Twins...

Twins...

Not exactly what every dairy farmer hopes for.  Perhaps that comes as a surprise?  There are numerous reasons why we are less than thrilled with twins...

**they are often born early, and don't thrive
*if they're born early, we're often caught off guard and are unprepared
*the cow, especially if they are born full term, has a harder time delivering and recovering from calving
*if the calves are a bull and a heifer, the heifer is often sterile and of no use to us on the dairy


On a positive note, if they are both heifers and thrive...it's a bonus!


On Tuesday of this week, Jim had planned to go visit his cousin, who lives about an hour away.  We thought we had all our I's dotted and our T's crossed before he left, so off he went.

Around lunch time, the phone rang.  It was Anne, who lives at the other farm.  "You have twins", she said.   She was able to tell me that it was a cow (not a new heifer) who had freshened, because she was already wearing a neck strap.  That was a good thing.  


Eric, Jenna and their cousin who was visiting, piled in the truck with me, and we took the cow trailer to the other farm.  The calves, both bulls, were so tiny!  First, we put them on the cow trailer.  The cow then willingly walked out of the pen and onto the trailer.  That was a very good thing.


The calves were born almost 6 weeks early, and we weren't sure how they would do.  I think they probably only weighed in at 45 pounds or so.  (most holstein calves weigh in between 80-100 lbs at birth)  Jenna named them Tom and Jerry...

This is Jerry...

He is surprising us.  Even though he is so tiny, he jumps up and totters around the boxpen.  He bawls, which is always a good sign, and he has a great sucking reflex.  He drinks his mother's milk from a bottle, although I try not to full his tiny belly too full all at once. This is a good thing...

 Tom, on the other hand, was simply too small to survive,  and he lived only about two hours.

The cow seems to be doing fine.  She cleaned on her own, and is eating well.  This is the best thing!

Christmas Happenings...2011...

To the Amish in our community, Christmas is a really big deal.  Yes, they give gifts like any one else, but their focus is not so much on material things, but on spending lots of time with family and friends.

One tradition they have in their schools is a day of Christmas caroling. That was on Thursday.  It was raining, but I saw the horse drawn wagon going down the road, filled with school children, covered with a plastic tarp...and I heard the children singing Jingle Bells at the top of their lungs from 1/4 mile away!

Another tradition is their annual school Christmas program.  This was on Friday, and Jim and I were invited by our neighbors to the school right up the road from our farm.  We were excited to go!  Of course we didn't take our camera to the program, but I'll try to describe it...

Rocky Ridge school is full this year...35 students from grades 1-8, taught in this one room school house by a young single woman.

It was a beautiful day, so we walked to the school, less than a mile away.  By the time we arrived, the school yard was full of horses and buggies, and we made our way inside.  The teacher met us at the door, and we told her that we had been invited by Reuben and Ruth Ann, our neighbors.  She shook our hands, and motioned for us to go and sit with them.  

The school was packed...every available desk and bench was filled.  Entire families were there...fathers took time off from work, and mothers brought all their children, down to the tiniest babies.  We sat shoulder to shoulder with our neighbors.  And even though we were the only "English" people there, (Jim was the only man without a beard, and I was definitely the only woman with my hair cut short) we felt welcome.  

It was really interesting for us...we both know most of the men through farming, but not all of their wives and children.  They didn't necessarily sit together, so we figured out who belonged together when a woman would pass her baby back a few rows to her husband. 

The program began by a young student welcoming us, and then the entire group sang several songs to start things off.  Their singing style is much different from what we are used to...each line of a song is sung followed by a pause, and then someone leads out in the next line, and so on.

The singing was followed by numerous poems, skits and recitations.  Some were humorous and some were more serious, and everything was in English except for one skit.  That one was in PA Dutch, and it's too bad we couldn't understand it, because there was a lot of laughter, and we missed the punch line!  Guess we'd better brush up on our Dutch!


The children did a great job!  The entire program lasted two hours...that's a lot of memorizing!  Our neighbor Ruth Ann told us that her children began practicing and memorizing their parts around Thanksgiving, and that for the past week or so they spent most of their time in school working on the program. 
 

 

 After they were finished, the children each gave their mother a rose, and we made our way out of the school house.  Two students were standing by the door offering cookies.  We visited for a few minutes, greeting neighbors, and then made our way back home.  The Amish families stayed for a while...visiting and playing games outside in the school yard for the rest of the afternoon.

The children have off school tomorrow yet, for what they call Second Christmas...a day of more visiting with family and friends.  Then they'll all head back to school or work on Tuesday.  Their Christmas vacation is short, but packed with activity.

It was an honor to be invited to share part of their Christmas celebration!  Once again we were reminded of how many wonderful neighbors we have. They're not just neighbors, but a wonderful community of friends!

Rejoice...

REJOICE...A SAVIOR IS BORN!

Wishing all of you a wonderful Christmas...from our family...

...to you and yours!

Once in a while we do shed our barn clothes and get cleaned up!  :)

More Roof Repairs...

