Around the ranch...

Want to know what we are doing at the ranch?

Hauling hay. STILL.

Tessa hanging out in her new forward facing carseat in the back on the pickup.

They've only been in these carseats since the end of September. I guess it was about time to retire the infant carriers.

Audrey doing what she does best. Put that girl in a carseat and she will be asleep in no time. (This should explain why I never had pictures of Audrey out in the field this summer. She was always sleeping in the pickup.)

Extra naps during the day do NOT interfere with her bedtime routine either.

When Audrey did finally wake up a couple of hours later (and Tessa finally fell asleep) she got to sit on daddy's lap while we drove around the field.

Did you ever wonder what I do for work? Well, here is a little sample. I take dirty pictures of neighbors doing bad things with their cattle manure so I can use them as examples of what not to do in future presentations! And my neighbors are so willing to do stupid things with their manure. I can't help but take pictures.

In this picture you can clearly see truck loads of manure dumped in rows on the field.

Keep in mind three things:

1) The shrubs you see are growing along the bank of the Crooked Creek.

2) The field is in a flood plain.

3) The field is less than five acres.

What does that mean?
That means that this manure is not being handled in an environmentally friendly way. The manure will not be evenly spread across the field. It is too close to the creek and overapplied compared to the crop requirements. This all leads to the potential (or certainty in this situation) of manure being washed off of the field and entering the creek.

And that sums up what I talk about to producers for my job.