Blue Skies

The Calves Insisted On A Second Breakfast

Corn Popping Up

We have one group of calves in a pasture field that has no fence separating it from a field for crops. We only raise corn in that part of it during the summer as it stays too wet the rest of the year.

The corn had begun to come up and we knew we needed to move the calves before they began munching and stomping it. We drove two trucks to the gate where the calves were and I began to call them and shake a feed bucket to get their attention. When they heard the sounds and calls their ears beckoned and they began to trot in our direction.

The calves easily walked on out into the road and began following me as I drove through the fields toward their new home pasture. Then they stopped. I called, got out of the truck and shook my bucket to get their attention again while the other truck stayed behind them to try and nudge them forward.

As we crossed the hay fields the calves got a new idea. Although they had a bite to eat earlier, it seemed they really needed a second breakfast.

Calves Eating 2cd Breakfast

Like the hobbits, evidently.




With a bit of patience we eventually convinced the calves that there would be more "breakfast" in their new pasture if they would just come on and follow us. They eventually did see reason and are now happily living (and eating!) in their new field.

Wordless Wed: Working Ground

Beauty in the War on Thistles

Perhaps there are moments of beauty in the middle of a war. War in this instance may be a bit too strong of a word, but I have been engaged in combat in the Great Thistle Battle of '12. Through the misty haze of 2,4-D I spotted this and couldn't help but snatch a photo. And in a moment of weakness I gave this bee protected weed a pass.

Bee and the Thistle

Thistle Monster

They say it is hard to calm down after fighting a long fight and perhaps that was true of me last night.  As I thought of how the thistles would slowly lean over, wither, and die I fell asleep and began to dream. The drooping, curling limbs became snakes in a nightmare that I had to slash at and kill again.


Maybe the good news is that others are on the battlefront waging the good, and perhaps uphill, fight against the thistle to keep pastures and fence rows clean. You can read reports from Sgt. Goodman and Lt. Bussard on their exploits against this prickly problem.

And don't forget to look for beauty in creation even when or where you don't expect it.

Wordless Wed: Sunrise Over the Pastures

Putting Up Wheat Silage

Last month I wrote a post on feeding silage. The last few weeks we have begun harvesting our winter wheat and putting it up in our silos. Here's a short video showing how we do it.





We still have more silage to put up this year. We'll plant corn and maybe some other crops in these fields to harvest this fall.

Wordless Wed: Yesterday's Last Load

Wordless Wed: Silo and the Sunrise