This title is a little misleading. I took the kids in to visit with the kunes but they studiously ignored each other. There was no Kids ‘And’ Kunes at all. The pigs were on one side and the goats on the other. 
I am still working on the field. No sooner do I plug a hole up than they run to the next one calling: This one Miss c! We can get out this one! I will be done today though. I think. 
What a lovely day we had yesterday. A little bit of farming. A little bit of gardening. Milking. Bread making. Curry making (I am getting to the bottom of the freezer – curries are the name of the game now). Still feeding hay out but the cows were on pasture all afternoon. Some cloud. Some sun. Not too hot. Though Naomi got a bit hot. She was panting in her black coat. Her mother is not very clever about where she leaves her. So I picked her up and carried her all the way back to the cool of the barn and she is definitely putting on weight. Lady Astor just plodding along behind in a very lazy fashion. She does not mind me handling her calf at all. Naomi is definitely going to be a House Cow with such a laid back mother.
Elsie (bless her mad little heart) and Potter are now for sale. Here is why.
1. Elsie refuses to be milked and she was brought to be a milk cow. I cannot use her as a nurse cow either – she is too highly strung and dangerous at times.
2. We were granted two heifers this year. I do not need two more heifers. So a heifer is for sale so I can buy a steerfor the freezer. I just don’t need that many milk cows. A little revenue is good. I can sell Elsie with the calf at heel so they will go to their new home together. They are both pure bred Dutch Belted even though they have no belts so we will find them good homes.
4. To AI this cow will be a real battle, she needs someone with a bull not a Vet and a straw. .
5. I am not a zoo. I grow food. I cannot afford to keep a cow just because I admire her spunk.
6. The most important reason. My land cannot sustain keeping this many cows. I am a little farm. Not a feedlot. Protecting and Improving the land I have is of critical importance. The health of the land must take precedence.
Thank goodness I bought Lady A as well. If I only had Elsie as the mother ship we would have had a milk-less summer.
Lady Astors milk is still in the transition stage between Colostrum and Clean White Milk. I am SO looking forward to tasting her milk.
Almost got the shot of Godot! 
The hay field is growing. Ready for another round?
I hope you have a lovely day.
Your friend on the farm
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
59 responses to “Kids and Kunes”
You have made a difficult but necessary decision but you must have some peace of mind knowing that this will be in the past and you can move on. Good luck !!!!
I understand completely – and selling Mom and Baby makes the deal sweeter to buyers. Sorry to see Potter go, but with the possibility of having 3 milk cows in about 2 to 3 years – yikes! 4 would have been a bit much. And I don’t think you want to run a dairy operation to that magnitude. Interesting that the pigs and kids went their own way in the same field. I wonder if the ‘newness’ of the field will wear off and they will gather for company then.
Three or thirteen, it’s irrelevant; it only takes one reason to make it a good decision. It does sound as though you have thought it out carefully and peace is important for all concerned.
The photo with the chickens is lovely, but I was wondering about the Hobbit house behind the fence there. What is that used for on a farm?
Very helpful kiddlies helping out on the fence mending! Made me chuckle, which is not an easy feat first thing in the morning with me. And the wild felines in the tree are spectacular. Do they ever get stuck up there?
Have a loveRly day!
Mame
I have never seen a cat stuck in a tree, They are trying to sneak up on birds the little monsters. The hobbit house is a root cellar.. many many years ago there must have been a house down there. This is where the old timers stored their root veges. Way before our time and I am yet to clean it out. It is still waiting for its new life.. i just know it will be useful but I am not sure for what yet.. (the sheep used to sneak in there on hot days) and no I don’t grow enough potatoes to store them in there.. I have a cellar in the basement – much more convenient. I am sure it will be repurposed somehow.. any ideas? c
We are wise to remember that yours is a working farm, where every animal must earn its place.
The perspective on that last shot is fabulous.
As I read each day, I wonder what it is that drives you to work so hard. I’m sure you have written about it before but I’m curious. I know the benefits to growing your own food. We should all be doing it. There must be something that makes you do it and the rest of us watch you do it? I see your heart in all you do there but also your pragmatic side. I’m a bit envious of course. Reading this, I wonder why we were not all inspired to get ourselves a little farm and work like the dickens. 🙂 I enjoy every moment and every photo. Thank you.
