Yesterday we got the big heifers into the barn for the winter.  We had gotten the smaller ones in a couple weeks ago.  This is always a definite sign that winter is on the way.  Now that they are in the barn we need to give them all a haircut.  We clip their coats so that they don't sweat too much.  Even though the outside temperature can get down into the negative numbers the barn usually stays fairly warm and if the animals sweat too much it is a good way for them to get sick if they would happen to get a cold draft on them.  Shorter hair coats also make it easier for them to keep themselves clean.   It is always more enjoyable taking care of clean animals.  There are still a couple of window panes that need fixed or replaced so that needs to be done soon to help avoid the cold drafts that I mentioned.  

Last weekend was our 28th wedding anniversary.  Sharon and I took off for the weekend and went down to Syracuse for some down time.  It was a good time of relaxing and spending time together without the pressures of the farm on us.  We only had one call from the relief milker and it wasn't a major issue.  When we got home on Sunday evening things started breaking!  We hadn't even gotten into the house when the relief milker came in and said the haylege silo unloader had quit working.  I went out and checked it out and tried to do a temporary fix because I didn't have the parts I needed to fix it right.  Monday morning my temporary fix didn't work and so that meant forking out haylege so we could feed the cows.  We were able to get the parts and I fixed the unloader later that day.  A day or so later the corn silage silo unloader quit also.  At this point the are both fixed and working and I hope it stays that way for a good long while!!  Anyway, we had been praying that chores would go good for the relief milkers while we were gone and God did answer that prayer!!

The fall season is here and with that comes an end to the harvest of crops and a general slowing down of pace on the farm.  We finished the harvest season by chopping corn for silage a couple of weeks ago.  We had a good crop of corn this year considering how dry it was for awhile this summer. 
Now the agenda includes putting equipment away for the winter.  We like to keep as much equipment in the shed as possible over the winter months.  Also the barn needs to be gotten ready for the winter by making sure the windows are all in good repair and the doors can all be closed.  Then there are the heifers that went out to pasture in the spring that need to be brought back into the barn.  So there is still plenty of things to do, it just isn't as pushed as it is sometimes over the summer months.

We had twin heifers born this morning! We also sold the bull calf today. So, here are some pictures of the twins and the other little girl... enjoy!
 
**The first two are of "Jazzy's" calf. The next three pictures are of the twins-- yes, one is almost completely white while the other is very black! :)**

We have two new additions to Country Cousins Farm! Two of our Heifers just freshened (gave birth). So, we have one little heifer (girl) calf and one little bull (boy) calf. They are pretty adorable! Derek is especially excited because he owns "Jazzy" and she is the one who had the heifer calf. This means that he can raise this calf to become a cow. He is a proud "papa" :).  The mama's are doing pretty well at adjusting to being milk cows. "Lara" doesn't like to come in from the pasture for morning milkings, but she'll get used to it soon enough.  Now, we just have to decide what to name the calves...

It rained here several days ago. It was wonderful! It was a gentle rain so it soaked into the ground  and didn't cause "rivers" everywhere. We could probably use more but with just that rain the grass got a lot greener and shot up. Now, it is a mostly sunny day, the grass is green again, the birds are singing, there is a slight breeze and Shadow is chasing bees on the deck. It is another beautiful day at Country Cousins Farm. I'm not sure what the plans are for today. I'm sure there is some cooking and laundry to do. I know that yesterday Ryan and dad were working on fixing up (weather proofing) the barn windows. P

Things are really dry around here. The grass is all brown and dried up and the crops are not growing as they should be right now. For the animals out in the pasture, we just supplement their "meals" with hay. However, because it is dry, the grass isn't growing so we can't make any hay. Today, Ryan mowed off an entire field and we will probably only get two loads of hay from it. That is not much. However, we are blessed—from the hay that we already put in the barn from first cutting, it should be enough to feed our animals, there just won't be as much to sell. So, we are praying for rain and trusting that God will provide for our needs, whatever they may be. That is the life of the farmer. Praying a lot and trusting God even more.

