It's that time of year again, where the fields are abuzz with new life.  Some of which we like, some we don't.  There are new calves at play, baby Killdeer birds running on stilted legs, gardens bursting forth with future sustenance, wildflowers everywhere and, of course, the ever present droning of the...wasps?!

Yes, wasps. Everywhere. And with the wasps comes the potential stinging, of which we've already had our fair share.  So for this blog, I thought I'd share a little about the do's and don'ts of stings.

THE DON'TS:

The thing NOT TO DO, is ignore it.  If it is ignored and you are even slightly allergic, this can cause major problems and can be potentially dangerous.  (See Pictures below)  Greg USUALLY has almost no reaction to bee or wasps stings; the pain lasting only a few minutes.  However, this time, as you can see from the pictures, was different!  He was stung on the wrist and within a few hours his entire arm had doubled in size.  This swelling, tightness and unbearable itch lasted for 5 days!  And we have been told, that the next time he is stung, it could be worse.  Let's hope he doesn't get stung on the neck!

THE DO'S:

The thing to DO, is treat it immediatly.  There are many remedies and natural treatments available.  The old-fashioned remedy we used growing up was snuff, but since there aren't too many people around these days who use snuff, it can be hard to come by.  Another option I read about was WD40; I would think this could be a little messy.  Another blog I read said to try rubbing a freshly cut onion on it; this will make your eyes water and is a little smelly.  So, when my daughter was stung a few days after her father, we decided to go with an easier, more natural sort of treatment.  Vinegar (we used raw apple cider vinegar) and soaked tea bags (we used green tea).  We first rubbed it with a rag soaked in the vinegar and then applied the wet tea bag for about 20 minutes.  It took the sting out immediately and there was absolutely no swelling.  (See picture)  (This apparently works because the venom is acidic and is neutralized by the alkaline vinegar.)

Now...it IS possible that some of you may have no adverse reactions to stings and will not need to treat it in any way.  But, by the time you are aware of how your body is going to react, it is too late to treat it.  So I say..."Better safe than sorry"!

So now we wait...for winter to pass and the grass to grow,for our sow to farrow,for cows to calve and heifers to mature, for chicks to arrive, grow and then begin to lay, for this project to be completed so that one can begin.  There always seems to be something we're waiting for here on the farm.  Fortunately, there's always plenty to keep us busy while we wait!

To read the blog click here.

 We woke up this morning to our first "ice storm" of the year.  I'm really glad I got most of my farm chores done yesterday so I don't have to be out in it much today!  So far the power has stayed on, but it's probably only a matter of time...it keeps tripping off and on.  The generator may end up coming in handy sooner than we planned!        

 We are finished with most of our calving, but there were a few stragglers who've calved in the last few days.  We had two born yesterday, and one is doing just fine, but the other had to be brought to the barn.  Hopefully she'll pull through...We lost a month old full Devon bull calf to a coyote a couple of days ago, so another loss so soon would be a bit hard to take.  I can't seem to get used to that part of farm life.

We have a new addition to the family...a German Shepherd pup we named Kaiser.  We were looking for a good guard dog to keep around the farm and have always liked the look of German Shepherds.  So a couple of months ago, after running into a lady who had some beautiful adult dogs and getting the name of a breeder who raises the German blood lines, we put a down payment on a male pup and put our name on the list for a female out of the next litter. 

 We finally brought him home a few days ago and are working on the training.  We're trying to follow the Leerburg training method which can be found at www.leerburg.com  There are some very good podcasts on proper dog training available on their site.  Kaiser (Kai for short) is so smart; he's picking up on things pretty quickly.  We're the ones who are having to re-think the whole thing.  The girls are having a hard time with the whole "pack-leader" idea because they just want to play with him and Greg is supposed to be the pack leader, which means he has to be in control of every aspect of Kai's life.  At least until he "gets" that Greg is the leader. 

I think he's going to be a wonderful addition to our family as long as we remember he's a dog and don't end up treating him like one of the kids!

It's been bitterly cold for an entire week now and I'm ready for summer!  I realize that some people have to live with this kind of weather for months at a time, but I'm not made to handle it.  That's why I live in the south! 

 Really, though, high temps. in the teens or single digits make farm chores much more difficult. To begin with, I have to bundle up to the point of immobility, then my gloves freeze to my hands after breaking the ice in the water tanks.  Next I get to have my face frozen in position (which is something like a snarl...not a good look to be stuck with!) due to the frigid wind whipping through my hair as I drive around on the 4-wheeler checking cows. (We have a John Deere Gator XUV, but it always seems to be broken down when you need it most.  Like when it's raining buckets or it's 0 degrees!) 

 Greg gets to repair some busted pipe and be soaked repeatedly while chiseling the ice out of the faucets of our watering system. The pipe is buried, but the faucets stub out to connect with hoses. If you unhook the hose, drain it and leave the water running slightly that solves a lot of the problem, but if you're water is coming from storage tanks that are above ground then you still run into some issues when the temperatures go negative.

On the bright side, we've had 3 of our best cows have heifer calves recently.  One was a Rotokawa Devon that was bred when we purchased her, so we weren't really sure when she was going to calve.  She picked a bad time...around 6:30 AM when it was about 9 degrees outside!  But she's a good mom and her calf is doing great.  She doesn't even seem to notice the cold. She was running and playing yesterday like it was springtime!  Maybe it's the fur coat.

