The Buffer Strip

When I first added the sixty-eight acres to my little acreage, we planned a buffer strip between my acreage and the crops we were planting.  There were a couple of reasons.  First, I needed hay.  It would be a narrow strip where we could plant alfalfa to bale into hay for the animals.  Secondly, there are trees around the edge where crops wouldn’t grow and do well anyhow.  Another reason was to give us an area to drive on to get to the back forty.  Finally, it would provide a buffer between my animals and the crops.  Trust me, the goats decided last summer that they like to eat soybeans.  When we planted the alfalfa two years ago, we had horribly wet weather, and alfalfa doesn’t like to get its roots wet.  So my nephew came and disked the buffer strip to replant it this spring.  I missed him disking.  This is the field cultivator to help smooth the field out.

When he’s done field cultivating, he folds up the sides.

Then he can just drive out of the field.

Tomorrow, they will plant the buffer strip.  What would I do without my wonderful nephew to help me with all these tasks?

Once this project is finished, we are going to have someone use a soil finisher to help smooth out the cropland because it is very rough when you drive across it too.

Linking to Farm Photo Friday

Linking to Thankful Thursday hosted by The Wife of a Dairyman.

The Kids

It’s actually been a couple of days since I shared the latest news on the six kids we have so far.

Otis and Odin are eleven days old, and they are hooligans.  That means they are normal little bucks…in my house.  It’s been a bit of an inconvenience for the cats.

Otis and Leo

Actually it’s been chaos for all of us.

Odin and Otis

I also have Millie’s little boy in the house.  I still haven’t settled on a name for him.  Poor boy just isn’t as big and strong as Otis and Odin, and they pick on him.

Miranda Mae is Millie’s little girl.  She had entropion eyes, and they are absolutely one hundred percent better.  The clips haven’t fallen off yet, but that just means it’s more likely to be a permanent fix.  It will create more scar tissue which will not let them turn back in.

Miranda Mae

She gets to sleep under the heat lamp with her niece and nephew when Lily isn’t hogging it.  Even when Lily is under the heat lamp, the kids curl up with her.

Today I brought Otis and Odin outside with the fervent hope that everyone would be nice to them, and they could stay out there.  I hoped Lily would accept them and Millie and Joe would just not kill them.

Lily and boys

I was pretty sure the kids would have fun playing.

They did have a lot of fun playing.  Otis and Odin also discovered the joys of hay.

Then I brought Millie’s boy out too.

Millie's Boy

He tried to play, but for some reason his back driver’s side leg isn’t working real well.  I don’t know if he slipped and fell or what.

He also has a funny lump on the side of his rib.  I don’t know what that’s from either.  I wonder if Millie didn’t paw him or step on him while she was in labor with his sister.  Hopefully he’ll do better if he isn’t being pushed around by Otis and Odin, even though he does enjoy their company and wants to play with them.

All four kids were getting along fine.

You might wonder why Joe’s kids aren’t out here.  I usually only see them in one of two ways.  Eating

or sleeping.

Dottie and Nate

Joe has them under control.

Linking to Farm Photo Friday.

Linking to Camera Critters.

Invaded by Kids

We’ve had six kids born since Monday.  Lily, Millie and Joe each had twins.

Lily had her twins first, and they she got sick.

Lily

That means I am raising her boys.

Otis

Odin

There has been much unauthorized exploration.

The dog is not too sure he likes being left in charge of the kids.

I’m still working on kid-proofing the house.

Snickers thinks it’s best to keep an eye on things from a perch.

Then Millie had her kids.

Millie

I’d spent the last five months telling her she could only have one kid.  She really took me seriously, and she chose to keep her little girl.

I think she must have gotten hay in her eyes getting into the big tub because they are fine now.

She made it clear that the boy was mine.  In all honesty at her age she really shouldn’t try raising more than one, but I meant she shouldn’t conceive and give birth to more than one.

Yep.  That give me three little boys in my house.  Boys are not that easy to diaper.

Finally, the same morning that Millie had her kids, Joe had her twins in the evening.

She has a cute boy

and an adorable girl.

 I don’t think I’m going to get much rest for a while.

Linking to SOOC Sunday.

Linking to Farm Photo Friday.

Linking to Camera Critters.

Linking to Your Sunday Best.