On Being Human

Hi !

Dave from McElhoes Family Farm/Belmont here.

Sorry about the almost pun. Just came in from a rousing jog with the sheep which resulted in my having a quick roll in the manure. They can both see and smell the grass greening up just out of their reach, and are absolutely willing to work in harmony with the goats to find weak spots in our grass defense. You'll no doubt sense a recurring theme.

Do you remember the scene in the movie 'Braveheart' where the English cavalry is charging, and William Wallace is urging his men to "HOLD!... HOLD!... HOOOLD!!!?" Well that is very much how the early spring always is. Managing the grass means making the sheep "HOOOLD!."

But the job of the shepherd is not all conflict. I take time to listen and observe the seasons unfolding around me. Today, for instance, despite the forecast calling for rain, I can feel the sun through the white hazy cloud cover, and it seem the bees have noticed too. The Box Elders sound almost electric with thousands of small, nearly unseen bees going about their work.

I am not sure I appreciate their pollinating these tree for they are one of my least favorites on the farm. They are a thirsty, wet, heavy tree, but their weight is mostly water and not strength. They are always ready to drop massive limbs to smash anything in their path - especially, it seems, fences. But if one has patience, they soon dry out to a soft cottony wood that is good for for very little other than compost. No worries though - they are extremely prolific and and regrow and spread quickly.

A quick glance at last year's calendar shows that last year we had peach and pear blossoms by now, and the peep frogs were starting. By that measure it seems we are perhaps a week or so behind, on the other hand, it was only three or four years ago that I was moving the sheep onto some fresh grass in our North Pasture on May 12 while shivering through squalls of snow flurries. So I guess it's not so bad.

Often, we do not notice the seasons except as a mark on the calendar. And, although the calendar is a useful tool, I cannot live by it. If I plant or graze solely by the marks on the calendar, I might fail to notice the actual conditions in which I am working. I wonder about the scientists who theorize about ancient monuments having been built to help ancient farmers to regulate their seasons. I am regulated by the seasons and not quite so much by the human markings.

Oh well, reckon I better go wash up.

Dave

P.S.: I have been considering raising a few Commercial type meat chickens. I don't know if any of you remember our learning curve last time where we used the same methods on those as we usually use on our Country Chickens and they grew to outrageous sizes! We actually had to buy turkey bags to package them!

Anyway, lesson learned. We would still be raising them on pasture and using our non-GMO feed mix. The main difference is time. They grow more quickly than our regular birds. We hope to have a batch or two raised before we can even get delivery of our regular birds.