Made our first batch of 2013 butter today. Cows’ diet is mainly hay right now. Just had some well-needed rain, so the pastures are finally beginning to green up. 🙂
Today’s (hay) butter on the left side of the picture is slightly less yellow than the (pasture) butter we have been finishing up from October on the right side… It’s always fun to watch the butter colors change with the seasons. 🙂
Started this morning out walking to the cross – celebrating the new life we have in Jesus Christ…
Multiple generations, adding pine branches to the cross, since only one, lone daffodil dared to bloom in this chilly spring…
Kinda cool, though – the symbolism of “evergreen” branches… Makes me think of how God is EVERlasting…
First year we’ve ever had a dog join us, lol… 🙂
And now some “farm parallels” of NEW LIFE…
Meet Buttercup:
A gift to The Boys by my Grandma & Grandpa Cegelka back in 2005. They have since passed, so she’s extra special now, and is always asked about by my aunts and uncles… When Mike & I went up to do a calf check, we witnessed her water break, so we hung around to catch the entire miraculous birth. Thought is was significant that she chose to have her calf in a patch of briars. No, not her level of intelligence, lol, but that it reminded me of the crown of thorns piercing Jesus’ head.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5 NIV)
And that her 3-year-old daughter, Reececup, decided to see what all the excitement was about. Made me think of “generations of families” and of Psalm 145 that we had just shared this morning…
One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty— and I will meditate on your wonderful works. They tell of the power of your awesome works— and I will proclaim your great deeds. They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. (Psalm 145:4-7 NIV)
(You’ll see Reesecup in the background, behind the briars…)
Buttercup’s new calf’s name is Milkdud. Her markings are beautiful! I’ll do a separate post about Milkdud, but couldn’t resist a couple pics for this one.
Thank You, Lord, for allowing us to witness new life coming onto this farm today. As I meditate on the significance of this Holy Week, I’m so grateful that Good Friday was not the end of Your story – that we all have the promise of eternal life through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Amen
I personally like Chris & Conrad’s version, and have it on my playlist. Many times, I have prayed the words to this song. Speaks “Easter” to me. 🙂
“Lead Me To The Cross”
Savior I come
Quiet my soul remember
Redemption’s hill
Where Your blood was spilled
For my ransom
Everything I once held dear
I count it all as lost
[Chorus:]
Lead me to the cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to You
Lead me, lead me to the cross
You were as I
Tempted and trialed
Human
The word became flesh
Bore my sin and death
Now you’re risen
Everything I once held dear
I count it all as lost
[Chorus]
To your heart
To your heart
Lead me to your heart
Lead me to your heart
[Chorus]
Yesterday, Mike mowed a path through the briars for tomorrow’s sunrise worship. As I saw the path to the cross this morning, this song came to my mind. 🙂
A day full of shifting perspectives:
…like waking up to 4 inches of snow on day 5 of spring is not-so-bad when the extended forecast boasts of 50 degree days around-the-corner…
…and poison ivy & briars can be quite beautiful with a layer of glistening snow on its branches…
…and cows don’t seem to mind rooting through cold wetness when they know the salad bar they saw the day before is hiding beneath it…
…and roads that just a few hours before were rutted in mud are now marked by the moisture to define a clear path…
…and sons who aren’t “babies” anymore & are taller than me can still find joy in making a snowman & snowball fights…
Thank You, Lord, for helping me to shift my perspective from dwelling on the negative to finding the positive. Thanksgiving is such a wonderful gift! Amen
We actually DID get our full week to prepare for calving season to start. Just milking one cow has been quick & enjoyable. (I’m happy because I have my FRESH CREAM for my coffee now! Yeah. I’m definitely motivated by my favorite foods, lol.) 🙂
Was out enjoying a walk today with Mike & took a few pics to show what the transition from winter to spring looks like here.
Here’s a pic of our dairy girls eating the round bale of hay Mike unrolled for them in Mordor. I love to see the “hay trail” across the field. Won’t be long & our pastures should be green & lush for grazing… 🙂
And then there’s the mud. A true “ugly-beautiful”, lol. Yes, it’s messy, slippery, and challenging to get around in… BUT, it means we have received moisture and it is a wonderful reminder that a season overflowing with growth & miracles is on the way! 🙂
We are excited about seeing some neat colors/color patterns in our calves this year. In an effort to breed more “beefiness” into our herd, we purchased a shorthorn bull, Cleatus, last year. This is our first round of calves from him. Thought it was cool to see his influence on Cuke’s tail. Now that she’s all cleaned up, we can see a neat variation of colors on her coat. Can’t wait to see the rest! 🙂
Here are some pics of Cleatus from last summer that I never had a chance to post.
AND AWAY WE GO… Mike went up to do the calf check this morning & saw PeaPod off by herself. Her official due date was for NEXT Saturday, but, all indications were that she was most likely gonna have one TODAY. And right he was…
Went back up to the field about 6 hours later, and here’s what we saw…
As we got closer, we could tell the calf had just been born – getting its first bath…
It’s a GIRL!! Her name is Cuke. 🙂
We were hoping we’d have all next week to be more prepared, but apparently the Lord thinks we are ready enough, lol.
Mike worked on putting the runway fence back up, and had some help from his brother and Paul.
By the time we were ready to bring them down to the barn, Little Cuke had a nice fat tummy, and had plenty of energy to make the long walk down to the barn. 🙂
Cuke’s Aunt Pepper joined in the parade down to the barn. Her baby is due any day now, too. 🙂
We take our harvests and try to stretch it to feed us for one year. Rather than work to a certain “number”, we take whatever our harvest is & divide it by 12. Saves us a lot of stress – that fear of “not having enough”… It encourages us to be more content with what we have and plan our meals accordingly. 🙂
I do keep a record of each year’s total on the pantry shelves with a piece of masking tape – just so I have a ballpark idea of what we had the previous couple of years. Helps with knowing how many canning supplies I should invest in for the next season, too. And quite honestly, once we finish processing, I stop thinking about it & my brain can’t recall those numbers when someone asks. (This blog is actually helping to document tallies as well…) 🙂
Once the monthly breakdown is calculated, I mark each jar with the month it can be used in. It helps me to see at a glance what items I have “available” to use & plan our meals accordingly. Since we all cook here, it allows the current chef to assess his options from our pantry “grocery store”… And it keeps my boys from eating 22 quarts of dilly beans in 2 months, lol! 🙂
I have yet to remember to weigh our potato harvests. While the kennebec potatoes we grow don’t last us a full year, we can usually go 6 months or so. Last season we started with 3 milk-crates of taters, and are now into our last crate. They are sprouting, but not soft.
And Grandma’s special sweet potatoes are wrapped in newspapers & stored in a crate as well. I forgot to weigh these, too – but I do know we had 2 crates full. These taters last longer – I bet we go 9 months or so… 🙂
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