Another Cat!

My mother was having a hard time taking care of Smokey so today he came back home here to stay with his mother and brother. He isn't sure what to think about the pugs yet but other than that he has made himself quite at home here as you can see in the photo.

New Additions

We just added several new animals to our cow herd.  Shown above is our new Red Angus heifer and Black Angus/Hereford cross steer.  The other steer was being shy.

Demolition Complete

This milk house next to the barn no longer exists.  Too bad it wasn't salvageable.

The house is completely gone.  All that is left is the small ice house which we will take down next spring.

Demolition Begins

Demolition of the house and milk house on our property down the road began yesterday before the storm hit.  Too bad I didn't get a before picture of the house.  The photo of the barn is prior to the demolition of the milk house.  I will post after pictures later today.

First Winter Storm

Here's a pic of the chicken coop in the fresh snow.  

The Dangers of Goats With Horns!

We just heard this on the radio today as we were coming back from helping a friend vaccinate calves.  I always knew horns were dangerous to the goats themselves having experienced them getting caught in fencing and feeders but this is the first I have heard of a human fatality.

Hiker Killed By Mountain Goat

Want a Kitten?

Tiny's kittens will be 5 weeks old this weekend so will be ready to go in a few more weeks.  They are beautiful  kittens and have their mother's friendly disposition.  Mom is a very good mouser too!  Free to good homes only.

The Best Butter!

We had lots of extra milk after milking our Jersey cow Daisy this morning so Drake and I decided to make some homemade butter to put on our cardamom bread.  Added a little sea salt and it was just so yummy! 

Farm Visitors

We really enjoy it when people (kids especially) come to visit our farm and socialize with us and our assortment of critters.

A Wonderful Day Visiting With Relatives

Summer Babies

It was a good thing I had my helper Drake here this past week!  Domino kidded with triplets bucks sired by Percy and our Jersey heifer Daisy calved with a beautiful little heifer sired by our Limousin bull.  Tessa has named her Georgia.  Isn't she a beauty?  Oh, and don't let me forget ... our cat Tiny had quads!  These will be the last kids and calves born this year.

Graduation Day

Eric, my youngest stepson, just graduated from high school on May 28th.  We were very thankful his older brother Matt was able to be home on leave from duty in Iraq for a couple of weeks.  Pictured above from left to right are Matt and Eric's mom Gina, Eric, Matt, and Joe.

Kids Playing with Kids!

Kristin and I met Sheila at Cohasset last week to deliver her kids.  Shown above are her wethers and pet does enjoying their new home at her resort in Laporte, Minnesota, near Bemidji.  Lots of kids to play with here!  Photos are courtesy of Sheila Kirkholm.

Herefords are Here!

Joe picked up our newest additions in Bruce, Wisconsin yesterday.  The polled heifer in the foreground and the cow/bull calf pair on the right (calf is hiding) are adjusting well to their new home.  The heifer is extremely friendly and even lets me curry comb her!  Much thanks to Eric and Susan Koens of Koens Polled Herefords!

Daisy

Kristin's daughter, Tessa, took this bird's eye photo of Daisy, our bred Jersey heifer who is due to calf in July.  Isn't she a hoot!

Doc Kristin to the Rescue!

Thank goodness for good friends.  Kristin came to my rescue again yesterday.  Yoyo was in labor and her single doeling was stuck in the birth canal with just her head and one leg out.  I struggled and struggled but couldn't get the poor girl out on my own and thought I was going to lose her.  Yoyo was too tired to even push to help.  Even though Kristin had been up all night with Aria's kidding (quads!), she stopped what she was doing and drove over to help me.  Kristin managed to get the other shoulder loose and get the doeling out.  Yoyo and her little doeling are now doing great!  Meanwhile, shortly after Kristin left home to help me, her doe Angelina decided it was time to give birth.  Now it was Kristin's youngest daughter Tessa to the rescue.  She had watched her mom help deliver goats before and knew exactly what to do, even though she had never actually delivered babies by herself before.  She did an awesome job and Angelina and her buck/doe twins are doing great too!  Yoyo and her not so little doeling are pictured above approximately 24 hours after birthing.

