Going to the Country

Grinning Ear to Ear

shaun — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:24:58 +0000

The lambs are arriving. We’ve had three mommas deliver twins three days in a row. I love how the pick they worst weather to deliver. One momma birthed one twin in the sleet and then decided it would be best to have the next one under her shelter. I’m a little short on sleep, probably because instead of taking a nap I spend too much time in amazement of those cute little things. Photos are coming soon.

Shaun

Did You Hear the Good News?

shaun — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:03:57 +0000

This just in from Judith McGeary:

Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance

The USDA has announced that it is dropping NAIS!

This is a major victory for the grassroots!! Thank you to the
thousands of people who called, wrote, organized meetings, and more.
Dozens of organizations, from across the country and the full range
of the political spectrum, worked together on this common cause. And
we succeeded in making our voices heard.

USDA has stated that it is refocusing its efforts on “a new, flexible
framework” that will apply only to animals moved in interstate
commerce and encourage the use of “lower-cost” technology. During
today’s conference call with USDA, I asked whether the agency would
continue using federal funding to pressure states to adopt the
program through cooperative agreements. In response, Secretary
Vilsack stated that USDA has gotten a “failing grade” on NAIS and
that he does NOT intend to try to implement it through the back door.

You can read more details from USDA at:

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/animal_health/content/printable_version/faq_traceability.pdf

We still have more work in front of us. As USDA develops its new
framework, we must be involved and vocal, so that agribusiness does
not develop yet another high-tech, big-industry boondoggle. We must
be active at the state level to ensure that the state agencies do not
implement unnecessary and burdensome rules. And we must work to roll
back the unfair requirements that have already been implemented in
Wisconsin and Michigan. Ultimately, it is up to us – as animal
owners, homesteaders, farmers, ranchers, and consumers — to build a
positive vision for our farms and our food.

Thank you all!

A Painters House Always Needs To Be Painted

shaun — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:11:23 +0000

And when the farmer also designs websites, it’s hard to balance everything and still find time to post on this blog. We realize our limitations and would like to continue the blog, but it may be infrequent. We could come up with tons of excuses for our lack of posting lately, but rather than do that we’ll give you some updates.

The summer was brutal. The pastures suffered greatly, but with proper mulching our garden was able to thrive. The sheep did very well too. To our surprise they managed to thrive on the weeds that could bear the drought. Sunflower, pictured in the previous post is a big girl now, nearly 100 lbs. Not to bad for a seven-month old. We didn’t even touch our hay supply until January, and still they don’t eat much of it. That gives us hope for year round grazing even in a very difficult year.

The hens probably had it the worst. They made it through, but cut way back on laying. We had to look at the chickens and their rotation through the pasture as a means to provide fertilizer.

Now it’s cool and wet. We are busily preparing for this growing season. The Garden is tilled. The ewes will begin within a week. We are brimming with anticipation.

With Love,

Amy + Shaun

Sunflower!

shaun — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:12:05 +0000

Late Sunday night, we had our first lamb born on the farm. Say hello to Sunflower. Both of her parents have white wool, so for her to come out with this beautiful color is a real blessing.

Noah

shaun — Wed, 20 May 2009 13:53:18 +0000

A few weeks ago we went to pick up a lamb that will become our breeding ram in 2011. His name is Noah. He is a registered Gulf Coast sheep, just like all of our ladies, only he is colorful. Here he is munching away with his new roommate, Josef. He is actually much smaller than Josef, the perspective looks a little funny in this cell-phone shot.

quote

shaun — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:57:04 +0000

You eventually learn that true priorities are like arms; if you think you have more than a couple, you’re either lying or crazy.

-Merlin Mann

The new site…

shaun — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:19:49 +0000

We are working on redressing the site a bit. Let us know if you have any criticisms. We’ll have it all up and running shortly.

¡Rain!

shaun — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 16:03:46 +0000

I think the drought is over. We received almost a third of our average annual rainfall in one day. We’ve witnessed, now, the power of water whether it be too much or not enough. Several of our neighbors have had fences washed out and have ponds where their pastures used to be. Our back pasture, still returning to grassland from being plowed many years is a mess. As we are on the side of a hill water just washed across it causing some erosion, but mostly just a lot of mud. So much so that the sheep’s portable fence came down and they enjoyed the run of the property for the afternoon. We won’t be able to return them to their “weed patrol” in that recovering pasture until it dries, so for now they are camped out under the trees. Our drive way was partially washed out, so we can’t park inside the gate yet. In a day or two I’ll take to it with a shovel to repair it temporarily until we can get someone with a tractor to relocate the gravel. Our garden was partially underwater, but thanks to the raised beds they should be damaged from the rain, although our tomatoes look like they got a little hail damage. I think they’ll pull through. The gulley’s around our tent were actually full of water. It was apparently the first time in many years this happened. We were fortunate for no serious damage, injury, or loss of animals. We are also very fortunate for some much needed rain. Although the water did some immediate damage to the recovery of our poor back pasture, I think all in all it will come out ahead. It makes us realize how soon we can go from our “drought relief plan” to “flood emergency plan” and how little we were prepared.

The Beeville Bees

shaun — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:50:21 +0000

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting the Amish colony near Beeville, TX. In the context of modern life, it’s easy to return with a feeling of sorrow and pity for these poor people. Poor people? Would an Amish family be rich? In our standards, they live very meager existences. They are all “blue collar” workers. Their dress is very plane. Their homes simple with little embellishment. Most modern gadgets are rejected, or more correctly the desire for them. I had to empty my mind of this world to comprehend and enjoy the lives they have created in South Texas. They choose every day to empty their lives of complications to make plenty of room for friends, family and most importantly faith. They make do with what they have and make the most of their surroundings. If you have ever been to the coastal plains of Texas you know how barren and wind swept that land is. Harsh is putting it lightly. They take advantage of the winds and use windmills to pump water for drinking and irrigating their gardens in the dry summers. So while they may empty their lives of complications, they certainly don’t empty their lives of hard work and challenge. They do it. They work hard to raise their food and make a living and they won’t hesitate to stop and wave as you go by, or greet you with a smile. Through this meditation, I now see the richness they have found. Although they may not have all of our conveniences, they don’t need them. They’ve got something more.

-Shaun

MURDER!

shaun — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:19:09 +0000

We are loosing chickens left and right. Hawks are migrating through, so they might be getting some, but I think it’s the vultures. Vultures mostly consume carrion, but when they get desperate they’ll go after live prey. A side effect of this drought is a reduction in the population of small mammals that might run in front of cars. We have to adapt to this. We started putting their pen up on blocks during the day so they can get inside quickly from all sides. We’ve also disrupted possible flight patterns by running lengths of string above their yard. I suppose loss is a natural part of farming. I’m building a new “hen condo” this weekend to allow for natural brooding of chicks. This way we can steadily replace lost hens, but we aren’t going to stop trying to prevent losses.

-Shaun