Just A Couple Flock Stars

You are loved by your friends. If you’ve got a rogue wood shaving stuck to your backside, we’ll always help you out. That’s what friends are for, and we are here for you. — Ruthie Bader Ginsbird and Elena KegHen

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Here’s What’s Happening At Good Spirits Farm

The bad weather is on its way, and unfortunately, I’ve got a work trip during the worst of it. Poor Todd will be stuck with keeping everyone alive in 2-degree temps while I jet off to New York.

This weekend will be spent in preparation. We’ll take a 1200-pound round bale of hay out to the flerd, and fill all the water tubs to the very top. I try not to run our underground water system in frigid weather. Technically, it’s all buried below the frost line, but since it’s all underground, detecting and finding a burst pipe would take tons of digging. So, on Sunday, I’ll fill up every water-holding vessel I’ve got, then shut the whole system off at the road.

Sweet Benni is going to ride out this cold snap in the barn. She is just not doing very well. Her arthritis is bothering her, and I can’t seem to get her to gain weight—even when parked belly-deep in hay.

While the other cows don’t mind the cold a bit, so long as the hay buffet is kept well stocked, I worry the cold will bother her joints enough that she may lay down and struggle to get back up again. Tonight I will make up a comfy stall for her in the barn, and we’ll slowly walk her across the farm and to her luxury accommodations. There, she’ll feast on a buffet of sweet feed, corn, and all the best hay while we figure out what is next for her.

I suspect hard choices are coming soon for Benni girl. I’m going to consult the vet about pain relief options, but, the logistics of giving a cow a daily pill are not exactly easy. Benni is tame, but at about 600 pounds, anything she doesn’t want to do she’s not going to do.

I hope you all are safe and warm as this week brings deep cold across the country. May you have a draft-free place to go full potato-in-a-feather-duvet mode, just like Heebeejeebees.

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Here’s What I Loved This Week

It took THREE YEARS (!!!!) to get this wood stove installed (long story, but basically, there’s a fireplace store nearby I would warn you away from!), but we finally have backup heat. I’m so grateful to have this as we head into a frigid, windy week. (And it’s also nice for Saturday nights spent crocheting!)