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Some days I blog w/o checking for errors - you'll know it when you read it

June 05, 2009 
- Cocoa died.

sold 9 pigs, kept 1... named Harry

June 04, 2009 
- New kid on the block.

got 10 pigs,

June 03, 2009 
- Opened a new pasture.

poly-tank/wine , separated bull from fold, cattle crossed creek, Madison went swimming

June 02, 2009 
- Last day of school.

Got bulk feed from Egg Man 

May 31, 2009 
- Happy birthday Sis.

It's my sister's b-day today.

 
here's a pic of my sister Regins's 9th birthday

Am I this only one out there that hasn't seen this before?  While I was drinking a cup of my morning coffee, I changed the channel on the TV (after Carol left to do her chores).  I stumbled upon the PLGN Channel.  It's the Planet Green Channel, featuring shows on recycling, composting, living off-grid/sustainably and being more environmentally responsible.  On DirecTV, it's channel 286.

I am nearly finished with my temporary fencing project, north of the creek.  I has fencing across the creek and good solid (but temp. fencing) on the short (west) side of the new pasture.  In place, I have a 16' 'poor man's' gate for loading and unloading cattle.  Yesterday, I called around for 1" black poly water line.  I need approx. 1,000 feet of 160psi line to run from the barn to the creek, to water the livestock north of the creek.  Nobody had what I needed.  Even if I bought all that the stores had, combined, I still would not have enough.  That's why I decided to fence a crossing for the creek - if I can't get water line I need in short fashion, the cattle can still get water from the creek.  I have a call to Mike, the manager of our local Runnings Farm store.  Hopefully, he can get me the materials I need for our major fencing project.

Tomorrow, I will finish the new pasture.  I will be going to town to purchase a solar-powered electric fencer and some fence insulators.  Then I will open the gate for the Highlanders to give it a test drive.  If they stay in, the pasture will be good to go and Farmer Mike can bring his cattle to graze for the summer on our newly Certified Organic grassland.

I finished fencing about 8:00PM... man was I hungry.  Waiting for me was some sort of long grain and wild rice & chicken dish.  IT WAS DELICIOUS!  It was a great meal to have after a hard day of fencing.  After chores, Carol made a fresh Strawberry pie with homemade goat ice cream.  It was cold and hit the spot like no other desert could.

this was so good: strawberry pie with homemade goat milk ice cream

May 28, 2009 
- 150 tick-tocs... but hold the tocs please.

We had an appointment at the NRCS office this morning to go over the pasture-grazing plan that a specialist had created for the farm.  The plan and consult was free from the federal government... it's the implementation of the plan which costs the money.  If we did what this guy recommends, we're looking at a $55,283.50 pasture project, creating over 55 acres of pasture.  It is a HUGE undertaking.  This is not a decision we will make right away.  We have until the end of June (the deadline got extended) to make the commitment.  It's an all or nothing type of deal.

I tried to figure out the gender of our calf Cocoa.  When I was in the pasture I caught the calf - it was no easy task.  The calf stays very close to it's mother, LaVerne.  When I wrangled the little one, LaVerne was VERY upset.  She snorted in my direction and she actually growled.  At that moment, the rest of the cattle came to her aid and surrounded me, LaVerne and the calf... I was feeling quite uncomfortable.  Before I retreated from the cattle circle of doom I tried to check if the calf had a little sack or not between it's legs.  I couldn't feel anything.  I'm still thinking it's a heifer. 

I did a little fencing north of the creek - about 3 hours or so.  I'm attempting to reclaim grazing ground that has not been used or maintained in 20+ years.  Needless to say, most of the fencing material is missing or buried and the little bit that is there is tangled in trees and brush.  I spent most of my time finding what I could of the old fence as well as installing some new temporary fencing along the creek.  Before returning back home, I did a quick wood tick check... I had a few crawling up my pant legs.  As I picked them off, I realized there were many more then I could pick off.  I started to flick them... I then then started counting them.  I hit the number of 75 before heading home.

When I got into the house, Carol started to make a fuss.  Her and Madison started picking more ticks off of me.  They counted another 75 or so before Carol told me to get outside and change my clothes - there were jeans hanging on the line.  With the clothesline full of clothes blocking the view of the road, I changed pants (it was one of those mornings where I forgot to wear undies).  After dropping trough, I spent the next 5 minutes picking more ticks off of me.  I paid little attention to the vehicles slowing down and speeding up.  I looked to my left, seeing nothing but clothes hanging.  It wasn't until I put another pair of pants on when I noticed that cars could easily see my bare arse for a good half mile before passing on the other side of the drying clothes.  Oh Sheesh!  It was embarrassing.

