warm + rain = MUDDY

While warm weather is great, we could really do without all the mud! I feel like I need to get the cows golashes. They have mud up to the unkown. And it makes life miserable for them and us. It's hard to get out hay and I dread the thought of one of the cows calving in it. And dont even get me started on all the laundry. There is mud, manure, fluids, straw and heaven only knows what else on our clothes at times. I just close my eyes and pray it all comes out and doesnt plug up my washing machine. Needless to say myself and my washer are ready for spring when there may be a small chance of less laundry. But I wont hold my breath....

Babies

Sweet Laurn X Eye Candy - Heifer

Shockin Dream X Trademark - Bull

Big butts are a good thing in the cattle business.

Just right X Alias - Bull

Babies have been coming at our farm and many farms in the US.. Calving season is a mixture of things for us at the farm. Excitement, fear, joy, anticipation and sometime disappointment.

We a.i. our cows once, sometimes twice and then they are turned out with a bull. That way if they dont "stick" (concieve) the bull will breed them. Then 4 months later the vet comes out and palpates everyone, gives shots and delices. Then we can plan on when we will have our little bundles. We are like excited, expected parents waiting for 9 months.

Then when we know the date is close. We monitor the cows closely. They are moved to other pastures. And pens are set up. They have physical signs just like any woman. And we check them a LOT. We check their udders for fullness. Their vaginal area for swelling and dialation. And for the slim. These are all signs of oncoming labor.

Sometimes the babies come without help. And sometimes we have to assist. We have o.b. chains, lube, gloves and all the hardware a regular dr would have.

So even though our babies are 10 and 8. Each spring we experience the excitement, fear, happiness and sometimes diappointment that human parents expirence all the time.

More Beef!

These speak for themselves! I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful weekend! And help your beef producer and have a nice steak over the weekend.

I Support Beef

So since its I Love Beef month, I took this. This is a coaster that sits on my desk. Being a producer of anything I have lots of stuff with beef related themes. If you're a producer of anything you always have lots of things related to that breed or species. I may have too much stuff. But we have a big house. So get out and support what you love.

whats great about chickens!

Chickens rock! Some people dont like them. But they have sooo many great things about them. I love hearing our rooster crow. And how he makes a funny noise when he finds something he wants the to eat. And they eat bugs. They lay these beautiful brown eggs, that I cook in so many ways. And I use the manure on the garden and makes our veggies grown great. And when they get too old we butcher them for the freezer. So in April we we be getting chicks. We are getting laying chicks to replace some of our old hens. And some we will sale. And we are getting meat chicks. To feed out and eat. And we are getting turkeys again! I love all the chatter they make and they are soo pretty. So if you need eggs, new layers, fryers or turkey let me know.

good reads

So like millions of others I follow Pioneer Woman. I bought her cookbook last year. Very good. I love cookbooks. Saturday I went to the bookstore and came across her love story. So I picked it up. I have been sick for 2 days and thats about how long it took me to read it. It was good.

I have a lot of things in common with her and a lot of things not in common. So if you want a funny, heartfelt story to read i suggest it. Have a great day!

icky yucks

this frog photo has nothing to do with my post. i just wanted a photo to go with it. anyway, i normally dont get under the weather. but i have been miserable for the last 2 days. im stuffy, sore throat, cough and my ears hurt. i actually had blood come out of my ear. sooo after going through a box of kleenex and not being able to breathe, feeling like one of our pregnant cows is sitting on my chest, im going to the dr tomorrow. i have a feeling for the first time in my adult life i have an ear infection and hopefully thats all. i soo dont want to go to the dr, i hate going there! but i will suck it up and go...........

New Addition

11 yrs ago my father-in-law lost his best friend Zeus. He was hit by a car that never stopped and he ran back to my husband and father-in-law and died at their feet. So last summer we got a beautiful little black and white aussie pup. That's all Pd talks about, how much he likes that dog. So we talked him into starting to look at getting another pup. A friend of mine listed these adorable heeler/border pups...So I called my mother-in-law and we went and got this little guy that evening. Hes sooo cute. Hes smart too. And to top it off we get to puppy sit when they are gone!

Squishy, Yums!

I love these! I'm not a chip kinda gal. So I get excited when I find something to snack on. These are cute and strawberry flavored. What more could you ask for. I recommend trying them. If you dont like them, feel free to send the leftovers to me. Thanks!

Sooo Much Fun 2!

Sooo Much Fun!

Sometimes I get to pictures and I dont feel like its a job! This was just a fun afternoon doin something I love to do for two of my favorite people. Maria cant take a bad picture and Brody is a ham! If I were to have another baby I would want a boy just like this one! It was a beautiful day and we had tons of fun. Thanks Maria and Brody!

Valentines Day

So as everyone in the world makes a big production out of this day, not us. We have been married for 12 yrs.. And the first year we did all the hoopla. Well, this chick got over it quick. I dont like crowds, and noone can ever get my steak right. And stressing over what to wear, getting there, dealing with people and driving home. Wears me out. I know that sounds awful, but I am such a homebody.

Now we have the babies and its all about them. dont get me wrong, once a month mark and i do something just us. And we take a mini trip once a year, just us. But I dont need flowers, candy or a card. Besides, Mark isnt here anyway. He's been working nights. So I took the babies out for supper, came home did chores. Everyone got ready for bed and we had dessert.

