Hay Weather, Weaning Calves, Mad Farmer

Mother Nature certainly flipped the switch from spring to summer on us. Freezer work filling orders actually felt refreshing. After getting a batch of almost 700 chicks settled in the brooder last Friday, we spent a few hours filling coolers and orders for Saturday’s herd share deliveries to both Marion and Abingdon. Then it was to the hay field mowing hay til dark. 

Saturday was our biggest meat delivery day of the month. I loaded Amy’s coolers early for the Abingdon Farmers Market. Then Carter and Wren moved chickens and cows with me before making our deliveries to Marion. Over 1000 pounds of real farm raised beef, chicken, and pork delivered to families in Southwest Virginia. I mowed a few more acres of hay before running the tedder over hay downed the day before. 

Chores and church Sunday morning. Another hot afternoon. It would’ve been a great day for making hay, but it turned out to be an even better day for resting by the river. Though it’s our favorite spot to spend Sunday afternoons, this was the first time this year making it down to the sycamore’s shade by the stream. Re-watering the chickens in the field and checking on the chicks in the brooder before resuming a restful evening on the front porch, watching the lightning bug show. 

More freezer work Monday morning to prep for Amy’s afternoon deliveries to Chilhowie and Abingdon. With a cabin turnover that day, Amy cleaned the cabin while I mowed the cabin yard. Then we both went to the hay field. She raked while I rolled. The kids entertained themselves in the shade along the edge of the field. She had over half the field raked before needing to leave for meat deliveries. I kept raking and rolling.

Hopping back and forth between the tedder, rake, and baler on Tuesday. Again, thankful for no breakdowns. Finished with time to mow the other cabin yard and add bedding for the pigs at the barn. Amy’s kept the on-farm kitchen smelling good all week with multiple batches of beef and chicken broth simmering. 

I got Amy back on the tractor Wednesday moving hay bales off the fields. After getting all the hay hauled, we had an early (for us) dinner before going back out to wean some calves that evening. Not wanting to sort cows in the heat of the day, we waited until around 7:45 before penning up the herd of about 135 head. Hallie and Hasten took turns working one of the sorting gates. One of the cows was crazy and uncooperative. Hallie told me to go ahead a shoot it. She wasn’t kidding. Hasten, being the literal thinker than he is and not wanting the meat to go to waste if we shot it, recommended shooting the cow then processing the meat on the farm like we do the chickens. Needing to sort them into three different groups, we ran out of daylight and decided to finish the sorting first thing the next day. 

We had the sorting finished by 7:00 the next morning. A group of momma cows to preg check next week, a group of heifers to turn the bull in with, and about 30 calves to wean. And we didn’t even have to shoot the crazy cow. Then Amy went to the post office for another couple hundred baby chicks in the brooder, making for a later and sweatier start to our morning chores. 

The driest week we’ve had in a while. Almost completely dry if not for a couple showers Thursday afternoon. Only about .1” but enough to dampen the ground and cool things off. A hot and tiring but good week. A lot to be thankful for. Freezers keeping meat frozen in this heat, equipment running like it’s supposed to despite my tendencies to tear stuff up, families continuing to eat the meat our farm produces, our kids tagging along with uncomplaining attitudes.

I did some more porch reading from The Mad Farmer Poems by Wendell Berry

Here’s a few lines from “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front”

“So, friends, every day do something 
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace 
the flag. Hope to live in that free 
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot 
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man 
has not encountered he has not destroyed.” 

“Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful 
though you have considered all the facts.” 

Have a good week.

Will