May
2009
Guess we were all on the same page today, when after dinner, we decided to go see about our cow. We hadn’t been over to Clyde and Amber’s since before the weekend. Where does the time go?
So, we piled into the Avalanche for a quick visit.
Clyde met us at the corral as he was just finishing his chores. Now, around here, corral is pronounced “crayall”, and chore is a verb as in “we’ll be over after we chore”.
He proudly announced that our cow is bred. Said he was going to load her and the calf up last Saturday, but when he went to bring the trailer around, she was suddenly “in season”. The bull wasted no time taking care of business.
The bull is a beautiful Beefmaster/Black Angus cross. He’s so laid back, even the granddaughter has been in the pen running the curry comb across his back.
It sounds like we’ll be getting her and the calf home later this week. In the meantime, we’ll load up six bales of hay to help pay a little for her keep and the breeding.
Guess we’ll also be trailering the sheep over to Flip’s this year where he has his big shearing trailer set up. It makes it much easier on everyone to have the sheep sheared under more professional conditions.
In surveying our hay inventory, it appears we’ll just make it to the second cutting. Here are pics of the hay we have left.
Sheep hay
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May
2009
Cow needs to get bred… and the fun begins
May 2nd, 2009 at 08:04 pm by Shari Thomas in Around the Farm, Family CowClyde and Amber came over last night and picked up their ram. We like to use their pickup truck as it sits lower to the ground than ours, and lifting a 250# woolly critter isn’t the easiest thing in the world.
Clyde mentioned he has a young “Beefmaster” bull at his place servicing his girls. Our plan has always been to get our “Sweetie Pie” cow over there… so now, just how is that gonna happen?
She’s pretty food oriented. Suppose we could walk her over with a lead rope and a grain bucket? It’s only half a mile. But wait… she’s pretty food oriented, not sure any of us want to RUN over there.
Oh, and she’s not lead trained, or even halter broken. We don’t even know if she’s ever been roped (since she grew up). She’s half Corriente (Mexican Range Cow) and half Jersey (according to her bill of sale).
Oh, and she has a pretty good set of horns, which she’s not the leat bit bashful about using. Even the baby has learned to get out of her way.
So, what about us sitting on the tailgate of the truck, shaking the grain bucket? Wonder how fast she can run… we could drive pretty fast, but the dirt road is pretty bumpy… not a good choice.
Guess we’ll have to break down and borrow a trailer. You’d think with three horses one of us would be able to “drive” her to the neighbors… but none of us have ever done that, either.
All we know is that we’ve got to get her over there soon.
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Apr
2009
We’re lamb foster parents
April 11th, 2009 at 07:30 pm by Shari Thomas in Around the Farm, Chickens, Family Cow, Horses, Sheep, WeatherWe got a call from our neighbor this morning. They’re overwhelmed with grand-kids and lambs, including four “bummers”. The plea came in early… could you come get this lamb like five minutes ago?
It took us a few hours to get ourselves ready. After all, we awoke to snow/rain, better than a quarter-inch. Feeding was a bit of an adventure. The chickens were the smartest of all. They stayed in their coop.
The cows were a soaking wet mess, even though they had a very good shelter. Some of the ewes had gone into their shelter and others (including the ram) were soaking wet. The horses were taking turns rolling in a pile of wet sand.
Back to the little lamb. She has been totally traumatized by the grand-kids. It appears she has some vision issues and doesn’t suck well. It’s a real chore to get a couple ounces of milk replacement down her. Fortunately, she’s old enough to nibble on hay and seems to drink water.
In the middle of a hail storm, we moved the lamb jug from the lamb pen to our little “patio” in front of the garage, and right outside our back door.
Bev attempted to be first one into the pen to help take the jug apart, but the ram, “Tom”, found her way to interesting for any of us to be comfortable. She quickly scrambled back over the feeder and we waited for Cindy.
Cindy went over the fence while Bev entertained Tom through the safety of the fence, until Cindy started dismantling the jug… Then Tom got way curious. A flake of hay solved the issue.
We hauled all the pieces to the patio while the lamb went exploring. Within a few minutes the lamb was safely inside the jug with a floor of straw, a flake of hay, and a water pan.
We feed every four hours with the exception of through the night. Oh, speaking of feed… it’s bottle time now.
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Feb
2009
Oregon day on the desert
February 23rd, 2009 at 03:15 pm by Shari Thomas in Around the Farm, Chickens, Family Cow, Horses, Sheep, WeatherWow, thought I’d been mysteriously transported back to Oregon. I woke up to a dark, dreary, soggy day on the desert. But I gotta tell you… the air smelled so-o-o-o-o fresh!
As Cindy and I donned our muck boots, hats and coats, went off to feed, it just looked and felt so much like Oregon, where I was raised and lived for over 50 years.
Our livestock aren’t too sure about this rain. The cows are soaking wet, but not minding it. They seem like they’re really getting tired of their mushy pen, though. I try real hard to feed them on the little mound we built.
The sheep have so much wool, they’re clueless. The big thing with them is their last month of pregnancy. I was telling Cindy “lamb watch” begins in about a week.