I thought some of you may not know what Barbados sheep look like.  Here is a photo of the sheep that Madison and I brought home yesterday.  They are truly beautiful animals.  7 of them are ewes and 1 is a male (sort of).  We will see if Cooper, our Katahdin ram shows any interest in these sexy girl sheep.  If so, we'll expect hair sheep babies in 5-6 months.

our new flock of Barbados hair sheep

May 27, 2009 
- Our 1st calf.

It finally happened... we now have a calf on the farm.  LaVerne had her baby either this morning or last night.  I figured she was close since she removed herself from the herd and she was pawing at the ground, yesterday.  Today, Carol was seen (by me) walking towards the cow lane.  When I looked at where she was heading, I could see LaVerne standing next to a brown object.  I took-off running and it appeared as though Carol wanted to get there first.  We arrived at LaVerne's location about the same time to find a calf laying in the grass, next to the fence line.  The calf was gorgeous.   Carol yelled out, "The calf looks like Cocoa."

Cocoa:  The farm's new Scottish Highlander calf.

We took a quick look to see if the calf was a heifer or a bull.  I was able to lift the leg of the calf while I kept an eye on it's mother.  Carol thought she saw female parts... or should  say the lack of certain male parts, but with LaVerne being upset, we thought we'd leave the calf alone for now.  We're calling the calf a heifer until we see something different.

Mom and Cocoa in the pasture.  LaVerne didn't like us around her new calf.

We had another first.  When Madison was done doing her morning chores, she came into the house carrying a turkey chick.  This was the first turkey hatched on the farm... and it was done naturally - under a turkey hen.

In the early evening hours, Madison and I left for Greenleaf, MN to retrieve some Barbados hair sheep.  We were offered the sheep after the current owner, a gentleman of 70+ yrs of age, could no longer care for them.  When we arrived to the farm, we were greeted by the sheep owner's brother.  It turns out that guy who gave us the sheep couldn't bare to watch the sheep leaving the farm, so he had his brother help us load them into the trailer.  It was a very sad experience... our heart went out to the owner and appreciate the courage it must have taken to surrender the sheep he so dearly loved but could no longer care for.  The experience was bittersweet.

May 25, 2009 
- Land of the lost.

For you sci-fi freaks out there I hope you were all able to take-in the 'Land Of The Lost' marathon on the Sci-Fi Cannel today.  If I remember correctly, the 'Land Of The Lost' show was part of the Krofft Super Show that aired right after school during the 70's.  Poor little Cha-ka.  Whatever happened to Marshal, Will and Holly?  Maybe the Sleestak finally got them.

Farmer Mike brought Madison an organic Ayrshire calf.  We referred some folks over to Mike and they ended up buying all his little bull calves except this runty little fella.  His name is now Chuck White.  The name Chuck comes from the roast that he will provide and the White part of his name come from what Mike called the calf - Whitey.  He's a month old, but easily 4-5 inches shorter than he should be, but he's alert and seems to enjoy eating his hay.

Chuck White - Madison's little Ayrshire bull calf

I worked in the vineyard again today... mostly mowing.  It's a lot easier being out there when we know that some of vines will be producing fruit this year.

Madison lost one of her white ducks today.  Believe it or not, but it drown in a kiddie pool.  A few days back, this duck hurt it's leg... and when a duck gets hurt, they seem to be less active.  And an inactive duck is a dirty duck.  Ducks seem to need to 'play' in water.  They keep their heads, eyes and feathers clean - water is VERY important to duck hygiene.  Back to our duck... because she couldn't make her way to water, her eyes became dirty and she couldn't find food.  Carol tried to keep the duck's eyes clean so she could find the feed.  Carol even place the duck in her own pen with feed and water, but the duck was still doing poorly.  Today, Madison placed the duck in a kiddie pool so she could clean herself.  When Madison returned to the duck after doing some chores, the duck was dead in the pool - her head under water.  We think the drakes found the duck in the pool and tried to breed her... and she drown.  It was very sad.

May 24, 2009 
- Grape clusters.

I did some vineyard maintenance, making sure all the grape vines were inside the grow tubes.  It's time to spray for weeds.  If the spray hits the vines, they're as good as dead.   While in the vineyard I snapped a few pics of the developing grape berry clusters.

a view of what should be a cluster of white wine grapes

Still no rain... we've gone nearly a month with no measurable rain.  It is becoming incredibly dry around here.  The corn is coming up, but not real well.  The oats and wheat still look good.  As they are more of dry weather crops, they are not showing signs of drought yet.  The goat pasture is another story.  The grass is not growing back at all.  For the last week or so, we have closed-off the pasture and started to feed the goats and sheep hay again.  Hopefully, we will get the rain that is forecasted for the next day or so.  I'm sure that we will get some good growth with even a short rain shower.

