News From Around The Farm

As summer began to show signs of turning into autumn, the herd continued to live peacefully:

The summer had rained so much that the herd drank little water from the stock tank, apparently drinking from puddles in the field and/or getting most of what they needed from eating the wet grass. As things dried up, they began coming in to the stock tank more often:

Mostly, though, it was a quiet and peaceful life for Teddy and his harem of red cows:

But then it was time for Teddy to be moved to a new herd of cows who needed to be bred. Teddy's owner arrived and set up gates to channel him into the stock trailer. He dumped out some grain to lure him in:

Teddy was happy to eat the first pile of grain, but he knew full well that we were trying to trick him and refused to be fooled by our devious schemes. We dumped out more grain and also a bucket full of apples, all to no avail:

Finally the crowd of onlookers all went home and left Teddy's owner alone with him. It took nearly an hour, but Teddy finally stepped up into the stock trailer. His next herd was right across the road, so he didn't have far to travel. Assuming my cows are now pregnant, they should calve in April and May. I still have two cows, however, who might possibly have been already pregnant when Teddy arrived. If so, they are due in October and January. Time will tell:

Blue and Remy live charmed lives, with nothing much to do but eat, sleep and play. I gave them windfall apples a few times but then quit, figuring that all my animals were already too fat:

 Blue looked pretty spiffy, standing beneath the Box Elder tree:

Another pair of fantail pigeons has a baby. It is growing rapidly and looks exceedingly healthy and robust:

 And the Rose Mallow plants began to bud. The buds were bigger than any other plants I know of:

 And the flowers themselves were record breakers, easily 12" across - and maybe more:

 I began finding tiny tree frogs everywhere, including one in the house (which I put back outside). I got this one to hold still long enough for a photo and managed to identify him (by the X on his back) as a Spring Peeper. While doing so, I learned that Spring Peepers only live in the eastern half of the U.S. I would miss them if I ever moved out west:

An Apple Frenzy

All the apple trees in my little grove caught some disease this year. Their fruit failed to develop and the trees lost most of their leaves. Two trees on the other side of the house, however, did bear fruit and it all began dropping onto the lawn and making it impossible to mow. So I decided I to give the herd one five gallon pail of apples per day. I collected one bucket full of apples and headed for the barn:

I intended to drive the bucket of apples out into the field on the tractor to avoid being out on foot with the bull. But when I got to the barn, I saw the herd nearby and decided to slip in through the gate and dump them on the ground. Once I was in the field, however, the bull saw me and uttered an enormous, bone chilling bellow and came charging for me:

I had the presence of mind to dump the apples before I fled. Indeed, when he reached the apples, it became apparent that was all he wanted in the first place, the cause of his loud bellow:

Remy and Blue were quick to get as many as they could before they got pushed out by the big cattle:

All my animals are overweight, so I didn't want any of them to eat too many - especially Blue with his big potbelly:

When the cattle were all in place, they began gobbling up apples so fast that I figured none of them would get too much:

It's amazing how many apples a five gallon bucket can hold:

Rosella did not like the little horses eating all her apples, so she moved in quickly to get as many for herself as she could:

Teddy, the bull, was a gentleman the entire time, sharing apples with his ladies and his little buddies, the horses:

The second day, I did the same - but that day I turned off the electric fence in case I again needed to make a quick exit. I dumped the apples and exited through the gate before the bull arrived, but I stood across the fence from him, only a few feet away, and marveled at his size and strength:

It was a feeding frenzy:

It was great fun and made the animals happy, but with so many of them obese, I decided against feeding them more. They will have to finish this season without apples:

Little Horses And Big Cattle

It's been a pleasant summer for Blue and Remy, though I don't suppose they will miss the pesky flies:

Remy, the more sociable of the pair, always comes to greet me when I enter the field:

Blue watches but is slow to get friendly. Once I have his halter, however, he does love affection:

And they both get along with the cattle. This was the herd, moving in for a drink at the stock tank:

