Father's Day Garden Mosaics

Yesterday, my Mom and I had a great time crafting and making some wonderful mosaic garden stepping stones.  This is a fast and easy project that appeals to my desire for instant gratification.  There are basically only four steps; mix the cement/concrete with water to the consistancy of a thick brownie mix, pour into a mold and smooth, design your mosaic, and allow to dry for about 48 hours. We used broken glass pieces, glass gems, and small mirrors as our medium but you can also use tiles, shells, beads, whatever is pleasing to your aesthetic.  After Father's Day breakfast this morning we presented our garden stones to Dad who was very pleased and excited at the prospect of doing a bigger mosaic project.  We are thinking bird bath, fountain, maybe even a garden wall.  

Hope you are enjoying this beautiful weather and happy Father's Day to all you Dad's out there!

Family Cow Chronicles Vol. 1

It never occurred to me that keeping a cow so close to the city would be challenging in the ways it has been.  Not that she is a challenge herself, or that we don't have enough space for her, it's just that it is extremely difficult to find the services we need for her close by.  And transporting a cow is not the same as making a quick trip to the vet with a goat.  Not the same at all.  Very few people keep a family cow these days so even just finding someone experienced to talk to was difficult, although I now have a small handful of wonderful people who have been so generous and knowledgeable, having patience with my unending questions.

I have been learning ALOT about cows lately.  Like how they bellow their heads off when they are coming into heat (every 21 days).  Yes, our beautiful Ginger, who was bred in February to a strapping Jersey bull, went back into heat!  We have learned that it is not uncommon for this to happen when a heifer is bred so young.  All in all, it was best for Ginger to grow a little more before we bred her again and best for us because we could breed her to a mini jersey bull, which is what we wanted.  So, with alot of research, I found a very

knowledgeable artificial insemination technician who came up from Hollister to breed her last week.  Artificial insemination is a whole world of information...where to purchase the semen, whether to breed on the natural heat or do a fixed AI, these are all things we have been discussing and feeling rather like cow nerds.  But oh, it's all so fascinating.

hoof trimming at the Cotati Large Animal Hospital

Meanwhile, before we bred Ginger we took the opportunity to get her all ship shape with vaccines, a little hoof trim, and the not so little procedure of removing her horns.   The horn removal was traumatic for her and a hard, emotional decision to make.  But since I'm the one who is working with her on a daily basis and her horns were only going to get bigger, I opted to have them removed.  She was already beginning to push up against my legs and those horns hurt! The first day or so after the procedure she was not quite herself, but it's been several weeks and she is almost all healed up.

Getting Ginger in the stanchion

The artificial insemination was quick and went smoothly.  We ended up using semen from here.  Bob Honey is the sire.  Supposedly he passed away years ago but his semen lives on in a liquid nitrogen tank. Ginger was bred on her natural heat so we will wait 21 days and if she does not go back into heat then we can safely assume she's pregnant. If she does go back into heat we will do a fixed AI, which is where the technician inserts something called a CIDR.  After seven days the CIDR is removed and then 54 hours later the cow is inseminated. Most people who practice fixed AI do so to synchronize estrus in their herd, causing the whole herd to go into heat at the same time, making insemination easier for the farmer. 

AI technician inserting the semen

Like I said, we are learning so much and falling deeper in love with Ginger every day.  Stay tuned for more Family Cow Chronicles to come.  

PS.  A special book given to me...Caring For Cows, by Valerie Porter.  (Specifically about holistic and organic animal husbandry.)

Photo By Lori Eanes

Fly Predators

I realize that on this blog we are mostly sharing the enthusiasm and fervor we feel about farming and living a natural lifestyle.  Well of course that makes sense, since we want you to be inspired and excited with us.  The reality is, however, like anything else in life, there is a down side.  And for me right now, superficial as it is, that dark side is the army of flies we have breeding and hovering on our property.  I suppose it can not be helped.  We try to clean the goat stalls regularly, compost all the manure and keep things moving around here.  But I am learning it is just a law of nature that with livestock, manure and warm weather come flies, lots of them.  We tried sticky fly paper as our initial method of eradication.  Strands and strands of it hang from the barn ceiling and in front of our porch, (the worst two areas because of the shade).  Not a very zen approach I know, the flies get stuck in the paper but soon the papers are full and the flies keep on coming.  

Second approach...the wand zapper.  It's really terrible, like a big tennis racket for electrocuting flies.  

Our third approach the liquid fly bait, which smells like death, is not really what you want hanging on your front porch.  It is supposed to trap up to 20,000 flies but after almost a month now it has trapped a grand total of...one fly.  

The fourth approach arrived in the mail this week.  5,000 fly predators from Spalding Labs.  I must say I have very high hopes for this one, it makes sense and seems holistic/sustainable.  I am supposed to wait for a dozen of the 5,000 to hatch inside the package then release them around the most problem areas on our property.  The nocturnal fly predators proceed to eat the fly larvae nipping the problem in the bud.  The Spalding Lab people are very friendly and after asking you how much land you have, how many animals, and your zip code, they quickly configure how many fly predators you need for your individual situation and for how many months you need to order.  

I will receive a shipment of 5,000 once a month for five months.  Tomorrow is the day to release them, I can see a bunch of them wiggling around in the package.  I'll let you know if it works in a month or so.  

Morning's Gift

Walking down to feed and water the animals this morning, we discovered a beautiful swarm on the coyote brush.  The bees must really love this spot because this is the second swarm that has landed here.  It's a wonderful joy for a beekeeper to stumble upon a swarm.  Such a magnificent sight, definitely one of nature's miracles.   Since we recently did a huge honey harvest, we had several frames left over for the bees to clean.  We put the swarm into their new hive with the sticky frames and they seem to be quite happy to busily eat up all the left overs.  Our population of hives has decreased over the past year so we are super happy to add this new one to the farm.  Good morning bees!

