Refreshing

Hi folks!

I’m sorry to have not been writing as much as I usually do, but in all honesty I needed a refresh and a break from the noise. The actual noise and the other kind. Cows mooing, roosters screaming, dogs barking, coyotes wailing, the news, and so on.

In my online absence, the farm has continued to offer beef and lamb via our on site farm store ( attached to garage) as well as at the Washburn IGA and now Juneberry on main street in Bayfield. We are thrilled to have their store open and for them to have offered us the opportunity to sell in our hometown.

In the last year our farm focused on our retail products, cut back on laying hens, and started the journey of making our own hay. Wouldn’t you know it, the reason we started making hay was because bales were roughly $60-$90 a bale, plus transportation and our cows eat roughly a bale per day….but when we finally started the arduous process of buying equipment, and trying to find implements that were neither a million bucks or complete garbage, the cost of hay decided to dive to a third of the prior year’s cost.

Our hay journey is farming in a nutshell. Just when you think things will zag, they zig. It’s not just the pigs that have outrun us, but sometimes, it’s the day to day operation with a mind of its own. Much like our sassy mini cows, the best laid plans don’t always cooperate with our visions of success. We now have all of the equipment needed to make hay, super attractive metal junk that we now have to mow around and maintain. Just our luck, this past year it was more cost effective to just buy the stuff and not have to spend time making hay! Oh well, we now have the option and that’s a great security in itself.

As we hit March, we are preparing for lambing season to begin at the end of the month. The prep of ensuring each ewe is healthy in this last trimester, that the barn is stocked with the necessary equipment, bedding, and feed and that I am getting extra sleep now because we sure aren’t going to get any once the babies start coming, sets me on edge and I really won’t relax again until the babies hit grass successfully with their flock, Louise at the helm. There are just over 30 ewes set to lamb, meaning we could have anywhere from 30-90 lambs born. This is set to be a busy couple of months, with no slowing down again until Christmas time. Here we go!

We also have Spring vaccination appointments for most all of the animals, except for the regular cattle herd who is treated in the Fall. Horses, dogs, cats, sheep and mini cows all need a health check and various precautionary measures to ensure that they aren’t going to fall prey to the ticks, bugs and contagious diseases naturally spread by our local wildlife. It’s expensive, but skipping these appointments could be disastrous, making it necessary and potentially a huge cost savings.

Yesterday, the mini cows and bottle calves from the past two years which don’t live with our beef herd were given a vet check and their annual vaccines.

Selfishly, I didn’t want to be the one to poke them with a big needle, so I called in the big guns from Ashland Area vet. We had a good time wrangling the minis, and as expected the only times it got western were with our little brown highland Lucy, and our two year old heifer Maddie who lives with the sheep. The cows all get two pokes, the first one isn’t usually a big deal, it’s the second one that they see coming that sets them off. Lucy was no exception.

The little cows don’t fit in the chute so they’re haltered and boxed in by the humans instead. Not ideal with large sharp horns at play. Our poor lovely vets each got behind a horn on either side of Lucy’s head and wedged her into a corner of her barn stall. Lucy took one poke in the neck, her eye got wild, and she began to lift herself, and her doctors into the air with a ridiculously feral bunny hop maneuver. I decided I was in the way and would leave this to the professionals so I just helplessly begged Lucy to behave herself…moral support and all.

Chaos, the five month old bull calf took his pokes with the saddest face of any of them. When we were done he swished his tail in contempt and stomped at the wall for good measure. He later took a nap and accepted some pets and chin scratches, but he wasn’t a fan. For me though, I can now breathe a sigh of relief knowing that I won’t have my animals showing up sick from some preventable disease. The things that I can control around their health, we do our best to. Giving proper care from the beginning allows them to grow successfully and reach their full potential, whatever that ends up being.

To finally hit refresh, last week Josh and I took Nori to Florida for some much needed family time along the Gulf Coast. We didn’t have to feed dogs, or change litter boxes, make milk replacer for Chaos, feed out round bales, stock the farm store, and so on. We had a blast, but it sounds like the ladies who farm sat for us had more fun. Maybe..

When we asked our farm sitters how things went, all of them seemed to think things went well, but oddly enough, they all had similar experiences with a certain naughty Maddie Moo cow. Apparently she treated all of our poor farm sitters as if they are something to play with, and ended up chasing several out of the sheep pasture. Something we will work on going forward, but keep this in mind when you think that fuzzy little baby animal is too cute to bite or even to tackle you. Maddie is as cute as pie, but dang it if she isn’t 800 pounds and an actual wrecking ball.

As we will be spending lots of time in the barn with the sheep, and Maddie now, we will be working towards improving her personal boundaries and hopefully during the next vacation our cows are all on their best behavior.

Also as a PSA, we’ve had several people in the ditch because they were cow gazing. Hilarious, but dangerous, especially if you end up taking the fence down with you. If you ever want to come see the cows, you can make an appt, or pull up to the farm and park in a safe place. We love visitors to the store or to the animals, we just ask that you stay out of their buildings and remain outside the fences unless a farmer is home to take you around. Our insurance is good, but let’s not test it eh?

As a fun side note, on March 20th at 11:30 I will be at Core giving a presentation about my book, Farming in the Dark. Both local bookstores, as well as our farm store have copies available and I always love to talk about farming, so this event should be a fun time. You do need to register for the event, and I believe lunch is provided as well. Food and books? It’s a win-win

!

info@corecr.org is an email to use if you want to register for the event.

Lastly, as we head into the Summer months our farm is in need of a new sign! Our last sign was made by the late Capt. Dave and finally broke in the wind. We need a sign that is sturdy enough to face the gale force gusts, (maybe metal or wood) we get at the farm, and one that is easily readable as you drive by ( at 25 mph) ha. If you know of anyone who might want to make us one, send them our way!

Fingers crossed for a nice warm spring right around the corner, happy lambs bouncing through the barn soon, and a well behaved Maddie Moo.

See you out here!

Esme, Josh, Nori and the only ewe who doesn’t get bred, Ellie- pictured below.

( she’s special )