Yikes!!!

Has is really been three months since I posted?! So much has happened this summer and I can't believe I didn't blog about it! Oh well, here's what has happened.

When we last checked in on the Arndt farm we had taken Ripple home and were anxiously waiting for Bonnie to miss a heat cycle. Well, she did and then nine days later she got into horsetail (which stimulates uterine contractions) and lost the calf. I wasn't sure that it had happened since she wasn't here at that stage of her pregnancy with Cody. I marked it on the calendar and twenty days later she tried to jump Cody, bled off two days later and I was sure she had slipped the calf. Well, Mom pulled rank and called the neighbors before I could get Ripple's owners on the phone and we brought a little Dexter/Jersey cross bull over to try again. I was not told he was a cross or I might have gotten my way with Ripple but it is what it is. His name is Lou Lou and he is so LITTLE!! Cody, 400 lbs, is just a little smaller than Lou Lou and they spent Monday night pushing and shoving and being boys. Lou Lou won the test and was able to guard his new woman until she was in heat Tuesday night. Since she started standing for him about 7 pm Tuesday night I'm not sure if he ever got the job done but we'll know for sure in 21 days. I've heard that, if the size difference isn't too great, they will find a way. Just to be sure I am going to bring Ripple back on October 11-14. If she doesn't settle to Lou Lou then Ripple will be there to take care of business, and if she does settle to Lou Lou then I can be sure of it, based on Ripple's behavior. If she settles to Lou Lou and has a heifer then I have a plan in place for sending her to a happy future as someone's milk cow. If it's a bull then he will be castrated and eaten. I am not going to try and breed a mongrel bull to anyone's cows.Lou Lou, Cody and Bonnie

Cody is still growing like a weed on his mama's milk. We are still getting 1/2 gallon, milking once a day and that is still fine for us. It gets a little on the skimpy side sometimes but then we milk and we have milk again!! I'm getting closer and closer to being settled on his future. By the time he is big enough to butcher I'll be more than happy to see him go I'm thinking, especially when I walk the store aisles looking at grain-fed beef selling for $5 per lb. We can raise Cody for less than that!!

Next summer I will be buying some meat chickens early in the spring and we'll butcher in the fall. I refuse to buy the hybridized excuses for chicken that they call the Cornish X, but I might try Freedom Rangers. They are hybridized for faster growth as well, but not at the expense of their hearts, lungs and legs like the Cornish X. I've heard good things about them so we'll see. A hatchery in Sterling has many heritage breeds so I might get some and compare the two for flavor and vigor. Mom wants a laying flock but I'm not sure how feasible that will be next year. I've discovered that introducing one new project a year is perfect for my family. Trying more than that and something ends up being neglected or just plain forgotten.
The south side of the barn

The barn is getting there. Charlie came down for two weeks to help put the walls up but had to leave before they were completely leveled and in their permanent positions. Being around them when nothing but ropes were holding them up was freaking me out. I hate moving them with the handiman jack cause I can see it slipping, shooting into me or Dad, the wall falling and squishing me, a family member, a pet or all three. Thankfully they are in their permanent positions, balanced on concrete blocks, more concrete blocks and wood blocks. One wall ended up about 2 feet off the ground, just to be level but that's what we get for living on a hill. Dad has the corral door framed and we're just waiting on PFD's to be able to finish it off. When the floor is in the hay loft then Dad will be up there building trusses and we're hoping Charlie can come down for a couple days to help set them and get the tin on. Dad wants to be able to store this year's hay up there but I might end up buying the 1,200 lb round bales and those will be hard to get up there! We'll see what happens.

Mom is nearly at her breaking point at work. Her supervisor is addled and not really up to doing the job anymore. Unfortunately, she's union so there's nothing that can be done. We're just hoping Mom can outlast her.

Dad may have a part-time job as a jack-of-all-trades at the neighbor's. The gentleman has three businesses going and needs consistent help that's also reliable. Dad fits both criteria. They attend church at the Baptist church a few miles away so our schedules are the same as well. I have a job there for the winter at least, helping the wife while she homeschools the three older children. I'll be riding herd on the three little ones, 4, 2ish and 5 months. I'm kind of looking forward to it. They do things different than I do and she is a different kind of mother than I will be but she's nice and she's willing to let me handle the babies as I need to. I'll also be doing chores outside as needed, which is great since they own Lou Lou and his Dexter lady, Daisy. I think Daisy is bred and due this spring. I need to get my hands on her to know, but she's not that docile right now. They've only had her since early summer so she's not entirely comfortable with them yet. I am really excited to work with their cows and maybe see their calf hit the ground. The wife is very "into" farming. She was raised up north so this is her first opportunity to be a farm wife and she is like a sponge!

