~*~Torro~*~Scours Remedy- answer to comments

They say when God closes one door...

another opens.

Whether this is true with beloved pets or not I dont know. Maybe its situational??

But today was a very exciting day for us, in fact the whole weekend was!

We had a cow calve twins, before the second one was born the buzzards got to it and killed it. Which unfortunately happens a lot, they can be more of a threat than coyotes. Our neighbors the last few years have had a lot of trouble with the buzzards. The momma cow never recognized the second baby.

Torro, born this afternoon, February 22, 2009

is our latest addition. He is my first hand raised calf of this year, and he came at the perfect time!

We are still so sad about losing Oliver, Doug wants to bond with this new calf, in fact he was the first to imprint on him, but he is hesitant and scared to get attached for fear of loosing him too.

I'm tickled pink for the opportunity to raise another baby, though its bitter sweet.

A new baby is what we needed to get over this bad week we have had.

Torro took to the bottle right away, no need to tube him at all! So much less stress on a calf that way.

He's a little bull...in case the name didn't give it away! he he!

Other good news...Georgia should foal within the next two weeks! Her bag is growing, milk vein is much more prominent, and she is heavy with her baby, now spreading her back legs a lot to walk and when she relaxes. She now greats me with a friendly snort, knowing I'm the one that brings her the food she has grown to eagerly await for as soon as I walk out of the house! She even let me rub on her head! Major break through. In case you dont know...she hated me. Why? No clue...but she did. I think she is warming up. She is defiantly a mans horse.

Leah has already named the foal....Radish....you know "here's my horse - Radish" LOL Horseradish! Yeah I know thats now how its spelled, but gives us a laugh anyway. The next heifer calf we have that will be kept hand raised or not is Patty...Cow-Pattie. Oh the fun we had today with names! Leah cracked me up today. I love when she is so happy and excited!

The next good new's....I've been feeling really bad, went to the OBGYN worried that my cancer had progressed again. I was supposed to get checked up every 3 -4 months, but I got so tired of biopsy's that hurt, more tests, pokes and prods and went through a rough time emotionally because of it all that I quit going. They didn't know where the cancer cells were coming from for sure and they were actually pre-cancerous. I had cervical and uterine cancer, however I was lucky enough that a full hysterectomy was considered "corrective surgery" they said. I wasnt staged yet......so no radiation no chemo.

I was so lucky.

But again this weekend - GREAT news! My cancer cells are no longer active, they are what the doctor said "dormant"! They may never even become active again...or they may never. But they arent now and thats the news I needed to hear. However...there is always a however huh?? No clue to why I keep getting the fevers and the general all over feel bads. And she felt my lymph nodes in my neck where hard and swollen, and felt several lumps on my neck....great. Wasnt expecting that! I had an ultra sound done on Thursday...hopefully that will be all clear. I'll know sometimes this week for sure. But I'm optimistic that it will be nothing.

Okay......

HOMEMADE SOURS REMEDY:

The number one rule with a calf that gets scours is FLUIDS!!! They CAN die from scours. (for those who dont know....its the cows version of the runs!)

Here is the remedy...

Use for emergency Oral Fluids when you cant get to the store...

1 Table Spoon of 'lite' salt

1 table spoon baking soda

1 package jam or jelly pectin

2 quarts (4 pints) of water

Mix ingredients together and administer to cow or sick calf at least tow to three times per day if they have become noticeably dehydrated.

Some say to continue milk in between fluids, others dont..we have found its best to take them off milk for a day or two and give whats called Bounce Back, its the best we have found. There are many out there...you can get all kinds at TSC including the bounce back....the others arent worth a crap.

There is also one called Scours Remedy..cant remember the color of the packets... I'm thinking blue? But dont mark my word I'll have to ask Norm about that one. On the Bounce Back..yellow packet...it comes in two separate powders that you mic in warm water and instructions on the back on how to administer and how much, how often.

Hope this helps you out, and I'm sooooo sorry I couldnt get this up here sooner. I hope Angus is doing better!

hmmmm this weekend was jammed packed and I still have not had the opportunity to visit every one, I'm really sorry I havent been by!

Several of you asked me:

Lisa - when we sell the cow that had the still birth, she will be sold but she will be bought for meet...sad huh, but thats what they are raised for.

