Emergency trip, winter improvements, a pleasant evening

Mama and Victoria left the farm in time to meet someone in Denton at about 7 pm. Victoria had found a listing on a two year old female miniature Dachshund and the lady “re-homing” the dog was willing to meet them at Sam’s. I am not sure if they got the dog or not but I did hear a lot of barking about the time they should have gotten home. I had been in bed for a while at that point. I will find out more today.

Mama was doubly excited because the same person who has the little dog has Hampshire pigs also. I have talked about getting a couple pigs in the spring so we can have them growing up on the farm. I am interested in the meat they produce. Mama is interested in having little piglets. I am sure we can eventually work something out to meet both expectations.

Yesterday Grandpa spent the day rearranging the large shed in the calf lot we affectionately call the barn, so we could have a place for Misty to winter over nearer to the calves we are also wintering over. That way Mama will not have as much trouble ensuring all the livestock has access to water through the months when the hoses we use to supply that water will freeze making it very difficult to get the water to the drinking containers for the stock; especially the way we currently have Misty set up.

Grandpa had originally talked about building a small shelter to serve the same purpose for the horse but he came up with this idea after he had built a feeding area in the shed for the cattle. The way he has that set up will work very well for Mama and Victoria to get feed to the often anxious herd without having to get into the lot with them when they are jostling for positions at the feed trough.

It took the steers a couple of days to adapt to the new feeding system. Every new thing to them is frightening. It is only a long feed trough with boards attached to the front that allow the cows to stick their head through to get to the feed. What it really does is limit the area of the trough that each bovine can control by sheer body mass as they compete for feed. It gives a better chance for the little ones to eat without getting butted out of the way.

Grandpa also cleaned up several areas of the calf lot from accumulated debris and combined all the combustibles in one pile for incineration. We decided in the early evening that it would be a good night to get that done. The burn ban has been lifted in our area and the ground was still fairly wet so we set the pile on fire. It was wet enough from recent rains that it burned slowly and the fire spread on the adjacent ground only a little way from the bonfire. It turned out to be a perfect night to get it done.

We stood and talked as we watched the fire burn. I have always enjoyed that kind of moment. I guess the coyotes do also. As soon as the light began to fade they were calling back and forth to each other from some hideaway that was close enough that they sounded very near, but far enough to stay out of sight. I realized again what a challenge it will be to have sheep while they are lurking around.

Mama and I will be on the road all next week. She is really looking forward to it. I am too, but not in the same way Mama is. I have to get thought Monday and Tuesday before I am on vacation.