The beauty of June

I can’t help but love the month of June. I know what you all are thinking right now, two posts on the same day! Well maybe, if I get this one typed out before midnight. I really did not know yesterdays post was today until I got online tonight. Maybe I will have a better posting history in June than I had in May. Back to where I started I really like the month of June for many reasons. Several of those reasons manifested themselves today.

One nice thing about June is the wonderful long days of sunlight. You can get out of bed after the sunrises and still get in a good days work without feeling guilty for starting your day too late or be looked upon as a banker or cattle order buyer. If you do happen to get up early you will see some of the greatest sunrises any particular year has to offer as well as hearing the “noisy” quiet of cows grazing, birds chirping, impact sprinklers rotating and the drone of some bastard and his crop duster overhead. Just kidding, I know those flyboys provide a valuable service in that they keep America well fed and crop pests well dead.

I like June because the mornings are usually crisp (this morning it was 47 degrees) cool enough for changing irrigation water without sweating like Rosie O’Donnell trying to make herself look feminine and sexy, yet warm enough that you do not need to wear a buffalo hide to survive. June days are usually fairly light in the wind department which is nice. Even the hottest days in June here in the Columbia basin are usually below the level of wishing you could do your work in nothing but your Tony Lama’s and Stetson. That also adds to the general pleasantness because I know many neighbors that I would not like to see in nothing more than boots and a hat and I am sure the feeling is mutual.

I like June because the cows are turned out and their daily nutritional needs are pretty much satisfied without human intervention. The cows have shiny coats, are milking well and the calves are growing like weeds. You may even get to see a particular bull with a particular cow and that gives you something to look forward to next March. The grass is usually still pretty green in June and in a cowman’s eyes there is nothing that is more inspiring than growing green grass and calves and cows eating it.

June is a good month for crops. Most years the first cutting hay is up and in the bale and the second cutting is growing rapidly. This year is a bit of an exception. The wheat stands tall and the waving green grain looks like a supermodel in her prime. My corn is starting to look much better than the spindly yellow crop that it once was. That is what I love about corn, if your corn is looking sickly it is amazing what a bit of warmer weather and fertilizer will do for its appearance. The look of corn responds to warm weather and fertilizer like a middle aged woman responds to a tan, a sundress and high heels. It is the same product as it was a month ago but it damn sure looks much better!

June is also likeable from a financial standpoint. There is not much of an income stream but the bills seem to abate a bit as well. June is nice on a family operation because the kids finally get out of school. This means they can put their formal education on hold for a few months and finally have a chance to actually learn. For me it also means I have a new employee to help around the place.

Tomorrow I am off on a range tour with the Cattlemen’s association. I am going to see how fellow land managers do their job in the southern suburbs of Canada aka north eastern Washington State. See you tomorrow night or early Thursday morning maybe.

Today’s real environmentalist species found on the ranch is the American Robin aka Turdus migratorius.

Today’s picture is of two heifer calves and one steer calf enjoying the green grass and nice weather on a June evening.