The Merry Month of May!

May is coming to a close. So much has happened this month. Strawberries have come and gone...we have had a decent crop this year! The fresh-picked berries from our farm definitely had better flavor than the strawberries we bought from a CSA. We ate them fresh, made strawberry cakes, jams and preserves! Sadly, I over-estimated my available time for processing the berries...so, I lost a bunch to spoilage. Thank goodness for chickens and pigs...they are the "redeemers" of food mis-management!



Farmer's Market started May 1st and we have been busy baking on Fridays and marketing on Saturdays! Lots of bread...this year we are making fresh ground wheat, spelt, rye and the favorite baguette. We make wheat cinnamon buns and sell eggs/chickens when we have extra. By Saturday afternoon, we have all had our fill of bread!



The best part of May 2010 has been the birth of our new heifer calf Gingersnap!
It has been delightful to milk her mother Holly. She is a dear sweet animal. Her udder congestion is subsiding. Her milk is very creamy! She is a wonderful mother to Gingersnap, as well as to her other baby...ME!

She really likes her routine of going up to the milking stand for her human-baby to get her milk! Tonight we tried to milk her down in the field, just outside of the cow-pen. We were trying to save time... She let us milk her briefly, and then suddenly took off in the direction of the milking stand...no lead rope or halter...she walked directly to the head-stock, entered and let us "lock" her in...as if she were telling us..."this is the way we do it...you get your milk up here!"

I ladled her cream into our coffe this morning and made creamed spinach with spinach from our garden and Holly's cream. Delicious! We have not seperated the calf from her mom yet...so we are only getting about 1 1/2 gallons of milk per day. We are feeling milk-rich these days...even though we expect Holly to make 4-5 gallons per day at her peak. Cheese, butter, yogurt making will begin soon!

Like mother like daughter! Gingersnap is learning so much from Holly. It is fascinating to watch her learn how to interact with the other cows and goats, nibble on grass, drink water from the trough...Thank you Lord, giver of life, for these "gifts" and for this awesome life!

Welcome home Gingersnap!

On the morning of May 21, our Jersey cow Holly began to labor. She was not due to "freshen" until May 27, however, a low pressure system was coming in, and it is said that that sometimes triggers labor in cows. Around 10 am, I noticed her udder had gotten extremely large. She has some clear, gel-like mucous hanging from her vulva. Tyson had just delivered a beautiful round bale of hay, in preparation for the new arrival. Holly usually chases Tysons truck through the field to nibble at the hay...they love his hay...but on this day, she seemed uninterested. Austyn and I began to spread fresh straw in the small barn, in hopes that she would choose to have her calf in there. Holly was born in the field, in secret, 2 1/2 years ago.


On cue, Holly entered the barn, and rested, chewing her cud. About 10:15 she had a contraction...we knew this because legs and tail extended...her head raised up in the air...it only lasted about 20 seconds. After about 10 minutes, she had another. We watched for an hour as the contractions got gradually closer. At 11:15, gush of water came out. She was still lying down. After a while, Holly stood up, took a drink of water and ate some hay...then she lay back down. The contractions got closer and harder. Hooves appeared, thankfully they were front hooves...which means a normal presentation of the calf. Then a tongue and nose followed....with each contraction, we could measure progress by how much of the calf remained outside of Holly once the contraction was finished. Holly chewed her cud between contractions...she began to softly grunt/talk to her baby.

The mouth was "born" and the tongue was hanging out of the mouth...surely this calf was dead...there was no movement at all...as the forehead pressed against the vulva, stretching it, Holly gave a large push and the calf's whole head entered the world. Definitely alive...another set of pushes moved the shoulders and body out...the suspense was terrible...was it a bull or heifer? Holly's labor seemed to stop at this point. We were trying to peek between the back legs but couldn't see any parts...finally, the calf "wiggled" out and Holly began cleaning HER! We cheered...I'm sure all of Esmont heard our "Wooo Hooos". Nothing against bulls, but a heifer sure is a treat!









We named this little girl "Gingersnap" because of her color! She is half Guernsey, and has white markings all over...very unique looking! We have a lot of decisions to make, since this is Holly's first calf. Do we share the milk with the Gingersnap or separate momma and baby? Most commercial dairies separate immediately. For now we will keep them together for 1 week, milking Holly out 3-4x/day to hopefully avoid mastitis and to at least to have several opportunities to assess for mastitis.

