Farming in the Snow

Hello Dear Friends!

Simon's first snow!

The farm, blanketed in snow, quiet and glistening, lay so peacefully. It had snowed furiously the previous afternoon and all night long. You could see evidence of life by the tracks they left... a rabbit, a raccoon, some deer, some kind of bird - probably a crow. The geese, ducks, heron's, and other water fowl had retreated to the deeper water ponds that weren't frozen. 

This was Simon's first full-on snow experience. He was quite cautious at first but in no time was bounding through the dry, fluffy snow. He stuck his head down in it and flicked up the snow with his nose, then dove after the clumps as they fell and scattered around him. Then he rolled in it and jumped up and went racing around. He was so excited and just thought it was the greatest fun! Rio, my cat, watches in great amusement from her perch in the warm house and she too had fun swatting at the twirling snow flakes as they fell outside her window.

We put 8 steel gates in front of the hay bales in the shed in
case we needed to bring one of the herds in.

Severe weather (whether it's too dry, too wet, too cold, too hot, too windy) usually creates more work for us on the farm. The horses could paw with their hooves to get down to the grass but unless cows have had experience with snow they don't always know what to do and it may take them a bit to figure it out. So we feed hay and have to go around and break the ice in the water stations which is easy enough to do with our 4wd Kubota ATVs. Our biggest problem comes if we lose power because all of our well pumps are electric. So in the days before the cold weather, we prepared generators and plans of action in case of power-outage, to move animals closer to creeks and shelter. All of our herds handled the snow very well.

These mamas and calves were excited to move to their next pasture. It was as if they didn't even notice it had snowed!

I did have an episode with my back and was unable to work for 8 days earlier in the month. I had been managing my back problems with regular chiropractic visits for the past 24 years in Columbia and as a result avoided surgery and all drugs except some ibuprofen once or twice a year if absolutely needed. So when my back went out on me here I knew I'd have to either find a chiropractor in this area or I may not be able to move forward with farming. So I set out to find a chiropractor nearby. My chiropractor for 24 years in Columbia, SC (Dr. Tonine Gelardi) is one of the very best, practicing upper cervical specific adjustments. I did not realize how difficult it would be to find another similar chiropractor. I searched and searched and finally through some miraculous events found Dr. Chad McIntyre in Kernersville, NC. It's an hour drive from my house in Snow Camp but I'm getting great care for my back now and it's just another sign that God is working everything out for me to be here. It was a good thing too cuz I fell several times those days we worked in the snow and ice! 

So this past week has been in the mid-60's. Spring!... almost! I cannot believe that within one day of warm weather and sunshine we went from gray, cold, wet, ice, and snow to warm breezes and sunshine. The subdued sounds of winter broke into twittering birds and croaking frogs. And even through the melting snow came the crocuses: the first brave responders to Spring! 

Canadian geese have been wintering here. Sometimes they land on the pond in front of my house. What amazing birds!

Yesterday, I came in from the morning's work to make my green smoothie

(whenever I mention my green smoothie people always want to know how I make it so I've included my general recipe at the end of this blog). We had all the windows open and as I enjoyed the view from my kitchen a rabbit ran by the window with Simon bounding after it which caused such a commotion in the leaves outside that Rio, who was asleep in a sunny spot by the window, woke up. The Blue Heron caught a fish in the pond, I could see several new varieties of ducks on the pond and out of the side window I could see about 200 Canadian Geese on the pasture, grazing and resting. And beyond the geese I could see several deer at the edge of the woods. I was overcome with just being there with so much life going on around me. I'm so very thankful to be here and am so in awe of the God I know and love and serve.

I'm becoming more and more useful around here as I gain skills. I can now handle a tractor and trailer (lots of ratchet straps - thanks Basil for all the training on those vendor tents!), work a herd of cows, load cattle onto a trailer by myself, fix fences, troubleshoot electrical fence problems, use quickbooks and Cattlepro software, handle customer service and deliveries, and give tours. It is possible I may be staying on here for a while longer than September. I'm excited about that but we'll have to see how things play out in the months ahead and how long Doc would like me to stay.

I'm loving my new church family and am so excited to be a part of the choir and praise team, and to sing some individual worship songs. I'm also working with the youth pastor to do some things here at the farm for our youth group. 

I miss seeing you all! You are all so dear to my heart! My March trip to Columbia has been delayed because I missed so much work with my back and now Doc is going to be gone for a couple weeks and then we are into our busy season with some big projects planned using cover-crops. As always, I'll keep you posted and hope to see you soon... keep in mind you can always visit me here! :-)

I have 2 - 25% off coupon codes for Sierra Trading Post to give to the first two people to email me asking for one. They expire 5/15/2014. I ordered some work clothes from them (thank you again dear friends) last month and they sent me these to give away. They have great prices, sales, and selection.

Also, I want to give a plug to Vitacost who recently blew me away with their nothing short of exceptional customer service. When you contact them about a problem or concern, they will actually follow up with you about it.

Now for the recipe:

Yum!

Jan's Green Smoothie
Note: It takes several days for your taste buds to adjust so give this a chance!

2 C. Filtered or Distilled water
1 very ripe banana (the riper the sweeter!)
Assortment of greens - in-season local greens are usually cheapest. I buy organic but if I know a farmer who is mostly organic, just not certified, I'll buy those. 
I generally will add about 10-15 stems of parsley (flat or curly),
7-8 beet leaves
3-6 collard leaves (depending on how big they are)
3-6 Lacinato Kale or other kale leaves (depending on how big they are)
whey protien mix or whey (if you or someone you know makes cheese)
2 heaping Tblsp ground flax meal.

~Use a blender. 
~Start with the water and banana and the parsley or some softer greens to get your blender going. Unless you have a vitamix or magic bullet you'll probably need to add things slowly or you'll burn out your blender.
~For the leafier greens I strip off the leaf part and put the woodier stalk in my compost/worm farm. Blending (as opposed to juicing) gives you a lot of cellulose (plant fiber) and by leaving the stalks on the greens you can get too much of a pulpy consistency. You want to be able to drink the smoothie and not feel the need to chew it. 

Some ideas for variations: Mustard greens, diakon greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens, blueberries, strawberries, mango, pineapple, raspberries, 1/4th of an avocado, a piece of fresh ginger root, some burdock root, sprouts, wheat grass, Bragg's Apple cider vinegar or 1/4 c. pure cranberry juice. 

I am convinced that eating raw greens (either by juicing, smoothies, or greens (not lettuce) salads (ie collards, lemon juice, olive oil, cayenne pepper) is one of the major keys to good health! Google "chlorophyll" - amazing stuff!