November 11, 2013, Monday, Veteran’s Day

November 11, 2013, Monday, Veteran’s Day
Sally and I, DS Mark and granddaughter Hailey all went to the Nourishing Traditions conference in Atlanta, GA. We all got a lot out of it and had fun. My talk was very well received. The people in Georgia are all charmingly polite, friendly and helpful. It is many years since I have been in the South, not since I was a little child. I had a window seat on the airplane both ways and could make out patches of farmland almost the entire distance from Boston to Atlanta. Nothing forested, just one little pasture parcel with homes on the access roads the whole way. I couldn’t make out any livestock at 35,000 feet but there is grass for millions of cows.
We all met a variety of very interesting people. It seemed to me that they all had in common a deep desire to be of help to others, in this case through the agency of better nutrition.
Little Willie got along all right without us, with Marcia’s help, but he was mighty glad to see us. He seems to have done a good job of guarding the homestead. Here he is on Sunday awaiting our return.  We got our first snow of the season on Sunday.
 
This morning, two days after her due date, Fern went into labor. Thinking Martin was still at camp, we allowed Fern to go out and graze for awhile since she was so mad about being shut in while we were gone. We figured that if she had the calf out in the field, Martin would be available to carry it in. She made a beeline for the Pocket Field which is our most distant field with the greatest privacy, but we had closed the gate. She was willing to settle for a little copse of willow and she stood there several hours with our lead ewe Agnes standing close to her, being her doula. However when we learned that Martin wasn’t around after all, we had to bring her in as we knew we couldn’t carry the calf. Marcia came and helped and it all went very well, but she had to leave before the calf was actually born, which took place at 5:45. The calf was large and a great strain for Fern. When its nose finally appeared and two feet were showing Sally and I each grabbed one ankle with the towel and helped pull the calf down. He is large, dark brown (almost black) and quite vigorous. He has now sucked. We are both very tired.
While waiting for Fern to finish licking the calf, and while he was learning to stand up, I began bringing Fern one-gallon buckets of warm molasses water, each containing one cup of molasses. She drank a total of four gallons of this mixture as fast as she could drink.
November 13, 2013 Wednesday
Yesterday, Tuesday night, we were reasonably confident that Fern would be all right even though she was not eating and drinking well. Sally milked out about three quarts of colostrum with Fern tied in the beefer pen. The baby was sucking well and was too full to help with the milking.
This morning Fern was still reasonably ok about six a.m. when we went to check her, but was definitely in trouble when we checked again at seven a.m. I called Dr. Cooper right away, but he didn’t expect to be able to get here for several hours. Marcia came down and helped us give her some sub-cutaneous calcium. We also used the turkey baster to give her a cup or two of the day before’s colostrum and a bucket of molasses water. Dr. Cooper got here about ten and he gave her the IV calcium and another sub-q bottle. He also gave her a shot of thiamine and another of phosphorus. I sat there for a long time holding her head from flopping and we had her propped up with hay bales and covered with horse blankets. At 12:30 Sally and I gave her a canister of calcium paste by mouth as per Dr. Cooper’s instructions. She was still down at that time which made it relatively easy.
The baby, now named Elvis, was very cooperative. We stuck him in the side pen in there and he slept for hours. We checked her every hour, and in late afternoon when we came to see how she was she had gotten up and the baby was trotting around looking for his dinner. He nursed well on all four quarters.
Her bag feels soft. We watched while she ate some hay for the first time and also drank a couple of gallons of water, but not a whole lot of either. She was still nibbling hay when we came out at five to offer her some chopped up apples. She wasn’t enthusiastic so we went back and chopped up some leaves from the rutabagas that Marcia had brought up on Monday. She was thrilled about those and ate them right down.
November 14, 2013 Thursday
Fern seemed ok at 5 am, but at 7 am her ears were cold and she was weak, in fact so weak that she did not object to our dog Willie’s looking at her calf. Certainly not her usual response to dogs. At that point I got out another container of calcium paste and we gave it to her by mouth. Then Sally followed it with about a pint of warm colostrum to ease her sore throat (and to do whatever other good it might do) as the calcium paste is caustic. She put it down her with my turkey baster into the side of her mouth, holding her head up and making sure that Fern was swallowing. I also got out a bottle of Cal-Nate 1069 (calcium-boroglutinate) solution and gave her half a liter in two sites, sub-q. She was too weak to object when Sally jabbed in the needle. We covered her with blankets and left her to rest. She got up about an hour and a half later and drank water and started to eat her hay, though weakly.
She seemed to improve as the day went on and we let her go outside for a while. She didn’t want to go far from the barn as she didn’t want to leave Elvis but she ate along the fence line and seemed to really want it.
We are more and more convinced that the abrupt change of diet from grass to hay when we had to confine her when we went to Atlanta precipitated the milk fever.
We brought her in around 4 pm and hand milked a few quarts just to make sure everything was moving along properly in the udder. She ate most of her grain.
November 15, 2013 Friday
This morning Fern was pretty quiet but wasn’t ill. She was eating her hay and chewing her cud normally. She had drunk water during the night. We brought her in and milked her by hand and got about a gallon. We tied Elvis near her head. She ate most of her grain.
Later we put a lot of orange flagging on both of them and since it was a beautiful day we let them go out and join the sheep in the field. We watched them with the binoculars. We could see that she was grazing well, and later she lay down and chewed her cud. We still have plenty of grass. She was obviously much gratified to be grazing. We brought her in about 4 pm to be milked again, and her rumen was pretty full. This time we used the machine and got another gallon. Her teats are very small and it’s hard to milk by hand. Elvis is stuffed all the time. He follows her well.
Marcia and Sally went to Puiia’s hardware store. Marcia bought stain and varnish for a project she’s working on, and Sally bought a cute little electric heater which looks like a little fireplace.
©Copyright 2013 Joann S. Rogers

------------------------

[Hey - don't forget we still have a few copies of the old version of the book to clear out of the basement - pick one up here).  Or get the new one, with lots of new information including Joann's review of A1 & A2 genetics, on Amazon].

 

Saturday November 2, 2013

Saturday November 2, 2013

 

Sally made raspberry with locally grown raspberries, cooked and strained and set with Knox’s gelatin.  There was a custard layer on top and then whipped cream.  We had these for lunch with Marcia.  Then I did a telephone interview with Aaron Zober for a program called  “The Appropriate Omnivore”  originating in Pasadena, California.  We talked for an hour on themes from my Nourishing Traditions talk.

