Yesterday was the first time in seven months, four days that we had just the Lykosh Six here on the farm. (Phil drove Gramps up to the airport in the morning.)
I've been reading picture book after picture book to the two middle boys. How fun, to rediscover so many jewels on our shelves. (And a few books I figure I can box up, which will free up valuable shelf space.) The steady rain continued, leaving us with almost two inches so far this week. How nice to have both cooler weather, and an excuse to read inside.
Yesterday was also my first day to wash dishes at a sink here. Since we have the motor home, I brought a week's worth of dishes (or thereabouts) and washed them with a faucet and hot water. What great, great inventions were the water heater, sink, and faucet.
Phil decided that, since we're fencing the trees outside of the paddocks, there's no reason to keep the larger sheep away from the Babydolls, so he brought the four bigger sheep over, bringing the total in the orchard to 13. I watched him capture and drag the last of the recalcitrant sheep, BB, the wether (castrated ram) born on Palindrome Day, 01/02/2010.
BB was quite cagey. He evaded capture for quite some time, even though Phil had the shepherd's crook, and used his lightning fast reflexes. (My muscles are slow-twitch, so I don't react well. I keep going forever, though!) Phil could, perhaps, have caught the sheep more quickly had he not been wearing Crocs in the three-inch deep muck in the paddock. Somehow, he emerged quite clean. Amazing.
Once Phil finally caught BB and put the halter on him, BB would flop over, as if dead. Phil would pull on the halter, and BB would roll, from one side to the other. I would push BB's bottom, and he might stand up and move forward a few feet before falling on the ground again. What a stubborn fellow! He would even baaaa for his mother, who would respond, but he gave no joyful leaps in her general direction.
With all the sheep finally enclosed, Phil created more paddocks. Somehow he can create paddocks between the trees, so that the sheep don't graze the new leaves. Most of our apple trees have 10 or 12 feet spacing between trees, and 14 or 16 feet between rows, so Phil makes paddocks that are about 12' x 30', and then just makes sure to move the sheep once or twice a day.
They eat just about everything in their paddock before they move. One day we noticed they had left one particular type of weed growing, with all else around that weed mowed completely. We left them a little longer, and next thing we knew, they had overcome their distaste for the weed and eaten that one, too. (In the photo below, they have a few more hours of good grazing before they'll be ready to move.)
One grazier advises using at least 90 paddocks, rotating once a day, which gives the pasture a three month rest. We'll see how we do—maybe grazing through both the pomes (apples and pears) and the stone fruits (cherries, peaches, plums, apricots) will allow 90 days.
I still have dreams of planting the cherry orchard to corn and beans, but that seems a pipe dream more and more as the days pass.
I did manage to plant 25 strawberry plants today, all in a row. Several more rows to go.
In lieu of other pressing needs, Phil began to chainsaw a pathway for fencing the clearing. Soon we can start to rotational craze the cows! He started by clearing the smaller trees around the clearing, in order to use all the flatter land we have, but soon decided against that. The cows will clean it up better than he can.
So today he started to fence within the tree line, in order to just get the cows moving. We'll do more with the trees and flat land a bit later.
Our grazing land, though growing well, does not have a good thatch. A look straight down shows plenty of red clay soil. A good grazing meadow will not show any dirt, so we have a ways to go.
The cows should help, though, as they manure the land, and spread their nose exudates on the plants. I can hardly wait!
After a short time of clearing, however, he got a call this afternoon from a favorite client in Colorado, wondering if Phil could meet him tomorrow at a job site. Well, since it is physically possible (there were four tickets left), and since we do our best not to turn down work, Phil flew out this evening.
Happily, although the meeting tomorrow is just a meeting, Phil has another small job or two in Colorado that he can do while there. (He was asked about one small project just yesterday, and hadn't called them back yet.)
I ask the Lord to continue to provide for our needs. May these projects not only cover the cost of the trip, but help with our expenses as well.
The pasture will have to wait.
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