Connections

I'm sorry I've been so M.I.A the past week!  I've been working like crazy on a paper I'm writing for school.  "Which stage of development do you think you're in a why." Yeah, it's really lovely analyzing and critiquing my life.  Because I don't do it on a regular basis already.

Work has been pretty tough the past couple weeks too.  We have gotten some pretty rough residents who are not in a good place.  So much energy is devoted to them.  I'm trying to be patient, but I don't know how long I can last to be honest.  Am I really cut out for this type of work?

When I can't connect with residents, I connect with who I can - animals.  This little girl is named Dotty (for obvious reasons).  I haven't felt this way about a pig since the beautiful pigs we had in NY (specifically Diana).  She loves to be pet.  It one picture she is just flopped on my feet and I spent 10 minutes rubbing her belly!  I don't really want to send her away for bacon.  Maybe she'll be the start of our breeding program!  It's crazy to think that when we got these pigs in June they were so frightened of people.  Now they can't get enough of the love!


 

Fall is Here...the Vet!

Fall brings a whole new list of things that have to get done on the farm.  This week the vet came for vaccinations, castrations, and pregnancy checks.  All 9 cows are pregnant (2 of those being first calf heifers), all the boys were castrated, one little girl had to get de-horned, and fortunately and unfortunately, the mommas were separated from their babies in order to take better care of their pregnancies.  I know, it's hard to watch, hear, and believe me, do.  And there's debate on whether or not it's for the best.  But right now it's done.  And according to our vet, our calves are definitely on the chubbier side of the scale.

Here are our calves on their own with the yearlings:

 

And here are the momma cows - at the lower barn and totally annoyed.  They are starting to mellow out some, but unfortunately they'll be a little sad for about a week. 

Little Chicks

The time has come for some new chicks on the farm.  It's a little late in the year, but it'll be perfect timing for some egg production when the days start to get longer in April/May.  They are Barred Rocks, who will eventually look like this when they are full grown:

 

In the mean time, they look like this! 

 

 
So cute right!? I don't know what that little white one in the picture below is all about, but we'll see in a few months when her (hopefully, we did order a straight run) adult feathers start to come in.

Fall is Still Here...Manure!

Fall is still here.  And I've spent the last week doing this:

Spreading manure! Yum!

After roughly 24 loads, it's done, spreading it on about 3 acres.  It was a little tough because I had to drive fairly far from the barn to the field.  And breathing in diesel exhaust isn't terrible fun either.  But it's done, and the barn is half way completed for the cows to hang out over the winter.  Tomorrow will be spreading the last little bit I couldn't pick up with the bucket of the tractor, and then spreading bedding.  The vet comes next Tuesday for vaccinations, the dreaded castrations, and weaning the calves. 

It's been so absolutely gorgeous this Fall!  I can't believe the colors!  Here's the weekly foliage shot:

 
My foliage shots are really not helping you show the colors here.  Seriously.  Reds and oranges, it's amazing.  Maybe I'll break out my fancier camera and take a picture.  

I hope everyone is enjoying their Fall, and finding beauty in the surrounds, even if it's corn being mowed down ;)