They're Everywhere!

Better watch where you step ... kids are everywhere!  Red Velvet and Blue Yoko and part of their herd of kids are busy checking out their surroundings.

To Market

Today is the maiden voyage of Joe's new truck and trailer. He will be hauling the four Angus steers and two Holstein steers to the market in Rock Creek.

Patiently Waiting

Red Velvet is patiently waiting her due date which is a couple of days away yet. Any guesses on how many kids she has in there? Looks like a whole herd! My guess is triplets.

Kids at Play

Kids are checking out the slide and cable reel spools. Kristin came over and helped me shave udders and after that Joe & I spent a couple of hours disbudding kids. The kids were back at play in no time.

Day of Disbudding

My good friend Kristin at Babel Brook Acres and I spent the better part of yesterday afternoon disbudding our kids. Not the most enjoyable task but the kids get over it quickly and it is so much safer for them and us. I am still trying to figure out which of Andromedia's kids are polled so they were spared for now!

More Calves!

We've had two more red heifer calves since my last post. Count is now two red bulls, 2 black heifers, and 2 red heifers. Two more cows to calve yet. This is the highest ratio of heifers to bulls we have seen in a long time. We are really liking the looks of this years group of calves!

Calves at Play

Our first two calves enjoying the sunshine and playing on a dirt pile.

Beautiful Day for Calving!

Our friendly (sometimes too friendly) girl Katie had a pretty little black heifer calf around supper time tonight. This brings the calf count to four - 2 red bull calves and 2 black heifer calves. One or two more cows are imminent.

Kids Everywhere!

Wanda and her single doe.

LV and her triplet does!

Well, what a day yesterday was. Thank goodness Joe was able to get the day off from work. The kids were coming so fast and furious I practically needed a catcher's mitt!

LV (Little Voice) started things off with a bang ... triplet does! They are the first triplet does I have ever had. LV is one of my nicest does conformationally and has just a beautiful udder. Tempo has great length, wonderful dairy character, and is very correct conformationally also. It will be difficult choosing a doeling to keep. I wish I could keep them all, but that is not an option.

No sooner had LV finished and Wanda began pushing. A beautiful little doe sired by Obama. Four does in a row ... I can hardly believe it!

We finally got kids and moms situated and figured we could sneak in some supper but that didn't work either. Andromedia began talking up a storm and acting strange so I turned the stove off and went to check on her. Not to be outdone by LV, she delivered triplets too ... 2 does and 1 buck. Seven kids total today and six are does! My doe/buck ratio is looking pretty good right now but I know very well it can change in a heartbeat.

Everyone is doing well. Still waiting on Cinnamon and Windy. Come daylight I will try and get a few pictures to post of Andromedia's kids. I might even try for a little snooze .

Our grandson Drake had a busy time this weekend helping with babies, both calves and goats. He even helped Poppa take Buttercup out for her stroll.

Impatiently Waiting

Well, it looks like today might finally be the day for Baby Doll and Persephone to kid. Baby Doll doesn't even look pregnant except for the fact she is springing with a pretty nice little first freshening udder! Windy can't be far behind either.

First Calf of 2010!

This handsome young bull calf was born today out of one of Joe's favorite cows. What a beautiful day for calving it was. Mama and baby are doing fine and the young man is very active. He is the first of many spring babies we are expecting between our cows and our goats. Things will really be hopping here in the next couple of weeks!

Out Walking

Joe has Buttercup out for a walk. She leads very nicely even though he has just recently started working with her.

Halter Training Buttercup

Joe began halter training Buttercup, our Guernsey heifer out of Lilly, this past weekend. So far so good! The goats were a little leery of her at first but soon decided she wasn't a threat.