Officially on Calf Watch

Monday, July 24, 2023
Hello friends,
              Another nice rain this morning to help us through the coming heat.  The lawn was getting long because the mower needed some repairs.  Bill came home from his rehab/errands, put the new tires on the mower, and got right to it while Hailey and I did chores.  It looks so much better!  Normally July is not a rainy season, but we’ll take it.  Every rain we get is a day that we don’t have to water. 
              We are officially on calf watch.  Vivian is due Saturday and Sally next Wednesday.  If I was just looking at physical signs, I would say that Sally would go first.  She looks very plump and ripe.  Any day now.  We sold the little bull calf so it’s just Sweetheart and Darcy in the calf area.  Stephen worked on remodeling the fencing back there to make it easier to maintain when the weeds grow, and more pleasant to look at if you are visiting.  We’re not done but it looks so much better already….

Generator Preparations Paid Off

Monday, July 17, 2023
Hello friends,
             

The recent storms have been widely scattered, and they have had some impressive cloud formations, but did you get any rain?  Last Wednesday we got a storm, and our new generator was tested.  We were in the middle of milking and the power just went out.  The milkers dropped off and the cows began dripping milk on the floor.  We knew what to do.  Bill immediately flipped off the air conditioner, and I turned off the bulk tank so that when the generator kicked on, the milk machine with its significant start up power draw,  would have enough power to let us finish milking.  We waited a little longer and realized that there was a switch on the generator that needed to be on “auto”.  Then we were back in business and the cows got a little extra grain while they waited.  When the power came back on, we turned on the air and the bulk tank.  The power went off two more times, but each time we had a system and our generator preparations paid off!
             

The pasteurizer is working just as it was designed to work now.  The part came, was installed, and we immediately began to make yogurt.  We are still catching up, but that will be our focus.  Meanwhile, the boiler went out on our big cheese vat.  I kid you not!  When we built the creamery, we got a good deal on a tankless hot water heater type boiler that came out of a carwash in the 1980’s so it has had a long productive life and finally gave out.  As we consider its replacement, we are thinking of the future and the possibility of a bigger cheese vat down the line.  Meanwhile, we will focus on catching up with the fresh cheeses in the small vat…..

Pasteurizer is Fixed!

Monday,  July 10, 2023
Hello friends,
              We are back to watering the garden again.  It’s not too serious, but it looks like heat is coming and that tends to dry things out quickly.  No hay has been cut yet, but that might be a good thing.  There was a little extra growth in the pastures after last Saturday’s rain.  The cows have noticed it and are producing well. 
              The new part for the pasteurizer did the trick and we are back in yogurt production!  I am so thankful.  I guess I didn’t realize how much yogurt we sell or how many people are craving it.  As soon as we ran out, I discovered.  It takes a little bit to catch up but we’re working on it!  Keifer will come soon……

Happy Independence Day!

Monday, July 3, 2023
Hello friends,
              Happy Independence Day!  Whoo hoo!  Fireworks have been going off all weekend, to the extent that I wonder if there will be any left to fire off tomorrow, the actual 4th of July!  Good thing we got a nice rain on Saturday to protect flammable objects from a floating ember. 
Seriously, we got a 2” rainstorm that developed right over the top of us.  The driving wind and rain was severe, and there was even hail.  More branches down from the maple trees, and my blackberry canes that are growing for next year’s berries were leaning on the ground.  I tied them back up, but they don’t look so happy.  The surprise rainstorm came after we got the cows for milking and then it stopped when we took them back to pasture, only to start back up again.  A very timely rain.  We can stand with the hose watering for a very long time, but a soaking rain is way better!….

Bull Calf For Sale

Monday, June 26, 2023
Hello friends,
             

It has only been a little over a week, and already we really need some rain.  Saturday threatened to rain.  The sky was dark and encouraging, the radar was hopeful, but ultimately, we only got a handful of sprinkles.  I’m confused by the wild forecast on my phone which predicts three one hundred + degree days with 100% chance of rain.  When has it ever rained when it was 100 degrees?  When has it ever been 100 degrees while it was raining? Something is amiss.  We are getting close to getting our hay cut but the pastures are drying up and looking stressed so I don’t know that we will have much hay to show for it.  Bill is already asking around for sources of more hay for our cows.
             

