Preparations for Next Year

It's never too early to anticipate a happy event! No, I'm not pregnant, and neither is Jorg. Our animal "children" keep us more than fully occupied! Next year (2011) is a milestone birthday for me, and we will be receiving an influx of family visitors on the farm. This will be especially exciting as none of our UK family has seen Triskelion Farm. As a prelude to the visit we have been scraping and painting the house woodwork, and the garden in front of the house has been cleared of the old bushes, leaving room for something more in keeping with the style.



The red barn sides and ends have finally been finished, with a new sliding door, rotting timbers cut out, and the broken glass replaced by plexiglass windows. Jorg is busy painting, and an old carriage wheel will take pride of place above the door. The barn was in bad shape when we bought the farm, with both sliding doors falling off, one side collapsing and sliding out, and the other with gaping holes. It was much too nice to let go, and the main support timbers were sound. Our thanks to Tod Davies who has made a great job of the renovation over the past three years. We now have three cow stalls, a sheep stall, and a run in/winter stall for the minis and Oreo. The hay loft is sound, with only some minor work needing to be done on the roof, and just the electrics needing completion.


One of our granddaughters who is particularly anxious to come and help with the farm and horses is 8-year old Milly, who has been learning to ride and is now a competent tacker-upper, stall mucker-outer and rider. She, and her cousin Aoife, will be welcome additions to our volunteer ranks as, of course, will their parents (just joking - possibly!) Milly has also taken a shine to Bear, one of our sanctuary horses and our oldest inhabitant. He will be her special responsibility while she is with us.

Visitors from the South

They are my favorite visitors, the Barn Swallows. Although whether they are visitors here, or in the south when they leave for the winter, I'm not really sure. However, if their leaving is a sign that Summer is over (as they line up on wires as if waiting for a train) then their return is a definite indication that Spring is well underway. One swallow may not a Summer make, but the four pairs that have returned again this year are surely a hint! It amazes me that they can fly as far afield as Argentina, and still find their way back to a small barn in rural Virginia. Supposed to be something to do with the Earth's magnetic field, which strikes me as OK for the North/South direction, but leaves a lot of latitude (pun intended!) for East/West deviation. Anyway, I'm just glad to see them back, and watch their antics in catching their body weight in bugs to feed their offspring and themselves. My bird book says they fly around 600 miles every day to collect enough! Makes my daily 4 miles around the farm small beer, and puts into perspective those thousand's of miles journeys.

Triskelion's Leonardo and Triskelion's Mona Lisa

We say farewell to Leo this Sunday, and to Mona shortly. Weaning has been relatively trouble free, and are thankful that our cows are so easy to handle, and seem to have passed that down to their calves. Mona is a sweetie and, as we bonded in those first 24 hours as I tried to encourage her to suck Bessie not my fingers, she will be hard to let go. Not least because she is a great example of a mini-Jersey calf, but also she gets quite excited when she sees me coming. Leo is more timid and standoffish, but perfect for a bull calf as you really don't want him in your pocket - even if it is cute when he is small! Both have been taught to halter, lead and tie, and should do us credit in their new homes. Mona will be joining Elvis, and Leo is off to WV with a clean bill of health, both with up to date vaccinations.

Spring is Sprung

As the White Rabbit said "I'm late. I'm late..........." So much to do and so little time to do it.

One minute it's winter and everything is cold, grey and lifeless; the next we are in the 80's, and green, pink and white are bursting out all over. No half measures in Virginia! "Spring is sprung and the grass is grizz" as we used to say. Add your own variation to "I wonder where the.......is?" Lawn mower, veggies, gardener, chainsaw?















The bees, or at least the first hive, have arrived, just in time for the apple and pear blossom. Ken, the Keeper of the Bees, set up our first hive, a small colony to start us off - about 10,000 bees! They were a little tetchy at first, having been kept inside when they expected to be out and about, then vibrated for an hour's drive, and finally dumped in a totally new environment.















However, sanity prevailed and the Lewis's and Clarke's of the hive flew off to scout the farm, and I had the privilege of actually seeing the "waggle" dance on their return. A communication involving body movements and wings, that imparts distance from the hive and declension of the sun, and probably includes acreage, number of trees and likelihood of bee-eating varmints!

On a serious note, maintaining a good honey bee population has become a serious problem. Without them the pollination of fruit in particular becomes seriously impaired. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is a phenomena where a hive's bees (which can contain anywhere from 30,000 to 50,000 bees) up and leave, with very few dead bees apparent. Other problems include mites and fungal infections that have also reduced honey bee populations throughout the world. Beekeeping is being encouraged to combat this decline, and if you don't feel up to doing the job yourself many beekeepers (like our own Ken Woodard) are looking for suitable places to put hives, and will maintain them, providing honey in exchange. Still not convinced, then try some of his honey. What's not to like!

