Price Takers, Not Makers

Here is an excellent article on the ongoing loss of large numbers of dairy farms, with some interesting suggestions for solving the problem.

And here is a story about one particular farm selling out.

The Incredible Sweater

Check out this amazing accomplishment by a farm kid. A lot of kids would just swipe a credit card through a reader at the mall when they needed or wanted a new sweater. This young lady has a much deeper understanding of how things happen.

Hallelujah Chorus in a Food Court

Thanks to Rev. Paul for this delightful video. Do watch and listen....you will be glad you did. An watch the shoppers....

Cold Dawn

Bur cucumber skeleton....they are a nuisance like kudzu, but interesting just the same.

The colors are not so very unlike June...pink...gold...faded blue and a little green where the lawn grass grows or the pasture is nibbled short. All as if muted by distance, far away from the hot, red tongue of sun, which would light them up bright and strong if it was summer. Softened by frost, silenced by summer's end. Bird calls are thin but bright. No dawn chorus when I go out to the stove. Just the roosters crowing, a chickadee waking up in the hedgerow.....a far away cardinal chinking but not singing. Even the crows are absent, not a goose is stirring down on the river. It is about as peaceful as it ever gets during this soft prelude to the day time.

November has its moments.

The holiday has left us with a pile of bookwork and barn work and household choring for the day so here are some fine reads from my favorite bloggers.

First a happy birthday wish to one of my most favoritest blog friend....Cathy at Looking Up

My kind of poetry about winter, from Linda at Just Another Day on the Prairie.

More poetry about the season from my first ever blog friend, Rosemoon at Moonmeadow Farm

Because this is a dairy blog, a daily must read on dairy John Bunting's Dairy Journal

Just in case you think the weather is a challenge here, a bit about daily life in South Dakota. If you farm or ranch you have mornings like this....but that doesn't make them fun.

Plus a blimp

Your morning laughs, just to get your heart pumping.

Something different but beautiful.

And mice, but cute ones

And there you have it. Now off to the barn to see what mayhem the girls and boys have thought up for us in the night. (We hoped that when we shipped the steer from Hell that the whole broken water bowl/flooded mangers thing would be given a rest...not so much, alas.)

Sunday Stills.....Self Pics

Didn't want to do this one, not one little bit. Hate having my picture taken, hate it, hate it, hate it.

However, it is done. The top one was taken back when I was thirtyish, on the late, great, Magnum. Bottom one taken Friday, by Becky, showing a Sunday chair moment....seemed appropriate for Sunday Stills and all. Please note the Peltor ear muffs, greatest marriage saver in the world.

For more suffering by Sunday Stills participants, go here......

Birds and Deers

Alan's best friend is home from college on break, so they have been doing some hunting together. Today they hunted here and the friend got his first buck and a skipper (antler-less deer). We were really happy for him.

Wednesday they were hunting here and, although they didn't get a deer that day, they had an amazing experience. They were sitting in Alan's two-man tree stand watching a flock of turkeys when suddenly the birds alerted. Alan thought he spooked them and asked his friend what he had done to scare them. His friend didn't think he had moved at all. The turkeys hurried over to the T-field, which is adjacent to the cow pasture where the tree stand is. Both boys were watching them through their rifle scopes, just taking pleasure in observing them, when suddenly, from out of nowhere, came the real cause of the spooking incident.

Dunno what the attraction is with the dog house,

but the hens crowd into it all the time. There are four hens and a rooster in there at one point.

A bald eagle on locked wings hit the flock from behind, scattering them in every direction. The point of potential impact was out of sight behind a knoll, so they didn't actually see the eagle hit the turkeys. However, it didn't fly up while they were there, so it probably got one. Not what I would have expected to be its normal prey, but what an opportunity for the boys. Eagles are still not very common here...still an event to see one, let alone one hunting right here on the farm.

****Speaking of eagles, big birds and all, here is a really interesting story courtesy of my friend, Elaine Shein. Years ago, when the boss's mom was still with us, we saw the most staggering flight of geese imaginable. They went over the barn from east to west, a wide band of them that filled the sky overhead, maybe fifty geese wide, from horizon to horizon.

There were no distinct Vs or anything, just thousands and thousands and thousands of birds. Maybe a third snows and the rest Canadas. We heard them going over, over the noise of the milk pump, which was indoors then and very loud. We all went out and stood in the barnyard watching them pass in awe....I can't describe the sensation of seeing that many geese....it had to have taken ten minutes for them to pass. We have certainly never forgotten it. Wish I was out there today on the great flyway seeing all those birds out there.

Black Friday...Rain Again

Just so you know...this is NOT today...I only wish it was

It is so gloomy that there really is no sunrise...just a sort of easing from glowing dark to dripping dawn. Dog and cat chores are done, barn awaits. Liz got her hand wrecked by a calf last night. Don't know how much she will be able to do today.... It was really black and blue and her knuckles were swelling pretty badly after chores.

Alan has a deer hunting thing going on here today...the boss decided to let some folks come hunt with him on our usually closed property. Hope that goes well and that they maybe get a deer or two. Hope also that the weather comes around a bit for him. At least it isn't freezing rain as was predicted.

