Rainbow eggs

Despite the cold temps and short days, the hens have been busy. We get about 20 eggs per day, and I'm a bit biased, but gosh they are pretty. 

Two things

#1- This was the view from the kitchen window on Sunday afternoon. There is more snow on the way now.

#2- Despite not being a big fan of Paul Harvey, this was my favorite Super Bowl commercial.

Keeping warm

Now is the time when we are burning all that wood we cut in the fall. We've had some cold weather and were really plowing through the wood last weekend. This is the current state of the woodshed:

One of the daily chores these days in bringing in wood. This is usually the last chore that Farmer John does in the afternoon. First he will chop the chunks into smaller pieces and load them into the wheelbarrow. 

Next he rolls the load down to the house...

and opens up the backdoor. 

He passes me chunks of wood...

and I fill up the woodbox. 

A full woodbox keeps the fire going throughout the evening, overnight, and throughout the next day. 

It also keeps visiting hounds cozy during their naps. 

Ellie

Ellie is "Uncle" John's big dog. She was having a hard weekend, but able to come out to the farm for a visit on Saturday. She laid in the back of the truck while Uncle John and Farmer John worked on the old bridge. She sat up from time to time, and was happy to get some pats on the head. She passed away early this week. 

Ellie was a steadfast companion whenever Uncle John was working around the farm. Early on, she was happy to romp around the garden and find good (or horrible) things to smell. Then one fateful day, she got "bit" by the electric fence. Poor thing was so scared by that experience, that she wouldn't come out of the truck. She still tagged along on trips to the garden, and was happy to stretch out in the backseat. 

Eventually she got some courage back, and would bound around when Uncle John and Farmer John were far away from the garden and working on a project near the house. I remember hearing a different "clomp, clomp, clomp" on the porch. When I went to the door, there was Ellie, happy to be hanging out on the porches - out of the truck and away from that awful fence. Sometimes she and Coco would play, but being the old dogs that they are, were usually content to just do their own thing. 

We will miss seeing Ellie in the truck and around the house. And I know Uncle John will really miss his buddy in the backseat. You're joining a new pack of farm-dogs now Ellie. We'll think of you running the hills where there are no electric fences to slow you down. 

New Calendar

Several years ago Farmer John and I saw a fantastic calendar on the rack at Tractor Supply. There were plenty of calendars with barns, tractors, horses and various farm scenes. The one that caught my eye was the hilariously-titled "Goats In Trees". 

Well, look what arrived in the mail last week. Thanks Farmer John!

July is probably my favorite photo from the calendar, although they all made me laugh. The only problem with this calendar is that I'm now dreaming about having real goats on the farm, in hopes that they too will climb the trees!

Winter feeding

Over the past few winters Farmer John has fed the cattle in the barn. We did a lot of work to get the barn ready for cattle since it hadn't been used in years. This included cleaning out a lot of junk, fixing the hay bunks, and building a door. 

Feeding in the barn had advantages - it was close to the house, the hay didn't have to be moved very far, and we had good source of manure to compost. But, it had some major disadvantages - our cattle were destructive to parts of the barn, they figured out ways to get out, and sometimes the calves weren't able to eat. 

This year Farmer John has been feeding them up in one of the pastures. It's more work for him, as you'll see, but better for the cattle. 

First, he takes the four-wheeler down to the barn, and loads up six bales of hay. 

Then, he drives it up the lane behind the house and to the top of hill. This lane can get pretty icy because the sun doesn't get to it. Eventually, depending on the weather, he may not be able to get up the hill. 

Once he's in the pasture he finds a spot to spread the bales. Spreading the bales out makes it easier for the cattle to eat, and the calves can get to some of the hay. At this point the cattle know what's going on and they come running. 

Whoever gets there first gets their choice of the hay. Although, there is quite a pecking order with our herd, and the young ones often get pushed out of the way. 

I really miss hearing cattle eating in the barn, it's one of the most peaceful sounds I know. But, this way of feeding is really better for them. With those big shaggy coats, they don't seem to mind being out in the cold. I'm not sure I can say the same for Farmer John!

Six of these things are not like the others

Can you spot who doesn't belong?

