Howdy friends, family and followers, it has been a busy and eventful week here at Whippoorwill Creek Farm. Much of what we do isn't that interesting (see last week's article on cow shit for example), being daily or semi daily occurrences, but this week we really stepped up our game.
First, our original Hereford bulls, Bib and Bob went off to the happy hunting grounds, to be replaced by Barry and Boy, pure Red Devons. Beth was pretty sad for them, but both of the Herefords had lived the excellent life of bulls.
They lived a life of lots of sex, being the boss and long periods of rest where they got to push each other around and eat pretty much whatever they wanted, getting bigger and studlier as they went. In the end, it was their size that did them in, as I am looking for smaller framed cattle to finish more easily on grass instead of high calorie grain, something that the Red Devon breed is known for. Barry and Boy are from petite bloodlines comparatively, so hopefully we have made some good choices for our grass fed future.
Still on the cattle front, I have to tell you something that hopefully isn't too disturbing, but - 'I like big butts and I cannot lie, you other brothers can't deny -'.
Gotta say that my yearlings are starting to get some big ol' butts because I am grazing them on my best pastures to get them to our first customers this fall. Big butts means they are getting to size, something that shouldn't really happen until next spring in grass-fed time. I have my fingers crossed we will actually sell a few in 2020 - I will keep you updated on progress with pics (in Instagram - visit us there @whippoorwill_creek_farm if you like that sort of thing).
The house has also had a big twofer as well this week with both the finishing of the windows for our 3 season porch (I did these myself with some help from Beth) and perhaps more importantly, the completion of the siding on the house.
The windows were a bit of a journey as I found out they had been framed too high on the wall to fit under the soffit when I tried to fit the first one in.
(Envision lots of swearing and Beth throwing a minor tantrum.) It is an easy mistake to make in framing I am told, so after my disgruntlement at having paid someone to do the job wrong, I got to work recutting the sill supports for all 7 windows, then finally fitting the windows into the new spaces. It took a lot of extra work, but I am a more confident framer having finished the job without any major hitches. Plus, it is now the coolest room in the house and even though it is full of tools, we are hanging out there a lot.
The siding, on the other hand, was done by a professional crew who hit the place like a ton of bricks and was done in two and a half days. The only bad moment we had (if you can call it that) was when we realized that we should have ordered blue caulking to match the paint on the new cedar siding.
We compromised with clear rather than delay the whole process and wait the two weeks for "Salty Dog Blue" to arrive. I'm pretty sure we made the right choice as the house no longer looks like a piece from the set of Deliverance.
And last, but certainly not least, our hard fought garden has begun paying off in a big way with tomatoes and cucumbers aplenty and with pumpkins, squash and sweetcorn only moments away.
We are on our third round of pickle making and will soon be into canning tomatoes for the winter - but right now, it's BLT time and I'm sorry to say 'No, you can't have any of mine.'
Love you all and until next week, stay healthy, socially distanced and safe.