At the end of the evening we decided to have a small bon fire.  Of course we had s'mores and roasted hotdogs.  It was a nice way to bring the eve to a close.

May 23, 2009 
- Pigmy goats.

We had visitors here in the morning.  It was a young family who we have been in contact with for a few weeks now.  They were interested in our Pigmy goats Hansel & Gretel.  They were waiting for Gretel to have kids, but since she hasn't had her kids yet, they decided to come and get the pair.  They just couldn't wait another day.

Carol spent a few hours in the garden, with cucumbers and melons toping her 'to-do' list.  She also set-up some the soaker hoses.  While she tended to her tasks, I mowed lawn.  We got the place trimmed up and ready for the Holiday.  I later checked the corn in the back 40.  Although it seems to be growing, it remains extremely difficult to find the rows.  Most of the corn is only an 1½" tall.  At least it's growing.  We really haven't have any measurable rain for weeks, it's surprising the crops aren't in dire straights.

For those interested in knowing how our vineyard is doing... well, we have some good news.  Although some of the vine are just waking up, we have others that are blossoming.  That's right, it looks like we will have a few grape vines producing grapes this year.  It was getting too late to take a picture of the blossoms, but we'll get a good photo tomorrow.

May 22, 2009 
- Pigs for sale.

WOW!  These pigs went fast.  We had this last batch of pigs for approx. 24 hours and now all but one are gone.  From time to time, we sell runt pigs for $20/pig.  When we do, they go fast.  About a month ago, we sold some pigs to a guy who lives about 60 miles away from here, today he was back to get 5 more.  After the hogs were loaded into the truck, we had a few minutes to talk.  I asked him why he buys from us and not somebody closer to him, surely there are hog farmers in his area that sells runt pigs.  He told me that, yes, there are quite a few farmers who sell runts and ruptures.  The problem, he told me, is that they are asking $50 for the same size pigs that we sell... so it's worth the drive.  Where else can you save that kind of $$$?  He was the 2nd hog buyer of the day.

Just before leaving the farm, the guy's wife asked about bunnies.  She asked if we sold rabbits.  I said we did and to please wait a moment... Carol is the one she needs to talk to about rabbits.  It turns out, that this gal had a big white rabbit, but the coyotes tore the hutch to pieces, killing her pet.  She wanted another to fill the void.  Her husband got the hogs... she got the bunny she had her eye on.

May 21, 2009 
- Here piggy piggy.

I got a call from Rick, the Program Director of our local Soil & Water Conservation Office.  I wanted to discuss the possibility of putting in a livestock bridge to span the creek that criss-crosses though the farm.  Years past, my dad had his cattle cross the creek by climbing down one bank and up the other side.  Don't get me wrong, many folks pasture their livestock this way, but it does erode the creek banks.  There's got to be a better way.  Rick thought, at the very least, there may be some State/Federal money to help restore the creek bank.  2 hours after our scheduled appointment, I gave Rick a call.  He apologized and we rescheduled our appointment and site survey for Tuesday morning at 10:30.

I quick drove to the Spicer, MN area to look at two 250 gal fuel tanks w/stand.  The stands were in great shape... the best part was the price... only $25 each.  One tank was a gasoline tank - the other was for diesel.  They both had nozzles, hoses and filters in good condition.  These items alone (from 1 tank) are worth more than $50.  Needless to say, I bought both tanks.

Later in the evening, Carol and I went over to the  Egg Man's farm to pick up some runt pigs we've been waiting for weeks to get. Our pickup had been in the shop for a few weeks and now that we have it back we wanted to get a dozen or so hogs to raise and/or sell.  We were able to get 11 pigs... that's better than nothing.

May 19, 2009 
- High winds and record temps.

Hang on Dorothy, we're not in Kansas.  We hit record high temps today... for the 2nd day in a row.  The high for today was 95ºF, which broke the previous record of 91ºF, set in 1975.  We also had extremely high winds with gusts reaching 50+mph.  Early, I wish I had a camera to take a pic of the railroad crossing.  The winds were so strong, the crossing arm broke off, hitting one of the lights... breaking that off as well.  Later that day, coming home, I took this photo of the wind storm, blowing dust across the fields and road ways.

here was the view from the cab of the pickup toady during the dust storm

Minnesota is all about weather extremes.  Thank goodness we don't see a lot of days like this one.

- The pasture guy came out.

