Sunday Stills...Christmas Lights and Decorations

For more Sunday Stills......and Merry Christmas from Northview!

CBC

Tomorrow. For once I managed to put the map away where I could find it. Gotta charge camera batteries and pile up field guides. Anyone else have the dilemma of which is the best one to drag along? Suggestions as to your favorite?

The boys often give me Amazon gift cards for birthdays and such, so I have a good selection.

Of course I could take them all....but dang they are heavy.

Weather is supposed to be pretty cruddy, windy, cold, not too sunny, but there are sheltered little hidden places we know how to find and that massive flock of snow geese has been seen this week all around the edges of the count circle.

Maybe we will luck out with a few of them or some of the winter finches that seem to be all over the place. Hope so anyhow.

Sleepless, but not in Seattle

I barely slept last night. Way too much coffee late in the day and a sick heifer that really had me worried. Dublin dumped twin 45-day embryos on the floor on her way into the barn, the other night, then went off feed last night, began to act as if she was in intermittent pain, and just wasn't right. 

She was making no manure at all and looked pretty bulgy around the middle regions...although that could have been from munching on the giant round bales they are getting fed outdoors.

Ears were a little cold too.

So, we gave her pink pills...if you have cows you'll know what those are, if you don't, think giant Pepto Bismol tablets....a magnet, and a RumenAider. /

Then I worried about her all night. We would have had the vet for her today if she wasn't a lot better.

I didn't want to even go the barn this morning  and neither did the boss. However, with much trepidation, I fed my kitties and went in to check on her. The massive pile of hay we had fed her was mostly gone. Her water pail was empty. Best of all, behind her was a big pile of just what you expect and hope to see behind a cow in the morning (and if ever you don't it is not good news).

We repeated yesterday's treatment regimen, except for the magnet...one is enough of those...and kept her inside to stay warmer and drier because she still isn't quite 100%. It is my belief that she had hardware disease and the magnet did its job last night.

Either way, her improvement did a lot to brighten my day. Hopefully she continues her path to an uneventful recovery. And if she backslides, we do have a wonderful vet.....

Still Crazy After All These Years

Or should I say, still here after all the craziness. My computer clock says December 21 and no raging Mayans have showed up outside the back door, with feathers and spears...or at least I don't think so. It's still pretty dark and raining fit for an apocalypse. 

However, so far I don't think we are having one.

And Peace at Last

Another day, long and frantic, splintered in unexpected, unplanned for directions. But at the end all is clean, all are fed, all is calm. The babies in the big pen have their own round bale and it was fun to watch them all in a curving row, picking out mouths full and chewing as fast as they could. A new experience for them and they like it.

 Chores done, everyone else is talking in the milk house before heading home, or out to see that special someone, or just over to dinner. Standing all alone, elbows on the rail at the end of the main barn manger, watching them eat. Listening, smelling the hay they are rustling as they grind it with their massive jaws and dinosaur teeth, just sharing a moment of calm with them at the end of the long, crazy day.

This is the essence of farming, when it comes right down to it. The feeding, the caring, the just being with them and watching over them, comes together right now, when the work is done and the peace has come.

The hay smells of dusty summertime, flowers dried among the stems at the peak of their fragrance, sweet grasses, sunshine, clean, warm, breezes, hustling down from Canada, all tied up in bales and stored in the mow, to be fed out in winter and remind us of better times.

The cows smell of cows, and I like the smell of a good, clean, rain-washed, sun-dried cow. On days when we go to the city, which smells of soot and engine and oil, it is always a relief to return to the earthy odors of barn and bovine.

They watch me too between bites, and camaraderie washes over like a wave of comfort.

At times like these it is easy to understand our Lord being born in a stable; even as turmoil swirls and contention rages, it is a peaceful part of our world these days. I expect it was during those earlier tumultuous times as well.

Aiming for Happy

We're supposed to get some sunshine today, which would be most welcome. I am much happier when he puts his face on us and beams down some comfort.  

Meanwhile Becky is off work for a week and she and I will have a fine time together. Last night it ended up that no one was here to put in cows and start chores but her and me. We are kind of looked upon as the weakest link in the chain but by golly, we got 'er done.

The cows crowd through the door as fast as they can to get to their stalls and their grain at feeding time. Think stampede. A couple of them actually canter down the barn alleys. With just two people, getting them locked up safely can be debatable. 

However, Becky went outside the door with a sorting stick and let in just six or seven at a time so we could manage them. Despite that, two ran up in the manger and galloped around...for some reason they have all been full of the devil lately...but we got em caught and got Monday into a different stall as Chickadee was lying half in hers. 

Doesn't sound like much I know but there are around forty of them all wanting to race in at once and all the heifers wanting to sneak in too and they are large and lately crazy as heck. 

Plus a heifer had broken two gates that serve as dividers so she can't step on the milk cows next to her. We didn't see this until we discovered that one was under her, and the other was all smashed up and the cow had it crushed up against her stanchion with her chest crammed up against it so she could eat. We managed to get everything cleaned up without even moving them.

Then just as we were starting to milk alone everybody came home, so although we were a bit late, chores got done pretty well.

I would like to know what has gotten into the cows lately though. If they don't calm down there is going to be coal in their Christmas stockings instead of second cutting.

Semi-auto Rifle

Had it for years. Since I was a teenager in fact. Used it for everything from killing food to taking out varmints that were after our livestock. And target shooting. A lot of that. It is btw a Mohawk 10C .22. 

Not trying to offend anyone by posting this, but there are an awful lot of people who would like to see it and all its ilk outlawed. Next time we have a rabid raccoon come stumbling up the driveway, should we use a stick instead? Frankly I am offended by that concept.

Chaos Anyone?

Got to the barn this morning to find that the wild heifer had broken all the pipes for the sump pump and flooded one el badly. And Chickadee, who was fine last night, eating, standing up, milking, chewing her cud, warm ears etc. was down and can't get up at all. We doctored on her with all we have, but I don't think she will make it. I think she tore a big hip muscle down somehow.

Liz recently made the painful decision to sell her old retired show cow, Mandy, which pinched us all more than a little. She and old Heather were enjoying something very few cows experience, which is to be retired on the farm after their milking days are over. However, Mandy is gigantic. Her backbone is about the same level as my head, the top of my head at that, a really, really big cow. She took to beating on all the other cows and all the heifers and really doing harm...not just a little pushy-shovey as is generally the case, but putting them right down in the mud and pounding the heck out of them.

Liz gave her weeks of chances to cut it out, but she just got worse. Of course the trucker, who generally doesn't come til noon or later, showed up while we were still cleaning up mess, doctoring Chickadee, finishing milking etc. And Beck had to get to her other job.

All in all it was about as crazy a morning as I have ever seen. We just ate breakfast at noon and there is still the flooding to deal with. Then the girls and I will milk alone tonight as the boss will need to go over to the sale barn to make sure that the cows we sell are the ones we get paid for.

Years ago we sent a huge cow...had to weigh 1700 if she weighed a pound...and got a check for a 900-pounder that was on the trailer with her. If the trucker doesn't tag them at your barn the only way to be certain is to go watch. I sure hope night milking goes a little bit smoother!

It's Not Snow

Remember Summer?

For which I am quite grateful, thank you. It is rain however, and lots of it. Bring your buckets and tanks and take away all you would like.....we would be delighted to share. And if you want a special, fortified mud pack....well, I know where you can find plenty.

Gearing up for the Christmas Bird Count this weekend. I will get the map out today. Got the field guides all stacked up already. At least this year I am pretty sure where it is. You would be amazed how easy it is to lose things in this monster of a house.

Or maybe you wouldn't. I found the boy's favorite fleece pants just the other day. They had been missing quite a while. And we found my missing copy of a favorite youth novel just days after Becky bought me a new one...well, not new, but new to us.

We finally, after months of finagling, managed to acquire a jogging stroller for a certain incredible, amazing, spectacular and cute....did I mention cute?.....grandbaby. Now we just have to get it to her. Personally I can't wait, and I think the boss, whose project this was, is even more eager.

It is pretty cool to have baby stuff in the house, I'll tell you. Been a couple decades. Our own most recent baby drives trucks and drills big holes and fills them up and makes more in two hours than I do in a month of writing the Farm Side. With a baby to think about I sure had fun Christmas shopping, for the first time in a very long time. 

And, speaking of the Farm Side, it is ready for its final proofreading and then it's off to the editor. Guess I should get busy.

Birdie Request

If anybody up around the Johnstown, Gloversville, Mayfield area is seeing evening grosbeaks, could you leave me a shout out in the comments?

Pretty please. Christmas bird count is next weekend and I am lusting after some. If they are around at all, maybe a few will stray into our territory.

Click me to embiggen

Thanks!

Even Sundays

The redpolls have found us!

Can be busy, but I missed most of the fun. The girls and the boss milked yesterday letting me have my morning off back.

When they got to the barn they found that Baja had broken out of her stall and spent the night rampaging through the barn breaking other cows stalls and wreaking havoc.

While this had been going on, Chickadee had been having a big bull calf.

They got the clean up and repairs taken care of, all without my participation, which was nice.

The day was an odd one, with lowery purple clouds with yellow pockets hanging low and dripping on everything. All day they were spitting rain and sleet and that other four-letter weather word, which we don't mention around here. Area budgets don't appear to cover road care any more and I guess travel was out-of-proportion-to-the-severity-of-the-storm bad, with side roads and bridges just sheets of ice. Interesting how increasing taxes goes hand in hand with offering fewer services.

The crows spent the whole day cruising low, bombing hawks and raising the devil. There were hundreds of them and frankly, it was pretty darned eerie. Not to mention noisy

Blend, baby, blend, there are 3 here

Evening chores offered us ice-hardened walkways that looked as if they had been sprinkled with tiny diamonds. Very pretty, but it was a day that was good to be done with.

Sunday Stills....Pets

We have lots. The foggy photo is Miss Pumpkin sitting in the sun outside the milkhouse window, taken from inside. And Beck is teaching Gil a few agility moves. He doesn't always get it but when he does.......

For more Sunday Stills.......it is a lot of fun to go visit the many talented photographers who participate in the challenge. You can find their links at the link above. It's been four years now since Linda and Ed began all this. Should you wish to play along just take and post your photos on Sunday and leave your link in the comments on the weekly challenge post. Whether you are a pro or a backyard point and shootist, a good time is had by all every Sunday of the year.

Review

Just some photos from the past few days.

Speechless

I am. Some things are too much to contemplate. Some atrocities too horrible to encompass. 

A Harsh Beauty

After enjoying a few minutes of the meteor shower last night...they were popping right out of Orion......we came in for dinner. I went out again a while before dawn, but it was too hazy to see any more of them. Pretty morning though.

Everything was frost-coated, silver-pearl, every cow was puffing dragon breath, every stove for miles around sent shining pillars of steam straight skyward; not a breath of breeze was stirring.

It was lovely in a cold, bright, hard way, although softened a bit around the edges by frozen fog.

Then Liz came home with the news that she thought Mama Kitty, Caledonia, of the logger kitties, was killed on the road. And she didn't show up for breakfast.

Dang it! I know barn kitties live risky lives, but we feed them all good cat food twice a day and all the milk they want. We live way up on a high hill, far from the road. What on earth sent her so far from safety? Sure was a mood killer.

The Farm Bill and Birds

Not a combination one might normally consider, but there is a correlation. 

Or at least there may be. 

Star

There was a star in the snaggle-toothed spruce last night. Right up in the top branches. it was all bright and mysterious and gorgeous, the frost made it twinkle and shine. I took a good look and went back to sleep. Too cold for stars and all they portend and too cold for me.

The microwave ran amok yesterday, simply turned on and merrily started running when no one was using it. Thankfully Becky and I were right there in the kitchen when it happened and thankfully we have the habit of unplugging such devices when not in use. It will be missed. It was a great, big old thing and you really can't get ones like it any more.

However, our boy went right down to Cobleskill last night and surprised us with a new one. I think the oldie had been on its way out for quite a while, because my coffee was the perfect temperature this morning for the first time in ages. No fanfare, no drama, just whir and beep, and there it was.... Nice. Thanks Al.

Liz is off to the far, far northern corner of the state for her work this morning so she came in and fed calves and gave the extra hay to the fresh cows long before the sun was up this morning. Something else to be thankful for as I won't have to let the cows out in stages so the fresh girls can eat. It will prolly save me half an hour. Thanks Liz.

Beck is home today, which is always welcome. She and I will probably clear off the dining room table, do some long-delayed dusting, and get out the nativity set. My grandma had one just like it when we were kids and how my fingers itched to get a hold of the donkeys and camels and that wonderful little babe and rearrange them all to suit me.

However, it was looky, no touchy, until a couple of decades back when I found the exact same set...well, not the same one, I believe that lives with my aunt, but one just like it anyhow....and now I can arrange it to my heart's content. If all goes well I will get to do so today. Thanks Beck.

So have a good day. Keep warm and stay positive. The frost is on the pumpkins (left over from Liz and Jade's wedding and sitting out in the yard) but there's fire in the wood stove and the sun is coming up over the heifer pasture hill.....time to shift and drift as Alan would say....or maybe in my case, toddle and trip.....

Wow, I'm Banned Too

In Iran that is. I was reading The Gun Blog Blacklist and saw that he is banned and damn proud of it, so I checked around and sure enough I am too.

Made my day. I have no idea how accurate this is, but have fun with it.

Huh

There is so little going on that I have to scratch my head to find something to write about. Which is fine I guess. Who needs excitement anyhow? We do the same thing in the same order every day.

