Promised Land Homestead

Homestead Happenings

Since I haven't posted in an entire month, I thought I'd share what's been happening on the homestead.  First, and most importantly, DW gave birth to child #5 on March 24th.  We welcomed DS3 into the world at 7:40 am after only about 2 1/2 hours of labor!  Whew!  Talk about a fast one.  The contractions came crashing in at 5 am, she was in late first stage labor very quickly, and before we knew it, she was pushing.  In fact, it happened so quickly and we've had so many false labors that we waited too long to call the midwife.  She has to drive 90 minutes to get here, and she only made it half way by the time DS3 was born.  I delivered him in our big bath tub in our master bath.  Praise God that everything went well and there were no complications to deal with.  All I had to do was wiggle him a little to get him out.  He was big boy at 9 lbs 4 oz.  Our biggest yet.

I was very fortunate to be able to take 3 weeks off of work, so I got to spend lots of time with the family.  Since it's animal and vegetable growing time around here, we went and bought a feeder pig.  We only got one this year, and named her Sausage.  She'll be in the freezer sometime around August.  We also took delivery of 50 meat chickens from Welp Hatchery.  We normally get ours from Murray McMurray, but they were back ordered, and it was going to take too long to get them.  So far we have 46 left.  A few have died from trampling, or falling in the waterer and then getting too cold because the heat lamp is off for 4 hours every night.  We'll start processing the biggest ones at 6 weeks, and the rest around 8 weeks.

We'll also be taking delivery next week of an assortment of layers.  We bought some Dark Cornish roosters to be the sire's for our meat flock, and some White Rock hens for the mommas.  Hopefully we'll never have to buy meat chicks again.  We can just grow them when we get low on chicken.  DW loves hatching eggs, so it works out for her too.

We also planted more of the summer garden.  Peas, beans, cucumbers (yuck!), cantelope, watermelon and tomatoes have all gone into the ground.  Everything it growing beautifully.  It was definitely a good idea to plant half the garden this year.  We're just utilizing the available space better.  My next step is to run a water line into the garden to make it easier for DW to water.  We have water spigots near the garden, but she has to walk out of the garden to turn them on and off which is a hassle.  I'm getting pretty good a working with PVC, and it will not be much trouble to run a line to the garden for her.

Lastly, and not really homestead related, I decided to try my hand at building our family a new entertainment center.  I started getting into woodworking when we got married and really enjoy it.  My FIL is a great source of knowledge on the subject, as he is much better at it than me.  I started out building DW at shoe rack.  It's funny to see the progession on my projects since then.  That shoe rack is functional, but is far from aesthetic, and weighs 50 lbs.  Other things I've built include a doll house bookcase for the girls' room, a doll cradle for the girls, and a wooden dumptruck with pedals that the kids never ride in because it's too hard to pedal on the grass.  This entertainment center is by far the most involved and complicated project I've undertaken.  I've learned a lot reading "Wood Magazine" and wanted to put the knowledge to use.  The entertainment center will consist of a large cabinet the TV sits on, with shelves underneath for the DVD player and anything else DW wants to store under there.  On top of that will sit a book case for pictures and books.

So far I've finished the large cabinet portion, which is by far the most complicated part, and am working on completing the bookcase.  The cabinet turned out really well, and I am happy with the result.  It is a monster though.  It's 8 feet long, 3 feet high and 2 feet deep, so it's got lots of room for storage.  Once the whole package is complete, I'll post a picture.

Future projects will include more bunkbeds for the kids and a computer desk/school work area/bookcase for our dining room.  That area will eventually be where we put the computer and store all our homeschool supplies.

Sping in Full Swing!

I forgot how busy we get in spring, but it's a good busy.  I foolishly tried to plan a trip to Carlsbad Caverns in June that's not going to pan out because we'll have too much going on here.  We could go in July, but it will be too hot.  Oh well.  All our long trips will have to be planned for late summer and early fall.

The spring garden is planted and growing wonderfully.  We had a good 3 days of rain last week that has all the grass growing, and the cows are happily grazing in the pasture.  Pumpkin is putting weight back on.  She got pretty thin after having the calf so we stepped up her grain.  I'm sure the fresh grass is helping.

We ordered 50 meat chicks, which will arrive on April 10th along with some more layers that will get here on May 6th.  We need chicken pretty badly.  We're quickly running out.  The meat chicks will be processed sometime around early-to-mid June. 

