So....
Feeling a bit teary-eyed. A lot has happened in the past few months.
I turned 50 on Sunday.
I owned a cow before I reached the half-century mark. Who would have guessed!
We have been here on this little farm since 2011, owned it since a year earlier. From a "chicken explosion" of WAY too many poultry, to now having pigs and goats and sheep and turkeys and dogs and cats and rabbits and geese...and ducks.....and a steer...
Who would have guessed.
And then there are the suburban pets who have passed away since we moved here...Shadow the black lab mix. Midnight and Sly, the black house-cats. Tears well up at unexpected times, for all three of these special pets.
The dogs we have gotten since the move: Rocky the husky. Taffy the perfect blonde whirlwind of a farm dog.
The litter of 9 English Shepherd puppies born last summer. We loved each and every one, which made it so much more important to find just the right home for each sweet pup.
And other animals:
We are phasing out the rabbits. I will likely keep just one male and maybe two females. The loss of so many just-weaned rabbit kits from unexplained sickness was too unbearable this past year. The barn is not the best place for them, with the damp and the dust and the other animals. The education of customers is sometimes more staggering than explaining sheep or goat or pig care to new owners. So the rabbits will be phased out except for a select few.
The pigs are doing great. I have paperwork in front of me, accepting the offer from Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago to take several of our American Guinea Hogs on "loan" this year. If you are at the free zoo in Chicago, stroll on down to the Farm-In-The-Zoo section, and look for our little black hogs. Mamas and babies will be featured. We'll keep an eye on how things go with that. Can I truly be "settled" with the idea of pregnant mamas giving birth somewhere other than here? We shall see. The sale of a boar and two females to the guy in Indiana fell through. One boar is still for sale. Two other boars are less than one year old. I don't need that many males, for sure... There are 4 litters of pigs expected this spring, so we may not do fall breeding. But yet...the chefs in Chicago are taking notice of this small breed of heritage hog, and where will our hogs but... be in the Chicago public's eye? Hmmm...will be interesting to see how things progress.
Sheep....there are 5 pregnant mamas out there this year, and two rams. The older ewes could have twins this year. One ram needs to be sold. I have a deposit on another ram who has yet to be born, to bring new genetics into my flock of mother-daughter-granddaughter ewes... I may sell one ewe with her lamb(s), just to keep numbers in check a bit. And no babies can be kept from my own flock this spring unless we are raising them for meat. The sheep flock needs to be in a bit of a transition this spring, depending on the babies that are born.
Goats...Four pregnant ones. Two (at least!) out of those 4 look to be carrying multiples. Two bucks. Three yearlings. Babies due in March, but....Mocha had her triplets over a week early last spring, so there could be February babies. Hoping the warm temperatures here in Illinois hold through baby month! We have an area that is not quite fenced yet...all the posts are in place but the actual sheep/goat fence needs to be attached to those. That is where the goats will work their magic this spring and summer. That area is thick with garlic mustard and all sorts of weeds. They will munch it down, keep it mowed, and allow me to sow better pasture seeds for the following years of grazing.
The steer. He is out there, by himself. But not really. He is making friends with the sheep and goats who rush to munch the bales of fresh hay with him every morning. The relatively small ram thinks he needs to butt heads with the steer, and the steer has learned that the bellow of a loud "MOOOOO" will clear the others from the feed area in no time. There is some comedy happening out there.
I am calling him "Boy". He is warming up to me, and will leap over hay or other obstacles when he sees the tell-tale red plastic coffee can full of his grain. Still not wanting to let me touch him, but the brush works magic, just like it did when I needed to tame his mama 4 years ago.
So Bessie is gone, "Boy" is still here, and the flock of pregnant sheep, herd of pregnant goats, and population of hogs combined are eating just as much hay as when Bessie was munching the supply. It's interesting to see how much more hay we go through right before the babies arrive in the spring.
Speaking of spring babies...the coyotes know what time of year it is here, and are making their presence known, as well. Taffy barks almost every night now, inside the house, because the coyotes are singing in the fields around us. We looked into Livestock Guardian Dogs, and may still get one in the future. But...a different dog is available and fits the small homestead farm that we have going on here.
This is where the explanation of the cute pup in the photo comes in.
He is an English Shepherd, like Taffy. He is of a breeding that will be an excellent match for our own sweet girl when the timing is right. I have no misconceptions about this pup being able to take on coyotes, but...he is coming from a setting where he is an outside dog on a farm. He will live outside, in safety, but also as a deterrent to predators. He has been chosen for our setting by Taffy's breeders, as a good future mate but also as a good "outside" farm manager type, like farm collies were a century ago. He will not be expected to do the job of a Livestock Guardian, but instead will be the doggy "presence" that so many old-time farms had. We will make sure he is safe. But he will also be able to patrol at night when he wants to.
We have chosen the name of a Dutch artist for him: Rembrandt. We keep coming back to the nick-name "Remy" (yes, like the rat's name in the movie Ratatouille) He has a great English Shepherd in his pedigree: Remington Steele, who is also known as "Remy". So this is a nod to his great-great grandsire without using the exact name.
Still not sure when he will arrive. Hoping it is not in the middle of baby season, when my attention will be rightfully centered on goats, sheep, and pigs giving birth in the barn.
He is 7 or 8 months old, reserved by Taffy's breeders to go to the right home where he can be used as the farm dog he was bred to be.
The photos show him as a pup.
I am bit anxious to see him and kiss the top of his head and introduce him gradually to the critters that he will spend his time with.
A question that will be answered in time....will we be able to leave him outside on the back step, looking in? But we've made so many other adjustments since leaving the suburban yard. This one will be a good adjustment, too.
(And just a request: Please do not wring your hands.... Please do not call to ask me if another dog is a good idea...) :)
We have talked this through over the past month...and months...and even before that. I have planned all of our fencing and hog pens and gate placement and the interior set-up of the barn with an outside farm dog in mind.... It is a family decision for the farm, and we are ready for little Remy to join us!
And one more random bit of info: hoping this news is NEWS by the end of this afternoon. That suburban house which we moved from 5+ years ago.... It was rented for many of those years. Has been on the market since the beginning of October 2016. The final closing paperwork should be completed this afternoon. We owned that house for over 20 years, lived in it for at least 16, raised our family there until the idea of a farm started to be too strong to ignore. This afternoon it will become the home of a new family, and we pray that they are as blessed living there as our family was.
New chapters starting no matter how you look at it.
Turning 50....Who knew? It doesn't feel any different!
One last fond "farewell" to the only cow I have owned and told stories about for the past 4 years here...
Gearing up for welcoming all the new life this spring (and looking forward to sharing that excitement with you!).
The sale of our suburban home and the knowledge that the Palatine chapter of our family's life is truly over.
An eager and early "Welcome" to Remy, who will join us as soon as travel plans are arranged.
And an invite to come and visit us... I *may* be exhausted from preparing for and then obsessing over births in the next couple of months, but...if you'd like to see how things are coming along here at the farm, please let me know and come on out to see how things have changed!!!
Laura
