Janie Had Her Calf

Monday, October 17, 2022

Hello friends,

It’s not unusual for us to get frost this time of year, but it looks like it is going to be downright COLD! That means we have a lot of preparation. Our pond water system can handle a little frost, but not the 18 degrees that is forecasted. This is the earliest that we’ve ever had to abandon the pumped pond water. It’s a complicated process of blowing all the water out of the lines, draining the pressure tank and the pump, and making sure nothing freezes and breaks. The pond is way low anyway, so it looks like we are going to start using rural water. Lord, we need pond filler rain!!! The system has a heat lamp on it tonight, but we’ll decide what to do tomorrow.

Then there are all the apples. I have most of the Ida Red apples off that big standard sized tree that I can reach, even with my 16-foot extended apple picker. The Johnagold is mostly picked as well, but the Fuji tree is not even quite ripe. I checked with Google and the apples can handle a freeze down to about 28 degrees without damage but unfortunately not the lows we are expecting. Darn. I picked a whole box full today even though they taste a little green. The poor tree is loaded, and it will all go to waste. Nothing I can do about it. Nope, don’t even suggest a smudge pot. It will be too cold for that.

Janie had her calf on Friday. ANOTHER MALE! I was so disappointed. I really wanted a Janie heifer. Over the last year we have had 9 bull calves and only three heifers. Argh! That’s just the way it is sometimes. The next cow to calve is not until December 24th so we have a ways to go. Janie is still giving colostrum transition milk but should be coming online in a day or two. She is a big cow and should give a lot of milk….

Calves For Sale

Monday, October 10, 2022

Hello friends,

What a beautiful harvest moon last night! It played a little peek a boo with the clouds, but the night sky was lit up! I have stopped trying to take a picture of it because it never looks the same. Just stop and enjoy the moment. I know that theoretically it happens once a month, but sometimes it’s just more spectacular.

This Friday we will be taking two beeves into the processor, one is a cull cow and the other is a steer that is half Jersey and half Angus. In a normal year we might have lush fall grass to finish the steer to marble the meat and cut out steaks. This year we’ll just go with lean whole cow ground beef since we haven’t had any growing grass for several months. It should be very good, but not juicy steak type beef. I’ll let you know when it’s ready.

The two little male calves, Travis and Harrison, are growing and being cute. We don’t really need two more male calves so if you have a farm and would like to raise a bottle or bucket calf, or two, let me know, they are for sale. Or if you have a nurse cow. Some people do, you know. On the other hand, if they were heifers, we might keep them. Janie is due to calve in about a week, so we’ll see what we get there. A lot of coming and going. I have everything written down on cards for each cow. When they were born, the parents, when they were bred, when they calved, and so on. Even when they move on, I keep their cards in the file because sometimes we look back at the ancestry. My little card file is getting full….

Emmy Lou Had a Boy

Monday, October 3, 2022

Hello friends,

Warm days and cool nights. I love it. I would love some drenching rains even better, but we’ll be thankful for the nice weather. The windows have come open, the sweatshirts are needed for morning chores, and I’m kicking piles of leaves from the edges of the sidewalk. There is a very bright star in the east at dusk which I discovered is Jupiter. At first, I thought it was an airplane, but it just didn’t move. The clear skies are nice for star gazing this time of year.

Emmy Lou had her calf on Saturday afternoon. I was looking out the window in the kitchen and I noticed one of the cows off by herself. Yep. I asked Bill if we were ready for the next calf, and he said no. Well, we had better get ready because there is a calf on the ground. It is getting dark earlier every day, and we wanted to get them secured in the barnyard. Coyotes can really attack the newborn calves and as it turned out, this one didn’t have the strength to get up on his own. Emmy Lou was actually anxious to follow the herd to the milking parlor, and we just put the calf in the back of the truck. Heifers are usually not that good at attending to their newborns, but we put them together overnight. It has taken a couple of days, but he is finally standing and walking on his own. If we were not there to intervene, that calf would have died, not being able to suckle. As it is, Harrison, as we are calling him, is fast friends with Travis who was born last week….

