No goat babies yet. That's the most frequent question being asked of me lately. If you read this blog regularly, you'll be the first to know.
As a part of getting ready, I've been lining up names starting with the letter W, this season's letter of the alphabet. Did you know that there are lots of male names starting with W, but not that many female names?
I've got Wendy, Whitney, Wynona, Wilma, Wren, Whisper, Willow, Waffles, Winifred,Wanda, Waverly...
I need more "W" names for the girls. Anyone with suggestions, please leave a comment. As soon as the babies start arriving, I'll announce it and list the names along the right hand column.
Meanwhile, weatherwise it isn't pretty. We're getting rain and freezing temperatures overnight -- that lovely combo that makes outdoor activity treacherous.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Create a Bluegrass Song
Winter gettin' you down? Need a little diversion? Go to Virginia's Crooked Road website and create a song for someone special.
Snowy Day Adventure
Tuesday morning’s temperature was 5 degrees F. The wind chill was below zero, and it sure felt like it, especially on my frozen finger tips. During the day, it warmed up and by six p.m. the snowfall started.
There was snow on the ground this morning, something I dread because of the difficulty of getting around to do the animal chores. I waited until about ten a.m. and suited up. I have found that the hand warmer packs I bought at a check-out somewhere are great. They are dry chemicals in little packs which are activated by shaking after being taken out of their foil packets. I placed one in each of my knit mittens and wore knitted gloves. The mittens, which have both a thumb and a forefinger, went over the knitted gloves. Good enough. I know from yesterday that those heat packs will last all day.
My mistake was in miscalculating the amount of snow on the ground. I thought it was only an inch or so and put on my normal “muckies” -- everyday muck shoes, which slip on and off. I should have used my Muck Boots
, which would have covered my ankles and the bottoms of my pants. There was actually about four inches of snow on the ground. So, I had warm hands but cold, wet feet before the morning’s chores were done.
Because I knew I might not be able to get back up the hill with my pickup, I drove the Kawasaki Mule down. It is presently covered with the soft enclosure I bought from Cabelas. It fits perfectly and has vinyl windows on four sides. Heavy-duty zippers allow me to get in and out when the weather’s cold and windy. When it first came in the mail, I wondered if I’d just wasted my money, even though it was a tenth of the $3,000.00 that a hard enclosure would have cost. So far, so good. I’m happy to be able to ride around in the rain and snow. If the sun’s out, the enclosure is solar heated and pretty comfortable. The doors can either be rolled up or zipped out when I don’t need protection from the cold.
I did all my rounds and actually got up the hill using the four-wheel drive. That’s all I can ask and am convinced that the Mule was a good buy. I only use about a gallon of gas a week and can go all over the farm without totally overextending myself physically. Going in snow is a wonderful bonus! Another practical problem solved.
This afternoon, I'm staying in. I took a container of homemade applesauce out of the freezer and made two applesauce cakes. When they cool, I'm planning on making browned butter icing for them. One will go in the freezer.
There was snow on the ground this morning, something I dread because of the difficulty of getting around to do the animal chores. I waited until about ten a.m. and suited up. I have found that the hand warmer packs I bought at a check-out somewhere are great. They are dry chemicals in little packs which are activated by shaking after being taken out of their foil packets. I placed one in each of my knit mittens and wore knitted gloves. The mittens, which have both a thumb and a forefinger, went over the knitted gloves. Good enough. I know from yesterday that those heat packs will last all day.
My mistake was in miscalculating the amount of snow on the ground. I thought it was only an inch or so and put on my normal “muckies” -- everyday muck shoes, which slip on and off. I should have used my Muck Boots
, which would have covered my ankles and the bottoms of my pants. There was actually about four inches of snow on the ground. So, I had warm hands but cold, wet feet before the morning’s chores were done.Because I knew I might not be able to get back up the hill with my pickup, I drove the Kawasaki Mule down. It is presently covered with the soft enclosure I bought from Cabelas. It fits perfectly and has vinyl windows on four sides. Heavy-duty zippers allow me to get in and out when the weather’s cold and windy. When it first came in the mail, I wondered if I’d just wasted my money, even though it was a tenth of the $3,000.00 that a hard enclosure would have cost. So far, so good. I’m happy to be able to ride around in the rain and snow. If the sun’s out, the enclosure is solar heated and pretty comfortable. The doors can either be rolled up or zipped out when I don’t need protection from the cold.
I did all my rounds and actually got up the hill using the four-wheel drive. That’s all I can ask and am convinced that the Mule was a good buy. I only use about a gallon of gas a week and can go all over the farm without totally overextending myself physically. Going in snow is a wonderful bonus! Another practical problem solved.
This afternoon, I'm staying in. I took a container of homemade applesauce out of the freezer and made two applesauce cakes. When they cool, I'm planning on making browned butter icing for them. One will go in the freezer.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
February
Old Man Moon is the night watchman these days, shining his brilliant light into my room at about 4 a.m. each day. He creeps around corners from the Northwest to the East in the morning, but is obviously in the Eastern sky in early evening. He gets around.
