Simply amazing, although not unprecedented. Just before my dear brother was sent to Korea we had a spring like this. Had the fences all built by the end of March with his help and oats planted in early April.
Too wet this spring for much of that, but the boss and I have both spent some time cutting brush out of the pasture fence. I needed some alone time Saturday so I hung the camera case around my neck, grabbed my brush nippers, and headed up the hill. Took a while to get into the swing of things...been feeding with the men all winter long, so you would think I would be in shape, but nipping off rose bushes and honeysuckle takes different muscles than hauling hay on a pitch fork.
Still, I cut all the way to the first creek and didn't get sore at all so I guess I am not too bad off for someone who will officially turn old this summer.
The boss went out while I was doing housework yesterday and cut all the way to the first ravine on the south fence, which is pretty darned good. He came in dripping and shedding sweatshirts though.
You can just see a haze of green on the hillsides and I am so grateful. We are buying all our feed and it is painful in the extreme, what with fuel and grain so high and milk prices free falling. Can't wait until there is enough grass to turn out and I surely want to get the fence back up on the old pasture this year. It is real rough going, but there is usually quite a lot of grass out there.
Can't wait to see the girls arrayed on the hill behind the house like spotted beads on an invisible string....one of my favorite sights of all.
Can't wait for pictures of the girls arrayed...
ReplyDeleteI love to see the cows feeding on pastures. It is so peaceful. The green grass looks nice. We are still brown here and it has turned off bitter cold again. Got down to January temps last night and the night before.
ReplyDeleteStill May is only 6 weeks away and for sure we should have green then.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
Good for you.... Clap, clap, clap! :-)
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of higher grain prices and lower milk prices, have you ever thought about going seasonal? Do you have enough acres you could graze, to make it work? The Stockman's Grassfarmer Journal talks about this a lot.
http://www.stockmangrassfarmer.com/index.php
They will send you one free copy, if you are interested and lots of info on their website too.
Jan, I think they can't wait either. They have been out of the barn every day but around four this winter, thanks to the mild winter, but it is not the same as getting out to pasture.
ReplyDeleteLinda, same here. We are greening up amazingly for this time of year. Hope it stays fairly warm and keeps growing.
JB, it has crossed the radar and would fit our herd. If only the boss liked to build fence more! We would still have to grow winter feed, as you can't really graze dairy cows in winter, but I think it would be a good fit for a small herd like ours.
TC, we've been on a massive cleaning project in the basement and can't tell you how pleasant it is to emerge from that mouse-dropping hole-in-the-ground to read a line as pleasant as that last.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to pictures of those beads.
Cathy, I shudder to think of what it would take to clean our basement...lol
ReplyDeleteOh, I understand. Your basement has been there much longer than my '73 home.
ReplyDeleteWe've been in this house since '76. Yep. I've been tossing things down there for (you do the math) many years.
It got ahead of me. My sis and brother came to help. They are titans of energy and organizational skills.
THEY couldn't believe it. Yep. LOL.