Sam, my bull - The vet prepared me for his death, told me to put him with the cows early so that he could do his thing before he passes. I was heartbroken. I just love him. He is so gentle! And what a good breeder. He settled every cow last spring on her first heat. That's why all those calves came six weeks early!
Dr. Rock was out to look at Sam and give him a last ditch treatment (his problems seemed to be digestive in nature and I thought it was the bad baleage we got this year). We got a hefty dose of bovine Pepto Bismol in him. As Dr. Rock was leaving, he suddenly said, "I want to check his tongue." Turns out he has an easily treatable but very rare illness called Wooden Tongue. His tongue was so hard that he couldn't eat. An immediate dose of penicillin plus a big intravenouse dose this afternoon, and all will be well. He is already putting on weight and has begun grazing again. Poor thing, his tongue was so hard that he just couldn't eat. He is showing some interest in the girls. Tears of joy - really. I broke down and cried when I knew he would live.
Well, that was more than I planned to write about Sam! LOL
The chicks that the Campine hatched out - They are in their ugly teens, fluff gone but feathers not completely in. Scrawny necks, very noisy, and I am completely in love with them. One appears to be full-blooded Campine and of course he/she won't let me get near her or pick her up. The other three are very tame. One of them follows me around. Last night, while I was sitting on the back step of the Moop waiting for them to wend their way in, two of them jumped on me, one on my shoulder, one on my head, where it proceeded to look for lice, I think. Very interesting! I've never had chicks behave like this. I like it! Pictures will follow when I have a little more time.
The greenhouse - The new potting soil I am using this year is working a little TOO well. My greenhouse is a veritable jungle! The tomato plants are so big that they are not really salable. I will put them on sale and try to get rid of the last few that way. Sales were brisk and much higher than last year, though. I will be glad to shut down the greenhouse. It is always such fun to get it up and running, but always such a relief to say good-bye to it for another year. Here is my greenhouse sign at the road. We built it from scraps out of a building that was torn down. Got it up a bit late, but next year I think it will be effective. We also have a board to attach that reads PRODUCE, and are hoping for more on-farm sales this year.
GARDEN!!! - What a job! We have expanded it by a good 50%. Last year I could not keep up with my CSA customers, upset a few people. It won't happen again this year. More planted, irrigation system installed, and larger variety. Also, we are prepared for the bugs this year, found a good natural bug eliminator that uses concentrated flower power. We lost 500 row feet of potatoes last year. Sigh . . .
Tomorrow, there will be five of us here to weed from one end to the other. I do not till my garden area. So we do one good weeding after planting, since last year's mulch is thin enough that it is letting weeds through, and then we control the weeds strictly by mulching.
So that is my life right now - sometimes overwhelming, but all I can say is that I am very happy to have a great crew here to help get things done. I must remember to get a picture tomorrow so you can meet them. They are hard workers, and I couldn't do it without them.
