Caught on film with her head in a Pig Trough!

First we need a lesson in topping. I hate topping.  Topping is when you mow the tops off the pasture in the fields. We have more grass than stock this year which is good. And was in the sustainable plan.  We are not at full strength as far as stock goes.   Not yet. I still hate mowing pasture, it just feels all wrong. But sometimes the grass gets too long because the animals only choose their favourite forage, the weeds get out of hand, the grass goes to seed losing its protein richness and the clover underneath gets shadowed.  Even with the electric fences to help with the rotation sometimes we have to top. 

Last year we kept Daisy’s field well controlled so there are really almost no weeds in here this year. So yesterday we only topped four big swathes in Daisy’s Paddock.  About a quarter this time, so she still has grazing while we wait for the trimmed plants to grow back a bit then cut some more.   This field is heaving with bees, the clover is flowering beautifully for them. That honey is going to be good. 

Daisy thought that maybe this was a yellow brick road and she and Hairy walked the walk. The she had to lie down and have a wee sleep for the rest of the afternoon!

10 days to go until the Northern Cardinal chicks are hatched and 11 after that until they leave the nest, well maybe a few more. This Cardinal is bonkers building a nest and laying her eggs on a busy thoroughfare, and so low to the ground. 

But we will do the best we can to keep her safe. 

We finished the small outside pen for Sheila and Charlotte. The Shush Sisters.  Much better for them to be outside. They think so too, though Diane will  remind me that this pen will probably last a week, they grow so fast! Once the Pig Palace is built we will shift the Plonkers outside,  easier said than done and The Shush Sisters will take over the old barn pig sty until they are a bit bigger, after it has a spring clean.

And who is that caught on camera with her head in the pig trough? Pania!  You are a pea hen! Beautiful and delicate and sweet, what are you doing in there with the pigs? And Kupa! Where is Tui? Probably in the  pig run eating their old vegetables, maybe wallowing with the other Plonker! sigh . Everyone is into sustainable diversification!

Good morning.

We have a sprinkling of rain again this morning. Which is not good for the cut hay but fantastic for everything else. This was opportunist grass hay anyway. So once it is turned again and is dry and baled, if the baler works,  it will go in the bedding stack. Straw costs as much as hay to buy anyway.

The pig palace is almost done, I will show you tomorrow.

Lots to do today, I will be sticking close to home. Daisy is leaking milk from her poor overfilled udder. You know when you blow up a plastic glove and the fingers get really short, her udder looks like that. Her teats sticking out at odd angles, getting shorter by the hour as the udder swells. Not long now.

Have an excellent day.

celi