My Lucy Girl

My computer is up and functioning again, and all ya'll are way past due for an update. Sadly, I have to break the bad news today.

Last week, my old milk cow Lucy died.

We bought Lucy 5 years ago from a commercial dairy near Nashville. She was 9 years old at the time and was about to be culled. She was headed for slaughter, but we liked her and decided to bring her home as my first milk cow.

Although she had a huge udder, she was a very docile cow and very patient. We could hand or machine milk her. She was milking machine herself, peaking at 7 gallons a day. She knew her name and would look at you every single time you called for her.

She had babies easily and had three while she lived here. She was a good mama cow and her calf last fall was to be her last. I was planning to use her as a companion cow for the rest her time here.

She was doing well and I was shocked to find she had died in her sleep, peacefully. She died in the back yard, near the wood line, laying down with all of her cow friends laying near by. She was a great cow.

She left a legacy here, not only with her two heifers that I will always own, but with the knowledge and lessons she taught me as my first family milk cow.

Rest in Peace Sweet Girl. 

Lucy 
June 2002- June 2016

A Sad Good-Bye

Early last month we had a tragedy here on the farm. One that I am still finding difficult to write about, but I wanted to share all of the adventures here....good and bad.

Journee has always been a lover of animals and large dogs are her favorite.

 She loved going her grandparents as a toddler to play with their Rottweiler and American Bulldog.

When we moved to property we told her she could eventually have a dog of her own. When the timing was right, she was able to adopt an American Bulldog her uncle had bred.

Zelda. Princess Zelda, to be exact, was a sweet and very pretty bulldog. Journee and Zelda had a fabulous bond and Zelda loved going everywhere with her. She loved car rides and trips to the store and the bank.

Zelda was also one heck of a great livestock guardian dog. She could tear up a coyote and keep all sorts of predators at bay. She was quick and aggressive when she needed to be.

Well, I had two of my ewes escape fencing one afternoon. They managed to crawl under the barbed wire that fences the back paddock on the far end of the property. We noticed the sheep missing after seeing them earlier that morning.
The only thing on the other side of that fence is the railroad tracks. Devin walked a good way down the track and found the body of one sheep dead on the tracks.
These tracks are no stranger to dead animals, as there were bodies of raccoons and opossums along the same stretch of tracks. In fact, tragically a teen was hit in the same area a couple of years ago.

We didn't search any further for the 2nd ewe, assuming she was dragged further down by the train. We also left the carcass on the tracks because about 30 vultures had been eating away at all of the dead animals. We left feeling somewhat discouraged to lose two valuable ewes, but wiser too. The sheep will no longer be fenced in that paddock again.

The next day started out like any other. The bulldogs were turned out and we started chores. I took 3 of the girls to get haircuts and then we came home for lunch.
Journee arrived shortly after with some school friends. She was looking for Zelda, who was usually waiting for her at the drive.
We searched and called, but Zelda was no where to be found. Journee knew in her gut something was very wrong.

Devin walked down the tracks, to the same spot, and found Zelda had been hit by a train as well.
We assume she was eating sheep carcass and was hit.
Just like that, she was gone.

We were all sad, and I still cry if I stop and think too much about the sweet dog. She was just a few weeks shy of her 7th birthday.

Journee has since found a new outlet to get her large dog fix. She has always wanted to learn K-9 search and rescue. She has joined a local group and has started studying for the exams.

She has also found a top notch breeder locally of German Shepherds. She placed a deposit on a puppy last week. So now she can follow a new path, and we can all begin to heal.

RIP  Princess Zelda

The Sorrow, The Loss

I always say that when you have great days on the farm, enjoy it. Relish it. Never forget what that great day feels like.
Eventually you will have a crappy day, and you will need those great days to keep you going.

I have suffered my share of losses, mostly chickens and calves, over the years. I have had days when it was too rainy, too dry, too hot and too cold. I have suffered through days of being unsure of my decisions and days of not knowing what the next day would bring.

There have been days when I really missed the easy going neighborhood life, the long family vacations and even the spur of the moment adventures away from home.

Some days I feel completely isolated from the *outside* world, like I have not a single friend with whom I can visit and share stories.

None of those days, however, can compare to the complete devastation I experienced yesterday. Devastation that I am still feeling today, deep in my gut and my soul. I am so sad and so full of despair at times that it is difficult to even breathe. My only solace is that I know farming and caring for livestock has its ups and downs. It is not for the faint of heart, in fact it is for the full of heart.

My sweet ewe, Lila, was not a sheep I wanted to breed this year. She was my most valuable ewe in terms of money value and heart value. Her fleece was a delicious combination of Teeswater and Black Wensleydale , and it had a soft sheen like no other I have seen. She was a dominant ewe in my flock, yet she was very gentle. Her only flaw was that she was not a good mother, therefore I was done breeding her. Her life was to be spent on the farm giving beautiful fleeces and that's it, until she decided to break from her paddock last fall and find my ram.

4 hours with my ram was all it took to make sure we would be watching her closely all spring waiting for lambs, usually triplets. Last week she appeared over due and ready to lamb at anytime, however she experienced a vaginal prolapse. The vet came to fix her up and we determined she was not yet in labor. Since then we kept a close watch on her, every 2 hours.