Kelcie Had a Boy

Monday, September 26, 2022

Hello friends,

Happy Fall! We got 0.6” of rain last week which helped, but we still need more. The temperatures are trending to more seasonal . The leaves began falling just all of a sudden! The cows are starting to grow their winter coats and we are starting chores with an extra shirt. I love the cool evenings and warm afternoons!

It’s a boy! Kelcie had her calf on Sunday morning, bright and early. We went out to get the cows from lane 1 and counted them. There should have been 17, but we were one short. Since she was looking so imminent on Saturday, we were not a bit surprised to find her and her calf away from the herd. She did a great job and since little Travis was still wet and not yet sturdy on his feet, we left them together and went to milk the other cows. Later, we found them quite a distance away, all perky and Kelcie was ready to join the herd. Milking her is a bit of a challenge as most heifers are a bit kicky and she is typical. She will settle down after a while, they always do. Well, so far my heifers always have……

Linn County Fall Farm Tour

Monday, September 19, 2022

Hello friends,

Still no rain here. Man, is it dry! It’s getting serious. And this hot, dry wind doesn’t help any either. Another “peak day” from the power company so they can add insult to injury by charging us more when we need the power the most. The cows are still resisting the hay, insisting on eating the little blades of grass down to the ground. Milk production has dropped because they don’t have a lot of extra calories for production. It is September! I am ready for fall. There are differing weather forecasts. The National Weather doesn’t have much hope for rain, and my “hippie dippy” weather app on my phone says 68% chance on Thursday. Let’s pray the app is right.

This Saturday is the Linn County Fall Farm Tour, so I wanted to remind you again. It may be pretty crowded like the spring tour, or it may be a leisurely day. Hard to tell. We’ll be tailoring the tours to the interest of the visitors. Some people want a quick look, and others want the complete explanation of the entire process. There will be cheese available to sample and to purchase. Bring your coolers if you plan on picking up some goodies to take home that need to be kept cold…..

Closed Monday September 19th

Monday, September 12, 2022

Hello friends,

Our rain total for this week was 0.10” on Saturday evening when we were trying to grill. Of course. We did not complain, and dinner was fabulous! Needless to say, we desperately need rain. The tree leaves are turning prematurely as they are in conserve moisture mode. There is nothing in the long-range forecast, but God is still in control.

The railroad is working on replacing ties on the track to west of our house so if you are coming out to the farm, be aware that the road may be temporarily closed. You can always go around. One road that goes over the tracks is 1000 road which may be accessed from the 69 Hwy. outer road two miles north. Your GPS will probably guide you. It’s not closed yet, but the new ties are laying in preparation, and they were about 5 miles south of us this morning as we went to get firewood in Fulton.

Next Monday we will need to close the store to allow me to take Bill to a dental procedure appointment. Ugh! Just want you to plan ahead.

The first ever Linn County Farm Tour was such a success that they have planned a Fall Farm tour. It’s coming up fast on Saturday, September 24th. As in the spring, we will be giving the full tour of the creamery and farmyard, as well as giving cheese samples. There are a few new farms participating so that should be fun….

Happy Labor Day

Monday, September 5, 2022

Hello friends,

              Happy Labor Day!  In honor of the day, we labored.  We didn’t have plans so we might as well be open.  And we might as well make some yogurt that we were out of.   And come to think of it, there were a few other things that needed to get done.  All in all, it has been a very busy day.

              Heifer training has begun.  Both Emmy Lou and Kelsy are due to have their calves at the end of this month and the beginning of next, only 3 days apart.  Of course, due dates are just suggestions, and they could switch order of calving, or both be late, or both be early.  You just never know.  They have gotten used to loading into the holding pen with the other milkers, and they know they are going to get some grain.  The other cows are really not very nice to them, plowing into them on their way in to get milked.  They certainly have a pecking (pushing) order, and we have boss cows and shy cows.  This evening we were able to get training halters on the heifers and that will make it easier to get them to put their head in the stanchion for their grain.  All cows resist change.  They are definitely creatures of habit, and we are introducing a lot of new and unfamiliar things.   Over time they will come around.  By the time they have their calf, this part will be normal and regular….

Hallelujah! We Finally Got Rain!

