Hey it's cold out here!!

 

Mabel waiting to be milked. She can be impatient if I am too slow with Galdys. She has figured out how to open the door and peek in to see what we are up to. She has such a personality.

Stewy

We measured Stewy and he is at about 950 pounds!!! I can't get over how big he has gotten.

We have company!

This is Rex. He has been here on the farm to help the ladies. He is a real ham and has been so much fun. Every time I go in the pasture I always get a good laugh because he is doing something. For example, he likes to rearrange the round pen or wear a piece of cattle panel for a hat. He has been here for several months and now we have to say goodbye. I hope he was a good sort of guy and the girls are in the "family way". I will miss his antics but am looking forward to just my sweet cows in the pasture.

Where have I been?

Summer has passed by without much warning. With the CSA and the farmers markets, the busy schedule let things pass much too quickly. We had a pretty good year for the CSA and the markets were good as well. I want to make some changes for next year but overall things were smooth sailing.
Farm life is wonderful. The cows are doing great. We had a bull here for a visit and are hoping that the girls are settled.

WIDE LOAD COMING THROUGH!!

Poor Mabel! I hope she gets that calf on the ground soon. She looks HUGE!

Introducing Gladys

Well it seems when you are least expecting it things all fall in to place. I went to a farm auction a few weeks ago to bid on a old family milk cow to keep Mable company and to insure a constant milk supply. The cow at the farm was a very old cow that was crossed with a beef cow... not the best for what we wanted but would do. I checked the sale barn prices for similar cows and had a good idea of what she was worth. I got my number and waited most of the day till they finally came to this cow. The bidding began and it got higher and higher until finally I backed down. That silly cow went for double what it should have! After the sale, a older Amish man came to me asking if I wanted to look at a cow. It was a 6-year-old Jersey! Wahoo! I went right over and was greeted by a lovely petite gem. I am so impressed by this cow. She is as gentle as a huge dog, comes when I call her to milk, and when we milk we just tether her to the fence and she stands there like it's the thing to do. She is such a sweetheart! I am so thrilled.

Running out of room.

The greenhouse is getting cramped. It is hard to make sure everything is getting watered. The tomatoes are happy and we have tiny baby tomatoes! The plant area is a bit cramped. Today we are setting some of the plants in the garden, so it will help in the greenhouse. The weather has been odd... unseasonably cold and wet. Usually we can get things planted before now. The local farmers are worried that any corn that has been planted has rotted in the fields. Now they are trying to re-plant. I guess corn prices will continue to rise.