Daisy’s Cup Runneth Over

My skinny girlie arms are SO tired. We collected 100 bales  of good alfalfa hay from my friend the straw man and then one by one we hauled them up into the mezzanine floor of the barn to wait for winter. The Teenager unloaded them from the trailer....and carried them through to  Our John who winched them up into the hay mow (said  like Miaow) using this wicked ancient old pulley (found in another friends scrap metal heap) that you pull up by hand. Once John had swung the bale on to the first floor, pulling on the rope attached to the apex of the barn, I disengaged this apparatus, dropped that back down to The Lanky Teenager,  carried the bale across and stacked  it with the others. I like to stack because then I get the hay in the order I want  it because I feed out by myself all winter and no-one else does it right! 

There are three grades of hay that will need mixing at feeding time as different animals have different nutrition requirements.  Grass, alfalfa/grass  (Johns hay) and alfalfa. The alfalfa is the highest in protein.   In NZ alfalfa is called lucerne. It is the good stuff.  These bales are very heavy. There is a good solid 60 plus pounds of hay in each. ) A cow will eat half a bale a day. Usually a quarter alfalfa and a quarter grass hay. And due to the dry weather hay will be in short supply this year. So I am feeling smug about having it all in and under cover. Johns alfalfa field, though struggling, will be mown and baled later this week if all goes well.

The Shush Sisters  were setting up quite the clammer  as they watched us work so in the breaks I let them out for a wee run and some training. I have been thinking about the pigs and the cost of feeding them once they are big and I am not sure the farm can feed and house two through the winter.  Also the area designated for pigs in the winter was only meant for one pig. I am very against overcrowding animals. So I am going to be looking for a nice student to sell Charlotte to.  My goal is that the farm is to feed the farm. Our pigs came from a litter of eleven.  I am not even sure at this point whether I will breed Sheila as that is a lot of pigs to manage and sell.  If Sheila is good with her training then she will be out and about with me most days. And in the dead of winter she will be in the barn with the other animals  and me, so she will not be alone.

Sometimes we make mistakes. I think that the mistake is just that a mistake.  But admitting the mistake, owning it, then dealing with the mistake is very powerful. My mistake was buying two piglets, sweet and entertaining as they are at this age.  But they will grow to be about 400 – 500 pound and that is not be sustainable or manageable. Not to mention having two 500 pound sows trotting around after me as I go about my work.  So I need to make this better.

One can come and sit on the verandah, not two. Well, let me know what you think. You all have a voice in the farmy and many of you have very experienced voices.

Good morning. Yesterday Daisy gave so much milk that she overflowed the bucket into the air line and down into the pump.  All this in just under about three minutes by the way.  Luckily our John was on hand to clean and dry the lines and the pump is still going. So he has ordered a bigger bucket.  The one I am using is stainless steel so I cannot see when it is full. It is a 35 pound bucket full. So I have to keep lifting it.  If it feels full (a knowledge that only comes with experience and that is something I do not have) I am to stop milking and pour some out. Then either reattach the cups and start again or hand milk the last of the milk out. I hope the bigger bucket comes FAST!

Paisley Daisy is in a good paddock! All that lovely clover. This bucket is full at just over 3 gallons.  The next one will be 5.

Now I had better get my tired and achy self out there and get to work.

Have a lovely day.

celi