Ahhh Sun

Oh, it felt like spring was here these last few days. It's been a warm winter. It's been quite rainy like normal...just a part of living in the beautiful place we live. Yesterday, we gardened. I dug up raspberry plants that I'll replant after tilling the spot they've been in. They've been terribly choked with grass, and we have a new plan. Which is to give them a fresh start and cover them with mulch. My husband actually tilled the garden. So, if we don't get a deluge all Spring, we may be able to plant early this year. The girls had so much fun running around barefoot in the grass.

Notice her feet!

I also worked in my little greenhouse. I cleaned up the weeds and the old starts I never used that I won't be using. I prepared the ground for planting. I can actually plant Arugula any time. I can plant that in the ground. And, my husband made me a warming table for starts. So, I'll plants lettuces and other earlies in that soon. My greenhouse is a cold greenhouse, with greenhouse film, so I'm still under the constraints of the weather. Yet, it's looking like this year the weather will cooperate and it might be a little warm. Last year was terribly cold. The year before that was quite cold. So, yay! This will be my first year to use my greenhouse that wasn't colder than average.

Friday, after doing school, I finished pruning my fruit trees. And they got sprayed. So, here's hoping for some fruit. I had to prune them back quite a chunk this year, so it might be till next year for us to really get fruit. It's been a long time trying to figure out fruit trees. Two seasons ago, my husband actually made me some drip irrigation for them. Now, this year, I found this pruning video, so pruning wouldn't be too mysterious.

The other exciting thing that happened on Friday was a calf being born. We actually did not see it born. But, there it was in our field! We like it when births happen like that.

Thursday, after school, the family headed over to the property my husband is leasing to run cattle on. I took some pictures. My husband wants before and after pictures for the work he is doing, although, I must say, my before pictures were quite beautiful, what with the golden sunset light that was falling there. It might be hard to make after tending the ground look more picturesque.

Ready To Be Done

Every winter about this time, I am so ready to be done with cold, wet weather. I really need a vacation to Hawaii!

We did have a sunny day here recently, but now the weather is cold and rainy again with no end in sight in the weather forecast. Oh, well. One can hope for a few breaks in the forecast. December had a few breaks, this Spring can right? Definitely not guaranteed here in the Pacific Northwest. Here are some pictures of our farm and family here recently on that sunny day. My little man really is turning into a little man and he's enjoying the country life.

Our Easter

We had an unconventional Easter Day today. Last week we got together with my husband's family to celebrate Easter, so Easter Day was mostly to ourselves. We read the Easter story together as a family, much as we do for Christmas. Then, we had communion together.

We also had the last of our cattle give birth. We were nervous about her. This cow (Annabell) was one of our original calves. She had her first calf last year. As a Heifer (new Momma Cow) we expected her to have a rough time with the birth last year. Yet, she is from a breed that normally has fairly large calves and sometimes has hard births regardless if they are a first time Momma or not. So, we were pleased today when for the most part she delivered her calf by herself. It was hiplocked at the end, but came easily when my husband rotated the calf. It probably would have turned on it's own. And the calf (a girl) was up and nursing within 40 minutes, which is really good. So we were very happy.

The girls also decorated their own eggs for Easter, which they were totally psyched about. It seems I haven't done that activity with them very much in the past and they didn't remember doing it.

I also got this shot of my husband and my baby boy, sleeping together for an instant. It is a joy having a baby boy.

Happy Easter. He is Risen indeed.

Spring

It is Spring here, but it is a typical Spring for Northwest Cascade Foothills. In other words rain, rain, rain. I really don't remember a day without rain. It seems unbelievable to me. Sometimes I'd really like to live somewhere a little less rainy. As all North Westerners will tell you, though, summers are beautiful.

I also feel like I could maybe squeeze in a little exercise if it would only stop raining. I'm not sure if I've been fighting depression here lately, or just feeling tired, but exercise, either way, would surely help.

