Monday, August 30, 2010

short and sweet

We're grateful for cooler weather! No photos this week due to trouble with the software. Supposed to rain tomorrow!! Remember Eric's project last week? The cows are now grazing in the paddocks along the driveway. Babies are growing (calves and chicks). All are healthy. 17 days to Fair time!!

Eric's Endeavors ~

Not much going on right now. Planted garlic this weekend for harvest next year. Bought round bales from the neighbor and will be moving those this week. Putting 1/4 acre paddocks up around future garden plots. Cows will be moved to a paddock with a round bale. Once the bale is gone, they'll be moved to another paddock with another bale. This will get the ground ready and save us the trouble of moving all their waste in the spring.

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Monday, August 23, 2010

promotion day

Promotion: to further the growth or progress of.

This weekend the turkeys and chicks were promoted to larger facilities. This grand hotel became the new home for the turkeys. After they learned they had more space above their heads, they began roosting on the water tank and the feed bin. So, today they get an official roost in their pen! With portability in mind, these larger pens are surprisingly easy to move and the design is much more stable than the smaller pens.

The incubator chicks and the La Fleche moved into the turkey's old house. La Fleche is the breed that arrived during the heat of July. Starting with 24, only 6 remain. The tallest on the far right is a La Fleche.


Farm tip for the day: when one cow is all alone in the pasture without any inkling to join the herd, there's much more to the story. "Congratulations, Angus! You have just been promoted to motherhood!!" She calved a healthy bull-calf yesterday morning. Eric and Snow checking on the pair.

Eric's Endeavors ~
Put up electric fencing in 1/4 acre plots along the driveway. The cows have pretty much eaten the available grass in the existing pastures, plus it saves us time mowing.

[click on any photo to enlarge]

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Monday, August 16, 2010

fall green beans

What a wonderful rain yesterday! Natural moisture is always better than running the water meter. Green beans [pictured] and sweet potatoes are looking fantastic! Let's hope the rain and cooler temps inspire the remaining fall crops to a grand fall harvest!

Eric's Endeavors ~
Finally, a weekend of fishing! I lost several big ones because the line was too thin or the swivels were too small. Never did catch a channel cat, but the crappie on the right makes up for it. The crappie on the left is the average size.

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Monday, August 9, 2010

gobble, gobble

Turkeys are much more fun than chickens. Loud, but fun! Anxiously awaiting fresh grass, they just trot right along with the pen. They've actually flown the coop a few times, but are always ready to go back without any trouble. We're starting to see definite turkey characteristics: blue head, snood, and wattle. But who can tell hen from cock? They all look the same right now, so let's hope we start seeing differences soon!!

Remember the eggs we set a few weeks ago? They started hatching Tuesday and we now have 22 chicks running around the brooder pen! The La Fleche are still hanging in there, too.

Lack of rain had us watering the garden several times this month. No more fall crops have been planted yet, either. All the cows take to the shade about 9:30 or 10 in the morning and don't resurface until mid afternoon. They must be part camel because they don't even venture for water.

Apples this week are of an unknown variety, but comparable to a Winesap: crispy & sweet/tart.

Eric's Endeavors ~
The BCS arrived last week. It's so easy to handle and takes very little effort. Using the sickle bar mower, I've been able to mow a walking trail around the entire 80 acres and around the pond.

[click on any photo to enlarge]

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Monday, August 2, 2010

working on the corral

Piece by piece the corral is becoming a reality. Designed with 8' sections, each section has its own purpose.
As the animal comes out of the chute, we have the option of releasing it back to pasture or moving it up the ramp and into the trailer. Eric built the platform to the far left. Paula's brother Michael was here last week to build the ramp and the section just before the chute. He also put feet on the chute so we could move it with the forks on the tractor. Paula's nephew helped a bit, too.
Went out one evening to do chores and found this guy running around. That was a surprise! But it was an even better surprise when we realized he's an Ameraucana because we had no rooster for this breed. Who's ever heard of a stray rooster?

Eric's Endeavors ~
We now have a wide path mowed all the way to the pond. The pond is still full after all the rains and loaded with healthy fish.

[click on any photo to enlarge]

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