Bee~ Journal of then...

[lorihadams]

Good luck Bee! Enjoy your vacation!

 

[justusnak]

Oh no you dont missy!! How in the world do you expect us to go...day to day....without your wit and wisdom??
Actually...I TOTALLY understand. Everything here is starting to get a little crazy as well...weeds are growing faster than the garden, and I am haveing a hard time keeping them out. Wont be long untill we start harvest...and canning. Before you know it...fall will be here...once again. Enjoy your time. I know you will soon be doing most of it alone, as the boys go on with thier lives. Its hard...been there, doing that. One of my boys I havent seen in 4 yrs, and my daughter its been 2 yrs. Life gets busy, and they live so far away.(the daughter is 4 hrs, the son is 12 hrs.)
Check in when you can....we will miss ya!!

 

[Farmfresh]

I go out of town for a few days and Bee goes completely cow crazy!

I think we just figured out Blossom's purpose in life!

Good luck with your herd girl. Anybody that can work the miracles you have worked on Blossom can do anything!

 

[Beekissed]

Hey, there all! Checking in.....Jerky is doing well but am thinking of taking him back to the stock sales on Mon. as he is too small to compete with the bigger calves right now. We are giving him first dibs right now but want the freedom of just letting nature happen without worrying about the little guy or bottle feeding him.

T-Bone is a survivor and competes equally with Shade for milk and will put on some good growth during his time with us. They are the same size, though Shade has that beefy build that I love so well.

I've decided to breed Blossom back to a beef breed, as I think the resulting offspring will sell better.

Blossom is now adjusted to nursing strange calves and looks eagerly for her extra rations she receives while doing so. She is now in grass rotation with The Betty's and they seem to get along well. I believe they will clean up their paddock better with the added competition for grass.

First corn and pumpkins planted, other side of the corn plot to be planted next week.

Satisfied?

**Jerky no longer squirts and seems to be tolerating his milk well, is no longer dehydrated and is now frisking with the bigger calves at times. Eli is getting attached to the little fella and doesn't want to sell him, wants to bottle feed him.....I want to sell him and not have the headache. Yeah, he's darling and cute but I need tough, self-reliant animals on this place....not just more work.

 

[Farmfresh]

If you give him another week or so Jerky might even catch up!

Nutrition is amazing. Great job stopping the "squirts". I am certain with those stopped and a little Jersey "cow juice" he will be much better in no time and grow to beat the bands.

So many times these dairy bull calves are just jerked away from the momma without much care given at all. "not worth much to eat and don't make a milker" . Jerky may have not even received very much colostrum after birth. A lot of these farmers will put the time and money into raising heifers, but the boys ... they just don't care.

I think if Blossom is letting him nurse and can stand the extra pressure - which being a Jersey she probably can - I give him a little more time. She probably CAN raise three at least long enough to get a nice large milk fed veal calf or two for sale.

 

[freemotion]

HA! I KNEW you couldn't stay away!!!!

 

[Beekissed]

HA! I KNEW you couldn't stay away!!!!

To the detriment of my garden! This rain and sporadic humid heat is making the weeds the top of the food chain.....

We are just redesigning our paddock structure now that everyone is together...trying to simplify our lives and create some flow, if ya know what I mean. Decided on three larger paddocks with longer stays in each paddock, designing a more efficient watering system, and streamlining our fencing structure.

I want it to be attractive and functional with good connections and proper gaits. We are learning each day what is a good way and what is not....and this is why I got into this...to learn, to grow, to try something new and unexpected and see if I can succeed.

I don't ever want to become so narrow-minded as to think that there is only one way to produce food, raise livestock, improve the soil or grass. A closed mind is a stagnate pool that produces a foul odor and not much else.

There is more than one way to condition a cow, foster a calf, improve pasture, feed protein that is not primarily corn-based, or even doctor your animals. I like taking the path less traveled, it seems to have more rough areas but the view is astounding and you run into less fools there.

