We're Still Here...

Well hello!

Yes...we're still here, although you might wonder why there haven't been any blog posts since the beginning of December?!

It's called life.  The kids were home for a nice break from college...the bitter cold set in for a week or so...I started thinking about the book work that needs to be done for taxes...and I got lazy.  Plain lazy.

Enough of that.  And enough excuses! 

We have a cow in the barn that seems to be a bit under the weather.  We're a bit uncertain as to her specific diagnosis...no fever, no twisted stomach, no winter dysentery, no milk fever...

She got some special treatment today in the form of hand pulled rye grass...

I kicked the snow off of the rye grass and pulled a bucket full to see if it would entice her to eat...

Initially, she grabbed a big mouthful, which is a good sign...

...and then she decided she'd had enough.  However, an hour or so later, the trough in front of her was empty, so somewhere along the line she got hungry again.  We're watching her closely, in hopes that it was a temporary issue that has resolved.

Aren't you glad you're not getting grass for supper tonight?  :)

Rye Grass 2017...

Well the spring/ summer work has officially begun...

Jim had the rye grass mowed on Thursday,  tedded it and raked it up on Friday, with plans  to bale and wrap on Saturday morning. Then...a surprise thunderstorm rolled through early Saturday morning.  Change of plans.

Saturday ended up being a good drying day, so he tedded it again so it could dry out, raked it back up, and baled over evening milking time...

Yesterday morning he used the bale hugger to stack the bales...

We have twenty eight bales of rye grass stacked up, fermenting and hopefully turning into good feed for the cows!

Fall 2016...

It's been a while since I've posted...

A lot has been happening, but my "get up and go" must've "got up and went"! My camera has been pretty idle.  There have been a bunch of things that I've had to cross off my list...stressful things...but hopefully I can put them behind me. The time change certainly hasn't helped anything.  This getting dark early stuff is for the birds! I need lots of sunlight/daylight to keep me going!

In the meantime...fall has been in full swing.  The rye grass behind the barn is growing, and I think this is one of the most beautiful views of the farm!

The corn and soybean harvest have been finished for a while now, and they both yielded very well.  Jim is about finished with baling corn fodder. The barn is full...

He finished cleaning out heifer pens...aka spreading pazutski...over the weekend, and now it's on to some other things like moving calves around, repairing some leaky water bowls and lots of other busy work. The weather has been beautiful!  It's actually rather dry, and the fall leaves have been hanging on extra long this year.  Jenna and I went on a college visit near Philadelphia on Friday, and the drive was spectacular!

Phoebe is growing...and is a mixture of sweet...

and naughty!

I will say, I wasn't very happy with her this weekend!  On Friday night we noticed that we are down one chicken...thanks to miss Phoebe.  :(  And on Sunday morning, Jim noticed that she had chewed off some wires on his sprayer.  :(  It's a good thing she's so sweet!

Yesterday afternoon, when Jim and I returned home from an afternoon at Eric's cross country banquet at college, we were greeted by the sweetest, most enthusiastic, warm, wiggling little brown body, and it almost made me forget that I was frustrated with her.  Puppies are definitely a lot of work.  We don't want her to be "one of those dogs" that people don't want to be around because she jumps up, destroys things, etc. We're slowly getting there!

What are your fall days busy with?

Cows in Heaven...

Jim put the cows out on the meadow last week, and they were delighted to be further out of the barn than the barnyard, to kick up their heels a bit more and to chew on the tasty young, green grass.

A few days ago, he fenced off a portion of the rye grass field behind the barn, and gave the cows a fresh field to chew down.  That electric fence is all that keeps them from the even larger field beyond, but they've learned to respect a hot wire.  Usually...

They go to the far end and put their heads down. Ahh...

As a "thank you", there was more milk in the tank this morning...maybe they think they're in cow heaven?!

Linking to Good Fences #7 again this week.

Fall Grazing 2013

The corn and bean harvest is finished...

Rye grass has been seeded where the corn was chopped for silage, and is growing nicely...

So now it's time to let the cows out on the fields of rye grass and alfalfa for some fall grazing...

