I Love the Fall, But I Don't Love Fires

I know people have been talking about Fall for about a month now, and Starbucks has brought back their Pumpkin Spice latte...so I guess it's here right? I've seen a couple of these floating around Pinterest

While that's all cute and super duper, I'll just crumple that right up and throw it into the pile of cow shit that we'll be hauling. Now, do I wish I could do all of these things? Yes. In fact, I'll probably do one of them like bake a pie or make smores. I also wish I could fit my giant calves into those cute boots that everyone wears with skinny jeans during fall and winter.

Our fall "To Do list" looks a little different that this one. It includes:

-Piling and scooping up cow shit from the corrals, and hauling it off to the fields to use as fertilizer.

-Winterizing the sprayer now that we're done spraying weeds, so all of the fluids drain out and the pipes don't freeze.

-Putting away anything and everything that may get in the way of snow plowing/shoveling around our yard and driveway. This includes all flower pots, pavers, lawn chairs, lawn mower, etc. 

-Moving, stacking, hauling, and stacking again of hay bales. 

-Fixing fence.

-Getting corrals ready for the cows, for when they need shelter from the snow.

-Bringing the cows "home" so they're closer to the yard. 

-Finalizing farm expenses and preparing paperwork for taxes for next year.

-Cleaning out the combines, headers and grain trucks so the mice don't crawl all around in them during winter.

-Parking all of the large equipment in their designated parking spots around the farm and farmyard.

-Loading grain up in the silo to feed to the yearlings and momma cows in the spring.

-Hauling oats into town to get rolled. (Can you say ITCHY!!! It feels like you've rolled in fiberglass after you've worked with oats).

-Detail all of the farm pickups after harvest since they're usually a ridiculous mess!


That's really all I can think of, but I'm sure my farmer will think of more tasks for me :)

Also, this is my last post for the week. I am on my last day of a work conference which gets done today at 3, then I'm driving the 8 hours back home. I'm picking my brother up in Billings, driving him home so he can get his National Guard stuff, and he's on standby for duty for the fires in Hamilton, Montana, my hometown where I grew up. 

Please pray for the firefighters, everyone working on the fires, and that everyone else stays safe. This makes me so sad :( 

Here are some devastating pictures of my hometown:

This one was taken by Laura Alcantara