Thank the Lord, that we were patient and waited for our home-grown Holly to be our family milker. Often, I wanted to just go out and buy a cow...but kept feeling like we should wait. Holly trusts us fully. We can handle her without problems. She is not a kicker...we can actually milk her in the field, while Gingersnap is nursing...or even while she is not around! Holly licks us as we milk, just as she licks her calf. It's love, love, love!

The cow-calf relationship is masterfully designed! Once Gingersnap was born and began to nurse, uterine contractions increased...helping Holly to birth the placenta. The rich colostrum that Gingersnap had for her first meal, was like those high-energy drinks...immediately her strength increased, allowing her to stand and walk. Holly licks her baby while she is nursing, stimulating the "toileting" of the calf. So many things working together.

As Holly's colostrum transitions to milk, we watch for milk-fever. This is a dangerous condition common to Jersey cows. It is hypo-calcemia. The demand for milk can cause calcium to be drawn from the bones and muscles of the cow...causing weakness and death if not managed. Sadly we experienced this with Holly's mother last year. Not a happy ending for Sweet Pea, but this journey is all about learning, so I researched milk fever and made many changes this year. Mostly, we did not have Holly on grain during her pregnancy. A diet of concentrates vs. forage contributes to this condition. We gave a Saf-Cal oral calcium right after birthing, and every 12 hours for 2 days. Lastly, we watched Holly for signs of weakness or "depression". Nightly checks in the barn with flashlights, making sure she could get up, she was chewing her cud, and that her ears were warm. I have read that cold ears are an early symptom of milk fever.

We have had a concern with congested udder/ udder edema. We have taken advice from 3 dairy farmers that we trust. Currently, we are applying warm compresses, massaging the udders and milking out several times/day. It is improving. We are watching closely for signs of mastitis (hot udder/painful udder/stringy/clotty milk) So far, none are present. Just a new udder, getting used to the new "function" of milk production. We are enjoying the time spent with Holly and the "investment" in our future years of milk-production with her. She seems to like the special attention she is getting from the family.

Dennis and Alex completed the stanchion/head-stock and milking parlor today! What a blessing that is. We have to walk Holly up the driveway about 100 yards. Thankfully she is halter broken (mostly!). Holly does not like to be sprayed with the natural/herbal fly spray that we have been using...the flies are awful this year...every time she hesitated while walking up the drive, Austyn gave her a little spray with the herbal...she took the cue and walked on! Her reward of beet-pulp, molasses and a small amount of grain was waiting for her in the milk stand. It was a very pleasant experience. This is VERY important, as a cow will not "let-down" if she is upset. I think it is the para-sympathetic nervous system that is responsible for the let-down of milk. The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the "fight-or-flight" response. These 2 systems oppose one another...can not work together...so we need to keep the dogs away, use quiet, soothing commands to assure that Holly feels safe when milking...so that she will "let down" willingly!


We are thankful that Holly is well and that she gave us a sweet little Gingersnap! What a great gift!

It has been a long time since my last blog. A lot has been going on at the Bessette home!

The flowers are blooming....Iris are showing off,




the Roses are magnificent!




We have picked our first strawberries and sugar-snap-peas! Alex, the child least likely to eat anything green, said "Mom, if other vegetables tasted like these sugar-snap-peas, I would eat them all the time...are there more growing!" The cabbage is heading-up! Kenebec potatoes have sprouted up beautifully, only to freeze on 2 occasions...not sure if they'll make it. I have learned to wait on the tomatoes, until after Mother's Day...finally got them planted yesterday and I even have the trellises in place for each plant! We've been enjoying spinach several days/week. We must cut it frequently, or it will quickly bolt to flowers/seed. The spinach is delicious...have you ever noticed the weird film/feeling that store-bought spinach leaves on your teeth? I am pleased to report that our home-grown spinach does not have it!

Cilantro is ready to be picked...I love to make salsa, but cilantro is an herb which doesn't like hot dry weather. Because of this, it is ready before the tomatoes and jalapenos are ripe??? Oh well, I'll still make salsa, cuz' there's nothing like fresh cilantro!




