Thursday, April 18, 2013

Mud, Hay & Fences


With only a few rolls of hay left, more squares have been purchased.


Rain is predicted and I suspect that the barnyard will get muddy so the cows will have to be moved.

Feeding the square bales is very time consuming. 


 There is lots of waste because the cows step on it and grind it into the mud....or the snow.



The herd was moved to a far field to keep them high and dry.

Now we had to haul square bales out there to feed them.

We do not want to drive over the fields to get to the cows because it would cause compaction of the soil this early in the spring and that would damage our hay crop.

So the hay is carefully stacked under the 4 giant pine trees and then thrown over the fence to the cows.


The cows see me throwing bales over the fence to feed them.



It gets a bit nutty as I throw bales over the fence...the herd gangs up and starts ripping up the square bales and then I jump the fence to drag the bales away from them to the field to spread them out so the entire herd has plenty of room to eat.

I give myself credit for unplugging the electric fence down at the barn before jumping over it to feed the cows.

Sometimes I forgets...

 





Mavis got enough courage to follow me out to the field........ and then Glennie chased Mavis out of the field.




After an hour or so the herd is fed and the water tub is full.


 I do love the sounds and smells of the herd eating good hay.





Another successful morning.

How was yours?
~

14 comments:

  1. you work so hard! i am sure your cows are grateful! all i did was cook 6 lbs of bacon for the shelter.

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  2. Wow glad you turned off that electric fence yikes.
    Oh square bales are very time consuming and there are no round no square bales to be found in my area here's hoping for and early spring. We have enough for about 30 more days then we have none. Darn drought still affecting us. Take care. B

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  3. you lead a fascinating life -- I cannot imagine how hard you must work each day keeping your farm running. (I am reading The Flawed Farm by Shepherd. It's an ebook at the moment, but will be in paper, her mother tells me. You share a lot in common!)

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  4. Nice herd of cows! My sis from Canada likes to visit elsewhere when the snow starts melting and the mud seems to ooze everywhere!

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  5. Looks like you are a pretty popular gal with the cow crowd! :)
    Is that a cemetery under the pine trees?

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  6. There's something very tranquil about seeing cattle grazing...you got some great shots!!!

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  7. i'm intrigued by the cemetery in your pasture

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  8. Just love this post~!!! Seeing these cows makes my face are all smile~~

    Mine is great~!!! We have a little rain today but warm weather, everything is on the track~

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  9. Love your photos! It looks beautiful where you live.

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  10. Janis, are those bale buddies in the first picture? I've never seen those in relation to hay. Actually, they look like huge marshmallows in the picture.

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  11. GREAT images... I do mean it! Wow, next time I need an image of a cow for my blog, I know who to ask! Thanks for stopping by the TOTB hop and linking up! Following you now! http://www.mamashighstrung.com

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  12. Wow! Beautiful post and fantastic photography ~ blessed life with busy hands and love ~ ^_^

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  13. How come you make cattle look so lovely? Round here they are dirty

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  14. Vermont looks absolutely beautiful...

    Thank you for such a Vivid post for the letter V...

    Victorious job!

    A+

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