Wordless Wednesday

Weekend update

The pastures are starting to green up with a few added surprise guests popping up.

Sheep are due for shearing and to have their feet trimmed.
The lambs are growing....Berlin is stunning!
A week ago I decided to sell my flock of sheep....the decision was made with a very heavy heart...In three weeks they will leave for their new home,a nice home with 30 acres of pasture.....

I want to make sure I'm not running myself ragged and over doing it,with my new addition,cattle,horses and garden duties, I felt it was best for me as well as the sheep.
They will be greatly missed.

We are planting a small orchard.
We added three cherry, four apples, two pears and two crab apples this weekend.
They were planted along the riding ring. it will look beautiful in bloom as well as add privacy and a wind break to the ring.
I cant wait for the yummy fruit it will bear!
The best part,they were only $15/ tree and the trees are over 6 feet.

I discovered where my hens are laying.
In a attempt to hide them from the dogs they resorted to laying outside in the sawdust barn!
A nice mix of Cochin,Polish,Silver Spangled Hamburg, Langshan and Dark Brahma.

I got a nice lesson in on my mare Friday night,I was grateful for the time and how well behaved Fancy was.
The cattle were moved to a new area last night,it wont be long before they are on lush pasture.

Rain is expected to move in today and it is desperately needed, it is very,very dry.
The pastures will benefit greatly.

Well that's about it,
Hope you are enjoying your weekend!

Helping out fellow farmers

 Back in 2007 my husband and I met a man named Chris Silver.
We were attending a Organic livestock farming course together.

During lunch we talked about our dreams of owning Highland cattle as he told us about his experience raising them.
Eventually Chris switched from Highlands to Cashmere goats and opened Earth Art Cashmere Farm.

"On Thursday, March 22nd, 2012, a fire destroyed much of Chris and Christina Silver’s farm near River John, Nova Scotia, and killed more than 40 of their cashmere goats--about half of their herd. While the fire caused only minor damage to their home, it also cut off electrical service to the house, so they have had to relocate temporarily. While the Silvers had been working on upgrades to their 150-year-old barn and adjacent buildings, the structures did not yet meet current building code requirements. As a result, the Silvers were not insured for their loss.

In addition to this hardship, Chris has been battling leukemia."


I urge you to check out a the facebook group "Helping Herd".
If you can lend a hand with a donation for the auction or by bidding on a item you will be helping a great couple who really need their fellow farmers to stand behind them in this devastating time in their lives.



http://www.cbc.ca/informationmorningns/2012/04/17/a-helping-herd-lends-a-helping-hand/

http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/77304-village-helps-couple-after-fire-ravages-farm

Time

I have decided to devote one hour a week to myself.
This is a very hard thing to do guilt free.
My baby is my number one and to leave her for a hour is hard.
I decided it was a good thing even if it is hard,it gives me time to enjoy a passion of mine and her daddy gets to enjoy time with his baby without momma.

I bought myself a new tack set,it was bought for my mare two months before I bought her and hardly used,the lady does not ride western and asked if I was interested,knowing it fit my mare well I got it and tried it,it was comfortable so I bought it.

 

I headed out last night at 9pm for my first riding lesson of the year.
I was so nervous I felt kinda sick to my stomach,both at the thought of leaving my girl for the first time but also getting back in the saddle for a real ride for the first time in a year and only 5 1/2 weeks after giving birth.

I opted for a private lesson over a group lesson.
When I got to the barn the instructor was finishing up her lesson and told me the horse I was going to ride was in the straight stall at the end of the ally .
I walked down to get her,nerves were taking over, I haven't spent much time with my own horses let alone a strange one.
A pretty little bay QH just under 15hh was standing there,she looked so small compared to my big 16hh horses.
I searched for a lead line but could not find one, in order not to disturb the lesson again I decided I will walk her with no lead,I unlatched her and started backing her up,she started to pull her head back threatening to take off!
All I could think was oh no I'm going to loose her horse!
I got her to listen,step forward and re-tied her,she was tied with a lead line so I figured I must be supposed to use it....I started untying the lead, I got all the way to the end to discover a huge knot that was not going to pull through the ring....oh my what a mess I had.
Against my better judgment and common horse knowledge I un-clipped her and walked her by her halter,this time she came with me.

As I got up to the cross ties I noticed a entire wall of lead lines.....talk about feeling stupid, I walked right past them to get the horse!

I brushed the mare and picked her feet,she got tacked up and in the riding ring we went.
I have been on my mare three times in the last two weeks but only at a walk.
A new horse had me wondering how things would go.

After walking around she asked me to go into a jog, I did and it was ok,better then expected.
I learned how to keep her tight to the corners,a totally different way then my previous instructor taught but it worked very well.
The lesson was a hour long and I sure felt it in my legs and stomach,this morning is a whole other story,my butt hurts!
I feel my confidence is starting to get built back up and I will try to take some time this week to practice my lesson on my mare.
Another lesson is booked for next week.
I hope all goes well next time, at least I know where the lead lines are now,lol

I have some exciting but sad news to share with you shortly about some of our critters in another post...

Garden

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.

Walt Disney

I dream of this....

becoming this...