   The weather was pretty good today, Sally and Willie walked around the fields and fixed gates.  We put a new bell on Fern as her old one had lost its clapper, and also gave her some orange flagging tape on her collar as it is hunting season.  We also got a bell on another sheep so they will be safer too. 

   Sally carried on coaching me on my talk.  I got to have a nice long chat with grandson Harper, who told me all the good things he was cooking from his Fergus Henderson book, “Nose to Tail Eating”. 

 

Monday November 3

 

   It was twenty degrees this morning. 

   Marcia hosted a superb lunch for Mitra, Sally and me today.  She made a Brussels sprout and squash tart with an outstanding pastry crust to accompany boneless steaks from our new beef.  Sally made apple cake which we had with Mitra’s whipped cream.  The lake was beautifully calm and the weather perfectly clear.  It was lots of highly entertaining conversation as we caught up on each other’s adventures. 

   Max has provided some terrific drawings to accompany my powerpoint talk

   Fern looks the same today as yesterday and we hope she holds out with her calf till we get back from Atlanta. 

 

Tuesday Nov. 5

 

Twenty degrees again this morning, bright and clear.   All the animals went right out to graze as usual.  Fern is bagging up a little more.

   We continue to work hard on my talk.  Martin has the pictures about ready.

    Sally and Willie went over to her field and had a fine walk around it.  It was quite warm and sunny by that time, and they found many little apples still up in the trees.  They avoided the end of the field in case a deer hunter was down there; the season started on Saturday.  It is posted but you never know.

   Marcia came over after lunch helped me with my paperwork and the barn chores.  I gave her some meat from the freezer.  Sally worked on making the drag under the front gate better since Marcia’s little dogs have been slipping under it and out into the road.

   Starting tomorrow, Fern will be confined up near the barn.  This is to prevent her calving some distance away and will help keep her safe from hunters and coyotes.   The sheep will be in their own paddock with hay until we return from Atlanta.

 

Monday, November 11, 2013, Veteran’s Day

 

Sally and I, ds Mark and granddaughter Hailey all went to the Nourishing Traditions in Atlanta, GA.  We all got a lot out of it and had fun.  My talk was very well received.  The people in Georgia are all charmingly polite, friendly and helpful.   It is many years since I have been in the South, not since I was a little child.  I had a window seat on the airplane both ways and could make out patches of farmland almost the entire distance from Boston to Atlanta.  Nothing forested, just one little pasture parcel with homes on the access roads the whole way.  I couldn’t make out any livestock at 3500 feet but there is grass for millions of cows.

   We all met a variety of very interesting people.  It seemed to me that they all had in common a deep desire to be of help to others, in this case through the agency of better nutrition.

   Little Willie got along all right without us, with Marcia’s help, but he was mighty glad to see us.  He seems to have done a good job of guarding the homestead.

   This morning, two days after her due date,  Fern went into labor.  Thinking Martin was still at camp,  we allowed Fern to go out and graze for awhile since she was so mad about being shut in while we were gone.  We figured that if she had the calf out in the field, Martin would be available to carry it in.  She made a beeline for the Pocket Field which is our most distant field with the greatest privacy, but we had closed the gate.  She was willing to settle for a little copse of willow and she stood there several hours with our lead ewe Agnes standing close to her, being her doula.  However when we learned that Martin wasn’t around after all, we had to bring her in as we knew we couldn’t carry the calf.  Marcia came and helped and it all went very well, but she had to leave before the calf was actually born, which took place at 5:45.  The calf was large and a great strain for Fern.  When its nose finally appeared and two feet were showing Sally and I each grabbed one ankle with the towel and helped pull the calf down.  He is large, dark brown (almost black) and quite vigorous.  He has now sucked.  We are both very tired.

   While waiting for Fern to finish licking the calf, and while he was learning to stand up, I began bringing Fern one-gallon buckets of warm molasses water, each containing one cup of molasses.   She drank a total of four gallons of this mixture as fast as she could drink. 

------------------------

[Hey - don't forget we still have a few copies of the old version of the book to clear out of the basement - pick one up here).  Or get the new one, with lots of new information including Joann's review of A1 & A2 genetics, on Amazon].

 

Monday Oct 7

Monday,  Oct 7

We've had three more days of warm weather though today it did rain but it was warm rain.  I got the most beautiful basket of vegetables up from the garden- ruby red chard and Sungold tomatoes on top of it.  Marcia found a variety of corn that we forgot was there, it had large deep-red ears, very shiny kernels.  It was up in the paddock garden with the other corn.  We have a promising lot of beautiful cabbages coming, I must get at them with some slug dope though- we use 'Sluggo'. 

   Yesterday a neighbor brought a thing I least need; another rooster.  This one is a small breed called an Egyptian Fameuse, I think it was called.  Today I gave her two large roosters.

   Martin was at the Portland airport and found that the Downeast Magazine store front window had my picture from their Downeast article about me titled Cow Girl enlarged to poster size.

 

  My new computer is now set up though I'm not using it yet.  I think the boys will be putting it in my office. I have Mark to thank for this.

 

   Sally gave three of her favorite tiny hens to a friend on the other side of town.  When he let them out (after a few days) one of them took off for home.  Sally is very sad about it- it's a distance of about twenty miles and so there's no hope for her, poor little thing.

 

Wednesday, Oct 9th

  The new rooster escaped from his new quarters and has made himself at home with the hens in the hen room. This morning a hen, terribly pleased with herself, came out with five baby chicks. I don't know where she had been hiding. 

 

Fern comes up for her snack every evening now for her little bit of grain and a few apples.  I haven't started her on her special pre calving supplement yet. I'll start it on the 19th.

 

I was running out of milk again so Marcia and I made a plan to go to Farmington.  When she came to get me, though, the car was having trouble.  First it lost power going up a hill and it put out a great puff of smoke and when she got here she found steam coming out from under the hood.  We decided to take the truck instead.  It was a beautiful day with perfect fall weather.  We went to Mitra's and had lunch and picked up our milk. She gave us some beautiful bell peppers and pears. 

 

Mitra said that Roshan is trying out for the Maine Youth Orchestra and is playing a Bach partita.  I am so proud of her. We all are.

 

Then we went to Whitewater and got more feed  and did various other chores.

 

It frosted last night, not too hard, but enough to ruin my dahlias had I not put sheets over them.  Yesterday I brought up another large basket of tomatoes but I haven't had time yet to go check frost damage.