Monday, August 29, 2022

Hello friends,

Hallelujah! We finally got some beneficial rain this afternoon. It wasn’t predicted, but it blew up and poured about 1.3” of rain on us. AHHH! We can still use more, but this was a grass grower/garden waterer. My apple trees dropped windfalls in the … wind… but at least they got some moisture, and they won’t be dropping because of lack of moisture. There is potentially more rain coming this evening.

We had to put out a couple of bales of hay for the cows last week. They weren’t excited about it, but it’s better than not having anything to eat. Their production has been down, but we’ve been getting by because we backed off on cheesemaking. It’s going to take a little while for grass to grow back and production to pick up. We also have two heifers due towards the end of September and Janie should come back online in mid-October. But for the meanwhile, make sure you call ahead to reserve milk if you are going to make a trip out to the farm. We had to turn away a couple of people on Saturday that dropped in. Remember, please let us know by 10 p.m. the night before you plan on coming to have the best shot at milk…

We Need More Rain

Monday, August 22, 2022

Hello friends,

It feels like my weekly narrative. Yes, we got a little bit of rain, this time 3/10”, but we really need more. I’m very thankful for what we got, and the cooler weather is certainly nice, but to get the pastures to grow back, we are going to need at least an inch. Just saying. The pond is getting a little low so we will have to keep an eye on the intake hose and make sure it is still in a good place to get clean water and not muck from the bottom. It WILL rain, it always does. God is faithful….

Praying for Rain

Monday, August 15, 2022

Hello friends,

               We are hoping and praying for rain.  There is some in the forecast and we see some on radar, but now we need to pray it down!  The pastures are getting so dry that we will soon be feeding some of that hay we cut.  The Lespedeza  that the county considers a noxious weed because it will take over a pasture, was cut with our hay.  Ironically, it’s almost the only thing grown back and palatable for the cows.  It actually has quite a bit of food value when it is short.  So, a noxious weed will carry us through!

              Sadly, we lost another chicken to a hawk yesterday.  They are so savvy.  I have been waiting until 4:00 to let them out thinking they would be safer, but the hawks figured out that later is when dinner comes out.  They were in all day today and I thought I would let them out while I was picking tomatoes in the garden after chores.  It was 7:30 and you know that hawk was out there waiting.  I didn’t let the chickens out after all.  They were all huddled under their roost because they knew that hawk was out there, and they probably wouldn’t have come out anyway.  We have to come up with a solution.  In all the years we have had chickens,  I have never had such persistent hawks bent on attacking.  Food must be scarce…..

So Humid

Monday, August 8, 2022

Hello friends,

              It is SO humid!  It feels like one cool breeze could gather up all this moisture and rain it back down.  We’ll see what happens.  Bill watered the garden anyway because if it doesn’t rain or it it’s not very much, the plants will suffer.  I’m afraid the garden has been rather nonproductive lately.  I have 5 different types of beans planted and so far, we have not gathered enough beans to make a meal.  Pitiful.  The flowers fall off in the heat.  We’ll just endure, and it will eventually cool off.

              We named Petula’s calf Dolly.  She is so cute.  Petula is milking those three quarters that we were expecting, but the fourth one is just not cleaning out.  We’ll keep treating it with topical things and pray that it will shrink down.  Now that her good quarters are producing milk for us, we can go ahead and start drying up Janie who is due for her pregnancy vacation.  We give her very little grain and milk her in the morning, then skip milking her in the evening.  That will be the plan for a couple of days.  Then we’ll skip two milkings, milk one.  And then we’ll stop, and she can take a break for two months….

Petula Had a Girl!

Monday, August 1, 2022

Hello friends,

              Ah, we got a nice soaking rain or two last week, combined with cooler temperatures to keep the moisture where it belongs.  Good thing too.  Looks like summer heat is coming back.  Ugh.  Oh well.  The garden benefitted from the rains, but the beans are still not setting fruit.  My goal is to try to keep them alive until it cools off and then MAYBE we’ll get some fall beans.  Tomatoes are trickling in, and melons are ripening, but the squash bugs have migrated from the zucchini, and I can tell it won’t be too long until they succumb as well.  I hate squash bugs, but I refuse to put poison on my garden, so I guess we’ll just get what we get.  If you have any suggestions besides hunting down every stinking bug ( they are a type of stink bug, you know) I am open.

