It's the Least Wonderful Time of the Year

I've decided to post more honestly here. Not that my posts are ever dishonest, but you certainly get a one-sided view of farm life.
A mother once told me to be sure I don't post graphic or sad things because she shows the blog to her children.
But the un-fun times are real, and knowing about them is only fair.
So here's a pic to sum up the impending Arctic weather and our desperation for the sun and her warmth.
We've ("we" in this sense meaning my kids and my husband) been scrambling to get extra hay to the horses and cows and shoring up all of the animals' shelters for the predicted frigid weather.
(Be glad you get to look at unhappy Kate during chores. It was either this or a photo of the broiler chicken who died under the horse trailer.)

When the Cat is Away, the Mouse Will Blog Farm News for Him

Here are some in progress shots of the electric and water lines going to the barn and water pump out front. I will describe each shot underneath, so maybe you'll know what you're looking at.

Water and electric lines to a pump by the hog corner.

I'm at the little red gate looking at the back of house. This is where the automatic waterer is going.

The Great Driveway Trench!

Filling it all in.

I'm at the fema shelter looking up at the little red gate. More details on this pen tomorrow...

Frigid Arctic Blasts

I couldn't blog for a while because Laura was signed into Google with her email address. I was finally in the room with her and asked her to help, and she easily enlarged the window, signed out, and signed me in.
I wish I were a teen.

Here are pictures representing the cold weather.
Clyde cleaning confusing snowflakes off of his fur.
A Cardinal, by Katie.
My neighbor delivered round bales and made my winter easier.
Frozen solid water trough.
Running water in above freezing weather!

And tonight it's back to negative numbers for wind chill temperatures.

The Secret Pond

The girls were exploring the property and found this pond.
There are even fish in it.
I haven't been there yet, but they've cleared a path through the brambles so I'll be going soon.

When it Rains, it Pours

I saw a likely prospect for a trailer on Craigslist Friday night and asked Big Dan if he wanted to go check it out. It looked pretty, and it was the price I decided must be paid for a trailer that works. (Not considerably more than a model with bad tires or no floor.)

Before we left Saturday morning, I providentially checked craigslist again. There in front of my eyes stood the fuzziest, most adorable little Highland calf who I needed to have.

We drove with the truck to the trailer place, made fast friends with the excellent young couple selling the trailer, wrote a check , hitched up, and headed to the farm with the fuzzy calf.

I'm overwhelmed with good and happy farm excitement. Piglets, a long awaited trailer, and a sweet bottle baby for a new pet.

Becky's Herd of Jerseys

The evening was pretty after a big rain, and the sun was making the cows stand out against the green background, so you get to look at them.

The big mother cow is on our right, the yellowest of them, then Penny, sporting her summer color, then the two calves, but you can only see the bull calf who's in front of the heifer.

Becky's Jersey milk is a wonderful addition to Providence Farm because with it we can make all the dairy items we need. If I get very organized, I'll be able to put up enough milk in jars to last us through the three months that Penny takes a rest. It won't be as healthy as fresh, but it will be a whole lot cheaper than buying milk- and it tastes good.

Surprised by Gypsum

Uncle Johnny is a civil engineer, and he recommended that I spread gypsum on my fields to condition the soil and save on lime.
I had tried to get a truck to come, but nobody wanted to do it because gypsum clogs their spreader easily.
Today at the feed store, I happened to be present when the owner came to the employee I was talking with and asked if he knew anyone who wanted twelve tons of gypsum right now.
I immediately bought it.
I'm looking forward to seeing improvement in my soil over the next few years.

Peculiar Items which Farmers Think are Perfectly Normal

As I was rushing out the door to soccer I noticed the syringe full of cattle wormer on the kitchen counter next to my leftover breakfast, so I snapped a quick photo to warn you what will happen to your idea of what's normal if you farm long enough.

A couple years ago, I had sold a calf who got shipping fever, so I bought some injectable antibiotics, and carried the full syringes with long needles in the cup holder of my van for the next two weeks.
I'm pretty sure if a city cop had pulled me over, I'd have had some 'splainin' to do.

Over the years, we've helped many goats and other momma mammals deliver their sons and daughters. Mostly, birth goes well. But after our first situation involving reaching inside for a dead baby, J-lube became a commonly stocked item.
When the maids came to clean, I suddenly realized that having multiple tubes of K-Y jelly stashed in the pantry, kitchen drawers, first aid kits, and shelves is probably suspicious to those uninitiated into the goat midwifery club.

Our duck was setting on her eggs one year when an uncharacteristically wicked blacksnake started eating many unhatched ducklings each day. After his second snack in as many days, my nine year old daughter marched into the house, went to my room, and strode back through with a .22 rifle slung over her shoulder, clip in hand. I asked her where she thought she was going fully armed, and she replied, "I'm going to teach that blacksnake a lesson!"
When I told my vet that evening how I had of course stopped my 4th grader from shooting the snake, he looked at me quizzically and questioned why I thought she wasn't capable of shooting the snake.
Well, gee, I'm from the city where we don't entertain the idea of responsible young marksmen actually doing something useful with their target practicing!
Now, just a few short years later, I've become inured to armed youngsters taking care of many unpleasant tasks around the place.