My husband is working on a weight loss goal right now. He wants to climb Mt. Adams in the fall. I, am not that kind of a hiker, but I'm looking forward to hiking season. Family hikes are the best. I haven't really joined him on the weight loss goal so far. It's sooooo hard to diet when nursing. Between the appetite and the limitation of dieting when it comes to keeping one's milk supply up, it's challenging. Yet, with him keeping his eating in check, especially the lack of (semi) nightly desserts, maybe I will lose just even without doing much of a diet, just with a little exercise. After all, two pounds of weight loss a month, right now, while I'm nursing would be ideal.

My husband and I went down to the barn tonight. We had a calf born that we've been working to keep healthy. The calf was born small (which is good). But, it seems, perhaps the Mom doesn't have good maternal instincts and walked away from the calf a lot the first night. We have her penned now. She spins a lot in the pen too. The calf got scours and so we've been giving him a salt water solution through a tube. Well, mainly my husband has been doing that. The calf is so friendly though. They get like that when they are handled a lot as a calf. I hope he stays tame after we let him out in the field. It's been totally hard rain here lately, so we are going to be a little slow releasing him to the field.

When we were in the barn there was a little barn swallow flying over my head. I was up on the hay stack, so the little gal was flying like two feet over my head. Those birds just fascinate me. I've never been able to get a good picture of one...they are always on the move. In the summer, sometimes we have about 30 plus swallows flying over the cattle swooping down to eat bugs. They are so beautiful.

Chicky Day

It was Chicky Day today. We're going with Barred Rock this year at my older daughter's request. They are the tamest of the "excellent" egg laying varieties we've had.

In other news our little man is crawling and getting into lots of trouble.

Good Light

We had some sunshine shining in our windows today. Both yesterday and today, we actually spent some time outside. It was pleasant...wasn't raining, wasn't snowy, there was no slush on the ground, it was nearly 50 degrees...tropical almost.

I let the girls do some of their schoolwork outside. The neighbor is falling marketable timber in preparation for a road they are putting in their property. The girls kept getting distracted as the trees came falling down. They kept asking questions about how the falls got the trees to fall a certain direction.

Then...a hawk came swooping over our chickens. Our rooster sounded the alarm and my daughter called me to have a look. It turned out the hawk had killed one of our chickens, but hadn't been able to take it with him. The chicken had found a hole underneath the fence (the chickens actually dig them...sort of...when they have a dirt bath), but was outside the fence when the hawk arrived. The chicken appeared to have trouble finding the hole in the fence to come back in and was stuck attempting to squeeze through a spot it couldn't squeeze through. This was probably the reason the hawk was successful at catching the chicken. Chickens are not the smartest creatures in the world. They rely solely on the benefits of the flock and on instinct.

Finally, just now, I hear my 3 year old SCREAMING. My 7 year old daughter told me she was screaming because there were three chickens in the yard. I had locked all the other chickens up, but didn't see any in the yard. When there is a predator nearby the chickens take to hiding. Smart chickens. Sort of.

So I set my 7 year old to chasing the chicken in an attempt to catch them. My 7 year old is REALLY good at this, but catching chickens is easier said than done. The first one we caught because it ran out into the field, then I just herded it toward the chicken coop and opened the door. The second one she cornered against the fence and picked up no problem. She handed the chicken over the fence to me. I was in the field near the chicken coop and just put the chicken in the coop. My 7 year old told me that this is the very same chicken she always could catch in the summer. The third chicken was more elusive and kept dodging my daughter. Suddenly, though it hopped up on the fence. The chicken was facing me, away from my daughter. I said to my daughter, I hope she will let us grab her. My daughter just put her hands on her and grabbed her (the chicken never saw it coming) and handed her to me. Away she went safely in her coop.

Here is a picture of my little man in the wonderful light that was coming in our living room windows today. He's growing and changing.

This Is How We Do Science

This is how we do science around here:

(Among other things)

Not Much Happening

Really, not much has been happening around here – except for taking my daughter to the doctor, the persistent rain, and the kids normal activities – today was art and violin, tomorrow is dance.

I also think I’ve got to get my older daughter in to the doctor too because I think she isn’t hearing well and her ear hurts. She had an outer ear infection she got drops for. I’ll bet it never went away. But, she never told me. I told her today, “you need to tell me, you could lose hearing if you keep having ear infections”. My two older ones always have these quirky health problems going on with them and I’m always worried that the doctors think I am an over-worried mom – but the lives and livelihood of my children rest in my hands, so I guess what doctors think of me is less important.

