Vanderosa Farm |
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Vanderosa Farm Has a much needed NEW MILK BARN! Built by B3 Builders in Bolivar MO. We are very pleased to finally have our new barn that we have waited for several years. We highly recommend B3 Builders. If you are looking to build something, visit their website at http://builtbyb3.com/
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It's been almost a year since I last posted anything here. It's not because we have slowed down any. Just the opposite. I have been too busy to post and keep up with everything online. With a cooler wetter spring the garden has been slower to take off, but our broccoli and cabbages seem to really be liking the cooler weather. Lots of babies this spring. We totaled out with over 30 goat kids. We've had 3 calves born since November, 2 of which were heifers that we'll keep to add to the milk production in a couple of years. In the case I don't post again for a long time, HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!!!
Our garden got a late start due to cold weather hanging on so long, but it won't be long till we are offering fresh veggies for sale. First will be Kale and Chinese cabbage, followed by Swiss Chard, Tomatoes, Okra, Corn and Melons. I'm sure we'll have some other stuff too, I planted lots more than what I just listed.
Above all I hope everyone has a fun and safe summer! I think we might have finally had our last frost last week. The polar vortex just doesn't want to quit.
Now it's time to get everything planted into the garden! YAY! Fresh veggies soon!!! I have been so busy that I haven't had time to post anything new. We are remodeling a mobile home for my father-in-law and his wife to move into. They are currently in Alabama. And with 2 kids and the farm I've got plenty to keep me hopping. Eventually things will slow down. I'll post when I can. I hope EVERYONE has a SAFE and HAPPY summer! Please read the posted link below for those of you who plan to be around water this summer, it could save a life. http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/family/2013/06/rescuing_drowning_children_how_to_know_when_someone_is_in_trouble_in_the.html It's been a rollercoaster of temperatures so far this winter. 50 degrees one day, 15 the next. We've had ice and snowfall. The next 3 days are forecasted to be down right brutal. Starting tonight in the lower 30's an estimated 7-10 inches of snow overnight and a freefalling nose-dive of temperatures dipping down to -5 tomorrow night. Monday our temperatures are expected to spike all the way up to 3 degrees. On top of this they are calling for -20 to -30 wind chill. Now I understand why our goats would not breed for their usual December/January kidding season. They knew better than me. I was disappointed, until now.
We are feeding unlimited hay and extra grain to help all of our critters stay warm. ALL of our animals have shelter. Even the cows are able to go into a barn out of the wind. We have tank heaters in place to keep their water from freezing, so it will be drinkable to also help them stay warm. Extra care is taken to avoid frozen teats and frostbitten udders. We are bedding all barns heavily with straw so the have a warm dry place to lay down. No animal will be isolated through these cold temps. Everyone has at least a buddy to huddle with. We are grateful that these temperatures are short term and will be over in a couple days. We are looking forward to spring more and more. After an abundant growing season it's time to start winding down. I've spent my summer preserving (canning) like a crazy person. I have canned veggies on an average of 3 days a week most of the summer. this year we grew beets, kale, swiss chard, eggplant, green beans, wax beans, zucchini, 5 kinds of squashes, corn, tomatoes, okra, peppers, herbs and melons. Needless to say, I think we've got plenty for winter. When I wasn't canning I was in the garden or with the critters, even the 2 leggers. I spent several evenings on the Niangua River setting limb lines with my boys. They got to experience what a canoe is all about. We even put a gar in the smoker, it was actually quite good eating. It was a busy, busy summer to say the least. That is exactly why I hadn't updated the website. We recently had 2 baby calves born, I'll post them in the "pictures" section. There has been a lot of requests that I offer a "cheese making" class. If this is something you would be interested in please email me as I am considering doing so. As the ice and snow melts and the ground thaws, the daffodils start to emerge and there's a song in the breeze...the song of the PEEPER! That's right, the PEEPER. He's a little frog who crawls up out of the mud, and is the first to let us know that we're almost there. I've heard the peepers for almost a week now, only a few more freezes and we can say we've made it. Which is good because spring means grass and no more feeding hay which is in short supply. For more information about the peeper visit: http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/spring-peeper
With January comes cold weather and our kidding season. Extra feeding, extra watering and making sure there's plenty of dry bedding. We give our herd all the hay they can eat and provide extra supplements free choice so the babies have everything they need nutritionally before birth so that when they are born they have the best chance of survival and our doe's will have better body condition for the milking season ahead of them. As the doe's get closer we watch them carefully so we can bring them indoors if needed because of the weather. We will have lots of babies this season, and lots of milk. There is nothing cuter than a newborn baby goat. Our first due date is January 18th. So until then we will be watching and waiting with our Obstetrical kit ready.
We recently gained a new herd member. She is a Jersey cow named Velvet (pictured to the left), who has added even more cream to the sweet delicious milk. It makes wonderful mozzarella. We've been quite busy since the last posting. We had our fall "stripping" of the garden a few days before frost. Then of course was deer season - I bagged 2. We've had the building of a bigger chicken-coop to house all of our chickens. Unfortunately for some of those chickens (the roosters) they will get to become dinner guests. I will likely can most of them to save freezer space. Currently we are shifting things around and getting ready to kick it into high gear in January when all the baby goats start being born. There will be several sleepless nights and lots of round the clock feedings no matter what the weather is then. Hopefully it won't be extremely cold, but if it is, we'll be ready. As we all know, we've had an EXTREME drought this summer. Our growing season wasn't all that it started off to be, but we still did well considering the extreme heat which resulted in difficult pollenating, but we still managed a good harvest. We are still getting tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and okra. We put in a fall garden as well, with green beans, beets, cabbage, turnips, cauliflower and broccoli. We canned lots of salsa, green beans, tomatoes, beets, pickles of all sorts, and froze beet tops, Swiss chard, corn, Chinese cabbage, yellow squash, zucchini, patty pan squash and okra. We had alot of Watermelons, some weighing in over 36 pounds! The tiger melons were new this year. A very interesting fruit similar to cantaloupe or honey dew, but smaller very fragrant. We have also planted turnips in some of our pastures to help with our winter grazing as there is a hay shortage this year. The pears are starting to turn sweet on our trees. They are smaller this year, but plentiful. Our goats have ended their milking season early due to the drought, but they'll be back to work mid January. The cows are close to having their babies, so we'll be back on track shortly. For the next few days or so we'll get to have some much needed time off. |