I had an appointment at 10:30am this morning with a pasture and grazing specialist.  It's part of the free federal technical assistance provided though our local NRCS office.  According to his paperwork, we have 40 acres that we can use for pasture this year.  His job is to come up with a plan to best utilize the grassland, including, but not limited to, which types of fencing we should use, the best use of paddocks (pasture rotation), water access and soil nutrition.  All this will be balanced with conservation, animal health and organic certification in mind.  I'm hoping we can have some sort of a working plan in the next 3-4 weeks.  I asked this guy what I should be doing in the meantime.  He looked me straight in the eye and told me to set-up a temporary fence on the north side of the creek and get the animals over there.  He said there is so much grazing to be had over there, that it would be a shame to let it go another year w/o making use of it.

- Chicks man.

We've been getting quite a few calls and emails about weather or not Carol is raising her delicious farm raised chickens again this year.  The answer is yes... in fact, we already have the first batch of chicks outside chasing bugs and eating greens.  Here is a pic of a few of the little birds enjoying the outdoors.  From this batch, we should have 50-60 chickens ready for sale towards the end of June.

our meat bird chicks enjoying the sun.  our chickens are all cage-free.

May 18, 2009 
- New spreader.

We retrieved the freebie manure spreader from the grove of some friends.  When I say free, I mean free to me... Carol is the one who has to pay for it.  The agreement on the spreader is that we can have it as long as they get to have some of Carol's garden produce.  I wish we could have gotten the spreader sooner.  Maybe we could have spread some "fertilizer" with it so we could have seen things come full circle.  Oh well.  Maybe next year.

here is our future implement

The spreader floor is rotted out, but it is fixable.  It also needs a pto shaft.  Other than that, she's a real cutie.  Our friends bought this little gem about 25 years ago for approx. $100 at an action sale.  Not a bad trade, huh?  Vegetables for a manure spreader.

May 17, 2009 
- The neighbor's cattle were out.

I got a call from our neighbors.  The first thing he told me was, "Misery loves company."  I immediately know what this meant.  It meant that their cattle were out.  Oh ya... I think it bares mentioning that our cattle were out as well.  I told our neighbor that I was going to tell folks that his cattle caused ours to get out... even though nothing could be farther from the truth.  He said he would return the favor of saying our cattle caused his to roam.  Fair enough.

We became aware that some our cattle were out when a mini-van pulled into the driveway and the driver mentioned that we had a bull out on the road.  UGH!  No time to enjoy my coffee this morning!  Carol and I took off towards the creek ASAP.  We had a bull and 2 heifers out and across the creek.  Once we had them heading back to the place, I told Carol to make sure the gate was open by the barn.  I could do the rest.  The cattle made their way back and once near the barn, they walked right into the pen.  The reason they got our was clearly my fault.  I tried to get 2 days of feeding from a paddock that was meant for one day of grazing.  I grew up with cattle getting out... and I now cringe at just the thought of animals getting out.

We finally got the farm pickup back from the shop.  WOW!  It's nice to know it's here when we need it.  A farm is crippled without some sort of vehicle made for hauling.

The lawn mower we bought for the farm last year, crapped out.  I was mowing when all of a sudden.... BANG!  I saw a chunk of steel fly from the mower, then it quit  Hmmmm.  I must have hit something in the grass.  When I went to get the metal, it was hot... and... it looked like a connecting rod.  I then looked at the mower engine to notice a large hole in the side of it.  This ain't going to start again.

May 16, 2009 
- New sheep.

A couple of days ago, we answered an online ad where a sheep owner felt the need to 'unload' their sheep.  They lacked resources to continue caring for them.  We replied and said we could provide a home for their animals.  For the most part, the sheep were in good shape, nothing we couldn't cope with.  We now have 6 new sheep on the farm - all black except 1.  We believe them to be Icelandic or an Icelandic-cross.  If you are looking for some sheep, give us a shout.  In this new small flock, we have 1 ram, 2 ewes (one w/lamb at side) and 2 wethered yearlings.

With regards to farm sales,  Carol sold a few rabbits.  We also sold 2 of our LaMancha bucklings to a nice family who recently moved to some acreage near Waconia, MN.  Along with the two goats, they bought one of Carol baby chicks to go with the chicks the bought from a farm store.  It will be a bust summer for their kids... one to remember for years to come.

May 15, 2009 
- I bought a plow.

This morning I was scanning online ads.  I found a listing for a 6 bottom.  Farmer Mike has been telling me (since last year) that I need a plow by this fall.  Well, today was the day.  Shortly after seeing the ad, I called Mike and asked him a few questions about what I needed in a plow... in return he told me to ask the owner a few questions.  I then called the number on the ad - I got an answering machine.  Crap!  The first plow I actually had the nerve to call on and nobody answered.  Somebody probably already bought it... oh well.

