New Calfies!!!

 Last week brought us two new calves one day, a third the next, and, sadly, a still born on the next. It was a breech (hind feet first) presentation and things went wrong--a sad lesson for Josie about farm life.

But she dealt with it and is delighted with the three new heifers whom she has named Goldie, Luna, and Silky.

I could only get a picture of one as the others were out of range.

 But I did get a picture of this hardy little rose still blooming in our dooryard. It was a gift back in '76 or '77 from the lady whose farm this was. She propagated it by cutting a slip from her rose, sticking it in the ground and covering it with a glass jar.  And it's still going strong. 

                                                

An Outage of Cows

Cows will go wandering. A neighbor alerted us that they had come visiting. 

John went after them but instead of going down the road, as he wanted them to, they turned up the road to our place. He left them peacefully grazing and came and got me so I (and the truck) could block a crucial turning as he herded them down to the lower place.

It went well. With John behind them, they trooped down the road like good cows (and one donkey.)

I followed in the truck. . .

pausing to admire the yellow trilliums on the roadside.

Once the cows (and donkey) were where they belonged, I had a look at Dave and the Bobbettes in the little red chicken house where John put them for their own safety.

They aren't used to company. I'll try to take Josie down tomorrow, if the weather cooperates.

Spring green. Who can blame the cows for going exploring?

Josie and the New Calfie

pictures by Claui

Moving Day

Saturday morning and the Jeep and I are blocking the road in preparation for running the herd (less the Jersey girls) across the road to what was Merle's farm.  Her son no longer keeps cows and offered us the use of the pasture. We are delighted -- dry weather has left our grazing short. 

Two of Justin's friends are blocking the other end of the corridor with John's truck.

John is in the Kubota with some buckets of sweet feed, trying to toll the suspicious bovines across the hard road. Cows are nothing if not conservative and they've never made this move before. Justin is behind them, encouraging them to keep moving. 

Bob and Willa (who would really like to help but would likely cause confusion) are firmly shut in the Jeep while I stand in the middle of the road, taking pictures and ready to wave a stick if the cows come my way.

Mostly out the gate and the eating is already better . . .

Now to convince them to keep moving across the scary pavement.

They're not sure . . .(they rarely are.) This is why it helps to have lots of people.

Indecision . . .

A few brave girls take the plunge!

Justin and Otis, Derek and Doug close in on the stragglers. And they're in! Knee-high grazing, a branch (creek) with pools of water in the shade -- the girls are in cow heaven!

Let Us Now Praise Men and Machinery

 More fun on the farm -- a few days ago our little Kubota utility vehicle was parked at our basement door  while the driver unloaded some odds and ends. Alas, the emergency brake was not fully engaged and the vehicle began to roll back down the road, and off the road, down a slope and over the edge  to end up lodged against a rock in the branch.

The banks are steep and slick and there are no trees handy to attach a come along so we did what we done before, when we've found ourselves in this sort of pickle --  called on Allen's Wrecker Service. They've been pulling our vehicles (and our friends' and neighbor's vehicles) out of ditches and creeks for almost forty years. Howard Allen was a sort of genius at this work and now that Howard's gone, his son Charles runs the business.

It took Justin on our tractor to pull the wrecker across a few slick spots in our front yard but 

 once the wrecker got in place, it was just a matter of hooking the cable to the front of the Kubota . . .

                                                                    And slow and sure, up it came.

 Once it was out of the creek and on the bank, the fella in the orange shirt got behind the wheel and the Kubota started. "I believe it'll come up on its own," he said. 

  . . . and it did, with just a little help from the wrecker to get over the edge and back onto the road.

 We were elated -- having been prepared to find out that this very useful  piece of farm equipment  was totalled. But aside from some dents and two slightly twisted wheels that will have to be replaced, the damage was minimal. That's one tough little machine -- and the dump bed still works. 

Everyone who lives in the country -- especially  in the mountains -- needs to know a good wrecker guy. We've been fortunate to know the best. 

Run Free, Ruby . . .

Yesterday was a sad day on the farm.  Ruby, the lovely mare that our tenants brought with them four years back, had to be put down. 

It's especially heartbreaking because she looks in such good condition. But Ruby has been being treated for very serious foot problems as long as she's been here -- special vets, x-rays, special farriers and fancy footwear.

At one time she seemed to be improving but recently things took a turn for the worse and she spent most of her time lying down in hr stall, her forefeet too painful to bear her weight

The vet said it was time...

In the days between the decision and the actual event, Nancy and Suzie plied Ruby with all her favorite treats -- she's been on a very restricted diet but now it didn't matter. There were carrots and watermelon and beer.

A bitter sweet time . . .

But the joy in the bond was there and will remain . . .

Run free with the ancestors, Ruby, in the green fields of forever . . .
  

The Fruits of Our Labors

A small, quiet Labor Day celebration here at the farm -- we had a hankering for fried chicken so, to keep the heat out of the kitchen, John set up the gas burner on the back porch.

I made potato salad with freshly dug potatoes. . . 

And beans vinaigrette with fresh picked beans (those Purple Royalty beans just keep on bearing. . . )

Deviled eggs courtesy of the laying flock . . .

And Justin brought up some corn from their garden. It was just the three of us as Claui was out of town at a wedding.

We were blessed with a nice rain -- things had been getting a little dry -- and a rainbow at dusk. Kind of a perfect ending to a pleasant Labor Day.