Scotty butt. She is stalled next to Heather now and they match real well

We go to the barn in the morning. The boss grains the cows. We let the ones that stay outside in.

We set up the milkers, feed all the cats, and milk the cows. It is not a whole batch of fun because some of them manage to get themselves dirty whether they are in or out. They would prefer not to have their udders disinfected and washed off in this weather and they make their sentiments felt.

We feed extra hay to the fresh cows. We turn out. We feed everybody. We scrape the floors and the boss sets up the washers. Cows are put up the hill to eat on the wagon. We change gates if the tanker is expected.

Breakfast.

The day work is cleaning stables and other mundane stuff. Maybe the boss gets firewood or runs to Glen for a box of paper towels or we fix something. Yesterday we managed to get the darned window that was opening itself every time the wind blew, raised up to its correct seven feet and nailed shut. House is much warmer. I do book work, which I hate, hate, hate, or write if I have a deadline.

It is busy, but boring in the telling....... Not all that boring in the doing though, actually. There is always some fool kitten climbing around on the milk pipeline catching cobwebs to play with, or that new Amish kitty, Flotsam, who thinks the hay rustling when the cows are actively eating it is a great toy. She is about the size of a ball of Kleenex (same consistency too) but she runs into the manger and grabs the hay right in their mouths and bats it with both paws. Funny as all get out but we are trying not to get too attached to her.

And so it goes....have a good one.Oh, and for drama, Ren ate Liz's camera yesterday. It was a nice Fuji, which I couldn't run, but she sure could. I feel sick for her. Darned dog.

Barreling

Toward the solstice and welcome. If there is any solace in getting older and having the time fly by so fast, it's that the shortening of the days is going by pretty quickly. 

We go to work in the dark at both ends of the day and slog through the mud....I feel guilty having all this unneeded rain while others are so dry. There is no way to share it, but I would if I could.

Mom was worried when I didn't post yesterday. Sorry, getting the Farm Side written early to clear the decks for a busy week. And I was tired. Saturday night took it out of me.

It all started when the fire went out. The wood is too big for me to lift so the boss has been tending it. He asked me to try and get it going again so I was doing that out in the evening dark. Becky was feeding calves. We were the only three here.

I heard him out on the hill in the dark driving cows off the feed wagon. Then he went back out. I didn't think much of it, as Bailey had a new heifer calf out there and I thought he was bringing them down.

But then he didn't come back. I trekked to the cow barn a couple times getting old pallet staves for kindling and asked Becky if she saw him come down.

Nope.

Got the fire going good and decided to go out and help him with Bailey.

The mud is SOOOOOOO deep! It's one step at a time, then drag your boot out of the stuff....it's reluctant to let you go and slurps over every mouthful of delicious barn boot. A few yards will leave you gasping and groaning and there are a lot more than a few yards out there.

I was pooped by the time I got to Bailey, who was half way back on the hill, ringing around in a circle with her calf, all fired up and loaded for bear. It is not good to mess with a mama cow in that mood, especially if you are neither a sprinter nor on good ground.

I gave her plenty of room and looked around for the boss for a while.

Not a sign, but even a big flashlight doesn't do much in fifteen acres of rainy, night-dark gloom. And of course he didn't have one with him even though there are four great big ones and several pocket models on the kitchen counter. I figured maybe I missed him and started the trip back down, only to meet Becky coming up. She hadn't seen him either.

I sent her to check the house and barn again and called the house myself. No answer, no sign of him.

I was really getting worried. Visions of Bailey stomping him and leaving him out there somewhere in the dark and mud skittered around in my head. She was sure riled up about something and she is a great big old cow. I had grim thoughts of calling 911 and getting people with better equipment out there to help us find him. We decided to make a circle around the field together one more time before doing just that.

And then we heard him hollering from way over on the home farm.

When the tale was told we discovered that he had seen the wild heifer, Madison, take off over the back hill outside the pasture and head for the sixty acre lot.....which is way on the back of the farm. Then he heard 4-wheelers start up, saw spot lights, and heard shots. 

So of course he crawled under the pasture fence at the top of the hill and took off running for the back of the farm. And walked ALL the fields looking for them. We have 300 and some acres. It is something like a mile front to back. He covered it all in a ridiculously short amount of time.

Didn't catch them though. He could barely walk the next day. Madison is fine btw. Still hanging around just outside the barnyard but fine. We all went out and got Bailey and the calf the next morning, in daylight, with lots of help....nice heifer by Calbrett HH Champion.

I have GOT to get that man a cell phone.

And get him to carry it.

And charge it.

And not lose it.

I really do.