 

Mark and Hailey are signed up to join us in Atlanta.

 

Read it on the website with Mitra's fine edits:

http://real-food.com/heifer_diary_2013.htm#September_28,_2013_Saturday_

Saturday, August 03, 2013  Wedding Day of Grandson Rafe McGuire and Sally Boisvert

Pre planning enabled DS John to manage the sheep this morning and Fern let down well.

Sally called at 6am Alaska time ant told me of the masses of flowers she had grown and cut for the wedding. I am hoping for many pictures of the celebration.

John and DIL Lou drove down to Brunswick to visit  DD Abby.They went to lunch and to a flea market. The weather was excellent. All reported having a good time.  When they got home I fed them beans and bread pudding.

Sunday, August 04, 2013

John got on well with the sheep this morning and also fine with Fern. She is  letting down perfectly for him.

There was one cloudburst today otherwise the weather was excellent. DD Sally called to tell about Rafe an SallyB’s wedding.They were married at 10am on a beautiful Alaskan promontory with about 20 in attendance. Friends and family then gathered at their home to set up the dining tent and prepare for 100 guests. My grandson Harper, Marcia’s son, catered a sit down dinner for the guests. The menu was varied and imaginative with meats smoked by Harper, a home grown and cured ham and another of bear meat and many handmade sausages. The latter had to be rescued by Harper with his bare hands when Rafe’s smoker caught fire. There was also king salmon caught the previous day which SS Sally said was about the best thing she ever ate. There were vegetable shish kabobs sourced from SallyB’s large garden and wedding cakes made by DD Sally’s daughter Rebecca. The masses of wedding flowers were all grown by  DD Sally.. Later there was dancing with music provided by friends, for square dancing.

       Back here at in Maine, DD Marcia hosted a large party of friends and relatives. DIL Lou made a fine Philippine adobo, Marcia made great chili, Mitra brought one of her home grown chickens roasted, and there was lots of other great food. Roshan played a Bach unaccompanied partita for us on her cello.

Earlier in the day, Lou found a lot  of apples from a tree  that I did not even realize was bearing, and I made applesauce.

Monday, August 05, 2013

The cows were not waiting for John this morning. The weather was beautiful so he enjoyed his tour of the pasture looking for them. He saw two does bedded down in the draw.  When he located the cows they were near the house in the sheep paddock.. Mark and Annie, David Eskandari and Roshan climbed Tumbledown.

       Lou and I picked more apples and made a couple of gallons of applesauce. Lou did nearly all the work.

       John worked all day on shower installation and now Lou has taken a shower.  John is in there now and I will take my turn last..what a treat awaits me.

Tuesday, August 06, 2013

John reported that Fern and  Milton were perfectly behaved, the sheep not so much. It was chilly this morning, maybe 45F, but later warmed up and was clear and fine. Neighbor Ruth Snell came by with freshly picked blueberries. I took all she had, ten quarts.

John and Lou went to Rumford on errands. When they got back I greeted John with the news that my computer screen had gone black, a desperate occasion.  John did all the things he could think of while I prayed. Something worked and I am back in business but there have now been a number of ill portent s with this 8 year old computer and I am going to have to replace it as if it dies it will not just be the computer that goes black.

Lou made a delicious lamb curry for dinner.

        Marcia called to day that her DD Caiti had arrived. A party is planned.

              DS Bret called. He and the kids should be here tomorrow night.

August 9, Friday

   Today was the day for John to take Lou airport.  He got up and milked Fern  as he has every day since coming here. Fern accepts him as though she'd known him all her life.  Then he and Lou had to leave as Lou is going to California for a week.  He mounted a little cow on my mailbox. 

   Today Bret's kids Maia and Roger got up and had fun running around the farm..  Shireen brought Roshan here about three o'clock.  They ate a huge breakfast at mid-day and cooked and ate a huge dinner later on.  It rained all last night and all today.  Shireen had to go to work after dinner.  I went and picked vegetables in the garden,  I got carrots and radishes.

   We got word that Abby went to see an optometrist in Brunswick where she is, and that optometrist said that she does not have macular degeneration, as she had been told.  We are all so excited about this.  She has been very careful to take many antioxidants that are recommended for this condition, and we believe they are having this fine effect.

   Poor Willie is having to stay outside because he is such a mess, poor little dog.  We hope to get him cleaned up soon. 

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Saturday, June 22, 2013
The weather remains warm and mild reminiscent of New Jersey, “The garden state”. It’s great for growing plants but also suits mosquitoes.
Sister Barby phones to tell me that her son Jon’s family have decided to pass along their recently acquired puppy to her. They live in a 4th floor condo and it wasn’t ideal for a puppy. I feel sure that Barby and the puppy will get along well as she is very much a dog person and has a well fenced yard. The puppy is a very small mixed breed..
Nancy H worked long and hard brimming the grass Impinging on the electric fence. Abby gardened for hours and made three loaves of bread. Marcia worked digging over more ground for another raised bed in her flawless veg garden..
Aided by some long distance help from Sally, I worked on my talk.

Sunday, June 23, 2013
The hot humid weather continues. Things are popping out of the ground.
I started some home grown baking yeast. All it takes is fresh raw milk and flour about 40/60 in favor of milk. In this weather it will be ready by tomorrow.
Abby and I joined Marcia and Abby Rose for dinner. She grilled turkey/shrimp patties with home made feta. Truly excellent. She also made rhubarb ginger ice cream.
My sister Barby has taken over on the puppy that her son Jon and family recently acquired. Nobody was very happy with the puppy living in a condo I guess. Barby adored the pupp, a miniature Schnauzer X Australian silkie. Never heard if either breed but it it's tiny and cute. Barby has a big fenced yard and adored the puppy.

Monday June 25
My computer wouldn't work at all this morning. I tried everything and finally in desperation turned it off at the power bar; this worked. When I turned it back on again it behaved itself. Hot weather continues, it got to 88 today and is dripping with humidity. Abby went to a job interview for a caregiver job today, she is still making up her mind whether to accept the position. The garden is growing like crazy and everything looks absolutely beautiful, the flowers and vegetables. All the roses are blooming now, including Fantin Latour which is a little later than the other roses. This is the rose that an overzealous helper cut off at ground level three years ago and it has come back with five foot high canes. I cleared out around a favorite pink peony that was getting strangled. The animals seem to be doing very well in this hot weather. There are a lot of huge mosquitoes but the black flies don't seem to be too bad this year, or the flies. Fern is giving about two gallons a day and all is going well there.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Tuesday night was the appointed time to take four sheep to the butcher. I re-thought the number which included two tams and two ewes, all about 15 months old, and ended up only sending the rams. So far as any of us ingnorant shepherds know, thhe ewes were not bred but I would feel pretty bad to later learn they were pregnant.

