lazy sunday mornings

Well, I'd like it to be lazy. The sun was shining for most of the morning. The Arapawa goats and the NC Ceviot ram, Ben, were sunning themselves. The pigeons that Cecil claimed dead were strong in number. I counted 33 while folding bed clothes. The brown one is gone, but there are more non-descript grey ones than we had in the pole barn before.

Dave closed the main barn up last month. He bought chicken netting and covered the doors and windows. Starlings and sparrows (allong with the pigeons) were contributing to the general chores by leaving piles of manure in the grain bin and on the hay in the mow. The last thing we need is cows ingesting this distusting mess from the birds. Starlings in particular have wreaked havoc on some calf crops back home by carrying a virus that causes a bad pneumonia and I believe scours.

I started milking for a farm down the road to help with the loss in income from so many dry cows and lowering of milk prices. Not a bad afternoon. They are good people and it is nice to get off the farm and have some conversation with someone. Sometimes I think this is the sort of thing Dave should do, but I think he is of the class of farmers that think it is okay from him to putter about the farm all day, but the woman is the one to go off to work when money comes slow.

I've had to lay off cheese production for a couple of months. We are down in milk volume due to dry cow numbers and have to ship a minimum volume to the Cooperative. I do steal a volume or two (after I pay my own husband cash) to make a batch to meet a number of loyal customers.

Dave is off to the grain store to get vacuum pump oil. An hour and a hald later, I think he also ordered lunch. It is one of the few hardware/grain stores I know of that you can get nuts, gas, mastitis treatment and 2 eggs over easy with a side of potatoes and a cup of coffee. An odd little place, but it serves its purpose by providing the little communities in the area with some off the farm comforts. I miss going there on Sunday mornings. Guess I'll have to go to a church or something to keep a routine.