Happenings on the Ranch

As a farmer, it becomes second nature to pay attention to the weather and its patterns.  Current weather conditions are usually a predictor of conditions to come.  I kept saying all summer and fall that we were going to have a wet, nasty winter.  Considering we are in the fifth snow storm in three weeks and it has been bitterly cold, it looks like I may have been right.

Mind you, I love the snow.  It’s beautiful and usually gives a little bit of an insulating layer for the animal shelters.  This winter so far, though, has turned out to be one of the coldest we’ve ever had.  The high during this time of the year is usually right around freezing or just slightly above.  Today the high will be around 19 degrees (which is an improvement over the past few days) with a cold blast coming in that will make the high on Friday around, gulp, ZERO.  And nevermind the overnight lows that are frequently below zero, not including the wind chill.  Yipes.

In most instances the shelters we have built for the animals are adequate for winter weather.  In temperatures like these, though, we’ve had to make some adjustments.

First things first, the rabbits have all been moved from the Bunny Barn into the basement.  Although the cages we have them in now are a bit more cramped than they are used to, they are all staying toasty warm by the word burning stove in the newly christened Chateau de Rabbit.

Secondly we’ve added extra wind blocks for the hogs, goats and chickens.  Especially since the potbellies have newborns and two goats will be giving birth soon, we want to make sure they don’t get chilled.  Chester, our boar, has been moved to a pen with a much larger shelter where he can dig and make his nest area to his hearts content.  The poultry and pheasant houses have extra tarps added to block the wind and most of them are very happy to just stay inside all day at this point.  In fact, they look at us like we’re crazy when we open the doors in the morning to let them out.  The only ones who seem to be acting like it’s no big deal are the geese, who wander around in the snow the same way they do in the rain.  Of course, since they are all white it’s often hard to see them sometimes unless you catch a glimpse of an orange beak.

The horses don’t need any additions to their shelters but I feel for them because they seem truly bored.  Horses naturally spend 90% of their time slowly grazing.  Of course with the snow cover on the ground we are feeding them a daily ration, but that doesn’t last them very long.  With nothing to occupy their time,  they’ve taken to pulling dead branches off the barren trees on the property.  They even chase each other around with them in an equine version of keep away.  Occasionally one of our dogs, who often plays chase with them during nice weather, will head out their direction and they happily participate in a game of cat and mouse for a short time; but it’s too cold to do that for very long and the dog gives up and heads in the house.  When the weather breaks, I’ll have to give the girls a well deserved trot around the property – as long as the ice is melted.

As you can imagine, nothing is growing.  Actually we do, surprisingly, have some surviving spinach under the a-framed raised beds but not much to write home about; I doubt it will survive much longer.  Not to mention it’s just too darn cold to go out there and dig it up.  Seriously, I’m not craving spinach salad that badly.

Unfortunately we haven’t been attending our winter market in the last few weeks due to a combination of illness and lack of items to sell.  We do still have whole free-range chickens available if anyone is interested.  They are $3.85 per pound and average around 3.5 pounds.  Once these are gone, we won’t have any more available until late spring.

CSA sign ups are still going strong.  I have managed to fix the website link to our CSA contract so anyone who hasn’t signed up yet can now download with no problem.  Of course, if you have any questions you can always feel free to email us.

Until next time, stay warm!

~Karin

It’s been a while since I’ve written because there has been so much going on.  Unfortunately, not all of it has been good.

We took a week’s vacation to head to California to visit family over the Christmas holiday.  It was a nice relaxing break.  Anthony did a great job of taking care of all the animals while we were gone.

 Sadly  immediately upon returning we were hearbroken to discover that Megan’s horse, Rosebud, had an intenstinal disorder.  Her body was not absorbing the proper nutrients no matter how much she ate.  We were forced to decide whether to try to extend her life by using some drastic measures and constant monitoring, which may or may not have helped, or to relieve her of her misery.  As sad as the decision was to make, we decided we couldn’t be selfish and keep her around knowing she was weak and so uncomfortable.  Rosie was humanely euthanized on January 3rd.  We will really miss this beautiful girl.

We were also hit by another predatory at the beginning of the year and Devon lost his prized Dominque rooster, Pepper.  The kids are very quickly learning how hard it is to lose an animal you really love.  I have to remind them that the joy we get from caring for these wonderful animals outweighs the sorrow we feel when we lose them.

On the plus side, our girls have started laying eggs again and the juvenile birds have started laying for the first time.  We’ll soon have plenty of farm fresh eggs available locally and it makes me excited that farmers market season is just around the corner.  Also makes me panic a little bit because there is still so much to do to get ready for planting season!

Hope you are all having a wonderful New Year.  Cheers from the farm!

It’s been a wild ride so far and it’s not close to over! Our little town is just south of Kansas City and while most of the northern areas got hit with bad freezing rain last night, it warmed up just enough here to make it really wet. Cold enough to be very slick, but not so cold during the rain fall to put heavy ice on the trees and power lines.  Dodged a bullet there, but there’s another storm system coming through today and we may not be as lucky.  Keeping our fingers crossed and keeping a close eye on the animals.  Rosie, our youngest horse, has been struggling to keep weight on through her growth spurts so we’ve put a winter blanket on her and let her into the front of the property to eat without being harrassed by the other horses.  Here’s a picture of her wandering with some of the iced trees in the background. What a beautiful sight.

Kids were out of school today and they probably will be tomorrow, too.  We took the opporunity to do some baking and hanging out together. Megan made a cake and cupcakes and then helped me with two different batches of gingerbread while Devon made a graham cracker house.  Anthony and Arcenio are waiting for the gingerbread to start the fun.  I guess we’ll be spending the evening making cookies and houses!

On a side note, I received this prayer in my American Cowman newsletter email and thought I’d share it.  I know it was intended for Thanksgiving, but it seems appropriate all year.  Enjoy!

A Cowboy’s Thanksgiving Prayer

By Steve Lucas

Dear Lord,I confess, my prayer life hasn’t been as consistent as it should
And I reckon my life would be easier if it was, and I would
Make prayer a priority ‘cept it’s a habit to forget
Until I find my self in trouble, like that day I was soakin’ wet, And lookin’ for that heifer that had calved down by the creek.
Been watchin’ her show calvin’ signs for almost a whole week.
I prayed “Lord, help me find her,” and you showed me where to ride.
Found her in some cedars with a new calf by her side.And when it got dry this summer, we prayed real hard for rain,
Got some hard winds with it, but I thank you just the same.
‘Cause it sure gave us some fire wood, enough to last a while.
I prayed when I got myself in a problem and you helped me out in style.And now ‘round this Thanksgiving table, without a difficulty or fear,
We take a moment to thank you Lord, like we do every year.
We thank you for the blessings and the bounty you bestow
Good health, good friends and the good things that from your goodness flow.And we pray for folks we do not know who have sickness, hunger, pain.
Show us ways to share your love with them, and again,
We pray for our troops who are far away from home and families.
Let them know we love them, and Lord if you would please, Instill in our hearts a desire to pray and be thankful every day.
Not just when trouble comes or things don’t go our way.
‘Cause you endow us daily, with more than we deserve,
And we sure are poor examples of the Savior that we serve.I thank you Lord for everything, my daughter and my wife,
My friends, and for most of all, that I can live this cowboy life.
The turkey’s on the table boys, so I won’t be discreet
Thank you Lord for all this food. Come on boys, lets eat!