Bee~ Journal of then...

[Beekissed]

I had to laugh, on the "busy body" comment. You see...the couple we bought our farm from, moved to Texas...we are in INdiana. So, when they moved, she asked if we could "keep in contact" Sure..they are nice enough. Well...last summer we had a pretty good storm, tore the corner of the barn roof up. We were waiting on better weather to get up there and repair it. A few days after the storm, we get a call from the FORMER owner(remember, she is in Texas) She said..." Heard the storm took up the corner of the barn, your gonna fix that soon right? Dont want water to get in there and start rotting the wood" HA! And when we had new gutters put on the house, she called again, asking who we had put the gutters on. Then a few weeks ago, I went to the local auction house. A lady that works at the PO called me over, patted a chair, told me to sit with her. So, she says..." I see you are putting a fence up around the old barn, whatcha gonna put in there?" Seems everyone is watching......Im not sure if its good or bad.. LOL

Oh, man! That is sure long distance nosiness! But I can see that happening right here...... Its a cultural thing.


Well, folks, Blossom got her first bath today! She didn't like the spraying from the hose, though it was low pressure and gentle, but she really loved the scrubbing. She looks cleaner and more well-cared for, her tail is white and fluffy and she just looks better all the way around.

Funny thing, though.....and maybe you "cow people" (free! ) have seen this.....washing her with the warm water and soaping up her udder really made her let her milk down! Big time! When I would pass the soapy rag over her teats they would squirt milk from the pressure! Something tells me that this will be one easy cow to milk!

Afterwards, I was rubbing down any bare spots and knicks with Bag Balm and I massaged some lightly into the teats....and they squirted like geysers again! This gal is easy! And nearly there.....her udder is getting bigger each day.

Wouldn't ya know it? Just washed the cow and it starts to rain.....

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Another page in the hillbilly chronicles!

I found out the other day that one of my patient's takes a drive with her daughter every other day and always wants to drive past my house to see "what I'm up to" and to see "all those chickens and animals"! My house is 4 miles out of her usual territory......

I swear they are like children! No tact or guile....just up front nosiness, without shame or embarassment of any kind!

Send them my way...I'll give them an ark load of animals to gawk at!! lol....................they can muck out my barns while they stare!!!!

 

[Beekissed]

It would definitely be an eye opener, Quail!

I think people are so enthralled by this property because it is so visible, being on this gentle sloping hill. Also because no one keeps their dogs loose in their yards or free ranges their chickens around here.

All dogs are either inside or tied to a box, very few kenneled. All chickens safely penned into muddy runs. All gardens in tidy, very tilled rows~never mulched, all tomatoes staked~not trellised!~ and hardly any flowers planted except in tidy little beds right by the front steps.

I guess my place is definitely an oddity around here....especially for a rental house.

 

[big brown horse]

Hey Bee,

When horses are hours away from giving birth the artery on their back leg (that is somehow connected to their "udder"?) becomes really large with the blood supply needed to produce milk. (Not sure how to explain this, but you know what I mean.) I am a horse person, but not a breeder, so I am not an expert on this... So when my friend's mare was almost ready to give birth that was one of the signs the vet said to look for. Is it the same with cows? Goats etc.?

 

[hennypenny9]

I hate people watching me! On the property I grew up on, it was very private, until a rogue cousin got greedy and divided up his property into small lots and sold them. So they paved a new road in a way that people walking or driving it can see our property. And chickens. People walk it all the time, as it isn't a through street. Anyway, I liked to go out and hold the chickens and talk to them... Then I looked up and there was two ladies stopped on the road watching me! I waved the chicken at them, and they power-walked away. No one actually bothers the chickens because of our (loose) dog.

Obnoxious. How would they like it if we stopped and watched them mow their boring pointless acre of lawn?

(I hate lawns, unless you have dogs or small children. Otherwise why bother??)

 

[freemotion]

I don't mind it if the neighbors watch me.....I can be pretty interesting! BUT I expect them to wave and smile and say hello, even if neither of us has time to chat. My immediate neighbors (our yards are 75' wide, but dh and I have four acres in the back of the houses) often come to the fence to ask me what I am working on now, or to ask about the animals and what they can expect to see next. We laugh about it quite a bit. They both also give their guests the "over the fence" tour! I am flattered. They report to me their guests' reactions, and we laugh about that, too.

