Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Random pics

It was a wee bit chilly this morning, making things fun when I went out to feed the cattle:


Here's Frightful's chick (still unnamed). He/she is feathering out, but in this bitter cold weather we have a heat lamp positioned directly inside the cage just for Frightful and chick. We have another heat lamp in the coop as well, and despite the insulation Don has installed their water is frozen in the mornings (and again in the afternoons) so trotting lukewarm water out there twice a day is a necessity.



Here's what our Christmas tree looks like in daylight. I love Christmas ornaments and used to collect them until we obtained so many the tree is almost overloaded. So I stopped.


Here are the livestock, munching hay (they have to eat a lot in winter to keep warm). I confess I've been spoiling Matilda (our Jersey cow, last in the pecking order) by feeding her separately. I've also been locking her in the milking parlor at night, especially if the wind is blowing.



This is Chateau (short for "Chateaubriand"), our steer. He has a date with the freezer next Monday, when the mobile butchers will come and dispatch him. I've been instructed by our neighbor to keep the tongue and liver for her. I'm also going to ask the butchers to keep the fat, as I'm going to try my hand at rendering it and possibly making soap. Another neighbor has offered to coach me in this process.

2 comments:

  1. Carrying water to the chickens? Not when you can purchase a heated dog water dish. I've used one for several years for my chickens and what a time saver if you have electricity available.

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  2. Heated dog water dish. Damn, now why didn't *I* think of that...?

    - Patrice

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