The turkey front is not looking good. Marathon Oil Company brush hogged the pipeline, ten feet from our turkey coop. The excitement and stress of protecting his ladies from the attack was too much for poor Tom and his heart gave out. He left no offspring to comfort his widows. He died a hero's death and will be honored at Thanksgiving... with a roast.
The hatchery in Sterling also carries Bourbon Red Turkeys, which are an heritage breed. I'm going to buy six or so this spring and keep a tom to breed my Standard Bronze girls. I think the cross would be much more marketable than a straight Bronze. Tom, dressed, weighs about 50 lbs and not very many people need a turkey that big. I'd love for them to be profitable.

Okay, you are all caught up and I make no promises that you will hear from me again before Christmas!!

~Pam

It's me again!!

Wow this summer sure has flown by! It's the middle of July already, Bonnie is (hopefully) pregnant again and the sun is finally shining. If you'll harken back to my previous post I was complaining about the lack of rain and the heat, well we've had two weeks of rain and near freezing temperatures at night. I just can't win!!!!

On the up side, we had a bull visiting from Homer this week. Dad and I went and picked him up on Monday, Bonnie was in standing heat on Tuesday, Dad and I took him home on Thursday. I really hope she took and I don't have to get him again. He's very calm and even-tempered but he's still over 1,000 lbs of hormonal male animal and he's a little intimidating. Dad and I had to lead him about 100 feet to the corral when we got him home and it was HARROWING!! Cody, tied on the outside of the corral to keep him out of the way in case Ripple decided to make a run for it, decided he didn't like the new guy and challenged him. Ripple didn't care that the challenger was a baby, he started pawing and snorting but Cody didn't shut up. Bonnie was tied inside the corral and she was very, very curious about Ripple. She was one day from standing heat so her hormones were raging and she was trying to get Ripple to come close enough to smell but not close enough to mount her. Ripple does have a mind of his own and no ring in his nose so he pretty much goes where he wants, when he wants. He is considered uncontainable so he is tethered all the time. I was terrified that he'd bend the stake we had him on, break through the fence and wander to the highway, getting plastered by some little old man and his wife in their rented motor home in the process. EEK!! Dad pounded two stainless steel rods into the ground right next to the other post so he was held by a steel post and two stainless ones. I wanted the third one because it is so tall. Bonnie can run in a circle and her chain will fling right off her stake so the tall post prevented that from happening as Ripple walked in circles following Bonnie around the corral. If I have him back next summer I think the tall stainless will suffice. He was so incredibly patient in his wooing of Bonnie. He tried so hard to get her to come close enough to smell on Monday night and Tuesday morning but as soon as she was ready she walked right to him. I've got it marked on the calendar so I know when to start watching for signs that she's going back into heat and she starts that early enough that I have lots of time to get him again if I need to.

Cody is still being a baby bull, goofy and testing boundaries. I measured him on his 3 month birthday and he weighs 278 lbs!! He is getting big so fast and I know that I really need to be on my toes to make sure he knows his place. It's important that he grows up as a subordinate cow, not the boss. Bonnie is pretty god about keeping him in line, but he will probably take her place as top cow before the winter is over.
The milking is going amazingly well. I am still separating 8 hours a day cause Cody has a little more growing to do before I'm comfortable separating for longer and I am still getting half a gallon a day, sometimes a little more. I want him to get the best start so he grows quickly and gets to the size he needs to be, whichever way his life goes. He is for sale, available in October, if anybody wants him!!! (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)

This is Ripple



Cody at 3 months old

After 18 years, Midnight has finally left us. She got sick a couple weeks ago but was eating and drinking just fine so I didn't worry too much. I did what I could to help her recover and I told her last night that I didn't want to have to make the decision for her, so if she was going to go, then go. It's much easier when pets go on their own terms since there's no what-ifs. She will be missed.

