Mar
2009
Would you believe we’re still waiting?
March 23rd, 2009 at 07:46 pm by Shari Thomas in Around the Farm, Sheep, WeatherLast week we had spring. This weekend, we had winter again with better than 40mph winds, sleet and a couple inches of snow.
There’s an old wives tale that says a dramatic change in the weather will bring on labor.
Someone forgot to tell our sheep… we’re still waiting.
This morning, Cindy and I took time to really closely observe our gals. We can see the little lambs moving and a couple of the mamas are looking pretty uncomfortable.
I guess we’d better hurry out in the morning when we first get up. I don’t really expect anything overnight.
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Mar
2009
We’re unofficially on “lamb watch”
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:11 am by Shari Thomas in Around the Farm, Sheep, WeatherThe neighbor’s first ewe is due today. She’s been experiencing “water belly” so has been on the sheep version of “bed rest” for the past three weeks.
Clyde and Amber were able to rig up a sling and move her from the pen to the shed and nice comfy straw bed. She’s been eating and drinking just fine… but can’t get up as her mid-section is just too heavy.
Most of the rest of their sheep are due within the next 10 days and our girls follow them.
What does lamb watch mean? read the full story
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Feb
2009
Spring is just around the corner…
February 9th, 2009 at 02:53 pm by Shari Thomas in About Beryl, Around the Farm, Chickens, Family Cow, Horses, Sheep, WeatherOr so we’ve been told.
I don’t know whether Phil saw his shadow or whether that even matters here on the high desert. But, I do know, the weather doesn’t lead me to believe spring is anywhere around the closest corner.
read the rest of the story
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Jan
2009
Snow: Five inches in three hours
January 25th, 2009 at 08:36 pm by Shari Thomas in About Beryl, Around the Farm, Chickens, Dogs, Family Cow, Horses, Sheep, WeatherShortly after dinner, Cindy suggested we feed, even though is was about an hour early. Good thing we went out when we did. The wind was already sustained from the south-southeast at better than 20 mph.
We got the chickens fed, and closed in again (with high winds we keep their door closed), and turned our attention to the rest of the animals. As I tossed a couple flakes of hay into the cow and calf, I couldn’t help but think of the Arnold Palmer Classic Golf Tournament, where they had sustained winds in excess of 30 mph. Talk about golf balls going where you didn’t want them… the hay didn’t exactly land where I wanted it, either.
On to the sheep… C’mon girls, go that way so I can throw the hay over here and miss your woolly coats. You’ve done well this year. Maybe your wool will be worth a little more with less alfalfa tangled in it.
Cindy fed and watered the horses and called our two dogs back to the house. By then, it we spitting rain and we still had to reposition a couple bales of hay at the cow stack. With that done quickly, we stopped by the hen house to gather the eggs and head inside.
Within about 45 minutes, it was snowing… hard! It’s been doing that now for the past three hours. Weatherbug tells me we’re supposed to have five to 10 inches by tomorrow night.
Hmmm, we already have five inches and there’s a lot more storm to come yet. Bev’s not gonna have much fun tomorrow, digging out to go to work, only to have to dig the Senior bus out, too.
We’re even expecting a thunderstorm or two this evening… better known as “Thunder-snow”. Right now it’s 29.5 degrees. The wind had shifted to the northwest about time the snow started. That’s our indication that the front has passed. Never mind the jet stream is going the opposite direction.
I know one thing, the “arctic dogs”… Sarah the Finnish Spitz, and Koda the part Siberian Husky, would rather remain indoors, while our two lab crosses just love the snow. The shepherd… she’s not sure but will go play as long as someone else goes first.
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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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Jan
2009
I was right, it’s cold again
January 10th, 2009 at 08:55 pm by Shari Thomas in About this Site, Around the Farm, WeatherYep, the muddy boot prints are about an inch deep and frozen solid.
We’re seeing nighttime temps around 10 degrees F and daytime about 38 or so. No more 50 degree days ’til March now.
That means we’re going out to feed twice a day, taking care of a few extra chores, like getting down the Christmas lights as the snow recedes from them, and knocking down the last of the untouched hay stacks.
On the Internet front, I’ve got something that really caught me off guard this week. If you used WordPress, you REALLY need to read the rest of this post.
It tells you about a WordPress security issue that most likely affects your blog(s), even if you’ve upgraded to WP 2.7. When I first found out about it, Cindy began keeping her eyes open to see we’d snare a free download. (She belongs to a program where the owner buys software and appropriate rights).
Sure enough, within 48 hours we had our hands on it, and have since gotten it uploaded to our server.
This is so important, I felt it necessary to offer a “Personal Use” edition of the security program. That means you can download it (along with the instruction videos) for simply giving me your name and e-mail. I’ll take good care of them.
If you think you’d like to get the resale rights, then there’s a way to purchase the program from me for less than the price of a bag of feed.
I’ve taken advantage of at least locking each of my blogs part way, and this week, my goal is fully implement all the security and SEO instructions.
If you’d like to see what I say about it at Ask-Us.biz, here’s the link to that post.
Now, back to work…
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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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Jun
2008
Sorry about the absence… been busy!
June 8th, 2008 at 03:05 pm by Shari Thomas in About Beryl, Around the Farm, New LifeJust after lambing, we began to hear that we’d want to kick up a project I’ve been working on for the past year or so. You see, shortly after Bev, Cindy and Mom arrived here in Utah back in 2005, they got wind of a really sweet “local government contract” that could become available at any time.
