It's that time of year again. The leaves are gone. It took one weekend of those high Nebraska winds and all the leaves are gone leaving bare trees with gray skies, snow flurries, ice, and mushy ground. Winter is around the corner.
We have been busy lately getting the barn and animal houses winterized. We have had some hard freezes so we have gotten to see where we needed heat, boards, patches, etc. We are now in the process of stocking up on hay, alfalfa, and straw. We built a hay stall to hold all this winter grass and a second holding stall for the cows when it gets too cold.
Great news! We are using the neighbors back acreage which will allow us to expand up to 5 cows one day. It's also nice to know that we will not have to worry about running out of grass. We had a close call this summer with the lack of rain. We also were offered another milk cow this weekend in exchange for a calf. I absolutely LOVE bartering. It is the most simple and holy way of simple living and farming.
We have been getting 2 gallons of milk a day from Britney. We remove the calf from her each evening and milk her first thing in the morning. We give the calf a bottle while mom is being milked. This has led to some bonding with Annabelle, the calf. I was hoping to avoid becoming too attached to her but even I have fallen in love with her. We have to keep in mind that in a year or so she will be over 1,000 pounds and NOT something you want to come to you looking for love!
I had surgery on both feet so I am finished dealing with the animals for awhile. I miss them. I miss the smell of the barn in the cold morning. I miss hearing my roosters crow. Funny how the simple things in life add so much joy that we often take for granted. Above are a few photos from Terra Benedicta in the fall. Our first big snow storm is on the way this evening in which we will see our first sub zero temps. This is will be one time I'm glad that I can not go out to the barn!
