A wet, slippery trip to the barn.........

This is what our path looked like as we stepped out to go to the barn this morning. It was and continues to freezing rain - everything is covered with a 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch of ice. 80,000 people are without power, including our neighbors 1/2 mile down the road. We are so fortunate that our power is still on. All schools and many businesses are closed due to road conditions and loss of power. Chores went fine, all the animals are snug in their barns, fed and watered and we will wait out the storm.

Tom ventured out with camera:

The ice is so damaging to our beautiful white and yellow birch trees but it does look beautiful.

the ice weighs down the pine branches

wooden rail fence

the old hay rake

wire on the chicken tractor

flowering crab apple tree

The storm is supposed to let up around lunchtime and then the temps are supposed to drop and everything will freeze solid.......as long as all the critters are fine and we are ok, we don't get nervous. It gives us all a chance to be home together and after all, we do live in New England by choice :)

Stormy weather...............

We are in the midst of our first ice storm of the season. They are predicting an inch or more of ice before the storm is over tomorrow afternoon. Tom and I spent most of the morning finishing up our chores and making sure everything was secure and all the animals were snugged up and ready for the weather. The generator is in place and prepped and the woodboxes are full. We are as ready as we can be.

Little Squirt is doing just fine. She looks bigger today :) When I put Jan in her milking stall, Tom cleans up her box stall. Squirt was jumping and giving little kicks and getting in his way. It was so much fun to watch her. It amazes me how active they are at such a young age (sorry - I couldn't get any new photos today - it was just too dark in the barn).

Despite the dreary weather, I'm fortunate to have some beautiful seasonal plants blooming or getting ready to blossom. I love this Amaryllis. I potted this one just a month ago and it has two beautiful blossoms on it. I have one every Christmas. I love the rich, red color of the blooms.

A close-up view. It looks several different colors in this photo - Isn't it stunning?

This beauty is a Jasmine plant. This was a gift from a dear friend of mine several years ago. It will blossom at different times of the year for no specific reason. It is a very fragile plant that requires lots of TLC. Believe me, the extra care is so worth it. I wish we could add scent to our blogs so you all could smell the blossom. It's incredible. The smell of this one white blossom fills my entire kitchen/dining room.

My Christmas cactus has many buds on it and should bloom just before the holidays. It hasn't blossomed for a couple of years so I'm very excited that it has finally adjusted to the move and that I have finally found the right spot for it :)

~ thanks for visiting with us at Tylerfarm - stay safe & warm ~

~It's a Girl !! ~

December 9th, 2008 4:39 p.m.

Introducing Tylerfarm's Gertrude (AKA "Squirt McGert")

We went to the barn in the morning for chores as usual and all was normal. Jan was still as big as a house and very uncomfortable. It was snowing lightly but I put her out so she could proceed with her morning routine and I thought the exercise would be helpful. I put her in around 11:30 as it was snowing harder and I didn't want her to have the calf outside. Her udders were so full they were practically sticking out sideways. I knew it wouldn't be long now :)

We checked her at 2:30 and she seemed somewhat distressed. Breathing heavily and getting up and down, not being able to get comfortable. My adopted daughter, Shane, came to visit yesterday afternoon and Tom went to the barn for night chores before we got out there. We saw him running back to the house and we knew we had a calf arriving. The photos that follow is what we saw when we arrived:

CAUTION: Birthing photos.......

Normal presentation....two front feet & nose

delivery was a very short process.........I did go in the stall and quickly remove the sac over the nose.....

Jan is such a great mother - she immediately went to work cleaning up her calf.....

You can see a short video of Jan cleaning off Gertrude (it's rather dark but you can tell what she's doing and listen to her communicating with her new calf)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSEnFGf9tFg

In about a half an hour Gertrude was on her feet and looking for the food supply. All seemed fine so we finished our evening chores and let them be.

She's very alert and inquisitive ~

Tom and I went out again at 9pm and both Jan and baby were fine. Jan had passed her placenta and the baby had nursed on all four udders. The calf was lying in the a pile hay and Jan was munching away. We cleaned out her stall, gave her fresh hay and water and marvelled and this beautiful little creature. No matter how many times I witness the miracle of birth, it never ceases to amaze me. We are so blessed and I am grateful, as always.

This morning Mom and baby are fine. I grained Jan in her milking stall, hand milked her to relieve her udders where the baby hadn't nursed, cleaned her stall and checked baby all over while Mom had her grain. She's perfect! They are resting comfortably and all is well.

