What's Happening Around The Farm

Remy has been pretty good about keeping his grazing muzzle on. This prevents him from binging on the high-sugar spring grasses which cause a malady called Grass Founder. Blue has been much more resistant to keeping his on, and he sometimes limps slightly on his front hooves. The battle continues:

In other horsey news, the woman down the road stopped by again with her two big work horses:

Her homemade wagon embarrassed her a bit, but I thought it was inventive. Besides, her jumpy horses were a bigger concern, especially when a neighbor's dog ran out barking:

I continued feeding Elvis twice each day, and had to double the amount he was getting:

One purple Iris began the June blooming extravaganza (now I need to get rid of the Thistle behind it before it blooms also):

The Bridal Veil Spirea put on a good show this year:

They are beautiful close-up also:

Last year's Variegated Weigela is doing well and produced some nice flowers this year:

Of course with leaves like this, flowers are not really necessary:

And my Snowball bushes, given to me by a friend shortly before his death, are spectacular this year:

This big, ugly weed almost got pulled last year - but then I noticed that there were two of them, located where I'd planted an odd plant called Blue Sea Holly. This year, it appears that I will get to see some flowers:

The purple Iris began to bloom en masse, and I knew that spring had turned into early summer - with much more to come:

April On The Farm

Days of frenzied hay eating have given way to days of leisurely cud chewing now that the cattle's bodies require less energy to keep warm:

They continue to eat hay, but less of it. This photo was taken in the red glow of sunrise:

Remy and Blue have become so happy in the field that they spend little time inside the barn, sometimes not even coming in for grain. The cows frequently refuse to come in for grain. They just can't be bothered:


Blue has been shedding copiously. At this rate, he'll have his sleek, shiny, summer coat soon:

I've never had Crocus before, but one popped up in the lawn this year:

I dug up the ancient white Peonies, separated the roots and added a few new, red Peonies. I planted them all in compost and put a border fence around them:


The neighbors have been exercising their horses frequently past my house:

And they almost always stop to chat when they reach my house:

 I made an ice cream cake for Easter dinner at church:

And, when I got home, the dogs and Bugsy got to clean out the pan. Seamus and Bramble only watched, not willing to push their way into that pack of ravenous ice cream eaters:

The Snow Geese passed through the area a month ago but Canada Geese are everywhere these days:

The seem to have a preference for corn fields with flooded spots. I guess the reasons are obvious - food and water:

A Day Of Artificial Insemination

It began early in the morning when I saw three cows acting as if they were in heat. Two had not yet been bred and I had been worried about them. The third had been bred but perhaps it hadn't taken. So I called the A.I. man and he said he'd be out at 2:00. I went out to the barn at 1:15 and rang the bell to call the cattle in for grain. When they arrived, I gave full bowls to the three I was after, and the others just got a dribble of grain. I locked a chain on collars of the three to be inseminated and then chased everyone else out of the barn. When I had the three I wanted alone in the barn, I closed the barn door, unhooked their chains and began to prepare:

 Miraculously, I got all three in the squeeze chute, separated by boards and waiting patiently. Gracie was the first in line, with her head in the locking gate:

 Amy and Violet were behind her, separated by boards, with a safe space between Gracie and Amy for the A.I. man to work:

 Gracie was the first to be checked. He said she was not in heat, which was good news because she'd been bred previously and was presumably pregnant. I let her out of the gate and out the barn door:

 Then we moved Amy up to the head gate and the A.I. man checked. He declared her in heat and inseminated her with bull semen I'd purchased months ago and he keeps stored in liquid nitrogen. Then we let her go:

 The next in line was Violet. She had not calved last year and didn't seem to be coming into heat this year. I feared that something was wrong and that she might have to turn her into beef:

 I brought Violet up to the head lock gate. She was so very wide that she barely fit in the squeeze chute:
 

 The A.I. man checked to see if she was in heat:

 And then he checked again. He said that I'd better go back over my records, for there was a 7 or 8 month old calf in there. I later checked my records and found I hadn't marked down any breeding date. But I did record her being in heat on June 22. She must have been bred on that date and I just forgot to mark it down, making the calf due about March 28. That's great news for both me and Violet. Stay tuned for news of a March birth:

The A.I. man and I left the barn and were chatting when a neighbor rode by and stopped to talk. Her appearance seemed to fit the day, the landscape and my retirement hobby. Such is the beauty of rural life:

Coveytown Road in Burke, New York - Part 1

I had my roosters butchered at a Mennonite farm in the town of Burke, NY in Franklin County. Coveytown Road, on which the farm was located, was so beautiful that I decided to take some photos:

The autumn color and white fence added to the picture of an old tractor and bulldozer:

A beautiful family farm, typical of what I saw on Coveytown Road:

I almost missed this herd of Holsteins taking a drink of water alongside the road. I had to stop and back up to get the photo:

Old fashioned barns and grain bin, still in active service:

This is the Mennonite farm where they butchered my roosters. It was clean and a wondrous combination of the modern and old fashioned:

A family farm with more Holsteins lounging in the adjacent field:

This was real dairy country, with huge barns and fields of flat, fertile land:

Another farm behind the fence and driveway:

These were giant work horses, though I didn't know what breed. Notice the black mare and her foal:

A bustling barn, probably a dairy barn:

This wonderful house went with the above barn. Look at that front porch!:

A large scale dairy farm. Coveytown Road continued on, and I kept taking pictures. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Dairy Princess Parade - Part 2

I was watching the Dairy Princess Parade in Canton, New York (see Part 1, yesterday). This float had hay bales, a giant milk carton and lots of young folks, happy they didn't have to walk:

Farm Credit East won a prize for this float, which featured a milk carton pouring milk into a giant stock tank:

PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) once again had a large presence. Last year they received loud applause and cheers, but not this year. I must have been standing with a group of their ardent supporters last year:

The Cerebral Palsy Association had a float with an Adirondack kayaking theme:

Another Holstein themed float, though I can't remember any details about it:

The only marching band was this group of four drummers, but they did a wonderful job:

An elaborate, prize winning float with a dairy theme. I was briefly puzzled by that square, blue figure on the left, but the sign explained that she was supporting Autism Awareness. The costume was shaped like a puzzle piece, their logo:

A commercial float, advertized solar power:

The Goldenaires, a men's barbershop group, went by singing. Last year I considered looking into the possibility of joining them - but I never did. A year can go by awfully quickly:

And the favorite float of the parade, pulled by two jet black, beautiful work horses:

And this is the float which the horses pulled:

There were more firetrucks and then lots of brand new, large farm machinery of three different brands, presumably from three local dealers:

The parade ended with antique tractors, followed by a police car. I was very close to my vehicle at that point, so I simply started it up and began the drive home: