There's a Full Moon Over Tulsa

I hope that it's shining on you....."

Well, actually it's a waxing gibbous and it's raining and it's NY, but I still love the song. Sold a couple of cows yesterday, very painfully, as one was Alan's old show cow, Bayberry, who has been a fixture here since he was thirteen. We let him choose when or if. She was nearly two years in milk and we just could not get her bred no matter what we tried. She was getting mean and beating up on the other cows.....

It was hard, but so is the economy. The cows that stay behind have to eat and be cared for and every input has tripled in price over the past few years We used to use $200 a ton as the top price we would pay for premium grain. Hah! Them days are gone.

Would be nice to just have kept her forever, but we couldn't. At least beef prices are indeed as crazy-high as word on the street has been saying. A lot of farmers were selling as the line of trucks stretched all around the auction barn and down the road. Reminds me of the stories I was hearing of sale barns down in the drought area a couple of months ago.

Thanks to drought in Texas, and Oklahoma a severe shortage of feed, problems in several South American countries etc. beef may turn out to be in short supply in a bit.

Any road, we are keeping our bull calves and steering them. We are going to be real short of feed ourselves, but for dairy farmers we raise pretty good beef. We are thinking we will sell a bit, retail, USDA inspected, cryovacced, real good stuff. We have in the past and folks have liked it real well.

Got a steer ready to go right now. Anybody interested?

What's Up.....

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 ?