I’ll finish my middle daughter’s story here soon. With the darkness of the heavy rains we’ve had here in the Northwest this May and the third trimester uncomfortability factor – I haven’t been taking pictures to go with my postings.

Here are some other observations from today:

"It’s a sad day for the cows today as they huddle against the fence line to attain some shelter from the winter-like rains by the neighbor’s 50 foot fir trees…even though the field is full of lusciously delicious green spring pasture they normally revel in. The frogs, however, are completely ecstatic, since they have found numerous new breeding grounds at the top of our property, rather than in the lowlands near the pond."

"Turkeys are funny. We moved them from the field to our yard because the chickens were pecking them. Now they are hanging out on our front porch “knocking” on the door because they want to be with us. Unfortunately, unlike a cat or dog, they don’t know not to do their business on the front porch."

"My kids are so excited (translation…hyper) today. I think it’s the schedule change and signing up for next year’s creative classes and buying next year’s music books. I’m in need of some routine. Natalie’s birthday this weekend. Good thing we just do family birthdays."

Pregnancy

This is my fourth pregnancy, and I'm still wondering?? How do you get yourself so your full (not completely starving) before going to bed? You know so you can go to sleep and not wake up two hours later?

I've been doing on/off good/bad. I think a lot depends on how well I sleep. We lost our little calf we pulled. The Momma cow, she sounds so sad. I was thinking a lot about that last night. And, today, naturally, I didn't feel good. The frustrating thing is I couldn't take a nap.

Tredding Water

I just feel the need to write...not that I have much new to say. I'm almost to nine weeks in my pregnancy. I'm feeling really tired, sick, and achey despite getting lots of sleep last night and today.

It's funny what I like to eat this pregnancy. I mean it's different than other pregnancies. I want strawberries and steak and water. And, I don't like bread or milk (homemade whole wheat or white). That's annoying. Hopefully, that will settle out after the first trimester. I've been doing oranges in the middle of the night. But, I'm getting quite tired of that. And, basically I'm hungry a lot. Then, it seems the only thing to curb that is some meat. But, I'm not so fond of the smell of meat. Being pregnant is crazy. Oh, and of course I like salads. I always like those.

We had another calf since I wrote on Homeschool Blogger last. This is number three for the season. Unfortuneately, we aren't sure if it will make it. It's a bad combination.

We got some new cows and this cow is CRAZY - so with a problem calf, she's hard to work with. Her calf was being born with one leg out and one leg in, which caused it to be stuck. She was crazy during labor and my husband was kind of scared to get in there and work with her - she actually tried to run at him a time or two. We determined that she had that problem going on of one leg stuck inside and that if we didn't do something the calf would not be born alive (it had already been a bit long). My husband paneled the cow and pushed the head back in, grabbed the leg and pulled it out. Then, he wanted me to help pull. I asked if he was sure it was safe and he said she (the Momma) couldn't do anything right then. I helped pull it out. It's funny I felt perfectly unsick for about an hour (all the adrenaline). We were excited to have saved the calf. But, the calf was REALLY weak and couldn't stand  and our local farm store was closed till morning and we couldn't get the colostrum till about 12 hours (pretty long for a calf). It's still been weak. We've electrolyted it and my husband has actually milked the CRAZY cow by headgating her (her head in stuck in a contraption). Then he tubed the calf the milk. The cow doesn't seem to have a lot of maternal instinct. And, now we just wonder if the calf does get stronger if it will know to go to Momma.

If the calf doesn't live, we are thinking we won't keep this cow as she doesn't seem tamable. And even if the calf does live - we won't keep her longer than weaning. The continuing saga of raising cows. These cows we just bought were supposed to be "EASY CALVING" cows.

Not too much else to say. We actually did a half day of school today. I am so achy and tired and sick feeling right now and just want to be unconcious. It's all about the baby. There really is a baby in there and I'm going to feel good again.

