Who, me?!
Well, it’s been official for some time now….we have TOO MANY horses! I simply don’t have enough time to keep 10 horses trained & ridden, nor enough grass to keep them all fed. So as much as I hate to say it…somebody’s gotta go! And although our horses are an important part of our life here, the website ended up being mainly for our cattle, and I don’t have anything set up for selling horses on here. So, I’m just going to have to do it this way, and put them up front & center. We have sales pending on two right now, who were born & raised here on our farm. And now I introduce to you, still available for purchase, the lovely….Babe. Read more »
Ladybell & new heifer, Trixie, by the electric rope & vinyl perimeter fence.
Jeff has been working on fencing the last couple weeks. We’re finally getting the front yard enclosed for more pasture….yeeaaa! Then there’s also some existing fence that needs redone, as we’ve found it to be inadequate…hence the calf tricks. Tricks that I’m tired of! So, if you’re wondering what kind of fencing you need for Dexters, here are some things we’ve learned.
The ”Old” Fence
When we started fencing on this property, we decided to fence with braided electric rope, in combination with a vinyl product called Equiline. Jeff didn’t want to have to worry so much about grass & weeds gettting on the electric, and the Equiline was cheaper. We put up a 5-strand fence, two of those being electric. The lower electric is at nose-height for Dexter calves, the upper around nose-height for adults. Then there are 3 strands of Equiline, bottom, middle & top. This gives us a strand below the lower electric to keep bitty calves in, and the top strand is high enough for the horses. But there’s enough space under the electric that the animals will graze under it, as they can push the Equiline out of the way. Read more »
Look who's new on the farm! A curious turkey poult.
Spring has brought many babies with it here on the farm. So although my human kids are great, I thought for Mother’s Day, I’d show off some of my other new babies. We decided to add turkeys to our menagerie this year, so along with our “normal” calves & chicks, we now have this interesting new addition.
Hershey is looking quite the fine young man these days.
I am, of course, delighted with this year’s calves so far. Hershey is growing into an extremely nice-looking bull calf, and is starting to get his grown-up colors shining through his coat. It’s amazing how fast they grow…he looks huge compared to the newborn Dexter calves, even though he started out close to the same size as they are. He is friendly & mannerly, and doing well with his halter training….such a nice boy! Read more »
Our new baby girl...not quite dry yet.
It’s been quite a busy week! Tuesday morning I had a dentist appointment AND an eye Dr. appointment. I got back home about 1:00 & looked in on Keira before going in the house. I had her put up at the barn, because she was looking close to calving. She was standing there, looking back at me like there was nothing in the world going on….and it really looked like there wasn’t. I went in & did a few things before returning to the barn to finish cleaning things up in the parlor from morning milking. At 2:00, as I walked back toward the barn from the house, I could see a small black something laying on the ground beside Keira. Sure enough, in the short space of an hour she had delivered a darling little HEIFER. Yiippeeee!! Finally a heifer!! Though, actually she’s not that little…she’s a hefty 60 lbs. WOW! Read more »
The view from our patio door.
Aaahhh….sun, sand & ocean waves. I’m writing from the beach in Florida this week. Jeff’s corporate meetings for the hospital mean a mini-vacation for us. Gotta love it! Listening to the ocean sounds, in my imagination I’m on a ship…we’re being boarded by pirates…no, this IS a pirate ship…and it’s going down…or is it? The crew is bailing furiously…trying to repair the breach…the pirate Captain is screaming orders, trying to maintain control. I’m not hanging around to see what happens…I gotta jump into…Whoa, back into reality! Boy those waves are mesmerizing. Or maybe I’ve just watched Pirates of the Caribbean too many times with my kids.
Accomodations on the corporate dime can be rough.
Whatever the case, reality tells me I need to get off the PDCA ship. Things are very wrong there. Whether or not the ship is sinking remains to be seen, but at least in my opinion, they’re totally losing their credibility as a reputable Dexter registry. Although there are a few Board members trying to do the right thing, they get out-voted by the majority. There are things going on at the leadership level that the general membership ought to be made aware of, yet I doubt the leadership will be forthcoming about their activity. “Member driven” is recited like a mantra, but I’ve come to believe that it’s a farce. So here are a few recent happenings you may be interested in knowing about. Read more »