Remember I was waiting for Vivian to have her calf?  Remember that I said it was any day?  Well, I was wrong.  After the week went by and she doesn’t look much more ready to calve than last week, we began to question my record keeping.  Sure enough, I put down the wrong date and she is not due until July 29.  That’s a bummer because we dried her up for her vacation a month early.  Nothing we can do about that now.  Just wait.  Meanwhile,  Patty is contributing to the milk supply and for that we are thankful.  We are naming her little heifer, Darcy.  That makes us bottle feeding two heifers and a little bull calf.  We don’t really need the bull calf so if you need one, let me know because he is for sale.  I will post him on Craig’s List this week….

Patty Had a Heifer

Monday, June 19, 2023
Hello friends,
              We have a new heifer!  Yea!  Patty had her calf this morning and it’s a girl.  We are so happy!  We looked out into the pasture this morning and we could see Patty and the calf, and then there was Bonnie circling around them.  She thinks every calf is hers.  It was very difficult to  persuade her otherwise.  Vivian was due today, but it hasn’t happened yet, so we are still on calf watch.  It is obviously soon!
             

We got another nice little rain on Saturday night so everything is still growing.  The garden is really happy, the lawn is happy, the pastures are happy, so then the cows are happy.  It has been a particularly prolific year for thistles, however.   They pop up in the pastures with their pretty purple puff ball flowers, but the leaves are all thistley and the cows can’t eat them.  Anything in the pastures that the cows can’t eat, I consider a weed.  You may call crabgrass and clover weeds in your yard, but in the pasture, they are excellent cow food!  Give me more!  Blue grass in the pasture is … meh.  Everything is growing now….

We Are So Blessed!

Monday, June 12, 2023


Hello friends,
             

How can it be the middle of the month already?  I feel like I lost two weeks dealing with Bill’s health emergency.  I think we are gaining some semblance of normalcy, a slower normalcy.  Bill is feeling pretty good, but his main symptoms are the side effects of the medicine he is on.  I am hoping that we can eventually get him off of some of this.  He has an appointment in the city with the cardiologist on Thursday and I plan to go along.  It also happens to be my delivery day so maybe we can do both. 
             

These timely rains have made my life easier because I don’t have to water!  That was a serious chore last year.  Now I’m just dealing with the monster weeds that are thriving in this weather.  Gradually I am making progress.  Ron and Liz came over last week and did us a HUGE favor by weeding the flower beds.  What a blessing!  Now the little zinnias and marigolds and their little blooms will be visible instead of choked out…..

He’s Home

Monday, June 5, 2023
Hello friends,
             

What a difference a week makes!  At this time last week, we were zooming to the emergency room.  This week Bill is sitting in the easy chair at home, feeling MUCH better.  He still needs time to recover and then cardio monitored rehab.  Our diet is already pretty healthy, but we will make a few changes for salt intake, etc.  My son is spending time here at the farm to help out.  He usually works from home, so he is just doing that at our house.  We are so blessed by the outpouring of prayers and offers of help.  It’s humbling and overwhelming.  Thank you so much!
             

On Friday Billie Jean decided it was time to give birth.  It’s a girl!  Yea!   She was not due to calve until the 11th, but she would have none of it.  When we found the calf, there were two cows vying for her attention, and neither one was the mother.  If it had been earlier, my workers would have had to deal with the extra responsibility for her, but it was my first night back.   I don’t have a name yet but we’re working on it.  Unfortunately, Billie Jean has a bad case of mastitis in her right rear quarter, and she is moving pretty slowly.  Please pray for a full recovery for her as well!    Our next two cows are due on the 18th and the 19th but we’ll see when they decide to go into labor….

