Renovations | Spring on the Farm
When we bought this farm it hadn't seen livestock for at least 30 years, old pastures had grown in with woody and invasive species and were definitely in need of some major maintenance. In March we put our personal basement remodel on hold to get back to the farm projects.
here's a past due farm update...
Like most farmers in spring, we're BUSY! So I figured I'd take a rainy day and write about what's been happening the last few months here at Homestead.
To put it simply we've been working on finding our pastures again...
When we bought this farm it hadn't seen livestock for at least 30 years, old pastures had grown in with woody and invasive species and were definitely in need of some major maintenance. In March we put our personal basement remodel on hold to get back to the farm projects. There was a lot of clearing to do to get animals grazing again.
I still can't believe how quickly the months around here fly by. We spent the last two months clearing fence lines in preparation for running our new fences. We seeded down areas that were cleared in hopes of establishing grass faster than weeds. The seed is coming in quite well but we definitely have some honeysuckle trying to make a come back... so now you know one of my tasks for the next week.
But as slow as it sometimes seems things are moving right along... Last weekend we proudly placed our first posts and mapped out the 152 (ish) posts left to place. It's a daunting task and it was probably a bad idea to calculate the time to finish placing posts. If you're wondering we have 40 hours of post pounding left to go....
After posts are in we'll start stretching wire and we're hoping to have everyone out of the dry lot by mid-June (I'm not going to mention, or maybe I am, that our first goal was mid-May). All in due time I suppose...
With an increasingly muddy cattle and sheep yard I'm more than ready to conquer another busy weekend to get these creatures out on our lovely greening pastures. This Memorial Day will be slightly less relaxing than previous years but a brat or three is still on the weekend to-do-list. I hope you also have a chance to get out and enjoy a brat this Memorial Day weekend!
Farm | Reflecting on Our First Lambing Season
I learned a LOT this lambing season. I had never witnessed a lamb birth, or a birth of any animal for that matter, prior to welcoming these babies home.
Our first lambing season
a season of learning
I learned a LOT this lambing season. I had never witnessed a lamb birth, or a birth of any animal for that matter, prior to welcoming these babies home. I was a typical mama and worried about them, did everything I knew to do to care for them and enjoyed how quickly they began to grow. I'm thankful for our eight healthy, spunky and sweet lambs that are making me smile each day.
It's rather funny really that I only witnessed the birth of two lambs when I spent an entire week on the homestead waiting and watching for them. I guess I wasn't needed as much as I'd thought.
Everyone was healthy except for Clyde who was born on a cold day and ended up with pneumonia. So, I can check off my first vet visit with a baby lamb (I enjoyed the snuggles at the vet more than he did). He recovered quickly and is the largest of the Homestead lambs.
I owe a ton of thanks to the incredible vets at Country View Equine who answered a plethora of questions. I also owe a HUGE thank you to my cousin Sarah joined me at the farm for a few evenings to teach me banding and tagging. In a couple years I'll be a professional at this right?
personal reflections
1. Making cute lamb jackets was a complete waste of time, the mamas tore them off and a couple of the lambs were too big for them. A simple sheet of fleece with leg holes worked much better.... but definitely not picture worthy.
2. Even when I thought I'd need to assist a ewe, she had it perfectly under control, next season I need to trust they've got it.
3. There isn't anything much cuter than a lamb learning to be mischievous, I'm looking at Cain as I write this...
introducing Homestead's eight
Cain
Clyde
Clark
Calvin
Eva (named after my great grandmother)
Elsie
Emma
Ellie
they really do grow too fast
I'm still blown away by how quickly these little ones learn to walk, hop and play. Each lamb was trying to stand within minutes of being born and was up walking around and feeding within an hour. Now approximately two weeks old and they're showing off their high jumps.
I promised some video this season so here it is, my favorite part of these littles is watching them play.
I'm learning to be flexible
This lambing season I learned I'm going to have to be flexible (five of our eight lambs were born within 24 hours and we had to make-shift lambing pens for them) and learned I shouldn't worry so much. I'm grateful for an easy first lambing season and look forward to watching these babies grow.
Farm | Homestead's First Lambs
Well, the day finally came! Erma welcomed two healthy lambs yesterday evening. Meet Cain, the firstborn son at Homestead, and Eva his sweet little sister.
We welcomed Homestead's very first lambs!
Well, the day finally came! Erma welcomed two healthy lambs yesterday evening. Meet Cain, the firstborn son at Homestead, and Eva his sweet little sister.
While I wish I could say I watched the birth of my FIRST lambs, I was out running farm/house errands when I got a call from my brother-in-law asking if I knew about the lambs. Then a phone call from Matt shortly after letting me know 'they are super cute'... I asked all the good Mama questions, are they standing? Are they dry? Are they nursing?
Pulling in the driveway my heart was racing, there they were! The sweet faces of newborn lambs. I helped dry them off, though it wasn't too cold yesterday, as a first time lamb Mama I wanted to do everything right. Erma is an incredible mama, delivering these sweet babies on her own and is caring for them so well.
We have six mama's yet to deliver, who wants to make a guess at our final lamb count?!