farming in the ozarks

Acorn is back from a 3 nighter in Texas, fun fun!  Back home to the farm in time for Blind Hog's birthday!  Huzzah!!!  All the partying!

Just a few odds and ends to tend to on the farm- miscellaneous things to get done here and there but nothing drastic.

Acorn is planning for an improved winter exercise program which necessitated the need for a 43" tv to hang in front of the treadmill.  Will that be a big enough carrot on a stick to get the farmers exercising?

Besides setting record lows and highs in a matter of 2 weeks, all is swell at Steelmeadow.

After last week's podcast Acorn realized that old Lulu the cow was not doing well, so she eased Lulu out of her mortal coil and Blind Hog carried the 17 yr old cow up to the north 40.  Sadness, but how many cows live that long and have such a good life?  Not many I bet!

Cleaning up in the garden, clipping down the fields in preparation for fall fescue growth...  If the rains will fall...  Geese actually made it through the dog door and were all on the screen porch!  Yes, it got a little messy...

All in all, a bittersweet yet productive week capped off with a trip to the art museum.  Annie Leibovitz preview did not disappoint!

Acorn is taking off Friday morning for a weekend visiting The Goat Man, ol' Frank, in San Marcos TX.  Therefore, Blind Hog and Sam will be left to man the conn in her absence.

This week has been full of old tractor mechanic funs, problem is getting closer to being solved but not quite there yet...

Blind Hog will find himself with plenty of baked treats to ease his woes...  Cookies, cake, brownies, cornbread...  

Heat returns after a few days of "Fall Preview" weather...  Mornings in the 50's... Lovely...

Another couple bands of possibly severe storms headed to SteelMeadow- has been pleasantly rainy, but oh!  That humidity!

Miss Massey the Tractor is acting up, goats are moved from  west to west fields, gooses continue their yard patrol and hummingbirds are sucking down syrup like crazy.

Tomatoes appreciated being staked up, all good with them.

Junior Constable Mouser is growing like a weed...

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!

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!

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...

Took some finesse but the calves thought they would be tricksie and came home with the goats last Sunday- Acorn quickly closed a gate behind them, got them separated into the round pen and cheered!  Let the weaning begin!  Calpurnia, Lulu and Pi shuffled on down and over the next day.  After 5 days with no ill effects, the buyers for SteelMeadow's Piper, the last heifer, was loaded into a trailer to join her half sister and 30 other head of Irish Dexters outside Kansas City.

Now Blind Hog and Acorn can focus on goats and kidding to begin- looking at behaviors, one or two are beginning to "mumble..."  Talking to kids in utero...

Yet more exciting futbol on the telly, weather has also been mild.  Finally got a good soaking rain.  For the first time all summer the dry creek has water flowing and the dredging by the county is working a treat!  No flooding up in the road!

Influenza is really hitting the Ozarks hard- neighbor's son is in the ICU, folks all around are feeling/getting sick.  Get yer jabs, people... Not too late!

The good news is that the farm received rain, bad news is that there are still a couple leaky spots on the roof but hopefully Blind Hog and Acorn are getting them figured out. A few more forays onto the sheet metal might be needed, but they will see how the next rain is handled.

Call received from folks who got goats from SteelMeadow YEARS ago, have a few they would like to sell back to the farm.  Blind Hog and Acorn will go over there later this afternoon to check them out. These people take excellent care of their livestock, so no big worries with health issues.

Other than that, rain did fall. New weather station is wonderful. Cows are enjoying the fresh grass , the goats get to go into the north 40 for their browse and Sam is getting morning walks again.

Yay!  Blind Hog got several things done this week- attic fan installed in one day, cows moved from west to east fields,  seventeen doelings sold to a single buyer, laying hen peeps purchased.  AND Acorn is most excited about the livestock ultrasound device she can use to check goats for pregnancy.   No more guessing, waiting around.

Drought continues.  Fields had a bit of reprieve but 1/2 of rain does not make up for all the excessive temperatures and dry conditions.

Next on the agenda is the "cleaning of the goat barns..."  Won't THAT be fun?