Summer 2018

Summertime!  Photo by Natalie Crain
June 14
Farm News:  We had a broody hen, so I set some eggs under her 4 weeks ago.  Last Saturday, one egg hatched.  It was an eggs from the white hen, so it will be interesting to see what color this chick ends up being.  The rooster is red and the hen is white, so I told William that the chick will probably be pink when it grows up.  He doesn't believe me. :-) ​
May 31
Farm News:  Rain! Rain Rain!   We've had 3 good rains this past week, totaling over 6".  That's more rain that we've had in the past 8 months total.  We are very grateful.
More Farm News:   The mama cat, Ginger Claw, hid her 3 tiny kittens about 10 days ago.  We looked everywhere we could think of, but couldn't find them.  We tried following her when she came to the house for dinner, but she was too wily.  I assured the kids that she'd eventually bring them here when she got tired of being their only source of nutrition.  Sure enough, she brought them out yesterday.  It's amazing how much bigger they've gotten.  They're still too young for cat food, but in another week or so, we'll be able to help mama cat out with the feeding.
May 24
Farm News:  Our county continues to be in extreme drought conditions.  We have a portable pasture irrigation system that Ron is using to keep an area of bermuda grass growing.  But what we really need is rain!
Better Farm News:  We got our first pullet egg this week!  Our group of 175 young hens are getting close to producing now.
May 16
Farm News:  Ginger Claw, the black cat with an orange toe, had her first litter of kittens this week.  I spotted them under the a.c. compressor.  Not a very good location, so we fixed a nice box and our daughter Natalie gathered up the kittens, put them in the box and then put the mother in with them.  She carried the box of cats to the shed where they would be much safer.  Once the box was back on the ground, the inexperienced mama jumped out and went back to the compressor, searching for her babies.  Natalie picked her up and took her back to the shed and put her in the box with the kittens again.  Natalie said it was funny because the cat seemed delighted to see the kittens, even though they had made the original trip in the same box together just a couple minutes previously.   Happily, she's settled in and taking good care of them. 
May 9
Farm News: In honor of Mothers' Day, I will tell you my favorite "Farm Kids Say the Darndest Things" story which happened about 15 years ago.  
  Ron and I had been discussing a story in the news in which a hiker had survived a mountain lion attack by fighting it off with a pocket knife.  A few days later, we had all 5 kids in the van when Ron stopped to check on the cattle.  While the kids and I waited in the van, the bull came up to the gate near us.  I took this as a teachable moment to remind the children that they were NEVER to go into a fence with a bull because he could kill them. 
 "Not if you have a pocket knife," piped up 5 year old Cara from the backseat. 
"Oh honey," I replied, "Do you really think you could kill a bull with a pocket knife?" 
"Well," she reasoned, "You could cut that part off and make him a nice boy!"

April 18
Farm News: After cleaning the dairy barn, I got the basket and went out to gather eggs, still wearing my clunky barn boots.  While stepping over the hot wire, my heel caught and the eggs and I went crashing to the ground.  Only my pride was hurt, but the half dozen eggs I'd already collected were a smashed mess on the ground.  Ruby the dog quickly came up and started eating the eggs and a bit later, the hens came over and ate all the shells.  So, at least I didn't have to clean up anything!
April 11
Farm News:  This year all the heifer calves are given a name starting with the letter  "D".  Our little neighbor is named Lily and I was teasing her that she was going to have to wait until she is 20 years old before she would have a calf named for her.  We had a heifer born a few days ago and Ron asked me for a name.  With a burst of inspiration I said, "Day Lily".  Now we have a beautiful calf and a happy little girl.
April 4
 Farm News:  White Hen, who lays the bright white egg, has been sneaking into the barn to lay in one of the old feed pans.  The other day, we milked earlier than usual.  She sauntered in expecting to go to work, but the cows were in her way.  First she looked with one eye; then cocked her head looked with the other eye.  Then she stretched her neck as high as she could to try to see her "nest", but couldn't.  Ron and I were quite amused, wondering what was going on in her brain.  Finally, she got brave and walked between the cows' legs and jumped into the pan.  Of course, this startled the cow,  which startled the hen who made a hasty escape with much flapping and squawking.  I guess she came back a little later, because I found her white egg in the pan some time after the milking.