Filed under: April 2014 | Tags: buffer zone, Compost, environmental stewardship, manure, school kids, young people
Compost all spread on our 2014 corn field
April 29, 2014
I spent last weekend, before the current rainy weather, spreading all of our manure. The manure has been piled and rotting since last fall. I don’t like to spread raw manure. I feel that I lose too much when doing that. The manure, composted or even partially composted, is much better for the soil and the soon to be growing plants. The nutrients are more readily available to the plants after it has been composted.
I use a lot of straw and bedding material. This carbon material, ties up the ammonia in the manure. That ammonia smell, is the nitrogen escaping from that manure. Once it is stabilized by the straw and bedding, the nitrogen is tied up. The plants can use it. It also makes spreading manure a good job, the smell is much less and almost earthy…rather than unbearable 😮
I also leave room at the end of the field for a grassy strip to absorb any runoff that might escape the field. I believe that environmental stewardship is the responsibility of every farmer or landowner. I try to practice what I preach and farm by example. I got to share my experiences and my efforts with some kids today from our local technical school. It was a great day!
The kids and I walked our woodland and the buffer zones around our farm. The rain had been falling much of the morning, so it was a perfect day to show my successes and even a failure or two. I am not perfect, but I keep trying… I wanted to impart that philosophy with the young people. All it takes is “try” with a little “umph” to triumph in everything you do…. I know they left here thinking positive thoughts… because not one kid said, “oh poop” to anything that I said 😮
Filed under: April 2014 | Tags: baby lambs, grass-fed, independance, mild and tasty, mother's milk
Here they come!
April 29, 2014
Our flock has been increased by double. The baby lambs have all been born. We lost a few in the bad winter storm ten days ago, but the rest are doing pretty good. There are always a few weak ones that die along the way, but so far so good 😮
We usually lamb in mid May, but this year are about a month early. We raise grass-fed lamb. The lambs eat our good pasture and mom’s milk. They grow fast and are ready for “freezer camp’ in four to five months. Lambs raised in this manner, make mild and tasty meat.
The grass in May grows quite fast, keeping up with the hungry ewes. April grass is a bit slower, so moving the flock often is necessary. Yesterday, we made our first move. It went well. The babies got a little scared at first, but the moms restored order in no time.
Once all of the sheep got the idea of what was happening, they followed along just fine. Once we got to the back lane, the mothers knew exactly where they were going. They walked right past me, paying me little attention… the babies? Well, they go where mom goes, at least for now. Independence will rule the lambs in a few weeks, but for now, they know that mom has all the answers and all the milk!!
And there they go!
Filed under: April 2014 | Tags: adversity, digging deep, goals, Love, Mental Health, plans, tragety
Reflections on the back pond
April 28, 2014
Recently, I have been doing a lot of deep thinking. I think about goals, plans and failures. I look towards the future with a bright outlook, but can’t help dwelling in the past now and then. There is much to learn from our past experiences, especially where we have failed. It is good to revisit those failures now and then to examine what went wrong, be it love, jobs or field trials.
I have failed at all three. I am not sure if that makes be a “home run hitter” or just a normal guy, but when it comes to falling on my face now and then, I am an expert! I am also resilient. I have enough optimism for three people. I can find the good in most things and many people… but sometimes I struggle to see the good in me. So, these are the times when I need to pause and reflect.
I think these times are good for all of us. We need to look backwards every now and then to see just how far we have come. It is good to reset our compass, align new goals and define a path forward. It is a time to dig deep, sort things out and move forward. It may even mean setting new goals and embracing a whole new plan… that is OK. The only thing that matters is that you have a plan, a dream or a goal. If these things are missing from your life, it can be very empty.
Lastly, I know we shouldn’t be so hard on ourselves. Many things that don’t turn out like we thought they should…were simply not meant to be. We cannot fix those things. We can only remember them, learn from them, cherish what we want and forget about the rest. I draw from my memories in many things that I do, even the bad things have value. I farm and make maple syrup because of great memories, some surrounded in tragedy. These things make me whole and help define who I am 😮
Lovely
A promise kept is a wonderful thing. A broken promise will shake a life. I try to always keep my word. There was a time, when all I had in this world was a $35.00 truck with no motor and my word. I found out just how valuable my word and good name was. I vowed to never compromise either.
The promise of spring is a wonderful thing. This year after a long old-fashioned winter, that promise warms my heart. The flowers are beginning to bloom, baby lambs are bouncing around the pasture and the grass is turning bright green. My hay is starting to run out…so come on grass…even if it means mowing the lawn!