Blue watched me like he thought I was very strange. Maybe he was right:

The Red Poll cows don't always hang out with the bull. Sometimes they prefer their own company:

And sometimes Teddy prefers his own company too - especially if he can get some shade:

The cows spend a lot of time clustered together and I've come to believe that is so they can rub against each other to get rid of the biting flies. I even think that I can judge how bad the flies are by noticing how close the cows are standing together. The flies got worse after the swallows vacated the premises until next year:

But the cattle do make a pretty picture as they graze:

Violet came in for a drink of water and I wondered if she would calve this spring. I don't know if her mummified fetus was ever expelled and if Teddy was able to impregnate her. I am hopeful, but only time will tell:

A pleasant summer day in the south field:

There has been an unusual amount of rain this summer and the grass has grown faster than the cows can eat it:

The Herd

It's been a peaceful and relatively cool summer for cattle and horses:

Of course the arrival of Teddy, the rented bull, shook things up briefly:

The presence of Teddy kept me out of the field unless I was on the tractor, but he caused no problems:

Whether or not Teddy impregnated all the cows remains to be seen. I won't know until next year. Two of my cows, Amy and Scarlett, could possibly be pregnant from earlier artificial insemination. If so, they should be due in October and January:

Teddy and his red harem looked picturesque in the south field:

And Teddy often walked off alone, leaving the six cows to keep themselves company:

Much of the time, the little horses made themselves part of the herd. I had feared that Teddy might hurt them, but once introduced, Teddy, Blue and Remy seemed to become friends:

Despite a lot of grass in the field, there was always much excitement (and gluttony) when my neighbor delivered a trailer load of grass clippings:

After Teddy had been here four weeks, his owner stopped by to check on him. Teddy ran over to the fence, hoping for grain - but he didn't get any:

Remy has been looking especially good this summer, especially when the wind blows his mane and tail:

Blue has a shinier coat than Remy, but he is getting quite a potbelly. He was shaking himself when I took this photo:

And both little horses still spend much time in the barn, any time they want relief from the hot sun, the flies or the rain. It is difficult to safely clean the barn with Teddy around, so it's been getting pretty dirty. I'll have to clean it soon:

August On The Farm

The grass in the south field appears to be sufficient for seven cattle and two miniature horses. They are keeping it low but no one is going hungry. The good news is that they are eating some of the broad leafed weeds they formerly ignored. I thought my obese cows might have lost a bit of weight, but an observer said he thought I was wrong, that they were still plenty fat:

The little horses come and go as a regular, accepted part of the herd:

And even Teddy, the rented bull, seems to get along with them. Teddy and Blue even napped together:

Remy has kept his trim figure, at least in comparison to the pudgier members of the herd:

The little Mandarin Honeysuckle I planted began to grow, accelerating as it gained height. It won't be climbing up the big trellis I built this year, but it does look like it will thrive:

The variegated Weigela doesn't appear to have grown, but it does look entirely healthy and happy in its new home:

The Magic Carpet Spirea has grown some, and even blossomed a second time:

The flowers are small but contrast nicely with the light colored leaves. Furthermore, all the new leaves emerge in a raspberry/orange color, making the bush look from a distance as if it is always in bloom:

My little garden has gotten so crowded that it appears I will be forced to move the Magnolia in October. It is growing wildly now, so I sincerely hope the move doesn't hurt it:

I bought a cold hardy, scarlet Hydrangea and planted it in the lawn on the north side of the house. It began wilting under the summer sun, so I've decided to plant the Magnolia beside it to give it more shade:

This attractive arrangement consisted of wild Goldenrod and the leftovers of the June Peony flowers:

The old fashioned rose I rescued became infested with the dreaded Japanese Beetles but we've had so much rain it has been difficult to spray them. I haven't seen Japanese Beetles since we had huge infestations when I was a boy. I remember a road covered with them and hope to never see such a sight again: