Organic weed control

Two years ago, we participated in a county program in which workers came in and cleared out severely overgrown underbrush for purposes of fire mitigation.

Part of our contractual obligation to participate in this program is to maintain the condition of the property after the brush was removed (in other words, not to let it get overgrown again). In talking over how best to do this with the rep, we mentioned we were getting cows at some future point.

She was delighted. "Cows are one of the very best ways to control weeds!"

Of course she's right. The condition of the sacrifice pasture after the cows finished with it is proof enough.

Part of our intense rotation for the cows, therefore, is weed control. At this time of year, grass is growing fast and growing thick. We're managing the cows so they can eat things down without leaving them so long in any one place that they damage the baseline plant growth. Later in the summer, when the grass stops growing and things dry out, we'll have to be careful that the cows don't overgraze anything.

One of the places the cows had never been is the driveway area between the house and barn. This is staging area where we keep a lot of unkempt and loose stuff: Tractor implements, large items such as the log splitter and a small trailer, and miscellaneous things such as the burn barrel and scrap wood from the shop. It's where we keep rolls of fencing, unsplit log rounds, stacked and tarped lumber, unused cinder blocks, and the tarped hay bales. It's a messy and disorganized area we're not eager for visitors to see, ha ha.

But, because it's spring, many places are getting overgrown with grass between all these items. We really wanted the cows to graze it down, purely for purposes of weed control.

So we worked to cow-proof this section. We fenced off awkward angles against the hillside or in places we didn't want them to go (such as squeezing behind a shed). We picked up anything sharp that might hurt them. And finally, yesterday morning, we opened a connecting gate and called them in.

This is an especially overgrown section of hillside, and we welcomed the cows eating it down.

Of course, being cows, they did a lot of poking around. For obvious reasons, we're keeping the barn and shop doors closed while the animals are in the driveway.

Also, being cows, they're leaving a lot of cow patties. But that's okay. Cow patties aren't a fire hazard, just a walking hazard.

This open gate leads to a side chute against the barn, which in turn leads to the water tank at the back of the barn. The cows are familiar with the chute and therefore knew were to find water.

There's not enough grass in this section to keep the cows interested for more than two or three days, at which point we'll release them into the newly subdivided large pasture. Later in the summer, we'll probably put them in the driveway again, just to make sure it stays eaten down.

Organic weed control. Gotta love it.

SPAM spam spam spam SPAM spam spam spam

Every once in a while, I check the spam comments on this blog because sometimes a legitimate comment gets caught up in the filter.

I was rewarded with a doozie. Feast your eyes on this, all spelling/punctuation in the original and the most amusing parts highlighted:

CONTACT Mr Dennis Matrio call (+2348128462808 or WhatsApp him through this number +35795543364 or Email: dennismatrio@gmail.com Hello everyone my name is sandy kalipo i am from USA am here to give a testimony on how I joined the illuminati brotherhood, I was trying to join this organization for so many years now,I was conned by fake agent in south Africa and Nigeria,I was down,I could not feed my self and my family anymore and I tried to make money by all miss but all invail, I was afraid to contact any illuminati agent because they have eat my money,One day I came across a post of someone giving a testimony, thanking a man called Dennis Matrio of being helping him to join the illuminati brotherhood, then I look at the man email and the phone number that was written there, it was a nigeria number I was afraid to contact him because a nigerian agent eat my $2000 and go away with the money then I was very tired, confused and I decided to contact the person that was given the testimony and i called him and I communicated with him on phone calls before he started telling me his own story about when he wanted to join, he told me everything to do, then I made up my mind and call the agent called Dennis Matrio and he told me everything to do, and I was initiated, surprisingly I was given my benefit of being a new member of the great illuminati brotherhood I was so happy, For those of you trying to join this organization this is your opportunity for you to join CONTACT MR Dennis Matrio call ( +2348128462808 or WhatsApp him +35795543364 or email: dennismatrio@gmail.com

No red flags here! I'm certain this isn't from a scam artist in Nigeria. No siree.

It reminded me of this clip:

Milking stall and calf pen

Don and I couldn't agree on something. The issue has been nagging at both of us, and we couldn't come up with an adequate solution. I refer to the subject of building a milking stall and calf pen.

Maggie, our Jersey heifer, is getting close to her due date, which we estimate will be toward the end of May, give or take a few days.

What we typically do with our milking cows is to let the calf have unrestricted access to mama's milk for the first week or so. This will insure the baby gets suitable colostrum and an opportunity to bond with mama. Additionally, since this is Maggie's first calf, she'll need a few days to get used to being a mother.

