The Red Poll Ladies (And One Boy)

Spring has now really, truly arrived and the cattle are fat and happy:

Jasmine's rear hoof grew too long once again, but this year I was prepared with heavy duty loping shears. She is tame enough to allow me to snip off the end of her hoof while she is lying down, relaxing:

There is now ample grass and mild temperatures, neither too hot nor too cold - and the biting flies are not yet out in full force:

The girls like to nap next to the horses' corral. I find it touching that they still consider their little horses to be part of the herd:

As for the little bull calf, he's growing like a weed and running like a deer. When he sleeps, he likes to do it in a secluded corner like this one or beside his gigantic mother:

All is well right now, a blessed relief from trying to deal with crises:

"Ha ha! You'll never catch me!"

If the afternoon sun gets hot, the girls retire to the shady east side of the barn:

Gracie is a handsome cow. Alas, she hasn't been coming into heat so has not calved in several years:

Rosella and her little bull calf are doing well:

 Jasmine likes to recline in the soft grass:

The bale feeder ring is still in the field even though I haven't put hay in it for quite some time. I'll roll it out of the way one of these days. Right now there is just so much else to do!:

The Red Poll Ladies

Jasmine and Rosella were finishing off a bale of hay, finding it useful both for food and as bedding:

 Rosella chewed hay while Jasmine chewed her cud:

Rosella, due to calve very soon, gave me a closeup look:

 On another day, Scarlett and Rosella kept each other company on some waste hay:

I put out a new bale, which got everyone excited:

Gracie and Amy:

Violet gave me the stink-eye. She's never aggressive, but she doesn't trust me. She is naturally fearful, perhaps from her experiences at her previous owner's farm. My cows were emaciated when they arrived:

  Jasmine loves her hay, even turning down grain in favor of hay sometimes:

 Violet was in her glory, standing knee-deep in dinner - kind of like if I was standing knee-deep in pizza and cookies:

At this writing, I have only two hay bales left. I am sure now that I'll have enough to finish the year:

One day, probably just for old time's sake, the girls all walked over to the east side of the barn where they'd spent the winter. They must have had fond memories of the deep, soft layer of wasted hay there - and it's still there for them to enjoy:

As the grass continues to green up, the girls are looking shinier and more content. They spend less time eating and more time chewing their cuds:

Around The Farm

The grass has been gradually turning green and the winter hay supply is almost gone:

 Blue and Remy are about to begin their annual battle with me over wearing muzzles to keep them from developing founder, a crippling hoof malady. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle it this year:

 But for now they are happy. Blue is especially lovely as the wind lifts his mane:

 And Remy is all cuddles and sweetness as he trots over to greet me in the pasture:

 The both seem to be finding more than enough to eat in the short, dead grass of the south field:

 And neither one is in danger of getting too skinny:

 And speaking of tubby animals, the Red Poll girls have certainly not gone hungry. Here, Amy and Rosella were sharing some hay:

 The herd was waiting and watching as I brought a new bale out to them:

 Violet had all the hay she needed and preferred to just nap on some waste hay:

 A new bale, just delivered:

 My six hardy roses arrived and I lined them up on the kitchen counter to replace spilled soil and give them all something to drink:

 Then I moved them to the back room, where they will share a big, east facing window with the seed trays (which are not yet planted). Spring is arriving rapidly and I am struggling to keep up with it:

Planting Season Has Begun!

At the last minute, I added one more rose to my order from High Country Roses. This time it was a climbing, continuous bloom, hardy, shade tolerant rose called Darlow's Enigma:

And I began cleaning up the mesh from the outsides of hay bales which had been too frozen to separate out during the winter. I'll clean up the moldy hay later:

But despite our warmer weather, there was still ice beneath many clumps of hay which still clung to the mesh. We will need more warming before I can get it all:

  Remember the old fashioned rose which I found trying to grow in the middle of the lawn? I let it grow and it had become a giant bush, with many canes too woody to produce flowers:

So it got the same treatment as the Rugosa roses. It will now have plenty of room to grow and flower:

I bought a healthy looking pink Hydrangea:

And planted it beside the Magnolia and red Hydrangea:

  Alas, right after planting, we got several days of rain and more very cold temperatures. The poor little Hydrangea wasn't prepared for such rigors and now looks dead. But it is a hardy variety and I won't give up hope yet:

The cows and horses are happy and relaxed, enjoying the sunshine and freedom from flies:

They are still getting hay, though I'm almost out:

Life is good:

The Daffodils are up and buds are swelling. We are later than most places, but such is life in the north country:

Easter Sunday

I collected Pussy Willows for a woman in the church choir and she made crosses of them to hang in the church. She also made one for me, and it is hanging on my kitchen wall. I put it up high, hoping to keep the two kittens from attacking it. I saw Caspar walk beneath it, stop and look up - but then he continued on his way, leaving it alone. These are my own, home grown Pussy Willows:

Remy is enjoying springtime. It's not too hot, not too cold, no bothersome flies, and he doesn't have to walk far to get a drink of water:

We've had a few surprise snowstorms, but they melt quickly at this time of year:

Blue has taken to sleeping in the barn and sometimes doesn't want to wake up when I enter. He has a soft bed of hay and the warming morning sun coming through the east windows:

But he also likes to go outside, especially now that his hooves have been trimmed again:

Sammy has been shy and skittish since he arrived, but he's really made himself at home now:

I don't know why this photo is so yellow, but it may be the color of the paint on the walls because other pictures in this room have turned out yellow also. Nonetheless, I liked it because it showed Clover, Fergus, Seamus, Daphne and Daisy keeping me company:

And their other favorite spot is the kitchen corner. This collection included Daphne, Fergus, Clover, Jack, Caspar and Seamus:

And little Jack follows me wherever I go:

Seamus, Daphne and Bugsy:

The Red Poll girls are fat and happy. Rosella is due about May 13, so I am hoping for a purebred calf very soon:

The hay supply is very low, and I'm concerned about whether we'll make it until they can live on green grass. We'll know very soon: