Not Exactly Spring

Last year for various reasons there were a couple cows (although one cow hasn't had a calf for a few years as far as I know and I'm still not convinced she is bred) that did not have a calf. Because of that (and the joys of setting up a farm on the fly) our calving has begun already. We were shooting for calves when the grass was green, but I guess now we are having them when we are dreaming of green grass! Nonetheless, cow and calf seem to be doing fine and I hope things continue down that direction.

The little bull calf was born early this afternoon inside the shed. As I was doing chores this morning I noticed some tell-tale signs that she would be calving soon and guessed that today was going to be the day (I had know she was getting close for a bit now). So, I decided to separate her from the rest of the herd inside and throw in plenty of bedding for the cow and the soon to be calf on the ground. It seems like it was just another carefree Dexter birth!

I am still amazed at how little these calves are when they come out ... and so very cute looking! As you can see this little guys is black and in the picture he was still getting his cleaning from momma. Also, while I was out there I was able to see him eating. I'm always glad to see that when we have a bull calf because for some reason the few bull calves we have had haven't been as smart about the whole eating thing! But, this guy has it figured out.

Hopefully we'll have a few more calves to come ... But, I'm perfectly okay for them to wait until it is a bit warmer out!

Calling the Cows...

One thing that I have really appreciated about the new perimeter fence is the ease of moving the cows to new grass. We are not yet to once a day rotations yet, but we are getting there as I figure out how much grass they need each day and how to handle them with the tall warm season grasses that we have right now. I'm trying to use the cows as part of my pasture renovation by getting them to eat down as much as I can before I come back in with the anthill buster and the brush hog (to get rid of all the bushes).

All that being said, one of my favorite things to do is call the cows to some new grass ... it always amazes me that they will come (even from the other side of the farm) and it surprises people when the see it. I can't say that I've done anything special to train my cows, so I just think it is in their genes (kind of joking there).

But, Saturday evening a they were in a far corner of a large open area and I wanted to get them into some fresh grass. I walked out into the field and started calling out, "Come on now cows!" Slowly but surely they started bawling out and starting to move towards me. I kept calling and walking towards the opening in the electric fence I wanted them to go to. Once the lead cows came over the hill and saw what was going on they took off running!

In a matter of minutes they were all in the new area and grazing away. I stood there for quite a while (with some friends) watching them fill their mouths with fresh grass and see the calves bound around and upset their mothers by walking under the fence to the good stuff (there is clover in the areas where I have mowed). I'm not saying that I know why it works to call them like I do ... I'm just saying it works and it is enjoyable!

(I'll try and get a picture up this afternoon or evening)

Not My Favorite, But...

I can't say that our current bull is my favorite Dexter bull, or even close to that. He has give us plenty of frustration with his desire to get out and roam around and he isn't exactly as cuddly (not that you should ever cuddle a bull) as some Dexter bulls that I've bet. But, with all that being said he does have a few redeeming qualities that I don't hate.

He seems to have fleshed out nicely on the spring grass so far (at least comparatively speaking) and it also seems like he is a guy that will get his job done. One other thing is that he is a little smaller in size so I'm hoping he will bring us a couple smaller calves from our two bigger cows. Our big cows hardly even seem like Dexters when you compare them to the others in the herd!

All that being said, I'm still on the hunt for a herd bull that fits us perfectly and will continually improve our herd. We have an uphill battle to get the herd to where I would like it, but this is an okay start.

New Life

They say a picture is worth 1,000 words. Well, that is the case today because this picture tells it all. The first little Dexter calf was born on Stoneyfield farm sometime late Saturday night and everyone is doing wonderful.

When I went out to do chores Sunday morning before church I found all the cows up waiting for some water ... all the cows except for one that is. On Friday I had noticed that our newest cow (that came with the bull from Nebraska) was really starting to bag up and she looked like she would be calving soon. I'm glad to say that I was correct in my assumption, because I found them down in the valley just hanging out and enjoying some nice mother/son time.

If all went well last year we should be coming up on some more calves in the near future, but I sometimes wonder how many cows our previous bull settled. We will see for sure in the next month or two. Not exactly the schedule I wanted to keep, but we will get things back on track over time.

Tomorrow I'll share an update on the hog hut, and I bet I'll have some pig news soon as well!

I Fought the Mud...

...And I Won! Yesterday you might remember that the Expedition and the stock trailer were stuck in the mud. But, it was more than just that because inside the stock trailer were three new Dexters for Stoneyfield Farm. It was getting late and we were too far from where they were supposed to be to rig something up, so I just threw a bunch of hay in the trailer and bedded them down for the night. But, today I finally scored a point against the mud!

When I came home from work today I decided I was just going to try and get the truck and trailer on the gravel. I figured if I could do that I could figure something out. So, after a little slow going I was on firmish ground and I thought maybe I could make it to the pen if I took a run at it driving towards it instead of backing up to it. My plan worked and with the help of a cattle panel and a 16 foot gate all three of the new Dexters are in place.

So, you may be wondering why three new Dexters and why now? Well, we are going to need a bull this summer and if I have learned anything over the past couple of years I have learned that it is somewhat difficult to find a decent bull when you need one. So, when I saw this group for sale at a good price I jumped at the opportunity. I figured it was best to at least have something.

This was a package deal though, so I came home Monday (after about 7 hours of driving) with an almost three-year-old bull and cow along with their 7-month old heifer. While he isn't the greatest Dexter bull ever he is a decent looking bull and will work for our herd. The cow and the heifer also have added something to the herd.

I am beginning to think that I want to focus mostly on the dun or red cows mostly for heat resistance and the way they look. So, this summer (maybe after calving) I'm going to sell two black cows and keep these two dun cows. This will help with the money we just spent and will also bring us closer to the dun/red herd I'm looking for.

One more thing ... none of these three are registered yet. That means they don't have names! Do you have any good suggestions?

Playing Farm...

"It looks like I'm playing farm again, just like when I was a kid ... except this time everything is way more expensive!"

That (or something like that) was my quote to my dad today as we gazed out across seven of our Dexter cows and our herd bull ... on our farm for the first time. What started out as, "We are just going to get a bred heifer and a steer and do a one year experiment", has in a short time (about a year and a half) become a herd that will take three trips to bring here and another trip to bring the equipment. Sometimes I sit back and think it is cool, other times I'm a bit amazed, and sometimes I think about admitting myself to the crazy house... But, all in all I'm very excited that we are beginning the big move and bringing our herd home.

Thanks to a lot of help from my dad we were able to put up the fence we needed (in used cattle panels and old posts that we got from Becca's uncle) earlier this week and then finish up a little today. On Tuesday we pounded posts into wet and mushy snow. Today we pounded a few more posts into dry and blowing snow, but thankfully the snow has acted as insulation and the ground was still very soft underneath.

It was nice watching them all come out of the trailer and check out their new digs ... even though they are a little small. It will be a good area to feed them over the winter and a nice sacrificial area that we can allow to get torn up a bit in all of the freezing and thawing of a Southern Iowa winter.

Now my son and I will have a few more chores to do in the morning, but I think he is just as excited as I am!

RED!

Dexters are either going to be black, dun, or red (in order from most common to least common). On our farm we have both black and dun and we absolutely love them... But, why not have all the colors? That is the question I asked myself when we got into Dexters, so even though I said that I was done buying cows I ended up getting a nice little red heifer this weekend. Her name is Grandma's Jasmine and she is from Grandma's Dexter Farm near Toddville, IA (north of Cedar Rapids). We picked her up on Saturday and she is already settling in to her new environment as the first Dexter on our new farm.

One of the reasons that we decided to purchase her is because our herd bull, Hershey, carries a red gene (he is dun). Now that we have a red heifer on the property we will have a chance to have some red calves most likely beginning in 2010. Of course I doubt we are going the seed-stock route, but is nice to see the various colors in the herd and if we did want to sell some heifers at some point we could have a nice variety ... maybe

Also, we were able to put a halter on her at Dan's farm so I plan on working with her this fall and training her to lead. Hopefully we can show her next summer at the ADCA annual meeting that will be in Fort Dodge, if nothing else it will give me an excuse to go out and mess with the cows a little bit more.

So... we have pigs, chickens, and now a Dexter on our new farm. This week we will begin moving in and need to be totally in by the 14th. After that fencing and preparing for the baby will be our priorities. Hopefully we can find time for it all!

Dexters Eat Hay!!!

I'm not sure if any one can relate to this, but let me just say right away that it started out as an experiment. About a year-and-a-half ago we really came to the realization that farming was something that we wanted to pursue. We had discussions with many different people and looked at many different options and decided it was the direction we wanted to go. After some research we decided that we would like to have grassfed Dexter cattle as one of our centerpiece operations if we were able to make a go at this farming thing. So, we started looking for Dexters thinking that it would be nice to have a bred cow or heifer and a steer that we could raise for our own freezer. We just wanted to get a start on something and we worked out a deal with my family so that they could live on the farm.

We found exactly what we wanted, we made the trip and picked them up, and we had the beginnings of our Dexter herd ... or at least a bred heifer and a steer. It was a nice little way to get our feet wet. Well, one thing lead to another and I found some cows for sale in Missouri that I thought I needed and then we had six Dexters. Still not to many, but a nice little amount. We made hay this time and put up what we thought was going to be plenty! Then I found a few more Dexters for sale in Illinois ... and I just knew I needed them. So, after a trip to Illinois we added 7 more to the herd. Our "experiment" now numbered 13! That was 4 boys and 9 girls roaming the pastures of the farm and we were beginning to think the hay might not last.

Now, with that many Dexters roaming around and so many girls that would need to be breed soon we knew that we needed a bull. That is why we started our search for a bull that ended with Hershey. After many trials and tribulations we were finally able to go down and pick him up. There was only one problem ... when we drove out of Five Ponds Farm there was more than Hershey in the trailer. We also brought home a cow and her heifer calf! Now, if you are scoring along at home, the herd total is up to 5 boys and 11 girls purchased! Also, don't forget that we have already had two calves this year ... one of each (boy and girl) ... bring the grand total up to 6 boys and 12 girls and a herd of 18 hungry mouths that all love to eat hay! In fact, with all the snow we had this year they have had to eat A LOT of hay.

That brings me to the conclusion of this little story about our "experiment". Yesterday I had to take some time to drive down to the farm and the over to another farm to buy our third load of hay! What started out as, "plenty of hay for a heifer and a steer," just didn't cut it for a herd of 18 hungry mouths. Hopefully we will be seeing green grass soon and our herd can begin to forage on their own. I for one know that I don't want to buy any more hay this year!

One more word of caution ... make sure you have the details of your "experiment" spelled out completely before you take off on your venture! :)

Eight...TEEN is Enough?

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!**

Updates from Stoneyfield...

There have been a few developments around the Stoneyfield farm lately so I thought I would take a few moments in the middle of the week to update everyone.

• First of all is an exciting piece of news. I was hoping to make this a post of it's own, but with the snowy weather and busy happenings at work I don't know when I will able to dedicate some space and pictures to this little tidbit of good news (I eventually will make this it's own post). This past Sunday afternoon our first Dexter heifer, RAD's Victoria, had her first calf. And, it was a heifer! Victoria just went off by herself in the early afternoon and had her calf under a thick stand of cedar trees ... as it was snowing! It wasn't a perfect birth because my family did have to bring the calf inside to help her warm up and gain some strength, but after a short time inside they were able to take her back out to her mom (who was under cover by now) and she started nursing. Now a couple of days later the little girl is bouncing around and doing pretty well. As soon as I'm able to get down and take pictures I will post them for everyone to see.



• I mentioned in an earlier post about the current hay situation on the farm. If we continue to have a full cover of snow like we have now we will probably be able to make our hay last until the end of February. If the snow cover were to melt away we would probably be able to stretch it a little further. With the ground completely covered in deep snow our nine cows and four steers go through about four small square bales each day. But, if it is mostly open ground we can get by with between one or two bales. In fact yesterday (before the snow came) they only ate one bale. The good news in the whole deal is that we probably have hay available to buy from my uncle. He has some big round bales from this past summer or some year old square bales. We will probably go and check it out and get a little of both. Next year we plan on making three cuttings of hay if the weather allows so hay shouldn't be a problem.



• As I just wrote our first calf was born on Stoneyfield, but I think it won't be too long until the second calf comes along. The next cow we expect to calve is A.A. Mandy who is ten years old and dun. She is also breed to a dun bull so in the best case we would have a dun heifer born! Along with Mandy there is a chance that three other cows could cave later in the spring. We bought them as pasture exposed to a bull so hopefully they are bred. If all goes well the Stoneyfield herd will have five new faces in the pasture this summer.