I cooked food for a dinner at Martin’s camp for the volunteers taking the two rams to Castonguay, I braised the last two lamb ribs from the freezer and made a batch of brown rice. Amy made a sald using Marcia's fresh lettuce and Abby made a custard. Brett Shifrin, Martin’s friend and helper with the sheep, made a layer cake. Before dinner the men, Martin DS Mark and Brett, and kids went swimming. After dinner the men came to the farm and loaded the rams. I took the precaution of running out first to the barn to call in the sheep before they detected the presence of strangers, so the sorting and loading went pretty well. The rams were very heavy, maybe 200 lbs each.
Mark spent the night here.

Here are some chickens supervising the sheep loading operation:



And here is where we drop off the sheep (lit by brake lights from the truck):



Today I made the depressing discovery that my upright freezer where I expected to store the new meat had quit. Bloody melt water greeted me when I opened the door. This nearly pitched me into clinical depression
It is at least 20 years old and the gasket is shot and the freezing coils have to be propped in position so I doubt it is worth repairing. I If we all have to go Medieval I intend to be a good sport about it but I admit I picked up the phone and offered thanks for living in a time and place where I can count on a new one by Friday. I ordered a 15 cu ft as my other freezer is at least as old. I stuffed everything into it for now. All my new strawberries were thawed. Sigh.

Marcia came down to garden but then the sun went in an it rained torrentially for a long time. The mosquitoes remain truly awful.

Thursday, June 27, 2013
Abby took the dogs for a walk over to her field. It was a wet day and they all had a fine time running around. The dogs went swimming in the river. Milo has been trying to get his courage up to climb up on the couch which he now has done. I don't think he is allowed on couches at home but this is his vacation. He's been coming along and putting his chin on the couch to see if I was noticing. No doubt he sees that Willie is allowed on the couch. Martin and family are off to Montana.
The mosquitoes are awful this year. The cows don't seem to be too bothered though fortunately.
Abby brought in a fine bouquet of sweet peas which are in bloom now. They are an old-fashioned mixture and very sweet smelling.
I worked on my talk for the Nourishing Traditions conference in Atlanta where I am speaking on November 9th, which I worked out on the calendar is the exact due date for Fern. Today I worked on carbon sequestration.
It rained and drizzled and everything is wet.

Friday, June 28, 2013
I went to Farmington with Marcia. We stopped at Agway again which has wonderful plants for sale. I bought a Flame elderberry. The leaves are a beautiful lacy chartreuse resembling a Japanese maple and it should have beautiful berries. I also bought a hydrangea with puffy pink flowers. I've always wanted a hydrangea. I haven’t decided where to put it. It was raining hard all day and we didn’t need anything at the Farmer's Market so didn't get to see Mitra. Marcia was endlessly patient in helping me to buy new sandals.
My new freezer was delivered today. The delivery people were very helpful and took the old freezer out and put the new one in, first finding some pallets to set it on . My cellar floor is often wet.
Fern was saucy this morning and production was down about a quart.

******************************************
Visit real-food.com to learn more about Joann or to purchase Keeping a Family Cow

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Saturday, June 15, 2013
The peonies popped open last night..
The perfect weather and a ride we took over Sally’s field, inspired Martin who is u p for the weekend, to cut some hay. He limed his sister’s field last year aad it has responded with nice thick grass..
Amy, Martin, the kids and I had dinner here. I served braised lamb neck bones (scragg end), a superb dish when cooked long enough which this was.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Agnes, the ewe that was mother to the twin lambs that died, still has quite a bit of milk. I tried milking her this morning.. I didn’t get much but it was evident to me that she could easily be made into a milker. She is easily handled when tied. She just needs to be desensitized with rubbing her udder so she got used to being handled.
The weather for the first part of the today was good for drying hay. Martin was able to rake and cut yesterday’s hay and by 3 o’clock was baling..

We were a small team, just Martin, Amy Abby and I. I did the easy job, just tipping the bales off the top end of the elevator. By 4:30 it was in the barn. It started to rain the moment the last bale went up the elevator.

DD Marcia hosted a lovely dinner at camp. Martin and Amy had to get home because of the kids’ school but Mitra, Roshan and Mitra’s parents Marie and Alex and our cousins Holly and Richard were present. Shireen has started her summer job at Kawanhee boys’ camp so we did not see her.. Marcia made pasta with her machine and served it with a primavera sauce.
Monday, June 17, 2013
We had alternate rain and sun.
My writing is a struggle. But I got some done. DS Bret and old friend Billie Berten sent me reminders that it was the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Pacific Sun newspaper in Marin County CA. Merril and I founded this paper together. It has now had a couple of different owners but is still going strong.
http://www.pacificsun.com/marin/life_in_marin/article_7ac2b2ac-cd61-11e2-ac97-001a4bcf6878.html
Tuesday, June 18, 2013s
Abby planted the last of the squashes today. I think she said she had planted nine varieties.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Marcia’s salad garden is a thing of beauty. Magazines put gardens like hers on the cover.
We have had two day s of perfect weather Nancy and I walked the electric fence line. The pasture looks lovely with wild flowers among the grass.. Nancy took both of the trimmers for repair and trey are now working well.
Fern was down a quart today for no reason I could detect.
Friday, June 21, Summer solstice and Martin’s birthday
Marcia and I took the day in Farmington. Marcia picked up some furniture for her guest rooms. We were too late for Mitra’s farmer’s market, a disappointment, but we had a good time shopping.
Fern’s production is back up.
Abby's corn is well up.
*****************************************************
Visit real-food.com to learn more about Joann or to purchase Keeping a Family Cow

Saturday, May 04, 2013
It froze again last night but we had protected everything adequately. We are doing the same tonight. It is a cold dry spring. I can report that the wonderful green is now mounting daily, The evening sun created green gold halos on all the trees.
Abby succeeded in getting the string collars off of the two rams. Sally was worrying about them with good reason. Abby took my sharp sewing scissors out to the paddock, put down a bit of grain, and they did not even notice when she snipped..
So far all we have done about separating the rams from the flock is make plots and plans.