At first, we’ll be watching for “bagging up”. Some of the older gals should bag up pretty well. The young gals may or may not do the same. Our records indicate the first ewe is due mid-March. Of course, last year, no one was “on time” by my schedule.
I’m just praying we dry out. Right now, the sheep pen is a muddy mess. Even the area we use for lambing is pretty soft. The two things the negatively affect lambing are dampness and wind.
As for the horses, well the other day, they graciously showed me just how they got all that mud on their backs… by rolling in their very sloppy corral!
The new hens have edged their way into the flock. They’re still having discussions with some of the older gals at feeding time, but sharing the nest boxes is no longer an issue. Mom is getting over a dozen eggs a day… Boy is she happy!
I just peeked at the weather forecast and it looks like this weather hangs around for several days. Oh well, if we only have 20 days of the “dark and dreary’s” out of the year, I guess I’ll survive… and know I really live on the desert.
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Feb
2009
Some dogs just never learn
February 14th, 2009 at 09:24 pm by Shari Thomas in Dogs, Family Cow, Horses, Sheep, WeatherWe’ve had another round of snow, about 3 inches. Not enough to shovel, just enough to make it really white and sparkly.
Our old gal, Mindy has been bugging Cindy and me to take her out with us when we go feed. So, most mornings, about the time she thinks we should be going out, she begins to patrol the hallway, the kitchen, both bedrooms until finally we gather our coats, hats, and gloves.
Each morning, it’s game on!
... the rest of the story...
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Jan
2009
An average winter day on the farm
January 22nd, 2009 at 06:32 pm by Shari Thomas in Around the Farm, Chickens, Dogs, Family Cow, Horses, New Life, SheepThought I’d share an average day here at “Four Country Gals”.
With five dogs in the house, morning comes early, as in when the first dog wants out. That’s shortly after 5 AM. Mom gets up, since it’s her dog, Mindy. Then she heads back to bed.
Now, if Mom stays really quiet, the rest of the dogs settle down for another hour or so. About time Mindy wants in, the other dogs want out, so that’s a good time to start the coffee… around 6 AM. Start the coffee doesn’t mean “brew”. It means put the beans in the grinder side.
Brew is as easy as push the button to start the grind/brew cycle, something the next person up gets to do. That’s usually Cindy. She and Mom like to watch the sunrise from the kitchen. At this time of year, that’s about 7 AM.
Bev is up by 7:30 and I follow anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes later. Since Bev leaves the house at 8:30 at least 3 times a week, she gets her morning “computer duties” done first.
I get online shortly after 8:30, first checking e-mail and then proceeding through the overnight stats. By now, the dogs have all been out and back in at least three times before settling in for their morning naps.
Cindy and I both eat breakfast at the computer, with the exception of a weekly “breakfast at the table”. That’s the day we have a hearty farm breakfast. The rest of the time, it’s cold cereal or toast.
About 10 AM it’s time to feed the animals. Why so late? It has to do with the weather, attempting to keep the sheep from lambing in the middle of the night, and our own schedules. We’ve found that if we wait until 10, we’re not in quite such cold temperatures. It takes us about 30 minutes to get the horses, sheep, cows, chickens and wild birds all fed and watered.
Every once in a while, we have to spend a little longer rearranging the hay stacks. If we bring 10 or more bales into close reach, we only have to do that every couple of weeks.
By 11 it’s time to get serious about driving traffic. I have found that I can combine my Entrecard “drops” and Adgitize ad visits. It takes me about an hour to visit 50 blogs, stopping to read fresh content, and also to comment where appropriate.
All the while, I keep an eye on CNN, watching for breaking news.
Every three to five days, I spend time approving Entrecard advertising requests. On a monthly basis, I award credits to random advertisers, so I have to maintain some spreadsheets, which I keep updated regularly.
With six blogs to maintain, my biggest problem isn’t what to write, it’s what to write today. I have chosen to update one blog a day at a minimum. That keeps content fresh, but it also gives me permission not to write in each blog daily.
I guess part of it also has to do with “rewards”. Entrecard gives me 25 credits for new blog posts (maximum 3 per week), and Adgitize provides 100 points for a single daily blog post.
By late afternoon, I’ve typically fleshed the post in my mind. But first… it’s time to feed the animals again. As the sun stays up later, we’ll adjust the feeding schedule to feed about an hour before sunset (in the cool of the evening).
It takes me 15 to 30 minutes to create my blog posts. I edit as I go and use a spell-checker.
Once that is done, I drop some more Entrecards (rarely more than 100), sometimes working from the “inbox” where folks have already visited me, and sometimes just using the toolbar to select random blogs.
By 7:30 I’m ready to quit working and start playing. I keep a paid membership at Pogo, and we also have several games installed on each computer.
Bedtime comes as early as 9 PM. Since we each have TV’s, we tend to watch TV from bed for another hour or so, before quieting down for the night.
Oh, the dogs… they get at least two “last outs”. Mom puts them out and when they come in, they get treats. Bev puts them out before “pills”, and then lets them in for “pills” (only two actually get meds, but all get 1/2 a marshmallow). I put them out last and when they come in, I dispense treats in turn for obedience as in “sit, down, etc”.
