"I Had a Farm in Alabama"

"I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills."

With this simple sentence, Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen) began her book Out of Africa, the story of how an amazing farm transformed her life.  While I am no Isak Dinesen and the only book I've written about our farm was published on Shutterfly, Herb and I also had a farm that changed our lives.

We had a farm in Alabama, at the top of Sand Mountain.

We purchased the 60-acre farm and rundown house in September 2007, named it Leahaven in anticipation of what it could become, and set about turning it into a retreat for pastors and missionaries.  We rented a Bobcat and a couple of dumpsters and spent several weekends cleaning up 50 years' worth of garbage on the property.  We hired a crew of talented young men to rehabilitate the decrepit 42-year old farmhouse.  And in the process of restoring this run-down old farm, we fell in love with it.

Other than vacationing on a ranch in West Texas, we had no experience with rural life, but we soon discovered that we loved it.  

We loved the wildlife, the helpful neighbors, the quaint small-town life.  And most of all, we loved the peace and quiet and the beauty of God's creation outside our front door.

A short year after we bought Leahaven, we stumbled upon our current home, Zephyr Hill Farm, and took the leap of faith to sell our suburban Victorian house and move out to the boondocks.  For the next seven years, we continued to run both farms.

Over the years our one-dog, two-horse family grew to include three horses, a pony, a half dozen Dexter cattle, three dogs, two cats, a half dozen chickens and ducks, and most notably, three grandchildren.  It became harder and harder to get down to Leahaven, an hour away, to clean it and mow the lawn and bush hog the pastures--much less get to spend time there ourselves.

Finally we realized that we could no longer keep up with two farms, and we regretfully decided we had to sell our farm in Alabama.  On September 24, a little more than eight years after we bought it, we sold Leahaven to the son of the farmer we bought it from.  Saying goodbye to Leahaven brought plenty of tears and left us with heavy hearts for days.  Now almost two weeks later, I find myself filled more with thankfulness for all that Leahaven brought us.

Thanks to Leahaven, we've spent hours socializing, laughing and fellowshipping with friends.

Thanks to Leahaven, we have a new tradition of annual visits from far-flung family members.

Thanks to Leahaven, we've learned to handle farm equipment and tackle jobs we would never have thought of taking on.

Thanks to Leahaven, we've learned to value the cycle of the seasons, each one beautiful in its own right.

And finally, thanks to Leahaven, we have Zephyr Hill Farm, our cattle and other animals, and our life in the country today.  Without our experience of country life at Leahaven, we would never have taken the plunge into this life full-time.  How much we would have missed!  How much, how very much, we owe that farm in Alabama!

Thank you, Lord, for Leahaven.

And thank you, Leahaven, for everything.

Herb's Surprise Birthday Present

The morning of Herb's birthday, March 24, I went out to feed the cows, but came rushing back to the house to tell him to hurry up and come outside!

There in the middle of the Back Pasture a drama was being enacted.  Earlier we had noticed a huge tom turkey displaying his tail and turning in a graceful dance.  Suddenly he had company . . .

. . .  in the form of another tom and his harem of eight.  The new tom raced up the hill towards the first tom, outflanked by a couple of his ladies.   They moved so fast they seemed to flow from where we stood.  The first tom turned tail to look for some ladies without such a fierce champion.  (You can just see him under the wire at the foot of the dead tree.)

Those turkeys moved much faster than I can write this.  By this time I took this photo, less than two minutes after the first one, the vanquished tom had almost disappeared into the woods.  (He's right above that dark green splotch under a partially dead tree.)  The interloper had gained the crest of the hill where he stopped to perform a victory dance for his admiring ladies.

Herb and I watched in awe as this quick vignette of country life unfolded before our eyes.  Thank you, Turkeys, for such a special birthday gift!

Proud to Be . . . an AMNCG!

One of my cattle forums was visited this winter by someone named "Taurus" who seemed to have it in for Dexters and women--on a board where numerous women truly love their Dexter family cows.

Taurus wrote that where he's from Dexters "are the exclusive domain of the amateur mentality nouveau country gals from the suburbs who have this misty morning and rainbows fantasy about farming."  (Note the misty morning above and the rainbow below.  I confess to loving them both!) 