              Petula had her calf last night and it’s a girl!  Yeah!  She didn’t end up being as early as I thought, but since her due date is tomorrow, she was technically early.  Petula has spots, and this little one has a spot on her head, so the temptation is to name her Star or something like that.  That’s a popular horse name if you ask me, but we’ll still consider it.    Momma had some persistent mastitis in one of her quarters last lactation so we put a plug in the milker and just milked the other three quarters.  We were hoping that she would do better this time, but it doesn’t look like an improvement.  It’s hard when mastitis gets started.  The best remedy is prevention, but when that doesn’t work, we do the next best things….

Rain Needed

Monday, July 25, 2022

Hello friends,

Sixty miles doesn’t seem like all that much distance, except it can separate vastly different weather patterns. We got about a quarter inch of rain overnight and then watched the radar in jealousy as the massive green area camped out to our north. There were cooler temperatures for sure, but sunshine and blue sky most of the day. So, we still need rain and are really hoping the forecast comes through for us as there are more chances coming!

Thirty big round hay bales are now scattered around the pasture, waiting to be moved to the storage area near the creamery. It was about the amount of hay we were expecting, but the grass that has been cut is all brown and dormant now. The dry heat from last week really sucked all the moisture out of it. Again, some rain would be really timely....

Hay Mower Came

Monday, July 18, 2022

Hello friends,

              Just enduring the summer right now.  I sure wish we would have gotten a little rain to tide us over through the coming heat stretch.  Man, the forecast is daunting.  I know it’s summer in Kansas, and of course it’s worse in Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, but it sure is hard to keep the garden alive in this weather.  We spend a lot of time watering with the pond water system.  Thankfully we don’t have to use rural water and pay for it.

              The hay mower came today and efficiently cut the pastures in lane 5, 8 – 10, and 12.  That’s step one in putting up our hay.  Not a day too soon either!  If we would have had to wait longer, the grass may have totally lost its nutritional value in the dry heat.  As it is now, it is cut and will cure in the hot sun, then they will bale it and preserve it for the future.  There are three things we always need to get done before winter, cut hay, collect firewood,  and mow weeds in the pastures.  That firewood seems ridiculous right now, but winter will come, and we will need wood.

Moving Slowly

Skyview Farm News

Monday,  July 11, 2022

Hello friends,

              You just can’t take your health for granted.  Bill was the first to come down with the bug, then Rylee, then me, and finally my mom.  Ugh!  The cows still have to be milked but when all your back up help is also feeling puny, it makes for a puny chore time.  Somehow, we are managing.  Taking turns, moving slowly, and only doing the bare necessities.  Bill is starting to feel better so I’m hopeful that it won’t be long and the rest of us will gain some strength.

              The peach trees have each had issues the last couple of years, but this was the year for their complete demise.  Both of the older trees broke their heavy peach laden branches, and the younger tree could not overcome the deer scraping of its bark last fall.   Looks like we are going to need to plant a couple of new trees. The apple and pear trees look good, and so far, the electric netting has been protecting them from the little raccoon bandits.  The trees are obvious sources of food, and they don’t understand that they belong to us!…..

Happy Independence Day!

Monday, July 4, 2022

Hello friends,

              Happy Independence Day!  It sure was a hot one!  We originally planned on roasting hot dogs in the fire pit and going fishing in our pond, but it’s just too hot to make that enjoyable.  Unfortunately, the outlook for the week is not much better, in fact it could be hotter.  Maybe the humidity will ease up with the high temperatures.  After that 1.7” of rain Saturday the crabgrass in the yard is really taking off.  I suppose that goes for in the pastures as well so there is always a silver lining.

              We spent the better part of today untangling electric poultry netting from its storage in the barn.  No, not for the chickens, but for around our fruit trees.  The last several years has been a free for all in the orchard and we have “shared” way too much fruit with the wildlife.  There was only one pear that survived for us to eat, and it was loaded at one time.  The peaches are just about ripe, and I’ll bet the raccoons are keeping an eye on them just like we are.  The deer have been trimming the bottom branches on the apple trees, although there is a cute spotted fawn that we see prancing around from time to time.  So, we broke off the mud daubers from the electric netting, stretched it all the way out to look for places that needed to be mended, and set it up around the orchard.  Next comes the fence charger.  Right now, the deer can jump over it, but once we get the fence charged, the hope is that they will sniff the fence first and sense the electricity and back away.  Just everything back AWAY!....