While Carol was in Willmar with Chas, at the clinic, I decided to check on the cattle, between rain showers.  The paddock I had them is running short, so it was time to move them to the next one.  Being out there also gave me a chance to check on LaVerne, our pregnant cow.  I saw no change from yesterday. 

While I was finishing the move of the cattle, I got a call.  It was the plow guy - I think he said his name was Mike.  He said the plow was available and that when he checked his messages, I was the first call.  I asked my questions and he answered them.  He assured me it was a good plow and it pulled straight.  He was selling it because he is buying a different style of plow.  He also told me it had served him well over the last few years and his neighbor before him.  At the end of the conversation, I told him to hold it for me.  He said he would.  Other than the 4 row planter last fall, the plow was a major purchase for the farm.  Once I find a trailer, I'll go get the plow.  Here is the photo from the ad.

John Deere 3200 6-bottom plow

Carol dropped off another 12 dozen eggs at the Eggman's farm.  He let Carol know that he has lots of runts and ruptured pigs ready for us to sell for him.  And Carol let him know that once we get a pickup on the road, we'll be there.

Later in the afternoon, Carol got a call from an owner of a small flock of sheep that needs to find a home for his sheep.  As we still have good winter hay and growing pasture grasses, we decided to accept these animals onto our farm.  If they are anything like our other sheep, they fit in well.

May 14, 2009 
- Went to NRCS.

It was a paperwork filled day today.  We had an appointment at our local NRCS office to fill out and sign an application for a new Federal program for Certified Organic farming operations and those who are in transition to becoming Certified Organic.  This program allows for cost-share for conservation projects that work with organic farming plans.  Some of the core practices include pasture & forage management, soil/manure management, crop rotation and erosion control.  The process for filling out the application took about an hour.  To learn more about the cost share EQIP-Organic program click here.  If you are at all interested in this program, make sure you get your application filed before May 29, 2009.  There is $50M at stake.

After getting home from running errands and filling out forms, I got a call from Farmer Mike.  He let me know that it was time to run a drag over the farm's corn field.  The practice of dragging corn is vital when growing crops w/o the use of herbicides.  Dragging the soil prevents the emergence of millions of weeds.  Mike says we'll drag the fields one more time before the corn is too tall to do so.  With Mike's tractor and drag, the field work took less than 2 hours... it was quick.

May 11, 2009 
- Let's change the current raw goat/sheep milk law.

Today, I took it upon myself to make a move to change the law.  As some of you know, Carol went to St. Cloud to retrieve the farm's newest addition - a milking Saanen-Nubian Cross doe.  We have had quite a few requests for raw goat milk so we took it upon ourselves to add another doe to our herd of hand milked dairy goats.  With this in mind, I wrote my State Representative, Al Juhnke, who also happens to be the Chair of the Agriculture Finance Committee.  Here is the email/note I sent him.

Mr. Juhnke

I grew up on a dairy farm during the 60's-80's and have seen the systematic destruction of the small family farm due to corporate farming practices, subsidized by out-of-date, state/federal farm incentive programs and aided by institutional marketing practices and mega-contract processing plants that seem to incubate the monthly recalls of what should be "healthy" foods.

I have also seen the ground-swell movement of small and micro-farms enjoying modest success selling direct-to-customer, be they somewhat suppressed in efforts by current laws that thwart the efforts of individuals to choose what is best for their families. These same laws limit the efforts of the small/micro farm to let potential, health conscious customers know what they have for sale.

If health concerns is why these laws are in place to limit off-farm sales, how far does one need to look to see how dangerous our current "highly regulated" food practices are? Nationally distributed meat, fruits and vegetables are seemingly more dangerous now than they have ever been in recent history. Recalls are happening way too frequently, don't you agree?

Locally produced and distributed foods from small/micro producers and/or direct-to-customer farm operations would never have these problems where 100's, 1000's or even millions could get sick or die. These small producers survive on quality and reputation. Word-of-mouth is everything. If a farm produces substandard products, their customer base goes away. If they produce quality, safe foods, the farm succeeds - plain & simple.  Still, most of these types of farms find it hard to succeed.

Now is the time to make selling farm items fair and available to all. We are all free to sell fruits, vegetables and eggs. But not all of us are good at producing these products. Some of us are good are producing milk on a small scale - more specifically goat/sheep milk. Why do we not easily make available these otherwise hard to find milk or milk products? If one searches for raw cow's milk in their area, a person can probably find a producer willing to sell it, by the end of the day. Does the same hold true for goat or sheep milk? No. It is not as widely produced.  We have found that most individuals looking for goat milk use it for making homemade/artisan products (soaps, lotions or cheeses). Do families consume this type of milk raw? Yes they do, but primarily because of health reasons and are often willing to do anything to acquire it. Why is goat/sheep milk limited to the extent of cow's milk?

