When Spring is really and fully here in our part of the shire, it comes with a bang. The world becomes so green it hurts your eyes, and enchants your mind into thinking you fell into a storybook.

The daffodils bloom and the lake is more blue and all seems so incredibly full of promise.

Ok, so this is when the birthing parade has dwindled and it might be a bit of exhaustion that plays into the relief of things settling down for a little while.

Yet being apart of creatures growth and watching them shine with health and strength is a beautiful thing. This spring we had many things happening, fences being replaced, babies being born, clean up, repair and repeat.

There are a few things that any farm needs doing and then there are special projects that make the list. This spring the farmer decided that it was high time I received something off my want list. A round pen, a fifty foot sand ring in which to work horses. This was a big want, and not that it was a lot of expense, but it required work and effort that is somewhat lacking by the mid spring to be directed to wants. It was well timed being we had some exceptional help for the building. Now the separation of friends from family around here are the people who love us enough to not only pitch in anytime, but to understand what this life is all about and to love us when we are so wrapped up in it that we are absent to them. We are exceptionally blessed with some amazing folks who are family to us. Two of these people were here for the building of the round pen. Both being horse people they were not only essential in the slave labor portion but in the planning and pondering phase as well.

We built my "playground" out where I can see it from my kitchen window. This might have not been the best idea being that I swear it calls to me to get out of the kitchen and head out there to mess with the horses. This is also of course a practical place to put sick or injured stock or animals who need observation. It is a thing of beauty. I love every square inch of it and not just because it makes my life easier, because it does. It was built with love. The farmer made it a priority because he loves me, our two great friends who was on a vacation and could have been doing, lets face it anything other than pounding 6" spikes , well, I sure love them. It is a place of love and I feel incredibly blessed when I look at it. It gives the round corral work I do with the horses, which in itself is a special thing, a sense of true thankfulness, to all the amazing things that are good and sweet in this life.

It too is a reminder of the progress that our farm has made. We are no longer just chasing our tails and running from behind. We are gaining ground and a reminder of that is something I have needed for a while. Day to day it is easy to feel overwhelmed with the demands of all things farming, but this one simple thing, fifty feet of dirt with a fence is as beautiful to me as a sculpture. That round corral is a monument for this cowgirl.

Welcome, I am the Farmess.

This is a blog about a grass roots approach to sustainable farming, experiences from everyday lessons learned, experience gained and mistakes made. Life, animals, photography, gardening, adventure  and cooking.There are a of stories along the way of being a farmer, and being a woman who has to work solo when the farmer is away. This is an account of our very blessed story. Thanks for stopping in, make yourself at home and stay awhile....

Not Just Kidding....

Kidding season for us opened with a bang. We decided to move our kidding date to April this year rather than end of May. You can never count on the weather, and this year has taught us that we might have been too ambitious. Some decisions have factors in which you cannot control as a farmer, and they can come with really hard lessons.

April 2016

April 2017

Bella is one of our prettiest Does. She is also one of the most unfriendly goats in our herd. She actually thinks we have claws, fangs and that we stink. Her opinion of us is seriously low.

 Last year was her first year kidding, she surprised us with a lovely set of twins, a doe and buckling.

In her typical fashion, she was completely disgusted with the result. She wanted nothing to do with them. So, in we went to insult her further by helping the kids nurse from her. She got used to this process, as well as being milked and seemed to be accepting it. We gave her a roommate, moving Beau in next to her, who had  a single buckling for her first kid.  Upon the proud moment of "well look at that, these new moms are doing great", we went off to bed pretty happy. By the next morning, Bella outsmarted us. She had sent the kids through the feeder panel to Beau, who was now feeding all three. Humm pretty and smart, this one. We really did try to keep  Bella's twins in her pen and forcing her to nurse. Yet with triplets being born, other kids on the way, as well  as a bottle baby, we gave up and let them nurse from Beau. We would still encourage her to feed them, by holding her a few times a day and milking her. Beau had an excess of milk and was in no way unhappy about the relief of feeding them all. This endeared Bella to them slowly and she began to feed them on her own, and then took to them happily. We were thrilled as she raised lovely kids and so we bred her again, timing her with her friend Beau so they could bunk together again just in case.



