I must say, this years leaf harvest is fantastic!
The Leaves Are Coming In!
A Pail of Peppers
Well, okay, more like a bag. But I was still excited when a coworker brought me a paper bag full of hot peppers last week. And when I say hot, I mean my nose was singed just having them on my desk! She said that a local place had sent out a call for free peppers that were going to get frostbit and her family went and gathered and had plenty to share.
Continue reading “A Pail of Peppers”Winter isn’t all bad
Sure, you get sniffly, your plants die, and your animals start acting possessed, but, the fall colors are fantastic and you get frost flowers!
National Weather Service has an awesome article on the perfect conditions for these beauties. Keep your eyes peeled this week, you may not see them for another year!
https://www.weather.gov/lmk/frost_flowers
Winter is…here.
I went to Florida for a 3 day conference week before last, and apparently I missed fall in South Carolina while I was gone. The weather, it seems, has decided it is time for winter.
We Have Grass!
As you may have read awhile back, we recently rented a no till drill from the county soil and water conservation district and sowed rye and orchard grasses as well as crimson clover.
A Good Horse
My old man never gets much attention any more. Either I’m working with the colt, cows, or we’re doing chores. He doesn’t seem to mind. Truth be told, he’s an antisocial creature.
But when I need him, he usually pulls through. We rounded up cows last night for annual shots, and since it was our first time with this set up, of course things went horribly awry.
Continue reading “A Good Horse”Baby Cows Drink Milk
HA! File that under biggest lies I’ve ever told myself. Baby cows drink SOME milk. And eat hay. And steal their mommy’s grain. They’re ravenous. Which explains their explosive growth rate, but I certainly did not account for feeding the little creatures big cow food throughout the winter.
No Till Drills
As a one time FFA enthusiast and sometime conservation biology student, I try to do things right here on the farm. Low chemical use, select cutting of trees (except gum trees. They get ALL the chemicals and ALL the cutting), etc.
So when it came time to overseed our pastures, our first year I did so by hand in the small area that we could spare to leave alone. Spoiler alert, I simply blew about $50 in seed and had a really fun afternoon casting it out.
Continue reading “No Till Drills”Fall Gardening
This is my first year ever putting in a fall garden. Though, when it is still over 90 some days, can we really call it fall?
Aside from the traditional greens, carrots, peas, and broccoli; my father-in-law recommended we put in green beans and purple hulls as well. I was not convinced at first, as I was certain they wouldn’t thrive in the cooler weather.
I am so happy to report how wrong I was! While the purple hulls are still under attack from black ants, they do look better than the spring crop.
8 Days Post Outbreak
Well, we’ve hit a milestone. It has been 8 days now since our older calf, SirLoin, has made an escape. We added six strands around the remainder of the pasture, and he STILL got out last Tuesday. He was using our handy dandy walkthroughs, which have now been blocked off. I think that has fixed the problem. If not, veal anyone?