• The last little bit of news is kind of something that I don't want to totally unveil at the moment. But, if you are inclined to pray we would appreciate your prayers for discernment and guidance!

7 Things You Don't Know About Me ... Farming Edition

I usually don't jump on these internet things, but I thought I would give it a whirl if I could giving it a "Beginning Farmer" theme. So, the question then becomes ... What sort of farming things don't you know about a guy who blogs about farming things six days a week? Well, I have tried to scour the depths of my mind to come up with seven things that readers may not know. Here goes nothing...

1. As a child my family raised quite a few pigs from feeder to finish. We didn't have a confinement building as such, but pretty much every building on the farm had pigs in it ... and in between all the buildings. Spending time on the farm was a lot of fun for a young boy. So much fun in fact that you could create fun games for yourself (I was an only child). One of my favorite games was an obstacle course that I set up around the farm. One portion of the obstacle course included a flying leap off of a pile of dry manure across a pond of not-dry manure. Things went well all weekend long and my times were getting better until that untimely slip ... straight into the not-dry manure! I'm pretty sure I smelled for an entire week and I still can vividly remember in slow motion the moment I realized I was headed for the abyss.



2. On a separate occasion on the farm I had spent the day getting sweaty and dirty as any boy should, but when it came time to clean up for church the next morning I refused to take a bath. I am ashamed to admit that I was stubborn to the point of throwing a fit ... so, my dad took me outside (in the fall) and just plain hosed me off (clothes and all). So, I guess you can say that I was hosed down literally.



3. We have always had horses on the family farm and for a while we were part of a saddle club that had regular competitions. At one of those horse shows I placed second in the western pleasure competition and third in walk/trot (I think that is what it was). It was pretty cool be cause I received trophies and everything!



4. At the same horse club (different event) I was competing in the Texas Flag Race. In this event you grab a flag out of a bucket of sand race around a barrel (it is set up like a barrel race) and place the flag in a second bucket. I was riding my pony Star ... who like all ponies was rather stubborn ... and when we made it to the second bucket Star just stopped. Dead in her tracks stopped and wouldn't move for anything. The problem was that she stopped next to the bucket, but out of reach as I was sitting in the saddle. So I was stretching and reaching ... and then ... plop! I just slid off the saddle and she took off out of the ring. I'm pretty sure even the announcer was laughing over the PA ... maybe that is why I'm in no hurry to get horses.



5. I purchased my pony Star (mentioned above) with the money made from selling a pen of feeder pigs. My dad helped me raise them and feed them and I learned about selling at the auction and all of that good stuff. In fact we did so well with them that I was able to get a saddle also. The only downside was that we built a nice wood plank feeding floor for them that I used as a basketball court until the piggies showed up ... the piggies did a number on that court!



6. This just came to my mind ... really doesn't have much to do about me except for the fact that I witnessed it. On the old home place where we lived for a while there was a nice wide well pit on the other side of the fence from the horses. One day a horse decided to find out whether or not he could jump the fence ... well, come to find out he could jump the fence, but he landed right on top of the plywood covering the well (probably not the best cover) and broke though falling into the well! He was stuck to say the least! But, never fret, because a John Deere 4020 can do many things ... including lifting a horse out of a well! Everyone was okay, and now I have a story to tell.



7. Okay, this last one really doesn't have anything to do with me. But, it is a bit of useless knowledge that I have been storing up in my brain only to use on rare occasions. If you have been reading this blog recently you know that it is illegal to have chickens in Knoxville. But, did you know that in the state of Minnesota it is illegal to enter Wisconsin with a chicken on your head! I guess they didn't want people in Wisconsin thinking that those Minnesotians were crazy...

So, there you have it. Six things that you may not have known about me and one little bit of useless legal information. Come to think of it I have a friend who is in Minnesota right now studying to become a lawyer ... maybe I'll have to talk with him about that law!

Mmmm... Tasty Pork!

Okay, the Gearld Fry article wasn't the only cool article I read on New Farm the other day. I also ran across an articled titled, "Customers seeking taste, type, integrity and terroir drive traditional pork revival" by Kelly Klober. Mr. Klober is the author of a few books, including "Dirt Hog" which I received for Christmas and will probably start reading after I finish the book I'm on now. The title really tells it all with this article, but it really is a good read. Plus, it is another plug for the heritage breeds.

