Mustard Meadow

In a number of hayfields around the area, you see a profusion of mustard flowers. My husband said the mustard came in with alfalfa seed several years ago; thus the great masses of yellow.

I think it looks quite lovely but it doesn't make for very good hay. This field needs to be reseeded.

Field Damage

When I went down to get the mail yesterday afternoon, I was greeted with the site of damage to our hayfield:

 

Some idiot decided to take a joy ride in the snow.

 

 

This will be a costly repair for us; this half of the field will have to be tilled, smoothed, and reseeded.

 

 

We're talking thousands of dollars.

 

 

 

This is the second time this winter someone has done this to this field.

 

 

This is not a problem we have had in the past. I called the sheriff's office, as we did the last time.

 

Apparently this was done between 6:30 a.m. and 3 p.m., so in the daylight.

 

Maybe you saw who did it?

 

 

They need to make reparations. When the culprit(s) is caught, we will prosecute fully.

 

 

People don't respect others any more.

Digging out

These photos are backwards, but that's okay. Hubby came to my rescue this morning. He was at work last night. He drove as far as the barn and then stopped and rode the tractor the rest of the way home.

Poor fellow came in for a kiss and then went back to it.



Pushing snow is hard work, even if you are sitting in a heated cab.



The big blade digs a little deep and we only use it for bad snows.

My husband is a whiz at snow removal.

There he goes.

Later he had to come back and do it again because it snowed more.

Here he is on the initial run up the hill. My knight in a blue steed, with a big
blade, coming to my emotional rescue.

Even this big monster Ford has to inhale deeply in this deep snow.

But he made it without problem.

By the Mail Box

Given the weather and my inability to get out and about much, I thought I'd take the camera to the mailbox with me. If nothing else, it's a different perspective.

Looking back up my driveway.

This road is directly across from my driveway.

 


The big hay field across from the driveway.

Oh look! Lanetta on her tractor.

Lanetta is our neighbor. She is in her 70s and still farms. She used to be the athletic director at Hollins University. She is in the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. She is a catbird and a really wonderful lady. You can see a video of her talking about the efforts to bring Title IX to the higher education system at this link. It's worth the three minutes.

There she goes to feed her cows!



Another shot of the hayfield.

Clean Water Farm Award

I am proud to announce to the world that my most excellent spouse received from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation the Clean Water Farm Award for Botetourt County for 2013.

You may recall I mentioned this project once or twice on my blog. The project involved drilling a well and installing 7,500 feet of water line to multiple watering stations for the cattle. We also had a couple miles of fence built to keep the cattle out of ponds and springs on the farm. Our cow pee no longer flows into Roanoke City's water supply.

This was quite an endeavor and my husband spent most of the summer working on it.

New Cattle Watering Station

Fencing along a riparian way

Fencing around a pond.

More fencing.

Watering station
 

 

The project was labor-intensive and I am very proud of my husband for his hard work, and pleased that local officials decided to honor him for his efforts.



He received his award Thursday night at a banquet. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend due to a high fever. I sent along a camera. I think my mother-in-law took the picture of my husband receiving his award. I took the other two after he arrived home.

My husband receiving his award.

Certificate from the Governor

Sign we can put up on the farm.

Congratulations to my fellow. His efforts will help keep the waters clear for a long time, ensuring that each of us has safe drinking.

Sunset

We had this beautiful sunset Saturday evening after a day of rain. The sky suddenly burst open with color; I understand there was a rainbow behind me that I couldn't see through the trees.

On Sunday we had a bit of excitement here. My husband and I were in Rocky Mount trying to spend some time together and relax. His cell phone rang and it was a neighbor telling us the cows were out.

We raced home in record time and arrived to find two deputy cars here and several neighbors wandering around trying to round up wayward animals. People were excited and waving their arms. A woman I did not know kept talking about seeing a cow wander through her backyard (there are a number of small homes bordering the farm).

My husband, who was a little aggravated and frustrated by this whole scenario, sent me down the road to open one of the big gates, which I did. I then walked across a field and told a neighbor who had corralled a cow that we could get her through that gate, but he wanted me to open a smaller gate at the loading pen so he could try to put her in there. I opened the small gate and stepped back so he could shoo the cow on into the pen.



Older picture of a cow with a newborn.

The cow did not like that and she turned and charged at me. I shrieked and jumped up and tried to scare her to stop her and get out of the way at the same time. Such shenanigans in an old overweight lady are not to be, and my feet went out from under me in the damp grass. I hit the ground hard but since there was a 1,600 pound cow coming at me I climbed back up on my feet immediately, cursing as I did.

The cow swerved and headed for the road. I made a small effort to limp along after her but it was useless and I did not get far.

This animal was not going to be taken easily, and ultimately one of the neighbors on a utility vehicle and a policeman in his vehicle managed to get her through the gate. I certainly wasn't up to chasing after her.

I ended up with a sprained wrist, a big bruise on my lower leg, and another on my hip. It could have been worse, I suppose.

Ultimately we learned that the report was of two cows out, but we only found the one. My husband counted the cows and said they were all in the field. Perhaps one of them found her way back through the fence without help. In any event, he patrolled the fence and patched the hole he thought the cows went through, and that was the end of that.

Across the Valley