His light was obscured this morning, by snow-laden clouds just waiting to let loose.
At mid-morning, it is gray and sharply cold. There’s no snow yet, although the radio tells me that in various other ridges and valleys the “winter event” is already ongoing. Sleet and another ice storm is reported to be on the agenda for later today.
The weather geeks mostly exaggerate in their predictions, although there have been a few memorable times when they grossly UNDERestimated and we were caught out driving in a serious ice storm that snapped power lines and allowed for numerous vehicle accidents. In some ridge or valley, somewhere in the region, it is safe to say, the weather predictions will be spot on for any given day.
The goats are still baby-less, although some udders are now about as big as they can get. That tells me I better be ready. This morning, I prepared another stall with waste hay and a filled hay feeder, closing and latching the gate behind me to keep it clean until needed. The goat nursery is close to done in the green barn. Gates are up and sides, but the fronts need to be finished before we can clean up and get them in use.
I got the safe heat lamp housing ready and have a plastic bin to use as an emergency warm-up crib. I’ve even figured out where to hang the lamp. An old jacket with a fake lamb’s wool lining is inside the bin for comfort.
The one problem is that I can’t find the long list of great “W” names that my grandson sent last kidding season. It’s got to be around here somewhere…
His light was obscured this morning, by snow-laden clouds just waiting to let loose.
At mid-morning, it is gray and sharply cold. There’s no snow yet, although the radio tells me that in various other ridges and valleys the “winter event” is already ongoing. Sleet and another ice storm is reported to be on the agenda for later today.
The weather geeks mostly exaggerate in their predictions, although there have been a few memorable times when they grossly UNDERestimated and we were caught out driving in a serious ice storm that snapped power lines and allowed for numerous vehicle accidents. In some ridge or valley, somewhere in the region, it is safe to say, the weather predictions will be spot on for any given day.
The goats are still baby-less, although some udders are now about as big as they can get. That tells me I better be ready. This morning, I prepared another stall with waste hay and a filled hay feeder, closing and latching the gate behind me to keep it clean until needed. The goat nursery is close to done in the green barn. Gates are up and sides, but the fronts need to be finished before we can clean up and get them in use.
I got the safe heat lamp housing ready and have a plastic bin to use as an emergency warm-up crib. I’ve even figured out where to hang the lamp. An old jacket with a fake lamb’s wool lining is inside the bin for comfort.
The one problem is that I can’t find the long list of great “W” names that my grandson sent last kidding season. It’s got to be around here somewhere…
Friday, January 19, 2007
Camping Cow Capitulates
There was a whole lot of bawlin' goin' on last night, as the cow camping in the woods suddenly decided that she missed her half-grown calf; and vice versa. I guess she had gotten to a place where she could see the rest of the herd and she didn't really like the solitary life all that much.
Anyway -- I tried several techniques to get her to come to me up in the woods. I had a bucket of grain with me, and got her to follow me down the road to the closest gate. Once she got through the gate, she had no interest whatever in the grain. She knew that she now had access to the rest of the cows and went running to them in the pasture. The mother and child reunion was joyful, and there was a whole lot of nursin' goin' on before she dived into the hay and water.
Well, she'll have some nice memories of her vacation to ruminate over...
Thursday, January 18, 2007
The Secret Lives of Cows
So -- the day you worry about goats having babies, a cow goes and has a new calf. It looks like a heifer and is at least a day old. Mama came steaming up when the baby got upset to have a human trying to look her over. It's a little black Dexter/Angus. Cute, as usual.
I spent part of the afternoon riding around the fenceline, looking for fallen trees. Some (genius) left an old gate to the woods open, so there's a cow living in the woods who has evidently forgotten how she got there. This is the same cow who managed to break into a hay shed last year and get trapped under a round bale. What can I say? She's a free spirit.
The ice storm is on the way. How we'll round her up, I'm not sure. The terrain is too steep and tree-filled to do it with the Mule. It'll be an "on foot" enterprise.
I spent part of the afternoon riding around the fenceline, looking for fallen trees. Some (genius) left an old gate to the woods open, so there's a cow living in the woods who has evidently forgotten how she got there. This is the same cow who managed to break into a hay shed last year and get trapped under a round bale. What can I say? She's a free spirit.
The ice storm is on the way. How we'll round her up, I'm not sure. The terrain is too steep and tree-filled to do it with the Mule. It'll be an "on foot" enterprise.
Backwards Weather
Two days ago, a sweatshirt was too hot for working in the garden. It was T-shirt weather.
As of yesterday morning, at 20 degrees F., it was T-shirt, sweatshirt, two pairs of pants, gloves, scarf, and heavy jacket weather. Naturally, the goats are making labor sounds in the barn. We're expecting snow and ice later today, so the chances are good that they will start in for real then.
In this morning's New York Times, Verlyn Klinkenborg recounts his cross-country car trip, where the mideast was flooded and he encountered snow in California.
This morning, I read an article about Walmart selling bogus organic produce, which some of you many be interested in.