Family Emergency

“A late explanation

Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Hello friends,
               

So!  Where to start.  On Monday Bill was not feeling well.  Pain in his neck mouth, chest, so he took a pain reliever and rested.  It came and went a bit.  Then towards the end of evening chores he took a bottle to feed the calf and I was watering flowers in front of the creamery.  It seemed to be taking him a long time.  I shut off the water and I heard him calling for me.  I found him on the floor in the barn, the bottle not fed.  He looked terrible and felt as bad as he looked.  I helped him to the house and pulled of his muck boots, grabbed my purse, a couple of water bottles, and texted a friend from our home group to stay with Mom.  Then I drove 82 miles an hour to St. Luke’s South to the Emergency Room and they got to work. 15 or more people began prepping him, testing him, questioning him.  The EKG came back, and the Interventionist Cardiologist said it was terrible, very bad, he could die.  Literally no sugar coating!  I was not discouraged.  Our God is a big God.
 They quickly proceeded to the Cath Lab to see what was going on.  100% blockage in his Right Coronary Artery that feeds the heart.  So, they put in a stint and continued exploring.  90% blockage on the left side where it was more complicated to repair because of the forking of the arteries there.  They decided to wait for that repair until he recovered and stabilized.  Tuesday afternoon,  again the honest truth doctor explained that it was very serious and that he could die.  By this point, many of you and others were praying.  Not only did Bill feel the Lord’s presence, but he was thanking the health care workers and encouraging them and their faith in the Lord.  After a two-hour procedure and three more stints, the serious doctor proclaimed “Beautiful!”.  It was the success they were hoping for. 
I’m home for the night with Mom tonight.  My son is with Bill in the hospital right now and I will go back in the morning as they are planning on sending him home tomorrow.  Meanwhile, our workers have been doing all the chores.  Quite well, I must say!  Our hope is to begin selling milk on Friday, but after four days of not selling milk, there are quite a few of you out of it.  I will determine how much we will have and will take orders until we run out.  Please be patient as we work this through.
I am tired, thankful, blessed, and ready for normal again.  Maybe a little slower normal.  My son is planning on working from here for a little while until we can figure things out.  I may be out of some things, but I can sell what we have.
Thank you for your prayers!  We really appreciate the outpouring of love many of you who knew the situation have shown.
Love you guys,
Sheri”

Makenzie Had a Boy

Monday, May 22, 2023
Hello friends,
              The wind has gone somewhere else, and the weather is just so pleasant.  We had a perfect weather day for the farm tour.  After a chilly rainy day on Friday, we were just blessed with a sunny, slightly cool tour day.  There was a good crowd but not overwhelming.  We had both of our workers here to help and everyone did a great job.  And right on schedule for the tour, Makenzie had her calf on Saturday morning!  Can you believe her timing???  Unfortunately, it is a boy, but a cute boy, nonetheless.  We let the kids go right in the stall with him and he enjoyed being pet by everyone.  Bill and I took a long nap on Sunday.
              I am working hard to finish planting the garden.  Two more beds done today, and hopefully two more tomorrow, and then I’m done.  I got some flowers to put in pots on the back porch, and some daisies to transplant.  The weeds are really sprouting with the rain we had and then the warm sunshine.  Time to pull weeds and MULCH!  I have the advantage of a big supply of abandoned hay bales so I can really put it on thick.  I’ve planted some flowers here and there so if it doesn’t rain, I have to WATER their tender root….

Farm Tour This Saturday 9-3

Monday, May 15, 2023
Hello friends,
              Wahoo!  We got RAIN!  And plenty of it!  The initial storm that came through was dramatic and scary, but it yielded 1.25 inches of rain filled with nitrogen fixing lightning.  The response to the soaking rain has been amazing.  Everything is growing like it should be this time of year.  The violent winds almost sent us to the basement, and we lost some large limbs from a maple tree in the back yard, but after it settled down to just rain, we were rooting for the rainfall.  No tornadoes, no hail, just wind and rain.  Then we had two more half inch days of rain to follow up the beneficial soaking.  Praise the Lord!
              The Farm Tour is this Saturday, and we are getting ready.  Makenzie is not due until the 26th but by the looks of things she will be early.  I’m just not sure if it will be in time to show off a newborn cutie calf for the farm tour.  Everyone loves the baby animals, and Erin is our youngest, but she is already 4 ½ months old.  Still cute, but not as endearing as a wobbly newborn.  We’ll have cheese samples, and everything will be as stocked as we possibly can.  The entire creamery will be open to tour, including the cheese cave if you would like to go down and see it.  The milkers will all be up close so you can take a good look at them without taking a hike in the pasture.  If you want raw milk, let us know ahead of time so we can reserve it for you.  The tour says 9 to 3, but we’re usually still finishing cleaning up after milking at that time and would prefer waiting until closer to 10…..

No Rain

Monday, May 8, 2023
Hello friends,
              Ooh!  The rain was so close last night!  We woke up to constant thunder and lightning, but alas, no rain fell here.  Even as we speak it has clouded up and there is severe weather directly to the east in Missouri, but no rain here.  I’m wanting it to hold off until after chores because I have my garden beds prepared to plant tomatoes.  Then it can rain.  I mean I would take rain anytime at this point. 
              The June bugs are back already.  I’m not surprised, they usually arrive in May.  Also, the “June bearing” strawberries usually bear in May as well.  Oh well.  We try to turn off all the lights when we go to bed.  That means that our bedroom light is the last to go out and that is where all the bugs gravitate.  The June bugs are particularly noisy as they bang into the windows.  It’s kind of like a scary movie.  I had to sneak outside and bring in the flag from the front porch the other night and accidentally brought several Mayflies and two noisy June bugs.  ( I guess the Mayflies were named properly!)  Nothing more exciting than relaxing before bed and have a bug divebomb your light fixture!….