Another New Calf

We had another new calf born today. However, it's Momma (a new Momma) wouldn't let it nurse. She kept walking away from it. We recently worked at changing our herd of cows to move in the direction of Red Angus. Previously, we had one Red Angus and we liked her. She's pretty. She calved wonderfully. We bought four Red Angus from a big ranch. This is the second of them to calve. The first did great. He's a spunky fellow. Scroll down to see his picture.

This girl, however, had to be tubed today to give her the colostrum. My husband and his friend will have to hobble her (put her in a headgate and tie up her leg) to get the calf to nurse tomorrow. With our "good genetics" we were hoping for no challenging situations this year. But, it happens, especially with new Mommas. Because these cows came from a big ranch they are pretty wild, which make it hard to work with them with problem calving.

Well, fortuneately I was feeling a tad bit better today and I was able to help my husband hold the calf to give her the colostrum. I hope she does ok. Our calf that this happened to last year did all right. It's hard to believe it's been about a year since then.

Goats??

My daughter wants a milk goat. She's wanted it for several years. She's read Storey's Guide To Raising Goats through several times and can tell you most everything about taking care of a goat (she's 8). She wanted a Nubian. I talked her into Oberhasli, which is a milk goat that is quite pretty, but without the long ears, and with a much better temperament. I like the idea of a fiber goat - like the Pyroga. I think that would be better for showing at fair, and we'd get the angora like hair for fiber arts. You can milk them too, but they don't get as much milk.

I like this idea for a small animal barn.

This is someone else's small animal barn. But, they took a carport and added ends and stalls to it. How simple and waterproof.

We'll see if/when we get goats. My husband's been pondering getting one for our daughter come this summer, or maybe next year. He doesn't want to be responsible for the goat chores though. Plus we'd need facilities since our barn is taken up with Cows and hay.

It's nice to have dreams though.

New Calf

We had a surprise new calf this morning. Isn't he cute?

Cows & Falls

Here is a sweet picture of our just weaned calves being sweet on each other. Is that too sweet?

And here is another picture of the falls. This time at dusk. I took the shot without a tripod. It turned out because of a steady hand and a great lens. I love the feel of this picture. It's funny, but I have a hard time with this time of year, the darkness, wetness, and cold...but going to a special place like this and soaking in how the fog and the water and the dusk interact, soothes over all that.

Cows

I have some cow pics for you. These cows and our chickens too are such a part of our family...like a pet. Of course the steers are for eating, so they aren't really the same as a pet. But, the cows are endeared to our hearts. Our girls are so big and strong for being around them. Everyone except Abigail who likes to hide her head when we bring her near.

The first picture I want to share with you is of Ruby and Jewel. Do you remember Jewel? Here she is last March:

Here is Mom and baby now.

Doesn't Jewel look like she needs to be weaned from her Momma?

The next set of pictures is of Little Ann. We may have to sell her... :-( ...but it isn't that sad because it's all working out well. My husband wants to switch over to Red Angus...which is great. I wasn't as fond of the Black Angus cows and the Pinzgauers aren't easy birthers. We'll still keep a few Pinzgauer Mommas(the red and white cows) Yeah! our most tame cows are Pinzgauers. But, in order to afford to buy more Red Angus Mommas we can't keep every Momma we have, we have to sell some. So, we might sell Little Ann. Little Ann isn't really little. We just call her that because she's the baby of Dora Ann (we didn't name her).

Here she was a few days old.

Here she is now. Isn't she gorgeous? For a cow, of course.

Our Calf

Our Calf



Here is a new picture of our calf, Annabelle. Annabelle is quite spunky and very friendly.

Sadness and...Thoughts

COWS & CALFS



I am saddened to share that we lost our second calf. Apparently the mom didn't have clear signs of early labor (they can't tell you) and we got to her too late during active labor. It looks like the calf was too big. We may have been able to save her if we were there sooner. Our cows are Heffers (first time Mommy cows)  and as such often need extra help delivering. Our girls (human kind) are particularly easy going about it.



Our third Heffer, our most easy going Momma, is in early labor as I write this. Luckily her signs have been crystal clear and we have been checking her constantly, so we have plenty of time with this cow.



