"Home" Improvements...

We've finally seen a few projects completed that we've been anticipating for a while!

One project was our side porch...

In the almost twenty five years that we've lived here, we've replaced the wooden floor boards on this heavily used porch at least twice...maybe three times.  The tongue and groove boards looked nice, until they began to rot from moisture over time.  We tried to keep them painted, but over time there wasn't much option but to replace them. Again.

This time we decided to go with a composite material, from a local Amish company that we've used before for PVC and hi-tensil fencing.  We lined things up in late April, but with the rainy summer we've had, things didn't get underway until last week.

They ripped off the old porch boards on Thursday afternoon,  and came back on Friday morning to install the new floor...

The dogs couldn't stay off the porch even while they were working in it.  I overheard one of the guys commenting that "it looks like she's reclaiming her porch!"

Yesterday the came back to finish up.  They put hinges in the door to the basement, and replaced the pump trough...

...and they finished the other part of the job.

This section of fence around the barnyard was begging to be replaced for a while, and it looks so much better now!  We opted to also put up a section of fence to block off the skid tanks that hold our diesel and gasoline.  I would say it was a great improvement!

You know what would make it even better? 

Some SUNSHINE!  I was just looking up rainfall totals for Lancaster County this year...
Lancaster County usually receives about 41" of rainfall per year.  We've already reached/surpassed that amount, with four months to go in 2018. 

SUNSHINE...please?

Happy Cows...

After what seemed like a winter that wouldn't go away, we aren't the only ones who are ready for spring!

The milking cows here at home have been out on pasture several days a week for about two weeks now.  The first morning we put them out, they kicked up their heels with glee! Seriously!

The past few nights have been warm enough that they're out over night as well. The downside is...tying them in their stalls in the early morning is a zoo!  Until they learn the routine, the young heifers are...let's just say they're  very "heifer like", and leave it at that!

Enough words..

Let's get to the pictures of the other farm, where we put the dry cows and heifers into the meadow last week.

First,  we had to get ready...

Jim wanted to give them a small section of the meadow for starters.  The Allis Chalmers D-17 has fence wire on a reel, so he brought it into the meadow...

He dropped fence posts, and I pounded them in.  Gloves are a necessity when handling fiberglass fence posts!

He wrapped the wire around the posts..

And then we tied bale rope on the wire to make it more visible...

Of course, in the middle of it all, I had to just sit down in the lush, green grass and marvel at how spring is actually here!  No matter how dreary or cold the winter, spring ALWAYS comes!

 And of course,  the cows were happy too!

Out To Pasture...

Out to pasture...

That phrase could mean a number of different things...but in this case, it means exactly what it says.

This week we put the cows out to pasture for the first time this spring, and they were thrilled!  I think they can actually smell spring in the air.  They can feel the warmer air, see more activity going on outside the barn windows, and maybe they even notice that we've put away our winter attire.  (except we did have to pull it out again for a few days.  Brrrr...)  Could they be that smart?  Well...

We put the cows out for a few hours here at home on Monday, and we put the heifers and dry cows at the other farm out this afternoon.  It looks inviting, doesn't it?

On a side note...the other farm is along a very busy road, which is being widened. The state workers who are doing the roadwork took down a big section of that nice white PVC fence that runs around the meadow.  They replaced it with temporary fencing, and we think they did a nice job.  However, there's something reassuring about a solid fence, when it comes to cows.  Hopefully they respect this temporary fence as much as they did the old one!  When the roadwork is done, the PVC fence will be replaced...

Anyway...Jim decided to section off the meadow for now.  The grass in the northern part of the meadow is higher than the rest of the meadow, so we made a temporary fence this morning.  I put in the fiberglass posts while he fed the heifers, and then he ran the wire....

The animals will have this large section to graze in for now, and after a while we'll give them the entire meadow...

They know something's up...

Here's just a short clip of them as Jim opens the wire to the barn yard...

We watched them for awhile to make sure that they knew where their boundaries were.  The temporary fence wasn't super visible, so we tied bright blue baler twine to each section so that it would catch their eye.  It's always good if one of them gets a little too close and gets shocked, just so they know it's a hot wire!  None of them did today though, and when we left they all seemed to be behaving.  There were a few that kicked up their heels and ran in circles, but for the most part they were too busy eating to be rambunctious...

If you click on the picture, I think you'll be able to see the bright blue twine that we tied to the wire...

What a life.  If I were a cow I'd think I was in heaven!
(Linking up a little late to Good Fences!)  Thanks TexWisGirl, for hosting!

Spring Fence Check...

Ah, spring!

The windows are open, the birds are singing, and the cows are itching to be out in the meadow!  It's almost time, but the meadow grass needs a little longer to grow nice and thick so they'll not rip it up with their sharp hooves, and they'll actually have a meal rather than just a snack.

Last night Jim took the backs off the calf hutches...

