Matilda’s baby was born on Tuesday afternoon! As usual, we got there just after she was all licked clean and was on her feet. She’s a pretty, friendly calf, although I am hesitant to be too enthusiastic. You see, Explorer is her father, and he’s Matilda’s calf from two years ago. Either she’s line-bred or…
Category: Homesteading
Barn Raising
At last, the barn actually keeps the rain out. This was supposed to be our huge, big, extra-special project for 2014…well, we did get around to it in the end! This will help keep the tools from rusting, keep the feed and hay dry, and will hopefully provide a spot out of the elements for…
Cows on Rye and Green Teeth
We put the cows on the rye at last. It was so difficult to get them out at first. We thought they would gallop out, heels kicking and horns tossing and start inhaling the rye. But they just sat with their heads poking through the other side of the hay ring and chewed while we…
Lost Calves
We got some cow’s milk!! This is big news after our family was rationed only one quart of goat’s milk a day after Matilda dried up around October. It’s only a little taste of what’s to come, and we only got a half gallon, but it was hard-won. We moved the cows down to the…
Star Returned
I forgot to mention before – Star came back. She looks thinner than before, and we found her gobbling up the rye. Unlike Trespassers William, she was willing enough to hop back in the electric fence for some oats. We are re-thinking our pastured pigs. We’ve been trying different things to figure out what works…
Geranium’s New Calf
Geranium missed the date she was AI’d for in December, but she still looked pregnant. She must have been bred by our bull Explorer. As Christmas came and went, she looked more and more ready to give birth, we just didn’t know when. Last week her udder started to swell, so we knew it would…
A Day Without Shadows
Sunday was one of those gray, misty days without shadows. The prospect of rain was hovering over us, and we went out early and worked until the first drops began splattering down. I weeded the fruit trees and mulched them. Moving the old hay into the wheelbarrow with a pitchfork gave me an odd sense…
Shaken up
This season for me is what I think many people up north experience in February. February here is light and beautiful, everything is in bloom and it’s pleasant to be outside. Right now, however, the heat is intense and exhausting. The bugs are horrible. We can barely get out to feed the animals because of…
Fruit from the Earth
The peaches have been amazing this year! We had even more than I’d thought on the trees. Mirin had a “momotaro” peach he called it that he’s been watching ripen for weeks that he finally got to eat the other day. The squirrels in town have destroyed almost every peach on our trees by the…
The Orchard – Is it Finally an Orchard?
When we first began farming, we immediately wanted to plant some fruit trees and blueberry bushes. Ethan had this idea of piping water over to a distant clearing that was covered in prickly ash. We disagreed about this, but I had no better suggestions until I looked up from fencing the garden area and noticed…
Toadstools And Fairy Rings 