Filed under: April 2014 | Tags: baby lambs, dad, gone forever, heart, memory, Mom, mom and dad, mother's love, peace
Mom’s Final Resting Place
April 22, 2014
Who doesn’t like to go to mom’s place? There are many happy memories there. I remember the smells of dinner cooking, fresh-baked cookies and Estee Lauder perfume. I remember hugs, comfort and a certain look…a look that could stop traffic, or at least a teenage boy from doing wrong. I remember love above all.
All of us have memory triggers that will fill our minds with thoughts, both good and bad. I am pleased to say, that most of my memories about mom’s place are happy ones. Now, since my mom has passed away, she rests here on my farm on a little hill next to the sugarhouse. I visit this place often.
Sometimes I talk to mom as if she were sitting next to me. Other times I just talk aloud complaining about some trivial thing that doesn’t matter in the big picture of life, but I feel better after I vent awhile. Often is the time when I simply sit quiet listening to the world around me. The peacefulness that surrounds me is as comforting as a hug.
My dad rests on this farm too. He lays under a hickory tree in my pasture. I discuss all things farming with him. I enjoy the time spent there, but I do wish that I could spend a few more hours with him, listening to his stories and corny jokes. I am sure that both he and mom are proud of my accomplishments and I take comfort that even though they are both gone, they are still very close.
I get to visit my parents graves without leaving my farm. I have had countless cups of coffee with them as I work out a problem or pour my heart out when life kicks me in the teeth. When I am depressed, cranky or heart-broken, I always feel better after visiting mom’s place. Some things never change I guess, and for that, I am very grateful.
The little hamlet where mom rests, is a spot she picked out. I chose the spot for dad. I know he would like to watch the animals, walk the furrows with me when I plow and feel the lines in my hands as I drive the horses. My mom loved maple syrup time, but I think it is more the laughter from the children who visit and the fact that I spend a lot of time in and around the sugarhouse, that caused her to pick her place.
My lambs are being born right now. The mother’s are doting over their babies. They keep them close and bleat when they get too far away. They nurse them and rest beside them. The lambs don’t stray too far…at least for now. The babies will grow fast and like all babies, will one day leave mom behind…we all did. Mom, will watch them go with a special sadness in her heart, as they make their way in the world.
Then comes the day when mom is gone, life is forever changed…A longing for the “good old days” will smack us in the head now and then, when we stop to remember her. The bond between mother and child is never broken. It might get bent sometimes, but a mother’s love is pure and everlasting … that is why, she is never really gone… just absent.
My mom has two places here on my farm. One place is that quiet place by the sugarhouse. The other place is deep in my heart where only goodness is found…..which according to some…is buried pretty deep. I hold her dear, remember her often and always feel pleased when I take the time to visit Mom’s Place.
John 3:16
April 20, 2014
Easter Sunday, what a wonderful day! The significance for Christians is unmeasurable as this is the day that Jesus Christ conquered death. Small children look for gifts from the Easter Bunny, but like a sign I recently read said, Silly Wabbit Easter is for God.
The ewes were all sleeping in this morning. They laid quietly, chewing their cud. The sun was warm upon their coats. I’m sure that it felt good, especially after such a long cold winter, to just soak up the warm sunshine.
The week ahead looks long and tiresome, but I will attack it one day at a time. I will sleep well when I lay my tired body down. I will take comfort in knowing that I am healthy and still “hitting on all cylinders”. The work I choose tires me sometimes, but to me it is worth it! 😮
April Babies
April 19, 2014
It’s time for the 2014 lamb crop. The weather is beautiful. We lost three little ones born the night of the winter storm. So far, these babies are doing great. We have several more moms to lamb yet. Soon, the pasture will be jumping with cute little fluffy lambs.
The sugarhouse clean-up continues. I am very slow I guess. It seems that I have been working for a week, but it looks like I have only been a couple of hours. Maybe, I’m just too picky, but I want it clean, not sticky and neat…even the woodpile 😮
A walk through the woods revealed a whole list of things that I would like to do. I had a great walk. The ramps, wild onion, trillium and other small wild flowers were blooming. It warms my heart to see the signals of spring and the beginning of another life cycle.
The sun has been warm these last few days. The soil is drying out some. I can’t plow yet, but it won’t be long. I will keep working on my clean-up job while I plan for manure spreading and plowing. In the meantime, the lambs will play, racing and chasing one another around the pasture…. I will watch, laugh and remember my grandpa Rice.