We call onto you to help make goat and sheep milk sales less restrictive. Is it too much to ask to urge lawmakers to help relax the restrictions concerning the sales and advertising of raw goat/sheep milk... if not for direct human consumption, what about for the purpose of making homemade products like soaps, lotions and cheeses, during these troubling, economic times?  Most of the folks who make these types of products, do so because of allergies to widely available, commercial products.  It shouldn't be so hard to protect ones health.

Thanks so much. We look forward to hearing from you.
Richard & Carol Radtke
320-220-2235
www.CoyoteRidgeFarms.com

Within a few hours, I received this email reply:

Dear Richard and Carol:

Thank you for your thoughtful and well written note.  As the Chair of the Agriculture Finance Committee it especially piqued my interest.

I believe that farming, on any scale, is important.  Agriculture is essential to the economic well being of a vast number of people in this state.  It is also an essential service that can not be overlooked.  I haven't seen legislation that makes goat and sheep milk easier to access on a state level.  That being said, this is something that needs to be examined more closely.  Because, as you stated, this is an area that is often not discussed, I have CCed the Policy Director at the Department of Agriculture to get some more information regarding why there may or may not be barriers.

I appreciate your email and will let you know what I find out.

Sincerely,

Al Juhnke
State Representative

CC: QUINN CHENEY, MDA

Our Representatives listen.  Do they act?  We may never know.  But I'll bet a dollar to a doughnut that if enough of us wrote to those lawmakers in charge, we would see some action.  I urge you to send an email to your State Representative and ask for change concerning raw goat & sheep milk sales.  If you don't know who represents your area of MN, go to District Finder and type in your address.  It will give you the name and email of who you need to contact.

May 10, 2009 
- Happy Mother's Day.

One of the families that stopped in yesterday, stopped in again today to get the rabbit they picked out yesterday.  They didn't bring it home when the were first here because they wanted the bunny tattooed for 4-H.  Carol has a tattooing pen, so she has the ability to do that type of thing.  It's a nice service to have available for our rabbit customers.

After lunch, I tilled the garden, here by the house.  I think for the most part, this is part salad garden and part canning staples.  I think she really enjoys having the ability to walk a few steps out the door and come back minutes later with a basket full of fresh salad fixings, tomatoes and herbs.

Even though the air was a little cool, it was perfect for picking sticks and limbs off the yard.  I even found a little time to do some mowing.  The Allis-Chalmers woke right up from its winter slumber.  I got the roadside is now groomed as is most of the yard.  Shortly there after, I brought the belly mower into the vineyard for some well awaited clean-up.  As I was mowing, I noticed that some of the vines were waking up.  Carol said the table & juice grape vines were leafing last week.  Spring must be here.

A special Mother's Day wish goes out to sisters Tiff & Amber and of course to my/our Mother in Silver City, NM.  Carol is baking a ham for Mother's Day Dinner.  It'll be a good one I'm sure.

May 09, 2009 
- Work in the garden.

It was a short work day, and thank goodness.  With all the field work and planting, I needed a little break.  I worked on the old garden tiller and finally got it running.  I guess it's time to till some garden.  I got Carol's south garden tilled (the garden that will have most of her vine plants - like pumpkin, squash, gourds and melons).  When we had the neighbor's manure spreader here, I put some compost over the whole thing... it worked up beautifully.  Before I was completely done, vehicles started showing up.  We had an egg customer, someone interested in a 4-H rabbit, a gentleman interested in learning about our vineyard and lastly, somebody interested in buying a Highlander bull calve next year.  All these visitors came within a 30-45 minutes... cars were coming and going.  It was kind of fun.

May 08, 2009 
- Done planting corn.

Before going out to plant more corn, I double checked the planter settings - Yep... everything seemed correct.  I then checked the tire size... ah!  The tires are not what was recommended.  I then changed one of the drive sprockets to increase the number of plants per acre, from a setting of 26,600 to 28,000.  6 hours later, I finished the remaining 20 acres.  I used 7 bags of seed.  This is exactly what I was expecting.  It was a feel-good moment. 

When I returned to the house, Carol and Madison had some good news.  They gleefully told me that our bull, Sampson, was "coming of age" as Madison put it.  It seems he mounted one of our red cows.  Carol couldn't tell if it was Hannah or Sammy, but knew it wasn't LaVerne.  Nonetheless, we will have something to look forward to in February of next year.  Now Sampson needs to get busy with the other adult females in his small fold.

May 07, 2009 
- Planting corn.