It was 7 degrees yesterday morning. This morning it was 50 degrees.....talk about weather extremes. We were very happy that she waiting until last night to deliver instead of the day before. Cold weather is expected for the end of the week but Gertrude will do fine with her Mom when it arrives.

~ Have a great day ~

Baby watch continues.......

A quick update on Jan......

All was normal when we went to the barn this morning for chores. It was snowing lightly and rather damp so I decided to leave her in her cushy box stall with plenty of nice hay and tepid water to drink. She didn't complain like she normally would so I assumed today was the day. I went out to check her at 10 am and she was lying down, chewing her cud. At noon the snow had stopped and the temp was about 35 and she hadn't progressed at all so I decided to let her out. The cow tub is heated and she drinks better outside. I thought perhaps a little exercise might move things along also.

Nope......3 p.m. and she STILL has her head in the bale feeder, stuffing her face. She had worked on the salt lick and had a nice drink. At 5 she came in to the barn, had her grain and went into her nice clean, stall and is now lying down, chewing her cud again. She is really bagged up, dilated and enormous.....It's hard to believe she won't have this calf soon.

I'll check her again before I go to bed and then she's on her own until morning. She probably prefers that anyway :)

The wait continues..................

Baby Watch ~

Our wonderful milk cow, Jan, is expecting and the technical due date according to our gestation calendar is tomorrow, 12/7. Needless to say, we are very excited. The poor girl is enormously big, waddles like a, well, pregnant cow and is the most loving creature here on the farm. She has been nesting for a week now and I was sure I would find a calf when I went to the barn yesterday morning but it wasn't meant to be.

"rear view"

She started bagging up a few days ago and you can see that the calf has settled lower as well. She is very loose at the tailhead and wants to love up on everything she can get close to. She's always been very affectionate but this week she's even worse :) Of course, we are going to get a darling little heifer calf as we specifically ordered a heifer and you always get what you order correct?! I would love another heifer just like little Hope that she gaves us last December but I wouldn't be disappointed with a bull. I'm thinking that raising a bull would be a good idea. I know he couldn't breed his mother but he could breed other cows here that are not related. AI is so tricky and not being able to settle heifers is very frustrating. Nature really has a way of getting the job done that even technology hasn't been able to master.

"Tom giving her a nice belly rub"

She really enjoys having her belly scratched, her back rubbed, rubbing on her head, attention of any kind. Our Hereford heifer, Missy, was licking on her yesterday, giving her a nice bath and Jan just stood there, as comfortable as can be. She's a wonderful mother, always good to her calf and never hateful to anyone of us when we want to check her or her baby. I was very lucky the day I purchased her. She's always been the perfect family cow.

We are so anxious to have our own milk, butter and ice cream again. My milk customers have been calling, wondering if it's time :) It's difficult buying milk in the store after having your own fresh dairy products. I even missed doing my milk dishes and having that as part of my daily routing. Milking is a wonderful chore (I don't really consider it a chore) it's relaxing and one of the most rewarding parts of my day.

Stay tuned..........

Holiday festivities.............

"Snowman family"

As the holidays approach, I enjoy setting out my decorations, a few at a time. These adorable snowmen adorn the top of our entertainment center in our livingroom. The snowman lamp in the center casts just enough light that we do not need any other lights on in the evening unless someone is reading. It makes a nice, cozy atmosphere along with the warmth and glow of the woodstove.

What little snow we had, has melted with the 40 degree days we have been having but more is predicted for sunday.....we are hoping for a little more out of this storm. It just doesn't feel like the holidays without snow! We are slowly working on decorating the "bird" tree but no photos to post just yet. Hopefully before the weekend is over.

Last night I had the pleasure of going on a date with my husband and we attended his company christmas party. I think it's very generous that they still have a christmas celebration and invite spouses to attend. Many companies cannot do that anymore. Tom filled in and did night chores for me as the party hours were from 4 to 7 which are perfect hours for folks who aren't used to going out :) It was held at the company office and we had a lovely time (Great job Allison! ) It was a catered affair and we both "dressed" for the occasion. My boys said I cleaned up pretty good. lol.....my only complaint before it was over - my feet hurt! Trading my muck shoes for semi high heels is definitely not in my future :)

We enjoyed the 40 minute ride home, chatting and looking at all the christmas lights that people have put up so far. We rarely have one on one time to catch up and reconnect - it was a nice way to end the evening.

Happy Friday everyone :)

~Wordless Wednesday~