Beautiful Temperatures

Monday, June 27, 2022

Hello friends,

              Ahh!  Two days in a row with beautiful temperatures.  We had a refreshing inch of rain Saturday night and the pastures have responded.  Although the grass has gone to seed and it looks like it’s brown, that’s just the seed tops.  Down below there are grasses and clovers that are thriving.  We have set aside several lanes from our rotational grazing use and are not letting the cows graze them.  Then we will have grass thick enough for a decent amount of hay.  We hire a local rancher to cut and bale for us, but their own hay fields come first.  Then we wait for a nice dry stretch so the cut hay can cure.  Always working with the weather!

              The lettuce is starting to bolt so we are eating chef salad for dinner.  You can’t, dry, can, or freeze lettuce so we just pick it and put it in big bags in the refrigerator.  That only lasts a week or so before going bad.  The cucumber plants are climbing up the trellis, and the tomatoes keep needing a stray branch to be tied to the fencing.  I keep pulling weeds and mulching.  Eventually everything will be in order, and I’ll have to go after stray weeds.  I love when the garden is under control, but it sure is a lot of work!…..

Still Hot

Monday, June 20, 2022

Hello friends,

              Still hot, but a little more bearable today.  I’m still spending the greater part of the day in the air conditioning if I can help it.  About 8:00 in the evening we begin watering.  The garden, the blueberries, and blackberries, and then the flowers in front of the creamery, down by the sign, and Mom’s peonies.  Finally, we pour pitchers of water in the flower pots on the back porch.  That’s the only water that comes from the tap, everything else is pond water pumped through our water system.  Thank you, Bill, for setting all of that up!

              I want to comfort your fears about cattle dying in Kansas.  I saw the horrible pictures of the dead feed lot animals all lined up to be disposed of.  Scary stuff.  Our cows are not happy about the heat, but they have shade, plenty of water, and when it’s particularly hot we spray them with water when they come to be milked.  At first they close their eyes and try to get away, but then they realize that it feels GOOD and they just stand still and enjoy.  The chickens have shade in their house, under their house, and on the opposite side of the house from the sun.  They don’t seem to be venturing too far from their shade, but hey, I can’t see them very well in the tall grass anyway.  I’m told that their shells could be thinner when they pant to keep cool.  I haven’t noticed that yet….

It’s Hot!

Monday, June 13, 2022

Hello friends,

              It’s hot.  Not technically summer yet but unofficially it is here.  Ninety degrees as far as the forecast dares to predict.  I hope they are wrong.  They often are, you know.  We are watering those lovely potted flowers that we put on the back deck.  They looked so perky, and now I feel sorry for them having to endure the deck.  The garden is mulched so it is fine, but we watered tonight because there are some just sprouted plants that don’t have very deep roots.

              The generator has been placed, the electric transfer apparatus has been installed, and the propane company contacted to connect.  When it is all set up, we will be protected from an extended power outage.  Before this large generator, we just had a gasoline-powered portable machine that would help us get the cows milked out, but no way to chill it or keep the refrigerators running.  The cheese cave will efficiently keep the aged cheeses cool, but we would basically have to dump milk without this generator.  Now we can continue to operate and produce food if there would be an emergency.  Of course, like insurance, you hope that you never need to use it, but it’s nice knowing that we are not defenseless….

Plenty of Rain with Plenty of Sunshine

Monday, June 6, 2022

Hello friends,

              Plenty of rain with plenty of sunshine following is the perfect condition for growing pretty much everything!  The grass in the pastures, the grass in the lawn, the garden, and of course the weeds.  We have been focusing on getting the garden under control first.  Bill deposited a big round bale of hay on the edge of the garden and as soon as I get a section hoed, he gets several pitchforks full of old hay and we pile it on.  It is wonderful.  By fall it starts to break down and a few weeds get through, and I can usually manage them, finishing it off with another touch up layer of mulch.  We all have better things to do than pull weeds in the same place, again….