Arthritis

I have been working with my mare for the past week.
As I'm lounging her and riding her we leave Hound Dog our gelding, in the pasture next to the ring.
He has been very good and not caused any trouble but he does get jealous he's not being used.
Last night he played hard and is very sore today.

You see he has spent 10 years of his life as a track horse,he raced and won over $136,000 in his career,he wants to be used,in fact he loves it, so if he's not used he races in the fence when he feels good,this always leads to feeling bad.

Here's where the problem lies.
Hound Dog came here to retire from racing,before he came he had a serious accident that caused the suspensory ligament to go.
He has arthritis in his fetlock that causes flare ups.

He has numerous pinfire marks on his back legs from his previous owner.

As you can see his suspension is gone.
We have managed very well with his injury with occasional flare ups.
Today is one of those days...we will manage with bute and rest.

I wish he had nothing but good days,he deserves it, he's such a good boy I hate to see him in pain.
I plan to talk with the vet about a long term plan to manage his arthritis,Bute can be hard on horses, I hope he can offer a better solution.

Coat color

 I thought a few post on Highland coat color would be interesting for you to read about.

There are many colors and variations on these.

I will start with calf color.

There are some very interesting coat color changes that occur in Highland calves.

With a new crop of babies with some new interesting coat colors I find myself wondering what the adult coat color will be, there will be many changes in color along the way to adulthood.

 

The three spots to check are the muzzle, feet and the tip of the tail. 

Checking these will often help you to predict their adult color, which can be quite different to what their calf coat might otherwise suggest. 

The actual calf coat has numerous shades (of red to brown) that a keen eye can have an educated guess as to the adult color that they will be.

Red is the most common color and while most of them are born a rich red color, after a few months they can look a lot like a yellow calf. 

The hair on the tip of the tail gives a clue as well as the hair immediately around the muzzle and eyes.

Red

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Brindle calves look red at birth but there is often some black pigment on the nose and as the undercoat starts to appear around the eyes, the black stripes can be seen.

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Some yellow calves can look nearly the same as a red calf at birth, but their feet are slightly lighter in shade and the tip of the tail is lighter. The hair immediately around the muzzle is quite light as well.

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White calves are usually easy and are stunningly white. If anything, as they age they are seem more cream in color, especially when the coat is short - through summer.

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Black calves are either born jet black, or 'milk chocolate' in color. 

Many of them start turning a chocolaty brown color after a month or so before becoming black again by weaning as this chocolate coat sheds. 

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Similar to black calves, dun animal can be born a true dun color (grey) or a 'chocolate' color. The key difference between so called 'chocolate' calves (black or dun) and red calves is that their nose has black or grey pigment and the feet are black.

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A dun heifer calf that was born light chocolate. Looks pretty much the same as the red heifer at the top of this page, except for the grey pigment on the feet and nose.

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A silver dun heifer calf born a very light grey color but had obvious grey pigment on her nose and feet.

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 The Highland breed is truly amazing.

I will get in to adult color next time.

One Month

A very beautiful girl turned a month old today...

I sure do enjoy being a mother.
What a wonderful gift!

Wordless Wednesday

In Memory...

Strong as a Ox

A long time ago when we first started farming with Highland cattle we really wanted our very own team of oxen.
We waited every year for the perfect pair of matching bull calves that we could team.
Every year we had no boys that matched until this year!

Last Wednesday Lysa gave us a black bull calf...

Well as you know Jessie left a gift of a black bull behind the week before..

I was really torn over Jessie's calf as I had a lady,a vegetarian, want to buy him, bottle feed him and keep him as a pet.
The reason I was torn was being bottle fed is not the same as good Jersey milk to grow on but if he stayed here his fate would eventually be beef...
Hubby suggested we keep one of the black bulls intact as a breeder to sell but who to choose? This option still meant someone was leaving as beef.

It hit me the other night I did not need to choose,Jessie's calf could stay,be on milk and not go for beef so could Lysa's!
Our opportunity to team a pair of Highland's is now and what a way to honor Jessie by keeping her last gift to us.

I suggested the idea to hubby and he was all for it!!
This weekend we will start working with the little guys and teach them to lead,it will be so much fun.

I will leave you with a video I came across of a Highland team..but I need two good strong ox names for these boys so if you have a suggestion please let me know, the typical Lion,Brite and Toby are not my thing...

Playing

For the first time in nearly a year I got to take my mare out and play in my ring.
Hubby harrowed the ring,made it all fluffy and it was such fun.
Baby girl had her first tractor ride with daddy!

I'm hoping the nice weather keeps up so I can keep working with her.

On other farm news we planted a small garden yesterday with spinach,beets and a few other things...we will see if they come up.
The garlic and rhubarb are doing really well and are way ahead of schedule,last year this time there was just red buds,this year they are already starting to get good size leaves.

I sold my geese yesterday to a friend....I'm not going to miss them. The gander was getting to aggressive for my liking with me carrying a baby around!
It was nice not to hear him being grumpy around the barnyard this morning.

We have three heifers going to a new home to be breeders.

I will leave you with a picture of Blue and Gertie,she is so friendly and he is not used to the love of a cow...he was kinda shy.