Libby and Lisa were interested:

Why did the calf die? No way to really know. More than likely the calf had problems that otherwise would make it impossible to live, maybe a deformity of his internal organs? He was HUGE so maybe his momma was in labor actually for a long time and she wasnt having the contractions or able to deliver him. He was too big for her to have, so maybe he stayed in her too long? Maybe the placenta ruptured while he was inside? I just dont know. Generally I think its due to the fact that the calf had problems that would cause him not to survive regardless. Does Momma get depressed when this happens? I dont believe they have the same feelings that we have, but I did learn with Oliver that they do can enjoy our company and affection that we show them long after they quit taking the bottle. When a cow looses her calf for whatever reason, for days she will stay with him, never wandering far...nudging him to rise, clean him even...as time goes on she wanders further and further away as her maternal instinct disappears. Not having the calf suck and seek her or call for her causes her to finally leave the dead calf. The cow today that had the twins was devoted ONLY to the first calf that the buzzards killed and never even recognized Torro at all as being hers, which is VERY common when twins are born. Libby. after trying to kill Norm and Neil when they got her in the barn to try to take to her other calf...I wont be patting her on the back! LOL But I'm glad she is fine and once she cannot find the dead calf, after awhile of looking and calling for him for a few days...life for her will go back to normal.

One interesting thing about cows though along these lines...They will often leave several calves with a cow - the Baby sitter....go graze and enjoy the time off for several hours...then switch out! Its been so neat every time I see one cow with several of her herd members babies following her and doing whats told! Such a human thing to do isnt it???? I'm glad the pics didnt gross anyone out, I had several close ups that were much more graphic, but decided against those!

Yes Libby I'd LOVE to write a book, I've got lots to tell LOL I'm a talker anyway...but it would be so much fun!

Lets shoot for 2 weeks to get together for Indian food, Leah said I'm not allowed to go without her, Indian is one of her favorites!

Hi there Crystal J! I'm so glad you stopped by!!! I'll check to see if you have a blog and come visit! Lambs are so cute its got to be a joy to raise one!!!! Your so lucky! Where do you live?

I'm anxious to hear about what all you do!

Hi Kim! I'm sorry I've not been able to email you, I'm so back logged with all my Etsy stuff, and emails and my blogging friends its unreal! I hope things are good with you, and I'm still hoping that we can get some of our team members together soon, if not all of em, those of us really close! What fun!!!!!

Hey there Amy! I'll get my 8 random things up - promise! I cant wait to catch up with you!

Hi Elaine, I cant wait to see what art you have been working on, I hope the puppies are doing well too!

Thanks for your comment Cathy! I really miss my little guy.....thanks for stopping by!

Ramblings...your a doll, hugs appreciated!

Liz...love you too, keep the Terrorist healthy and away from hills!!! LOL seriously.....I wish I could have her, Lord those big brown eyes stole me long ago!

Hey there KK...I'm sorry to hear you in a sad mood too...I'll have to come over and see whats up! Whatever it may be...HUGZ!

Hey there Christy! Missed talking to you....yeah last week was rough all around..but we trudge on, I had tons of bad news but this weekend sure brightened my mood up tons!

Hi there Ian, glad you stopped by, I'll check out the blog you told me about sounds interesting!

Liz...send Maggie on over! LOL she'll fit right in the hen house! LOL

LOL Elaine..people probably think Leah and I are nuts! But like Liz said actually riding a cow isnt so unusual, they mostly do it out west, and in European countries...In fact I'm sure you've seen the old time paintings or pictures of little girls riding a big old gentle cow! It used to be done a lot back when! Wouldnt it be neat to do that though...ride a cow in a parade??? I bet Leah and I would be the one's who got all the glory and attention! Bet we would make the paper for sure! LOL

Hi there Sue! thanks a lot for your comments too! I hope to come over and visit in the next day or so...

Okay its about 11 pm and I will be going out soon for another bottle for the calf and then bed so I'd better hop off here to get that ready and check on little Torro...Pictures tomorrow I promise. It was too dark in the barn today to get any!

I'm back!

One of this years first calves! And he is a little doll!

This is momma!

