Goodbye Turkeys

The turkeys finally went to their final destination yesterday.  I'm still not sure if they were the right kind of bird or not (I had ordered Broad Breasted Bronze...but they never really got broad).  But it was a fun farm experience and I'm excited to do it again next year!  I will be ordering them earlier and just processing them earlier, to avoid the fear of them getting too big.  I also want them to be out on pasture.  I'm curious how the second year will go!

The largest was just over 20lbs, the smallest 8lbs.  I'm not sure what the head cook is going to do with those, but maybe I can swipe them for myself!  The down side of the Ranch, unlike the other two farms I've worked on - the employees do not get the product.  Which kind of stinks.

I'm always grateful for the animals that we raise and eat.  I always thank them for the gift of food.  It's never easy sending animals; my heart always breaks.  But I remind myself why I raise this food: to give and educate people about healthy, safe meat to eat.  That's important too. 

Yule

The Ranch celebrated a beautiful tradition last Thursday.  Yule Night, to celebrate the winter solstice.  We followed the path, as you see below, to the Yule Log to burn through the longest night of the year.  We didn't set the log on fire (though that would have been cool!) but we sang some Christmas songs and had big torches lit to brighten up the cold night.  Then we spent an evening with an open mic.  We had the lights shut off, and after each person performed they lit a candle, so the room gradually got brighter and brighter.   It was a really beautiful night.  I'm happy I was a part of it.   

Goats Escape!

No, not the silly little pigmy goats at The Ranch.  But wild ones.  Check out this video from NPR. 

 

Mother Nature vs Man, Round 2

I promise, I was not leaving you hanging, nor did I forget to let you know the final result.  I didn't have the pictures to show you and had to track them down after a couple of weeks.

As you know, Mother Nature won Round 1 of the fight.  But in the end, we were able to defeat Mother Nature.  We were able to flip over Motel 6 with the John Deere 2355.  It was pretty amazing, but with the right leverage I suppose you can do anything!

Woo!  This was a great feeling, getting this building off it's roof.  This was the hardest part, and the next part of getting it right side up was pretty easy.  

For this never (hopefully) to happen again, we pounded post in each corner of the building and drilled two rods through each post attaching it too the building.  This baby hopefully isn't going anywhere! 

The crew also has enjoyed replacing part of the roof on it, since it was damaged in by the fence it landed on.

Oh, the story of farming... 

Mother Nature vs Man, Round 1

I came in Tuesday morning after a three day weekend to find this:







Yes.  That's suppose to be a building.  And it's on its roof...                                  
                                                                                                                                                               

Look at what the high tensile wire did!  It sliced the roofing.  Talk about scary.  Apparently Vermont got some serious winds Sunday night, and everyone came to work to find that this entire building rolled over.  And the back of the building is even open, which was suppose to prevent it from flipping!







We spent a while on Tuesday bracing the building and trying to flip it over.  We only lifted it maybe a foot off the ground.  Are we going to be able to flip it back over!? Or are the yearling cows going to be stuck out in the elements this winter!? (Don't worry, I won't let that happen at least!) Mother Nature took Round 1.  Check back to see how Round 2 goes!

Sheep Preparation

This week we got our ewes ready for breeding!  One of the biggest things to do is to make sure that the ewes have nice, healthy feet.  Besides for their own comfort, the addition of ram mounting them adds another (I'd say) 30 lbs on their back.  Though it's only for a short time, it can be painful if they do not have good feet - the increase stress of pain and trying to avoid the ram can cause them not to come into heat.  No heat means no ovulation of eggs, which means no conception, which means no cute little lambs in April.  

It was a fun afternoon with the crew, doing something very different than the norm.   I showed everyone how to take down a sheep (and with our ewes being fat and weighing 250lbs it was NOT easy), what to look for on their feet, and how to trim their hooves.  Everyone seemed to really enjoy the experience.

This guy below is Earl - he's a wether (castrated male sheep).  We keep him around for wool.  He's also really nice and will follow you around the field when you go out there. 

The next day we put the ram out with the ewes.  He was so small last winter that he only bred two ewes of similar size.  But he has put on some weight this summer, and even as started acting like a ram and head butting!  To me that's a good sign, though not so much fun when you are out in the field with him.  I did see him do the deed with one ewe, so here are fingers and toes being crossed for at least 9 lambs next spring.

FarmHer

Check out this photographer, FarmHer recording women and agriculture!  Maybe I can get her to venture over here to Vermont.  Women have a huge impact in the growth of small, sustainable farming.  Lets not forget!

I'll be following her, that's for sure!