We're also preparing for our yearly pig.  We grow at least one every year for the freezer.  I haven't called the pig farmer yet that we buy them from, but we got pig grower yesterday, and will be getting our baby pig soon.  We grow them until they're approximately 6 months old before taking them to the butcher.

Until the meat chicks are processed we get pretty busy around here feeding all these animals.  They eat A LOT and drink A LOT, so you have to stay on it for the 8 weeks it takes to grow them.  We're going to try to breed our own meat chicks next year.  We'll see how that goes.

It's a good busy.

World's Worst Inventions

Even though this has nothing to do with our homestead, it made me laugh,so I had to share.  I recently read a news article listing the world's worst inventions.  Here's a few for your amusement:

Dog Auto Sack

Tired of your dog getting hair everywhere when its riding in the car?  Why not hang it in a sack outside the vehicle while you rocket down the road at 70 mph?

Kitty Wig

Do you constantly dote on your cat and treat them like a human being?  Why not embarass them even more with a completely ridiculous wig?  This company sells a complete line of cat wigs and they even come in a nice "paw proof" box to store it in when you're not using it.  Below are the pictures and actual names.

Holiday Fun

Silver Fox

Pink Passion

Electric Blue

Bashful Blonde

One of my favorite lines from their website says:  "Please remember, Kitty Wigs should only be used with human supervision and introduced slowly."  Because the cat might just realize what you're trying to do to it and justifiably bite you.

Wheelchair Bike

For those who can't use their legs, but would still like to pedal from place to place.

Anti-Eating Mask

For those of you who can't lose weight because of impulsive eating.  It's functional and stylish.  Anyone ever seen "Silence of the Lambs"...?

Fire Alarm Trap

Tired of pranksters pulling the fire alarm for fun?  This nifty device traps the hand of the person that pulls the fire alarm until the police or fire department arrive with a key to unlock them.  That is, of course, unless it's a real fire...then they just burn up.  But hey, at least everyone else got out ok, right?

Puzzle Alarm Clock

As if you're not mad enough in the morning when the alarm clock goes off...

When this alarm clock goes off the puzzle pieces are catapulted into the air.  So not only do you get awoken by an annoying alarm and puzzle pieces raining down on you head, the alarm will not stop until you put all the pieces back in.  Rooting behind the nightstand for that elusive piece really gets the morning juices flowing and starts the day off on a happy note.

Inflatable Dart Board

This one speaks for itself, although I must mention that it does come with a handy hole patch kit.

Twirling Spagetti Fork & Ice Cream Cone

These next two take laziness to an all time low.

Men's Underwear Repair Kit

For the most frugal of us...

i-Phone Fingers

I've never seen an i-Phone, but don't they come with a stylus that you can use so you don't smudge the screen?  These latex finger guards are just going to freak people out.

 Finger Food Finger Plate

This would never work for me.  Heck, even the little plates they have at parties aren't big enough.

 The next few come from our friends overseas.

Say-A-Blessing Reminder

I'm not Jewish, but it's gotta be hard to remember all those little prayers during all those holidays.  Now you don't have to.  Just schlep over to the dinner table and play your "Say-A-Blessing Prayer Reminder".

And some Japanese inventions that need no explanation.

Paranoia?

My mother was trying to find some handgun ammunition to bring on her visit last weekend so she could practice a little shooting with her new handgun.  After trying two different Walmarts she gave up and came with the fifty round box she had on her.

I was a little surprised that two Walmarts would be out of ammo.  A Walmart in one town might be having shipping problems, but two different Walmarts in two different towns?  This indicates a widespread shortage.

I decided to mosey on down to the local gun shop while I was in town to see if this kind of thing had spread.  I had heard of hords of folks filling gun shops at all hours, and people were finding it hard to talk to the clerks because they were so busy.

I found exactly the opposite.  The place was dead silent.  There was not a sole in there except for the three clerks manning the place.  When I inquired about what they had in stock as far as pistols, they laughed and pointed me to the counter.  There were pistols on the shelves, but nowhere near the number I have seen before.  Whole shelves lay empty of any firearms.  Likewise, there was ammo on the shelves, but nowhere near the amount there should have been.  Talking to the clerks, they said the gun manufacturers and ammo manufacturers just can't produce the stuff fast enough.  There are weeks of back logs on orders for both.