That’s actually one reason I joined them here. It’s a contract to provide food service for the Senior Citizen Center and Meals on Wheels in the neighboring county. The folks who have the contract now may be retiring by December. At least that’s been the consensus amongst the seniors.
We’d like to have that contract. So I’ve been preparing the full business plan, finding recipes, building menus and costing them out for the past couple of months. It’s quite a task.
Additionally, Bev and I are the relief cooks for the folks who hold the contract and we’ve been asked to fill in for them a couple times this spring, including the past week.
How’s the farm?
The lambs are growing up fast. Tuesday we’ll be loading up the ewe’s and lambs for a short trip to the neighbor’s farm. There, we’ll have the ewe’s sheared and then return home. Then it will be back to the neighbor’s to pick up our ram, who’s been enjoying “ram camp”.
We’ve begun work on the basement. By the time we’re done, we’ll have a full walk-in pantry, enclosed storage for all our extra “stuff”, an office, a family room, and I’ll finally get my own bedroom… No more sleeping on the hide-a-bed in the living room.
We’re also replacing the fascia and soffits starting with the back of the house. The front will wait until next year.
The greenhouse is up and loaded with plants. We built raised boxes for Mom. Now, that was a chore, indeed. As of now, we have tomatoes, egg plant, broccoli, spinach and some herbs planted. Mom also has some flowers waiting for it to stay warm enough at night so they can go to the front yard.
All the tulips have been removed (they’re being relocated), and that area is ready for other plants.
We’ve expanded our outdoor garden patch to include the area in front of the chicken coop. Last fall, we threw some pasture seed out there, but between the birds and the wind, the seeds never had a chance.
This year we’ve planted potatoes, onions and garlic. At least those are fairly “critter-proof”.
Next up will be the “tender” stuff, like carrots, beans, cucumbers, melons and squash. Between the weather and the critters, those crops have been a challenge for us.
Bev and I are going to a “food show” later this week, but hopefully I’ll find time to get new pictures of our little piece of paradise in the desert.
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Dec
2007
Starting my second year in Beryl…
December 12th, 2007 at 02:02 pm by Shari Thomas in Around the Farm, Chickens, Dogs, Horses, New Life, Sheep, Weather, WormsThat’s right, I got here a year ago yesterday. The weather is eerily similar. There’s snow on the ground and we’ll be lucky to get above freezing today.
So, what have I helped get done in the past year?
The first project was to help get the sheep bred. That was the “cross-country hike” in boot-high snow with our two ewes to the neighbor’s farm. Of course we also had “the great sheep roundup”.
Next up, we built the chicken coop and got the little birds… how grateful we are for the fresh eggs. Can’t say we’re totally thrilled with the meat as we let the boys get a few weeks too old. It’s tasty… but chewy.
All winter long, and into the summer I helped with hauling hay, a chore that definitely put my body to the test. We now have enough animals that we can purchase our hay by the ton and get it delivered.
We built raised beds for a vegetable garden. After two years here, the family finally had a few veggies from the garden. Nothing to store away… but at least I’ve shown that it is possible to grow stuff here.
We’ve got the worm bin started. In fact, we’ve got two now. That amounts to about 10k or so worms happily munching their way through shredded paper and fighting for leftovers that don’t go to the chickens.
I raised my first “bummer lamb”. Freezer is still with us. Guess we’ll keep him for company of our ram, “Algernon”.
My suspicions about Chiquita a Polypay sheep that was supposed to be a ewe. “She” had horns, and like to butt whatever was in her sight. About May, her baaa began sounding like she had laryngitis, and got really deep. Our shearer (named “Flip”) confirmed she really was “Bruce”… and away he went… couldn’t produce a lamb, so of no value to us.
In May, we went to see Clinton Anderson “Down Under Horsemanship” and I got the bug… my prayers were answered late in summer when our mentor asked us to keep her yearling, Dakota.
Until the weather turned sour, I’d been training her in the round pen. It will be a couple years before she’s ready to ride, but want her to have solid ground training first.
In November, our ram returned from a visit to a neighboring farm to do his studly stuff. In about a week, he bred each of our girls… oh yes, our mentor had sold us the rest of her black Merino sheep. I am the shepherdess!
So, what about Sarah, the “Spinach Fits”… aka Finnish Spitz?
She’s loving every minute here. I don’t let her get up in the computer chair so she’ not been able to update her blog for a few months. She’s growing quite a crop of fur… even beginning to look like a Finnish Spitz.
She’s learned beds (the one’s belonging to us humans) are for sleeping on… and she wants her half out of the middle. She gets along well with the other dogs, unless they step on her feet… then she creates a real ruckus.
She’s discovered the chickens, sheep, and horses as well as lots of rabbit holes. About once a month, we go out on the acreage and “hunt”. Other than that, she has the run of the big back lot, where she and the other dogs dig, run and wrestle to their hearts’ content.
Most recently, I’ve chosen to get back into network marketing with a company called BookWise. It’s something that makes total sense for folks who live in “the boonies”. You buy books, we donate a portion of the profits to help children learn to read, and get away from abuse.
I would say, I’ve had a most fulfilling and successful year!
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