Abby made a nice fork-able dinner that we could eat in front of the TV so as to watch the Kentucky Derby. She has decided not to take the job in CA.

Monday, May 06, 2013
Yesterday (Sunday, Cinco de Mayo, DD Marvia and GDD Abby Rose hosted a lunch for DD Abby and myself and DIL Mitra and her mom Marie and Shireen. Roshan was at her string group at Amy Leblanc. Marcia served an elegant version of hamburgers accompanies by roasted squished potatoes in a sauce and roasted stuffed beets sprinkled with walnuts caramelized in maple syrup. both sides were a big hit. Mitra brought a strawberry rhubarb pie. We ate outside. The weather was excellent.
And today, in response to the new grass, Fern broke the 1 ½ gallon barrier by nearly a pint.
Marcia gardened here today. She worked on digging weeds out of the asparagus patch and was rewarded by the first spear. She reported starting her day by making very successful mozzarella with milk from Mitra’s Nellie.
DD Sally called from MI where she is having a fine old time with her DS Gabe and the aunts and uncles.

Tuesday, May 07, 2013
It has been another day of perfect weather and the world is daily growing more lovely. Fern’s production continues to creep up. If only spring could be bottled for an occasional February tonic for her.
DD Marcia worked in the garden again. All her tiny vegetable seedlings are now up. The predicted low for tonight is 40F. I believe I can safely leave the tomato seedlings outside.

Wednesday, May 08, 2013
Another very fine day but rain is predicted.
SS Abby an DD Marcia took a long hike up through the woods following the spring line. They fixed a break.. It was easier this time than last because at Nancy’s suggestion they took along a thermos of hot water to soften the plastic pipe. Unfortunately it was still not possible to get any water from the spring.

Friday, May 10, 2013
The spell of fine weather had merged into light rain just enough to bring Marcia’s carrots up and not hard enough to damage the apple blossoms. They are just starting. Most years harsh winds do shake the darling buds of May and discourage the pollinators. I hope the dear old tree will bear this year.
My new edition of KFC arrived back today from my publisher, Chelsea Green, the stage which used to be known as page proofs. I am getting brain cramps as I attempt to expand my Word skills to meet the editing and proof reading requirements of the task.
Fern had a touch of mastitis this morning. I could tell as soon as she walked into her stanchion and moved to the far side. I didn’t do anything for her and there was nothing on the filter but tomorrow morning I will apply the lard and cayenne treatment. I picked a bunch of new comfrey for her breakfast also.
Davis Florists brought me a huge bouquet of flowers from “All your sons” What a treat.


DDs Marcia and Abby, signed up for a woods walk for wild edibles conducted by some woods dwelling people over in Temple near Farmington. They learned a lot. I am told.. Abby said she would not have gotten much out of it had the sponsors not passed out head nets. Black fly season has started.



Visit www.real-food.com to learn more about Joann or to purchase Keeping a Family Cow

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Saturday, April 27, 2013
The sun rose on a clear and cloudless sky. The day remained cool but sunny enough for the gardeners to work in shirtsleeves. DS Martin arrived with the kids around one. DIL Amy stayed in Biddeford where she was serving as volunteer with community group giving tours of the old brick mill. It has many secret passages, relics of an elaborate hydraulic system which formerly powered the mill. At one time it was a Pepperell woolen mill. The mill now has many commercial and residential renters.
Martin helped us move the dresser out of my bed room. I have given it to granddaughter Abby Rose whose dresser stayed in CA. My tiny room will be less crowded. We later had an impromptu supper at his camp where we were joined by Marcia, Abby Rose and Violet. Henry wanted to dance so Martin put on music. The kids are enthusiastic dancers. Henry in particular was highly animated. He is just getting acquainted with his little cousin Violet who soon shed her shyness and joined in.
The lake was exceptionally beautiful. There was a flat calm reflecting opalescent cky and dark hills.



Monday, April 29, 2013
The weather on Sunday was warm and lovely. Abby back flushed the springline in hope of getting it running but it just gurgled. There must be a break in the line.
Fern’s production is creeping up now almost to 1 1./2 gallons again. She is finding a little grass. The chickens are ranging far and wide.
In the evening Martin went down to our cousin Leavitt’s place and he and Cousin Bill scouted the field for turkeys. The spotted a group. Today at the crack of dawn he was down there with his gun and got to big toms, about 17 pounds, the other 15. Sally dressed them off for him. It took her a long time and she said it was very interesting. They are fine birds.


I had an eye appointment today. I am no worse.
The lamb. Nadia, is growing well. Abby has seen her chewing her cud which is reassuring. She spends part of the day with her brothers.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013
We can almost say now that the fields are more green than brown. I am able to sit outside on my deck and drink my morning tea. Today while I did this I heard wild geese flying over- it was a pair. We also have barn swallows inspecting our barn. Yesterday I saw a bear cub, presumably with its mother nearby in the trees which were close, about a quarter of a mile from here. Abby says that there are many flickers in the field by her house.
Abby did a lot of work on the flower bed outside the carriage house, and elsewhere. Marcia worked on her beds and reports that she has many seedlings up already. Sally’s tomato and marigold and gloriosa daisies are looking very nice. She has been potting the tomatoes on as they were getting crowded and it isn’t time to plant out yet.
Nancy Hutchinson came over and did a lot of yard cleanup. I got out in the garden several times and picked handfuls of lovage and chives, and admired the daffodils which are coming up everywhere.
Abby has been trying to encourage the spring line the last couple of days. She has backflushed it several times, and today she walked the line for a long ways until she found a break in it, which she fixed. An hour or two later it started to run, which is always a very exciting moment.
Mitra saw her doctor today for the third time since her operation. He seemed to be quite satisfied with her progress, and said that this was the critical week in a person’s recuperation. We are all very excited for her. She is now putting on comfrey that I had in the freezer. It is pureed comfrey and a bit of water, and she puts it on the fingers where they are exposed. She says it feels very good. She also puts Uddermint on them.

Wednesday, May 01, 2013
We did get a light frost last night despite the weather report promising mid 30’s Fortunately Sally had brought in the tomatoes. I think nothing was harmed.
Sally worked mostly in the walled garden which is now divided into a geometric design. She set out a lot of pale marigold seedlings, very healthy looking plants.