As I stood and listened to the clerks muse amongst each other for probably the hundredth time about the reasons for this state of affairs, I heard several theories that probably are each partly true.

Here's my take on it.  Obviously, some kind of paranoia has gripped the gun community.  Paranoia about what?  I think it depends on the person.  I think most of this is coming from current gun owners.  I don't see many first time gun owners swooping in to buy guns for the first time, but there are a few. 

My theory is that about 80% of these panic buyers are afraid of our new President's intentions towards guns.  There's been talk of nation-wide mandatory gun registration, raising taxes on ammunition, closing the gun show "loophole" (which is in no way a loophole), and banning assault weapons again.  A new assault weapons ban could also have indirect effects on other semi-automatic firearms.  I think these people are panic buying in anticipation of some set of sweeping anti-gun legislation.  Do I agree with their perception?  To some degree.  I think if the Obama adminstration tries inacting gun-control measures their going to find resistance from Congress and the NRA.  It think they'll be able to get some things passed, but not nearly to the level that some people think.  I don't forsee Gestapo gun-police showing up to my door to take my guns.  We're not there yet people.

Another 10% of the panic buyers are the "survivalists".  These are the people who think the economy is going to collapse and their going to have to defend their food stores from would-be theives.  I'm sure some of the survivalists are part of the 80% discussed above, but their main fear is economic ruin, not anti-gun legislation.

The last 10% are what I deem as "opportunists".  They're smart enough to know that when demand exceeds supply, prices go up.  They're buying now so they can turn around it sell it later for a profit.

I really don't fall squarely into any of these categories.  We have a healthy, but not egregious, amount of ammo stored, but we always have.  I went out and bought ammo more because I was afraid of a shortage rather than because of any of the other things I talked about.

If the world doesn't end by summer, I have a feeling that the panic will subside and gun/ammo manufacturers will increase supply enough to meet in the middle.  The end result, unfortunately, will be inflated ammo and gun prices.  Such is the free market, while it lasts.

Camping Trip

We went on our first camping trip in our new camper this week in order to celebrate DS1's 6th birthday.  We were going to leave on Feb. 10th, so we could sightsee on the 11th (his birthday), but strong thunderstorms were forecast for the Glen Rose area.  We had the flexibility to postpone it a day, which is nice.  It's a good thing we did.  The Dallas area had some tornadoes the night of the 10th, and pretty violent thunderstorms.  The next few days were supposed to be beautiful, so we left the 11th for Glen Rose and were not disappointed. 

We got to our campsite at Dinosaur Valley State Park around 2 pm, and set up. 

Then it was off to look at the dinosaur tracks and life-sized statues at the park. 

The next morning we headed to Fossil Rim Wildlife Park, which I think was the highlight of the trip.  We saw TONS of animals right up close.  They came up right to the van and we got lots of good pictures.

They had a petting zoo as well, with the obligatory goats to pet.  Come on!  We need some original petting zoo animals.  If I wanted to pet a goat I've got friends that will let me pet theirs for free!  Oh well.  The kids liked it.

After lunch we headed to Dinosaur World, right near the state park.  They had lots of life-sized dinosaur statues to look at during a walk through their park trail. 

DS1 had a blast pretending he was hunting dinosaurs.  After seeing how large a real T-Rex would be he commented:  "I don't know what I was thinking when I thought I could catch a T-Rex.  They're huge!"  Apparently he had it all planned out until he actually saw one.  I had no idea.

We packed up Friday morning, went to see a few more dino tracks, and then headed home.  It was a great trip.  It got dark early, since it's winter, so we were a little crammed in the camper trying to keep the kids entertained, but the nights were pleasant with the space heaters going and the nice soft beds.  Having a camper makes camping just a tad more convenient, and we felt much less dirty coming home after 2 nights than we used to when we tent camped.  DW really liked having a sink with warm water that she could wash her face and the dishes in.  My pioneer ancestors would be laughing at us.

Truck or Trailer?

When we first moved to the country, we knew immediately we would need something with which to haul things...dirty things like brush, dirt, and hay.  I figured a good cheap farm truck was the ticket.  I looked around for one that was in decent shape and wouldn't need extensive work.  If it ran relatively well it would work, aesthetics aside.  I didn't plan on using it much, only when I needed to haul something.