Rain Please!

Monday, May 1, 2023
Hello friends,
              I’ll say it again.  We need rain.  This is supposed to be the rainy season.  We are watering the seeds that I’ve planted in the garden with very little effect.  The wind dries out the soil and the seeds don’t have a chance.  I have plans to plant more things but I’m waiting.  My tomato plants are waiting inside as the cabbage plants are getting beat up out in the garden.  What survives should be very sturdy.  The grass is green, but it should be taking off and instead it’s growing slowly in the cool, dry weather.   Maybe this week it will rain.
              We sold Pee Wee this evening.  It’s always a little sad to sell an animal that doesn’t get to spend its life on Skyview Farm.  But we really don’t need any more male calves.  We are hoping that we have more heifers born this year.  Makenzie is due in 25 days, and we have three cows to deliver in June.  I pray for at LEAST 50/50 heifer ratio….

It’s Clouding Up

Monday, April 24, 2023
Hello friends,
              It’s clouding up.  I’m hoping for some rain this time.  Last week we really had our hopes up, but we didn’t get two drops.  All that scurrying around to get the garden ready for rain and it didn’t happen.  Not to worry, I watered it in.  Except the bean seeds.  I didn’t want them to sprout and have that frost promptly kill them.  I have always gone by the idea that the last frost is by the first of May.  More or less.  This year has been tricky.  We covered our asparagus, but there was still a little damage.  The potatoes got bitten, but they will come back.  Everything else is fine.  Now we are ready for some rain!
              Remember when I wrote about our stinker cow going over the fence when she was in heat and there were three Angus bulls tending her?  Well, it’s been three weeks, and can you believe she came back into heat?????  I was flabbergasted!  Something is not right!  Good thing I didn’t waste any AI straws trying to breed her.  We’ll give her some more time and see what happens.  Meanwhile, we are beginning to dry up Vivian and Patty for their pregnancy vacations.  They will take some time out from milking to bolster their nutrient stores for their upcoming lactation.  The next cow due is Makenzie on May 26 or thereabouts.  We also have a 3-week-old bull calf for sale since we are focusing on heifers.  He would make a great 4 H bucket calf.  Now I know that there are only a few of you that this applies to but if you have room in your back yard….  Jersey beef is delicious…..

Best Milk of the Year

Monday, April 17, 2023
Hello friends,
              Whoo hoo!  The best milk of the year!  The absolute most nutritious, delicious, creamiest milk from VERY happy cows chowing down on lush spring grass!  We turn them into a fresh paddock, and they dig in.  I love the sound of them taking huge mouthfuls in a rhythmic pulling of those tender grasses.  This will last for several weeks until the grass begins to go to seed sometime in May.  If you ever wanted to make that beautiful bright yellow butter, this is the cream to use.  No, I’m not skimming the cream off for you, you’ll have to buy the whole gallon and skim it yourself.  Come and get it!
              Also, there is going to be a price increase on the milk as soon as the new shipment of grain comes next week.  We have been trying to keep the milk as affordable as possible and I still think it’s a great bargain.  For now, it’s still $6.75/ gal. plus the jar deposit, but it is going up to $7.50.  I know other places that are charging much more.  We are going to start a “give and take” jar kind of like the penny cups you find at the registers of convenience stores.   We’ll see how that works out.  Everything else is staying the same price….

April Showers Bring…. Lush Grass and Gardens

Monday, April 10, 2023
Hello friends,
Finally, April showers to bring… lush grass and gardens! Yeah! As we traveled to Atchison yesterday to celebrate Easter with our family, I was struck by how brown the margins of the highway were. Even the pastures were still short and barely green, except for the wheat fields. When we drove past Bean Lake, MO which is north of Weston on the way to Atchison, I was shocked that the lake was dry! A little 100 square foot puddle with some ducks and geese and that’s it. They are going to need a LOT of rain to make it a lake again. And not that long ago all those lake houses were flooded!
The cows are enjoying the grass growing and are eating it as fast as we let them. Milk production is up for two reasons. First, the grass is potent for making milk, and second, Trixie had her calf right on her due date last Wednesday. Unfortunately, the calf is a boy, but the good news is that Trixie has a lot of milk to contribute now. For the time being we are naming him Pee Wee because he is a little small, and secondly because he peed on Bill when he was carrying him. That doesn’t have to be his official name, but then we still have a steer named Squeak. Imagine that! We are planning on making cheese tomorrow which has been a rare activity these last couple of month…