I've been gone so long! I'll have so much updating to do on everyone! I got TONS of emails and comments that I havent replied to, so I'll try to get caught up over the next few days. I probably wont be able to reply to each comment so I'll just say this...thanks guys for checking on me and your lovely comments!

I'll answer your emails later guys!

I have been lucky to have wifi access so I have been able to stop in by and by. I'm glad this nasty weather is gone....yesterday was 58 degrees and today I woke up to 26 degrees slapping me in the face! What a rude awakening! LOL

Okay so my blog is about farm life...the good the bad and the ugly...sometimes its a mixture of all.

Tuesday was a very unsettling day for me. I'm doing a separate post about that morning after this on a special topic.

But to put the day in a nut shell.......I wish it had never happened!

We began getting calves 6 days ago. We have a count tonight of 5 live births, 1 still birth, and 1 in the process of calving as I type. (I'm running out soon so we can go check on her)

Yes you read right, one still birth.

So I'm going to show and describe this incident.....I'm warning you now...if the sight of dead animals, or gross things make you sick...just go on and skip this post and go to the next. I have pictures included, not for the gore factor but for a learning experience.

Terrible Tuesday (as it is now referred too by me) started out with a flat tire on the trailer when we went to take the rest of last years calves to the sale barn, patched and promptly shredded half way there. But before we even left the house, we found a heifer (which is a 1st and 2nd year calving cow) trying to calve with her back downhill. Now cows are pretty athletic....that can be proven if you try to walk up to one of its little calves! They can jump and practically look like they are flying at you! LOL But when I cow gets her back downhill, feet uphill, they CAN NOT get up. Why? The way a cow stands prevents them from getting their footing or body rolled around when in this position. So this little heifer (who for a few days seemed like she was going to calve, acted a little sickly even)was trying to calve and if left there within 15 - 20 minutes would bloat and then die. The bloat is caused by the gases in their rumin not being able to be expelled or passed through the body. They can die within minutes if not found. We rushed to her, and saw an absolutely HUGE calf with only his muzzle and feet sticking out and the poor heifer flailing around everywhere. We pulled the calf, which is where you take some chains around each hoof, they are attached to a pulley- like pole and they are cranked tighter and tighter until it pulls the baby right on out.

Well did I say he was HUGE? OMG He was very big, no way momma could have had him even if she wasnt downhill! I pulled the bag from his face, and cleaned out his nose, and nothing. His head was REALLY swollen, and trying to "jar" him into breathing gave him a few kicks. Thats when we smelled him. Poor guy had died in the womb about 24 hours before she calved. No wonder she was sickly acting. Norm pulled her around and up on her feet and of course, things got worse...she prolapsed. Prolapse in case you arent aware is when the Uterus pulls free and falls through the cervix, or pelvic bone. So this poor sick heifer, who just lost her baby, sicker than a dog, been stuck for about 30 minutes, now had this happen.

Well Dr. Mark came out and sewed her back up, and after about 24 hours she was up and walking around and eating. Now she has to be sold, every time she calves she will prolapse. But at least she is alive.

So here are a few of the shots I took of the whole ordeal. I purposely didn't put the real Gorey pictures, I figured they were a little much. But here you will get the idea.

The day just wasnt a good one at all. In fact this week has been terrible. But I'm here and talking to you now! So there is a bright spot after all! ;-)

Well I'm going to prepare for my next post......it's a hard one for me...and you'll understand when you read.

So to end on a good note.....we now have a full carton of eggs from Pepper! When my daughter gets home this weekend, we shall all have eggs for breakfast! I'm excited! And Lisa.....I read about your hen, Honey I too didn't think I could love a chicken.....but then again when I thought that, I'd never had a chicken...therefore I knew nothing! LOL Chickens are great and lovable and I'm sorry to hear about yours!!!!!!!!

Spinning yards....I assume that Angus is up and over scours???? I will post up that homemade scours remedy and what to do if a calf gets scours in another post tonight. Right now I've got to go check on a cow! Wish her luck!

The ice is gone...the heat wave is on!

