On the farm these days?
Birding is a daily delight. The wrens keep things interesting having fits every time we go out on the sitting porch. Alan says they even chase the hummingbirds away. No problem as there is another feeder they can go to. The male sings and sings, which is a great pleasure to me. We have a couple of sets of mockingbirds and their singing is an intense joy as well. The older male is quite a virtuoso, out cardinaling cardinals and surpassing robins at their own game.
Two calves yesterday, a bull from Sedona and a heifer from Consequence. They are both by the bull, Myrik, a Picston Shottle son. We wouldn't have minded using Shottle himself, but he is plumb out of our price range. We got a good deal on the son though from a nice fellow Liz met at Altamont Fair. We already have one yearling heifer already by him out of my ETrain heifer that is pretty nice.
The two new ones are both nearly all white with tons of speckles. I named the heifer Cameo...will try to get some pics at some point.
The guys got the Case 930 running and are using it now. Here is a video we made of it the other night. It is an amazing old thing.
Corn planting is done. The men will resume haying if it stops raining. What is it with all these cold, wet springs anyhow? As soon as June rolls around it starts raining and once it gets going it just won't quit!
Other than that we have been planting garden between the sprinkles and downpours, doing a lot of cooking, eagerly anticipating the advent of strawberry season and just farming along. The wild grape flowers are over and the pestilential, but incredibly sweet, wild roses are in bloom and the valley is as fragrant as a perfume factory. It is time for ice cream and long, sweet twilights and frogs and fledgelings.
June is my favorite month by the way!
Wow, here is a great piece on the recent protest at a National Animal ID System, or NAIS meeting. I am downright thrilled that mainstream farmers and ranchers are getting on board against this ridiculous, costly and downright dangerous program!
And here is more fun from Craigslist....
"Hi,
A local small farm family, recently helping out a larger rescue are taking care of several sheep and llamas. Looking for sponsors and/or donors to help with a new expanded paddock. We will place a plague to honor any sponsors. Can't keep sheep, adopt one of ours - we care, feed, shelter your sheep, yet you can visit whenever you want. Several lambs to choose from now. "
I wonder if you sponsor a pig they will place swine flu.
Still more....you have to watch this! Obama on my Shoulder
And even more (I feel like I should be on Twitter or something today, as many times as I have edited this post.
This is an actual photograph of an actual check we received today for a 96 pound Holstein bull calf. He was healthy, vigorous and well started. Here is an advertisement for less than one pound of beef jerky. Does anyone besides me see something wrong with this ?
Old tractors are nice! I like all of them, just have that delightful bit of history, puttering around doing it's job is so rewarding.
ReplyDeleteGood for you!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
I love it when the good guys unite and common sense prevails.
ReplyDeleteThat video takes me back - I like the high back bucket seat. Seems to me there is some customization goin' on there!;)
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten how the two control arms for the three point rolled around and slapped the blocks on the rear end. We didn't use the three point nearly as much as I imagine you do, so we ran a wire through the pin holes and twisted it up so the dern things wouldn't drive us crazy. Probably too late for that, anyways.
Woohoo! It runs!
ReplyDeleteSummer sounds wonderful up by you! I can just picture all your birds signing their pretty songs.
Gosh I hope they don't place a plague! LOL
ReplyDeleteLess than thirteen bucks for a calf?????
ReplyDeleteAnd fifteen bucks for whatever amount of jerky that was???
Salt must be way up this year!
A plague, LOL!
ReplyDeleteThat check is ridiculous.
Great post all around. Liked everything. Love the sticker!
ReplyDeleteLess than 13 bucks for the bull calf? Shoot, maybe I should forget deer hunting (a NY lic cost me over $250 last year since I'm an out of stater)and just buy a couple of calves. Ridiculous price.
ReplyDeleteGood work on the tractor guys!
Mmm, nice(?) sticker? Guess we know who the real "Boss" on your farm is.
There is so much info in that post my head is reeling (good reeling!). My comments could fill a book, so I'll just say thank you for sharing all that. Where on craigslist was that wierd post?
ReplyDeleteAs for the check, for the record, I would prefer a kick in the bawls with a nice pair of razor wire boots.
ReplyDeleteLinda, they sure are tougher and less complicated than the new ones...less comfy and safe too, but....
ReplyDeleteJan, I hope that Vilsack took notice of how the people truly involved felt.
Jeffro, that is about the fifth seat on the old girl. they discovered that car seats gleaned from the junk yard out perform tractor seats every time.
And lol on the 3-pt hitch arms. I am so used to them I had to go back to the video to see them banging back and forth. They are going to work on our IH 884 next. On that one the arms really bang terribly....shake the whole tractor.
Dani, we are all so darned happy about it.
And it is a fantastic time of year. I get up early just to not miss any of the birds singing and the sky being beautiful.
WR, I laughed so hard when Liz showed it to me.
June, that could be it. That is the cheapest good calf we have ever sold. sometimes a small one won't bring much but this was a nice, big, healthy one...what a rip off!
Rurality, it was good for a rainy day laugh anyhow. lol
And the check is sad...just sad...that is about 1/10 of what that same calf would have been worth even last year at this time.
Yet the supermarket price is no where near proportionately lower.
Lisa, thanks! The sticker has been here longer than I have believe it or not. A lot better glue than they put on inspection stickers these days!
Joated, there are plenty of people who will give you all the Jersey bull calves you want. They get a bill for commission if they send them to the sale. If I were a backyard farmer I would get a few and steer them and raise them for beef. They don't fatten like a beef calf but they will grow some hamburger....
As for the sticker, that was put there in earlier days before the boss and I met. Just shows you how they made glue back in the day! lol
Teri, it was in the Albany Farm and Garden yesterday. Within a very short time they had changed it considerably and even added pictures. I know it was a strange and garbled post, but it was just one of those days when strange things kept happening.
Steve, we were expecting at least twenty. If we had more room we would steer every one of them and raise them for beef. Holstein beef is so good I prefer it to beef breeds. It is very lean, but juicy and tender...I hate it when we are out of beef as we are now and have to buy meat at the store...so greasy and not as close textured. However our barn is packed with heifer calves and we simply have no place to put a lot of bull calves. It is such a shame to sell them for such an absurdly low price.
You know that only people in the industry know you sell bull calves so cheap. The rest of America thinks you are rolling in dough with every critter you sell. Thanks for showing me what is really happening.
ReplyDeleteEarl, it is not a happy thing to go to the grocery store (we are out of beef) and pay two ninety-nine for hamburger.
ReplyDeleteHelp me out, wouldja?
ReplyDeleteTake a look at these CASE attachments and tell me what they are?????
http://aginggratefully.blogspot.com/2009/06/wonder-question-case-farm-equipment.html
Interesting post from beginning to end-but I can not get over the check. I'll be telling everybody I know about that-amazing-and sad for you I know. Actually sad for us all-cause where it the connection in the price I pay?
ReplyDelete