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T O P I C    R E V I E W
maryjane Posted - Jun 08 2020 : 8:19:46 PM
So, where did May go? Our weather has been chilly, like April weather. My garden isn't loving it, especially my watermelon and cantaloupe. Tomatoes are doing okay.

Daisy, at close to 5 months, aborted her calf. I found it while I was mucking. It was about the size of a cat. It took 6 days for her placenta to pass. Surprisingly, her udder filled with milk, so I've been milking her every day again, getting 2 gallons, which is plenty for us and Daisy didn't have to go through delivery and possibly milk fever.

Buttercup's milk has her mother's cream content, which makes me happy. Little Rosetta is doing fabulous. Calves sure do make a heart happy.

I've been without a cell phone for a few weeks. Long story, but the only part of it I miss is sharing photos. Hubby took a photo of the orchard and sent it to me. My nectarine and peach trees are laden with fruit and two of my new sweet cherry trees have fruit for the first time. It's my goal to slowly replace some of my older trees that I planted some 30 years ago, so I planted another peach and nectarine and a honey crisp apple this past week. The cooler weather has been good for them. Too much heat and sun on their young delicate skin/leaves challenges them. The cloudy, cool weather we've been having is perfect while they get used to a new environment.

Now you know why I like cows' bedding so much--great for tree/garden mulch. I always look forward to mucking because it means I get to dump a wheelbarrow load somewhere.



8   L A T E S T    R E P L I E S    (Newest First)
maryjane Posted - Jun 30 2020 : 11:21:35 AM
Janet, did your robin take wing? I've been seeing some that look just like him hopping around learning the ways of the world.

I'm having a banner year for roses and flowers, not so much for cantaloupe and watermelon (too rainy and cold), but my flowers are the best they've ever looked.

My perfect day is an entire day in the garden, from morning tea (packing a lunch and light dinner) to when I end my day by milking around 8 pm.

Here's a shot of my garden as I was about to start my perfect Sunday.



Also, I was grabbed by what I saw driving home the other day. You can see our farm (the roof of our tall facility) and then behind and above it in the photo you can see a field (actually two fields) that stand out as yellow. Those of some of Jacie's native wildflower seed fields; the yellow one in particular is yarrow. What a remarkable endeavor, truly.



NellieBelle Posted - Jun 24 2020 : 07:34:55 AM
Good morning! Everything coming up flowers. So good to see everyone. Darla your little Chuck is so cute. Sydney, nice to get update on your cows. MaryJane with little Rosetta, everyone busy. Needless to say the same here. Busy and summer just started and feels like it's half over already. Keeping things mowed, weeded, and all the chores and milking take up most of my time. On top of that I have guinea eggs in incubator and more to incubate in a few days. My jumbo cornish chicks and frypan chicks arrived this morning too. Had a bee swarm Sunday, but they were so far up I didn't attempt to capture them. I did put a empty hive below. And for some reason, there's still a clump of bees on that tree branch. Curious. So will observe and see what happens. I also have a fledgling Robin that has to be fed every half hour and that has me hopping. He is getting stronger and I'm hopeful he can be released sooner than later, as I have plenty to do without him/her. Having beautiful weather right now, gardens doing well. Won't have any peaches or nectarines this year. So glad your Peach and Nectarine trees are going to produce for you MaryJane. My serviceberries are ripe and I've been enjoying them fresh everyday. I have Darla dry and will dry Nellie end of this month so that I can have July free. May you all have a wonderful day and a grand summer!
Boots&Flipflops Posted - Jun 23 2020 : 12:23:57 PM
OMG, the heatwave is on.

Have been out working early this morning and I am over it already. I did put a cheap mister line this morning in my barn where the cows lay in the afternoon. Surprisingly it is working great. It puts out enough mist to cool the air, but not make a wet mess. Evaporates before it hits the ground. Bought mine at Tractor Supply, but they are sold quite a few places this time of year.

I have been bad and not taken any recent pictures of Chuck, but here is a good one with him and Peaches.


Hope everyone is doing well.
Have a Wonderful and Blessed Day
maryjane Posted - Jun 20 2020 : 07:33:10 AM
Great to hear from you Sydney (and Apple Butter) and know she's back in milk and giving you more than enough. Wow, twin boys. I hope that never happens to me:) Double trouble.

