A Long Week...

It's been a long, stressful week in a lot of ways, and to be honest, I haven't felt much like blogging.

I feel like I've kinda just gone through the motions here at home...did lots of laundry...sat at a couple of the kids' sporting events...mowed the yard...helped get goats ready for next week's fair...milked cows...fed cows...repeat.  Our friend Glenda's memorial services were also held this week.  All that to say...it'll be a short post tonight.

In all the stress and weariness however, good things have happened.  First of all, the weather has changed.  Yeah!  Beautiful fall-like days with temps in the low 70's and low humidity...we couldn't ask for nicer weather. (We'll choose to forget the 2" rain fall we had on Tuesday).

And this field...(that little spot almost dead center is Jim, seeding rye in the old cornfield two weeks ago).  The picture was taken out the barn window, looking west...

...and that's Jenna riding on the back of the grain drill, watching to let him know if the seed runs out...

...this field now looks like this...

...a light green blanket of rye.  The rye will grow over winter as a cover crop, and Jim will then bale it for the cows in the spring.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to regroup a little tomorrow, because the coming week promises to be just as crazy...it's fair time!

Stay tuned for adventures at the West Lampeter Fair!

Rye...

Just a week or so ago, I posted about the rye field that we were planning to section off for the cows to graze to their hearts' content. 

 They spent several days grazing, but then the rains came...and then it rained some more...and some more...

Sometimes things just don't go as planned.  The ground was too soft and wet for more grazing...and now it's time to be thinking about planting corn.  So... the rye needs to come off.  We've had to resort to Plan B...or is it Plan C?

Today Jim mowed the rye.  It will either be chopped and put into the silo at the other farm for the dry cows and heifers, or baled at high moisture into round bales.  The final result will depend on how much more rain we get this week.

Jim is quite pleased that the thirty five year old Haybine worked like a charm!   

As he was mowing, a fox went running through the field...but he was too fast for my camera!

The newly mowed field...

Now we just need to wait and see what the weather holds...several sunny, warm days would be quite welcomed!!

Cows + Rye = ....

Last week  I posted some pictures of the cows going out onto the rye field for the first time this spring.  They were beside themselves with excitement...yes cows can get excited!  They enjoyed several hours of grazing before we brought them back into the barn.

Then the rain came...

The ground became too soft to let them out.  Their hooves would have made horrible tracks in the meadow and rye field, destroying the tender new growth.  So...they were forced to be patient.

This is what they have to look forward to when it dries off...



Jim seeded this field of rye in the fall with two things in mind.  First of all it's a cover crop; it helps to prevent erosion and puts valuable nutrients back into the soil.  Second, we can graze the cows on it this spring until it's time to plant corn.  At that time, the corn will be no-tilled into the ground.

For now, he will section the field off into small areas where the cows will graze on a rotating basis.  I guarantee you...there will be no complaining from them on this arrangement!

Neither will there be complaints from the farmers!  After two short days of grazing on the rye, the volume of milk in the tank had increased by an average of four pounds per cow, per day!

COWS + RYE = MILK  !!