…yes, Zorro is still cute!
3 years ago:
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1 year ago:
Yes, I have the humor level of a 12-year-old boy.
As the broiler chickens lose their baby feathers they sometimes end up with bare butts for a while, looking a little like baboons. They definitely don’t stay in the cute little puffball stage for long.
Changing gears now…we still have 3 hogs left to sell for April 28 butchering, and that will be it until fall! So my plan is to tempt you with some delicious pork recipes in the coming days. Stay tuned…
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2 years ago:
1 year ago:
Wow, it’s been over a month since I did an Ag Speedlinking post! What can I say, life’s gotten busy has spring as (oh so slowly) approached. Speaking of spring…Mad had a track meet today and at one point it hailed on us. Hailed! They ran anyway. Onto the links!
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This Earth Day an unlikely foe: Biofuels
“As we are rushing to fill our fuel tanks with corn, we are affecting the global price of food and contributing to the destruction of the forests and other vital natural systems we meant to protect. Misguided biofuel mandates are actually exacerbating environmental harms and causing human suffering while failing to truly deliver energy independence.”
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New farm bill lacks development money
From the Des Moines Register
“What good does it do if we keep giving more money to farmers but they don’t have any towns, they don’t have churches, they don’t have hospitals, they don’t have schools, they don’t have water?”
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Rethinking farm bill subsidies crucial
“What can we citizens expect if the proposed $300 billion farm bill is signed into law? …More than $4 billion in permanent disaster assistance to growers in the Northern Plains. The brainchild of Montana Democrat and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, this is essentially a trust fund to guarantee income to farmers plowing up prairies and grasslands — lands prone to drought and erosion — to plant corn and wheat. Many observers fear a second Dust Bowl.”
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I said I wasn’t going to post anymore pictures of wet little calves. But I was clicking through my files and came across this one of Zorro from last week. And it’s just so cute I can’t stand it. I mean look at those eyes. And those ears. And that wet, slightly curly hair.
Madeline had her first track meet today, finally! Finally it was warm and dry, but windy with gusts up to 50 mph. She ran anchor in the 4×800, first leg in the 4×400, and the 200m low hurdles. Their 7th grade Osage team won the meet, over 7 other teams! So it was a great way to start off the season. I’m not really sure how she did individually. Matt and I had to do our yearly “band parent” duty in the concession stand, so I couldn’t watch real close and with the wind I couldn’t hear the announcer.
I need to get out and snap some pictures of our “rescue calf”. But I’ve been procrastinating because I have something special in mind for when I finally post his picture. Stay tuned…
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1 year ago:
The documentary “King Corn” premieres tonight on public television’s “Independent Lens” series. Check here for your local listings and to find out more about the film. I believe Iowa PTV isn’t showing it until April 20.
Edited to add:
If you get IPTV Digital there are additional showings:
Tue April 15 – 9 p.m.
Wed April 16 – 12:30 a.m.
Fri April 18 – 10 a.m.
Mon April 21 – 9 a.m.
To access digital IPTV add “.1” to whatever channel you’re receiving IPTV on. So around here, for channel 24 Mason City, it would be channel 24.1
Non-digital IPTV is showing it on Sunday April 20 at 10:30 p.m.
Our first batch of chickens for 2008 is underway! 153 cute little peepers.
Here’s an overview of our brooder pen setup:
I’ve been having Ike sleep in the garage with them at night, so he can start bonding with his charges. Hopefully, with last year’s experience as chicken herd guard, he’ll fall right into his duties again this year.
3 years ago:
2 years ago:
Hopefully this is the last photo of a wet little calf that I post! Isn’t he cute?!? Another day or so of this mess and we’re supposed to be back on the upswing into spring.
This little guy was born Wednesday afternoon. The kids got out of school early, and Olivia had a friend over to play. They were all out jumping on the trampoline and got to see Dmitry being born! So Olivia and her friend (a “town girl” who thought that was a pretty cool thing to see) thought they should get to name him. I don’t know where the name “Dimitry” came from, but that’s what they came up with.
Yesterday’s calf is doing great so far. He was even out and about in the rain this afternoon, running and jumping through the mud! In fact all 3 calves were romping about this afternoon. A very reassuring thing to see – they’re weathering the weather well.
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1 year ago:
I mean really, the drama!
I mentioned yesterday that we had a cow in labor. We watched. We waited. We checked. No calf. Morning came. No calf. At that point I was thinking things were taking too long and we weren’t going to have a good outcome.
On top of that, the weather here has been downright nasty. Driving rain, wind in 45mph gusts, temps in the 30s. I felt so sorry for Zorro and the other new calf that was born just yesterday afternoon! I wanted to go out and put little rain slickers on them.
So I took Madeline to the orthodontist and we picked up the broiler chicks on our way home. When I pulled in the driveway about 11 a.m., there was a new calf! I was so relieved. He was standing up even, but soaked to the bone.
After I got the chicks situated I looked out to see what was going on with the cow & calf, but didn’t see them. I headed out to see where they were, and about that time Matt pulled in for lunch. We found the mama in the shed, but that newborn baby couldn’t navigate the mud and was laying outside the shed in the mud.
Matt looked at me, hitched up his pants, and said, “Now I’m going to go get my @$$ kicked by a cow.” He went out, grabbed that calf out of the mud, and hauled him inside the shed.
I ran in the house and grabbed some towels and Matt got him dried off as much as he could, until Mama Cow got really upset and came after her baby.
When Matt did chores after work the calf was still in the shed, and standing up and trying to nurse. So that’s good. But I’ll be fretting about all 3 of the new babies…the rain is supposed to turn to snow tomorrow afternoon.
3 years ago:
Our new friend Troy
I wish we were having the weather today that we were having on this day 3 years ago!
2 years ago:
1 year ago:
Zorro was standing up to the bale feeder munching away today like a big boy calf. So cute! Of course he’s got Nanny Star right there with him.
Tomorrow…more babies! Another calf was born this afternoon, and we have a third cow in labor tonight. Plus I’m picking up 150 broiler chicks in the morning!
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