Blind Hog and Acorn

Seed heads getting clipped of the fescue, fields are 2/3 done, if not a smidge more.

Old Pi, our oldest cow, died and got toted with as much ceremony as the farmers could muster, up to the Upper 40 to be laid out on the glade. She was a very good cow who was not trouble at all.  Never sick, always had a good calf.

Bucklings were taken to market, will see what they bring but prices have dropped a bit.

Acorn has to wean the other goat kids now, spray the goats with permethrin spray against the onslaught of ticks. That will be fun fun fun...

Have a great weekend and don't work too hard.  Blind Hog and Acorn promise to relax a little bit.

If only the weather could last longer as it is...  Highs near 70F, lows nice and cool enough to sleep with the windows open and needing a bit of blanket..

Geese and goat kids are growing, garden is putting out asparagus.  Apple trees got a pruning so Blind Hog can ride the new mower under the branches and not lose his hat.

Zero turn mower is certainly the way to go!  If only it could cut 8" tall out in the fields!

Blind Hog and Acorn started off the week by getting a really good deal on a battery powered riding mower, saving $2K off list price, only to find out that yes- it did have a serious problem and so they got it back to Tractor Supply within 24 hrs (almost) for a refund.  Seems it had a problem with the first owner who returned it and the problem did not duplicate itself for the store  manager.

After much decision making, a zero-turn will be delivered to the farm on Wednesday... Yay!

Sam the Farmdog just dispatched a huge male groundhog- he is still panting and a bit of blood is still coming from where the ferocious whistle pig got ahold of poor Sam's tongue!

Hot, humid, but getting much needed rain in nice slow amounts- no drastic flooding involved.

Scored a nice dining table with 8 chairs via FaceBook Marketplace... $100... Sold!

Time for a cold beer and to give Sam a treat...

What a fun week at the farm! 

Goslings hatching, new porch furniture, a porky pig sighting, goat milking in the mornings and whatever did Blind Hog and Acorn find in the clothes dryer blower fan but a pair of blue racers!  BTW- Acorn did check to see if they were on the trail of mice but there was not one tell-tale dropping or sign of mouse nesting activities- what we had here was a pair of snakes looking for some "privacy..."

Oy oy oy...  At least it was discovered that the dryer belt was cracked and would soon need replacing, but that in itself turned into two fruitless trips to Springfield.  New belt is to be delivered on Monday, via Amazon- the Helper of Rural Folk everywhere...

Bravo and Charlie gooses have both hatched their eggs- Bravo had two of her seven eggs hatch (the remaining eggs stinky duds), Charlie hatched four of eight.  Eggs five, six and seven are in the incubator since the first four goslings are out and about...  Egg #eight was an unfertilized dud.

Bling Hog got his pan of brownies.  All is well with the world.

The incubator hatch was so-so... A few duds that were iffy when candled and alothough four goslings hatched, one did not make it.  Acorn thinks the egg was too warm and thus a "preemie" pipped too early.  Them another gosling developed spraddle leg from the incubator's "too slick" floor.  When the legs go out sideways, they tend to stay that way.  Bandaids to the rescue!

Electric fence is back on and the goat kids have been learning some lessons...  Maybe..  Some seem to be repeat offenders...

All in all a good week, and Bling Hog goes off on a tangent...

Eight or more pairs of purple martins back and of course, a freeze alert and a week of sub-70's in the days ahead...

Blind Hog is still working on that big deadfall oak from the south woods that fell across the fenceline. Acorn is spinning around doing "goosey things..." Little honker hatched in the incubator, now a week old and strutting about on little flappy feets

Ticks are already on the prowl, morel mushroom season a bust- the dry april was not conducive for development.  "We see this..."

Lemons squares, anyone?

The final kidding of the season happened and wouldn't you know, TRIPLETS! Momma is a trained professional, and the three should do just fine.

Lil' Honkers are growing and took their first bath today- one was acting just like an adult goose in the water- head down, water up over the back and flapping of wings.

Sam caught a squirrel this morning and ate it for "first breakfast..."  Came in later and had "second breakfast" that was already poured for him...