Marcia’s vegetable rows are sprouting lots of things like lettuce and turnips. There will soon be asparagus. Wild dandelions are ready now and fiddleheads will be up any day. For the first time ever my forsythia is making a real show. It is blooming with the daffodils and together they are very lovely. In the distance many large trees are blooming, notably the red maple, a showy tree.

Sally and I banded the lambs’ tails.

Sad news: we went up to inspect the spring and found the cap stones around the well disastrously collapsed into the water. I don’t know if it can be rescued or not. Martin is going to see what can be done.

Friday, May 03, 2013
We h ad to say goodbye to Sally today. Alaska calls. H er sister Abby drove her to Portland where DS Martin met them and took her to their house for the night. She flies tomorrow to Chicago where she is to meet her DS Gabe who is home from Kazakhstan for a visit. They wills see relatives for a few days and she will return to Haines on the 8th.
She is greatly missed already.
It was warm and sunny all day but frost is again predicted for tonight. Abby and I brought all the potted plants and seedlings in again. Sally has Remay over the little plants in her knot garden.
Abby has a job offer in California and may leave quite soon. That will make it hard to manage the sheep because the two yearling rams are increasingly annoying. I just had this good idea that they can be put in the paddock garden by themselves. Planting that area can be delayed for a month as it is to be corn and squash. It has a good fence and half of the area (where not plowed) is good grass. Now to figure out how to get them in there without a sheep dog..




Visit real-food.com to learn more about Joann or to purchase Keeping a Family Cow

Tuesday, April 09, 2013

Tuesday, April 09, 2013
This morning Mitra tripped while carrying two gallon jugs of milk and fell forward into a pile of broken glass, milk and blood.; her left wrist was slashed. "You never saw so much blood in your life" were her words spoken from the parking lot at RiteAid folowing an ambulance ride to the ER. Fortunately a friend was present who called 911. The tendon to Mitra's left index finger is cut along with various blood vessels. They stabilized her at the Farmington ER but tomorrow morning she has to go to the hand repair center in Portland to try to get her tendon re-attached and remove more glass.. Max is pretty upset. He just started back to work today in MT - arrived in Kalispell this morning.. We will of course help her in every way we can.
Sally has been fencing non stop and has almost completed repairs to the fence on North field. It is not yet sheep proof but is cow proof. She left the gate open for them. There is nothing but last year’s dead grass of course but they like to explore anyway.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Long hiatus due to my computer being at the repair shop. It had contracted a virus called Total Dysfunction (or some such thing) (Zero Access was its name) which apparently is transmitted via Adobe updates. Fortunately my sister Barby was here to keep up my spirits.
Shortly after she came we took her to Marcia’s house on Lake Webb for tea and to admire the lake. She and I spent as much time there as possible when we were small, at our grandparents” camp which is just a few houses down from Marcia’s. She has not seen Lake Webb with ice on it in many years.
Marcia has come here several times to get going on the vegetable garden. It’s been wonderful having her here. The plan is for her to raise vegetables in my main, lower garden, and Abby to raise the corn and squash in what we call the paddock garden, up by the barn. Besides all the flower borders around the house, we also have another garden we have been working on that is in the foundation of an old barn. We call that the walled garden.
On April 14th our Suffolk ewe named Suzie presented us with three lambs. We named them Winken, Blinken, and Nadia (the first two are males). Unfortunately Suzie didn’t seem able to care for so many and Nadia has ended up as a bottle lamb. However she seems to be taking the raw cow’s milk well and is getting stronger. We nearly lost her several times.
Mitra seems to be doing quite well. Her surgery to reattach the severed parts took three and a half hours; the surgeon said he couldn’t remember a worse cut on a wrist in his thirty years of surgery. Hard to imagine how he could put so many tiny bits back together. Go Mitra! Her mother Marie should be arriving tomorrow to help out. Until now her daughters and many wonderful friends have been keeping the place going. She is not allowed to use her hand at all for three months.

Friday, April 19, 2013
A warm and balmy wind blew today. Much garden work was done by Dally, mostly tree planting. She put in two mulberries and many willows.
The two male triplets, Wy nken and Blynken, are thriving but Nod is a little weaker than they. We had to separate her from the others because Susie will not let her nurse and she quit trying. Susie just butts her and now she has a bad limp in her right front leg. Abby and Sally are bottle feeding her. She is terribly cute and we think she will live, no doubt to be a great nuisance.

It is granddaughter Abby Rose’s birthday. She and Marcia and little Violet joined us for cake at lunch time

We are having an unexpected visit from my son Bret. He arrived in Boston to attend scientific meetings (Experimental Biology 2013) and give a poster but due to the tragic bombing events, today’s schedule was cancelled. Martin and Amy and family were in Boston visiting Aunt Anita and were confined indoors for many hours as a result of the generalized lockdown., Mitra’s mom, Marie arrived today to help Mitra. Mitra feels OK so long as she keeps up her pain pills. Her damaged nerves periodically are extremely painful along with the many incisions..

We ggave Bret a nice duck dinner. It was a duck that Martin shot last fall.

The cows and sheep eat hay in the morning before going out to try their luck with grazing of which there is really none but they keep hoping.

*******************************************************




Visit real-food.com to learn more about Joann or to purchase Keeping a Family Cow

Saturday, March 30, 2013

See www.real-food.com for the pictures!!!

Saturday, March 30, 2013

The milking machine worked like a champ this morning and Fern gave about 2 cups more than yesterday.

                The barn is filling  up with setting henss. Of those we can find, each had two eggs. No doubt there are more somewhere sitteing  on a rafat of eggs.

                 Little Hannah – well soon to be 7 – found a natural spring .  Maartin writes:

It's in the woods behind our house, maybe 5-600 yards away.  I haven't tried the water yet but I have a filter and will run it through and give it a try.  It runs beautifully.

Somebody just shot off their rifle several times down in the field below the river, out front.  What does one shoot at night?   Sally just walked by & told me how she and all the kids when they were very young, were walking up towards some little tiny lakelet near their house in Haines AK & shots were fired up through the trees at them.  She had the kids hide behind trees & went barreling down the hill screaming obscenities --  two guys & a small child were down there and froze with terror when they saw this She-Bear coming out of the trees, bawling in outrage at them --  Sally at her finest! (Written by Abby)

That’s my girl!

I went through some water damaged books today that were stored in thhe carriage house attic, looking for a missing volume. They were terribly moldy and it gave me quite a reaction. I am  not ordinarily especially sensitive to mold but these were baad.  My face got painful and Sally said I turned red. I am still walking around with handfuls of tissues.. 

