The past couple of days have been pretty eventful around here. Well, I guess they haven't been as eventful around here as it the past couple of days have been eventful on the road! Late Monday morning I was finally able to get away and pick up SGF SANT Hershey. You may remember reading about when the deal was finalized way back in THIS POST, but because of mechanical problems, schedule problems, and weather problems I had not been able to get down there yet! But, now he is home ... along with a cow and heifer!The traveling actually started on Saturday when I drove up to Dan Butterfield's, of Grandma's Dexters, to pick up a bull calf and two cows that I was going to deliver to Steven in Southern Missouri (you may recognize the name because he comments from time to time). So, late Monday morning I headed out of town and swung by the farm to pick up the trailer and Steven's cows. The driving was uneventful (except for a traffic jam in St. Louis) and so was the unloading (even though it was slightly muddy and 9:00 PM). It was great to finally be able to put a face to the name and chat with Steven and his family. They have some pretty cool things starting up down there so it was neat to see what was going on.
After that I headed on my way to Erik and Marian Van Beever's Five Ponds Farm (with a break for sleep). I arrived there and also enjoyed putting a real live face to the many e-mail conversations we have had. It was neat to see their diverse livestock ranging from sheep and goats to Dexters and of course their Red Wattle Hogs! Of course I picked up Hershey while I was there, but I also had decided to bring back a bred cow and heifer calf they had for sale (Gigi and Tinkerbelle). Hershey looks as great in person as he did in the pictures and I'm looking forward to seeing him mature this summer. I am also pleased with the prospects of Gigi and Tinkerbelle bring to the herd.So, now there are eighteen Dexters roaming (not so much in the snow I guess) Stoneyfield! If you are scoring at home it adds up like this: 8 cows ... 4 heifers ... 4 steers ... 1 bull calf (to become a steer) ... and of course, 1 Herd Sire!! Don't forget that we have at least three more cows we are expecting to calve. And to think, this started out six months ago as an "experiment"!
**The first picture above is of Hershey of course, and the second is of Tinkerbelle (calf in front) and Gigi (horned). Hopefully I'll be able to post some more pictures soon!**
5 comments:
Ethan,
I'm glad to see you made it back alright. How are the daylilies? Thanks again for delivering the cows. They are doing great so far and are already in our names! That was fast. I look forward to seeing updated pictures of Hersey, especially in the spring.
Wow! For a *beginning* farmer, you got a lot of critters!! Me, I'm sticking with plants for now!
Steven - The daylilies made it home safely also! Right now they are just looking like bulbs, but I know Becca is looking forward to getting them in the ground! Don't worry, you'll get to see plenty of pictures of Hershey!
Lisa - Yeah, we do have a lot of Dexters ... some people start out with a bunch of chickens, but Dexters are just so fun! I decided from the beginning that I wanted to do something that I was passionate about, and I have to admit that I'm not super passionate about veggies ... but, they will have their place on the farm also.
My mom called me at work to tell me that there was a story on Fox News about grass-fed beef, it's health benefits, and why people are concerned with commercial beef. They were actually on a farm somewhere. My mom got all excited to see it, it makes her feel like we're not so crazy when she sees other people saying the same thing.... I don't think they had "mini" type cattle though!
That is the kind of good publicity that we need! Now we just need to keep it coming...
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