"What are you looking at?.......yes......I'm beautiful...So?"
Pepper has become quite the D I V A! She is now posing quite beautifully for pictures! LOL What a crazy bird she has become! Not only does she follow me around the barn....she loves to sit on my shoulder....and inspect every little thing that goes on...it must meet her approval. Since she has began laying...her little crop just appeared one morning.....over night..how does THAT happen? My little girl is growing up! She is laying every other day....I reckon she feels too important to lay every day. Who knows what my little poultry is thinking! But this sure is a great picture isnt it?
The ice storm is passed...we got our electricity last Saturday...but still no phone service, and they told me yesterday they have no idea when we would get that back...so still no Internet. But at least we have warm water! That first shower was the best one I'd had in 37 years!!
We went from single digit temps to 66 degrees! Kentucky weather is the most crazy and unpredictable of anywhere! Last year in Feb a tornado ripped through our farm, and through town, tearing up a path of snapped telephone and power line poles, ripped the roof off the high school, and several homes in its path were obliterated..several farms and a dairy were all but demolished....things have just now been rebuilt....and this happens. We were lucky last Feb...the tornado touched down in the back corner of our farm, but didnt get very destructive until it hopped over and began its terrible path on a neighbors farm...and it continued for several miles through E-town. So we dodged the bullet, and again we have been spared from too much loss. No animals were harmed and all fared well with this ice storm.
So its over, today is 66 and rainy (sorry Amy I think we stole your rain!). There is no telling what summer will bring. The last two years we have suffered a very bad drought.....we are praying this year will be the break we need!
The first possible day for a calf to come has gone and passed (8th) and still no little ones. Cattle havent been checked today though so maybe in all the rain and wind we got last night there are some little ones huddled up to their mommas today! Cows always choose the worse weather to calve in.
Norm and I ran into a neighbor at the mill where we went to pick up some horse feed yesterday, he has goats....but he didnt know of anyone around that I could talk to about getting some dairy's...then his wife called and offered us the Kentucky goat registry....YEA I'm getting somewhere! So we'll go pick that up this week.
I didnt get the chance to ride this weekend, but the kids and I did clean the entire barn out! My arms hurt soooooo bad Sat night I wanted to saw them off! Calves are WAY messier than horses...in fact 3 days after the calf's stall was cleaned its just as mucky and nasty as before! I was too sore and tired to ride....but Leah and I groomed the boys....Jack is a muddy stinky mess....King is polished and handsome! Leah wanted to bathe him so badly......I told her the next rain we get will clean him off for us....I was right, his white is white again this morning!
Jack was pretty skittish...he hasnt been worked with since the ice storm, so for 2 weeks nothing has been done with him. Leah went over some more desensitizing all over....we took the boys out to the yard for a little field trip. Wanted to see how he acted out of his element. He was very jumpy and nervous, but king just munched on grass and Jack took the lead and calmed down. He was jumpy again when leah was rubbing him with the lead rope, placing it on his back and rear and legs...so i did that to King so Jack would see the rope wouldnt hurt him...after that no problem. It sure helps to have a more experienced horse to show the little guys how to act and what not to be afraid of! He did pull away from Leah when going back to the barn....she couldnt hold on the rope was burning her hands....for a moment he turned toward the drive and thought about taking off...but we kept walking with King to the barn, and little bit followed. Whew.....disaster averted. So since his little temper tantrum we had to keep him out and tied and led around. even though we were done.....we had to keep working with him. When Norm and I get a chance we are going to repeat the whole thing over....he wont pull from Norms grasp! LOL
Norm told me the thing I've been waiting a full year to hear!!! I can KEEP my big pet calf OLIVER for another year or two, until he gets too dangerous due to his size....I'm determined that WONT happen.
I'm going to use him to teach doug to show in 4-H.....he's the perfect guinea pig, he is so gentle it unreal. It will help Doug get over any fear he may have of a bigger calf since he will be around him as he grows. I'll need to first halter break him, teach to lead, and Leah and I have plans to ...get this.....and I'm serious...RIDING a cow! LOL Yes....thats what I said! She and I were reading in my nephews cattle mag and it had a full story on riding cattle, out west its done alot in parades. The article said they are easier to break than a horse.....LOL dont laugh yet...wait until we can or cant do it first!
Okay I'm gonna run...Norm is here, I've got a Dr apt at one.....so I'm gonna hop off and check my shops and bank account! Hope all is well with everyone and I hope to be by to visit with you guys!