If you need a powerful drug injected in a hurry, just ask. I may have it right here in my purse...

God Made Farmers

I snapped this Sunday night.
Becky and I were watching Superbowl commercials at the computer.
She'd just come up from milking and feeding.
My little agriculture major in her pink Carhartts is the reason I felt teary about Dodge Truck's Farmer ad.

Like Spring

The calf is drinking up healthy colostrum by the half gallon, and feeling fine.
Laura's new hens started laying luxurious dark brown eggs yesterday.
The bitter cold is over for now, and the days, at least, are warming back up.
Now I can believe that spring will come.
Off to order seeds...

Katie's Farm Pics

Since I'm too lazy to make an effort at creating an interesting blog post, I figured I'd dazzle you with Katie's lovely photos. These are the twin baby girl goats who will find a home next month on approximately a million acres over on the other side of Lynchburg. Today was such a fun day despite the alarming global warming that came on so suddenly. In the morning we read stories to children at the library, then went to the local pool with friends. At home we mellowed out in the central air watching Rupert Everett as Sherlock Holmes while Laura prepared a delicious dinner of glazed pork chops with wild rice pilaf. Afterward, we met a delightful family through, you guessed it... a Craigslist goat posting.

Dream Come True

I woke up this morning to HAY. My friend and neighbor, Clifford, delivered a round bale and some squares while I was in Lynchburg for music lessons.
I couldn't see it when I got home, because it was already dark. It was a wonderful feeling to look out and see hay inside its feeder.
As you can see, our scary storm turned out to be just hype. It's not the weatherman's fault, snow was actually over us all day and night. It was just too dry to make it to the ground. That's ok with me. I wasn't looking forward to having no power.

Good Week

I was hesitant to publish what a good week I've had. I felt somehow like I'd be jinxing myself. But if Laura at Good Enough Farm can blog her good day and make me feel warm and fuzzy, I will try to make you feel the same with my good week.

While Danny was at home I got taken on not one, but two, dates. It's been a relief to have daughters old enough not only to babysit themselves, but also to take an active role in the farm and home.
Said daughters have cooked many a dinner and dessert in the past week, all delicious.
School has been going well.
The girls are taking guitar and piano lessons, starting yesterday.

Around the farm, we've sold two whole beeves to friends and family members, which offset the cost of hay substantially.
Two goat kids went to a good home on New Year's Eve.
The ram may possibly be getting sold at the end of the week.
Our good friend from whom we buy hay will be buying some goats from me.
I Craigslisted 5 old stew hens today, and within minutes, a lady called to claim them- as pets, no less! So we don't even have to suffer the grief that goes along with them being eaten.
And what, you may be asking, does all this have to do with the filthy farm fresh eggs in the photo?
Ah, the best part of the week. The chickens are laying at last! Except... that's mostly due to the expensive use of the heat lamp. And a hen, who's identity has so far escaped detection, is eating some eggs.
But still, eggs!
I'm going to get some wooden or ceramic eggs to put into the nest boxes and also feed the layers some oyster shell. Maybe that'll be enough to stop the egg eater.
I hope next week goes as well as this one has.

Green Grass

The western field is now securely fenced so everyone can eat the good green grass. When I put Danny's cows in before the tight fence, they would leave this lovely meadow to wander the woods behind my neighbor's house. Why do they think that the grass is always greener? Clearly it doesn't get greener than this.

Some Fences

Taken from the red gate over by Dorothie's.

I forgot to take some of the big support posts down at the shooting range, but they look good.

The Fence Today

The bullpen is finished. The outer fence should be done today. I charged up my camera so I can walk around the path and photograph it for certain relatives.

The Bull Pen

The Crews Boys (who are actually not boys, but men) have arrived to supply all of our fencing needs.
This is the bull pen so far today. They took down the old fence, hydraulically put in the new posts, and are currently putting the old woven wire, plus a new roll, back up.
They'll add a hot wire across the top for extra security, and to keep a hungry horse from leaning her neck on the fence.
The men gave two of the girls nicknames today. They call Laura "Lemonhead" because she got lemon juice in her hair. And they call Becky "SpongeBob." I couldn't tell you why that name stuck.
Now Katie is hoping beyond hope to be nicknamed by the Crews Boys.

Bulldozer in Action

Ok, a bulldozer in action for 5 seconds. But I was afraid it wouldn't upload if I took a long one.

Go Grandfather, Go!

Grandfather came all the way from Texas to make our little private road passable.
Gravel should be here tomorrow. Just in time for the big rain on Thursday.
I'm not sure if I'll be able to adjust to being able to use the road in rain.

Tropical Storm Ida

Curse you, Ida!
It feels strange to see the sun today. I had gotten used to living in darkness day and night; now I'm squinting at the shocking brightness of Ida's aftermath.
The first night of howling wind and rain brought this surprise. No, the surprise isn't that someone had dropped off free lumber in the field.
This was our run in shed.
And of course the most inconvenient time to have a wild west wind carry away your shelter is when it's raining.
We had to move the horses into the goat pen to keep them dry, and the goats were stranded under the barn.
Now I want a big warm barn with plenty of room.