 

That brings us to this year, Bella was first to kid. With some worry of course due to her lack of interest last year, I was feeling a bit of trepidation to her skills of mothering. She was a day past her due date to kid out, on a sunny afternoon, with the farmer, myself the cats and dog in attendance. Of course we had a full afternoon of fencing planned, so that was ideal timing on her part. She seemed in great condition and kidded out her first easily, was happy to see him and spoke to him in mother goat the entire time. He was a big strapping fella. Due to her sheer bulk we had a feeling it would be twins. I helped clean his airway and left her to her work of cleaning him up. She then laid with her fella in front of her, to produce a lovely wee doeling, who was born very small and with great yelling protest at the cold ground. We happily watched Bella take care of her too and by now the buckling was on his feet. The farmer went off to the barn to bring some hay and I gave her some water and electrolyte's and all seemed to be well and good. Then she lay down and low and behold, she had another in there. Triplets, have only happened on our farm once before so we were surprised. The third was a doe as well and seemed weak from the labour. She took longer to rise, so with some help from us, she soon was standing. We moved them into a stall for the night and got up to do night checks and they were all seeming to thrive.

By the next afternoon, we realized there was something seriously wrong with the third kid. She was not standing or nursing and was very weak. After doing everything we could through the night, she died while the farmer held her. Also by then the other little doe was in the same weakened  state, not able to stand. We had them in next to the woodstove, and were checking every 15 minutes, attempting to get her to nurse from a syringe and keeping her warm. The little buck was completely fine, strong and nursing, it was not something I could put my finger on, and just did not know what I could do. But after loosing the one, I was ready to try everything I could think of. It could have been a variety of things, but as I lay on the floor next to the woodstove with this tiny creature, I fell asleep, only to wake up to the pitter patter of little hooves on the tile and a very hungry baby goat full of life.

It could be that it was the cold snowy night outside where the temperature dropped too much, even in a stall and they got a chill, or it could have been any number of things. In the end we managed to save one. She was so small and Bella so full of milk, even the little buck got the runs. The little doe has to be weaned from a bottle back to her mother, which equals a severe lack of sleep for us and a lot of patience from the mother doe. Bella, has forgiven our presence, and has even almost started to not mind us so much. I can only hope she understands we are helping, and I think she does. I learned that given a situation where you feel helpless, and scared to do the wrong thing, you feel even more helpless not doing anything. What saved the second doe was the last ditch efforts of warm milk, warm fire, baking soda and pepto bismol with a lot of hope. She is strong today and that is what matters.

As a farmer you know you will experience losses. No matter how many times you tell yourself that the worst is always possible, you are never prepared for the heartbreak that comes. The many good byes of small furry things, that you spend so much of your life invested in. With a heavy heart I buried that little doe next to her Grandmother goat. It was a lesson learned, I will breed later to avoid the early April weather. I will be prepared to always do more and never less. So very much of farming is done on instinct, and your intuition. This was a lesson in listening to that voice. I also will never take for granted the miracle of life as I prepare for Beau to kid any day followed by four more does with four more stories of the birth of their kids.

Farming can break your heart and fill it to bursting all in the same day.

Mud and Manure

I have very mixed feelings about Spring. I think every farmer does. These are some of the reasons why.

The intense grip of late winter starts to give way to Pre Spring.

The pristine blanket of snow, that constantly renews itself with new, pristine white blankets of sparkly cleanliness, lulls you into forgetting the vile nastiness below.

The dripping and bubbling sound of water is the music of melting. Of water beginning to run and filling the creeks, ponds, lakes and puddles. The white giving way to an earth that has been hibernating since November. This is also the gauntlet of gurgling muck. The frozen morning, releases to ground that is saturated with manure and urine. I am talking about intense layers of manure, soiled hay, bedding mud and slush. The bloom of hay twine that has grown over the winter, coiling under the ice and multiplying. There is hay scattered everywhere and even the odd lost glove or knife. The  fetid water running over ruts of mud and ice the color of strong tea.

The mud puddles, with a dusting of hair that is sloughing off the animals in patches. There are broken fence posts that have been held up by the ice, that suddenly list to the side. There are broken rails, the gates drooping like they are exhausted. The pinto patches of dingy snow in the dull, ragged hay fields waiting to be harrowed and seeded.The hay barn is looking forlorn and the woodshed is emptying out. The sheer volume of work that will ensue.... overwhelming does not begin to encompass the feeling.

Everything is brown, tired and dirty and more so after months and months of bright white.

