Meet Lazarus...

There are lots of cows in our barn, and all of them have a number, but only a select few have names.  To have a name around here, you need to earn it!

Meet Lazarus...

Lazarus, affectionately known as Lazzie, is a first calf heifer with a story.  When she was born on New Years Day 2008, she was no different than any other calf in the barn, save the unusual markings on her face.  But in a few short weeks, that all changed.

One of the first signs of a sick calf is a change in eating habits…a calf that is not hungry has a problem!  So, when she got sick, we started the usual regimen of treatment; electrolytes and antibiotics.  This calf, however, had a nasty strain of something that quickly turned into full blown pneumonia.  We isolated her from the other calves, putting her upstairs in the barn where she would have fresher air to breathe.  Jim barricaded the hay hole so that she wouldn’t fall through to the stable below…not that she was going anywhere!

For close to a week, she hovered on the brink of death.  Numerous times, we were sure that the next time we checked on her she would be gone!  She, however, had other ideas. 

One morning when Jim was feeding the cows, he heard a loud crash.  Imagine his surprise when he saw a groggy and dazed calf standing in the cow stable at the bottom of the hay hole!  She apparently felt lively enough to explore, and pushed through his barricade, plunging eight feet to the concrete below.  Somehow she managed to land on her feet, and was not injured!

That was the beginning of her recovery, and this “miracle” calf earned her name…Lazarus.  Although she didn’t rise from the dead, she might as well have! 

Lazzie is now doing well, and expecting her second calf this winter.  Wonders never cease!

Fifth cutting hay

It seems like just yesterday that we were looking ahead to the summer, thinking about all the hay that we would need to bale to keep the ladies fed and happy...and here we are...just yesterday Jim and Eric unloaded the last load of fifth cutting!

Knowing when to mow the hay this summer was a challenge.  Jim likes to have at least three consecutive days (mininmum) of sunshine in order to get the hay dry enough to stack in the mow, and earlier this summer, those forcasts were few and far between.  He ended up wrapping lots of round bales of balage instead of filling the mow with dry hay.  Thankfully, the cows love to eat it, and it seems to do just fine for making milk!

Lately, however, it has been extremely dry, so fifth cutting was a breeze, and the hay turned out to be beautiful! 

It was also about two weeks ahead of schedule...normally we get five cuttings off of some fields, but not all. This year, we could possibly even get six cuttings from some. I don't remember that ever happening before, but I guess there's a first time for everything!

Weeds and All

Up until just a week ago, my kitchen was cluttered with piles…canning jars, jar lids, pressure canner, blancher, hot water canner. I figured why should I put it all away, just to get it out again tomorrow? Boxes of ripening tomatoes sat under the window, ripening pears (from my neighbor’s tree) sat in a corner, peaches that were bartered for ear corn in yet another. The light at the end of the tunnel seemed distant. ..


In late spring, when the garden was planted, I had so much energy!  My hopes were high for a weed-free garden (wishful thinking!) So I planted yet one more thing, because oh, how I love to watch things grow!


Then summer came. I watched my Amish neighbors keep their gardens immaculate (but who’s comparing?!) Mine became overrun with pig weed, so I hauled out the rototiller and beautified it once more. I watched the tomatoes struggle again this year, (Did you ever hear of someone who couldn’t grow nice tomatoes?) so I bought some. There were interruptions, such as: “Could you and the kids feed the heifers while I rake hay?”, and “Can I please have a friend over today?” The heat and humidity seemed some days to be unbearable, but somehow it all got done...one day at a time.


The garden is again overrun with grass and weeds, but my mindset is different now. I feel a sense of accomplishment with the bounty that was harvested. Just today I looked at my canning shelves in the basement…I counted over 150 jars of green beans, tomatoes, salsa, pickles, hot peppers, pear butter, pizza sauce…and there are fresh frozen lima beans in the freezer!  God knows what He's doing when He makes things grow!


We will be eating well this winter. As I open each jar of beans, tomatoes, peaches and pickles, I hope I remember how blessed I am to have had gardening modeled to me, and to have the space for a garden, weeds and all!

Ag bag tag...

This labor day weekend was just beautiful!  We spent Sunday afternoon with my family...cooked over the fire...ate outside...and decided to overlook the fact that the kids aren't really supposed to be up on those ag bags. No harm done, and they had a blast!

Dairy Farming 101 - Part 2 Keeping the ladies happy...

There’s something you should know about cows. They are food driven animals!  Dogs want to be fussed over and cats want to be treated like royalty. But cows? Just feed them. A lot, and on time…



The specifics of the cows’ feeding program differs from farm to farm, so don’t get excited if this isn’t how your neighbor does it…but this info will be helpful for you to know when you come over to do the feeding next time we need a night off ! (thanks for offering!)


