Winter's a-comin'

For the last few days, we've had nasty weather: howling wind, lots of rain. We desperately need the rain so no one was complaining, but it does mean some adjustment for the beasties.

Normally everyone scoots under the awning to get out of the weather -- except poor Matilda. My favorite elderly Jersey is the bottom rung of the cow pecking order, so invariably she's out in the wet.

In other words, it's time to get into our winter routine, which includes tucking Matilda, her adult daughter Amy, Amy's yearling calf Hector (follow-up on Hector here), and our other Jersey Polly into the barn. This is special treatment I give our Jerseys, who aren't quite as hardy as the Dexters.

No bovines have been in the barn all summer, so naturally it became the repository of all kinds of stuff (rolls of chicken wire, in this photo). The first step was to clean everything out.

Next I had to find the tub I use for the larger pen. This I filled with water for Matilda, Amy, and Hector (Polly has a separate pen with a smaller bucket).

Next I hauled some hay for nighttime feed. It was so windy that hay kept getting blown out of the sled and dumped down the driveway.

The three animals in the larger pen get a large pile of hay...

...and Polly's smaller pen gets a small pile of hay.

The chickens, of course, assume this is all for their benefit.

When it came time to call the animals into the pen -- the first time since last spring -- they didn't hesitate. In fact, Amy all but galloped in. Probably their thinking was, "What TOOK you so long?"

In the morning, of course, it means extra time in the barn since I have to muck things out, get fresh hay, fill the water tubs, etc.

But when I lay in bed at night and listen to the rain on the roof and the wind howling under the eaves, I'm glad the animals are snug and sheltered.

Yep, winter's a-comin'. The chores reflect that.

Preparing the cattle for heat

We have a heat wave anticipated this weekend. The temp on Sunday is projected to be 105F.

We had the cattle in the treeless, shadeless pasture for the past week. We thought about moving them back to the wooded side of the property for the duration of the heatwave, but there is simply no grazing on that side. We have been bone-dry for weeks, and no grass has regenerated.

So, with the permission of the owner, we decided to put the cattle on the "pond property," as the adjacent parcel is called. This is a lovely parcel with a stock pond, trees, and grazing. Normally we move the cattle in mid-August or so; but this summer's weird freaky hot weather is stressing everything early.

Before moving the beasties, though, Don and I needed to walk the fence lines and make sure everything was tight. We went in the morning when the temperature was still cool.

The moment they saw us walking down to the gate, the cattle immediately fell in line, thinking they were in for a treat.

The orderly column soon disintegrated into chaos. Wheeee!

The critters were very disappointed when we didn't let them through the gate.

The pond property hasn't been grazed, so there is much more feed available.

Don and I walked the entire perimeter, mending and tightening as necessary.

It's a good thing we did, too. One whole corner had been cut out of the fencing (possibly by hunters wanting easy access). Don had to go back later with the truck, some sections of field fencing, and more tools.

Here's the view across our pasture toward the pond property, where the trees are.

Yesterday mid-morning, I walked down to open the gate. The animals weren't expecting it, so when I gave my universal cattle call ("Bossy bossy bossy bossy BOSSY!!"), the entire herd literally came galloping in a thundering mass.

When I opened the gate, they poured through.

The grazing on this parcel isn't great this year either. The white-ish grass is called cheatgrass (sometimes wind grass) and is largely inedible, and there's a lot of it. But there's also enough decent stuff to keep the animals happy for several weeks. Once the heat breaks next week, we'll bring them back onto our side and "save" the remaining grazing on the pond property until, hopefully, late July. But no matter what, we're going to have to start feeding much, much earlier this year.

While most of the herd made it through the gate, a few of the babies got lost. They've never been on the pond property before and kinda got turned around. Little Hector was on the other side of the subdividing fence as well.

Jerky and Dina were totally bewildered as to where their mamas went.

The first thing to do was get Hector on the right side of the fence.

So I slipped through the barbed wire and started scooting him along the fence line to where the gate is.

