtime and put on a clean set for my bed clothes. I have four very good pair that I do wear to PT and to the gym often shopping along the way. They are also close to indestructible so cheap to wear.

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  18. There is a company—Pajamagram—whose business is centered around giving pajamas as gifts. If anyone had asked me if that was a viable business plan, I would have said,”Not a chance.”

    I can’t imagine buying a set of pajamas for someone else, even Robin. What you wear to sleep is so dependent on what you find comfortable and that is a determination only you can make for yourself. Also, choosing sleepwear for someone who isn’t your significant other seems to me like an intrusion into a personal and private sphere. I would be offended or, at the very least, bemused.

    Obviously not everyone shares my reservation. The company has been around for 20 years. Nevertheless I find it incomprehensible. What do you think?

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    2. I have a friend who is determined to buy me gifts. She is just a very good friend with a generous nature and no financial problems. I have had to be very firm with her. She bought me two pairs of very fuzzy, hot pajamas which I knew I would never wear. She got the size right because we’re the same size but I had two pairs of pajamas that I knew I would never wear. I ended up donating them to Goodwill brand new. I really wish she wouldn’t do that. She really thinks it’s a nice gift! I agree that it’s a very personal decision and I would never give anyone a pair of pajamas!

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        3. I think I mentioned recently how Jane gets new things for the kitchen. I occasionally say something like, it’s OK to use my air fryer. But it doesn’t go down too well.

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    4. I used to buy both pyjamas and underwear for Jane, but she slowly got more and more into internet shopping, and I steer well clear of that. At the time, though, she did (not quite always) appreciate my taste.

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      1. But I didn’t really answer Bill’s question. Buy pyjamas for, or receive them from, anyone but Jane, god no. And I wouldn’t really want to receive them from Jane even if I wore pyjamas. I certainly don’t like the shirts she buys.

        Secret, right?

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    5. My impression is that most of PajamaGram’s business comes from people ordering matching pajamas for their family, rather than someone sending a gift to someone outside their immediate family. They seem to be mostly Christmas gifts, so a typical buyer might be a mom who buys for herself, her husband, and the kids and pets, and then everyone is expected to humor Mom and wear them on Christmas morning.

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        1. Seems like it to me. But what do I know? Kids outgrow their pajamas, so a mom who is really into this, and makes a tradition of taking the matching pajama photo every year, might be a really loyal customer.

          Now I’ve gone to their web site and looked, so I will keep getting pajama ads nnline for the foreseeable future.

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      2. Although I’m a confirmed anti-Royalist, I always wear the paper hat from the Christmas cracker for the whole day, long after the others have been “lost”. But I don’t think I’ll take my conspicuous consumption to the extent of matching pyjamas for ONE day.

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  19. Well, I don’t wear pajamas… I tend to wear t-shirts and cotton shorts in the summer or an old cotton dress, and sweat shirts and sweat pants or leggings in the winter. I have a couple of old sleeveless cotton dresses that I wear around the house quite a bit. I put leggings on underneath and a flannel shirt over it and I wear that out to walk Pippin or water my plants. Like others have mentioned, I have seen people in stores wearing what appears to be pajama bottoms. I don’t know anything about this trend or why people do it. I’m weird, I know, but I just don’t like to wear pajamas. So as far as I know, I haven’t embarrassed myself wearing pajamas.

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    1. Yes, I have a pair of baggy leggings that I wear around the house on at-home days with some loose, comfy t-shirt (or now sweatshirt). And I often go bra-less around the house. So while it’s not literally pajamas, it feels like it…

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    2. I don’t dislike pyjamas, of which I doggedly defend the correct spelling, but I can’t be bothered with them. Enough stuff in the wardrobe already, and it’s extra bother at night.

      I said “bother” twice, just to show I mean it.

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  20. There are companies (I believe LL Bean is one) that sell identical pajamas in sizes for the whole family (and even for pets). Some families wear them for their Christmas card photo.
    I will go out on my deck in pajamas (or what passes for pajamas such as oversize tee shirts and shorts) but otherwise not outside.

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      1. That gives me an idea! I would absolutely love to see a “Christmas” (or substitute holiday of your choice) photo of all the baboons in matching PJs. I would definitely display that on my fridge. With a little Photoshop or other technical wizardry, it could even include lapsed, deceased, or otherwise inaccessible baboons.

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        1. I officially withhold all photos of myself, anyone attempting to use any photo of me in any kind of pyjama related way, will, to quote a “No Trespassing” sign I saw near Salisbury, “have steps taken against them that will truly astonish them.”