First off…I need to add one item to Dairy Farming 101 – Part 1…


Someone reminded me that I forgot to include Hummies – a PA Dutch term for young calves.  We usually called them this when I was a girl…how could I forget this one?!


Water – cows drink between 23-50 gallons of water each day


Hay – alfalfa is mowed and left to dry; then raked into windrows, baled into small manageable bales, and stored in the hay mow (usually in the upstairs of the barn). This process takes about 3 days from cutting to the mow.  Rain really throw a wrench into this process...that's one reason why you hear farmers talking so much about the weather, and why their ears are glued to the weather radios all summer long!


Balage – alfalfa is mowed and left to partially dry. It is then baled and wrapped in airtight plastic. We bale it into round bales…these are the marshmallows you see lined up along the edge of the field. After the balage has cured for a few weeks, it is fed to the cows. They love this stuff!


Haylage – the same as balage, except instead of baling and wrapping, it is chopped and blown into the silo.


Corn Silage – the entire corn stalk is chopped and stored in the silo. Excess silage is often stored in an ag bag – that white worm that you see sitting out in the field. In the winter, after our silos are emptier we transfer the silage in the ag bag to the silo


Cob Chop– dried ears of corn, ground to a fine texture by a hammer mill. Minerals and molasses are often added.


Toasted Corn – shelled corn, dried and toasted (smells a little bit like peanut butter when the bin is first filled)


Toasted Beans – soybeans, dried and toasted (they’re actually quite tasty!)


Pellets  or Top Dress– a nutritional supplement that looks like overgrown rabbit food! This is the only feed that we regularly buy for our cows. All the rest is grown on the farm.


Calf Starter and Calf Grower – special feed that we buy for feeding young calves; usually several different types of grain flavored with lots of molasses…it gets them used to eating solid food…kind of like giving kids candy!


Silo Unloader – the machine inside the silo that throws silage down the chute via augers and into the cart so that you don’t have to climb up and fork it down by hand!


*Now that you know a little bit about keeping them happy...and are likely bored to tears, let me know what you'd be interested in "learning' in Dairy Farming 101 - Part 3!

Space!

Last week I had our daughter to the doctor for a check up. After dropping the bomb that she needed several shots, Doc leaned back in his chair, propped his feet up, and said, “So, you’re a farm girl? Tell me what you like best about living on a farm!” I thought I knew what she would say, but listened closely anyway.

“Space!” she replied.

We have space to... ride a dirt bike…have a fort (even better that it was built by Grandpa!)…be far enough away from our neighbors that we can’t look in their bathroom window from ours…throw football…have some chickens…raise a litter of puppies…have a garden…play capture the flag…get away from our brother (or sister) when they’re being annoying…build a fire pit in the yard…plant a perennial and shrub border…have a couple of dogs…sled down the barn hill…enjoy the quiet…and the list goes on…

The distraction was great…we were reminded again of how fortunate we are to live where we have lots of space. But the shots still hurt!

Bring on Fall!

The newspaper this morning says we’ve had the hottest summer on record. I could’ve told you that! The heat and humidity has sucked the energy right out of me; I’m tired when I wake up! Thankfully, we’re almost out of the thick of it…last week was beautiful, and with hurricane Earl threatening, we’ll likely get some relief this weekend, but oh my. Bring on fall! Please!



It’s a busy time of year…refilling silo, baling yet one more cutting of hay (this year it looks like we might get 6 cuttings!) picking corn, shelling corn, baling corn fodder, cleaning out heifer pens , combining beans, and the list goes on. Although it can get a bit hectic, it’s satisfying to see a lot of what we’ve worked for all summer come to completion.


The kids are back in school as of this week, so there are changes for all of us. They’re adjusting to new routines, and I’m adjusting to being back in the barn every morning. I sure got used to them doing the morning “chores” every day! (Sometime I might even find time to clean the house!}


It’s also Fair season. In three short weeks, it will be time for the   WestLampeterFair.com   We enjoy spending as much time there as possible. The kids are old enough to go off on their own now…they enjoy going through the tents and accumulating all the candy and “junk” that they can, while Jim and I walk around and catch up with friends. It’s a win-win situation! And of course the food is wonderful…can’t leave without a sausage sandwich and at least one milkshake from the dairy bar!


If we can just hang in there a little while longer, this heat will be replaced by beautiful fall weather, and we’ll be so busy that we'll eventually forget how hot it has been.


I say bring it on!