SCHEDULING



I am once again reminded of the need to establish a regular schedule. I need to do this for several reasons - to help my girls learn discipline and planning, to make sure I can get regular exercise and time in the Word, to adjust my body clock so that getting up at 8 a.m. isn't a really hard thing to do, and to just plain get more done.



I, by nature, or by the way I was raised, am the anti-thesis of planning and scheduling. Instead I just work like crazy on one project till I get tired of it, then search for another project to invest myself into. This isn't necessarily entirely negative. I get a lot done during these spurts of activity. But, when it comes to managing a household I think I need more.



I'm not looking for something overly rigid, or super scheduled. I know I would merely start doing something like that, then I would feel overwhelmed and stop without making any progress. Right now the step that I want to take is going to bed at 10 and waking up and 7 and taking the dog on a half hour walk before getting the girls up. I'd also like to get my desk organized and have Natalie's lessons planned out two weeks ahead. I'd like to also have times scheduled for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, as well as have menus planned out. Pray for me, if you can, this kind of progress is hard for me. I need God's help!

This Week

I have my card reader replaced and now I can update my blog with pictures.



Sad News



I am sad to share that we lost another calf. This calf was not stillborn, but died after a week. The calf had a tongue that hung out of his mouth. We had read all the articles and books and gotten advice from people. But, we didn't know that if a calf didn't get the proper amount of colostrum in the first few hours, that they are not likely to make it after that. Because of his tongue he probably didn't get the proper latch on his mom. We were very much saddened.



Annabelle



  On a brighter note, here is a more recent picture of Annabelle, our first calf. She is about two weeks old now and is very sweet and vibrant. I'll have to get a picture of her running around - that is even cuter.







Country Life



We are very blessed to live in the country. I went through a LOT of adjustments at first, but now that I am getting to feel at home here, as well as now that I am getting to know people in our area, I am starting to love it. Here is one of the many benefits of living where we live: wildlife abounds. I opened the door to our house the other evening and this is what I saw. I got up my oldest daughter who was in bed, but still awake and showed her too.









Frog At Night (With Flash)

Annabelle

Here is a little more info on the birth of our first cow. Our new calf is named Annabelle. Jon discovered that the Momma cow, Pattina, was in labor about 1:30 this afternoon. Today was her due date. Jon's oldest daughter, Mariah, had a dance recital today at a Tulip festival, and so Jon penned up the cow and we hurriedly drove off to the dance recital. I wanted some flowers at the festival and Jon was reluctant to even spend those five minutes to purchase the flowers. (I purchased two flowers - a yellow crocus and a purple Tulip named Abigail, which is our youngest daughter's name.) Anyhow, Jon was in a hurry to get home.



Once we got home, Jon was pretty intense, and I craved some ice cream, so I took the four girls out to get some ice cream. They loved it, of course. On our way home, we meandered and drove in the countryside around our home a bit. When I got home I drove down to the barn. Out comes my husband (Jon) with a smile on his face. I knew. He said we were a half an hour too late. But, I'm glad we weren't there on time since this was the first time Jon helped a cow deliver. Jon assisted the birth as the cow was struggling a little. The gentleman we bought Pattina (the Momma) from, his name is Herb Berg and he came out and helped Jon. He said it probably would have been fine without assisting, but that Momma Cow was less tired and Baby Cow was less at risk, with us assisting.



We have two other soon to be Momma cows. The cows we have are called Pinzgauer's. The breed is pretty. The breed is really easy to work with (very tame). And, the breed is know for tenderness and low cholesterol. We raise the cows as breeding stock and when they are male, for meat. We have eleven steers (including a couple of Free Martins and one young Bull) we are raising for meat. Also, we grass feed our cattle. Pasture (or grass) feeding is healthy for all livestock. The meat we get is leaner and full of healthy Omega 3's.



Pretty much, my husband does all the work. He loves it. Our girls love the cows too. I think it teaches them to be tough, helps with work ethic, and also contributes to their love of God's creation.



Here are two more pictures:



Momma Cow and Baby









Baby Cow Annabelle

Baby Girl

Announcing Our Very First Baby Cow - It's A Girl!!!



Born to Pattina (Momma Cow) this evening on Saturday, April 5, 2008. Our girls (the human kind) are very excited! More details to come.