The little heifers were so excited!  One of them actually ran and jumped out over the wire in the back and sprinted around the garden for a few minutes until she was corralled again.  This morning I snuck behind them and snapped a picture while they were busy eating their breakfast...

Now, they're all four laying out enjoying the warm sunshine.

This morning after breakfast, while Jim headed out to fill in some ground hog holes at the other farm, I did the spring fence check around the meadow.

Most of it was in fine shape, with a few minor exceptions.  We run two strands of wire around the meadow, for extra security, and the lower strand was too close to the ground here.  So...I decided to test the "rubber boot" theory...

You know...the one that says if you have on rubber boots, you won't get shocked?  Well...it worked!  I pulled it up about 6"-8" with my toe, and it's good to go...

One strand of wire had slipped over the fiberglass fence post and was touching this old metal post, so I used my sweatshirt sleeve to grab the fiberglass post (they're full of tiny, almost invisible sharp pieces!) and bent it around behind the wire.  Now it's keeping the wire off the metal, which would cause a short...

The meadow is greening up nicely...

The west side of the meadow was in pretty good shape too.  Eventually some of the wires will need replaced, but for now they're ok.  There was a big piece of plastic that had blown across the fields and was tangled in the fence...it went into the trash...

As I was finishing up, I came across some "mystery" prints in the dirt near the waterway.  Hmm...could it be a bear print?

Probably not.

I think I found the culprit...

Yup.  It must've been Murphy!

On with this beautiful day!  There won't be enough hours in it, I'm guessing.

I'm linking up with Good Fences today.  Thanks, TexWisGirl for hosting!

Fall Grazing...

The cows have been getting a little antsy.

The nights have been too cold for them to go out...and the last couple of days were either rainy or muddy, so they stayed inside.

The grass in the waterway has also been growing.

Solution?

This morning Jim put in fence posts along the waterway and across the corner of one of the hay fields, and a rye grass field...

Here he's dragging the wire that is attached to the tractor up across the fields to the furthermost fence posts, under those far away trees...

My camera just snapped this picture for fun.  Three lonely round bales, along with about a half dozen corn stalks that were left by the chopper.  It was kind of him to not hit the bags as he went by!  :)

The cows were watching from the meadow, and they knew something was up...

I got closer, and I knew exactly who I'd see on the other side of the wire. #314 didn't take her eyes off of us the entire time we were working on the fence.  She just knew there was something greener on the other side...

I love watching the cows get so excited when they're left out into a new area to graze!  They kick up their heels and run like little kids!

( Please excuse the shaky video.  I wasn't doing a very good job of standing still!  It was also pretty windy, and there's a lot of noise in the back ground )

Standing guard at the top of the water way, just in case anyone gets unruly...

Meanwhile, Murphy and Snickers stole an ear of corn out of the truck and entertained themselves.  What is it about ears of corn that dogs find so appealing?

Grazing cows...

We just brought the cows back into the barn, and their bellies are full of grass.  They'll be contented tonight!

Spring Fence Repairs...

It's that time of year again...

The grass is turning that wonderful, bright shade of green...the temps are warming up (at least they're supposed to be...we'd like to forget about the mid twenties we had last night, and the dusting of snow on tax day!)...and the cows are itching to get out of the barnyard and onto the lush meadow!

Today Jim and I scoped out the fence at the other farm.  I walked around the west and south edges of the meadow, checking to see that there were no sections that needed repair...

The electric wire runs directly through the PVC fence, like this...

This was the only section that I found that needs repair...pretty amazing, after the winter we had!  A car went into this section of the fence, shattering the two bottom rails.  Surprisingly enough, the electric wire wasn't damaged!  We'll need to pick up two replacement rails.  They snap into place quite easily, so it should be a simple fix...

Even the electric wire around the pond was intact...

Meanwhile, Jim headed over to the east side of the meadow, where he knew he had some work to do. During the ice storm we had back in February, a huge branch from this willow tree snapped, landing on the fence.  Several rails were knocked down, but not broken...

Jim cut up the limb with his chain saw, and made several piles to be burned, probably next week before the cows go out onto the meadow.

You can barely see him here, on the left side of the picture, but he's snapping the last rail back into place...

There's one more section of wooden fence that will need some repair before we can put the heifers and dry cows out on the meadow, but it won't be long!

Hooray for spring...and good fences!

Linking up again with TexWis Girl for Good Fences #4

Good Fences #3...

This is an old picture...one of my all time favorites...from about four or five ? years ago, when we had our first flock of chickens...Barred Rocks.  They loved to sit on top of the fence.

Here they are...contemplating escape...

So you see...fences are not only for keeping critters in...or out...but for your enjoyment!

Linking up HERE with TexWisGirl for more fences...

Good Fences #1...

Fences...

Every farm has at least one.

If they're built right, they're great!  If they're not...well, that's fodder for another post.

Here's one that is well built, and that we've never regretted putting up...

Linking up with TexWis Girl for Good Fences #1.