Save the Trees...

A couple of years ago, PPL (the electric company that has a power line and therefore a right of way through our farm) decided that it was time to do a massive tree trim.  Anything...anything at all that was within 75 feet of the center of the power line had to go.  No exceptions.

The fence line along our meadow was 69 feet from the center line, so all of our trees had to go.  That meant all of our shade for the cows was gone, with the exception of one lonely tree.  Here's the post I wrote about it.  It all turned out fine, because PPL made good on their promise to replant trees in another spot for us!

We chose four Autumn Blaze Maple trees, which they planted about 30 feet further in from the fence line.  During the hottest days of that first summer, the kids took 5 gallon buckets of water to each tree daily, to get them off to a good start and keep them alive.  They're thriving now.  Here's a picture of one of them last fall...

We've had wire fence around the trees since they've been planted, and the cows have pretty much left them alone until this summer.  Now they've decided it's entertaining to pull at the lower branches, stripping them of leaves, breaking branches and causing damage...

Enough is enough!  We're not going to have these trees damaged to the point that they die.  So...we had tree boxes put up around them last week...

They're 7 1/2' squares, made with four round corner posts and 2 x 6's.  The cows might still be able to chew on a few leaves, but shouldn't be able to break the branches in close to the trunk...

I like the way they look...in my opinion, kind of old fashioned!

Here's hoping for some huge shade trees in a few years!

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

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!

Spreading Fertilizer...

All of a sudden, it feels like SPRING !!

This is day four of high 60's - high 70's like weather, and we're loving it!  The birds are singing, the dogs are being lazy in the sun, the perennials are poking through, we're feeling more energized from the beautiful warm sunshine, and it's a great feeling!

If you're a cat, you climb all over the barn windows...

Just because you can...

This morning a cart of fertilizer was delivered for Jim to spread on the meadows.  This time of year, everybody is looking for these carts, so as soon as they're delivered, you hook up...

You make sure everything's all set how you want for spreading...

...and off you go...

An hour later, you park, unhitch and call the fertilizer company to tell them you're finished, and they pick up the empty cart and fill it up for the next farmer...

Now all we need is a little rain shower and more of this gorgeous weather, and the meadow will be looking beautiful in no time!

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

It's Almost Time...

...to let the heifers and dry cows out on the meadow at the other farm!

Look at this luscious looking grass...

This morning, Jim walked around the meadow fence at the other farm, checking to see that it is secure and ready to contain twenty to thirty rambunctious animals.  He pounded in a few fence posts around the pond and repaired a few other spots...
 

Did you notice he's back in his coveralls and knit hat?  It felt like true March weather out there today!  The wind blew hard, and it was cold!  We were glad that the warm clothes hadn't made it to the basement yet...the shorts and T-shirts might have to wait until next week!

In the mean time, the ducks enjoyed the solitude...at least until we came around...

Once the animals are left out onto the meadow, they will spend most of their time grazing, and won't be hungry for much else.  So this evening Jim tarped off the silo, to preserve the corn silage over there until we're ready to start feeding it again.

They will be so excited!  I'm hoping to take my camera over when we let them into the meadow tomorrow...it's that much fun to watch!