DeWalt (2004-2011)

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Last November 2010, I left the farm to work for a seed company in California. As I could not take DeWalt with me, I gave him to William, whose family had purchased most of our herd. Their farm is in Crockett, TX, about three hours south of Quitman.
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De Walt
Loyal and Trusty Friend

Tonight, I received an email from William's mom. Below is an excerpt:

"The drought has been tough.  We are holding on to all of our cattle though.  The last girls we purchased from you are calving now.  We had a calf born September 11 (No. 12’s calf) and the others should drop any day.   We have split the herd so we can maximize their grass intake ... but we have been feeding hay since early August.

DeWalt is no longer with us.  We lost him and one of our other dogs in the same week.  We think it was coyotes and they were protecting the place.  Losing the dogs hit us all hard, but we know they were happy on the farm and were protecting the place they loved.  The drought has brought many animals that would never be seen up and in our living space ... coyotes, foxes, and bobcat and what we think was a wolf.    All were trying to harm livestock (chickens or goats) ... it has been amazing what we have seen."
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Wangus

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Sometime late last year, we sold several of our cows to our friends, Jim and Lori Shipman of JLOR Farm. One of those cows was our black-white-faced, Victoria (No. 49), the momma of Victoria's Secret.

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Earlier this week, Jim and Lori sent us pictures of Victoria's new bull calf, "Wangus". His sire is "Abraham" (aka FC Mr. Ichiro 604), our former Wagyu bull, hence the name. Here's an excerpt from Lori's email:

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    "I have attached photos of the first Wagyu and Angus calf from #49.  Stacy had named it Wangus!  So I think that will work.  He is all of 50 lbs or so, but cute as he can be."

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All photos below appear courtesy of JLOR Farm. Used by permission.

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Wangus

Molly and Mojo

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On December 16, 2010, Molly gave birth to a beautiful bull calf. I am calling him Mojo (although he and Molly don't belong to us anymore). His sire is a purebred black Angus bull, hence his black, white-faced coat. Molly and Mojo are now owned by our friends, Jim and Lori Shipman, of JLOR Farm, who provided the first two photos below.
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Mojo and Molly

at JLOR Farm - 12/18/2010

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Mojo at 2 Days Old

JLOR Farm - 12/18/2010

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Molly and Mojo

at JLOR Farm

New Year's Day 2011

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Mojo and Molly

at JLOR Farm

New Year's Day 2011

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Our Favorite Fireplace

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One of the features that we have enjoyed in our home is the wood-burning fireplace. It has been a source of great comfort during winter. We have been using the wood from the two trees that fell last spring. In these  pictures, Ken is shown practicing his fire-building skills.
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Ken

Got a light?

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Moving Up

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Miss Molly, the No. 1 cow of Aurora Farm, has a new home across the road. Our friends, Jim and Lori Shipman of JLOR Farm purchased Molly from us today, November 19, 2010. She will be in very capable hands and will be well cared for. Also, she will be back with her comadres, Big Red, Victoria, and Suzie Q, who we sold back to Jim and Lori last August. (Click on the photo to enlarge and see Molly's new brand).
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Miss Molly with her new brand

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Fall Colors

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Autumn is here. .
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The Large Trap

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Signs

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I noticed these signs on display at the Tractor Supply store in Mineola where I went to buy a metal bucket for our fireplace ash. The first one below resonates with me -- and I'm sure with those of you out there who are in the same "protected species" class that I am now in!!!

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Safer Up Here

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I took this photo of Kitty Wampus a few days ago. I noticed that DeWalt was always getting into Kitty's bowl so I placed it on top of our big trash bin. That should help her (and my cat food budget).
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Audience

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DeWalt likes to go to the South Pasture with me because of the pond. He loves it when I throw a stick into the pond for him to swim out and retrieve. Yesterday, he had quite an audience in Pearl, Mary, Martha, and Blessing! (Click on the photos for a better view)
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Seeding for Winter

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I spent most of Thursday and Friday last week (Oct. 28 and 29) mowing (shreddin') the summer grass in our West Pasture and Large Trap . This slows down their growth and exposes parts of the ground, allowing winter seed that is planted to make contact with the soil. Here are pictures of the West Pasture and Large Trap after they were shredded:
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West Pasture after shredding
(Notice how much greener the unshredded
Tifton pasture is farther back)

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The Large Trap after it was shredded

(the one in the distance)

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Anticipating a good rain on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, I spent the whole day scattering winter seed in all of our pastures. Two of the pastures where we have cattle grazing -- the South Tifton and the East Pasture -- were not shredded, but were overseeded anyway.

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I used crimson clover and two different brands of ryegrass (TAMTBO and PRINE) this year. Since we only have a few head of cattle going into the winter months, I seeded at a lower rate per acre than the farmer's co-op was recommending-- only 20 lbs. per acre for ryegrass and 15 lbs. per acre for clover (instead of 40 lbs. and 20 lbs. respectively).

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Ryegrass Seed

The seeds are first poured out of their 50 lb. bags into two separate buckets and weighed. They are then mixed together in a bigger tub in a 4:3 ratio by weight -- i.e., 20 lbs : 15 lbs.

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Seeds are weighed

... and mixed in a bigger tub

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The mixture is then poured into the cone seeder that's attached to the back of the tractor and scattered.
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Clover-Ryegrass Seed Mix in Cone Seeder

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Ready to Go!

(Abraham, our Wagyu bull was my captive audience)

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The cone seeder belongs to our neighbors, Jim and Lori Shipman of JLOR Farm. 

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Going Postal

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I mailed a couple of letters at the Quitman Post Office yesterday. I think it's the nicest-looking building in our little town.

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. Quitman Post Office

202 N. Sissy Spacek Drive

Quitman, TX 75783
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View from the West

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Yesterday was such a gorgeous day! I was at my neighbors' barn and took a couple of photos of our pond. Molly and Friends were grazin', lazin' and enjoyin' the sunshine. (Click photos to enlarge)

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