After that, however, it will be time to milk Maggie. And to do this, we need a calf pen where we can separate the calf up at night so I can milk Maggie in the morning. Once-a-day milking will give us plenty of milk and is less stressful for both cow and calf.

But how to build the calf pen and milking stall? That was the question. This is not a trivial issue. These structures will shape the function of the livestock side of the barn for years to come.

The problem is the limited space we have in the barn, which has already been subdivided into multiple uses (storage lofts, tool shop, wood shop, hay storage, etc.).

The space we have dedicated for interior livestock needs (including the feed box) is about 10 feet by 30 feet. With the feed box at one end (taking up 10 feet of space) and a wide center gate (taking up about 9 feet), we wanted to put the calf pen and milking stall at the other end.

This leaves us about 11 feet of room. Ten by eleven feet; that's what we had to work with.

Initially both Don and I had vastly different ideas of how to build these two facilities. His original vision was to put the calf pen on the left, the milking stall in the middle, and the milker (me!) sandwiched between the milking stall and the right-hand wall. (The arrow indicates where Maggie's head will be facing.)

I didn't like this because it only gave me about three feet of space, which didn't give me room to back up or move around. Believe me, when cows decide to let loose and urinate during milking, the milker learns to scramble out of the way, taking the milk buckets with her. I needed space at my back.

My thought was to have a sideways milking stall, with a fold-out gate where I could close it and lock Maggie inside, when me on the outside.

For a variety of reasons, including the difficulty of physically securing a freestanding stall, Don didn't like this idea. Additionally, I would be crouched on a milking stool with my back to the cows while milking, which is a vulnerable position should some other bovine decide to get rambunctious.

We stared at the available space and tried to come up with other options. "Just a crazy outside-the-box thought," I suggested. "What if we put the milking stall along the wall and I milk while inside the calf pen?"

Don didn't like this idea because the calf would be all over the milk buckets while I was milking ... not to mention chewing on my hair and clothing.

Again we stood back and stared at the space. We were stymied, absolutely stymied, as to the best configuration for the milking stall and calf pen.

Finally Don had a brilliant idea, based in part on my last suggestion. He suggested building an inner (calf) pen and outer "milking" pen, with either sliding or swinging gates (we haven't decided) leading into both. The milking stall would push part of the way into the calf pen. The outer "milking" pen, which is where I'll be sitting to milk, will be protected from the other animals, and extra pen space is always a good idea.

So he mocked up the design on the computer, in part to figure out how many posts he'll have to secure to the concrete, etc.

As this project takes physical shape, doubtless we'll be making tweaks and adjustments; but given our space restrictions as well as personal preferences (I like to milk from the cow's right side, for example), this is the very best use of the space we can think of.

Just another example of what it takes to develop infrastructure on a homestead.

The color of sunshine

My beverage of choice is unsweetened decaffeinated sun tea.

In winter, I fill a half-gallon jar with hot water, add three tea bags, and let it steep on the kitchen counter, usually overnight. The result is "sun" tea. Kinda weak, but that's winter for you.

When the weather warms up, though – ah, then I can make real sun tea.

My preferred spot to steep sun tea is where the porch rail wraps around the upright. It faces west, and gets a double whammy of warmth – not just from the sun on one side, but by the reflected heat against the upright on the other. (Plus there's no danger of accidentally knocking it down.)

For obvious reasons I try not to make it until the sun is shining on this corner, and I'll let it steep as long as the sun is shining.

It gets darker and darker as the afternoon wanes. After it's chilled and poured over ice, it makes for a good hearty beverage.

To me, it's the color of sunshine.

Product Review Monday

This week's book review is another useful homestead resource entitled "Practical Projects for Self-Sufficiency: DIY Projects to Get Your Self-Reliant Lifestyle Started."

This is an intensely practical reference book giving 25 projects that are helpful on a homestead.

The instructions and step-by-step illustrations are superb.

Highly recommended for those looking to build up a self-reliant lifestyle.

* * *

For our non-book recommendation, we'd like to showcase a piece of equipment we use constantly: a fence-stretcher tool.

By how battered and beat this tool is, you can see how much we've used it over the years. We can't imagine engaging in a fencing project without it. We've used it to tighten barbed wire, smooth wire, and field fencing.

This stretcher uses a ratchet mechanism to pull things tight.

I – cannot – even – begin – to underscore how valuable this tool has been. We've owned it for at least 20 years and it's helped us on dozens upon dozens of fencing projects. If you are ever in a position to stretch wire fences, this is a must-have aid.

