Friday (and Saturday)

 

Friday morning Garry used his ultrasound machine to preg check more cows, I believe Yana had found 15 three to five months along cows for him. He was worried when the first cow wasn't pregnant, but the other 14 were pregnant, so another good day. He was going to do the rest Saturday morning, the ones bred 35 days or more, he said there might be about 20 to check. 

Afterward, he went to work on cutting wood to make the first truss. He tacks it together, so when he's finished he can take it apart and then cut all the pieces for the rest of the trusses they will make for the shed. He said he had problems reading the faded tape measure and cut a piece the wrong size, so he went to the village store and bought a new one. He was hoping to get the first truss done, but the electricity went off at 12:30. He knew it was supposed to be off from 2 to 5 pm, because it was scheduled, but apparently not exactly when it happened.

He had told me when he arrived that Max said there weren't power outages like in the winter, but that doesn't mean there aren't scheduled power outages, he said there have been a couple days with four hour outages, and one night it was out for 12 and came on at 8 am. 

He said they had some leftover wood around, so he didn't have to buy that much stuff - mostly boards- to make the shed, they will need to buy some truckloads of concrete and Max has ordered nails online for the nailer. So I guess next week they will be building. 

Anyway, he went back to the house and had lunch and a nap and then helped the guys bag up some of the brewers Kavas grains that came a couple days ago (so it lasts longer to feed later) Last fall they had bought 6 foot bags to bag up the beet pulp that Garry found to balance the ration because there wasn't enough hay to feed the cows all winter, that's what the machine they have uses. However, they were able to get some 9 foot plastic bags for free so they altered the machine to use them. 

He got back to the house before five, and the girls informed him the power was back on already. He cooked everyone at the house french fries- they have a lot of potatoes. He complained when I called that my electric stove is so slow, and he wished he had a deep fryer, or an air fryer. 

He was cooking  the last batch for himself, he said. Then he was looking in the cupboards for an extra blanket, he said the heat was turned off in the house for the year, and it was cold outside (8 C) and he gets cold at night, he's wearing a sweatshirt to bed. 

Saturday morning he said most of the cows were pregnant, I think he said three were not and they checked 17 maybe. So final count was about 45 checked and only five were not pregnant. He said these were 45 days since breeding so he'll do a few more before he leaves. 

He was in the city ordering more 2 by 4's  when I called because he'd finished that first truss and had cut about a third of the pieces he'll need to make 26 trusses. He said a couple of the boys were helping so he didn't have to carry and stack wood, he was just  using the saw and cutting them. Garry said there's enough boards left to cut on Monday before the rest of the wood he needs is delivered. He's cut enough to make eight, the plan is to build the trusses and actually build the shed when he comes in the fall.  He was hurrying to return to the village because there was going to be a pizza party tonight.