The orchard is now complete, with apples, crab apples, pears and peaches, and while the younger trees will not fruit until next year the amount of blossom on the older ones promises some fruit this year (deer permitting).

Meanwhile, Jorg is furiously planting veggies while maintaining good crop rotation and we hope for some great produce to pack out the larder.

Pet Myths

O Frabjous Day!

"O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'

He chortled in his joy."

Yesterday a strange thing happened. A large yellow disc was seen in a cloudless sky, and the temperature reached a level no longer requiring the wearing of 6 layers of clothes! Cleaning the water troughs suddenly became a pleasurable experience, and hoses miraculously became conduits of water again. Was this the end of winter as we know it? Has March remembered the "going out like a lamb" part of the rhyme? It may be too early to tell, but the sun and 60F are fine by me.

Of course with the warmer weather comes the work! Veggie plots to be pooped and turned over; clover to be seeded for the bees (meaning a fence to be erected to keep out the deer (clover AND young apple tree shoots - mmmm!); muzzles to be inspected and mended ready for the spring grass; grassy areas and paddocks to be chain harrowed to get rid of the ruts and hoof marks; and so on and so forth! However, better that than the eternal gloom and cold we have had this winter. My worst since coming to Virginia in 1999. But then Jorg kept telling me I hadn't seen a real VA winter. Well now I have, and survived it, and intend to thoroughly enjoy the sun.

Spring Around the Corner!?

We are waiting with bated breath for what we hope is Winter's last flourish tonight. Although remembering the kick in the butt that March gave us last year, maybe she has one further trick up her sleeve! However, it has been nice to see the sun, and also see the days extend minute by minute daily. The maple buds are visible and we look forward to that wonderful haze that comes over what look like lifeless trees and bushes, indicating that leaves and blossom are on their way. If we could do away with the chilly winds I would be a happy man.

With Spring, of course, comes the hectic cleaning up and planting season, and Jorg has already got her starter plants seeded and sitting in our sun trap guest bedroom. We learn a little more each year on what to plant, what works and what doesn't. Our bee man Ken Woodard has been to the farm to work out the siting for his beehives, and Jorg is geared up for this new venture. We have a mini-orchard with heritage apples, pears, crab apple and peach trees, and with the clover that Ken wants to try out, we should have some happy bees and lovely fruit.

Mona Lisa and Trisket

Some time back, a rather bedraggled black and white cat turned up on our doorstep one wild and rainy night. Sporting half a tail, and a rather "in your face" affection Trisket, as he became named was litter trained and had obviously been a house cat. Once neutered (sorry old boy, it's the rule!) he was relegated to the barn with the other two cats, as our dog population were a little too much for him to handle! We have been trying to rehome him, as he is totally out of his element in the barn area. Utterly fearless, he wanders into horse stalls (when occupied) and hides under the tractor, and was an accident waiting to happen. Unusually, Mona Lisa thought he was cute and he liked her, as the photo shows. Well, Ken the bee man is a cat person with just one cat at home, and Trisket played the "love me" card, with the result he now is back to being a house cat. We wish all three happy times.

Our Honorary Appaloosa

In this difficult economy, many animals are without homes and finding new ones has become more difficult than in previous years. This problem is not unique to horses and can be a special challenge for farm animals that have become family pets. “Smooches” the cow is a ten-year old Holstein who lost her home and simply needed a place to live out her life.

We met Smooches over two years ago. She completely won us over with her endearing personality and fondness for treats. When her family lost their farm, Smooches' prognosis was not all that good and her owner, concerned about her safety, asked for our help in locating a suitable new home. Her concern was well-founded. Smooches has had a long history of mastitis. This fact and her advancing age, make her no longer suitable as a breeding or milking cow. She was at risk of being made into freezer beef, a risk her owner was unwilling to take.

While many people keep horses they can no longer ride, most do not realize that cattle can make equally good pets. This is largely due to the way that most are handled, or rather, not handled. Most cattle in this country are raised for commercial purposes and generally receive little or no socialization with people. They are unsurprisingly wary of humans. But most family cows are handled extensively. Any large animal that you are going to get that personal with needs to be gentle enough for you to work with without injury to either of  you. These cows often bond with their owners and can become very affectionate. Tom and I have a special soft spot for these sweet old girls, who have spent their lives being valuable members of someone's family.

While Smooches is not an Appaloosa, we have awarded her the first “Honorary Appaloosa” status ever given to a bovine. After talking to a number of  candidates, we are happy to report that she has found a wonderful new home. Our sincere congratulations to new mom, Taby, on the newest member of her family! Big thanks also, to Smooches' former owner for her compassion and willingness to do the right thing.