Thursday, October 22, 2015

Dry

I'm calling it a year. We didn't have milk for our cereal yesterday and I am scrambling to fill orders. It's time to say we are done for the year. 

Thank you everyone for your support. The milk will be flowing again in February. 

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Rain, Rain Go Away!

It's raining. Again.  Here in Georgia, we sweat through the summer looking forward to our beautiful fall. It hardly rains in October. The sky turns a glorious, deep shade of blue deserving of its own name- October Sky Blue. The days are warm and dry. There is a crispness in the air in the evening. 

But not this year. It has been raining for well over a week now. Everything is wet. The treated wood of the barn is starting to sport a nice coat of green. I have a fan on the hay in the loft; after so many days of 100% humidity, it's only a matter of time before it's a total loss.
We have two boarders from out of town come to get bred. These are Bambi and Amelia. Amelia has the same sire as "Star" who we lost to mycoplasma and pseudomonas mastitis shortly after she arrived here last summer. They look so much alike. It's almost like having Star back.
Breeding season is in full swing. I have 4 I am sure are pregnant. Seven have been bred. Kami came back into heat. I had a feeling three weeks ago that I should have stuck her back in with Whiskey after I saw how long her heat cycle was. Hindsight.

I hope she settles this time. She just doesn't seem like a good fit for Whiskey. Even though he was riding her around the pen, I'm not sure how successful the couplings were. Then I put Olivia in, and I could tell he was successful each time with her. He's settled three does already and I saw his sperm under the microscope at collection. He has what it takes. If Kami comes back into heat in three weeks, she's going to Bubba.

I think we will try AI on Buttercup. I plan to AI her to Heart Mt. Conquistador. 

Time to go out and brave the mud. As much as I'd like to crawl back under the covers with a book and another cup of coffee, I'm late already. Only nine more days and no more evening milking!