Family Day

Now that we have less going on a the farm we can spend more time as a family on the weekends.  Yesterday was a full day at the farm, beginning with chores in the morning.  It was only about 35 or so out so we all bundled up and Bea helped me milk while Dan fed the pigs & chickens. I wish I had our camera. While I was milking, Bea was standing next to me warming up her cheeks on Patches' tummy - rubbing her face back and forth through her fur.  It was very sweet. Patches is so soft and smells so good, like hay and sunshine. (Please don't believe that cows are dirty & smelly.) Bea is starting to get the feel for milking and every time does a little bit more.  We've just gotten a glimpse of the cold mornings that are coming. Soon it will be too cold to have her at the farm early in the morning.  

We fed our own kitties and the family of barn cats their milk and brought the cows out to pasture.  And then on to our big project for the day - collecting leaves for compost.  We've put out signs for a leaf drop, so we'll see if anyone else adds to our pile.  Bea and Dan had a great time jumping in the big leaf pile.  

At the end of the day we hung out watching the cows eat (waiting for them to eat until contented  - if we try to bring them back to the barn before they've had their fill they can be naughty).  They were in the corner of the field where our neighbor store's his round bales, so a great time was had playing hide and seek and climbing  and jumping off of them.

We also had our first fire of the season last night, so it really felt like a day of ushering in the cold weather.  It is so nice to sit with Bea in front of the fire with the lights out right before bed time. 

Fall is off to a busy start. We're getting into a new rhythm with Bea now at nursery school 3 mornings a week. She is delighted with it and I am too. She's been spending chunks of time with Dan at the farm in the afternoon. It is so nice that fall is here. The weather is beautiful and the pace of the work at the farm allows for a calm, steady day. (compared to the frantic, scurried days of summer) Here she is watching Dan spread a load of compost.

We think that Patches is actually really pregnant now. Deborah came to breed her around Labor Day and so far, no heat signs. Coco has been frisky, though. So we'll have to keep an eye on her. And seriously think about whether we would want to milk 2 cows if we did breed her. On the other hand, we could just keep the calf with her. It looks like Dan is leaning towards baby beef next year. I have to say, we've been eating Moon in the Pond veal and it is tasty!

Our girls have been seriously spoiled lately. The quality of the pasture is not that great, but we do have great cover crops that have been really boosted with compost & minerals, so Dan has been bringing the cows out for the day with tethers. They eat to their hearts content and are usually more than happy to come right back to the barn. Yesterday, Patches decided to be naughty and snack on the broccoli on the way. The milk has been incredible and made this beautiful yellow butter.

Confused Maternity

It turns out that Coco and Patches may have fallen too hard for the sweet little lambers. When I went down to the farm yesterday morning Coco was guarding them from Lulu! The lambs were as content as could be, sleeping in the sun. Lulu was not so happy. I put Patches in her pen for milking and tied Coco up. Then I moved the sheep and lambs in with the chickens. Our main concern was that if cows weren't letting Lulu nurse the little ones, her milk supply would dry up. The lambs seemed to be getting enough food from Patches! She gave about a quart less when I milked her. This could have been a sign of heat, but her teats were sticky as if they had been sucked on.

The sheep seemed happy enough in their new home with the chickens. The chickens didn't even seem to notice. Coco was heart broken and bellowed all day about it. However the move was a bit of a short term solution. The sheep have shelter in the greenhouse, but eventually it will be too hot in there. Also it means managing seperate pastures for the sheep and cows, something we were going to try to avoid if possible. After several years raising sheep we had decided we were going to stop and then these little ones came along. If anyone is looking for a few nice pet sheep please let us know. Lulu is a sweetheart. We've had her for about 7 years. Blackie is her companion and actually has good wool, not that we have been using it. If you'd like the pair and the lambs, let's talk.

Tomorrow is Pig Day! Things are really starting to happen on the farm. It must be March!

Fertility?

We've been watching for signs of heat in Patches so we can have her bred again. We haven't seen anything really obvious except for her tail sticking up a little bit and maybe some wetness from her vulva. Other signs can include mounting other animals (even people), giving less milk and other friskiness. Since we don't have a bull, we've asked Debra Tyler to come do the deed (AI) when we're all in agreement that Patches is ready. The window for cows to concieve is pretty short - from about 10 to 18 hours. So you want to try to get the timing right. If we don't see a really strong heat, it looks like we might wait a few months to breed her so that she can calve in the spring instead of the dead of winter.

The lambs are doing really well. We've let them out of their pen and as we expected from Coco's gentle moos, the cows have taken a real shine to these babes. Both Coco and Patches follow them around, licking them. Boy, what a strong maternal instinct in cows! Dan has seen the lambs try to latch on to Patches. I guess we'll judge by the amount of milk we get tomorrow morning how successful they were. Hopefully they won't have an identity crisis and grow up thinking they are cows. So far Lulu doesn't seem to be too jealous.

News from Cyberspace. If you live in our area check out the new website, Rural Intelligence. It is loaded with just about everything you need to know if you live around here.

Welcome Patches & Coco Rose

Yesterday our new cows Patches & Coco Rose came to our farm. Patches is a sweet little Jersey who we are going to milk and Coco Rose is her geriactric companion. She's an old girl at 10, but a real lovey of a cow. I think they may have some home sickness for Debra & Local Farm but I imagine they'll settle in soon. Lulu, our ewe, seems a little miffed. I'm sure she'll soon realize the cows are nothing to be afraid of.

This morning was our first milking and I was pretty excited. Unfortunately it didn't go as smoothly as I expected. Whenever I milked Patches at Debra's it was always a breeze. She was pretty unsettled this morning and put her foot in the bucket twice! Ack! Then it seemed like she stopped letting her milk down although it seemed she still had milk. I asked Dan to see if he could strip her out, being paranoid of not getting all the milk- and causing mastitis. She seemed to let down a little more milk for Dan at the end. We took home a little more than a quart. Which means we spilled about a gallon when she kicked the bucket over.

I'm sure tomorrow will be much better. I can't blame Patches for needing some time to adjust. Bea was champ and sat for a long time across from Patches and watched patiently.

It is such a big change to have cows at the farm. For us, it is a huge lifestyle change. Especially for me - it is really grounding - connecting me to the farm in a way I haven't been before. (The veggies are really Dan's realm.) But I don't mean just the chores and the milking. Each animal has a different energy. I'll write more on this later... It is almost supper time! We are so happy to have these lovely creatures with us. I can't wait until tomorrow morning!