She was fine. She was grazing and eating and keeping with the flock, until yesterday. I noticed that she finally separated herself from the others about 7 am. She wasn't eating and she had a slight discharge. Finally, she was in labor. I removed her sutures and continued to monitor her every 30 minutes. She never seemed to be in distress and I was happy to finally get the pregnancy over and have lambs.
It only took a 30 minute time frame for her to collapse. To perish. In only 30 minutes she was no longer standing, but on her side and completely dead.
What did I miss? What did we do wrong?
It was too late for anything to be done to save her or the lambs.
Just like that my sweet, favorite ewe was gone. All hope of three babies was gone. Weeks of anticipation were replaced with utter and complete loss. Emptiness.

In that very moment I questioned everything I was doing. The sorrow, the anger, the disbelief instantly makes you wonder if you chose the right life out here on this land.

I need the great days, or at least memories of those great days. Those days when a calving goes perfectly and a cheese tastes fantastic. Those days when all the hens are laying eggs and the meat birds weigh more than expected. The days when all the hay gets stacked in the barn before it rains and all of the milking cows stand perfectly at milking time.

Today I reflect and cling to those good days, the great days, because the sorrow of losing Lila seems too much to bear. Am I being overly dramatic? Maybe, but I am not faint of heart. I am full of heart, much like most of the farmers and horse people I know.

Am I doing the wrong thing by farming? Should I give up? Maybe. You know it is hard at times, and it can feel daunting to keep up with everything at times, but I can't quit.
 I won't quit.
Deep in my gut I feel sad and powerless, but deeper still my will is strong.

Rest in Peace sweet Lila.

A Full Circle

I was sort of dreading my post today. Yesterday was a sad day here because our sweet dog of 16 years passed away.
Raven.
She was a faithful companion and she loved to swim and jet ski. Until this summer, a day at the lake would perk her up and cause her play like a pup again.
We took her to the lake July 4th but instead of being a lively youngster again, she was confused and didn't act like she knew where she was. Her hearing was gone and her sight not very good either.

We knew her time was coming to a close, but it was still sad to discover she had passed away in her sleep.

But then the cycle of life makes a full circle. If there is one thing I have learned by farming it is the circle of life. It's the lesson that there will be death but then there will also be life.

Devin and I went to lunch this afternoon and came home to a wonderful sight!



Belle had her calf while we were gone. It is a large, healthy heifer too!

Although I wish I had another week of once a day milking, I am glad that calving went so well and that the calf is healthy.

I am still sad that we lost Raven, although she had a wonderful, long life.
I am happy and blessed to see a new life on the farm.

What will we name this heifer?
Well, I have a special friend in Huntsville and her very special daughter, Molly, has a birthday today. I think it only fitting that I name this sweet calf after her.
So, welcome to the farm Molly!

Happy Hump Day Ya'll!

The Hard Truth of Farming

One thing we have learned as our family farm has grown is this: there will be births and deaths.

This week feels like spring in my mind, although the weather isn't agreeing, because the baby chicks have arrived.

These will be new laying hens for us this year and they are so cute! The kids have enjoyed having the brood box right inside the house.
Unfortunately, there is always a chick or two who do not handle the journey well and die. This batch was no exception. Three chicks died, and although it was sad, the kids have learned to accept this reality.
The remainder of the chicks are doing fabulous this morning, chirping their little hearts away.
It feels like spring in the house.

Lambing season is also upon us and that makes spring ever more a reality for me as well. We spent a good part of Tuesday preparing an area to lock the sheep in at night.

We used the temporary canopy area used by the cows during the polar vortex and simply fenced it in with cattle panels.

The area gives us a place to lock the sheep at night that is predator safe. No wild dogs or coyotes will get in and try to hurt a lamb. Now we just wait and see who lambs. I know that Lyla, the black ewe, is pregnant and ready for sure. Her belly is huge and her udder is filling with milk. The other two ewes I cannot tell for sure yet.
Spring lambing is always exciting and we are now ready.

Of course there are times when the baby animals or even the large animals do not fair so well.
Such is the case with our youngest bull calf we got just last week.

A few days ago this little guy showed signs of a respiratory illness. He had a slight runny nose, but he was still eating well. We treated him with an injection and he seemed much better the next day.
Yesterday morning he was curled up and lifeless in the corner of the calf stall. He was very cold so we brought him inside and placed him next to the fire.

 We tube fed him warm milk and placed heated cherry pit packs and towels on him. After a couple of hours he started to open his eyes. His body temperature was a low 98 degrees, however, as he was hypothermic.
I  called the vet and followed his advice of an injection and attempts to get him warmed up. We placed him on a dog bed and kept the warm pit packs and blankets on him. We pet him and rubbed him and did our best to keep him stimulated all day long.
He never did warm up enough. By 4 in the afternoon he died. It was sad.

We have never lost a calf.

Today we are aware of life and death on a farm once more. Just when you think you've got this all figured out, you are humbled by the fragility of life and you are more aware of the many animals in your care.
Some live and some die, despite your best efforts.

Today we are dreaming of spring and warm weather. We are discussing our plans of endless afternoons playing outside and planting a garden. We are remembering how grateful we are to experience farming in such an intimate way.

We are also looking ahead to a new milk cow. Yes! In about a week we will be getting another milking cow and we are excited! There is always something to look forward to!

Here's hoping you have a fabulous weekend and that spring shows up in your corner of the world soon!