Here he joined the others, but they still couldn't figure out how to get onto the pond property. Don calls this stage in life "puppy-stupid."

I left the calves alone, figuring they'd either figure out where the right gate was, or they wouldn't. A couple hours later, they were reunited with their mamas and all was well.

The combination of shade, water, and fresh grazing will keep the cattle as comfortable as is possible during the heat wave. I'm grateful we can rent the pond property while we can (since it's for sale).

Moving cattle

Last week, after Don completed the fence around the pond, it was time to put the cows down in the pasture. Besides being the right time of year, part of the decision was because we need to reserve our remaining hay for the bull and cow remaining in the bull pen.

The animals milled around in the feed lot. They knew something was up.

When we were ready to open gates, everyone made it down to the pasture except three of the babies (Curly, Ninja, and Lucy) who weren't sure where to go.

When it came time to direct themselves toward the pasture gate, instead they popped through the neighbor's fence. Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to the world's most useless fence -- for cows. Our neighbor (who has horses) installed this several years ago in lieu of some ratty-looking field fence. These strands are elastic and are supposed to be electrified, and when the electricity is on, it works splendidly to keep horses where they're supposed to go.

But let me tell you, it does squat to keep cattle in -- particularly calves. Even when the power is on and the strands are electrified, they just pop through quick enough that it's only a minor shock. We've spent years dealing with cattle popping through these durn strands, after which we all have to round them up off our neighbor's property back onto our side.

So a couple weeks ago, Don and I drilled holes and inserted posts to install a supplemental fence on our side, designed to keep cattle in. The posts were in place but not the fencing material, so when we tried to move the calves, they just popped through the elasticized strands onto the neighbor's land and led us on a merry chase. Grrrr.

So we managed to get the calves back in the feed lot, then we stopped and stretched field fencing (hard to see in the below photo, but it's there).

Then we released the calves and once more herded them around to where the pasture gate was. What followed was absolutely hilarious and had us rolling on the ground laughing. The calves, thinking things were just the same as before, headed straight for the neighbor's fence... and literally bounced off the newly-installed field fencing. They tried several times -- "Hey, this worked a few minutes ago!" -- and got nowhere. So they gave up and went where we wanted them to go, namely into the pasture. Man, we should have done this years ago.

Soon everyone was happily grazing.

By the way, remember our herd matron Jet whose surprise calf provided her with a stay of execution (from the freezer)? Of the many excellent names you all suggested for the calf, we chose Victor (since he was born on Good Friday and he provided his mother a temporary victory over the freezer).

This was Victor's first time out of the bull pen. When he hit the field, he ran and ran and ran. (That's him on the left.)

Everyone appreciates a mineral block.

Yes, some fat and happy cows.

April showers bring May flowers....

...but what do April blizzards bring?

Twice this month we've woken up to snow.

Not a lot of snow, it's true, but enough to remind us winter hasn't quite lost its grip yet.

I took these photos early in the morning, and when the rest of the family woke up, they couldn't believe their eyes.

Here's our April flowers, looking cold and miserable.

This bluebird doesn't look too pleased either.

The snow melted off by afternoon, and we had a few days of spring. Then yesterday winter came roaring back again in what virtually amounted to a blizzard, with 40 mph winds and heavy wet snow.

Old Major braved the wind and snow to visit the yard, then hurried (as fast as his ancient legs could carry him) back to the woodstove.

It looked like December, not April.

Our brave little patch of daffodils withstood the onslaught.

The snow melted off soon enough, but the day was bitterly cold with howling winds, and periodic showers of sleet or snow would pass through. This photo was taken in late afternoon, with a bleary sun lighting up a distant snow shower.

Then this morning... sunny and calm. Go figure.

The daffodils looked much happier.

So did the beasties. Yesterday they were all huddled under the awning or in the barn. Today they basked in the sunshine. This is Hector and Ninja, who have become great buddies.

And the robins looked perky and ready to nest.

So what do April blizzards bring? Hopefully a warm May!