It is upon us.

Kidding season has started. Rosita is in the barn as we type in labor. Doesn't seem like she will kidd for a while, no rush to go watch yet. But since the last entry I have gotten silage several times, Grain about a dozen times, a load of hay from New York, gone visiting and finally finished the farm Web-site (at least for now www.soeltlfarm.com).

Kidding season has not started well. Two deliveries two weeks too soon left one Doe dead along with all three of her kidds. Another Doe alive but not her kidds. Not the best start to say the least.

Found my daughter a different pony but now my window to pick him up has closed. He (of course)was free for the use but he is in Maine. I will work in getting him in a few weeks.

The hay from New York is everything that people say it is. Very green and not very stalky even for the first cutting. Sure there is higher protein in the first cut but if they don't eat it what good is it? We have had a thaw and the cow pen is covered in uneaten hay. What a waste. The corn the girls are getting is not the best either so milk production is lower. The ducks and poultry are happy since there are a lot of non-digested corn kennels available to them. The wild turkey will be ecstatic. The veal calves are getting bigger and my daughters new 4-H project calf is due to be weaned. That will be one unhappy calf watching the others suck down three gallons of milk a day.

I will head out and look for some new veal calves to start. I have quite a list of client already. Finding decent calves however is proving difficult.

Four pigs have gone in to harvest and another seven have been started. Chicks and ducklings are due this week to start off our growing season. Many are already sold.

It is raining currently and I am going to grab my seed catalog and place my order. This week I will prune the fruit trees and bushes. I have to lay out all the pens and figure out how to concrete the breeding pens. I must look for two decent Solar Fencers. Our terrain is so rocky our ground rods are not effective and the fence doesn't shock the critters as it should. Having a personal fencer for several pens will help the rowdy critters maintain sanity, or not. Maybe I will just make them more difficult to contain.