Then there are animals who need to be dusted for ticks and lice, De-worming, vaccines and horse blankets to be laundered. The hair coats once warm and downy start to become dirty and loose. You cannot touch anything without coming away covered in mud, hair and manure. The only way to describe the smell is pungent.

This is what I call pre spring, and I hate it.

As Pre- Spring starts to release its sad grip, and the brown begins to give way to green, 

the burdens start to lift.

The tangled nests of twine have gone to the dump, along with the heap of feed bags and dog poop from everywhere. The manure and soiled hay, fought back to a majestic, heaping, hillock out back. Fences pulled tight like guitar strings, posts replaced standing guard, gates rehung straight and strong. The creeks of tea, giving way to bubbling, pristine water.

The animal hair has been turned into birds nests. The fields are neatly harrowed and have an emerald sheen, next to a sparkling lake. 

There are tickling spring breezes ruffling the new grass, carrying the sweet smells of earth and growth. The garlic, crocus's and daffodils are poking their way through the mulch. 

 Strawberries and rhubarb,

unfurling vibrantly from their slumber. The pregnant goats and cow heavy in their pregnancy, soft eyed and round. Preparing the kidding and calving areas, with the excitement of impending birth.

New saucy little piglets arrive and begin to thrive. The horses are starting to frolic, manes and tails flying, hooves cutting into the soft ground. Fit and shiny, running free of the ice and snow.

Everywhere there is newness, anticipation and light.

The heavy cloak of winter thrown down and the soggy boots of pre spring kicked off as the entire farm prepares for the next stage of the year.

Generating Heat

It gets to be cold here, the kind of cold that freezes your eyelashes together and you put your ice cube trays on your front porch to make ice. The kind of cold that really hurts your face and shrivels the inside of your nose. Those days are when I feel like bringing all the creatures in the house.


Now I know that would be the worst thing for them. Yet the unrelenting bitter cold for days on end makes me wish I had a magic wand.

The only thing to do is make them comfortable and be prepared. First defense is to provide shelter from the elements. We do not close them in but allow them to choose to remove themselves from the elements. They then can decide to move around to warm themselves, to huddle up together or standing in the rising sun and eat.

I have mentioned before that some of our horses will wear blankets. Some do not. I have a very strong opinion on blanketing.  My opinion is that each horse's health, age, weight and mobility will determine what is best for them. A horse who is not sound, cannot move around as much without stiffness to improve blood circulation. A horse who is very thin or had poor muscle stores also does not need further caloric energy going to shivering. Ones who have a very fine hair coat or are prone to rain rot or fungal skin infection does not need to have a layer of ice on their backs.

We have a blanket for each horse on the property, and can use them for emergency. If it is 15 below and that horse is needing veterinary care, they have to get in a trailer and ride an hour to town. Horses, too go into shock and need to be kept warm. So we have blankets, a lot of blankets. The number one thing we do to keep them warm is to provide as much forage as possible. The horses digestion is their oven. While they are eating they are keeping warm. Grains don't do the same work. Forage is a beautiful thing.  Warm water is essential to them to ensure that forage is moving its way through the body.

Water is so important in cold weather, and asking them to drink ice water seems like asking for trouble. The last thing I ever want to do, is deal with colic in extreme cold so I will do what I can to prevent it. The frosty, happy hay covered faces greeting me from their round bale is a wonderful thing in the morning.

The goats shelter together, they will sleep in family units cuddled right together. It also makes me happy to see that the breeding of Cashmere bloodlines gives them a natural heavy down to their coats allowing them more natural insulation. Heated water is just as important to them to encourage them to keep drinking. They too get as much forage as possible to keep their little bodies warm.

Cows too are on the same program but given big areas of bedding to bunk down in. We cut our swamp hay for that purpose and they seem to choose to sleep in it happily. Ginny our lovely big cow has occasionally chosen to push through her fence to hang out with her goat friends next door. The goats love her visits and all seem to want to eat under her. She would be like a giant furnace.

There are so many ways to keep critters happy and healthy in the winter and I am thankful for the progress of things like slow feed hay nets and water heating systems.

The other main thing we always ensure is free of snow, is the stock trailer. This is our emergency trailer. Digging it out is always important, and keeping it where we can hook up at a moments notice is not always easy especially after a huge dump of snow, but you greatly appreciate you have done it when you need it.

Go forth and stay warm my fellow farmers!

My Top Hand

        

               A farmer has a variety of tools needed to do their job. Some are more important than others, there are some that are replaceable.