This is a good question and I have been thinking about it all day. Firstly I do not trust the chain of command that funnels food into our local supermarkets. I refer to eat clean chemical free unprocessed foods. And I am lucky to have land so i can grow my own food. I love a challenge. Most of all I have always been a busy person, when the children were little and I was a solo Mum I had three jobs and the kids came with me to number three. So when I arrived in America, and chose not to go back to school to get the american qualifications to teach over here, I decided to develop a small farm and attempt to grow ALL my own food and write about it. Does that make sense? c
Oh, yes! It makes perfect sense. Single moms are their own driving force so that answers a lot of questions there. I never thought much about the food I ate. I was just happy to have some so if someone didn’t take it away from me, I would eat anything. Long story. I know how hard farm work is and it requires a great deal of intelligence, ( contrary to popular opinion) and an immense sense of humor. I see you as a large stick of dynamite in a very small container. You are also making all of us more conscious and aware. If I had started reading this many years ago, I might have done things differently. So it is. I’ll grow what I can in pots and go to my local health food store for the rest. I’m loving every days read here. Thanks for taking the time to answer my question.
You are most welcome. We grow lettuce and spinach and kale in big pots, just picking the leaves as we eat them.. it is such an easy way to get good fresh greens, so glad you are still reading. c
Your decision is a wise one, Celi. Sentiment is not a good fit for farming. When an animal can’t earn its keep, it is time to move it out.
Celi, so sad for you that Ms Elsie isn’t a nice gal like Lady Astor ~ “bless her mad heart”!!! (made me laugh!!!) ~ but ~ when she isn’t comfortable or safe to be around, then a good decision that she should move on ~ we don’t want to visit you in the hospital! I’ll miss Potter ~ Potter and Naomi would have a great time running around together. My favorite picture this morning is the Kitties up in the tree!! great shot!! I’ve looked at it umpteen times!! Reminded me immediately of the cheetahs in the trees that we saw on our safari in Kenya!! But I also love that shot of Boo and Ton out there with the Kids and the piggies!! The chickens are glad spring is here! they look happy!! Put Mad Elsie on Craig’s list and see how many calls you get!!! Have a good day Celi!
Yes, now we know where the term “mad cow” came from! I too love that last shot of Ton looking out over the field. Is that black spot in the distance Boo? The kittens in the tree is also a spectacular photo! The way the branches are silhouetted against the sky is fantastic! Curry! We love curry! You’ll have to give us one of those recipes now!
You are so right to cut your losses regarding Elsie and potter, as everybody else has said, too dangerous to have such a large unfriendly animal. Ohh I love curry too, really hot! x
The same things that make Elsie a problem for you could be a big plus for a farmer who just needs a cow that will take great care of its calf, where her unfriendliness will be an asset.
Excellent pics today… very Farmy. I love the last, contemplating the space…. aahhh.
Compassionate efficiencies… are the only way. Every day we make decisions what to let go, keep, pursue… like juggling with 3 balls (which I’m very bad at). If one ball is out of whack the whole circus act goes with it 🙂
It only took Lady A’s good behaviour to show how fierce and unreliable Elsie is. You’re doing the right thing, whether it’s one reason or many. I worry about everyone’s safety when the time comes to load her and Potter onto someone’s truck…. Love the idea of mending the fences with the assistance of Goat Power for detecting the holes!
Calf first.. I just hope I can sell her .. there is not a big market for them.. c
I have to agree with your decision 100% Miss C. Glad you just about have your fence patching done… but there’s always something! And if there is a way to escape, I guarantee you those goats will find it for sure!!
so far they are being very good and stayed in their new patch all day, waiting to come back into the barn no doubt.. they are still too small to be left out in the night without a guardian
and so the houdini goats begin their tricks.
my goat farming neighbor says fences have to be catproof to keep a goat in.
or electric
Cat proof..oops!
Your life resembles a game of chess where one has to remember how many steps and in which way a rook and a bishop and a pawn can move! Methinks you are ‘playing’ it very well tho’ for you the results are not exactly a game !! Sell cow/calf, buy steer, put another tick on the board! Hope it happens soon and satisfactorily . . Oh but I do love that green, green grass which looks so abundant on the field . . . . am willing to watch each blade explode with growth in time 🙂 !!