The article has a quite a bit of information and gives a nice overview of some of the possibilities available for the small pig farmer these days, but I won't take up the space to give you a blow by blow account of the article today ... I'll just give you some of my thoughts and encourage you to check out the entire article.

In the late 80's and early 90's my family was fully entrenched in the hog industry. At the time my uncle was running hogs in a confinement building along with some cattle and his row crops and my Father had hogs ... well, he had hogs everywhere! We were living on an older farmstead in the Northeast part of the state with a couple of barns and various other outbuildings. We started finishing feeder pigs in one barn ... then they spread to the second barn ... next they made their way into the old chicken house which we added a wooden feeding floor too ... and finally they were pretty much everywhere! Mostly we were buying feeder pigs and selling them when they finished. It was good money (although it was stinky work) for a time ... but, then the bottom fell out of the market and the family was no longer in the hog business. Luckily we didn't lose much other than a source of income (which is a big deal).

Well, I don't know all of the details ... but, after the market dropped things started to change in the hog industry. It hasn't quite gotten to the point of the vertical poultry business yet, but it is on its way. At one time in this country every farm had some hogs just because they were considered a safe way to get a consistent return. That is no longer the case ... unless you are doing something different.

Even here in Iowa (confinement capital of the world) people are beginning to desire something more from their pork. Our blogging friends up at Sugar Creek Farm are selling farm raised pigs and many other Iowa farmers are starting to tap into what I would call the "real pork" or "quality pork" category. In fact the PFI along with other organizations is holding NICHE Pork meetings around the state. People are trying different breeds (lots of Berkshire) and different methods in order to get back to the way pork used to taste.

I must admit that now that we have our cattle pigs and the pork that comes with them are pretty high on my list. In fact, they will most likely be the next piece of livestock that we purchase. The question is, "what do we get and why do we get it?"

Over the past few months I have mentioned Tamworths, Berkshires, Ossabaw Island, and other heritage or rare breeds. I also would like to add Glouchester Old Spots because I just found out there were a few breeding those. We need to have hogs on our farms that not only can tolerate the outdoors, but that can thrive in the outdoors. We need hogs that can "root" up part of their meals (root, hog, or die!). And, most importantly we need hogs that can become a sustainable component of the farm.

One of the many things that I do is coach high school girl's soccer. I've been doing it for just at four years now and I enjoy it for many reasons. But, one thing that I have observed is that too many girls are focusing on just one sport. They won't go out for soccer because they only do volleyball or they only do basketball, yet study after study has shown that when athletes aren't out their competing in a diverse area of competition their sport of choice can suffer. Just think about when you grew up in a small town. The same people went out for every sport ... just because! Well, that isn't always the case even in the small towns today. People think they need to specialize to be successful.

Farming has fallen into that trap also. People are grain farmers, cattle finishers, dairymen, or pork producers ... too much specialization. In order to get back to quality (just like our high school athletes) we need to have diverse farms that not only have a well rounded balance sheet, but that also produce a variety of foods. Pork is just another part of that variety!

The Importance of Our Heritage Cattle

Recently I came across a very interesting article written by Gearld Fry on the New Farm website. The article was originally published on his website, Bovine Engineering, and is titled, "Intelligent Husbandry of Primary Heritage Breeds Could be Our Key to More-Sustainable Farming and Food." That is one super long title, but it is a great article so I will let it pass!

I believe the opening section of the article is an amazing representation of what is happening in livestock agriculture (and probably crop too) right now and you should probably read it and re-read it several times so it sinks in. But, the basic premise is that at one time our farms were filled with "truly functional family cows" raised by this generations fathers and grandfathers. Once the sons and grandsons returned from educational institutions they bring with them new "knowledge" about creating the perfect herd from a commercial standpoint. Oh, and they learn this knowledge from Universities that are funded by large corporations with greed behind their motives.

So, the son our daughter takes over and starts to implement change using the latest breeding techniques in animal sciences. They create calves that wean bigger and finish bigger and that produce more milk, but they also find that despite all of the vaccinations their cattle keep getting sick and dying for no apparent reason. With all of the inputs, work, burnout, and animal loss their farm becomes increasingly unsustainable...