Weeds To The Rescue

"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food. " 

-Hippocrates

This season has been particularly uncomfortable for allergies.  I, for one, had a couple of weeks of severe symptoms.  I don't suffer from traditional hay fever, but I do occasionally get random allergic reactions to unknown food triggers.  I had not experienced these symptoms in years but recently I had an awful flare up and found myself desperate for relief.  As I lay in bed one morning with my eye lids almost swollen shut, I remembered my friend Cleavers.  After years of experience, I now have a strong tendency to listen to myself. That inner voice in all of us that is so often ignored can be a guiding force of wisdom.  

Cleavers climbing next to the compost bins

So I grabbed a basket and went looking for some fresh specimens of this sticky weed.  Well, it is the perfect time of year around here and I didn't have to look far.  There is a profuse amount of this plant growing all over our property.  Cleavers (Gallium Aparine) is known by different common names; Goosegrass, Stickyweed, and Bedstraw are just a few.  But the way most people know Cleavers is by the way it persistently sticks to your clothing.  My son likes to surprise me by throwing it on my shirt or hair.  

This wonderful weed strengthens lymphatic activity, reduces allergic reactions, eases tender swollen breasts, PMS symptoms, and mild lymph edema.  To harvest, cut the top two-thirds of each plant while it is in flower or setting seeds (the seeds look like burrs).  You can then make a tincture, tea, or my preferred method, fresh green juice. 

To make the fresh juice I gathered a basket full of leafy tops, brought them inside and rinsed them lightly.  At first I attempted to put them through my juicer, but since I do not have a Vita mix, that attempt failed.  Cleavers is way too fibrous for my wimpy machine so out came the Cuisinart blender.  

I added a little water to the plants, enough to get them to turn over and blended until I had a nice even green juice.  Then I strained the mixture and added a couple of juiced apples.  Delicious and very cooling.  I think I drank 2-3 pitchers full.  I just kept making more as it was very calming to my inflamed system.  

So all you gardeners, foragers, and hikers out there, don't think of Cleavers as a nuisance. Harvest some when in season, use it as a spring tonic, and reap the health benefits.  

The Wonder Of It All

You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star.
-Friedrich Nietzsche

As I stop and observe the outside world around me, I have been acutely aware that my experience is a bit unconventional.  For the last few weeks I have been eating, breathing, and sleeping GOATS.  This was our first year breeding livestock, with four successful litters born on our farm, nine new kids total.  They are so precious it makes all the effort worth while. 

I know what your are thinking...nine babies!  Sounds overwhelming, and some days it has been, but oh every birth was so exciting and exhilarating.  A little bit of chaos is tolerable when you know it is temporary!  It still amazes me how the births were all staggered a few days apart.  This week we witnessed the last two of our does give birth.  

It is extraordinary when you develop a relationship with an animal over time and you become close enough to be able to communicate.  The trust they had in me and the closeness I felt was beyond words.  So perfect that they all came at times when I happened to be working at home.  

We are enjoying the kids for only a few days, as they are all going to new homes.  It has been a priority to keep our goat families intact and not separate Mamas from their young.  We have been very fortunate to find some wonderful people who want to incorporate them into their homesteads. 

Rosemary and her kids

This evening we said goodbye to Bella and her two strapping boys, who are headed up to Napa to live a life of luxury, eating pasture galore.  It was hard to see Bella go since she was our first goat and has been here with us from the beginning of our adventures. 

I decided to keep our lovely doe May Daisy and her beautiful triplet girls.  There is something quite special about the Sable Sanaan/Oberhasli cross and I am looking forward to bonding with her gorgeous kids.  May Daisy is a super milk producer with great teat formation, and a gentle, affectionate temperament, all you could want in a dairy goat.  

Tuppens and her kids

After this weekend I can exhale and focus some attention on the family cow.  I think we all fell in love with the sight and feeling of having a real herd.  There is just something enchanting about seeing them all together, the dance of their hierarchy, their affection and frolicking, their beauty.  I will miss it until next year.  And until then...there is the MILK.  

Select photos by Lori Eanes 

In Favor of Buckwheat

This spring we are doing some more experimenting with small scale grain growing.  After doing some research on buckwheat, it really seems to be a wonder crop.  It is easy to grow, germinating in only 3-5 days and grows well in dry climates, giving up to 3-4 crops per year. Not only do the bees love it, buckwheat provides one of the highest honey yields per acre.  Bees working the buckwheat flowers make a dark sweet honey with a robust flavor that is high in antioxidants.

Used as a cover crop it will break up highly compacted soil while used as a green manure, it can be plowed into the soil after only three weeks.  It is a great mulch for overwintering beds.  (An amazing soil building combo would be buckwheat, crimson clover, borage, and vetch.)  Sowing buckwheat around your fruit trees creates a living mulch and it gathers nutrients on a deeper soil depth than the tree roots.  

tester bed about two weeks after planting, covered with young buckwheat leaves

It's edible blooms attracts beneficial insects as it also lures harmful insects like aphids away from other garden vegetables.  Buckwheat is gluten free.  It also has a feed value similar to oats so can be used for the homestead animals mixed with other grains.  Sounds like it's worth trying, we sure hope it lives up to it's reputation.  If so, we may be planting a whole lot more in the future.

Oh, and we can't forget buckwheat pancakes!