I think this will keep them happy for a while, what do you think?

Feeding the Rye Grass...

Do you remember this post about baling rye grass from a few weeks ago? We've now been feeding these bales since the middle of May.

Here, Jim is putting a new bale in place, upstairs in the barn.

The first thing he does is...make sure that the barn floor is swept clean of debris, and open the big barn doors.  Next, he spears the bale with the forks on the back of the tractor, and backs the bale into the barn...

He puts it just where he wants it on the barn floor.  The hay hole is just on the other side of the bale...

He cuts off the plastic wrapping...

...unwraps the netting...

...and there you go, beautiful rye grass!  It smells wonderful...and the cows love it!

We pull the bale apart in big armfuls, and toss it down the hay hole into the feed cart.  Each cow gets an armful, several times throughout the day. We've been feeding it in place of all but one "serving" of the dry hay or balage that they would normally be eating.  For those of you who might find it interesting...it tested at 16% protein and 50% moisture.  Jim's been very pleased...and so are the cows...

munch...munch...munch...

Random Five Friday...

It's been a busy week...lots is happening at home and on the farm.  With the beautiful...gorgeous...perfect weather we've been having, there just aren't enough daylight hours in each day!

1. Peanut's kitties are growing fast, and getting so playful!  She moved them from the fodder mow, outside to the shed.  They live underneath, play in the weeds behind it, and come running bouncing when we call "here kitty, kitty, kitty".  This is the home she chose for them, and they seem quite healthy and happy!  There are four males and two females.  We've told the kids we will keep two, and the rest are going to a good home next week...

2.  Today is the day Jim will bale his rye grass.  It was mowed on Tuesday afternoon, he's finishing up raking right now, and the round baler will begin anytime!  I wonder how many bales it will make?

3.  My garden is slowly taking shape for the season.  The onions, radishes and potatoes are up...and on the far left lies the string been packet, at the end of the first row I planted a few days ago...

The strawberry blossoms are showing off!  I sure hope we don't get a freeze...this will be the first year picking off of this new patch, and I'm hoping for a bumper crop...

4.  The dogs are in their glory this time of year...they follow me everywhere, and lay at my feet no matter what I'm doing.  If I'm planting in the garden, they lay in the rows... if I'm feeding calves, they lay beside the calf hutches...if I'm mulching, they lay in the flowers.  Here's Snickers, enjoying the sunshine as I fed calves this morning...

5.  My perennials are coming to life!  I have been given small pieces of many different plants over the years, and have had fun sharing with others as well.  (That's what I like so much about perennials!)  I think of my friends when they bloom.

The early blooming Iris came from Brenda...the Fern Leaf Peony came from Edith...

The Forget Me Nots came from Betty, the Lamium came from Carolyn, and I don't remember where the Bleeding Heart came from...

This isn't blooming yet, but the Lily Of the Valley growing fast.  It can become invasive, but I'll forgive it, because I love it's story so much!  This particular plant came to me at the end of a long family trail.  It originally came from my Great Grandma Herr...to my Grandma Herr...to my Aunt Alice from Colorado... to my Mom... and then to me!

What fun!

I hope you're enjoying your Friday!

I'm joining up with Random Five Friday again this week.

Ahhh...Rye Grass...

Yesterday, we put the cows out in the rye grass to graze for a little while.

Here they come!

Food!  We stood near the wires that fenced off their grazing area, just to make sure they didn't run through.  When they see green, they go a little crazy...

(yes, I know it's a weed...but isn't it pretty?)

Here's Helen...she's one of the cows on the header photo at the top of the blog...about five years older, but still going strong!

I stood there and waited...and waited...trying to get a picture of a cow lifting her head with a mouthful of grass, to no avail.  They were too quick for me, so this will have to suffice!  :)

Once they settled down, their heads didn't come up for a while...

I love this sound.  If you turn up the volume the whole way, you can hear her munching...

Pure contentment!  A lush field of rye grass...and beautiful, cool spring day...and several hours of lounging in the meadow, chewing their cud and making milk.

What else could they possibly want?

Linking up to RURALITY blog hop.