Talkative Tuesday

Mainly because I can now leave comments on every ones blogs! Thanks to Linda @ Just Another Day On The Prairie from my Sunday Stills challenge! Your a doll Linda for helping me out like that! I've been able to get updated on EVERY ONES blogs today...got too busy to finish leaving comments but I was at least able to read today!

Peggy...I'm still just thrilled at reading about the last few days there at Hidden Haven!!!! You all really should check out her blog its really great! She even had a write up about her Haven and you can view that HERE, it's a really nice interview!

We've had a busy day here on the farm today. Norm has ordered a lot of rock to lay in the gateways entrances...hoping that this helps with the mud this winter from the tractor. And also to lay under and around the feed troughs so the cattle dont sink up to their armpits in mud, and we dont get any "stuck" calves in the mud like my little Annie was last year! (dont worry she lived!!!! She was my 1st success story!)

He and Neil, the young man who helps Norm out A LOT around here (and by the way is one awesome "young person"!!! We do love you like our own Neil and we BOTH appreciate you more than you know!)they fed and brought wood in, and Neil helped take some big boxes downstairs since Norm still has to be very careful on his knee.

I had a conference with Doug's teachers about his Soc studies grade and his Science grade....lets just say they wernt good....the year started out wonderful but the little bugger was hiding things from me and goofing off in class...no need to tell you how unhappy I am with him about that right now. He is grounded from hunting and his BB Gun until his grades come up...thats 9 weeks....for him eternity and a terrible "loss". I must say he has been on his best behavior lately! LOL

The rest of the day I have been making soap for several orders I got in, I'm so thankful that things have picked back up!!! I made the most awesome Body Butter today....wow am I proud of myself! I have a designer fragrance its Victoria Secrets Love Spell! Its my favorite, and I'm ordering more designer fragrances next month.

But the good news...I got my light box in today.....here is the info on how it works...A new light therapy modality, to leverage a recent breakthrough discovery of a third light receptor in the human eye. This retinal receptor is sensitive to light frequencies, It monitors or "reads" wavelengths, particularly of blue light, sending signals to the brains hypothalamus the area of the brain where we sleep, hormonal, and motive functions are regulated. As this receptor sends signals to the hypothalamus, it regulates our body clod, that cellular sensitivity that keeps us in tune with the earths natural time and seasonal cycles.....okay so basically the more in sync our body clock is with optimal natural cycles, called the Circadian rhythm, the better it will work to stimulate our overall well-being. We'll sleep well, want to eat at regular times, and experience emotional stability. If our clock is out of sync, which can happen from illness, night shift work, jet lag, or winter light deprivation, we can experience disturbing symptoms such as insomnia, and other problems that can range from daytime drowsiness to depression. This also has a Negative Ion therapy......the are ions that are found in the air naturally. Research shows negatively charged ions can lift your spirits. A recent scientific study on depression, mood, and Season Affective Disorder (SAD) found that 85% of patients studied experienced a significant improvement when they were exposed to the streams of high density ions...it can also help asthmatics and those with allergies because it eliminates tiny irrigative particles such as pollen, mold spores, and other irritants from the air.....

Scientific Journal and the medical community have all done extensive testing on light therapy and endorse such lights and negative Ion therapy....they have been around for a long time, but only in the last 4 or 5 years have they improved on the light therapy boxes that doctors are now insisting that patients with the above problems get them....however like I had stated before they are expensive...but go to Amazon.com if you want a lower price...say over half!!! Beware tho of those that give off the blue light, or with blue bulbs...the blue light I spoke about above is not BLUE to our eyes....and in order for the light therapy to be effective it must output 10,000 LUX and it must cover the width of BOTH eyes and slightly curved so that the outside of your eyes can take in the light....differences should be felt in 3 - 4 days. No its not a tanning machine! LOL

There are certain lengths you have this on in use depending on how you need to re-set your biological clock....low mood, jet lag, irregular sleep patters, falling asleep to early, sleeping too late ect......

I warned you in my title that it was a talkative Tuesday! LOL I know most of that is probably boring to most....maybe all of you...but I'll let ya'll know if it works or not!

has given me an award! Lisa I'll do a post tomorrow....I've been so busy today, and took some time out to write in here, now I must feed some critters and let the horses in the barn! Again..break ice for waterers!!!! SUMMER HURRY UP!!!!!!!!