Darla, I buy the same vinegar for weeds. It kills them dead but they do come back if it's something with strong roots like thistle, but it sure is satisfying to see them shrivel. I find I have to wear a face mask when spraying the vinegar because it does have a bite to it should you get a whiff. We had puncture vines in Utah when I was growing up. Made it hard to go barefoot in places where people let them grow.

Janet, every day I check out all the fuzzy little peaches and smooth nectarines on my two amazing trees. This year they have just the right amount, not too many (requiring me to cull) but not at all sparse.

My biggest hive swarmed, but it looks to me like there's a good community of bees left behind. I couldn't find the swarm. They must have known exactly where they were going--not anywhere nearby.

Daisy is giving me a generous 2 gallons every day. I've been milking every evening around 7 or 8. I find I love an evening milking better than morning. It's something I can do when I'm tired and ready to end my day. Just a nice little night cap; bookend to a busy day. Cow communion. Little Rosetta is adorable and has taken to "heckling" both her mother and grandmother. They just go about their business as she hops and dances and darts around them seeking attention. Fun to watch.
Sydney2015 Posted - Jun 19 2020 : 08:22:52 AM
Hello everyone! It’s been a long long time since I’ve checked in here, and I’ve really missed it. Hopefully you all remember me! MaryJane, I’m sorry to hear about Daisy’s calf. Something like that is always sad. This year, AppleButter is in her fourth lactation and I’m getting a bit over seven gallons a milk a day from her, so a lot! It’s more than my family and I need. This year she had twin bull calves! Their names are Mozzarella and Gorgonzola. I bred her to a milking shorthorn bull. I’ll put some pictures below. AppleButter’s first calf, HoneyButter had her first calf this year too. She was bred to a beef bull since AI wouldn’t stick. She had a bull calf too! I milked her for about two weeks but since I didn’t need all the milk, and since she likes to kick, I decided to just leave the calf on her. It’s really great to see how everyone’s doing!!


AppleButter, me, and calf 1! (Mozzarella)




HoneyButter and her calf (he doesn’t have a name, we just call him little buddy) right after I found them. I thought Honey still had days (maybe even a week or two) to go. Her udder wasn’t very full and she wasn’t very loose in the back, but at least the birth went well without me there!
Boots&Flipflops Posted - Jun 16 2020 : 08:45:08 AM
IT WORKED!!!!!

That vinegar I sprayed on those darn "GoatHeads" curled them up like no bodies business. So happy!!! All it took was just a spritz. If you are looking to do a no chemical weed spray this just may be the ticket. I is a bit pricey though at $20.00 a gallon.

Have a Wonderful and Blessed Day
Boots&Flipflops Posted - Jun 15 2020 : 10:10:20 AM
Mary Jane,
my heart broke to hear of your loss. So unnerving to not know a reason. Happy all the others are well.

Today I went to war!!! "Goatheads" aka "Puncture Vine" If you have ever owned a bike in the county you know what they are. Trying something different today...30% vinegar. I just sprayed them this morning and I want to go look, but I am staying away to give a chance and see the results. The darn things are so cute. Little fern like ground cover with these darling tiny little yellow flowers. However, they are miserable. Bad for tires, feed, hooves, shoes, etc. The worst part is the "Goathead" aka seed, which can live up to 20 years!!!! Funny but not funny is after I pull the plants I am sweeping the dirt trying to get the seeds up too.

Janet, our weather has been a roller coaster. 103 one day 79 another. Then hotter than heck, then cool again. Not good for my garden, what there is of it so far. One thing new this year that I am loving is "8 Ball" squash. They are little round zucchini. I stuffed some for dinner the other night and they were so good. Will definitely plant them again.

And of course a couple of days ago I had a stack of 96 full sized bales of hay brought in, and what happened, 2 days later, out of no where we had a thunderstorm come in and it downpoured for about 5 minutes. Luckily the sun came out and it was windy enough that it dried. Sheesh...

All is well with the cows, so that is a good thing.

Hope every one has a Wonderful and Blessed Day
NellieBelle Posted - Jun 10 2020 : 06:41:23 AM
Good morning MaryJane and all! So very sorry to hear of Daisy's aborted calf. I was surprised to read how small it was at nearly 5 months. Hope she is coming along well. I guess the plus is you get milk. Our weather has been the opposite of yours. Hot, hot and dry. We did get rain during the night. Over a half inch but would like more. Get what we get and thankful. All is going well here except for minor hiccups,(not literal)which everyone has at one time or another. We've been replacing some fruit trees that have been here for years and died, but have had to water frequently due to lack of rain. Each year is different. Your fruit trees look lovely.