Back in August we had a leaky spot in the slate barn roof repaired.  At that time, we also got an estimate for putting two rows of snow catchers on the roof.

There used to be snow catchers attached to the slate, but over the years they began to break off.  Without snow catchers, the snow rushes off the barn roof and crashes to the ground below...an avalanche of sorts.  The force of the falling snow damages spouting, lightning rods and the smaller roofs below, and creates huge piles of hard snow in the barn yard.  And oh yes...it sounds like a freight train and feels like an earthquake...that tends to spook the animals.  And the people.

The snow catchers should hold the snow back, allowing it to melt into the rain gutters rather than falling in an avalanche.

Yesterday in the rain, the guys came to set up their scaffolding...

Nope...you couldn't pay me enough to climb up and work on there!  You won't find any pictures from up top this time!

Jim found some pieces of Peach Bottom Slate in the shop that they were able to use...

This nifty slate cutter cuts the slate to the size they need...it's kind of like a large paper cutter...

Today was a much nicer day to be working up on the roof...

And of course there's always morning snack time...
 

Fixing a broken lightning rod on the roof of the outside pen...
 

And they're working their way across the roof...new snow catchers in place...
 

Tomorrow they will come back and finish, and clean up. 

We'll have to see how well the snow catchers work...with weather like we've been having, it might just be a while until they're tested!  

December 22...first day of winter...temps near 60*   Hmmmm...


It's better than snow, in my book!

Waterline Woes...

Out of all the things I could "worry" about, one of my biggest hangups is finding a broken water line in the barn.

The water lines in our barn have been around for a while, and like anything, they occasionally need a bit of attention.  This week was one of those times. One of the cows had a sore front foot, and needed to have her leg pulled up in order for us to see what was wrong.  While her foot was pulled up, she leaned a little too hard and bumped into the water line that ran above her stall and down to her water bowl.

The connection at the top where the elbow and down pipe come together had rusted, and that extra pressure did it in.  Drip...drip...drip...and it soon became a steady trickle.

So...out came the pipe wrenches...

Jim put a second pipe wrench in place for me to hold, and he turned his until he was able to loosen the union the rest of the way by hand...
 

The down pipe has been removed, and a few drips of water drain out of the open pipe from above...

We are fortunate to live neighbors to a welding shop, where Jim quickly had a new pipe cut to the proper length.  He ended up replacing the elbow as well, and we were back in business before long.

I'm not sure why I "worry" about this type of thing so much!  I know that everyone has to fix a water line now and then...but water is so very necessary, and if we're without, things pretty much stand still until the problem is fixed.  

I'm thankful that the problem was relatively minor, and that Jim was able to repair it quickly!




 

Which Would You Choose...

I had to buy some store-bought eggs today for hard boiling, and just for comparison's sake...

Some of these brown beauties of ours are actually on the small side!  (That's a Jumbo sized box)

So...which would you choose?  Just wondering!

Cinnamon Rolls...and Other Important Stuff...

 I had a fun surprise today!

I was running some errands, and I had no sooner pulled in the driveway than I got a text from my friend Anne.  She and our friend Rhoda were making cinnamon rolls, and they invited me to come over and join in the fun!

What better way to spend a couple of hours on a cold December day?

I arrived just in time for this...

LOTS of butter, sugar and cinnamon...
 

Cutting the rolls with criss-crossed dental floss...
 

Anne's boys were eager helpers...
 

Rolls rising, waiting to be baked.  I got to take a pan home with me to bake...and Rhoda just brought another pan to my door!
 

Meanwhile, on the home front, other important things were getting done!  Our milk house door was in dire need of being replaced!  Here's the new door...solid wood with a latch that works...
 

There's a weight inside the door that pulls it shut...now all it needs is a little paint!  Maybe tomorrow?
 

And this feed trough is now repaired.  Now the heifers' feed will stay put...
 

So...what do you think?  Which of the tasks were the most important?  :)

Putting the Garden To Bed...

Being that it's already December, I think it's time the garden gets put to bed for the winter!

I've been trying to think of ways to enrich my garden's soil without using chicken manure this year, since it's very high in nitrogen. 

I used to admire our neighbor's garden soil...each fall he would put a lot of his leaves (and he had a ton of them) on his garden and leave them to decompose over winter.  His soil was like black gold...you could tell just by looking at it that it would grow great veggies...and once you ran your fingers through it, any doubt remaining was soon gone!  So this fall, I used a leaf vacuum, which shreds the leaves as it vacuums them up, to collect leaves from around our house, in my flower beds, and in hard to rake places.  I dumped numerous wheel barrow loads of leaves on the garden, and spread them thin...

But apparently not thin enough...
 

I often had to lift up the tiller so that the leaves clogging the tines could be released.  Then I had to kick them around behind me as I went on.  It didn't help that the soil was still a little too wet, but today was probably my last chance for a while to even think of rototilling.  It's to rain again tomorrow and then get cold.