Love all

Rae

Fencing Lesson 101 - 26 useful tips! *(or not)*

Lesson 1: Tire rims are no use for putting up a fence. However they do make a handy dandy stand for your fencing tools.....cows will appreciate you taking care of your tools.

Lesson 2: Tractor buckets are handy for carrying everything you need. Cattle like for you to be efficient on the job.

Lesson 3 : In winter mud use 4 wheel drive, otherwise cows will get a big kick out of you getting your truck stuck up to the fender well. That is not good.

Lesson 4: Have a masked helper keep an eye out for bovines that wish to destroy your newly put up fence.

Lesson 5: Be prepared to have gawking stares from the younger bovine....yes they think you are stupid.

Lesson 6: It is necessary to have an audience of calves, if not, you cannot perform your duties properly.
Lesson 7: Take a picture of your muck boots before entering the bovines domain...it will be the last time you can see them through the mud and poo...the bovine plan this to keep you away...dont let them foil you!

Lesson 8: The masked helper is on the bovines side...he is a terrorist (Yes Liz I have one too!) He has had his pockets lined by the new bovine.

Lesson 9: Always be prepared to have a pretty look on your face when said masked helper has your camera....the calves will take this photo for future enjoyment..probably pooing on it.

Lesson 10: who says you have to do anything the hard way when there is a perfectly good tractor to do the hard work for you, the calves will appreciate laughing at you from a distance if you try this! Trust me....we hoomans are the best entertainment to cattle.

Lesson 11:Do not take pictures of nerds trying to work, it will just amuse you to the point of no return and your laughter will not easily fade, there is much work to be done, do not fall into this temptation.

Lesson 12: Always have a masked helper around to give you a thumbs up, this will assure the calves that you do know what you are doing after all. Make sure the thumbs up is in clear view of all calves or they will argue about who did and didn't see the thumbs up signal!

Lesson 13: Calves must be aware that they are now the landlord and your eviction days are over, it is there job to clear out any unwanted pesky groundhogs. They wont like this, but dont take no for an answer!

lesson 14: Be sure to clear all unsightly trees from the paddock, female calves prefer flowers lining their fence rows!

Lesson 15: Yes miracles do happen occasionally....

Lesson 16: fences are a farmers friend...calves and cows see it as the enemy and they will promptly hate you as soon as they find out it is there.....

Lesson 17: Always have an audience to tell you what your doing wrong.

lesson 18: Dont forget to keep an eye out for interesting finds..such as this:

If anyone knows what kind of buggy thing made this rather large cocoon,

PLEASE tell me!!! It was about 2" long 1" in diameter.

Lesson 19: ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS have someone on hand who knows what they are doing, like the boss cow, she is full of useful information you may need to know...dont be afraid to ask, she will be willing to give you her opinion, and probably will even if you dont ask her!

Lesson 20: Sometimes you have to wade through a lot of poo to find a dropped fencing tool, calves think this is extremely funny and will try to amuse themselves with this trick...be very careful!

Lesson 21: ALWAYS wear your muck boots in the winter...or you get a shoe full of mud and give each cow a good laugh at you as you try to unstuck yourself from the goo.

Lesson 22: Close off all escape hatches from calves...or you will be spending a full day separating 73 cows from 20 calves! NOT FUN! Calves think that it is fun to run from you, their favorite game!

Lesson 23:Work until the sun goes down, or finished - which ever is last! Lesson 24: ALWAYS enjoy the view out of your office window!
Lesson 25: Walk softly and carry and big stick....oh no sorry not that one, Always try to stay on solid land or the masked helper may get swallowed in mud and disappear into the cold abyiss right before your eyes!

Lesson 26: Be careful when you download your pictures from the camera because you may end up doing something to loose the last 15 pictures that were taken!!! Like the one of my calf Oliver eating my glove off of my hand!!!! *WHINE* That may have been my last photo op with him!!!

A moment in history....all but forgotten with time...

We are really lucky to have some pieces of history here at Wilmoth Farms.

Much is forgotten over the years as the old timers have passed on and their memory no longer here to pry.