I called my seed corn guy and was told my organic seed was in.  Cool!  After getting the corn, I made a few last minute adjustments to the old IH 4-row planter that I bought from Neighbor Nick's dad last year.  I think it bares mentioning that I felt the need to call Farmer Mike for some last minute words of advise and encouragement.  With a few verbal pats on the back, he let me know I would do OK.  If in doubt, I could call him and he'd come over.

The first couple rounds of planting were my adjustment rounds.  I checked the seed depth, made sure seed was dropping and just got the hang of things.  I had a few minor problems, but nothing that I couldn't quickly resolve.  By dusk, I had planted approx. 20 acres, in 6 hrs, and realized I wasn't using the amount of seeds I was expecting.  Hmmm.  I'll have to look into this tomorrow morning before going out again. 

While I was busy in the fields, Carol moved her waterfowl into one of our empty barn pens.  She hasn't had them very long, but they seem to be growing fast.  Here's a pic of her babies.

I don't think the chicken and the adult duck are suppose to be there.

Carol was also dealing on a Saanen-Nubian Cross dairy goat.  Somehow she learned about a gal who was selling some of her herd.  After chatting, Carol and the goat owner agreed on a doe and the price.  I guess the farm will have a new goat on Monday.  The good news is that this milking doe is already producing, giving approx. 1½ gal/day.  WOW!  That's a nice amount.  We have folks waiting to buy our farm's raw goat milk... I'm sure they will be rexcited to hear that we will have milk available earlier that expected.

Speaking of raw milk, Carol now has about a ½ gal of sheep milk - frozen, waiting to made into homemade sheep soap.  Sheep & goat soap is considered the mildest of soaps with great moisturizing properties.  We should be able to make approx. 48-50 bars with the sheep milk we have already saved.

May 06, 2009 
- The smell of $$$.

With the necessary equipment lined-up, I started cleaning away the piles of manure for the soon-to-be corn field.  Yesterday, the loader tractor was the wrong farm machine to move manure... the skid loader on the other hand worked perfectly.  The bucket was small and the way the loader is set-up, it is very agile in tight spaces.  I think it took longer to drive to the field than it did to load the borrowed manure spreader.  WOW!  I GOTTA GET ME SOME OF THESE!  A manure spreader and skid loader - what a match made in heaven.  In just a few hours, I was able to bring a dozen or so loads out the field.  I'm not sure what kind of difference it will make for this year's corn crop, but I felt as though I was adding value to this fall's harvest.  Some of the crap loads didn't smell so great, after sitting all winter, but I do believe I could smell money in some of the trips I made.   It smelled good.  LOL.

After I brought the manure spreader back to the neighbor, I decided to clean the floor of the old hog barn.  A year ago, last winter, we put fire to the rotting/collapsing building and had yet to clean the debris away.  With the floor cleaned, the barn foundation started to show a little potential - more about that another day.

As I was finishing up with the skid loader work, the folks that were here for the gravel also finished their hauling.  I think they must have gotten about 10-12 loads of gravel and we now had about the same amount in the yard, waiting to leveled.  But that will have to wait.  I had 40 acres of corn ground, with newly applied manure on it, that needed to be worked.  While I was digging the ground, it was a pleasure to see that we had manure from this farm - produced be our animals, on the fields, waiting to fertilize our crops.  There were so many "firsts" in this single process of readying the fields for this year's crops.  And to top it off, this is the first year of farming.

I finished working the field after nightfall.  That was about the same time my sister started loading the skid loader onto the trailer to bring back to the other farm.  Man, the stuff I could get done with a skid loader here.

May 05, 2009 
- Time to haul manure?

Yesterday and today, I worked on an old Ford pickup that was sitting in the pasture at my grandparent's old place.  It's a dual fuel truck - gasoline & LP.  I finally got it running - not real well, but it was running.  I decided to drive it home, where I could continue to work on it.  Shortly after getting the truck onto the highway it started to spit and sputter... a few seconds later it died.  I quick gave Carol a call, telling her to grab the van and get to where I was.  I wanted to get the truck off the road before a law officer came along.  From past experience, most of the deputies don't like seeing unlicensed and uninsured vehicles on America's roadways.  Whatever the case, we got the pick-up towed and onto the farm.  I could get the truck started, but it wouldn't stay running.

We also had family friends stop over for gravel.  The farm has a small gravel pit and since were just a few miles from them, it seemed perfect.  Our gravel isn't the best in the world, but being so close, the savings in gas more than makes up for the shortcomings in quality.  They wanted to buy it but we wanted to barter.  For every load they took, they dropped off a load in the yard.  We have an area that needed some fill, so the arrangement worked very well.  I think they got about half done with what they wanted to accomplish.  They'll be back tomorrow.

