Kim Jo Bliss - Moo's From The Herd

I know we all are enjoying our winter warm-up, including myself, but it does cause me some stress.

Cows enjoy it, too, but they tend to enjoy it too much and I worry about them getting on their back. They are eight months' pregnant, the snow melts underneath them, and they can't get up.

If that happens, they can die in as little as 15 minutes. So if you are not there at the right time, it is just too late (it is the most sickening feeling).

Here we are in mid-January! The dreaded long winter month already is half over.

It seems like it went extra fast for me by spending one week sick and one week away.

It still is pretty much Christmas at my place but if things go as planned, I will fix that up this week. I finally have my calendars all ready for 2018—something I normally do before the New Year arrives.

So anyone who had a birthday during the first couple of weeks of January likely will be getting their card this week.

Here is hoping everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

We did, although it just seemed to fly right on by! I told my boyfriend/partner that I wish I could slow it down and enjoy it a bit longer.

He thinks I'm crazy. Maybe it's because I frantically was trying to get ready the last week, or maybe because it was cold and we had to deal with three-straight days of frozen water problems.

Monday was my first official day off—well, kind off. I had two meetings and was hoping to do some shopping.

I have next-to-no gifts purchased yet so my list is a mile long.

If you see me in town shopping, and I am not very friendly, don't be offended as this is me just trying to take care of business. I am not a shopper so I find it painful.

On the bright side, I finally feel as though my outdoor light display is complete. I tackled my inside decorations upstairs but still have to prepare the basement (it doesn't take as long it seems).

Well, December certainly seems to be flying by!

I was supposed to be heading to the Thunder Bay Soil & Crop Association's annual meeting but I backed out. It would have meant being away an extra day and this week is jammed-packed as it is.

They won't miss me as they still will be celebrating the announcement last week that Lakehead University is taking over the Thunder Bay agricultural research station.

This should ease their minds as it has been a struggle keeping funding for their much-needed agronomy station.

Last week I was lucky enough to get an up close and personal tour of New Gold.

I have to be honest with you-I had mixed feelings when I saw it all. I barely could grasp the landscape change. Places that once had friends living or cattle grazing no longer exist.

The equipment and workers were endless, which is very positive for our district. People being able to work closer to home certainly is a winning situation.

Contractors also are extremely busy, which also is all good for the economy.

The Rainy River Federation of Agriculture once again hosted a successful “Ag Day” on Saturday at the Emo Legion!

It's a tough time of the year to get everyone out, with winter hitting us quickly and many jobs still left to do. But there was a great agenda and for those who took the time to come out, I'm sure you would not have been disappointed.

Ang Halverson went away with the grand prize of a day's fly-in fishing trip or a flyover of the district! Lucky day for her.

For all of you worried about the corn here at the Emo Agricultural Research Station, there still are plans to get it harvested!

We don't have the equipment to work on the corn so we are waiting on one of our farmers to come in.

It isn't uncommon to see people combing corn sometimes all winter long, depending on the area. The challenge is there is no frost and with the snow insulating the wet fields, conditions are not the greatest.

Time sure does fly by—it's already the middle of October!

I'm certainly pleased the weather had changed and we are able to get back on the land. Everyone is in a better mood when the sun shines!

You will see all the farmers hauling manure, combining soybeans, and even baling hay (there's a lot to do before the next season sets in).

This also is the time of year we vaccinate and de-worm cattle so people will be happy if the yards dry up and you don't require hip-waders in your corral and handling facilities.

We hauled all our cows home on Saturday, and preg-checked and weighed all our calves. I knew I had two open cows but we ended up with five.

I was a bit disappointed in that but not much you can do about it, either.

The hardest part for me is letting go and selling the cows. I really like my cows and find it difficult to sell them. It would be silly to keep them, though, unless I was breeding for a different time of the year, I guess.