But there is still a little memory left by Norms dad Pap and passed down. Things we hear as children we dont think to absorb for our future recall. And as children when we hear the old timers talk about the good ol' days, we dont know to hold on to each story and store it a safe place in our hearts.

I know I wish I would have asked more questions of my grandparents about "the old country" Italy and hungry. Or of my grandmother who now is unable to communicate to me her life. I'm very sad that I didn't do those things, for now its lost in time.

The above pictures have the following story:

Yesterday Leah and I went to look at one of the barns thats not used much for anything, to see if we can give it a make over and use it for a horse and goat barn. Its big and roomy and has a lot of potential. But will need a lot of work...but also could be worth the sweat and tears!While we were assessing the barn, we stumbled across this little grave stone of a baby... just shy of 7 months old.

Evelyn Wilmoth. Daughter of S & Della Wilmoth.

Born Sept 28th, 1914

Died April 26, 1915

Stanley and Della Wilmoth were Norms great grandparents. They had Evenly who passed just shy of 7 months old. Back in the early 1900's there were no vaccines for chicken pox, influenza, measles, etc. How Evelyn died is a mystery, forgotten in time. This was the original headstone for her grave, and apparently very loved, you can see the little heart etched in the stone that is now in two pieces. It is believed that she was buried in the cemetery at the Methodist Church and her headstone was replaced with another. Evelyn was Norms grandfathers sister. There was a lot of tragedy in the early Wilmoths family. Paps brother died when he was 14 or 15 of cancer and was sent alone on a train to Louisville for care...little did they know that that would be the last time they would see, or hold their son close. He passed away alone, in a cold hospital. I'm sure that they couldnt afford to go with him, and saved all they could to send him, even if it was alone, for help and a cure for his cancer. I can't imagine not being with my child knowing that days with him would be short lived. But back then money was tight, and you did what you could. I'm sure that was they best they could do at that time.

I have decided that this little gravestone needs to be on the hill where Norm and I will be buried, even if her story is forgotten...her gravestone will still stand on family property. Restoring the stone will be fun....and remembering her little life is the least those of us can do who are still around the remember.

Norm told me another little tid bit of history.

A family - friend or family is unknown, passed through and lost a baby who was stillborn. The paddock where the calf heifers are kept used to be an orchard and they buried the baby there beneath the trees. Now its a lot with calves who stay until they are grown enough to be bred.....who and where? No one knows.....

Friday's Farm Report

Okay...I'm being brave and posting another picture of me....yuck! Everytime I see my picture I'm reminded of how much weight I've gained! My nose was never this fat before! Geez what happened???? Regardless I hope to post a picture this year showing weight loss - and a smaller nose! LOL

Today Norm has gotten back into the drivers seat a couple times now. I'm hoping that feeding will get back to normal with the two of us doing our own farm work! Its been 9 days post op, and he is doing well.

Today he and Josh moved hay back to where the majority of the cattle are. We will be getting by this year by the skin of our teeth on hay. Norm plans to begin feeding silage within the next week or so. The poor cattle need it. They are eating the hay up so fast its not funny.

As I announced earlier...we have confirmed that our mare Georgia is "with child"! From the dates she was with Buck before he got gelded we are estimating another 2 months to go. With this foal....I plan on doing imprinting which can only happen in the first 2 - 3 hours of life. It requires handleing him everywhere and doing all the things you expect him to do when he grows up. Holding his feet, tapping on and even going through the motions of cleaning his hooves, rubbing in and around the ears and nose, patting him, picking up feet, holding him down until submissive - its only until they stop struggling and it teachers him off the bat that humans are the dominate one. Imprinting is VERY important and makes a better horse thats more cooperative. Haltering and leading begins right away as well. Basically you do everything with the foal that you would do as he gets older. The only thing I worry about is his momma and how she will be with us handleing him. I dont like her...terrible to say, but she apparently had NO imprinting! LOL She is a very hard horse to handle...lots of fear and flight in her and she needs major ground work done by someone much more experienced than myself. But we'll see how it goes and its another exciting phase to update here on the farm! I'll post her picture when I get over there this weekend!

Tonight Leah comes home and Douglas has his first basketball game tonight at 8:45! Who in the world has basket ball games and practices late like this??? I hate this schedule!

Well time to run...I've got to go!