June 23, 2012 Saturday

June 23, 2012 Saturday Amy and the kids brought me back to the farm arriving about 2 o’clock. The heat continued until mid-afternoon when a thunderstorm burst over us. I had been expecting hay but it could not be delivered. We all went straight to the barn and found the mother hen under the mock orange bush. I guess my prayers were answered; she had all 10 chicks including the little cripple. With the help of Amy and Hannah (Henry was inspecting the tractor) we herded the little family into a private stall where she is safe with a buffet of water, yogurt and scratch. A hen with that many chicks is hard put to make a living for them all in competition with 20 or so other hens. Any attempt to give her extra help is impossible. All the other birds swoop in and grab it. Shireen got all the sheep in last night by herself. The real news is that Mitra’s cow, Nellie, had her calf last evening, a heifer named Winnie. Winnie is strong and healthy and was out chasing ducks already this morning. Mitra’s parents, Marie and Alex, are here now so Mitra will have more fun. Max will be home for 10 days at the beginning of August and then back to work in Montana until Thanksgiving. He is now to be in charge of a working group. June 24, 2012 Sunday To my surprise and gratification, Ella did not nurse last night. When I popped out early in the AM Fern was still full of milk. I quickly put Ella into the calf pen and made plans to milk. Fern was only down a quart from her usual amount. The weather is cooled to the point of being bearable even for Mainers. The only thing to deplore is the mosquito population explosion. I am sure I have never seen such hoards even in Alaska. You can’t do anything including opening your mouth. My 225 square bales from Claude Averill for which Martin arranged came this morning. It is from a local field and Martin drove the rig over here. DIL Amy and he unloaded half of it; then their friend Brett arrived to help. I did my part by standing on the hay floor grabbing the bales with the hay hook as they reached the top of the elevator. If no one grabs them they have a tendency to fall back to the ground and sometimes bust apart. Mitra is having a stressful day with Nellie who shows signs of milk fever. The vet came twice. Mitra has taken so many precautions and is so attentive that I feel sure Nellie will pull through. Roshan is helping in every way. The calf, Winnie, is in fine health. Martin and the kids are staying over at camp. Amy has a meeting to attend so had to return to Biddeford. She stopped in and had supper with me on her way. I had some steak defrosted. June 25, 2012 Monday The rain has returned. Perhaps that and my hay exertions yesterday caused me to oversleep. By the time I raced to the barn it was a quarter to 7 and Ella was trying to nurse. Fern was attempting to kick her off. I got her into the calf pen. Fern still had 1 ¾ gallons. It rained all day. June 27, 2012 Wednesday Last night I penned Ella and got more than 2 gallons. I penned her again tonight. It’s a nuisance but I need the milk. My hen with 10 chicks is thriving in her private room. It rained hard both of the last two days and a bit today. It is heavily overcast, extremely damp. Some of the paddock garden is flooded. All the squash is up but some hills are underwater. The potatoes look good. Lots of blooms with few bugs so far. The heat has moderated. My lawn is dotted with rugs. I put them out for the rain to wash. My poor old dog, Bagel, is losing control of his bowels or else has forgotten the rules. He has gotten so he will poop in the house right in front of me. Now he has to stay outside. Fortunately it is not cold. Whatever will I do next winter? Cousins Holly and Richard arrived back today. They stopped here for milk but I did not see them. I must have been in the barn. Very frustrating. June 28, 2012 Thursday The weather today was very pleasant. Fern gave almost 2 ½ gallons. This is very close to what she was giving before Ella rejoined the party. It isn’t that Ella is not nursing. She certainly is. Fern is responding to the extra sucking by producing more. Holly and Richard came over this morning with strawberries and pastries and we had a lovely tea party. It was so nice to see them. I am reading The Devil in the Milk about A1A2 milk. June 29, 2012 Friday Fern gave only slightly over 2 gallons but was beautifully behaved as indeed she is most of the time. She was a bit naughty when evening came and it was time to separate Ella. They were all in the beefer pen. While I got the sheep in, which I have to do first as they otherwise swarm around and are pushy, all three bovines vanished. I finally located them in the sheep paddock. I outfoxed them this time. Fern thought I had a treat for her and led them all back to the gate. When she came through I shut the gate behind her trapping Ella and Milton. Now those two are isolated and can just stay there for the immediate future and Fern can graze where she pleases. I went today with DIL Amy to Farmington where we visited the farmer’s market and saw Mitra making Kettle Corn. What an awesome device. The bowl is the size of great great grandma’s wash kettle. We all tried tasty sweet and salty popcorn. There were Marie and Alex whom I finally got to greet and even Holly and Richard were there. It was very hot today. When I got home, Nancy was here whacking out weeds in the sunken garden. I don’t know how she managed to work so hard in the heat. She liberated my cabbages in the nick of time. The slugs are attacking. Tomorrow I will fight back with Sluggo.