Friday and night shift.

Well we made it through the first full week of school without a major meltdown.  Sprout wanted to do band again this year.  After realizing she wasn't going to have much free time with this addition she has quickly changed her mind.  It's a blessing.  She just doesn't have time for it.  She's already in choir and volleyball, but one of the biggest reasons is that 4H doesn't end at our house after the fair is over.  We have breeding ewes and starters calves that have to be tended to at least until next year's fair.  The starter calves that we have at the fair become the next year's steers.  They need to be walked and worked with several times a week to keep them in show condition.  They are easier to handle as large animals when their training continues through out the year.

Our breeding ewes just need to be fed and handled some so they are used to us.  It makes it easier to check over the lambs when they are born.  It also makes them have less stress if they are used to you and less stress is always best for any livestock.  We don't get new starter calves and pigs until late spring so they aren't usually an issue.  This year our dairy heifer is going to a new farm that wants her for the milk.  We retain ownership, will have her bred, and will get the calves back from her.  If they are female they go back to them after showing them for two years.  If they are steers we will split the meat with them after showing for two years.  They want to have a small herd of milkers so we will continue to breed additional females.  We just don't have enough time to milk twice a day.  It's a good arrangement.  Sprout is happy her cow is going to a good home.  She's really attached to this one for some odd reason.

The ewe we have will be going to the breeders, but the cow will be artificially inseminated ( or AI ).  We have a friend who for many years had a dairy and did all of their AIing.  He still has the tank to store the semen that we order so we don't need to buy one.  I'm excited this is the first time we've had this done.  Lily the cow is one of my favorites I must admit.  She's very sweet and has distinct markings that make her pretty in my eyes.  Her breed is sort of rare here.  Holsteins are the most common breed in our area, but Lily is a line back breed.

This is a Holstein and a borrowed pic.

This is a line back and also a borrowed pics.

The line back breed is trying to make a comeback and we are doing our part to make that happen and since it's not one of the "recognizable" breeds of 4H you fall into an other category when showing dairy which puts you into the grand drive automatically.  Just gives Sprout more showing opportunities.  More chances to be in the ring.

FarmBoy goes back on nights starting this weekend which means I go into work a little later than normal on Monday since early care doesn't start until 7.  I have to rely on my calendar heavily now to keep my hours and everything else straight.  I'm grateful for google calendars to sync us all up, but I love have my happy planner to keep me going on all the little things I don't put into google.  The weather here is feeling like fall and it's way too early and a bit scary.  I'm afraid that winter could be harsh and long this year.  I'm planning on straightening my pantry shelves and see where I need to start stocking up this weekend.  We can get enough snow here in the winter to shut down the roads for a day or two.  I try to be prepared for that and so that I don't have to buy much in the winter.  I hate carrying in too much when it's cold and snowy out.