State of the Farm(er) Address - part one

Farming, even on a small scale, is always such an endless mix of life and death.  Chaos and order.  A farm is perpetually striving for balance, but balance is never more than a fleeting moment.

After moving the chicken coop away from the stone wall and up close to the barn, I added 2 strands of electric fence.  I know there are other security measures I should be taking, but this is the best I can do for the moment.

So far, no more casualties - except for the flowers that the chickens have killed.

***

This is the third(?) year that I have been leaving the main portion of my pastures un-mowed until the end of July.  I do this so that there will be grass stockpiled for winter grazing.  I also wait to mow till  late July so that the grassland can double as a sanctuary for ground-nesting birds.  After spending the past 7 years rehabilitating these fields and the last three years managing them for winter grazing and wildlife, I have seen a huge increase in the bird populations this year.  

The first year I was here, I saw very few birds.  This year, there are several dozen tree swallows, a growing population of barn swallows, blackbirds, bobolinks, a bunch of things I can't identify and even a pair of bluebirds.

Earlier, I was standing, drinking my morning tea and watching all the swallows swoop and dive over the fields.  I love watching swallows.  Then, the caffeine finally caught up with my foggy brain and I realized that the swallows were so beautifully and gracefully swooping and diving directly over my new beehives.

Hopefully, those queens are laying a lot of eggs and the hives can find their moment of balance before the birds eat them all.

***

Every day, Connor swims in the pond and every day, I look for the fish I set loose.  So far, I have seen no sign.  Today, of course, I forgot to look for the fish.  It was as Connor's stick was just about to fly from my fingers that I looked up and saw all six carp having a meeting in the center of the pond.  The stick landed right in the middle of them and the Border Collie was not far behind.  In the brief look I got of them, they seemed to be doing well.  I think they may even have grown.

Still no sign of the catfish, but I'm not sure that is a bad thing.  they should be hanging out on the bottom of the pond, doing their thing.  I think i would only see them if there is something wrong.

***

The equines are all doing well, although both Emma and Tessa have gained an alarming amount of weight.  They did very well over the winter, everyone even lost a few pounds and they all looked good this Spring.  I wanted to maintain that so I actually gave them less access to grass than I have in previous years and took them off the main pasture a month earlier.  However, the grass came in super strong this year and, before I knew it, the pounds were adding up even on their limited access.  Everyone is on a strict diet now and for the foreseeable future.

I was lucky to get really low sugar hay last year, which is what helped with the weight lose, but I think the low sugar was because of the freakish amount of rain we had.  This year, we have had a freakish amount of sun and I am very worried about the sugar content of the feed this year.  It is especially worrisome because I can no longer feed straw for reasons I will get to in a minute.  I am trying to figure out how to lower the calories and still keep the herd happy.  It is a struggle.

Ramsey will be turning 4 in a few days, which is amazing.  He sure has come a long way.  His bad foot is doing well.  It has its issues, as it always will, but Ramsey is growing into a very solid, strong donkey.  He is almost an adult.

Hard to believe isn't it?

To be continued.....