Marcia and Barby were approaching Memphis TN at noon.

Monday, April 01, 2013

Yesterday was Easter. \We started the proceedings by getting the sheep sheared. Max has to leave soon for work in Montana. We took advantage of the only day both he and Mark Phillips, the shearer, could make it.They got started about 10:30 in the morning after eating hot cross buns that Sally made early in the morning.  He took around fifteen minutes per sheep and it all went very well, with the sheep being cooperative and then happy to pop out the back door into the sunshine.  Once they were sheared it was possible to see that at least two- the older females, Agnes and Susie, are definitely pregnant but we don’t think they will be ready to lamb for a few weeks yet.  We aren’t sure if the two younger ewes (now one year old) are expecting, but think they probably are. but they are well behind.

   It was a fine warm day, and all the sheep and cows went out to see if they could find some grazing.  Sally is working on the fences so that they will soon be able to go out into the North field which is usually the best in the early spring.

   We had an early Easter dinner, with Max’s family and Mark Phillips.  Mitra had brought ham and chicken from their own farm, which was delicious.  Abby cooked vegetable dishes including an outstanding corn pudding.  For dessert there was an apple pie Sally made using the last of some Northern Spy apples that I had bought last fall.They were still in nearly perfect shape.  They are a particularly delicious apple .

Today Sally and Abby took a load of stuff to camp. These are preliminary furnishings for Marcia to use while she awaits the arrival of her pod. We expect Marcia and Barby on Wednesday.

Wednesday, April 03, 2013

It has turned pretty cold again. The lasat several day have started out  in the low twenties and a howling wind. We have been keeping the shorn sheep in until noon at which  point they are mad to get out for some exersize. There are at least 2 dozen eggs every day  now. Only Fern is not doing too well. She is giving less than 1 ½ gallons. She will improve when we get some grazing. So far I have not seen one trace of new green.

            The travelers arrived about 6:30pm. They look very well indeed. I made chicken soup and Sally made a blueberry  pie. Abby made cookies and is taking great care of Marcia’s four chihuahuas. 

   Our two little families of baby chicks are doing fine.  We have another two or three hens who are about to hatch out more, if all goes well.  We think the sheep will wait another couple weeks before their babies appear.

Friday, April 5

It was twenty degrees in the morning and it felt colder.  We got about a gallon and a quarter of milk, and about a dozen and a half of eggs.   We think that the hens have found a place to hide their eggs.

  Fern was restless during milking; she waved her foot around and got it caught in the machine, kicking it off.  I got it put back ok but I think I got less milk because of it.

   We didn’t put the sheep out right away because of the cold.  They went out about noon.  We’ve been letting them run with the cows later in the day so they can go and see if there is anything to eat in the pasture.

   Sally has been working on the fences on the north field.  Abby has been doing a lot of housework.

   Martin and the kids came over about 7 pm.  He worked a long time on my computer.

Yesterday (Thursday) Marcia drove to Auburn and picked up her DD Abby Rose and baby Violet. They had been visiting friends and Abby Rose’  sister Caiti in VA./

My sister Barby and I took a stroll around the garden and she spotter the first tip of a daffodil poking up.Everything is still brown.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Fern gave a skimpy 1 ½ gallons. We have stopped counting the eggs, there are so many.

The weather is stuck in a holding pattern around 25 to 35 F with some sun.

                Last night I went with Martin and family joined by Max and family to hear the Franklin County Fiddlers, a high school age group that Max’s girls are in.  They performed at the Grange Hall in Weld with about 200 people present.  They did a rousing job with mostly Cape Breton style fiddling.  Roshann and Shireen play viola and cello.  Afterwards we stopped over at Martin and Amy’s camp and walked around on the frozen lake under a brilliant moon.  The stars were vexceptionally clear and you could see every one, I think.  Orion was right in front of us.

   Before going to the concert  Martin and family joined us for a chicken and rabbit casserole..  I made it with a rabbit that Martin shot (not a cottontail) and a farm chicken.  Everybody seemed to like it.

   Abby and Sally separated the two rams from the pregnant ewes as lambing is coming up.  They have the rams in a little side pen in with the cows, next to the ewes’ room.  There was a lot of complaining but eventually everyone settled down.

Monday, March 25, 2013

    We only got about a gallon and a quarter of milk,  and about 20 eggs.   We have three or four setting hens now, each with two eggs.  The young chicks are doing well.

   When Sally went to the barn the rams had escaped their pen in the beefer pen and were standing on the cow hay.   She managed to get them into the sheep yard but later when we put the ewes out the rams squeezed out the gate and rejoined the flock.  They are starting to try to butt everyone who comes near and are generally so annoying as to have caused us to decide that we will have to make terminal arrangements.  It is sad as we are really very fond of them, alas. They are terribly cute.

   Martin and Amy came to lunch.  They said they went yesterday to Bowley Brook Maple Syrup Farm.   Bowley Brook makes particularly fine maple syrup.   Abby cooked them a nice lunch of hamburgers  and then they left for Biddeford.  We had our hamburgers for dinner later on, and found them excellent.

   It was a very fine grey sort of day, well above freezing.  The snow is disappearing fast.

    My daughter Marcia is moving back from California, we are excited to report.  She and my sister Barby started driving today.  She will be opening up her camp at Weld.  We think they may arrive in a week or so.

  Son Bret sent a picture of his daughter Maia in her prom gown.  She is the prom queen.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Yesterday Abby and Sally went to Rumford her eye appointment but it turned out that her insurance had not kecked in. Abby had already dropped her off and driven away when she discovered this but she knew where Abby was shopping and pelted down the hill for several blocks and caught her. She was at the What Not Shop (thrift store) and they both found treasures..

Fern’s production is dropping and I know one reason is the inflations on the milking machine need replacing. I will do that before I go to bed tonight.

Sally and Abby took a carload of stuff to Marcia’s camp today so that she and Abby Rose and little Violet won’t be sitting on the floor until their stuff arrives. They drove through New Mexico today.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Yesterday’s milking was a struggle. I could hear a whistling air leak somewhere. We put   in new inflations but it was worse than ever.  I found a couple of little apertures in the central casting of the claw and got it to function be holding my fingers over them, Afterwards we discovered that the metal     loop by which the claw hangs when not in use had fallen off leaving these little holes. Clearly, it had been getting loose for a while. Sally jammed it back together. We’ll see how I  t goes tomorrow.  It it still leaks I will cover the holes with duct tape.