(Obligatory disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Affiliate, if you purchase through those links, we earn a small commission.)

Mixed Mother's Day

Now that my mother is in a long-term care facility, I can't wish her a Happy Mother's Day. She's not really verbal anymore, and I don't think she would understand even if I were to be able to talk to her in person. It's a bittersweet realization: The first Mother's Day I won't be able to reach out to my mother.

So I'll reach out to my father instead, and will call him today. I'm certain he's feeling even more mixed about the day than I am.

Hug or call or email your mom today, if you can.

Blueberry blossoms and bumblebees

Last year, if you recall, we harvested just short of 60 lbs. of blueberries.

This year, if the current crop of blossoms are anything to go by, the harvest may exceed last year's.

Some blossoms are clustered so thickly, they seem like they'll resemble grape clusters when ripe.

While I've seen some honeybees among the flowers, the primary pollinators are bumblebees. We have hundreds.

Picking won't commence until early July or so, and then the harvest will be spread over several weeks.

Last year, with so many berries, we ended up giving a lot of them away. I gave about 20 lbs. of frozen berries to our very nice UPS driver (whose wife also cans). Also I brought a bunch of canned blueberries to church and gave them away, the only stipulation being that people return the canning jars when they were finished.

I was speculating to Younger Daughter how many pounds of berries we might get this year, and she had a very good suggestion: Why not try making blueberry wine? Don gave me a winemaking kit a few years ago, just before we moved, and I haven't had a chance to use it yet.

I have a feeling I know where most of this year's blueberry crop might go.

Subdividing the pasture

A task we've been wanting to accomplish since getting the cows is to subdivide the larger pasture. With fairly small acreage compared to our last place, it's important that we don't let anything get overgrazed, and having subdivided pastures allows us to rotate the animals frequently.

With that in mind, we gathered everything we needed. Thankfully we weren't faced with anything nearly as complex and difficult as fencing in the sacrifice pasture. In fact, we could bring all the heavy items (T-posts, roll of fencing, pounders, etc.) in the bucket of the tractor.

We unloaded everything and got ready to run a string.

Because the pasture is sloped (everything on our property is sloped!), we hammered a stake just where the line of vision breaks between one end of the fence line and the other. Then we used the bright-pink string to mark the fence line.

(There's my handsome man on his iron steed!)

Then we dropped T-posts at 12-foot intervals and started pounding. The ground is still fairly soft, so it wasn't overly hard work. Don started at the top of the pasture, and I started at the bottom, the idea being to meet in the middle.

There was only one problem with this task: There's a ridge line of rock right where the fence line was passing through.

Don was frustrated by this impediment and started theorizing about building field-fence cages filled with rock to make gabions, which would be an enormous task. "Why not just make a jog in the fence line and go around the rocks?" I asked. Don laughed and said it goes against his thinking. "Men think linearly," he said, and admitted going around the outcrop hadn't even occurred to him.

So we jogged around the rocks. I did the T-post pounding in this section, and sometimes I had to reposition the posts irregularly whenever I hit a rock, but over all it wasn't bad. (You can see the still-unfenced garden in the center-left of the photo.)

Pounding that many T-posts was enough work for a couple of senior citizens for one day. The next day we commenced stretching the fencing. For obvious reasons we started at the top of the slope and worked downhill.

We unrolled the fencing until we got to the jog around the rock outcrop, and cut it. (Don pounded and wired some older and somewhat bent T-posts to the corners of the jog to make "king posts" for extra support. No photos, sorry.)

With the fencing unrolled, we needed to stretch it tight. We started by threading a metal bar through the fencing...

...and attached the bar to a chain. The bar threaded through the field fence allows us to impost more or less equal pressure on the entire stretch of fencing at the same time, without deforming individual squares of the field fence.

Then he attached the chain to the fence-puller, one of those extremely handy homestead tools.

The fence-puller straddles the gap between the fencing and an upright support (a T-post, in this case). By ratcheting the fence-puller, the fencing material is stretched until it's tight enough to wire the fencing in place to the T-posts all up the line.

Once the fencing was pulled tight, Don and I started wiring the fencing to the T-posts.

We fenced the jog as well, though we didn't use the fence-puller in this section for the task of pulling the fence tight.

This completed the bulk of the project. We still have some ancillary tasks (notably building strategically placed gates), but this subdivision should serve us well as we endeavor to rotate the cows through the summer grazing months.

(Bonus photos: Here's a rose bush we thankfully didn't have to work through when installing the fence.

Look at those horrible vicious thorns. Now you know why I postulated these were the thorns that surrounded Sleeping Beauty's castle.)