Lessons from 2012

We survived our year from hell! Here are a few more lessons learned during 2012: 

• Don't whine - just get the flu shot 
• When you live in the country, be prepared to go without water and/or electricity for a while. 
• We love the NRCS!
• Farm porches are good for parties
• It's going to be wet, dry, and windy and there's not a darn thing we can do about it
• No matter how strong the fence, our cattle will get out
• Progress is messy
• Projects ALWAYS take longer than originally planned and are directly related to Murphy's law
• Our beef is tasty
• "Everything will be alright in the end, so if it is not alright, then it is not yet the end." 
• Finally, most importantly, we have a lot of great friends and family who are willing to offer up their homes, throw a few hay bales, build bathrooms, cut loads of wood, and go running after tractor parts. Thank you!

We are really excited about some big plans for 2013, there will be many more lessons to come. Thanks to everyone for reading the blog and your support through the past year. 

Happy New Year! 

2012 Christmas Card Outtakes

These photos did not make the cut for our annual Christmas Card, you'll see why.

In April the barn door fell off, and it's still laying there.

 Badger only eats grass-fed Scottish Highland beef. He's also very spoiled.

Moving chickens! (They're fine, they like to be upside-down.)

Farmer John's new ride!

Awkward cattle

Coco had to ride with a generator from Illinois to West Virginia. She was not too happy about that situation.

Finally, this is what we look like while riding in a convertible at the beach- no overalls or muck boots to be found!

Guinea rescue

Farmer John dropped me off at the farm after school today before he headed back to town for some errands. It was raining - because it's always raining. I heard a bit of guinea squawking as I went in the house, but that's normal. This was the scene I observed from the kitchen window:

There was a guinea inside the chicken yard. Not a big deal, except that it was panicking. It was running back and forth in front of the fence, to the point where it had made a long muddy rut. It was also making panicked-guinea noises (use your imagination here). There's no telling how long it had been trapped inside the fence, but the rut was pretty deep and the guinea was soaking wet and muddy. During it's entrapment it had forgotten to just...fly!

I decided to try and rescue the pitiful thing before it got dark. Once inside the fence with  the panicked guinea I learned that guineas may be dumb, but boy are they FAST! We did quite a few laps of the chicken coop, in the rain and mud, before I took a break. 

After taking care of the chickens I decided I needed the right tool to finish this job. Farmer John's fishing net is generally the tool of choice for catching poultry around here. However, I couldn't find Farmer John's fishing net, so I grabbed a rake. The guinea and I did a few more laps of the chicken yard, this time in the POURING rain and with the rest of the guineas watching from outside the fence. (Imagine even more squawking) 

Finally I was able to use the rake to catch the guinea against the fence and grab it. Then I set it outside the fence and it ran off to join the rest of its flock. My favorite part was that cow just stood and watched the chaos while chewing her cud. 

The weather (and cat names!)

It's been raining here. And it seems like it's been raining for a very long time. I would like this rain to turn to snow, and Farmer John would just like to see the sun again. I realized just how damp everything is when I went to the woodshed a couple days ago. 

There's mold and mushrooms growing all over the wood! I remember last year when it was so damp that we had some funky purple mold on some of the logs. But, I've never seen mushrooms growing like this before! We have our fingers crossed for drier weather soon. 

Also, thanks to everyone for the name ideas. We decided to stick with the beer theme and the "B" theme. The boy (top) is Barley and the girl (bottom) is Belikin. Of course we've already started to use some nicknames - Swarley and Belly. Thanks for all the comments and fun ideas! 

An update

Yes, we're ok. Don't worry. I've just fallen behind with the blog recently. Here's the update:

I went to Belize for a week! Some friends and I went to visit our friend Anna. Caves, a citrus farm, river swimming, Mayan ruins, snorkeling with sharks and stingrays, and lots and lots of laughter! 

Farmer John took care of the farm. Which included supervising rail installation on the bridge, major clearing and repair of fences after the summer derecho, moving cattle onto new pasture, moving chickens onto their winter spot, and cleaning out the barn in preparation for winter feeding. 

He also acquired two new cats. They are keeping Beast Lite company and I think they'll fit in just fine around here. We don't have names for them yet, any ideas?