I bought this old 1982 GMC 1500 diesel truck from a friend of my father's who had recently purchased a new one.  It was in good shape for being 25 years old and only had 75,000 original miles on it.  I would have found that hard to believe, except that my grandfather had an old truck ('70's model Ford) that only had 60,000 miles on it when he sold it in the '90s.  When you mostly drive a truck around the farm, it doesn't get many miles put on it.  It has served me well in the 2 years I've had it, and runs great, although it did require a few repairs soon after I bought it.  It was, until we bought our E-350 van, the only vehicle we owned that could tow a trailer.

Since we bought the E-350 and had a hitch installed on it, it has made less and less sense to keep the truck.  I could buy a long trailer for almost as much as the truck cost.  It would haul two-to-three times what the truck can and I wouldn't have to worry about repairs, maintainence, and insurance.

So last week I went out and bought a 16' trailer from a place here in town.  I've already hauled 3 yards of dirt with it, which is three times what I could haul in the truck.  I'm sad to see the truck go, but a trailer just makes more sense.

The truck went up for sale on Craigslist today.  I'm not in a hurry to sell it, which is always nice.  I'm sure someone will find it as good a deal as I did.

My Masterpiece

I'm not sure why the mood struck me, but lately I've really wanted to paint a large Texas flag on the side of our barn.  I like the Texas flag, and that side of the barn faces the road and was just sitting empty.  Anyways, I finally got around to doing it the other day, so here it is.

Sigh....

This "sigh...." is not just directed at Democrats, or President Obama, but all politicians:

When are we going to get politicians to actually live what they preach?

Anyone remember this comment from the campaign trail?

Senator Barack Obama:   "We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK."

Then I saw this today:  

The capital flew into a bit of a tizzy when, on his first full day in the White House, President Obama was photographed in the Oval Office without his suit jacket. There was, however, a logical explanation: Mr. Obama, who hates the cold, had cranked up the thermostat.

"He's from Hawaii, O.K.?" said Mr. Obama's senior adviser, David Axelrod, who occupies the small but strategically located office next door to his boss. "He likes it warm. You could grow orchids in there."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/29/obama-cranks-up-white-hou_n_162127.html

 Sigh....

Time For A Post

I've been struggling with something to post lately as I don't think anything is going on around here that's noteworthy.  But as I think about it more, I guess stuff is happening.

The last couple of weeks have been spent getting the new camper cleaned and ready to camp for DS's birthday in Feb.  We bought some hanging collapsible shelves that will hang from a coat hanger bar inside. 

Each one has six small shelves that we mainly plan to use for clothes storage. 

I also installed some collapsible wire kitchen shelves that are hung from two shower rods behind the sink.  This picture is not of our camper (our camera charger went missing so we can't take pictures), but my shelves look exactly like it.  You can't put anything really heavy on them but dishes, clothing, utensils, food, etc can be stored there.  They don't take that long to set up, but I may only mess with them if we'll be staying in one place a while.

I have also tested the furnace, sanitized the water system, patched a small tear in the canvas (with DW's help), and generally cleaned and stocked it.  We put a lot of our camping stuff in there that we can keep in it permanantly.  Then we pretty much throw food, sleeping bags, and firewood in the van and head off to the great outdoors.

Patty, our little heifer calf, is continuing to grow.  We've had to put her in her pen at night because she is now drinking so much that we don't get any milk in the mornings.  With her penned up we're now getting about 1.5-2 gallons each morning.  I've also started lead training her.  She's still being stubborn but is making progress. 

Pumpkin, our Jersey cow, is eating WAY more hay than I had figured she would this winter.  We've had no winter grazing because up until yesterday, it hadn't rained since October.  She's polishing off a 1000 lb round bale in just under 3 weeks.  I had to go buy some coastal from a local farmer because my hay guy ran out of haygrazer.  She's starting to lose more weight than we'd like.  She's still healthy, but she needs some fresh grass to fatten her back up.  Hopefully spring will come soon, along with some rain, and we can get some pounds on her.

We plan on ordering about 50 meat chickens in May, along with some Cornish roosters and White Rock hens.  We're going to attempt to breed our own meat birds.  Only time will tell if it's worth it.