The weather today was moderately warm and very moist.

Abby and Sally assembled items to furnish camp and Abby did a lot more cleaning. Sally checked fences. A man called Sally to see if he might access the river across her field so that he could trap beavers. She said no. They aren’t doing much harm.

                Marcia and Barby have passed Amarillo TX.

Friday, March 29, 2013

Fern gave less than 1 ¼ gallons this morning.  I held the hanging loop in position to prevent vacuum loss. Sally was hoping this would do it so that we don’t have to relinquish thee loop but tomorrow I am going to tape it over. I will contrive a loop from wire or cord. When we get green grass her production will rise but that is at least 6 weeks away.

                I made a grand garden tour and admired all the manuring Sally has done around the fruit trees and berry bushes. She was not able to do all of them because so much of the snow has melted that she can’t use the sled.

   Abby has been spending many hours doing spring cleaning.  Today she made a banana cream pie which was a big success.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Saturday, March 16, 2013
Today it was about twenty degrees. We got a gallon and a half of milk and about 18 eggs. The milking machine worked much better . I took it apart in the house and looked at it and put it back together. Maybe I got it tighter.
One more sheep seems to be starting to bag up. We called the shearer the other day but are not sure what his plan is.
Nancy Hutchinson came over about 11 am. We had coffee with Abby’s molasses cookies, and then she helped Sally with a project we have going, making a raised bed in the walled garden by the carriage house. That area has a lot of issues with water in the spring and we hope to find that this is effective. I look forward to finally seeing flowers there after years of neglect. Sally is using some of the original 150-year-old maple beams from the carriage house that collapsed a few years ago. The beams were all hand adzed and about 10”x10”. It was interesting to speculate about what the world was like when those trees sprouted.
Sally is about to plant seeds for cream colored marigolds for that area, as well as other flowers. Our mixed heirloom tomato seeds are up and we have sweet peas about to come up too. Abby kept busy cleaning things but she says she didn’t actually do anything. I disagree.
In the afternoon Abby saw a hawk sitting on a ledge above the big barn door, inspecting the chickens. He flew off when he saw her, before he got one.

Sunday, March 17, 2013
Fern gave a gallon and a half of milk, and I found 20 eggs. We found another new nest and Abby pointed out another setting hen that she had permitted two eggs. We don’t want too many baby chicks this early in the year.
I made sourdough waffles this morning. We had them with sour cream that I had set to culture last night along with various home-made jams and local maple syrup.
Max came over after lunch. He brought us a round bale. He had to work a long time chopping ice and digging with the tractor to get the barn door open as there was so much snow frozen in front of it. Abby raced around organizing the trash which he took to the dump for us. He also cut us a couple more beams for the walled garden.
It was quite cold again today, about ten degrees early in the morning though it warmed up some later, and a bitter wind.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Got nearly a gallon and a half, and about eighteen eggs. Maybe they are hiding a nest. Our Banty hen Tiny (daughter of a hen we got from Bernd Heinrich’s mother Hilda) hatched out four tiny eggs today. The babies are colored some black and some orange. Sally tried to give one to the hen who has been sitting for about five weeks, hoping her eggs would hatch at last. She was happy with it but when Sally tried to move her down to a safe house she got confused and pecked the baby, so we had to put it back with Tiny. Later we moved Tiny and her chicks and they are all doing very well.
The cows aren’t that thrilled with their new round bale. Other bales from the same source have been greeted with more enthusiasm. However, they are eating it.
The sheep are doing fine. One called Suzy is definitely bagging up. I was able to feel her udder last night. It isn’t tight by any means but it felt heavier.
Sally hauled manure down to the fruit trees for awhile today. It was snowing so conditions were just right for the sled. After awhile it started snowing and blowing harder and she had to stop. Abby made a run into town for grain for the livestock and movies for us. She said the driving conditions were scary. I was supposed to have gone for an eye appointment today but they called and cancelled as this storm is expected to be quite bad. I am rescheduled for tomorrow but I’m not sure I’ll be able to go then either.
Yesterday Abby made a delicious meal of home reared pork with a cream sauce, served over curly pasta. Today we had it as leftovers with various vegetables added. Sally made a faux mincemeat pie of apples with cranberries and chopped dry fruit. We had it with homemade sour, a great success.

Thursday, March 21, 2013
It snowed hard all day Tuesday. The whole state closed down and my eye appointment was postponed until Wednesday. The driving on Wednesday was OK. Abby drove me. What with nearly an hour and a half each way and 1 ½ hours for the appointment, the day is always consumed. My eyes seem to be in a steady state. I got another shot of Lucentis. I am still tired but this is partly because I have handed over my edited book to Max to work up for the picture insertions. Now I have the blahs.
Sally hauled more manure down to the fruit trees with the cargo sled. She must have hauled 20 loads. Each tree now has a ring of manure around it. Willie trots along behind each load.

I made an interesting observation two days ago on the Spring Equinox. This house is exactly aligned to face the eastern sun on this dry. Upstairs on the first landing the hall banister along the open stair well runs directly back from the east facing window which is above the east facing front door. The sun shines directly in that east window and the bean is exactly along the hand rail. The builders in the early 19th Century when this house was built ofen aligned houses to match the points of the compass. They must have had a good compass or else awaited the Equinox in order to get this one so perfect.

A weasel took two of the Luick pullets. Max wrote:

I feel considerably more relaxed now that I don't have weasel stress. Those animals are such mean killing machines. I had to bend considerable time and resources to the priority of stopping it. As with the previous weasel episode, getting a successful shot off was a matter of timing. I happened to be looking out the upstairs window and saw him humping along in his weasely way through the woods and I ran out with my shotgun. The shot was rather long and he instantly disappeared. I discovered he had gone into one of a series of tunnels he had made through the snow to approach the first coop. I began crushing the tunnel by stamping the snow down until the only place left was under a dead spruce partly buried in the snow. I started pulling the tree up until I glimpsed brown fur and fired through the snow and got him. When I examined his rather fat body I saw the only pellet that hit him from the initial shot went through his lower jaw, so even if had somehow escaped he was done for. “
Now we are waiting for Martin and Amy and the kids to get here. They are on the way to camp. I invited them to stop in for chili but we don’t know when to expect them. The rest of us have eaten. I can vouch for this chili.



Visit real-food.com to learn more about Joann or to purchase Keeping a Family Cow