A Farm Dog is one of the most irreplaceable and important tools on a farm.

Kit Kat is our top hand, she is a red merle, Australian Shepard from working lines.

She was born into  life on a farm.

When Kat came to live with us as a pup, I was working at another ranch. She would get up with me and drive to work everyday. She spent a lot of time sleeping in a warm truck on cold mornings or being packed around in my coat. Once she was big enough, she started farm school. She has had all kinds of teachers and many lessons, leading her to greatness.

The Farmer is the one she plays with and who she loves the best. Her and I have a different bond than they do, we work together everyday. Sometimes we have a difference of opinion but we still find ourselves best friends by nightfall. She has never been far from my side.

Now a farm dog will have a variety of jobs. Working livestock is the most obvious one of course. But that job is often misunderstood. A working dog must show a pre-disposition to working. They need to want to follow, to chase and to guard. They need to be hard fast and loud, or slow, silent and gentle, depending on the livestock they are working. They need to have focus and incredible listening skills. They need to be trustworthy, honest, hardworking and be quick. There is a lifetime of  work ahead of them so they need to love their job.

She learned to be around horses without getting underfoot. She had a hard lesson going into a horse pen where she had a near miss getting trampled in the snow. It was a reminder that she should be close to me and not wandering where her nose took her.

Kat learned to work cattle slowly, the fastest way to work cattle is slowly. She spent time in the corrals with yearlings who are unpredictable. A mother cow with calf up close and personal, can be more dangerous than a bull and takes finesse to motivate She learned to be gentle while moving cows with calves to range, there is no aggression needed around calves.

She was learning when to follow, when to chase, and when to wait. Bulls, well they are big and depending on the time of year can be frightening; She learned to get through, over or under the fence faster than the Farmer when challenged by a ton of beef. She was learning self preservation. She later learned how to fight for us to protect us and to give us time to get over the fence. She had learned when it was time to be a warrior.

Different livestock takes different levels of attention and method. Which is partially developed by training and partially to their natural inclination and intuition.

Moving to our Farm has brought new livestock challenges for Kit Kat. Goats are in some ways like sheep but they will turn and fight with their horns if pushed to hard.

She had to learn to go softly, push them together and to encourage them from the back of the group keeping some distance. A Nanny with kids will turn and fight hard if crowded, as is her right and their horns are a real threat. Kat has gotten caught off guard and thankfully our goats are not mean. She has been bunted and been scared enough to learn the lesson of spatial awareness. Goat kids love her of course and she loves to lick them and watches over them. 

Pigs too are an interesting thing to work around and these are her biggest challenge.  Kat learned to work with horses by learning to go ahead on trails and flush out grouse and to be on watch for things ahead in the trail. This is not as easy as you would think, the lure of bunnies, squirrels and the various smells enticing a dog off the job, must be incredible.

She also learned to follow behind or to ride on a horse when called upon. Also to know when the horses pick up speed, she would have to as well and when it was time to move to the side of the trial and allow the horse to go by.

Working dogs spend time on their own farm, but also can be called to go to work on another with other working dogs. This can be an interesting time for a young dog. It is a learning experience and can often entail some hard lessons.

Socialization is important for the dogs, and they need to know when it is time to listen for your voice, amid a lot of commands and noise. Each adult working dog will have lessons to teach a young dog, these are invaluable and should be welcomed.

Even working dogs need a holiday now and then, they earn their keep and love time off. Some will just want a shady afternoon to themselves. Some will want to do whatever it is you do. Kat is no different, she loves a good swim and will willingly ride in a boat and nap under the bow. There cannot be all work and no play.

Herding is hard work, these dogs put on so many miles it is amazing. They will dehydrate and get heat stroke. Their paws get raw, they get injured, kicked, trampled and will never quit.

They will only stop when it is so bad that against every single instinct they have, will they come to you for help.

They are essential to the workforce. There is nothing you won't do to ensure they are going to be ok.
This is where the volume of their hard work is recognized. When you have to go out to the barnyard without your top hand, your partner.

That intelligent, precious face, right by your side looking at you with their whole being available to you at a moments notice. The loyalty, the hours of work, the miles of trail. The sheer amazing, selfless, brilliant creature that is a dog.  Right then, that moment you know that every vet bill, feed bill or amount of hair on all things, is worth it.

A working dog is not just a tool to a farmer. They are family and they are loved.
There is nothing in the world like a dog.

Is your dog your

   your best friend?