Another day... another chicken attack

Today started out with copious amounts of rain, but it did get better. Rainy days are good for paperwork and pencil pushing which, thanks to the way the world works these days, there is plenty of on the farm.

These are last year's calves. They range from 8 to 12 months old. The smallest ones weigh around 350 lbs, and the biggest ones are closer to 700 lbs. Note how they totally dig the cedar tree shelter. It's really a very popular new hangout.

This is a first person perspective of being attacked by a chicken. Ok, not really. Our chickens just really love people, because usually people=food.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step...

What does a farmer do to occupy the time? Have you ever wondered what really happens, and how things come to be? Well, now is your chance to tune in and find out because the Chronicles of Sweetwater Farm have officially begun. We aim to post once a day and share what we are up to. So without further ado...

Today, we cleared out some of the debris that came down almost two years ago in the landslide. You can read about that here... Seattle Times, we made the front page! I am pretty sure that it will take us at least five more years to get fully caught up from all of the damage. We have come a long way, but there is a lot more left to do.

In a nut shell, today we sorted through a big pile of trees, rocks and dirt and carried the sticks, stumps, and logs away to be burned. We also moved some fence so that the calves can take shelter under the cedar trees in the pics. A cedar tree is even better than a barn, because it does a really good job of keeping the cattle dry, and also gets lots of sunlight, and the sun keeps parasites from building up like they do in a barn. Bet you didn't know that. Nothing too exciting really. But it takes time and energy.

Before...

After

Summer!

Here is what we are up to:

We do pretty much all of our own work. Sometimes our awesome friends help us.

Just in case you have ever wondered what farmers might occupy their time with, here is a list of some things we have been working on in the last 12 months.

1. Feed Cows, Pigs, Chickens
2. Manage Pastures
3. Build/Repair Fence
4. Move chicken tractor
5. Capture stray cattle
6. Doctoring cattle
7. Delivering calves
8. Clean out barn
9. Repair farm equipment
10. Operating heavy equipment ( Dozers, Excavators Dump Trucks etc.)
11. Diesel engine work
12. Metal working (welding/torching)
13. Machine shop work (working with metals this is where you have to be precise, things are measured in thousandths of an inch)
14. Painting equipment
15. Structural buildings (Steel and wood frame construction)
16. Roofing (Steel, Wood shingle, Composite)
17. Seeding grass
18. Cutting briars, clearing brush
19. Gardening
20. Keeping the orchard up
21. Beekeeping

he list is long and varied. The depth and range of the projects is quite exciting. Farmers always have an abundance of work, but usually not enough money to pay someone else to do it. This means that the farmer has to figure it out.

Barn Upgrade: We are re-modeling the barn by installing a new feeding system that will save us time, and make the cows even happier. But really... how much happier can these bovines really become. I think we're splitting hairs. Incremental gains... diminishing returns, yada yada... Well anyways the project involves a lot of concrete. We need to be done with the whole thing by the time the snow starts to fall in November.

Hay: Cut/Rake/ Bale. We will be putting up around 250 tons of hay between now and the end of July, (most of it by hand.)

Fencing: we have about 8,000 feet of five strand barb wire fence to build.

Giant Cow Sign: We are putting Glenoma on the map. We are building a big steel sign to go in the pasture along the highway. The design is ready, we just need to start cutting and welding. It is going to be awesome! If you are ever headed east on Hwy 12 you won't miss it. Trust me.

Bridge: We need to put in a 40 foot bridge across a small river/large creek.

Pigs: We've got two beautiful gilts (young female pigs) that will be having their first litters sometime in November. These pigs are very social. They enjoy busting out of their pen at least once per day to come say hello, and to see what we are working on.

Chickens: We have 100 Heritage Red Chickens coming this Friday (July 9). We are going to raise them on the pasture. This will compliment and help the cows because 1. the chickens eat the flies that bug the cows, and 2.) they fertilize the fields with high quality natural fertilizer.

Clabbered Dirt, Sweet Grass

Clabbered Dirt, Sweet Grass

This is an excellent read. If you are interested in seeing what farming used to be like this book will show you.

It got five star reviews from Amazon.com. You will see why after reading just the foreword (to read the foreword click on the hyperlink above and go to "search inside this book" then type foreword) It would be very difficult to read this book and not make the connection between the land and the people.

For me it was interesting to see where some of our family traditions came from, and how living and working in time with the seasons really affects the family lifestyle. It is a short but satisfying read. Definitely worthwhile. If you have read it I would like to know what your thoughts are.