So much has been going on around here lately that I've neglected to update our blog.  Here's a sample of the happenings:

We've had quite a few new calves and are expecting more to be born in early December.  We put in 21 embryos back in March and are hoping to get a much higher ratio this go around....

We attended the NADA 3rd Annual "Gourmet Beef on Grass" Conference and Select Sale.  It was a lot of fun!  We got to catch-up with old friends and make some new ones.  We sold a couple of our Devons and bought a couple, so we really didn't make much money.  We did get some different blood lines, though!

We've been milking one of the Devons we bought at the Select Sale and the milk is fabulous! We were really amazed at how much cream there is in the milk and have been making fresh butter. She's a "beef" Devon too, not a Milking Devon! 

We've decided we really want to get more involved in milking...making fresh butter and raw milk cheese, so we're working on plans for a milking barn and trying to determine the best location for it on the farm. Right now the girls and I are hand milking in the barn with no electricity and no hot water.  We have to take everything down there from the house every time. It's a lot of work, but the milk is worth it!

We purchased some of the Rotokawa Devon that were brought over from New Zealand by Bakewell a few years back.  They arrived in October and we just LOVE them! They really look like those "folk art" cow pictures. I'll get some pics posted on here soon!

We also purchased a new Devon bull and are really looking forward to seeing what he can do in our herd.  We already have quite a few heifers out of him that we purchased earlier this year and like them alot.

We've decided to sell out of our Katahdin sheep and focus more on our Large Black Hogs.  We've just fallen in love with them and really don't have the time to do both.  We gave our daughters the choice between the two and the pigs won!

Our twin daughters turned 13 this summer and now our baby girl is turning 10 in December.  Where has the time gone?!  They are really growing up and starting to become more interested in the operations of the farm.  We hope they will want to carry on and build on what we've started here.

It looks like we're going to be hosting a field day here on the farm next spring.   We'll post the dates as soon as we know them. Guess we better get busy so we'll be ready!

    We finally have our Large Black Hogs!  Prudence (our future sow), Noble Sam (our future Boar), and Lefty (a barrow we plan to eat...maybe...if we don't get too attached to him!  He loves to have his belly rubbed.  (Click on 'The Pigs' tab for pictures.)

We picked them up in Missouri, along with 4 Dominique chickens, and drove them home in the back of our SUV so they wouldn't be exposed to the sun and wind.  Needless to say, we drove most of the way home with the windows rolled down!  I was expecting the drive to be pretty noisy, but is turned out to be surprisingly quiet.

They are settling in nicely in our smaller paddock where they can be trained to the hot wire.  They have already discovered the wire and don't like it at all!  They do, however, love their soaking tub.  It's comical to watch them all try to get in it at the same time.  Lefty really likes the tub and tends to "hog" it when he's in it. 

                                         **********

On another note, we've gone from an extremely wet spring to an extremely dry early summer and back to the wet again here in late summer.  Our grass is finally green and growing again after the scorching heat and drought we experienced in June. Today feels like a rainy fall day and we and our cows are really enjoying it!

Our Devon calves are growing quickly and looking good.  We have more to come in October and December and are very excited about the genetic lines we're working with.   I'll take some pictures as soon as the rain passes and get them posted ASAP.

                                           **********

May and June are busy months here on the farm. Besides all the farm related projects and calving, we also have several birthdays and our annual trip to Greg's parents place in south Texas.  The girls love visiting the grandparents and its always nice to have a little break from the daily chores!

Our calving season has gotten off to a good start.  No calving problems, big healthy calves and so far more heifers than bulls!  I absolutely love our Devon!  They are so laid back even as young calves that they sometimes won't even get up when you tag them.  They'll lay there and let you pet them and did I mention how cute they are?  With their shiny, ruby red curls and those big dark eyes you just can't help but fall in love with them!

Our Devon/Angus calves that we're raising for our grass-fed beef program are taking a little longer to finish out than expected.  With all the rain and cooler temperatures our grass growth has really slowed down and you've got to have grass to grass-finish.  So, we're hoping to have them ready in late summer or early fall.  We'll keep you posted.

Our lambs are growing quickly and we'll have grass-fed lamb for sale soon.  A leg-of-lamb that's been on the grill/smoker all day is hard to beat! (I hope to have some recipes posted soon so everyone can try them out!)

We've had rain, rain and then more rain lately and while its great grass-growin' weather, it makes trench digging and pipe laying extremely messy and slow.  The watering system is the missing link in our MIG and we're very anxious to get it up and running, so the rain is a mixed blessing at this point.  Our grass is growing like gangbusters, though!

We've recently purchased a few more Devon and Milking Devon.  They are all doing well and lovin' all the grass we have this year. The heifer calves are missing their mommas, but seem to be adjusting.  Our new Milking Devon bull, Leon, was apparently seen as a bit of a threat to one of our other Devon bulls, Abraham.  Abe was "telling him whose boss" over the fence there for a little while, but I think they've gotten used to each other now. 

Our ewes and lambs are doing well, although I think they're a bit tired of being wet.  The girls had a surprise the other day when they checked on them during morning chores...a new lamb!  The other lambs are about 3 months old now and are almost as big as their mommas, so it's nice to have a little one that you can pick up around again.

We'll be taking our grass-finished lambs and calves in for processing shortly and should be ready for the farmer's market(s) soon.  We'll post the exact dates when we have them.  We're looking forward to having a good grass-fed steak again, ourselves.  We're out of everything except hamburger, which is great, but let's face it; a good steak is the best!