Grass is so green.  Lilacs so lovely. Happy April...

Art museum visit- check... 
Redbuds blooming- check...
Morels popping-  check...
Martin gourds up-  check...
28°F mornings (?)-  check...

Springtime in the Ozarks!

Blind Hog and Acorn have been doing the usual chores, extra work on the Springfield house, and even took a day off to visit the art museum in Bentonville.  Acorn is more than ready to do that again soon, and not wait another 6-8 months!

All in all, SteelMeadow Farm is right on schedule.  Garden might be limited to store-bought starts for a few crops,  but Acorn will support the local growers.  This is also the 17th anniversary of their move to Missouri. Tempus fugit!

Alpha Goose sat on 9 eggs and 8 hatched.  The unhatched egg was a stink bomb, we see this.  Now to see if Bravo and Charlie gooses are ready to incubate their nests or were they just giving Acorn a cruel "April Fool's" prank when she found both on their nests ...  23 eggs in two incubators, Bravo and Charlie both have 5-7 eggs in their nests.

Work continues on the city house- appliances delivered and Blind Hog and Acorn got them installed.  Nothing is easy/simple save the fridge- attach the water line and wait for magic ice to flow...

5.5+ inches of rain in 48 hours- THAT got the farm right soggy!

Goose pens were flooded, needed trenching to divert the drainage but even better news?  The county road held!

Blind Hog and Acorn had a productive week at the Springfield house, ready for appliances to be delivered.  They even took a couple days off to stay at the farm.  Well, ok- they HAD to stay due to the rains but it was a nice change of pace!

Another busy week at the Springfield house, but things are coming along.

Blind Hog and Acorn came back to the farm at noon, ate lunch, took a nap and off to evening chores.  Tomorrow is a "stay at the farm day," so that is sweeeeeet.

Goats are growing, geese continue to lay, extra goose eggs in an incubator.

Farmers have about had it with "house renovation" work, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel and things will calm back down. THEN they can concentrate on FARMWORK...

Daffodils might be blooming, but Blind Hog and Acorn are hunkered in this morning, feeding wood to the woodstove.  Baked goods of many kinds being made, but not to have the farmers "baked" themselves- lol...

Goats are doing well, Sam is enjoying the egg-bounty while it lasts.  Speaking of eggs, Acorn brought in the goose eggs from the two pair who have not yet decided to sit-fast upon the nests.  Once the lows get back above freezing, the eggs will be replaced.   Might be another week and a half for that to happen though.  They will be turned 2x a day, and are in a seed tray in the workshop.  55F is perfect temperature for "holding."

Farm chores have been thankfully under control- goats are doing well, geese are "a-laying..."  Plumbing work at the Springfield house has been an adventure, to say the least...

Good news with that is everything will eventually be taken care of...  Eventually...

Cold snaps are in the future but moderate temperatures continue for now.  Snow next Saturday?  A definite possibility.  May hold off putting out hay for a couple more days, Tuesday sounds good to me. Rain and colder temps to arrive on Wednesday.

Blind Hog has asked for yet another pan of brownies- heaven forbid the kitchen runs out!

Wellllllllll, Acorn is rather tickled that she has not had to get out of bed in the wee hours of the morning.  Blind Hog said he was also relieved, but we all know he falls back to sleep.

Farm Visitors have broken up the day-to-day routines, is always nice to see friends. Not only do  the farmers get to have fun, but the house gets cleaned as well!

The "city house" has had the electric wiring totally redone.  Five days with workers in the attic and the skinny ones in the crawlspace. Plumbers start Monday.

The little wigglers are running around in the field like a white tidal wave. Cows getting jumped on now as they lie to chew their cud. If they could, they'd be rolling their eyes...

Been a busy week on the farm- in contrast to the past few when nothing much was going on.  Acorn has been a busy midwife- finding kids, assisting with towels and blow dryer to dry off kids before they freeze.  This morning's arrival in 14F temps was no different.  Mostly good outcomes with only one death, and a puzzler at that.  We will never know.

