Warmer Climes and Snow Deer

Wonderful webcam at a waterhole in Africa. Spent a happy few hours out of the freezing cold wind watching an elephant and hippo be-sporting themselves in the afternoon sun.

http://www.justin.tv/wildearthtv#r=fnmiw0o

And while we are doing "Animal Planet" check out these white deer in Wisconsin:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/generic.html?s=inwi10s22a3q81f

As Others See Us

Link to a gallery of photos in the London Guardian newspaper, showing DC in the snow.

This isn't funny anymore!

Or in USA-speak "it's gotten old". That is the weather. We are standing by for more snow (already falling as I write) and Jorg is once again on snow removal duty. We have been promised wind this time, which may well make it the worse one yet. My sympathies to all you farms further north and west, who must feeling like it will never end.

So, if I have to retreat to the house and batten down the hatches, what better way to spend the time than watching Rugby. Good old BBC America has decided to show five of the Six Nation's matches live, including three of England's. A real delight (unless, of course, the unthinkable happens and we lose!) and provided the power lines stay up, and nobody colic's I shall be there tomorrow (Saturday) at 12 noon, beer in hand ready for the off. (If anyone else in the US, is interested it is Channel 264 on Direct TV). Obviously the next day's little affair (football match of some sort) pales into insignificance compared to England v Wales at Twickenham.

There is a silver lining after all, but it won't really be right until Jorg is safely back and the farm is complete again.

BOHECA

Those of you who have worked for large organizations (or in the UK) may know the expression summed up by BOHECA (I apologize if I offend anyone's susceptibilities) and which heralded changes in management practices, ruling political parties and the like - "Bend Over Here it Comes Again"! Well this winter's weather is giving me the same feeling. The view from our house has gone white again, and a cold wind is whistling around the eaves. The forecasters got it right over night with about 2 inches, and now we have a steady fall, which looks like getting up to at least the 6 to 9 inch level. C'est la guerre, but my feelings about this season are bad enough with short days and cold weather, struggling through snow and chipping ice off buckets just adds to the misery.

However, for once I listened to the weather forecasts and spent yesterday, with the help of our tireless rescue volunteer Julia Fussell (for whom grateful thanks) actually getting prepared for the snow storm. By nightfall everyone (horses, cows, sheep and chickens) was nicely tucked up in their various stalls and coops, with full bellies, hay to munch on and full water buckets. Luckily there is little wind so drifts are unlikely, and I had the good sense to put a store of hay bales in each barn ready for the weekend. Even with the tractor, struggling around the farm in a snow storm to deliver bales is tiring work! I even made sure that the hoses were empty and the bucket filling chore should be a little easier. Roll on Spring!

Rosebud went into standing heat on Thursday and so our friend Rhonda from 3 Rs brought the straws over and performed the miracle of conception, or at least the insemination part of it. Our aim this year is to have all three girls freshening around the same time, and well before the end of year cold sets in. Leo and Mona, haven't appeared to been too affected by the very cold nights we have had, but it isn't the best time of the year to be newborn. We also wanted to avoid the high hots of Summer, which leaves two fairly narrow windows of Spring and Fall.

Well, if the power goes out we have our new emergency generator switch ready, to give us water; the logs are cut for the house fires; the fuel oil tank has just been filled; we have food and feed enough to ride out a few days; and I added to the beer and wine collection (just in case). Should be good to go! Unfortunately, Jorg is on snow removal, which is the only blight on what could otherwise be a cosy weekend, once the menagerie have been taken care of. Hope wherever you are out there, you too are safe and warm and don't have to brave the elements.

Terrible Twine

One thing I always stress (among many others I hasten to add) to volunteers helping out with the rescue, is to bin twine. Those pieces of green or brown string around the bales of hay have a habit of escaping, and the perils of ingested and entangled twine are well documented. Well I now have another peril to add to the list that, unfortunately, I was responsible for. On letting the chickens out of the large coop the other week I found one of the Buff Orpington mixes hanging upside down, suspended by her feet from one of the perches. She had managed to pick up, and wrap around her feet, the cotton strand from the top of a feed bag, which I had inadvertently let drop on the floor of the coop. In her scratching in the sawdust of the coop she must have got it totally entwined around both feet, and then hopped up onto the perch, slipped and caught the cotton on a splinter of the perch. Luckily she couldn't have been hanging long, although at first sight I thought I had lost her, as once I had her upright and in my lap she rapidly recovered. Getting the cotton off was not easy, but we were lucky in that it hadn't cut into her legs.

So, I add another peril to our list of things to be careful with, and learn a lesson which, fortunately, didn't end in tragedy.

White Bird Video

 Thanks to Lennie Tierney, a prize winning video producer, the White Bird Appaloosa Horse Rescue now has a beautifully compiled video, with accompaniment courtesy of Madeline MacNeil, and narration by Lynne Daley. We think it is a great addition to the Rescue's published material and hope you enjoy it too.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyqIx1efJAI

Saving the Apples

In 1872, there were over 1100 varieties of apples that were considered to be uniquely American. These trees were adapted to local conditions and were grown by farmers for reasons that included sweetness, cider suitability, ripening season, disease resistance, the ability to store and many other characteristics. They provided a genetic diversity that has largely disappeared in today's commercial apple market. There are several reasons for this disappearance. Many heritage varieties had short growing seasons, did not store well, or were easily bruised. In today's more industrialized market, commercial varieties are those that store well, have tough skins and have high visual appeal to supermarket customers. Taste has not been a high priority. The commercial varieties have been so heavily promoted that it is becoming increasingly rare to find heritage varieties being marketed. And the upshot is that many of the old varieties are being lost, despite often having superior taste and other qualities. In many cases, surviving varieties are represented by only a few remaining trees, located and identified by apple preservationists.

When Tom and I decided to plant apple trees, we opted for heritage varieties, with an emphasis on those that originated in this part of the country. We did a lot of homework to determine which were resistant to blight, likely to thrive in our heavy soils, would make good cider and would be good pollinators. The names of antique varieties are colorful and evocative, including names such as: Bedforshire Foundling, Five Crown Pippin and Homeburger Pancake, and they offer glimpses into a time long past. We found two growers in VA and NC who offered heritage apples and from their impressive array of choices, selected: Yellow June, Bevan's favorite, Grimes Golden,Limbertwig, Kinnaird's Choice, Joseph's, Red Limbertwig, Horse, Golden Russet, Pomme Gris, Albemarle Pippin, Hewes (Virginia) Crab and Wickson Crab. Braving the damp and cold, we managed to get our little trees into the ground before the weather got truly unpleasant.

We will be growing these trees using organic methods, not only to make sure we know what we are eating, but because we will want to ensure that our little pollinators remain healthy. In April, with the help of Ken W., we will be bringing in two hives of bees. To help both bees and apples, we will be seeding the new orchard with a combination of clover seed and a wildflower mix selected for bee forage characteristics. Achieving a healthy balance between the soil, trees and beneficial insects will be our project for 2010. At least, the one we choose. We have a way of ending up with projects we never anticipated.

We wish everyone a happy and prosperous New Year!

Smokehouse Apple, discovered in 1837, growing near a Pennsylvania smoke house. Photo from: All About Apples at: http://www.allaboutapples.com/varieties/var_s2.htm#smokehouse