Football, Fairgrounds, and Finding Lost Socks…the Daily Farm Adventures {125}
Fall is in high gear around here. The sheep are moving into breeding season and doing all kinds of crazy, unpredictable things like getting stuck upside down on the compost pile and accidentally locking themselves in the chicken house while trying to steal chicken food. We’ve been checking on them more than normal lately to try and keep up with their shennanigans. Football and Volleyball season are also rolling along for our two oldest and this week we also had the local county fair going on. The Ladybug is in … Continue Reading…
School Days, Hurricanes, and Chickens in the Mist…the Daily Farm Adventures {124}
The start of September means the start of the official school year around here. We’ve got a 10th, 7th, and 6th grader here this year! It’s also the start of all the fall sports, back-to-school events, and launch into the holidays time. My 2-year planner ends in December, so the start of school was a good time to switch over to a new one. This time I went with a 5 year planner and I’m very happy with it. I spent $4 to add spiral binding at Office Max and … Continue Reading…
Twin Lambs at Sunrise…the Daily Farm Adventures {123}
When I was out walking the dogs past the lamb pasture Wednesday morning, I thought I saw a ewe laying down back in the corner in a sheep hut. So we kept an eye on her throughout the morning chores and school routine. Sure enough, she was in labor. By the time I left for work, she had a healthy set of twins on the ground. They were up, walking around and nursing. I sneaked in for a closer look, but she started stomping her foot at me, so I … Continue Reading…
A Set of Twins and Growing Lambs…the Daily Farm Adventures {122}
We got to be home for a brand new set of twins over the weekend. Many times during lambing season we’re at work or school and always make a new count when we pull in the driveway to see if we missed anything! Their momma is one of the ewes that has struggled before, so we’re keeping a close eye on her. With all of our sheep getting older, we’ve got to keep extra tabs on things like access to minerals, salt, and grain. So far so good, though. She … Continue Reading…
Lambs At Play…the Daily Farm Adventures {121}
Feeding time for mommas is when the lambs get to run wild and play together. Every evening it’s like a crazy lamb party out there! Their mommas are all head-down in the trough and they are running around wondering what to do. Remember that feisty ewe lamb from Bug-Eyes last Thursday? She might be smaller, but she is a busy little thing! That big black lamb is a bit of a mommas-boy. The little gray is quite spunky. At this age any time the lambs cry, their momma will leave … Continue Reading…
Being Outside at the Tree Farm All Day…the Daily Farm Adventures {120}
We were outside all day on Saturday, doing some extended yard clean up at the tree farm and taking a family hike. Mr. Fix-It’s father, sister, and family were visiting for the day as well. It surprised me how much the kiddos have grown. I didn’t pack a ton of snacks, no changes of clothes, no extra hat and gloves…of course, we were right around the corner from home! But it’s amazing to think how far along this parenting continuum we’ve come. They each had a bottle of water, an apple, and … Continue Reading…
Farm Work Odds and Ends…the Daily Farm Adventures {119}
Well, it’s pretty soggy around here. That limits what we can do outside. You can cause a lot of damage to fields and paths by driving through and rutting them up in really wet weather. You can see what I mean in those ruts in the picture below… But there’s still always something to be working on. First, there’s always housework to be done–and these soggy days can multiply that with everyone’s muddy boots and clothes! There’s a constant balancing act on the homestead between the basic housework and home … Continue Reading…
A Winter Calf…the Daily Farm Adventures {118}
The Ladybug came in hollering from her chores a few weeks ago–which always sets my nerves to tingling a little bit, because who knows what’s happened now? {smile} But she was excited because she had good news–she thought our cow Molly had a calf! So we threw our boots on and trooped out to check. Sure enough, she was off in the back field all by herself–and our cows always stay in their family group! She’s a pretty laid back cow, but I still took my time approaching her. She … Continue Reading…
Fixing Fence and Family Time…the Daily Farm Adventures {117}
The weather around here is so wonky in the Fall/Winter. When school starts, it’s really still summer. About October, Fall hits and we’re all in sweatshirts for the morning, and long-sleeve tees in the afternoon. Then suddenly between Thanksgiving and Christmas we get a beautiful Indian Summer, and everyone’s back in tee-shirts for a few weeks. Our real “winter” doesn’t hit until January–and even then it’s usually broken up with some weeks of 50s and 60s. We normally have lamb harvest in September, then we hit the winter prep work hard while … Continue Reading…
First Snow of the Year…the Daily Farm Adventures {116}
Well, our first snow was quite an event this year–10 to 12 inches! Something we only get every couple years around here. Last year we hardly got any snow at all. Snow means fun for the kids, time off from school, and more chores. {smile} We spend more time checking on everyone and making sure everyone has the calories they need to stay warm. We also throw down extra straw in the barns to keep everyone off the cold ground and out of the eventual mud that always follows the … Continue Reading…
Another Four Paws…the Daily Farm Adventures {115}
You know what they say…”Cattle dogs are like chips, you can’t have just one!” So, THIS happened over the weekend… Let’s just skip the hows and whys and get right to the puppy breath, because this face… We named her Red. (Creative, I know.) The kiddos love the name and hated everything else I suggested. She’s a purebred cattle dog, just like Coal. But she’s the red color, where he is considered “blue.” She’s actually a color mix, being mostly red, but some blue that makes her mask and spots … Continue Reading…
Washing the Dogs…the Daily Farm Adventures {114}
Our dogs live in the house with us. That means they both have to be reasonably clean and neat and not smell like they rolled in dead animal or cow patties on a regular basis. It’s been known to present it’s own set of challenges. {smile} Both the four-feets were pretty wiffy after a walk the other day, and I traced it back to some very stiff, suspiciously smelly sections of their neck and chest. If you’ve ever seen a dog roll intentionally in a pile of mess, you know … Continue Reading…
Pasture Walking…the Daily Farm Adventures {113}
Walking the dogs several times a day means I get to see the subtle changes that happen in the pasture as the seasons turn.While walking the dogs is part of the crew’s chore routine, I also walk them every day. Usually early in the morning (when I need to be alone to wake up nicely) and the evening right after work (to relax into our home life after the busy day). Coal also insists that I take him for a walk every evening after dinner. By insists, I mean that … Continue Reading…
On the Trail of the Beaver, Part 2…the Daily Farm Adventures {112}
So on Monday I started to share how we spent all of last weekend scrounging through the woods on the tree farm looking for beavers. They’re damaging and flooding out young pine trees–which is the main product on the tree farm. {smile} But our adventure stopped just short of finding the new beaver hut… Well, here’s what we found–not just a den, but an entire new ecosystem! There are three different dams built to create a two-tier pond system. Of course, Coal the Cattle Dog had to immediately jump … Continue Reading…
On the Trail of the Beaver, Part 1…the Daily Farm Adventures {111}
You might think that tree farming is about the easiest farming there is. I did at first. I mean, you’re growing pine trees, and surely they don’t need much supervising…right? Wrong. For crying out loud, sometimes it feels like growing those trees takes more work than raising our human children! {smile} You have to cut, mow, burn, plant, pray for rain…mow, cut, thin, spray…and then the predators…rabbits, mice, rats, voles, disease…apparently everything that doesn’t eat meat loves to eat trees! And now beavers. I wrote before that we’ve found some beaver damage … Continue Reading…