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.
We Have Grass!
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?
Calving Season is Over
And it was blessedly uneventful! To be fair, we had two cows, so is that really even a season? I am so thankful that our second calf was born and that neither cow needed assistance in the process. It is quite lovely to just go into the pasture and see a newborn baby!
Everyone, meet Patty Melt!
Continue reading “Calving Season is Over”Calf Fencing – Round 2
Saturday was chicken processing day. It’s been on the calendar for months. And a more perfect day we could not have asked for. Cool, overcast, and slightly misty. We ended up processing 12 birds, and along about numbers 7 or 8, my neighbors called to say that SirLoin had escaped. Again.
Fabulous Fencing Tips (Farm Fence, Not Fence Fence)
Calf Proof. What an oxymoron. They are liquid. More-so than a cat I believe. Our first farm calf was born around the end of June, and he really is a doll baby. We steered and tagged him at 4 weeks old, but otherwise we leave him in his momma’s capable care. He acts like he has two mommas, since he hangs out with our other (pregnant) cow more than his own it seems.
Summer must be winding down
Summer used to be my favorite season. Long days, swimming, vacations, swimming, no school, swimming. You get the idea. After adulthood came along and I had work year round (the unfairness of it all!) with no swimming breaks, summer lost some of its appeal but was still my favorite.
Anymore though, I think I am becoming a fall person. The summer vegetable garden was green as could be (thanks to the garden hose) but simply did not produce. Even our peppers, which are supposed to love the heat, have been dismal. We’ve received just enough rain so the grass didn’t die, but the pastures are pitiful.
Continue reading “Summer must be winding down”