The garden is still sitting dormant.  We're slowing filling the beds with compost and DW is deep within the planning stages of what we will plant and when.  She's already figured out what seeds she will be purchasing.

I tried out my artistic abilities lately by painting a large Texas flag on the side of our barn.  I think it turned out well.  Once we get the camera working again I'll snap a picture of it.

Other than that, preparations for the new baby are in full swing.  We're trying to get all of our supplies ready and get the house projects done that we want knocked out beforehand.  DW's due date is in 8 weeks, so we figure we've got anywhere from 6-10 weeks left.  It's getting close!

Thank You President Bush

President Bush boarded Air Force One for the last time this week and flew back to Texas and into the annals of history.  I'll be frank right off the bat...George W. Bush was not my favorite president.  There are many decisions he made that I disagreed with, and many have been the conversations between DW and I about how he could have done things better.  We had our differences.

But in the end, I admire the man.  George Bush was my governor, and the man who helped make concealed carry possible in Texas.  He has been my commander-in-chief for the entire length of my military career.  Although I cannot say I liked everything about his presidency, I think the man himself is first rate.  He made many unpopular decisions that he felt in his gut were the right calls.  He endured the most abuse from the media and his public detractors that I've EVER seen leveled at a sitting president.  He has been disrespected, lied about, accused of war crimes, labeled a moron, and put up with treatment that no president has had to live with.  The most admirable thing was that he was always gracious, always understanding, always patient, and always tolerant of this abuse.  I never heard a derisive word about his opponents escape his lips.  Even in his presidential elections he was courteous and respectful.  The man had integrity, to a level we haven't seen from a president in a long while.  He did what he thought was best for his country through terrible times of hardship and trial, and he did it with grace.

For eight years of dedicated service... I thank you.

First Camping Trip Planned

We have planned our first camping trip of 2009 already!  DS1 (Dear son #1) wanted to go somewhere neat for his 6th birthday in February, so we started looking around.  Knowing he LOVES animals and is OBSESSED with dinosaurs, we found the perfect place.  We'll be heading to Dinosaur Valley State Park on February 10th.  They have real dinosaur tracks there the kids can look at and two life-sized dinosaur displays.

On the 11th (his birthday) we're headed to another dinosaur park in the area with more exhibits and life-sized displays.  We'll also be visiting a drive-through safari park, with giraffes and antelope and all that good stuff.  Then we head home on the 12th.  It should be fun, and now with our new camper, we can actually make it a camping trip instead of staying in a hotel (as long as the weather isn't bitterly cold).

I've done some research, and asked advice of other pop up owners.  There is something called Pop-Up Gizmos that are simply reflective material you spread over your tenting.  In the summer it reflects the heat from the sun and keeps your pop up cooler and helps your A/C not have to work as hard.  In the winter, you flip them over and they help insulate the inside and hold heat in.  People have said they make a substantial difference and are worth it.  I've also learned that as long as the temps don't dip too low (below 25 degrees) electric space heaters will keep the pop up warm.  This allows you to set the furnace to a low temperature, like 60 degrees, so it only kicks on when the space heaters can't keep up.  Using the campsites electricity first is cheaper than burning up a whole tank of propane keeping the furnace going.  We bought a ceramic heater, which is much safer inside tents as there's no glowing hot element that can catch canvas on fire.

The nights should be warm and toasty and the days should be cool in the 60's...warm enough to hang out outside.

We're excited to try this baby out! (ok, maybe I'm more excited than DW, but she's still excited)

We Bought A Camper!

We weren't really looking for one because I had long since determined they were out of our price range.  The ones that were affordable were too old to be any good for long.  Then, lo and behold, I was perusing Craig's List and found an older (1999) pop up camper in Abiliene that was extremely well taken care of.  The owner had stored it in his garage it's whole life and had only used it maybe 40 nights total in 10 years.  It was a great deal and a price we were able and willing to pay.  And, the seller is an Aggie, so I know he's honest.  I've bought so many great things from Aggies lately (cow, truck, and now a camper).

A pop up really suits our needs.  We're not looking to do a lot of long distance camping trips.  Mostly just weekend stuff.  Pop ups are economical, and have great amenities.  They take a while to set up and take down, which is why a travel trailer is probably better for frequent travelers.  For our situation, a pop up is perfect.  It makes camping just a little more comfortable and allows us to camp further into summer and winter.  With an A/C and furnace, we can camp in hotter and colder months that would have had us putting our tent away.  It can sleep 8 adults, or 2 parents and a lot of kids. 

