Monday, December 31, 2012

Odee , snow and the smoker !






Well Odee's growing like a weed and he is part rottweiler said the vet on his first visit. He gets along great with Rosco & Trixie , the cats he still has interest in. He is going to be a great addition to the farm , as protection when the " Big Dog's" not around ! He is also a sweet well manored dog that is almost potty trained at 8 weeks ! The other night we saw this recipe on " United States of Steak", it was meatloaf wrapped in bacon and smoked for 4 hours. Needless to say, it had bacon in it, it was awesome !!! We also got a few inches of snow which looked beautiful and we went sleding. Happy holidays to all , Happy New Year ! Tom, i took some extra pics of Odee for you. I hope you and your family have the best holiday ever !

Monday, December 17, 2012

I couldn't post !!!





It took me several emails to blogger help to fix the posting problem. Anyway, i have been helping my neighbor build his cabin. We also have a new addition to our family. Our neighbors Orval & Marilyn's dog had 7 puppies and we have been wanting a bigger dog for the farm. He is 6 weeks old, male and cute as hell. His name is "Odee" , named after Orval, his middle initial is "D" , see "ODEE"!!! We know he is part black lab and we think the other half is rottweiler. He has been keeping us quite busy,lol !

Friday, November 16, 2012

Everything came at once !













I'm sorry i haven't wrote in a while , been really busy ! I had to get hay to feed the cows this winter. I hauled 20 round bales for 2 days. My neighbor and i built a hay spear for my tractor which took a day. Then i realized i had company on Thanksgiving and i need to work on the fourwheelers. My buddy and i put an axle  in the polaris. Now i'm working on the susuki 250 , i had to replace both front cv joint boots. I got schooled the other day by my mentor Gary , on the cows. They had the runs so i had to stop feeding them the protein tub. I also had to start feeding the steer grain so he can put on weight. Now the cow is pregnant and due in Jan.- Feb. and i am not suppose to grain her. The reason is because the calf will grow to large and make delivery harder on her. So try to feed one but not the other, good luck. I'm in the pasture and i feel like part parent , part referee ! It was intimidating at first standing between to cows , one 650lbs , the other 1200lbs ! I learned from Gary that they won't hurt you and they scent your fear. Now i'm learning how to train them , it's all done with grain. They will follow you anywhere for it and let me pet them. The cow we now call "Mamma Drama", it think was abused. She was really skitzy at first and wouldn't let me touch her or get close. Now i can pet her and when she try's to get the steer's food , i get in between them so she can't. It's all new to me and i am enjoying the challenge. In between i have split another cord and a half of firewood and cleaned up my workshop, which is also a container!!!  Happy  Thanksgiving !

Monday, October 29, 2012

3'S A CHARM FARM !


I have been busy stocking our firewood supply. Also the other day my neighbor called me for some help.A friend of his ask him to transport 6 cows to auction for him because he's having his knee operated on and needed help.Well my neighbor just had his garage floor poured and was storing all his tools in his trailer. So i helped him unload his tools , then we went and picked up the cows and took them to auction. It was in Weston W.V. , nice little town , then we passed the old assylum. It looks creepy from the outside, can't wait to go on a tour. I am really enjoying this farm living , keeps me busy! We also are offically a farm, i got my tax id number from Charleston yesterday. The name of our farm is " 3's a charm farm " , we named it that cause Katie and i both were married twice before, with no luck, until us, is 3!

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Spuds !

Yesterday i dug up our second plot of potatoes, we got about 20 pounds. This was the first year ever i planted them, happy with the results! Then today i was stringing more barb wire near the creek for fence and fell in. Boy, was it cold. That's why i'm writing you mid day cause i'm warming up next to the stove!It's only about 60 degrees here today and the water must be 40. I'm almost done the other part of the pasture with fence , then our cows can graze on it.I'm going out soon to continue working now that i can feel my toes!

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Fall is here !







The leaves are changing color and their falling fast. I built a lean-to for the cattle to get out of the weather if they want. From what i'm hearing though is they may not use it because they just stay out in any weather here. So i think i may use it as a mainger , to store hay and feed them out of. Also the creek is more benifical not that they can drink from it . It also never freezes because it's always running.Now when i walk in the pasture , i have to remember to watch my step ! I am fencing in another area for them to roam as we speak.I know how to run barb wire pretty well now too.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

The cow's are here !











I fenced in the one pasture , put in a gate and started the lean-to all last week. Last week i went to my first cattle auction, mostly to see the going rates. I already planned on buying a steer from my neighbor but he wanted to be fair and let me see what they were selling for. My friend and neighbor Gary is my mentor. He has been on a farm all his life and is teaching me the ropes, thanks buddy ! Today i filled out the paperwork for my Farmer's tax id number , then i will be an official farmer. I also bought a cow from another neighbor and she's pregnant and due in January or February. So i have a steer and a cow and one on the way ! How cool is that! I been busy running around getting feed and hay and meeting other farmer's. Around here we are all like a big happy family ! I have been working like a rented mule but i really enjoy it. Sometimes i get so involved that i forget to post the blog , doing my best.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

The farm's a growing !




When we started our venture we wanted to have a farm. We want to be self sufficent , we have a garden, chickens, fish and venison. The next is beef and pigs. So i started fencing in one of our pastures , next is to build another lean-to. Our one neighbor's heffer had a calf and disowned it, so he had to bottle feed it. Our other neighbor lost a calf at birth , so he borrowed it to nurse off his heffer so she would give milk. So it worked out for both of them and eventully me.Because i got the offer to buy him and his name is "Bucky". In the first picture you will see the landing where the lean-to is going. Tomorrow i string the barb wire and in a few weeks he is bringing him over. We need to get him use to us since he's an orphen and has had two other dad's. We went to see him the other day and my camera battery went low or i would have pics of him.