It's not a great job, but it will have to do!  We'll have enough rain, snow, freezing and thawing before next spring, that those leaves should decompose and do their thing...

And I hope they do, because I'm hoping for some great veggies next summer!

Frosty Morning...

It was cold enough that my fingers just about froze feeding calves and chickens this morning, but the beautiful frost was worthy of taking some pictures...

My amateur photography skills don't capture it at it's best, but it sure was beautiful!

Happy December!

Tigger's Entertainment...

The ultimate kittlets are quickly turning into full grown cats...and we've been enjoying them so much!  Never before have we had cats with so much personality. 

Peanut (the tuxedo kitty) is sweet...she just loves to be held and drapes herself over your shoulder for as long as you allow her to stay there.

Smokey (the gray and white male) is the least social of the three.  He enjoys being held and purrs contentedly whenever you look at him, but he's a true cat...he's constantly primping, and is sometimes a bit aloof or standoffish.

And then there's Tigger.  Words can't quite describe him!  He adores people!  He meows until you acknowledge him, and purrs louder than any cat I've heard before.  He runs underneath the cows, and they don't seem to care.  In a nutshell...he's spoiled rotten!  His latest antics involve the balage cart.  I got balage down today for the cows, and when came downstairs to feed it, guess who was parked in the cart!


He thinks it's his throne...and he loves to go along for the ride while we feed...

Tonight Eric was feeding the cows, and Tigger was playing his usual game.  You see...he thinks that not only is the balage his throne, but he thinks we have no right to feed it to the cows!  He attacks each handful as it is pulled out of the cart.  If he gets buried, he doesn't care...he just comes back for more...

Now if only we could train him to do the feeding for us!
 

Our Thanksgiving Feast...

Oh my...I don't think I need to eat for a while, after this week and all the feasting that took place!

On Thursday, we spent the day with Jim's family.  Our brother in law cooked a tasty, moist turkey breast, and of course we had all the fixings to go along with it.  We had leftovers for supper, and then spent the next couple of days doing yard work to get rid of all those delightful calories!

Today we had our second Thanksgiving feast, this time with my side of the family.  My sister and I always take our cameras and get a little bit carried away, and this year was no different!

Here's the gang getting ready to eat.  (this is only half of our family...two of my sisters live out of state and weren't able to be here)   We made the taste buds wait just  a few more minutes while we snapped away...

I told you we ate well...
 

The cook...
 

The guys, making fun of their mothers with the cameras.  They're trying to get the "perfect" photo of the butter dish...
 

After lunch, the guys retired to the basement to sleep watch some football...
 

After a while they ventured outside.  Creatively shooting some hoops...
 

Sighting up the guns for hunting season...
 

And then they played some football  (You'll just have to take my word for it) ...while Grandma and the girls made candles...
 

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday!  I am so thankful that we have families that enjoy being together.  The kids are so happy to be with their cousins on both sides of the family...they just wish their out of state cousins lived closer!

The cows have been milked and tucked in for the night, so now I guess we'll settle in for the evening in our warm house with our contentedly full bellies to watch some more football and try to come up with some creative ways to burn all those extra calories the next couple of days!

Hope your Thanksgiving was a happy one!

A Thanksgiving Hymn...

What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than to remember the words of this old hymn! 

Praise to God, immortal praise,

For the love that crowns our days;

Bounteous source of every joy,

Let Thy praise our tongues employ.

For the blessings of the field,

For the stores the gardens yield,

For the joy which harvests bring,

Grateful praises now we sing.

Clouds that drop refreshing dews;

Suns that genial heat diffuse;

Flocks that whiten all the plain,

Yellow sheaves of ripened grain.

All that spring with bounteous hand,

Scatters o'er the smiling land;

All that liberal autumn pours

From her overflowing stores.

These, great God to Thee we owe,

Source whence all our blessings flow;

And for these our souls shall raise

Grateful vows and solemn praise.

As long as I can remember, this hymn has been sung  a cappella, and from memory at every family gathering on my Dad's side of the family.  This was my Grandpa's favorite song, and I can still picture him the last few times we were together, sitting in his chair, with a smile on his face as we all sang!


Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Can't Do Without It...

What is it that you just can't do without in your diet?

Coffee?   Meat and potatoes?  Chocolate?


For the cows, it's corn...

In the fall when we combine our corn and beans, we send the shelled grain to a local company that dries, toasts and stores it.  Then, they deliver it to the farm as needed throughout the year.  Every two weeks, Jim has them deliver around three tons of toasted corn to our corn bin.  


They blow the corn through that pipe on the outside of the barn up into the bin.  The second pipe is an exhaust, or vent pipe...

It sure makes a dusty mess, but it smells wonderful...kind of like roasted peanuts!

When the corn cart needs to be filled, we pull open the sliding door on the bottom of the bin...

...and we have corn for the cows.  They eat it for part of their breakfast, lunch and supper.  It's only a small part of their diet, really.  (The average cow gets around ten pounds of toasted corn per day)

...but they never get tired of it.  If only we were all so easy to please!