Extremes

Thirty-six. That is the number of days we've had in the triple digits this summer. Fifty-one is the all time record and we haven't even gotten into August yet. Looks like this summer could go down in history as the hottest summer on record. Phew. It's tough on everything out there. The heat is killing off or severely stunting the growth of grasses meant as food for livestock. Herds of cattle are going to auction because there is just no way to feed them. It's pretty depressing around here, as it is for most of the country.

I was a little worried about getting hay this year for the animals but it worked out ok. I'm lucky enough to have an "in" with Jessica's family and they look out for me. Which I'm grateful for. They gave me a heck of a deal on 160 bales of prairie hay. That along with the 20 bales in the shop are enough for a full year of hay. The two miniature horses are "dry lotted" or kept in an area where they are unable to graze due to their easy ability to founder. I feel bad for them not being able to go out and graze but after seeing how painful founder is I'm ok with keeping them locked up in their pen. The goats get out to graze nearly daily but they are overgrazing since it's not growing with the heat.  I think that keeping livestock happy in the summer is nearly as difficult as it is to keep they alive in the dead of winter. We went from having a -16 degree winter to a 111 degree summer. Talk about extremes!

I've talked to a few hay dealers and they said farmers are getting about half as much hay as they did last year, therefore with supply and demand they are asking upwards of $7 and $8 dollars a bale. Last year was $3 a bale. That's some CASH when you are looking at feeding herds of cattle and horses. Many  people around here are heading north and bringing down loads of hay to store for the winter.  Having animals is expensive at times.....especially during a drought.

On a sad note, I did loose one of my hens at the beginning of the month. I believe she died from the heat, I found her lying in the hen house which can get pretty warm. It was a 105 degree day (aren't they all?!)  Poor Poppy.

Hay, glorious hay!