Filed under: April 2014 | Tags: Rotating shift work, Spring, spring work, sugarhouse
Yep, summer is coming!!
April 17, 2014
I snapped this picture the other night down by the banks of Mill Creek…. Ok, I’m kidding 😮
It does look as if they are chatting. I think they would be agreeing to head north at least as far as Canada! Today was sunny and bright. The temperature even warmed to the mid-fifties!
I am on the slow side today. Every now and then…swingshift gets to me. I will bounce back after a little sleep. I did get the animals all fed, hay moved and the stalls clean. I scraped the driveway and tried to fill some potholes. I still plan to accomplish a couple of small items in the sugarhouse, but then I will plant my butt on the couch and do nothing!
I will rise tomorrow rested and full of plans for the day. I have a list that is growing quite long, thanks to winter wanting to hang around well into spring. The good news is in the extended forecast. It shows a return to normal temperatures. The spring work waits. The horses ready and willing, also wait. The spring work will start with a vengeance as we bust ass to catch up.
It will all work out… It always does. In the meantime, I will continue to clean up the sugarhouse and all that goes with it. Once it dries out a bit more, we will be hauling and spreading compost. Plowing will follow the manure spreader. The seeds go in the ground next and if that doesn’t say winter is over… nothing does!
Filed under: April 2014 | Tags: baby lambs, barbershop, farmers, old men, snow, weather
April 16 snow and cold
April 16, 2014
Okay, I like winter, perhaps even more than most people, but even I have had enough. It started snowing last October…I think 6 months of winter is enough. I am ready for spring and all that comes with it. The peepers have been singing. I am sure they have been “frozen out” twice already, so according to local folklore, one more freeze for the peepers and it will be spring! I am soooo ready!
Lambs are starting to hit the ground, but mother nature is being pretty rough on those little fellows too. They just need a day or two to get their footing and then they are very hardy. Being born on a rainy, sleeting night, is hard on any creature. I don’t know if it is the full moon signaling the mothers to drop their babies or simply that it is time, but the babies are coming, ready or not.
The weather is supposed to turn more towards normal in the weeks ahead. I am sure that before I know it…I will be complaining that it is too hot! I am just hoping for a return to normal in the weather department. A drought year followed by a very wet year, then a long cold winter…is sure stretching farmers to the limit… at least this one 😮
The good thing about the crazy weather is, that it gives us country guys plenty to talk about at the barbershop and feed mill!
Filed under: April 2014 | Tags: farm, peace of mind, quiet place, relax, Solitude, special place, woods
Clear water from our drainage tile
April 10,2014
The importance of a good outlet can not be overstated. Of course it is important for farm tiles and culverts, but a good place to drain the stress of life is awesome! I like to think that I have several, but when it all comes down to it…there is just one place. That place is here on my farm.
Sometimes it is the woods where my problems are sorted and drained away. Other times it is under the shade of the porch where the stresses of the day melt away. Usually, I am talking to an animal or a whole bunch of them. They listen well and almost never talk back. One in a while a horse will say … “neigh”, but not often 😮
I don’t care where you live or what you do, a place to blow off steam or perhaps just sit and have a good cry should be in everybody’s life. I think holding too much stuff inside is unhealthy and will lead to an early death. We humans, simply have to let go…otherwise we eat ourselves up.
I had to wake up two times in a hospital bed, before I realized to let things go that I cannot change. Some people simply can’t find that realization…the cemetery is full of them. They leave behind family and friends, because they couldn’t let work issues or changes in government or politics roll off their backs.
Just life and family can give you stuff to fuss about. Reach out, try, it will work out or not…you cannot change it. You have to just let things go. Destiny will be whatever it will be. We can’t change it, but we can let it go, hope for the best and forget about it.
The main thing, is to learn to give up what you cannot change. Turn over your concerns to a higher power and quit worrying about it yourself. I give my problems to God. Sometimes things work out and I get what I wanted, other times I don’t. I just have to trust that however it works out… that is the way it is supposed to be… I will leave it alone.
The best thing in my case is that I have several places where I can go and think. I guess that it is also good that I have learned to let things go. Of course, it wasn’t easy…but I did learn it! I encourage you to find a special place where you can go, relax and think. Perhaps it is the beach or a park or just a quiet place in your house…it is not important where it is…it’s only important that you find it!
RicelandMeadows 