Warm Day

Monday, April 3, 2023
Hello friends,
A very warm day today and no gale-force wind. Now all we need is a little more rain and the grass should take off. It is coming along, but not enough to really let the cows dig in to the other pastures. We still must protect the short sprouts. I didn’t think the winter was all that bad, but there are several perennial plants that didn’t make it through. I have had chives and some lovely purple phlox that I don’t see coming up yet and they should be. Even the “lawn” is very patchy. Maybe it’s still too early.
We had a little drama last Friday. Reagan was in heat in the morning so the normal process is that we giver her until evening and then we breed her with my ‘bull in the freezer’ AI. We went to get the cows and Reagan was missing. It didn’t take long to deduce that she was in our neighbor’s pasture hanging out with their three Angus bulls. Oh brother. Well, we can assume she is most likely bred with a half breed. But the problem was that she was motivated to find a weak place in the fence to go play but was nervous about coming back. Hailey and I created as large a space as possible by stepping on the bottom strands and lifting the top. Meanwhile, her boyfriends were not really wanting her to leave, and although they were not paying us much attention, they were mixing it up among themselves. I think Reagan was tired of playing and ready to come home and get milked. Bill left to get a bucket of grain to sweeten the deal, although I thought he might attract the wrong bovines. Hailey and I kept walking the weak fence line, looking for a place to help her get through. We finally found a place and she was in a hurry to go all the way back to the creamery to get milked. Always somethin….

Spring is Teasing Us Again

Monday, March 27, 2023
Hello friends,
Spring is teasing us again. The heavy layer of frost in the morning will keep the fruit trees from blooming too early. No asparagus popping up yet, but Mom’s peonies are coming up already. The maple and elm trees have stuff coming off the leaf buds. Not a fan, but what do you do? The warm sunshine really feels nice.
We had the grandsons and their parents here for a visit yesterday and we had a great time. The boys were so excited to do chores with us with their new muck boots that we gave them for Christmas. The cows were EXTREMELY excited to see them. They (the cows) were bouncing around like we just let them into a fresh grass pasture. Bill and I held the boys’ hands tightly and they were not even afraid. We had good food, good conversation, and we slept well last night!…

First Day of Spring!

Monday, March 20, 2023

Hello friends,

Happy first official day of spring! We made it through the snow and cold and now the wind is blowing in some warmer weather. My daffodils finally opened last week and then bowed their heads in the cold. There are still more buds to open so I think they will be happier again soon.

We bought a cow. Yep, we looked at the picture and thought she looked like a really nice specimen so Bill hooked up the trailer and made a trip to Garnett to get her. Her name is Bonnie, and she is adjusting nicely for the most part. Our cows were very curious and when we put them together there was a lot of sniffing, head pushing, and chasing around. Cows are creatures of habit and we took Bonnie away from everything familiar to her so there must be an adjustment. New feed, new schedule, new friends, new farmers, new stanchions all made her a little out of sorts. She has settled down except when she is done milking, she keeps trying to come back up the exit to get more grain. That causes a traffic jam. Eventually she will settle into the new normal.....

Reserve Milk Before Coming Out to the Farm

Monday, March 13, 2023

Hello friends,

It looks nice outside, but it’s rather chilly. The frogs had begun singing in the little pond by the house, but they are silent now. My daffodils have big buds ready to burst open, but they are on hold. A layer of ice on the stock tank reminds us that you can’t rush the season. My new peach trees and strawberries arrived on cue the day after the nice weather ended. They will probably be planted on Wednesday.

All of our fluid milk sold last week so I didn’t have any extra to make yogurt etc. There may be a bump in production once the grass really starts to grow, but for now we are only getting about 21 gallons per day. That may seem like a lot, but when you consider how many people that these 10 cows are feeding, it’s just barely enough. We are even considering buying another cow and inquired at a reputable Jersey cow breeder in Garnett. Not sure that we’ll pull the trigger though. If we are just patient, there will be plenty by June. We have a bred heifer due in August, and another one in the fall, so if we wait, we will have more of our own cows. As I always say, no self-respecting dairy farmer would sell a good producing dairy cow. The only time they come up for sale is when a farmer is selling out completely and the timing must be perfect. Or you can pay up for a good cow from a reputable breeder. In the meantime, it is important to reserve milk before coming out to the farm! Drop ins may be out of luck....