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Jan
2009
First time ever… someone else will feed
January 18th, 2009 at 06:12 pm by Shari Thomas in Around the Farm, Day off, Family Cow, Horses, SheepMonday morning, bright and early (as in way before the sun rises), Bev, Cindy and I will be leaving for a day of “play” in Mesquite, NV.
We’re forced to allow Clyde, our neighbor, to feed our animals.
We’ve NEVER all been gone at a time when it was literally impossible to feed our animals. A couple years ago, we all left pretty early a couple of mornings (just before sunrise) to go to a Clinton Anderson Clinic, but then, it was summer and no frozen water buckets, or icy areas to cross.
So, Clyde will feed.
Cindy and I have carefully laid out the feed, measured the chicken mash, and left watering instructions. Clyde may keep all the eggs he finds. That could be none, one, or maybe even six or seven.
We’ll be playing away, and meeting with old Ohio neighbors by the time our chickens, sheep, cows and horses realize we’re not home… That’s unless they wake up at o’dark-thirty when we leave.
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Jan
2009
Curious chickens, growing calf, pregnant sheep, muddy horses…
January 16th, 2009 at 07:12 pm by Shari Thomas in Around the Farm, Chickens, Family Cow, Horses, Sheep, WeatherThe weather was nice enough this morning to spend some time constructing a photo journal of what it looks like in mid-January on the SW Utah desert. Yeah… we have winter.
Curious chickens
Buttercup's growing up
Aren't I cute?
Don't bother me, I'm eating!
Two pregnant yearlings
Dakota, the 3-yr-old filly
Dusty showing off his hay belly
Neche, our oldest gal
We’re still good as far as our hay supply is concerned.
No hay left here.
Nearly 4 tons left for the horses
Over 4 tons left for the sheep.
About 3 tons left for the cows
Lamb and calf bedding straw.
There you have it. Our muddy little farm in the middle of winter, on the SW Utah desert. Those pregnant sheep will begin lambing in mid-March. Sure hope this mud is gone by then.
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Jan
2009
Snow won’t leave… Christmas lights must go
January 13th, 2009 at 04:05 pm by Shari Thomas in Around the Farm, Chickens, Dogs, Family Cow, Horses, Sheep, WeatherToday’s the day. It’s as warm as it’s gonna get (with the wind not howling), so Bev just donned her heavy sweatshirt to head outside and remove the Christmas lights.
Thankfully, all she has to do is find the extension cords (buried under 6 -8 inch snowdrifts, disconnect all the pre-assembled pieces and put the displays back in their boxes until time to put them up next year.
In the mornings, the ground is still frozen at the surface, so feeding the cows, horses, sheep and chickens is quite pleasant, but the evening… well, tonight it will be back to muck boots!
This morning when Cindy and I went out to feed, we took the big black Lab (Mindy) with us. She’s behaving when called again, so the reward is to tag along on the morning chores. She loves to run around and “say hello” to the chickens, the sheep, and the cows. She’ll swing by the horses, but only for a second as she’s right at the broken-down fence line and there are smells to follow.
As we were getting ready to bust ice on the sheep and cow water barrels, Cindy was remarking how I’d left the crow bar too far out of her reach.
I noticed the hose length was missing and asked her what she’d done with it… She watered last evening, I think…
Well, on closer observation, the cows (mama and calf) must have had a party. The hose was in their shelter, and they’d moved the crowbar about four feet north on the panel between them and the sheep. Silly girls!
Just call it never a dull moment at the “Four Country Gals”.
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Dec
2008
Can you spell W-I-N-T-E-R?
December 15th, 2008 at 06:44 pm by Shari Thomas in Around the Farm, Chickens, Family Cow, Horses, Sheep, WeatherFor the past week, we’ve been securing stuff, and making sure all the animals have nice cushy shelters for the inevitable Utah high desert winter.
Here’s what things look like around here as of Friday (Dec 12) afternoon. I finally had time to take pictures.
Sheep shelter with wind wall up (in the background).
Cushy cow digs.
Cows are pretty much okay with cold, and even snow, but wind is really hard on them. Sweetie Pie, the cow has a pretty short coat. Guess that’s part of her “Corriente” genes. Buttercup, the heifer calf is growing a beautiful winter coat. That’s the Herford genes in her.
Cindy and I cleaned the cow pen, shoveling all the manure into a pile for them to climb on. The pile (actually a compost pile) will generate a little heat, so the snow will melt off that area first.
Then, we provided a full bale of nice, soft straw, banking it up the north wall of their shelter. We also added a windbreak (some leftover paneling) that we tied into place. Gotta love the baling twine!
The chickens have always had the best shelter, with the horses having the second-best digs. Last week, Cindy and I got their stalls nice and clean, so they’ll have shelter. The only problem is that there is little to no southern protection for them. Their coats are pretty shaggy and we’ll give them extra alfalfa as it gets colder.
Back in while to show you what winter looks like around here… yes, it has arrived.
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