Big decisions made on the Springfield house- namely, going to get trained professionals to that which needs doing, and not doing it ourselves...  So it goes.

A bit windy tonight, but there is always wind blowing from the west it seems. Bells are a'ringin'!

Freeze, thaw, frost, mud...  And kidding resumes on top of everything. Twins born yesterday were very appreciative of the heat lamp last night- temps got down to 16F.

Blind Hog and Acorn had a couple days to hunker in while it was raining with flood warnings posted.  Tax return papers to be organized, magazine articles to read, baking, cooking, all the usual farm chores...  Obviously, was NOT good weather to look for the comet.

About time for Acorn to do a pasture walk- see if any newborns have popped into the world. Some nannies are waddling around...

Blind Hog and Acorn just don't have enough to do...  They began to look for a house in the Big City to buy, fix up, and rent as a modest investment back in November of last year, and the Badger will be the tenant.  Why pay rent to a stranger when rent can be paid to parents??  Win-win if you ask the Acorn...

A house was found and while some places linger on the market, others go fast- this was one of those listings.  15 hours after listing and the offer was accepted.  1954 ranch model in a quiet neighborhood- median age 46 yrs old with majority of the folks homeowners (86%) vs. renters (14%).

So, while the farm is in winter hibernation mode, Blind Hog and Acorn get to dust off their plumbing-carpentry-electrical skills.  First project was to reconnect the drain line from the tub/shower which has been dumping water under the house for who knows how long??!!  Acorn was just gobsmacked how this could be, but later decided whoever replaced that drain simply forgot to tighten the compression screw fitting that held the drain and trap up onto the tub fitting's "tail" pipe. Over time, the weight of water in the trap allowed the whole thing to gradually slide on off...

Next up will be reworking the drain under the kitchen sink.  Galvanized water pipes, cast iron drain lines, 2-wire electrical wiring.  Will be a few months to get things repaired to satisfaction, but no hurry.  Acorn saw a video on "how easy" it can be to cut cast iron pape, so now she totally feels confident the kitchen sink issues can also be fixed.  Hot damn.

Orphan goat kid #438 has totally adjusted to a bottle 2x a day.  NO clue why his momma died- figured she took a lick from another goat and had internal injuries. Goats do that... Plain red-top milk is all he needs, besides grazing with his herd. No need to buy livestock milk replacer.

Weather looking like it will be moders, full moon obscuring the green comet.  Acorn tried with the telescope to no avail.

Back to chores!

Snowmageddon avoided, thanks to Cedar Gap splitting the snow as it approached from the Southwest.  SteelMeadow only received just under 4" whilst areas to the north and south had almost double!

Blind Hog and Acorn have been doing the usual farm chores in winter, which means one or two major tasks during the day and catching up on TV series  for a couple hours at night.

The green comet was spotted, but Acorn will try next week for a better look, perhaps even a photo!

No big earth-shattering news from Missouri- ya'll be safe out there!

Snow and below average temperatures are on the way, Blind Hog and Acorn have hay chores to get done today- will be the first time in a month the Mahindra has been asked to work!  Will the tractor remember how to start?  Ha!

Blind Hog and Acorn are thinking about the garden, upcoming appointments.  Acorn has finally had enough of the "chronic coff-coff" and NP says is probably nothing more than stubborn allergies.  No problem with that diagnosis, considering the alternatives!

Hay feeding, pizza and ice cream making, and enjoyable afternoon football while Dry January continues.  Fizzy water maker ($59 Sodastream deal at Costco) continues to delight.

Yes yes, Acorn lost track of the days (again) and remembered to make the podcast again a day late- so it goes...  Blind Hog has since cleaned out the ash from the woodstove and it is fired up, Acorn has baked the promised muffins.

Pretty quiet week- livestock of all kinds are content.  Goat kids are growing fast, running with moms out o the field.  Only once did Acorn have to go out and find a sleepy set of twins who got "left behind."

Football playoffs are entertaining, winter seems to be the time for kicking back early. Am sure it has nothing whatsoever to do with the length of daylight...