However, there are two neighbors a couple houses away who won't wave or smile, and will stare unabashedly (keep in mind the width of these lots!). So rude!

 

[Beekissed]

Hey Bee,

When horses are hours away from giving birth the artery on their back leg (that is somehow connected to their "udder"?) becomes really large with the blood supply needed to produce milk. (Not sure how to explain this, but you know what I mean.) I am a horse person, but not a breeder, so I am not an expert on this... So when my friend's mare was almost ready to give birth that was one of the signs the vet said to look for. Is it the same with cows? Goats etc.?

BBH, I don't know about on her leg but she definitely sprung up with large vessels on her udder the past few days. Today she was dripping milk from her teats as she was walking along and just a moment ago I could swear she passed a mucus plug!

I'll hate it if she has the calf tonight when I'm asleep! I really wanted to watch my own calf being born.....for the first time....Sweetwater Farm's first baby beef. Needless to say, I will be checking her all night!

She has been standing around acting all moochy this afternoon, like she wanted some attention. I tell you guys, this cow is so gentle I can do just about anything to her! I love that, as my last cow was a Holstein and was a horrible cow to milk or do anything with. She was sweet in the field, but try anything else and you were toast! Probably why someone sold her in the first place....

I feel better about her calving now that I've scrubbed her up and washed that manure-caked tail! Everything is clean and ready for the baby.........

Free, I did the ACV rinse you recommended. She looks very glossy now where she has lost her rough coat. We've had a very cold spring, so I don't know if she should have lost all that thick fur on her sides yet, but I've read that cows that are in poor condition will have rougher looking coats.

 

[freemotion]

I don't know about cows, but if she were a mare, I'd be checking in on her often now.

As for her coat, it is still early for her to have a full summer coat with the cold spring we've had. She'll probably lose it in a couple of weeks with all your good care!

Hopefully she's not like Mya (at 8, she MUST be well trained, besides, she's a cow..... ), in that I thought she was all nicely trained and easy to handle, until she got some nutrition in her and started hanging onto her calories. Now I am having some difficulties with her behavior....only mild, but she has been naughty with me in the pasture a few times, got a tad aggressive. It was pretty easy to put her in her place, after all my years with horses, I have the "posture".....or at least can fake it pretty good!

Then I recently discovered that she has no clue as to how to be led. I never realized this because she would follow me where-ever I went.....I didn't know that the leadrope was pretty meaningless to her. I was fooled into thinking she was an angel. She understood being tied and maybe led across a stall, but across the yard is another matter. Once I smartened up and began training rather than getting pushy with her, wow, what a difference.

Hopefully, by the time Ginger Peach grows up, I will be thoroughly trained by my goats.....but something tells me little Ginger has a few lessons in store for me, too.....

 

[Farmfresh]

I had the same thing with my starved mare free.

When we bought her she was a lamb. After she had a few groceries her race blood came to the front! She was never mean or bad just rearing to GO!

She was an awesome athlete. I will never have another like her... 17 second barrel patterns, reining, English equitation, open jumping (went 5 foot one time - scared the pants off of me but she did it easy) and dressage! Very very versatile, but never tired!

Not to worry Bee ... I have never heard of a racing blood Jersey!

 

[Beekissed]

I'm checking up on her every now and again. I expect she will do fine and probably surprise me with a new little sweetsy without any input from me.

She does get a little excited when I bring out the sweet feed and was standing with her head over the gate watching the back door this morning. Forgot to tell her that a cow can't be raised in a backyard.....must remember to give her the 411!

She seemed a little clingy today and was wanting to be close to me. We had a big storm today and lightning struck right in the back yard, HUGE thunder and the animals went nuts! Too close for comfort! I was wondering if this didn't help her along a little too....they say that cows like to calve before a big storm. We are expecting more thunder storms tomorrow but its supposed to be colder. Wet and cold for the baby, which I hate.

I'll be checking up......hope to get to witness the birth, as I never get tired of seeing one.