He accused these "amateur mentality nouveau country gals" of buying into the propaganda about Dexters, of misunderstanding all animals (even their pets), of adopting poor breeding practices which have ruined the breed in his area, and of making all their decisions based on emotions, convenience and aesthetics.  Some of his last words were, "Life is not a Disney movie."

A few of us joked among ourselves about being "Amateur Mentality Nouveau Country Gals," which we soon shortened to "AMNCG."  The more I thought about it, the more I realized that, by Taurus' definition, I am an AMNCG!

A little over five years ago, I was living in the suburbs growing flowers in my neatly manicured garden.  I had never touched a cow except to pet one at a State Fair, much less thought of owning one, milking her, or raising our own beef.

Then, rather on a whim, we bought a house on 29 acres in the country, far removed from suburbia.  One day a visitor looked out at the grassy hills behind our house and commented, "You've got a lot of grass going to waste.  You should get a cow!"  And that was the beginning of my Dexter story.

From not knowing anything about cows, I have learned to recognize the signs of calving, to halter train young calves, to deal with mastitis and a self-sucking cow, to treat bloat (and better yet how to prevent it), to secure a cow for treatment when there's no squeeze chute, and to handle a bull.

But I do think that rainbows make everything a little brighter, and why shouldn't a cow be the next Disney princess?

I believe we can teach the world to sing in perfect harmony by teaching one child at a time where their food comes from, even when it's that cute calf they played with.

My granddaughter made me that rainbow-covered heart pillow for Christmas and my all-boy grandson wanted to hold the rainbow parasol, so it looks like they agree!

It's true--life is not a Disney movie--and when it's not, I'm a fierce protector of my cattle.  I can't do everything, and I know when to call the vet.  After all, I was 54 years old when we got our first cow, and I live with various physical limitations.  But I've taken on blazing sun, pouring rain, gooey mud and predators from flies to coyotes in defense of my animals.  I've gone from complete bovine ignorance to dealing with everyday life on a farm.  So yes, I am an AMNCG--and proud to be one!

Thank you to my daughter Jenny for the great photos--and to Siobhan for her patience when all she wanted to do was eat that nice, green grass!

2014 in Review

Here is the Google version of Zephyr Hill Farm's 2014 Year in Review.  How quickly it flew by!

An Eventful Week in Review

This has been an eventful week that would definitely get mixed reviews.

On Sunday I found Robin laying out flat in the barnyard with one leg curled under her and the wing on the same side partially splayed out.  She was very cold and snuggled into me when I picked her up.  I brought her into the laundry room and put her in a milk crate lined with hay with some water and crumble at hand, and I put a floor lamp with lots of wattage next to her to warm her up.  She ate and drank a bit and seemed pretty bright-eyed, although she didn't seem at all inclined to move.

On Monday Kim Newswanger arrived to pick up Tiggy, and of course we went out to let Kim say hi to Ebony since Kim was her first mama.  You can imagine my shock when just as I was taking this photo, Kim said, "What's this?"  Ebby had a lump on the underside of her jaw just about where Kim's hand is in the photo.  Neither of us knew what it was, and it was very hard to see through the long hair under her jaw, but it was obviously painful.  There was a small scab which I picked off, and it had a small amount of pus on the inside.  A call to the vet was in order.

I had warned Kim that I have not been able to make friends with Tiggy.  This is as far as we've gotten--and only while she's eating!  As soon as the grain is gone she backs away from me.  Her "safety zone" has gradually gone down from about 10 to 2 feet, but she is definitely wary of us.

We had to corner Tiggy to catch her and put Kim's halter on her.  I've told Kim all along that she's a cow whisperer and that as soon as Tiggy meets her she'll melt in a big puddle of chocolate all over Kim.  It wasn't quite that dramatic, but Tiggy warmed up to her pretty quickly!

