It’s calving time! Winter is not the season we would have chosen to have our cows give birth. Things can happen which necessitate interventions such as… putting a newborn calf in your bathtub. Here’s the story of little Billy the calf, and how the Calvinos took a crash course in one kind of calving emergency.Continue reading “A Calf in the Bath?”
Author Archives: nataliecalvino
Catching Up
Happy New Year! Life took off like a rocket, and I’m still running to catch up. I feel as though it has been way longer than a month and a half since my last post. So much has happened, I’ll give you a drive- by update. We got the hay in! That was a funContinue reading “Catching Up”
Surprising Blessings at Thanksgiving
Our Thanksgiving weekend did not go as planned. Well, we didn’t really have too much planned, other than having some family visitors. But boy, oh boy, it turned out to be a roller coaster ride! First off, we were contacted by a friend the weekend before saying that he was available to help us butcherContinue reading “Surprising Blessings at Thanksgiving”
Mystery Chicks’ Identities Revealed!
Beware of buying pullets on clearance at your local farm supply store- you never know what you’ll get! That is, if you are not an expert on identifying chicken breeds. We are not terribly familiar with all the different varieties of chickens, or perhaps we would have figured this ‘mix up’ out sooner! But theContinue reading “Mystery Chicks’ Identities Revealed!”
Digging Trenches, Building Fences
Two really huge projects are coming close to their completion. Because we want our cattle to remain in pasture all year long (ideally) and rely on feeding hay as little as possible, we found it necessary to fence several more acres of our property, and run water lines to several different locations to make itContinue reading “Digging Trenches, Building Fences”
Odd Occurrences
It’s November! Most of the country kicks it off with a celebration of Halloween and Thanksgiving planning, and prepping for the Christmas season that follows right on its heels. We actually don’t celebrate Halloween in the ordinary way; what we celebrate is All Hallows Eve. That refers to the day before All Hallows Day, orContinue reading “Odd Occurrences”
New Dogs on the Block… er.. Farm…
Meet Bosco, a five month old (yes, I did say “month”! )Great Pyrenees-and-possibly-something-else mix. I had been wanting to get a farm guardian dog for security reasons for some time after we moved. It would guard the chickens in their various locations, and warn us and the cattle if predators or intruders were in theContinue reading “New Dogs on the Block… er.. Farm…”
Little Children, Little Things
“Mom! Mom! Come look! We caught a mourning dove!” C burst into the house excitedly. “A mourning dove? Really?” “Yes! Come see!” Well, it turned out it wasn’t a mourning dove, but a baby sparrow. Apparently it was trying out its wings in the driveway and the boys decided it needed help. This highlights oneContinue reading “Little Children, Little Things”
Cattle “Moooving” Day!
God told us He wanted us to move here. So we held our breath and “jumped into the deep,” trusting Him to take care of everything. Somehow, I thought that was going to be the end of it; we’d settle in, start the farm out small (ish), and life would be different, with lots ofContinue reading “Cattle “Moooving” Day!”
OVER 200 CHICKENS!
The chicken operation expands! Here’s the count as of today: 26 Cornish Cross (meat birds) living in the Salatin style chicken tractor; ready to process in a few weeks. They are filling out nicely, putting on both weight and feathers, and so have become much less awkward looking recently. 14 Red Sex Link layer hensContinue reading “OVER 200 CHICKENS!”