Kids in the evening

We are having a glorious warmer-than-usual spell. Up into the 80's yesterday with gusty winds and loads of sunshine. It is all too good to waste, so I planted flowers yesterday. Strictly speaking, the last date of frost is towards the end of May, but I decided to risk it. I may wake up one morning to frost blackened plants and have to do it all over again, but if they live, we will get an extra month of flowers. For whatever reason, I find it fun to gamble with boring things. I used to drive home from college (26 miles away) on empty, just to see if I could. Wait until the night before to start my 24 page paper. See if I could really get through the week with only x number of diapers. See if I can walk the three mile loop and get back to get the kids hair done in time for the bus. It is sort of like a stay-at-home-mothers version of being an adrenaline junkie. I might be diagnosed with a gambling problem, if the stakes weren't negligible. And of course, gambling with anything vaguely important makes me break out in a cold sweat. I heard that the amount of money bet on the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight was more than several nations gross domestic product. And since it took place the same day as the Kentucky Derby, I can only imagine that we could have made a large hole in the national debt with the amount of money on the table in America on Saturday. That sort of gambling makes me a little sick to my stomach. The agony! How could anyone be cool enough to enjoy anything after betting several tens of thousands of dollars? But give me a frost free date weeks away and a few flats of flowers and I happily gamble away. 

While not busy endangering my family's future flowers, we have been enjoying the sunshine. Reveling in the novel feeling of being too hot, after a long winter of being cold. 

Gilbert has taken to being Hoyt's instructor. Hoyt does not always appreciate the honor of being bossed around. 

Interrupting Hoyt, rubbing Penny's tummy, to tell him how to pat the dog

Running Lily

Cody's Beauty

Elsie, Hoyt, and Squirrel

This is the sort of life Hoyt has to endure. Just walking along and his father has to come along and jump over him.

Heading out to feed the calf

These two are pretty good friends

This squirrel thing is a very new obsession. Which may already be waning. But it was cute while it lasted. 

Hoyt carefully holding a Fisher Price record. You never know when you might need one.

Evening swinging

Hoyt, the optimist

Lily, flying high

I like both these pictures. Even though they aren't much different.

Hoyt got to borrow squirrel for a little moment. 

Orianna, swinging into the sunset

Evening light and maple buds 

Elsie looking up

Peering through the peephole

Hoyt in his listening pose. He points to his ear "What's that?"

Elsie finding squirrel, who had climbed the tree, courtesy of Lily

Shipping cows

As most of you know, my brother and Dad have beef cows. After selling our dairy herd fourteen (!!?!) years ago, Dad bought a few beef cows. Owen has been adding and subtracting cows, until they have a combined herd of about... 134. (I had to call Tori for that number.) That is cows, yearlings, and calves. For quite a few years, they only sold a few cows here and there, at auction or to individual buyers, who wanted a side (or two) of grass fed beef. Northern New York is not the best market for specialty meat though, since most people are unconcerned about the make up of their beef. So the majority of the beef was sold at auction, which worked, but was inherently volatile. Some days, they sold well, other days, they didn't. Then a few years ago, a buyer approached them to do large scale buys for a farm that supplies Whole Foods. They agreed, which streamlines the process enormously.

This morning, a truck came to pick up 30 yearlings. Justin went over to help and Elsie, Gilbert, and I tagged along to take pictures and be general nuisances. 

A cow out the barn window

Tori getting the calf milk ready. One of the cows didn't produce milk after calving, so the calf has to bottle fed. 

Dad heading out to the barn

Heading out to feed the calf

Feeding

The truck doth arrive

And everyone went over to help direct it

The cows 

The truck driver, opening the gate. 

Tori being tough

Owen had to have a corral for loading, but he didn't want something permanent on that part of the farm, so he got creative with feeder wagons, panels, tractors, and trucks. 

Backing up to the loading chute

Which Owen built.

And I had my zoom, so a close up of spring woods. See the reddish at the bottom there? Trees are beautiful in the spring.

Loading the first batch

The driver hovers up here, ready to drop down as soon as the allotted number of cows have entered. 

Driving them in

Ashley (who is having a baby this week) and Hoyt arrived to watch too

I love this boy

The final bunch. It went pretty quick actually. Some years, the cows head every which way but in. This year, they were pretty well behaved.

A full load

One of the condemned.

I admit it, I felt a little awful for them, having to leave in the middle of such a beautiful spring. Owen and Tori know them all, and were saying goodbye to the good ones. I felt teary. But these cows have had the best life possible up until now. Green fields, abundant feed, open air, and lots of company. I feel sure that Whole Foods demands humane slaughter, so life is better for these ones than countless others.  

Gilbert saying goodbye

Owen and Dad have to follow the truck to a local farm that has a scale, so everyone is sure they have accurate numbers.  

Heading out.