Spring is here!

We have had some pretty warm weather the last few days.  Today it was pretty cold, but I keep saying it will be summer before we know it.  Since the grass is getting greener, the cow's are moving around in the pasture a lot more.  When they are close to the road and hear a big truck go by, they take off running to get away!  It is really funny to see them all run, but unfortunately they are starting to get it used to it. 

Since we are on they way to summer, it is time to start thinking about getting some new friends to add to the collection.  With more friends, comes adding places to put them.  So starts our quest of fixing fences.  We have plenty of land to keep these animals, but a lot of work needs to be done to make sure they can't get away, are sheltered, and watered.  Not only are we thinking about getting new animals, we also have to decide what to do with the ones that we already have.  Of course it would be awesome to keep them forever, since most of them have names.  I know we can't keep them.  The day Whitey, Butterscotch, and Number 42 leave will be heartbreaking to say the least.  We have sold 5 cows so far and have had 1 die.  I keep getting attached to the furry big animals.  Hopefully, the husband will finally learn that I need 2 baby pygmy goats, a mini cow, a llama, and a pig to keep on the farm. 

What kind of truck does a pig drive?

A "pig-up" truck, of course!  Just a little farm humor, since nothing else is really going on around here.  The cows are enjoying their daily feed and doing some grazing on the little bit of green grass showing in their pasture.  It seems they are always ready for some feed, whether they have been fed or not.  Today when I pulled in the driveway, I was greeted by 18 happy cows running down the hill toward me.  Sometimes I wonder if the fence will stop them before my car does!  Unfortunately for them, I was not the one doing the feeding.  Their dad, aka my husband, was not home yet and I was not about to try carrying over 50 lbs of feed up the hill with hungry cows on my heels.  I decided they could wait a few minutes!  Once KC got home, he brought in the mail. Much to my delight my seeds for the garden arrived today.  I had pretty much forgot what I had ordered.  Now if it would just stay warm, I could start planting...

Chick Days

Well, Thursday was the last night of farm college.  That night we were given certificates for completing the classes.  Of course my name was spelled incorrectly.  Lucky for them I filled out the evaluation prior to receiving the certificate.  I figure I will just white out the extra e, frame it, and hang it on my wall.  The next big farm things to look forward to is a 3 night rotational grazing workshop and a small farm tour. 

Now that I have all kinds of information and some farming experience under my belt, you would think that I could make some executive decisions around the farm. No way.  Yesterday on my way home from work the husband asked me to stop at Tractor Supply to pick up some stuff for the cows.  When I walked in the door, I realized it's chick days there.  Oh, I thought about buying two.  I knew that would not go over well.  With tears in my eyes, I decided to go pick out a shirt just because I couldn't get the chicks.  Later I asked the husband if I could have two and what I needed.  He told me if I get them I have to take care of them and figure out was is needed....no help.  How fair is that?   Don't worry, I will have my chicks before long and some pygmy goats and a pig....oh yea a llama too!

Curious Cows

Before having cattle, I would have thought that cows are oblivious and only care about eating grass, chewing cud, drinking water, and pooping.  Much to my surprise, they are intrigued by many things.  If the four- wheeler is sitting in the field with or without me on it, they like to lick the fenders, seat, and handlebars, while also pulling materials out of the box on the back. There is also an old, run down building sitting in their pasture.  It never fails...they are always in it looking for new treasures. Sure the building needs cleaned out and torn down, but the cows should wait for us humans to do it!  The first thing they ever pulled out was an old orange plastic flag.  Once the flag was outside on the ground, all of them surrounded the foreign object checking it out.  What they wanted with it, I have no idea.  Since that time, they have pulled the door off and random things keep appearing outside the building, such as green caution tape and other odd items.  Just today, the husband went to add mineral to the feeder for the rascals and found an empty feeder with only part of a weedeater string laying in the bottom.  Obviously, the string didn't jump in there itself and we didn't put it there.  It could only be the cows...

Getting the Farm Education

During be past two months, the husband and I have been enrolled in Farm College.  Yes, I said Farm College.  It is for new and small farms in Ohio.  Each week we learn about a new aspect of running a farm.  The best part- They provide food, so I don't have to cook!  A coworker and her family is also enrolled, so each week we try to guess what we will be eating that night.  Never did we guess that one night it would be goat stew and leg of lamb.  I have to say, it was quite tasty.  Besides eating good food, we learn about insurance, marketing, raising livestock, growing veggies, taxes, business planning, and resource management.  Since beginning farm college, we have attended a class on timber management.  Last weekend we spent some time in Southern Ohio at a small farm conference and trade show.  Armed with all of this knowlege, I might prove to be quite dangerous in our new venture working on the farm!