My camera is in use by eldest son but I will try to get a good photo of these young calves before Jerky has to be sold.

FF, I would give it a try on Jerky if my life were less complicated right now but I'm trying to turn a little profit while not over-stressing myself. That is one reason I decided not to continue milking Blossom and to sell my butter churn....it was a grand idea when I thought about it and I'm not going to rule it out forever...but it was just the wrong time.

Blossom will still be here if I find that I have a better situation, or timing, for milking her. I really like that cow and think that she will help me earn back the investment I made in her but it will have to be done by selling calves this year instead of milk. Shade is going to be one beautiful replacement heifer for someone and should bring a great price, if the livestock sales were anything to judge by....heifer calves her size and similarity were going for $145 and the size she will be in the fall, $500-600. That gives me back my investment price in Blossom right there.

I believe I will breed her back to a beef breed to get the same meaty results and next time will foster a beef breed on her earlier and raise two good beefies for profit and meat.

But then......I may change everything by then!

 

[freemotion]

I don't ever want to become so narrow-minded as to think that there is only one way to produce food, raise livestock, improve the soil or grass. A closed mind is a stagnate pool that produces a foul odor and not much else.

There is more than one way to condition a cow, foster a calf, improve pasture, feed protein that is not primarily corn-based, or even doctor your animals. I like taking the path less traveled, it seems to have more rough areas but the view is astounding and you run into less fools there.

Yep, but as JS says, the D students don't see this.....

 

[Beekissed]

Well, new ideas always turning and a wise man....er...woman must constantly re-evaluate her position. I really like Blossom and I think she is a wonderful little cow but she deserves a bigger place to roam. Somewhere other than my yard and orchard!

I visited a beautiful mountain farm today where the cattle are fat on knee-high grasses and drink from mountain streams every day. Those folks offered to buy her and I think it would be a good decision, for her sake and mine. If I had more land I would keep her, if I had barns and fences I would keep her.

I don't know when, maybe this summer or fall, but I am going to sell little Blossom and Shade, together or separately. I will return to my original plan to have a small herd of sheep, 4 ewes, to keep down the orchard and yard and to sell the offspring.

Sheep manure is pelleted and easily integrated back into the soil and not so easily stepped into! They eat less each day and can stay in a paddock longer, they require less water hauling, less space, less management altogether. As I will soon be a woman alone here, I think sheep are the right size and type of animal for my smallholding. They damage the grass crowns less with their small feet and weight, they get along with the dogs and they eat less hay/feed.

I'll make a good profit off Blossom's and Shade's sale, so I can't complain. I've also had an enriching experience that I may repeat if I ever live on larger acreage. I believe it can be done here if one doesn't care what one's lawn looks like, but I can't seem to get away from loving my green pretty lawn.

Jerky and T-Bone are returning to the stock sales to be sold and, hopefully, replaced with a meat breed calf instead.

Next year I will get another bottle baby and bottle feed it, finish it on grass and butcher it in November for locker beef. I've got a few ideas about the bottle feeding I want to try for efficiecy and, if they work out, I will repeat each year.

The decision is like a weight off my shoulders, as my mind has been twirling with thoughts of wintering over, the problems to solve about watering and such, feeding, the mud and slop that would result in my green little lawn.... . I truly envy you folks with enough acreage to have a nice milk cow like Blossom and some day I may be able to also. I loved taking care of her and seeing her get glossier, fatter and more content. I like taking something rough and making it smooth and I always have!

The sheep will be enough to keep down the lawn and orchard and they will grow fat and glossy also. I'll have to content myself with that thought and put to rest, for now, the dreams of having cows, horses, etc.

PS: Heard from my boy at boot camp and he is homesick....but having a ball and making a lot of new friends! Says he is loving it so far!

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

I am totally envious!!

You are selling Blossom and Shade, and I don't get either one???????!!!

LOL sounds like things are working out for you!