Square and Round

We ran out of rolls of hay. 

Our hay supplier had said he had enough for us for the entire winter.

I think he must of miscalculated.

Not a good thing when it takes 800 lbs of hay to satisfy the herd every day, seven days a week.

Other rolls of hay were unable to be found so the only other option was to buy very expensive square bales.

It takes much more time to load and unload square bales.

Its little more risky as there is a possibility of slipping, tripping or falling during wet and icy weather while loading and feeding the herd these bales.

 

Takes several trips to the trailer to get the correct amount of forage for the herd.

During which I have to make sure the cows do not escape from the barnyard and come serve themselves the hay, so I have to leave the fence on and up until I am at the gate. So there are a few extra trips on and off the tractor as well.

 

I dump the hay and then have to cut the string off.

So there is a lot of hip bumping. The cows bumping me, not vice versa.

At least Glennie isn't laying in the hay rack today.

 I spread some hay out for the calves.

And sometimes I have to put some hay down first so the cows will let me drive into the barnyard, without escaping.  Sometimes they think I am loading hay from the trailer onto the tractor too slow.

I spent many hours searching for local hay rolls.  It is scarce this time of year.  

So I was real glad to see a trailer of hay rolls.    Now we are back to normal.

Amen.
~

Blue Monday

When the landscape is white with snow, one thing stands out.

Have a wonderful week.
~

April Barns

Saw a nice barn on my journey to visit a friend, so I turned around and went back to take a few photos and explore.

Down the road a bit I saw this horse enjoying the sunshine and wondered how long it would take for him to notice me.

Have a great day!
~

Vermont Castle

I see the strangest things when I drive around.

I did a double take when I was driving the other day.

I thought I saw a castle on a hill.

 

I turned around.to go look again.

Yep, its a castle.

 

I have no idea what the story is on this large structure.  There was nobody walking on this rural back road, so I had nobody to ask.  Darn.

I will find out somehow and add the info to this post.

This castle is in Fairlee Vermont.

If anyone has the inside scoop on this, please post the info in the comments.

Better yet, when I turned around to go get a photo of the castle I saw this near the road.

 

I do not know what this is a quote from or if it is a statement about the tree being cut down.

 

 I got a photo of this nature center to help solve the mystery.

Click on the photo to see it much larger and figure out the meaning of the sign.

I'm stumped.

So there you go, 2 mysteries in one post.

Take the challenge and help find the answers.

~

Sub Zero Cow Spa

On a day where the temps were -10 below, I was filling the water tubs up when I glanced out to the field and saw some interesting activity between Gracie and her 2012 heifer, GlenNora.

A subzero cow licking was going on.

Daily baths are an important routine for my cows and it does not matter what time of day or night it is or how low the temperatures are.

 

 Here are 15 minutes of good face and ear washing by a devoted daughter to her mom.

Auntie Wanda, the Great White Cow is trying to get some solar heat, in the background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Do your critters enjoy a daily bath in arctic temps ?

~

Barns of March

I got horribly lost while going to pick up my new chicks.

Here is one advantage to being lost.  BARNS!!

Click on the photos to make them larger and much more enjoyable.  Feel the snow!

Enjoy the tour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made it home safe and sound with 4 cheeping front seat drivers chatting all the way.

See the full "chick" post about 13 posts down.