As of yesterday morning, at 20 degrees F., it was T-shirt, sweatshirt, two pairs of pants, gloves, scarf, and heavy jacket weather. Naturally, the goats are making labor sounds in the barn. We're expecting snow and ice later today, so the chances are good that they will start in for real then.
In this morning's New York Times, Verlyn Klinkenborg recounts his cross-country car trip, where the mideast was flooded and he encountered snow in California.
This morning, I read an article about Walmart selling bogus organic produce, which some of you many be interested in.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Farming and Eminent Domain in Virginia
Here's a story I just read in the New Farm Newsletter about Stoney Lonesome Farm in Gainesville, VA.
It paints a rather bleak, but very realistic story of the struggle of Virginia farmers to continue to exist in rapidly developing areas.
'Seems to me that lack of comprehensive plans which recognize the need for small family farms, especially those that use organic methods, is important in an age of energy crisis. The notion that our nation can be reliant only on huge factory farms and extensive trucking of produce across the nation is muddle-headed hogwash.
It paints a rather bleak, but very realistic story of the struggle of Virginia farmers to continue to exist in rapidly developing areas.
'Seems to me that lack of comprehensive plans which recognize the need for small family farms, especially those that use organic methods, is important in an age of energy crisis. The notion that our nation can be reliant only on huge factory farms and extensive trucking of produce across the nation is muddle-headed hogwash.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Ode to the North/West Wind?
...O, thou, Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed
The winged seeds, where they lie cold and low,
Each like a corpse within its grave, until
Thine azure sister of the spring shall blow
Her clarion o'er the dreaming earth, and fill
(Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air)
With living hues and odours plain and hill:
Wild Spirit, which art moving every where;
Destroyer and preserver; hear, O, hear!
It's bleak, cold, and very windy. The wind woke me several times during the night and has finally died down a little. I can see the snow on the tops of surrounding mountains, but we just have occasional flurrie
s this morning.
s this morning.Saturday, January 06, 2007
Local Agricultural Politics
We interrupt our regular ag blogging to insert some ag political news from the region:
The first hot topic around these parts has to do with the ability of local Virginia wineries to continue to distribute their own wines in the region. It seems that in 2005, a federal judge decided that the VA wineries had to use and pay distributors, as they had an unfair advantage over vintners from other states.
You can read about it, here and here.
When we first purchased this farm, my husband wanted to start a vineyard and winery. We did a lot of research; learned that the topography and altitude was perfect; and took a tour of wineries in the State to learn more.
It seemed to me that the capital outlay would be massive and I was, and still am convinced that grape growing cannot be done organically, so we shelved the idea.
Others in our area have gone ahead, at great expense and labor, to create very nice wineries and steady farm income -- a laudable feat -- only to have the big boot of government come down on them from above. Public opinion seems to be on the side of the farmer/vintners for now, and hopefully, the laws will return to allow self-distribution of Virginia wines. That would promote one solid new agricultural industry in the area and, in effect, protect a lot of agricultural land from development.
------------------------
The second topic getting a lot of attention in the region is the application of “biosolids” (sewer sludge) on cropland. You can read about it here.
It seems that farmers have the right to do this in Virginia, even though in my opinion it is simply a stupid risk to take on food crops. New federal laws regulating the ocean dumping of sewage seem to be pushing corporations and municipalities to try to find new ways of dealing with sewage disposal. This is a big problem throughout the country and I hope that good solutions will eventually be found. In the meantime, I’m wondering if large flower farms might have better use of the stuff than farmers growing food crops and/or cattle forage.
Now, if they figure out a way to make BIOFUEL out of "biosolids" the problem will be solved!
The first hot topic around these parts has to do with the ability of local Virginia wineries to continue to distribute their own wines in the region. It seems that in 2005, a federal judge decided that the VA wineries had to use and pay distributors, as they had an unfair advantage over vintners from other states.
You can read about it, here and here.
When we first purchased this farm, my husband wanted to start a vineyard and winery. We did a lot of research; learned that the topography and altitude was perfect; and took a tour of wineries in the State to learn more.
It seemed to me that the capital outlay would be massive and I was, and still am convinced that grape growing cannot be done organically, so we shelved the idea.
Others in our area have gone ahead, at great expense and labor, to create very nice wineries and steady farm income -- a laudable feat -- only to have the big boot of government come down on them from above. Public opinion seems to be on the side of the farmer/vintners for now, and hopefully, the laws will return to allow self-distribution of Virginia wines. That would promote one solid new agricultural industry in the area and, in effect, protect a lot of agricultural land from development.
------------------------
The second topic getting a lot of attention in the region is the application of “biosolids” (sewer sludge) on cropland. You can read about it here.
It seems that farmers have the right to do this in Virginia, even though in my opinion it is simply a stupid risk to take on food crops. New federal laws regulating the ocean dumping of sewage seem to be pushing corporations and municipalities to try to find new ways of dealing with sewage disposal. This is a big problem throughout the country and I hope that good solutions will eventually be found. In the meantime, I’m wondering if large flower farms might have better use of the stuff than farmers growing food crops and/or cattle forage.
Now, if they figure out a way to make BIOFUEL out of "biosolids" the problem will be solved!
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