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  21. OT:Cats.
    All cats are safe and well. The kittens have two blindingly obvious places to hide, we were practically falling over them while they huddled there in fear. Mummy has been seen by Shere (definitive pronunciation, I got her to repeat it. “She Reh.” Sheherezade I think). She’s still in the concrete yard, stressed, thin, and scared. Shere will feed her and straighten her out. Ha, ha, we have to crawl through a gap between the front gates to get in there.
    Chelo hot two of us down there to ostensibly start work on accommodation this morning. There was a distinct shortage of the promised materials, and Chelo didn’t turn up for over two hours, then eventually had tbe cheek to tell me she had “so many things to do.” Yeah, me too. And “she could say she’d done a little thing for the world” yeah, me too, if I hadn’t been stuvk here doing ****all. She has a good heart but, an English expression, “she couldn’t organise a pissup in a brewery” Drinking session. I don’t think you use that word in that manner over there. In England, if you’re “pissed”, it means you’re drunk.
    Letting off steam, because I have all the time in the world to do something valuable. Chelo wasted nearly four hours of that time this morning, and tomorrow I’m going to pick up Rafael and go to her house to get a big table that we’re presumably going to convert into a house. We could have done that today.
    You see, we ALL need to met down there and talk. We don’t need to think we’ll just get paid help to make a start on something, when nobody has a clear idea of what others think, and there’s nothing there to make a start with. But I think only Jane and I have noticed. These guys are used to taking an hour to explain one point, then setting out chairs and having bread and ham rolls and beer. What’s the hurry?

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        1. I will take that, in itself, as a challenge, though on second thoughts, maybe not. I don’t think I can hack it with the big boys.

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        2. Come to think of it, Jacque, you said that you’re used to Tim’s writing. You didn’t say you’re used to understanding it.

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      1. Linda, thanks. I read about a guy that does that when he’s sitting at a table not understanding (or really hearing properly, as he’s given up on constantly losing hearing aids) people’s topical comments and in jokes. And I’ve seen people standjng against juke boxes in various stages of whatever that was John said.
        I admit I was never a follower of John, but I seemed to turn around and he’d got older and “left us”.

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      3. Well thanks, Bill. I think it is more of a sheme than a scheme at the moment. But Jane and I were saying last night, when several people are involved, they won’t all agree, and no one’s the boss ( not sure Chelo knows that bit), people will all bash away at different things. In fact, who builds what, with scrounged materials, doesn’t really matter. It’ll be a while before we run out of space, and the cats will decide which houses they’ll live in. Or which concrete works.
        But it does matter when Chelo wastes my time. I mean, it was decided I’d ride home in her car, we moved ten yards up the road, then she got back out and went back in the field for ten minutes. Then we set off, and she stopped on a junction to give our Belgian co- passenger a Spanish lesson. We got to the village, and she didn’t seem to know the way to my house, in the village she was born in. We stopped at the Estamco for a chat. (actually, that’s a lie). When she finally let me get out within shouting distance of my house, she said “there we are, delivered,” with a giggle. You’d be amazed at the slimy way I can muster feigned gratitude under extreme difficulty.
        I really must relax and learn to enjoy the Spanish way. I do get free beer out of it.

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        1. One can of beer for nearly four hours of my time. In Poland, four cans is the normal rate. But you do probably have to work.

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        1. I looked up Jimisms the other day, and they’re what Linda said, but I don’t remember if I saw PIP in the other list. I’ll look!

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        3. PIP – at least in Minnesota – stands for Pain in the Posterior. The PIP Index is a handy tools for measuring the level of misery inflicted, especially by our winter weather.

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  25. Chelo has a similar idea to mine. Hers is to dump a her surplus stuff at the field, on the pretext that we can build little houses out of it. My idea is to store stuff there and hope nobody uses it to build houses, because I’ll eventually want it back. I’ll just keep praising Chelo’s, and no doubt everyone else’s, stuff, for its shining usefulness.
    I think Chelo regards the present time as an interim period, where she asks people for their useless crap. Then we can clear one person’s house at a time, with my van, bring it to the field, then sit and briefly discuss how we’re going to use the stuff, then show each other pictures of our home decorated ceramics, on our phones. The one thing we need right now is more chairs.
    It’s OK, I’m getting used to it.
    Shere is in charge of the concrete works for now. Maybe she’s got it done up quite nice already.
    Kittens are fine.

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  27. There’s still a big bramble patch down in the bottom corner. If I can convince everyone thst every cat needs brambles to hide in, they’ll shut up about cutting them down. Then I can cut a hole in the fence, where no one sees, and stuff valuable items through the hole, under the brambles. In the night, that’s when I usually do things like that. More free storage. This technique doesn’t always succeed,I admit.

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      1. A bit late for this comment, but I discovered, very painfully, that making hints about a lifelong association on a first date, is a good way of sending ladies screaming into the woods. But maybe it’s just me that has that effect.

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  32. That’s worth seeing. Funnily enough, Chelo just told me yesterday about cat houses in Turkey, each with a cat’s name on it. But I don’t think she was talking about anything like this.
    Our place is going to be more of a shanty town than a palace. Shere’s first comment when we went to view the field was that her dad would come and do the concreting(he wriggled out of it immediately, by saying that concrete absorbs water). I eventually cottoned on a that she pictured a nice line of chalets. And really, I would like to do that. But meanwhile, we need something quicker than that. Maybe I will slowly build some nice houses after the rush is over, and take all the mess away and put it in my garage. I probably won’t, though.

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    1. There are 66 apartments there! I take it a lot of them must get used. Jane would look at it and say it wouldn’t work. She’s always saying things about vantage points etc. Things that my own observations don’t necessarily back up.

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      1. Here is a link to a feral cat house plan, if you are interested. When I used to volunteer for the Minnesota Humane Society at the State Fair, we had a model of this at the booth.

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  34. Pingback: Better Bring A Jacket | Enjoy and share the Inspiration and Truth of the Windows From Heaven

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