Busy, busy, busy

Sorry for the delay in posting!!!
Okay, life as a milkmaid is MUCH better. Cody is learning how to graze and I started separating them for a few hours about three weeks ago. It went to 8 hours separated last week and Bonnie is settling nicely into the routine. I get half a gallon a day now, YIPEE!!!!! She lets down her milk without having Cody in there nursing sometimes, but usually I have to use him. Mom has decided she likes milking so I'm the calf wrangler. I measured Cody, to figure his weight and he's around 135 lbs now. He's getting pretty shaggy, instead of fuzzy but he's still the cutest thing! His horns have erupted through the skin and are about half an inch long now. Lead training is going really great, most of the time!!
On memorial day the family, India and Phaedra went to Homer to meet the family who owns Bonnie's next baby-daddy. He's so beautiful!! I just LOVE Highlands! The family isn't "into" Highlands like Obsidian's owner and I though. They run a head of 30 Angus up on Kachemak Bay, above Homer. They have a few cows that spend all year by the house, the Highland, their Yak cow, a couple Galloway and some milk cow/Angus crosses that they use for milk. They really like the novelty of the Galloway, Highland and Yak. I had my camera with me but it never occurred to me to take a picture of any of their critters! I will take some while he's here, at the end of July.
Hm, so far this year we have pitiful grass, not enough rain and it's been too hot. I really need it to cool off and rain for about a week so the grass will get a move on and Bonnie can start putting on weight. Her milk is nice and yellow but she is too skinny.
The turkeys are breeding... sorta. One of the hens is nice and broody but the other one is injured somehow and she's not really in the mood to sit a nest. The tom is strutting around, flexing his wings and turning colors but his job is done for the year. I really need to get their pasture fenced off so he and the injured hen can run around outside and leave the nesting hen alone. Her nest was scattered today, probably by the tom but I gathered her eggs up and gave them back to her in the other nest box. Hopefully they didn't get too cold and will be fine. I'll candle them pretty soon also. I'm really hoping for a few poults this year.
That's all the new news I can think of for the moment so, until next time.
Later,
~Pam
AIN'T HE JUST THE CUTEST THING?!

This is three days worth of milk. The creamline is much better when she lets down without Cody.

Wow!!

Having a milk cow is very different than I thought it would be! Hopefully, it will get better. I have to keep reminding Dad that he's never been in this territory either!
Bonnie isn't giving much milk, but that's because she doesn't have much... yet. Her calf's name is Buffalo Bill (Cody). I call him Cody and he is a tremendous help when I'm milking. She stands very still while he's nursing, lets down great and lets me milk the other side. When he isn't nursing she is kicky, tail-swatty and cranky. I had to use the Kick Stop on her yesterday because Cody wasn't interested in helping me. I hope he's hungry today! When I get a halter for him I plan on separating them for a couple hours before milking, just to make sure he's hungry. I don't want to separate them for a long time since she doesn't have much milk and he needs the best start he can get. It's fairly common for first-timers to not have much milk. With each lactation, amounts go up so hope springs eternal.

~Pam

Happy Birthday!

The Arndt family farm has grown by four feet! Bonnie's bull calf was born at 12:35 am, today. She was in active labor for a couple hours and pushed him into the world standing up, completely silent, in six big pushes. He's fuzzy and adorable and nearly dry. I took him into the laundry room after seven hours because the temps dipped to freezing and it started snowing. He's almost ready to be reunited with his worried mother. She is calling for him and he's getting hungry. He had colostrum before I took him and she's got three more quarters ready and waiting for him. Hopefully he dries fast cause the window for the colostrum to be most effective is closing fast. Here's pictures of his first few hours:

He'd just hit the ground! She was more interested in the flashlight. Goofy cow


I moved him to a bed of hay, that he refused to stay on or near. He was on his feet in 15 minutes.


What on EARTH just happened to me?! He's fuzzier now and dried to a reddish-brown.

More pictures of him dry and them together to come soon.

Later,
~Pam

Springtime in Alaska

It's not pretty, or lush or gradual. Springtime in our part of Alaska is a three day event, beginning with sunshine and ending with rain. Okay, I exaggerate! But not by much. We've been in the 40's this week and I think spring has most definitely sprung. No calf yet, but she's getting closer and closer. More experienced eyes tell me she should go right on schedule but Bonnie is a contrary cow and can't make things easy on me. She'll probably calve on Easter, while I'm at church and Mom is in the house!!! I wouldn't put it past her.
Here are some pics from our place this spring... Enjoy!
~Pam

It's a stream of water, not an icicle... or snot



Dirt!!!!