Thanksgiving was great....a traditional feast in the manner of Grandma Lachmayer and the Allied Union (you who were members will understand.) Not quite as many folks around the table, but the spirit was there. Liz and I cooked for two days (while doing herd health and chores, which was an interesting feat) but now we won't have to cook for at least a couple more. I have to debate the whole turkey pot pie thing. I love to make it, but Alan doesn't like it....however, everyone else does....hmmm.....

Other than that, just a regular day here at Northview. The closest we will come to the shopping Juggernaut thundering across the rest of the world is me doing a little bookkeeping and paying a few bills. And that is plumb close enough. My mind simply boggles at the folks who have been standing in line...some for over a week...just to get stuff. And when they get done and they have the stuff, then what? I don't get it. I may not have all the latest, hottest stuff, but I do have a life.

Can't see wasting any of it in mindless pursuit of stuff like that.

***Jan at Poodle and Dog Blog has a dog story that will touch your heart....really worth a read.

Thankful

For more than I could list here, for friends and family like you all, for cows, and border collies, and turkey, and dressing and pickles and gravy.......and cranberries!

What with all the "thank a farmer" messages circulating on Facebook this week I thought it would be fun to actually thank one of the farmers who made our wonderful Thanksgiving meal possible. So here is a link, and I sent them an email to say thanks as well.

Thank you Habelman Family Farm for growing the red, tangy cranberries for our homemade cranberry sauce. From our farm to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!

I also am thankful for all the truckers, those still out on the road today and those who are lucky enough to have made it home for the holiday, who helped make our meal possible. Since we have had a trucker close to our family we have begun to have an idea of what they go through to move our goods from place to place.

Chrome

What do you name the new calf from the Mandy family...the one that is long and black, with bright, white stockings up to here? Yeah, Chrome.

Gratuitous barn cat...Tux again

Our two days before Thanksgiving present from Neon Moon, a Fustead Emory Blitz daughter out of Mandy. Chrome is sired by one

of our herd bulls, Keeneland Astre Pat, K-Pat for short. Sorry to be so slow to post, but between the holidays (Thanksgiving and deer season) the cows, herd health, shipping the steer etc. time has been one thing that is in short supply. Hope everyone has a wonderful day tomorrow and thank you all for your kind words!

Yesterday

Was a medley of milk inspector, friends bringing things, Amishmen reporting poachers hunters who were trespassing tearing up a hay field with a 4-wheel drive, confronting the darned thugs, who have been confronted here before....next time the police get called...cows stuck in places where they don't belong...well, just one cow, but it was a big rescue project..... Cows out, cows in, feeding, milking, choring, bringing a little Thanksgiving to some family members who will enjoy it, and a small buck harvested for winter dining. Not to mention three roosters supplied for the same purpose, but placed up in the small chicken house for now.

Yeah, it's a wonder the door hinges didn't give up under the strain.

Today we ship the mean steer. Not looking forward to that, but it has to be done. Then writing the Farm Side, hopefully, and more getting ready for Thanksgiving...oh, yeah, Liz and I cleaned the fridge yesterday too and finally turned those Brussels sprouts into food.

Tomorrow, early hunting by Alan and friend and herd health. And cooking. And cleaning Thursday the dinner along with the usual chores and milking and a small prayer for nothing untoward.

Friday entertaining some hunters who take Alan hunting at their place every year. Saturday, who knows? Sunday...I hear that chair calling my name. Whoever called this a holiday week sure had a strange sense of humor.

May I Moon You Again?

Bears and Deers and Turkeys, Oh, My

There was a Department of Environmental Conservation check point up on the hill yesterday. In attendance were an assortment of deer on cars, deer that had been removed from cars, whether to confiscate them or age them or check them for something we have no idea, and the largest bear either of our folks had ever seen, hanging off both sides of another car.

And there were officers of the game laws.

Those officers signaled a certain someone to stop and roll down the window in the Durango.

And asked, "Do you have any deer in there?"

Our hero answered, "No sir, but I do have two turkeys."

The officer perked right up and inquired firmly, "And when and where did you get them?"

And Mr. Wise Guy announced proudly, "Just a few minutes ago in the freezer case at Hannaford."

See, Smarty Pants had been doing the Thanksgiving shopping with Becky.

Me, I don't make wise remarks to men with guns, but the boss just doesn't share my discretion.

The officer admitted, "I should have seen that one coming," and waved them on.

There were actually THREE turkeys in the car but only two were frozen......

***and I do know that the plural of deer is not deers...just a little local joke

Sunday Stills...High Tech, Low Tech

This was an interesting challenge. We had dozens of ideas, the hay rakes next to an antique wooden hand one we have, the manure fork next to the spreader (abandoned for aesthetic reasons), and many others. However when this one sprang to mind, I knew it was the right one. Above find Barbossa, a bull. Admittedly a very small bull, a milking shorthorn/Holstein cross, but a genuine pure-D bull.

The tote he is checking out is the boss's AI kit. We do use bulls now and then, but for the most part it is the yellow tote that gets the job done today.