I was able to borrow a manure spreader for our good neighbor to the north of us.  I had a corn field that needed to be dug again before being planted. I wanted to get some manure on the field working it and since fall, we piled the animal waste outside the barn.  Today was the day we would start clearing the pile and spreading it on to the fields.  I tried loading the manure with the old loader tractor we have, but that didn't work well.  The bucket was to large to cut into the piles, that sucked... OK... I need a plan 'B'.  So, I asked to use a skid loader that was my sister has been using since Dad died.  It was half my dad's and half my sister's, but have never been able to use it for whatever reason.  Well, today I needed it badly and I let my sister know this.  I must have made my point because at the end of the conversation she offered to haul it for me.  I'm glad she did, because the skid loader is slow and it would have taken me about 45 minutes to make the 2+ mile trip.

With the skid loader at the place, I was ready to spread crap on the acreage tomorrow.  I hope it will be a productive day.

May 03, 2009 
- Home alone.

With Carol and Madison at a State 4-H Rabbit Show and Austin at work, I had the farm to myself.

After chores, the first project on my list was to finish putting the hot-wire on the inside of the small goat/sheep pasture.  It seems that this years babies don't have the respect for the fence like their mamas.  They simply walk through the strands of barbed wire (the grass is greener on the other side of the fence... I guess).  Now, with the hot wire in place, the escapees are reduced to Zero, Zip and/or Nadda.

What did I have for lunch?  The same as any man left home alone - leftovers.  My lunch was fit for a king though... a hot BBQ pork sandwich and a beer.

I then fed our 5 remaining bottle babies.... then I did a little stump pulling - just like Pa of Little House On The Prairie (if he had access to 56 hp tractor).  I did my share of digging and chopping.  The stumps pulled easily once the most of the dirt was dug out and the main, thick roots were disconnected from the stump.  I removed 3 stumps total.

Daisy, our Suffolk sheep did quite good tonight.  Carol said that Madison got nearly 4 cups of milk from our new mom.  We milk her only at night, letting the lamb nurse the rest of the time.

May 02, 2009 
- Milking sheep.

This morning, I finished helping Farmer Mike with his plowed ground.  Since his plow was out of commission, I lent a hand.  It didn't take long before I was heading home again.  Then time to go over the corn ground here.  While I was in the field, Carol and the kids were in the garden, finishing the planting of the potatoes.

I also put away the old diggers/field cultivators that were sitting out.  I moved them behind the grove.  They'll be there until next fall.  I put the disk in the same general area.  The place looks so much more organized.

Tonight, we tried something I never thought we'd do.  We milked Daisy, our sheep.  When I say we, I mean Carol & Madison.  As far as we know, Daisy has never lambed, much less been milked before.  We feel she did pretty well for the first time on the milk-stand.  Getting her on the stand was the hard part.  We had to lift her to get her on... and she's a big girl... it wasn't easy.  I think she gave 3 cups of milk.

May 01, 2009 
- May day.

Carol noticed our 2nd ewe was acting a little weird last night and sure enough, she was in labor today.  We were in the barn when Farmer Mike showed up to claim his tractor and seed drill.  While I was helping Mike tear-down the drill, getting it ready to be towed, Daisy gave birth.

Carol had to pull the lambs - one ram - one ewe.  The ewe lamb came out correctly, but the ram came out backwards.  In most cases, the lungs will be filled with fluid and the lungs need to be drained.  More times than not, the lamb dies regardless what one does.  I walked into the barn, shortly after the ram was born.  Carol was covered in blood and crying of over the loss.  She said the ram lamb went lifeless less than a minute before I stopped in.  So... without hesitation, I started giving the little guy mouth-to-mouth.  At first, I couldn't get air into its mouth, but with a little more effort his little body inflated and deflated.  Unfortunately, I was unable to save him.  It was a bittersweet day.

After the lambing problems, I took the farm's tractor and disk over to Mike's farm for a little field work.  He had some plowed ground that needed to be disked before it could be dug and I was the the guy with the disk in the best shape.  Mike's disk had a seize bearing, so that was a no-go.  I was more than happy to help Mike out.  He helps us whenever he can, so this is just one way I can give back.  I didn't get done, so I'll have to go back to Mike tomorrow morning.

April 30, 2009 
- KSAX-TV news.

Kaylin Karsin of KSAX-TV Eyewitness News finally arranged for us to get a digital copy of the Easter Farm sales news story that featured Carol, Madison and a few of the farm's animals.  Here it is.  This is the same piece that aired on Good Friday at 5PM & 10PM.

Enjoy!