A perfect ending to just another day here. So to all of those that need the comformation that someone loves you, I hope you had a great day.

Changes

Things had been what is slow for around here. But all of that is starting to change.

The weather is supposed to warm up over the weekend and continue through the week. Which is wonderful to most. I'm not very excited about all the mud that is gonna make. We have 6 calves due in the next 2 wks. And its hard on mommas and babies. And tractors. And us. And lets just say im not excited.

I can't believe that January is gone, February almost half over. The month of March brings many things.
-Our son turns 10! (ouch, he cant be that old allready...hes my baby!)
-Our anniversary is this month. (not doin anything bcause of calving)
-We have 4 cattle shows.. (not sure how many i will get too)
-Equiment to get ready for the following month

So although ive enjoyed the quiet. I love the busy life we lead!

New Farm Cards

These are our new farm business cards.

clipart fun

So with the new year and changing everything over, comes things that need done. And one of those things is new business cards for the farm, letterheads and so on. So I started going through some of my clipart. Finding good calf clipart is hard, the calves usually look like something out of a cartoon. So here are a few of the one I keep on hand. The only thing is I have to edit them and make them baldies...I love baldies.

Proud Parents

So last month we had our second show of the season. First one is the first weekend of december. Anyway, Garrett and Lily did awesome!
Ring A: Champion Purebred Simmental Heifer
Ring B: Res. Champion Purebred Simmental Heifer
And last week the pictures came. And then next month his photo will be in the ShowCircuit. Which is a monthly cattle magazine that we get. It is as thick as a bible and treated as one around here. You dont throw them away.
We have a show this saturday, so our boy is excited. I just had to share. Our little 60lb boy leads that 1000lb heifer like she's a dog. And the cutest thing is when he whispers sweet nothings in her ear when he shows her. She just loves it!

Farm life

I did not grow up on a farm and neither did my husband. But he has takin to is like a frog to water. I have always had friends who are farmers, so I had a general idea what it's all about. People dont realize the work, devotion, faith and money that it takes to be a farmer. But especially when you are not a generation farmer.
Reality hit me square in the face last week when our little princess had to do a paper for school. She had to name 4 special moments in her life that stick out in her memory.
#1: her birth, which was a no brainer.
#2: our trip to florida with grandma 4 yrs ago.
#3: our trip to michigan last summer.
#4: learning how to ride and take care of her horse.
The really defining moment was that is took 30 mintues to pick these 4 simple moments from her long life of 8yrs. The reasons I bring this up is because sooo many people dont realize the sacrifices that you make when you are a farm family. This life is a choice for us and it is not a 9-5 job. We dont get to pick and choose our schedule. We can plan our day and the minute we walk to the barn it may all be changed.

-We get up early, usually 5-6. Even on the weekends, because there is always an animal to feed or check on.
- We sometimes have late nights, 11 or after. You never know when a calf will be born or have a long drive home from a cattle show. And crop time is the longest.
- The weather is unpredictable! Sometimes its cold, icey, hot, rainy and windy.
- The pay is not always steady.
-There is always something to work on or repair.
-There are rarely family vacations, because we have to schedule around calving, breeding, fieldwork, planting, detassling, haying, harvest and all the things in between.
-The animals come first and our needs second.

But through it all, my children have learned several things.
-where babies come from.
-the reality of life and death
-that hard work pays off
-responsibility
-disipline
-that the world is bigger than they are

And our version of a family vacation is a cattle show, not the beach. That the animals need shelter, bedding, water and food as much as we do. They know the value of hard work and doing something they love, by seeing mark and I work together to accomplish our goals. So even though I regret sometimes that they dont do what their classmates do. We spend more time together as a family than most families do.

So if you get a chance thank a farmer.

-

more ice

My angel outside, that watched over us.

Ice hangin off the bin, love them skies!

I thought this was kinda cool the way it melted.

Ice hangin on the cow/calf barn.

Needless to say we have lots of ice around here. But the sun was shining today, so a lot of it melted. I ventured out for a bit and got some pictures to share. Once again the kids are off school tomorrow. I thinks we will do some baking and sis wants to parafin her feet!

new mommas, new babies

1 of our new simmy heifers...

The new simmy heifer is now a cow with her little boy!

And the little boy is just adorable! I think they are all cute. But I am afraid that we are gonna have lots of boys this year. We have had 3 calves and they are all boys so far. Maybe the next one will be a beautiful little girl who can put those boys in their place.

ICE

We have been having ice storms. Which makes life even harder. We havent lost electricity thankfully! But it is calving time, and luckily they have all decided to wait out the storm. We have been makin sure that there's plenty of water, warm straw and everyone is takin care of. Farmers dont get a day off due to weather, they get to work overtime. Especially if they are livestock farmers. I hope everyone stays warm and safe. And wish for spring, when things are green and wonderful.

Calves are coming

This little guy is our first calf of the year. He came all with the help of his momma. And suprised us by comin 8 days earlly. The next day we had 2 more bull calves at another farm. One of those calves came breach, and didnt make it. We have since brought those cows/calf home. And they are playing in the maternity pasture.