Cider Calf

My Aunt Jackie thought "Cider" would be a good name for the brown calf. I keep thinking of her as "Cider" now, so I suppose this name will stick. Maybe "Mulled Cider" to open up more availability for nicknames.
Here she is, soft and sweet in the morning light.
Little Miss Dee is a fantastic first time mom.

Thanksgiving

It's dreary and chilly on Thanksgiving Day, but all the animals are toasty in their straw beds.
Isn't this new heifer calf the cutest baby ever?

Big Happy Cow Family... Sort of

Little Miss Dee had a heifer calf today, surprising us all. Well, we knew she was expecting, but we didn't know when to expect the blessed event.
Here are what I thought were family portraits of daughter, and mom, and dad.
Until Big Dan pointed out that the real father was obviously Jersey Bull Calf, from a relationship consummated before he went to his new home in the freezer. Just ignore that photo of the proud bull. What he doesn't know won't hurt him.
So even better- a half Jersey heifer calf.
We now have six female dairy breeds cows and calves at Providence Farm.
Got Milk?

Romper Room

Danny commented this morning, "The teenagers are hanging out at our clothesline."
We put the two little Dexters in the yard last night to keep the fuzzy-wuzzy baby company. This morning, the teenaged Jerseys were curious about the new kid and spent considerable time chatting over the fence.

The Dexter bull worried me by pushing the baby around lightly, but Dan soon set me straight on that issue: baby bull had been shoving the Dexter for all he was worth in the driveway earlier!

I will give a tutorial on the identity of our young cattle: in the second picture down, Clara and Jersey Bull are in the back. After this gorgeous young bull breeds all the ladies, we'll put him in the freezer.
The Dexters are closer. Heifer is next, followed by Dexter Bull ( I admit we weren't ambitious with naming this year.)

And in the foreground is the new addition, Mr. Fuzzy Wuzzy Ewok, we call him for short.

Home Improvement

The landscaping's coming along nicely.

Dexter Nation

I could tease my friend who's a brand new cattle baron in Tennessee by pretending there are four new Dexter calves at Providence Farm, but instead I'll tell the truth: the top and bottom pictures are the 6 month old heifer and the two middle pictures are the bull calf.

I saw our Amish friend in Tractor Supply the other day, asked him if he knew of any Dexters for sale, and voila! Today we own two new babies.

This little fellow will be easy to steer, but just look at what a beautiful bull he would make.

We could still use a few more head of cattle to use the luxurious grass in the field, but I feel more content with this small start back into Dexters.

New Heifer

Lizzy had her daughter on a beautiful sunny day yesterday.
Everything seems fine with both mother and daughter.

Happy New Year

There's no reason I can think of that I ushered in the new year by posting a photo of Jane and Margaret sniffing tractor tires.
I think I just like the picture.

Population Explosion

We started with a dog and two cows. This is what's happened...

Mowing the Grass

I told Big Dan that he'd better mow the sides of the driveway...

Cute Farm Babies

And an adorable little farm mother too.
JoJo is more fun than a barrel of monkeys. Now that I've experienced a foal, I have the urge to breed mares. Of course I won't do this again on purpose, but wow, has a baby pony been a blast!
Milk Chocolate Chip also augments the farm experience for us. I've decided that he might stay brown after all. That would be exciting, since we've only had black so far.

Chocolate Chip

A whole lot of stuff has happened on the farm since I last blogged, most of it bad.
I'm just recovering from a pinched nerve which I inflicted upon myself while trying to do gymnastics with the youngsters.

The tide has turned however, and yesterday morning we awoke to Margaret's newly born chocolate colored calf. Margaret is much too young to be calving, so it's a special blessing that he's healthy and her birth went well.
I wish that he would stay brown, but I imagine he'll turn black as he ages.

Redneck Lawnmower

If you're on Facebook with me, you've heard me whining about my two broken lawnmowers. When I went out to start fixing them I had an idea. I'll use my hungry Dexters (I didn't get hay because my truck is blocked by the van with the flat tire whose lugnuts I can't loosen, and besides, the truck has a dead battery)as lawn mowers.
Mr. B is always too skinny this time of year, so his help was enlisted as well.
They're actually mowing pretty fast!

My Precious

Here's the best little heifer ever born, Precious! For some reason I'm never carrying the camera when she's looking photogenic. But when I went out to get this, she woke up from her nap and struck a pose before running to her mom, Elizabeth (in the background.)
One of the best things about Precious' birth is that Lizzy lets us milk her. We can walk up to her in the field and just milk. Sadly, she doesn't have much left over after Presh has had her fill. I'd like to put mom and baby cow in the pen and feed mom grain so she can produce more, but I have two sheep in there right now. One is being imprisoned so I can see her lamb. The other is being imprisoned so I don't have to catch her again to shear her.

Maria's Calf

Looks like another boy was born today.
I would hate to be born in this weather, but this little fellow is as happy as can be.
So now we have 4 cows:
Charlotte
Maria
Jane
Elizabeth

2 heifers (girls who haven't had calves):
M.C.(as in MC Hammer's "Can't Touch This")and Margaret.

And 3 baby boys.

Plus Captain Wentworth, who's out on loan, soon to be visiting the butcher.

And Elizabeth is expecting pretty soon. Gee, I wonder if it will be a boy?

Mystery Calf

Charlotte's baby was born moments before the snow hit yesterday.
I tried to get close, but then Charlotte charged me. The calf seems lively and energetic for having been born yesterday. The cold and snow don't have any effect on her. (Or him.)

Meet Colonel Fitzwilliam

Jane gave birth November 30 to this little boy.
Colonel Fitzwilliam is named after Mr. Darcy's cousin in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
He has an overprotective mother so we didn't know if he was a boy or girl till the report from the girls came in, "He pees from the middle. He's a boy."

The Herd

Here's the rowdy eight.
Willoughby's the bull in the middle, looking at you with his horns sticking straight out. He may be sold tomorrow. I don't know if I'd rather have the money or the beef. Dexter tastes way better than other beef. I haven't tried a finished dairy steer, and I hear they taste good. But compared to an Angus, Dexter beef rocks!

Snow Capped Cattle

Here's Big Dan puffing diatomaceous earth on Charlotte to keep the bugs away.
#16 says, "Can I get some, too?"

Honey, Go Water the Cows, Will Ya?

Here's Big Dan, momentarily distracted from watering the garden by a passing bull calf.
Who could resist?