1- Cows are always girls. Bulls are boys. They belong to the bovine family.
2- Cows only make white milk. Chocolate and strawberry syrup are added after the fact.
3- Pumping a cow's tail does not help them make milk.
4- A cow, gives birth to a calf- which can be either a male or female. A heifer is a girl, a bull is a boy. We raise the heifers to eventually use as milk cows. The bulls we either casterate and raise as steers (for meat) or we sell them.

It can be rather fun to see how many people believe that black cows make chocoloate milk and white cows make white milk. Now, you all have been educated on some of the terms

We are working on putting more haylege into the silo. So, since Derek is currently at a summer camp, I get to help with the field work. I was pretty excited to rake the hay (I drive the tractor that has a "rake" behind it that sweeps up the grass and puts it into a nice row). I started raking at 10:45 this morning. By 11:20 I was back in the house because it had started to rain. Well, it only rained for a little bit so dad said I could go back out and rake some more. I went back out and raked for about 15 more minutes and it started to rain a little. I wasn't too worried... it had only rained for a little bit earlier so I kept raking. Well, the drops kept getting bigger and they were coming faster... I looked over at Ryan (who was mowing off some more hay) and he motioned for me to go into the house. By the time I got onto the rode (approx 2 minutes) it was raining for real. Actually, it was pouring so hard I could barely see! Needless to say, by the time Ryan and I made it back to the house we were DRENCHED. Oh, well, maybe it will stop raining and we'll try again. Either way, we needed rain so I can't complain! :)

It just occurred to me that I have never written (in the blog) about what we do for summer barn chores. It is such an important thing-- so I thought I had better explain! In the summer time, chores are easier. Most of the heifers are out of the barn, so there is less feeding and less scraping and bedding to do each day.  That is kind of nice... especially when we have to do barn chores in between each load of hay!

Morning chores for dad start at 4:00 AM. Derek or Jennilea will also get up then to go out and get all the cows in from the pasture and put them in the barn to be milked. This is about a 45 min process. After the cows are in, whichever "kid" went out to the barn gets to go back to bed and dad milks the cows. At 6:00, mom heads out to the barn to mix feed for the cows, which she’ll then feed at about 6:45. Around 6:30, dad finishes milking and Ryan or I go out to help do everything else. This includes: cleaning off the troughs (taking the leftover food away from the cows), feeding sweep outs (feeding that leftover food to the heifers and steers), feeding milk calves (we have 3 right now), feeding the weaned calves, bedding the cows (put fresh hay under all of them), sweeping down the walkway, and feeding the cows their corn and grain. We usually get in from the barn at around 7:30.

Evening chores begin at 3:00 PM. Mom mixes feed for the cows and then feeds them, dad scrapes the walkway and behind the cows, the rest of us do the other chores. These include: feeding the milk calves, giving corn and grain to the heifers and steers, scraping out the calves' stalls, bedding the calves, and feeding corn and grain to the cows. Right now, all of that takes about 45 minutes. At 4:00 Derek will go out and milk the cows. He is usually done at about 5:45 and then the cows are all let out into the pasture for the next day.

There you have an overview of the chores we do everyday. Now, you know what I mean when I write about morning and/or afternoon chores. :)

We have this weekend off from barn chores! YAY! It is break time! :) Actually, dad and Derek still worked outside quite a bit but Jennilea, mom and I had an easier day. I cleaned up the cabin a little (which by the way... looks ADORABLE!), Jennilea made our picnic lunch for tomorrow (we are going to Alex Bay for the afternoon), and mom kept us all going. :)  

I just walked on some of the paths over in the pasture and it brought back many memories. When all of us kids were younger we would play for hours on end over there. We would come back for meals and chores and that was it. We would play "cowboys and Indians", and "house", using the berries, leaves, bark and grass for "food". We had a special spot under a tree, among all the bushes, beside an old log, where we spent most of our time. I looked for our “house” as I was walking today, but it has changed quite a bit over there. Now there are different paths and the bushes have grown quite a bit. When I was younger, all I wanted to do was be "big" but now I kind of miss the playing over the pasture with not a worry in the world. It helps me to remember that I need to cherish each and every day...