I think this quote from Mr. Fry sums up best where we are right now as an agirculutral industry (maybe it is a bad thing to be considered an industry) and culture:

As it is, cattle—animals that in their natural state could normally stay fat and healthy on green grass and good hay, and nourish families with wholesome and healthy meat and milk as God intended —have been steadily transformed into what has become a starch-dependent, mongrelized production machine that produces food that tastes like cardboard and causes heart disease and numerous other health problems.

At one time farmers and ranchers never or rarely had to give any sort of treatment to calves while still nursing ... not so today. At one time twice yearly worming wasn't even on the radar ... not so today. At one time cattlemen breed for sick-free cattle who could produce instead of super producing cattle who rarely weren't sick. In the words of Mr. Fry, "My friends, this should not be."

The rest of the article goes on to tell more about the faulty system that we are operating under in today's livestock world. I think this is a must read article for any farmer who believes that their farm should and can be sustainable.

In the article Mr. Fry mentions that there were 8-10 breeds of cattle that were adapted to various environments across our country. I think he raises Devons, so I assume that would be on the list, but I wonder what else. Maybe he mentions on his site or maybe some of you have some guesses? Let us know what you think.

In the meantime, check out the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy to learn more about our heritage breeds that are in danger and consider a breeding program that takes advantage of the genetics that our forefathers perfected over years and years ... not just the ideas of 50 years and research funded by animal medicine companies.

**As you may have noticed from the picture above I suggest Dexter cattle. They may not work for everyone, but the do fit the definition of a dual purpose home cow!**

An Afternoon of Work at Stoneyfield

Well, since our town decided that I shouldn't have five chickens on my property I decided to make a quick trip down to the farm yesterday. I had to dismantle the the nest boxes (buckets), grab the feed/oyster shell/grit, gather up the hens, and load everything up into the back of the Expedition. You can scroll down to yesterdays post to see a picture of the chickens new digs. They are just fine, but I don't think they will be as warm (and it is going to be very cold for the next couple days). Since I had a reason to go down I planned on doing a few other things that also needed to be done.

First of all I met my dad in town at the farm store to pick up 6 cattle panels to upgrade a little section of fence with the impending arrival of our bull, Hershey. The entire front lot (about 2 acres) is surrounded by cattle panels except for this one little section that just had the very old worn down woven wire/barbed wire fence. Considering our heifer Vicki can jump that fence at will we didn't want to see what would happen when there was a bull on one side and cows in heat on the other side! So, I dropped a bit of money and we headed to the farm (with a short interlude to pull the mailman out of the ditch).

At the farm I set up the new chicken pen (corner of a shed that had been used for puppies) and mixed up a bunch of feed for my dad. They should be good to go for awhile and I don't feel so bad about bringing the chickens down because at least they will get some eggs! In fact I think everyone (Dad, Stepmom, and brother) are excited about them ... except for my sister.

Despite the cold air and the wind it was pretty easy to put up the panels. In fact we were able to drive in a few t-posts with no problem. After we had the panels set up we set about cutting out the bull calves from the herd in order to wean them. Now, I have heard lots of great things about Dexters ... but, on Thursday I really experienced one. In the morning my dad put out the hay in a small pen we have in the corner of the front lot and then called the cows up (they do come when you call). They all walked in and started eating while my dad broke open the water tanks ... then, six of the girls must have received the memo because they just decided to walk out! So, when I showed up there were just three cows/heifers in there with the four boys. Showing our cattle sorting prowess we both walked into the little pen and I announced that I was going to sort the bull calves over to one side. Just as I said that the bull calves did exactly that! Dad opened the gate ... the girls walked out ... we were done and we were speechless!

This weekend is going to be very cold and while they have some good wind breaks out in the pasture the bull calves in the small pen for the time being had none. With that in mind we build a barricade of hay bales around one corner and put up some old panels around it to keep them from eating all of the hay. I think the boys will be as snug as a bug in a rug ... or at least as Dexters in a corner of hay.

It was nice to get out there and do some work that I had been meaning to do. It is just more difficult because it is such a long drive. After the afternoon of work and being informed that we couldn't keep our chickens we are all the more ready to make a move ... hopefully soon!

**I hope you enjoy the pictures of our cattle. From top to bottom: 1.) Ginger with her face all up in the camera; 2.) Vicki, who is staring to look very pregnant; 3.) Ginger looking longingly at her calf in the pen; 4.) The boys eating by their hay wall**