More Restrictions

This time it is for the goats not the horses. 

The due date for kidding to start is April 14.  But Joe has carried enough early kids from the far corners of the farm that he wanted to get them up a little earlier.  They were split into two groups  One group was near the barn. 

The other group, not so much. But they were not difficult to deal with. 

 Now we just have to wait. 

He Is Risen

Happy Easter. 

The weather has been warmer than usual and I have a bad case of Spring Fever.  The tulips that I planted in my large pots are blooming.  Sadie hasn't been here yet to try to pick them.  I have bought some broccoli and cauliflower plants put haven't had a chance to work up the garden yet.  There are lots of chores to be getting on with.  
 

Buying More Work

I missed a year mulching so I have plenty of work to do to catch up. 

Today, I bought that work.  I had a dump trailer of mulch delivered.  Now I have until Joe buys hay sometime early summer to get it spread and out of his way.  

You can see there is a need for lots of mulch.  

I am trying the trench edging method.  Cutting straight down on the grass side, then at a 45 degree angle on the inside and removing the cut out part.  

Then I have a shallow trench to fill and can spread the mulch back from there.  I am hoping that by doing it this way I won't have to spray the edges with Round-up.  It is more work but I think it will be worth it in the long run.  I only got two buggy loads spread before it started to rain.  I will have plenty to do for awhile.  

 

Restricted

Draper has started her restricted diet.  In an effort to keep her off of fescue I am keeping her up and feeding what is supposed to be fescue free hay.  My plan is to switch her to alfalfa for the last 30 days. 

I have reconfigured the new barn to where she can just be loose in the whole thing. I have a stall area I can move her to if I want to ride a different horse. Right now Clyde is being restricted too.  I have started limiting his access to spring grass. I think he has foundered some in the past. 

At least he can keep Draper company through the fence. Hugo is on the other end of the barn for the time being. And at some point Otoelene will need to start her restricted diet.  Maybe I should have just built stalls for everyone.  But I just hate stalls. 
 

Guest Trainer

I got to keep Sadie and Allie again yesterday. 

We started out playing outside. We were trying to do some shadow tracing but had to keep waiting for the sun to pop out. 

After we did the tracing, the girls added some details like hair and faces. 

After lunch our guest trainer arrived and we headed out to catch Clyde. 

Linda taught me how to ride, now she is working on a third generation. 

I think Sadie and Allie enjoyed the change up 

And I know Linda was in heaven. 

After letting Clyde go we went to check out the new calf. 

Allie actually wanted to pet her. 

Sadie opted for picking flowers. 

No flower is safe from Sadie. 
 

Jacked

Not jacked up, jacked out. 

It is usually not a good sign when this comes out.  

When Joe was checking the cows yesterday evening, a second calf heifer didn't look right to him.  He got her up to the barn lot and she started eating, yet she had some discharge.  She didn't act like she was in labor.  He waited an hour and checked again, nothing.  So it was my turn.  We got her in the chute and I said that looked like trouble.   It ended up being a backwards calf with only the butt coming.  

Thankfully, my epidural worked and I was able to get the chains on and the feet pulled out.   This is where the jack came in handy.  Joe and I can't pull as hard as we use to.  And amazingly,  

The calf was alive. It was less than 30 minutes from the time we got her in the chute until we got the calf out.  And she was standing in another 30 minutes.  The cow took a little longer.  She went down in the chute.  We had to open the side and she rolled out and got stuck.  We had to put a halter on and ropes on her rear legs to drag her around until she could get in a position to stand.  She just didn't try.  Joe said it was one of the problems of having cows that were too tame.  When we turned her out this morning she went right to eating again.  

 

Crafts And Clyde

Friday for the first day of Spring Break and I got to keep Sadie and Allie. 

They wanted to do a craft. So I pulled out a couple of coaster kits I had gotten on clearance at DG. 

It was a hit. 

But after crafting it was time for Clyde. 

It is amazing how confident they have become working with Clyde. 

Allie is even wanting to ride by herself without us leading her.  But she still doesn’t want to trot. 

Sadie on the other hand only wants to trot. 

And I get a good workout chasing a lazy pony around so Sadie can trot. 

 

New Store

Well, new to me anyway. Looks like it opened Black Friday but I just found it last week and went to it yesterday.  It’s t called Big Bin Dealz.  They are closed Thursdays to restock.  Then the prices go down until they are at $1 on Wednesday.

And yesterday was Wednesday. I decided it was better than Goodwill because the price was so much cheaper and all the stuff was new.   I might have gone a little overboard in buying 9 things. 

D

But I couldn’t resist this bird wall sconce. I thought I would use it as an outdoor decoration. But after seeing it on eBay for $60-$100 I am torn about what to do with it. 

Other items include a box of balloons

Butterfly cape

And big roll of paper for the girls. 

A bunch of envelopes that fit my string are cards perfect. 

 And a pink swim shirt.  There may be a few other things that I will try to hold off until Christmas.   I have a staff meeting in town next Wednesday. Guess where I will be going first. 

Hugo and Daffodils

The weather was nice enough and I had some time so I decided to ride Hugo for a little bit yesterday.  

You can see that Hugo was not being a fan of getting caught, as usual.  After about 20 minutes of this, and Clyde never joining in, Hugo finally gave up and let me catch him.  He was a gentleman from then on.  

The last cold snap did in my hyacinths but the new miniature daffodils that I planted last fall were not far enough along to get damaged.  I have Minnow Rock Garden daffodils that have multiple flowers on each stem. 

I don't recall the name of this one, but it is stunning with it's white color and thin petals.  I don't see it on my order from the bulb company last year so I must have bought it on clearance and it probably had already bloomed.   I think it turned out to be a good purchase.  

And this daffodil that looks like a dandelion is called Rip Van Winkle.  It is very different looking.  But I am thinking that the flowers are proving too heavy for the stems.   A lot of them are pretty saggy.   

It had been fun watching all my new flowers pop up.  

Better Start

A first calf heifer calved right on time a couple of days ago. 

So today, Joe got them up and I moved them into the lot behind the house so we can keep a close eye on them.

The first calf is a beautiful bull calf.  

 A much better start for the heifers than the cows.  

Big Bale

Joe was finally able to help me today get a big bale of hay. 

It is supposed to be fescue free. I thought I would take Draper off pasture the first of April. That would be over 60 days before her due date. 

I am still looking for some small square bales of alfalfa.  I thought when this ran out I would switch her to alfalfa until she foals. 

I am just praying for a healthy foal this time. 
 

So Much For An Early Spring

A front moved in yesterday evening and bright with it cold and snow. 

There was also a good deal of wind.  Overnight temperatures got down to 18 degrees. 

 Then today, the temperature never made it above freezing.  The forsythia is done for the season. And I am sure the daffodils are too.  So much for an early spring. 

Bad Start

The cows here are not suppose to start calving for at least a couple of weeks.  But Thursday, on the worst weather day, one decided to have her calf early.  Of course it was a cow that was one of Joe's favorites.  

He was pretty small, maybe 30 pounds.  He could stand but wouldn't nurse.  He seemed underdeveloped.  His hair was very short and velvety, (a sign of being premature)

With rain and snow and temperatures below freezing, we brought him into the garage overnight and I tube fed it.  Doesn't he look clean and cozy?

The next morning, he wasn't so clean.                                                                                                               

He could still stand but would not nurse.  I tube fed him again but he continued to deteriorate.   He was dead the next morning.  Not a good start to this Spring calving season.