When it snows, the four-legged barn children aren’t so very different than the two-legged little humans I raised.  Before the sun is high in the sky, they beg and complain and bounce about until given permission to race out the door  to play in the white stuff.   Baby, our newest calf, can barely restrain  her excitement as I finish
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The week before Thanksgiving, Rosie the pregnant Jersey cow exhibited symptoms that made us worry about  another premature birth. So we moved her to the barnyard where she could bask in the afternoon sunlight and spend her nights in the safety of the barn — and more importantly, where we could more easily monitor her
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I wanted to write something profound, funny, pithy, and wise to explain my long absence from this blog.  Unfortunately, I’m not having a profound, funny, pithy, or wise season.  I’m simply feeling old and grumpy. It’s like this — twenty years ago I didn’t need glasses to read the copyright notice at the bottom corner
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The grass along the driveway was getting a bit tall, so I called the mowing crew.  They come pretty fast most of the time.  I just open the gate and yell ‘cow’ a few times. We’re a family friendly workplace.  We’re happy to let the young mothers in our employ bring their babies to work,
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Pizza is a family tradition at our house.   We’re particular about our toppings and crust, and harsh in our judgments about the not-quite-freshly-made pizzas sold at certain well-known chain restaurants.  Even though none of us have so much as a drop of Italian blood in our veins, we’re all pretty sure we know the secret
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FDA public meetings start September 19 on the approval of genetically modified salmon for food.   Even if you can’t attend the meetings — and most of us won’t be able to – anyone who feels strongly pro or con should speak up now.  Many organizations have online petitions and other info available online — just Google the keywords ‘no GM salmon’
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There I was, wandering around in the pasture, checking every tall stand of grass and cluster of brush for the day-old calf that was hiding somewhere out there in the pasture. And I saw this . . . Rosie apparently had a bad itch.  Her daughter, one of the twins from two years ago, helped
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Sometimes when the kitchen’s hot, and the stove is dead, and the cat nibbled on the pork shoulder roast that was thawing . . . and the houseguests still expect to be fed . . . well, there are choices.  Eat out or improvise? When you live in the middle of nowhere, it’s usually easier to improvise.   First, I
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Now and then, I’m reminded of how much I have to be grateful for in this life I’m living here at the farm. The days remain hot, but the nights have grown cool enough that we must turn on a heat lamp to keep the new chicks warm.  They’re Production Reds, purchased as replacement layers. 
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On hot summer days when you don’t feel much like cooking, a quick vegetable stir-fry can get you in and out of the kitchen in a hurry.  The food’s fresh, filling, and not too heavy.  I particularly like this recipe for front porch cooking on days when I don’t want to heat up the kitchen.
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