They weren't doing anything cause he was more worried about me than her. She just refused to move when he stepped on her.

Milk Training!!

I was outside shooting another video for the series I'm doing on milk training and I got a really good video of Bonnie's calf rolling and flipping inside of her. I've never seen or felt it so distinctly.

~Pam

The rest of the month...

I intended to post the meals each day but... best laid plans of mice and men. Okay, here they are, again, missing a few because I forgot to take pictures.

Hasenpfeffer, Spaetzle and Blaukraut


Two showshoe hares, thawing. I cooked a chicken leg for my mother since she doesn't like rabbit.




Blaukraut is braised cabbage.


Maybe it's the German heritage, but I really liked this.

Spetsiota and Salad




Onion, olive, cucumber, tomato and feta salad. It's your standard, Big Fat Greek Salad and is a staple in Mediterranean countries.


Spetsiota (Halibut and Tomatoes)


Yummy!

Chicken Poutine

I spent hours trying to find the best way to make my fries crispy. I settled on blanching them in sugar water. The water's brown because I use succanat, instead of white sugar.


Brown gravy, made from scratch.


This was FABULOUS!! And so very worth the wait.

Meatloaf, baked potatoes and green beans


This is the only picture I took of this meal and it's the ingredients for the meatloaf. My bad!

Bao and egg noodles


I made my own five-spice mixture. I forget what's in it but it's an easy recipe to find.


The dough was really, really soft and very sticky.


I put them in this pan to rise, intending to steam them, as the directions call for but they stuck together. I put on an egg-wash and baked them instead. They still turned out wonderful.


If I'd had snow peas I would have used them instead but, anyway. I started preparing this meal at noon and had it done around 6:30. The dough needs three rises.

Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes and corn


Dad's birthday meal.


I ate too much and hurt myself so badly. But, I remembered to make enough potatoes for leftovers!! I'm always bummed when there's no more potatoes.

Bouillabaisse


Get started about two hours early on this cause there are a lot of steps. Almost as many as the Bao.


I ate a couple pieces of toast, dipping it in the Rouille while I was making the toast.

Jerk pork, rice and peas

Sped steaks. That's the color of them!


Marinating overnight in the fridge.


Dad was the only one who liked this meal. I might try a different recipe for the marinade if I made this again.

Well, that's all so far.

~Pam

Last Week's Food

This is going to be very picture heavy and yet it will be leaving out a few meals cause I forgot to take pictures... oops. Enjoy!

Two packages of halibut and a package of black bass, thawing in the sink


I decided to make thick fries. They were thicker than this picture makes them seem.


My super, duper favorite fryer. I use it a LOT.


This is Dad's favorite fry mix. We can't get it here so a friend of ours (Jason) gets it from his mom in Michigan and brings it to us.


Fish and chips, Alaskan style. The dip is honey mustard since Dad dislikes vinegar and we didn't have mayo or sweet pickles to make tartar sauce.

Next, was Matzo Ball Soup, again, Alaskan style

I mixed the dough about four hours ahead of time and set it in the fridge. When I do it again, I'll make it the night before and mix it better.


Chicken, carrots, green beans and broccoli simmering away in stock.

When the carrots were nearly done I added the matzo balls and clapped the lid on for about half an hour... they were big matzo balls!

Yummy!

Next, is Hasenpfeffer, Spaetzle and Blaukraut but I'm having issues with the mouse so it may be awhile before I get those pictures posted.

~Pam

Ribs, Potato Salad, Corn

Since Mom fixed chicken strips and french fries last night I just couldn't bring myself to do the fish and chips. So, I did the ribs that were scheduled for tomorrow. Enjoy!


Thawed ribs, ready for rub


Homemade BBQ sauce. I didn't care for it but everyone else said it was good. I didn't follow a recipe, just threw stuff in from memory.



Potato salad, ready for mixing

Yummy! I ate one rib since they are so big. Uncle Dave walked into the kitchen sucking BBQ sauce off his fingers, lol.

~Pam