It almost feels like treason to stop camping in tents since my days in Boy Scouts.  I still love tent camping and plan to take my kids on backpacking camping trips when they're older.  I mainly bought this camper because I want to camp more, and with little kids and a frequently pregnant wife, I was only going to get there if I added a little more comfort to our excursions.  They're excited.

Here it is.

Emergency Water Supply

It has often worried me that in the advent of an extended power outage we would be totally without water.  We could make due in other areas.  We could cook over a fire in our cast iron cookware or cook on the propane grill.  We could build a fire in the fireplace for warmth or sit outside in the shade in summer to stay cool.  But we have literally no way to get water.  We are not near any above ground water sources and we have no windmill on our property.  We might do fine with bottled water, but the animals drink a lot.  One cow can drink about a bathtub full of water everyday.  Not to mention the fact that bottled water could become scarce in an extended power outage.  The situation could become serious quickly.

To combat this, I have considered two possible solutions.  One would be to have an electrician rig our well pump to run off of generator power.  We have a 6000 watt generator that has more than powerful enough to run it.  It's just that we currently have no way to connect it to the generator.  I called an electrician out before Christmas for an estimate, but have not heard back from him yet.  The second option would be to install a hand pump.  Bison pumps has a deep well model that can pull water up from 200 feet.  I'm fairly certain our well sits at about 75 feet.  The best part is that it can use the same well shaft as your electric pump, so we could install it in our pumphouse beside our existing pump.  It's also easily installable by the purchaser as long as they have a person to help them feed the sucker rods down into the well.

The hand pump would probably run us about $1500, but it would be a permanent solution.  They require little mantainance, and from everything I can tell they are fairly easy to service or repair.  I'll have to wait on the electrician's estimate to make my final decision.  I may end up doing both.  We'll just have to see.

High Speed Internet?

After two years of dial-up internet, I was getting pretty tired of it.  We had DSL when we lived in Louisiana and I got spoiled.  We don't have DSL access out here in the country (yet) so we were relegated to dial-up unless we wante to spend $60 a month on satellite internet.  Nope, doesn't appeal to my frugal side.

So yesterday we took the plunge and purchased wireless internet.  The company had to install an antenna on the roof that intercepts a signal from broadcast towers.  It's still slow compared to what we had, but not waiting 30 seconds for each webpage to load is a Godsend. 

So now we're cruisin' at 256K instead of 56K.  My coworkers were laughing at me.  256K is pretty slow compared with their 8Mb per second cable internet, but you take what you can get when you live out here.  The best thing is that we really are not paying anymore than we did for dialup.  In fact, we're actually saving $5 per month.  Our dial-up cost $15 per month and the wireless costs $30.  However, now we can get Vonage phone service to use through our internet connection.  That saves us $20 per month on our phone bill.  So we get faster internet and unlimited long distance for $5 cheaper a month. 

Can't beat that.

Calf Swap?

No, it's nothing like that horrid show "Wife Swap". 

When I announced Patty's birth on a family cow forum we frequent (I know, there's a on-line forum for everything!) a lady in Conroe, TX was lamenting that we were going to eat a perfectly good heifer while she couldn't get her cow to give her a heifer calf.  Her cow had given her three bull calves in a row.  She floated the idea of swapping calves.  I have to admit I was surprised anyone would want a Jersey/Angus cross as a milk cow, but if she wants it that's her business.

At first I was not keen on the idea.  Why pay gas money to drive 3.5 hours (meeting her halfway) and risk Pumpkin not accepting the new calf for a one-to-one swap?  Then she offered to drive the whole 6 hours here to swap.  Hmmm.  She also suggested waiting until the calves are 6 months-old to make the trade.  That way, if either cow wouldn't accept their new calves, they could just be weaned.  Even though we don't really stand to gain anything from the swap, I figured we'd do her a favor.  All we care about is filling our freezer, so what's the difference?  Besides, in a few years when we're trying to raise a replacement heifer, if Pumpkin keeps having bull calves, we may be begging this woman for one of her heifer calves.  She breeds Dexters, which are a good dual-purpose breed.   They don't give as much milk, but have better meat qualities. 