So, you have your high tech, AI, and your low tech, all-natural, old-fashioned ways to keep your cows milking and earning you money (at least in theory.)

***You will have to excuse the not so great quality of the shot. Barbossa was not very eager to be photographed and it is kinda dark in that part of the barn. The gratuitous cat is Tux, who hates to miss anything.

For more Sunday Stills.....

Where the Air Smelled Like Snakes

Well, actually it smells like snow. The forecast isn't calling for much, but the wind yesterday blew in something different in the seasonal scheme of things.

It looks like November.

It feels like November.

And it smells like November.

Guess it must indeed be November. We are holding good thoughts for a safe opening day and the rest of the season, for good weather to the west of us so friends in other states can get their corn harvested, a good herd health next week, and a fulfilling and happy Thanksgiving for everyone.

What are you hoping for this fall?

Dairy and Fruit Walmart's Strongest Categories

Read about it here. Glad someone is making money on milk.

Farmin' in November

Cows are sleeping in the barn nights now...they let us know when they are ready. Much easier to milk and feed, but the stable now must be cleaned more often. No new calves this week, but Neon Moon is on any day now status.

Still a few loads of hay out there, but the rain just keeps coming. If it rains two or three days every single week the fields are a morass and you can't drive in them. Would sure like to have the boss chop up the last of the sorghum too. What's left is too mature to make good feed, but it packs in nice as bedding. Can't get that either for the same reason.

Wood is being cut and collected. And a deal being made to have a man bring a bull dozer in to pull trees up out of the woods. A lot easier on the tractor, which was never made for that job. Alan is thinking of getting to work on the big dump truck and using that to haul wood...if he ever has time.

Bookkeeping goes on apace and I am sick of that I can tell you. Swore I would NEVER keep books. Now I have to enter stuff on two checkbooks and chart accounts and tear my hair. That is what I did all day yesterday. At least it is warm indoors.

Elvis is fattening up and looking like himself again. During his sojourn on the loose he lost about twelve pounds. I would say he has gained back nine or ten. He and Simon are not friends yet, which is interesting.... to put a happy spin on the situation.

And Nick, indoors for the winter, reminds me daily of why I like border collies. He is a grand old dog, and I would love him if he did nothing but hoover up all the scraps that fall.....but he does much more.

And there you have it...all the news that's fit to print.

Have a good one.

Oh, and here's a headline for you. Fonterra Hopes to Pay Dairy Farmers More to Cover Input Costs. Doesn't that sound grand?

Too bad they are talking about farmers in New Zealand.

I have been writing about it less, because it is a pretty discouraging refrain, but farms are going out at an awful rate. A big show herd that has been around about forever sold their cows and is selling the machinery this weekend. Not people that would quit if they could make a living, but.......

My Cannon

I have always wanted one...along with a tank, if I get really lucky. This is the season when that situation becomes most acute.

Southern zone deer season opens Saturday.

I love venison. We lived on it last winter, along with a couple geese and turkeys....My family has always hunted, harvesting a few of the many wild animals that graze our ground.

However, yesterday I was jumpy all day with the sounds of big guns booming all around us. I truly hope they are just sighting them in and not getting a jump on the season, but most years we find parts of carcasses way before it is legal to take them. The boss went up yesterday and took a look around and didn't see anybody, but the sneaky ones wear full cammo and you can't see them.

I have always wanted to set a cannon right on the front lawn facing down the driveway.... And I want the tank to safely chase down all the damn fools who ignore our posted signs and shoot everything that moves, the whole, it's brown, it's down philosophy.... Saturday the brown cows will have to stay in the barn. Last year Moments lost her calf to hunters peppering her, now she has finally had one and is milking great. We want to keep it that way.

I often receive lectures from hunters on other blogs about the honorable safe hunters. Yes, I know they are out there, but they are not the ones we encounter. The good ones mind the posted signs and hunt where they are welcome. The ones we meet know they are breaking the law, long before we ever see them and they just don't care. I don't have a lot of respect or liking for them.

Just for information here are the New York State Posting and Trespassing Regulations

I think I will print out a couple of copies for the boss to hand out to the guys he meets who are ignoring them......

This is the phone number to report poachers in the state: 1-800-TIPP-DEC

Anyhow, be safe out there....

Talking Turkey

88% of American households will serve one this Thanksgiving.

247 million of them are raised here each year, with Minnesota being the largest producer.

The average weight of the ones we dine upon is 16 pounds.

For everything you need to know about turkey, from thawing your bird, to cooking with the leftovers go here. Pages and pages of all things turkey and just plain fascinating.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

You are the greatest!

Amazement

Visiting the folks is always a great source of it. Becky bought this violin from her grandmother, who gave a short demonstration.

This instrument has tone and volume like you would never imagine. a note sounded from its strings made you feel as if you were in a concert hall.... I tried it at home and alas could only squeak.

Herkimer diamonds

Daguerreotypes.

And books, always books. We looked at several really cool ones........and that is not to mention all the wonderful love they hand out so freely. Sure was good to see them.