With a lot of coaxing, Kim led Tiggy out to the trailer, and she hopped right in!  One thing that made me feel a tiny bit better was that Tiggy was actually grinding her teeth as Kim led her--the process was apparently that agonizing!  She recovered quickly--after just a few days at her new home, she comes right up to Kim for treats and scratches.  I told Kim that my story (since Tiggy isn't telling a different one) is that this smart little cookie heard in utero that she wasn't meant to be ours, that she was meant to go back to live with Kim.  I think she's just been waiting all this time for her real mama to come get her, so why waste any affection on me?  :)

After Kim and Tiggy left, we switched animals to different pastures.  Now that Tiggy is gone, we don't have to keep Royal two pastures away from her, so we moved the cattle up to Kara's pasture, their winter sacrifice pasture.   Angel, Brandy and Julie had been in the back of Kara's pasture getting to know Romeo over the electric fence, but I wanted them to have a lot more room for their first official meeting so we put them all out where the cattle had been.  Of course everyone took off galloping!

While Angel and Brandy found some green grass, Julie went over to meet Romeo.

"Hi." BAM!  I guess being the smallest and lowest on the totem pole, she wanted to put him in his place right off the bat.

Romeo realized Julie was not his Juliet, and he high-tailed it out of there.

 Of course the harem followed right on his heels.


Don't we have a colorful bunch?  (In more ways than one!)

We also have some very opinionated ladies, and Brandy's opinion is that SHE is the Alpha mare!

Finally the girls hared off on their own and left Romeo alone.  He has always been a sweet, peaceful guy and pretty low on the totem pole as long as we've known him.

As the sun set, equine relations seemed to reach détente.

Meanwhile, I had called the vet about Ebby's lump, and he said he'd try to get here in a day or so.  I was worried that she might have something called "lumpy jaw," which I knew was serious, and I wanted to get her seen as soon as possible.

Finally I finally found a vet who could come on Wednesday.  So that afternoon we got Ebby in the squeeze chute to get her lump checked out and see what had caused it.  The vet shaved the lump and gave her a thorough examination, including looking inside her mouth.  Although he had never actually seen a case of lumpy jaw, he said that it is usually located farther back on the jaw, closer to the cheek.  He said that Ebby's lump seemed to be an abscess, probably caused by inflammation from new teeth, and it appeared to have already drained.  The lump, while still tender, felt thick and didn't have an open channel.  As a precaution, he cleaned it well with an antiseptic and took a swab in the small bloody spot that was visible after cleaning.  The culture would take a week to get results, and he told me to keep iodine on it in the meantime.  I felt reassured, although I was still concerned.

Wednesday morning I had noticed that Robin seemed to be going downhill.  Figuring it couldn't hurt and might encourage her to move, I fixed up a pen for her on the back porch in the sunshine and put her there with food and water.  She simply lay there, uninterested in anything.  When the sun moved, I shifted her to take advantage of the warm rays.  Later that afternoon when I came back to check on her after treating Ebby, poor Robin had died.  I was glad she'd had the sun on her back for her last morning.

Late Thursday afternoon I got a call from our main cattle vet.  He had hoped to get out here but wasn't going to make it, so he was checking on Ebby.  He said that he was pretty sure she had an abscess and that normally he would drain it and give her a shot of Excede, a long-acting antibiotic.  Since it had already drained, if I wanted to meet him somewhere, he'd give me the Excede.  So Friday morning I got Ebby into the squeeze chute and gave her the shot--although it wasn't quite as simple as it sounds.  Cows HATE shots!  Nevertheless, thanks to the squeeze chute, Ebony got her Excede.  I was glad to see that the lump had shrunk some more and was definitely less tender.

By this morning the lump looked smaller, although I think Ebby may always have a lump of scar tissue.  She let me scratch it, though, which I took as a good sign.

Herb had clued me in to something he had observed, and I could hardly believe what he told me.  So I took the camera with me this morning so that I could write a fitting end to the story of this week.

It may not be too surprising to see Romeo pin his ears at Julie and tell her to leave his grain alone.  After all, she was the first to try to kick his teeth in!

And it may not be surprising to see Angel, close to Romeo and warning Julie off, especially if you remember that Angel knew Romeo long ago before he went to Texas.  What is really astonishing is what you DON'T see in this photo--Brandy!  That's because Brandy was up eating hay . . . which she could finally do after Romeo left.

Meet Romeo, the new Alpha!  Angel--the only one who didn't try to kick him--is his sidekick, and Brandy--the former Alpha--is neck and neck with Julie for last place.  I think Romeo is saying that the moral to this story is:  "He who laughs last, laughs best!"