So, it looks like we'll swap sometime in June.  She suggested we leave the bull uncastrated so that he could breed Pumpkin after her next calf sometime in 2010.  Not a bad idea.  She halter trains all her calves and handles them extensively, so the bull would be used to people.  Plus she added that Dexter bulls are more docile.  I suppose if he started showing signs of aggression we could always castrate him then.

We may still slaughter him before he has the chance to breed Pumpkin.  It kind of depends on how our freezer beef is holding out.  If we stretch it out and eat more "other" meats (pork, chicken, turkey, deer) then it will probably work.

So, barring any mind-changing, the bull calf you see here will come live with us in June.

New Calf!

Pumpkin (our Jersey cow) had her calf yesterday, and poor DW missed it.  She's been faithfully checking her everyday and getting up a 2 A.M. every night to try to catch her in labor so she can see the birth.  I guess it just wasn't meant to be.  While she was gone to Walmart yesterday with the kids, Pumpkin decided it was time.  It's a healthy heifer calf and we named her Patty (short for Hamburger Patty; she's destined for the freezer).  She's a beautiful Jersey/Angus cross.  She was up on her feet in no time and drinking from mom.  Pumpkin passed the placenta with no problems a few hours later.  That may seem gross to mention for those of you who don't breed animals, but it's very important to make sure the mom passes it.  If she doesn't, it could cause an infection that, at the worst could kill her and at best cause her to be unbreedable in the future. 

Pumpkin chose to have the calf about as far from the road as possible, which I completely understand.  Cows seek solitude when giving birth.  We tried to lure her up to the barn so we could milk out some colostrum that evening, but she wouldn't budge.  I had to pick up the calf and carry it to the barn to get her to follow.  She wasn't happy about me taking her calf away, but she wasn't aggressive.  She just followed and acted concerned.  They're both up at the barn now getting acquanted.  We were glad Pumpkin calved when she did.  It's been in the 20's at night here lately but yesterday afternoon was relatively warm and sunny and the low didn't drop below freezing last night.

Here are some pics of Patty just after birth and then a few more from this morning.

Reason #2348 that Homesteaders are Weird

#2348:  They get excited at seeing stringy mucus on their cow's "unmentionable".  No, they're not sickies.  They're just excited that their cow will soon give birth and start milking again.

Due Date:  15 Dec

Yep.

St. Louis City Leader Says Police Ineffective, Tells Residents to Get Armed

ST. LOUIS —  A St. Louis city leader frustrated with the police response to rising crime called Tuesday on residents to arm themselves to protect their lives and property.

Alderman Charles Quincy Troupe said police are ineffective, outnumbered or don't care about the increase in crime in his north St. Louis ward. St. Louis has had 157 homicides in 2008, 33 more than last year at this time.

"The community has to be ready to defend itself, because it's clear the economy is going to get worse, and criminals are getting more bold," Troupe, 72, said Tuesday.

Troupe said that when he and residents approached a district police commander last year, they were told "there was nothing he could do to protect us and the community ... that he didn't have the manpower."

Police did not immediately return requests for comment. Chief Dan Isom told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he understands Troupe's frustration but doesn't support citizens arming themselves.

Carrying guns, he said, is not a "recipe for a less violent community."

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,460725,00.html

Of course, the last line kills me.  Citizens arming themselves is not a recipe for a less violent community?  Why, because criminals are MORE likely to break into homes where they think the homeowners will shoot at them?  The logic here astounds me.

Funny Motivational Poster of the Week

If there's any question as to whether democracy and capitalism equal prosperity, the above picture is your answer.

New Family Heirlooms

I got these a couple of months ago, but just got my camera back from the shop today, so now I can post a picture.  These are three recently acquired firearms.  The one on the left is nothing special.  I didn't have a hunting rifle and wanted one, so I bought a Savage .30-06 with a scope package from Walmart.  I really like it.

The middle gun is a small pump-action .22 LR that my grandfather bought just after his return from World War II.  It's got to be at least 62 years old.  It has a little damage on the stock from a fire that burned down my grandfather's house when my dad was in college.  It still works like a charm.  That's one new family heirloom.

The second heirloom is the gun on the right.  It was my greatgrandfather's 12-gauge shotgun made in 1906.  It stll works!  These are guns I plan on taking VERY good care of and passing onto my kids one day.