Boer/Keiko buck for market-goat project in 4-H are growing steadily.

Nellysford Farmer's Market began May 1st. We are there faithfully every week selling fresh made wheat bread, French bread, Rye bread, cinnamon buns, coffee, eggs/pasta/cookies and mint tea...what a great market! Our Fridays are busy with baking. The kids are selling their products too!


Today was a rainy day and it was nice to be able to spend time indoors with the girls. We are reading aloud, "The Lord God Made Them All" by James Herriot. It is very informative and entertaining. We have laughed so hard we cried in several chapters! I still love reading aloud to the family...they love it too...always begging for just one more chapter! I recently asked our oldest child if she would read aloud to her children...she said she would, but still expected me to read to her, even when grown! I have very special memories of the many, many books our family has enjoyed together.

Well, tommorrow is baking day...busy busy!

I hope Austyn will take some pictures to "document" the home-bakery! It is quite an operation!

Poor, Poor Piggies

Penelope is our only female pig. She is relaxing in this photo, happily enjoying her "femaleness", while her brothers prepare to be castrated...an event that started out quite humorous, but ended in a very different way.
Much of our farming experience has been gleaned from neighbors and friends who grew up on farms. Tending animals is second nature to these folks. They rarely call a vet out to the farm, only for extreme emergencies. We have learned to trust the advice of these successful farmers. We are grateful to them for sharing their knowledge with us.
This round of piggies at our farm has been a unique bunch. After being at our farm for a couple of weeks, I noticed that the males were developing two little bumps on their backside...hmmm...the last round of pigs we had didn't have those bumps...you don't have to be a vet to quickly determine that these male pigs had not been castrated. Oh no!
I investigated our options. You don't need to castrate for meat production, if butchered at a young age, however, the meat may develop an undesirable "boar" flavor. Not good. Two of the pigs are 4H projects, to be sold at the livestock auction at the Albemarle County Fair. The rules state that all male animals must be castrated before they may enter the fair grounds. Ok...I guess that helps in making the decision. I called the farmer who I got the pigs from. He said he would come over to castrate the pigs as soon as possible. He did not seem concerned about the fact that the pigs were getting older. But, time marched on....
We had never seen the procedure for castration of pigs. We have "banded" goat bucks and bull calves. Banding involves using an "elastrator" to put a rubber-band around the dangling sac, causing lack of blood supply and eventual removal of the body part. Pigs do not have "dangling sacs". We knew that banding was not on option.
I'm not sure that the farmer doing the procedure realized how much the pigs had grown until he arrived at our farm. Maybe he would have recommended calling in a vet instead if he had realized? Not sure?
The first scheduled appointment was a disaster! We ran around the pig-pen trying to catch the pigs who definitely knew something strange was about to happen, because they gave us a run for our money! We never did catch them that day, but the farmer insisted that we did not "waste his time" because he thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment of watching the chase! Quite funny in retrospect.

The next day, we coaxed the pigs into a dog kennel, by placing irresistible food inside. Once caught, we put "leashes" around their mid-sections and waited for the farmer to arrive. Then, the funny aspect of this event subsided, and the reality of the procedure set in. Just how was he going to do this? How would we restrain the pigs...we all began to have a sick feeling in the pit of our guts. We had to hang the pigs by their feet upside down. Pigs scream anyway when they are stressed or scared, but we knew what was coming. The screams only added to the awful feeling that we were experiencing.



Once hanging, the farmer located the pigs testicles, made an incision and removed them one by one. Poor, poor piggies! I wish I could say it went quickly and painlessly. After the procedure, the pigs were let down...I tried to make up for it by giving each pigs a bucket of goat milk, which they joyfully slurped down and then ran off. We were quite shaken up. Dennis and I take seriously the call by God for us to have "dominion" over the animals. We were both saddened that we caused pain to these animals. For days, we have prayed over the pigs for speedy healing, comfort from pain and for no infection. God is faithful and all is well with the pigs!

I think the lesson learned for our family is that procrastination in farming leads to animal sickness/discomfort. And this is not acceptable on our farm. We learned to ask the right questions about animals before bringing them home. We are truly grateful to our farmer friends who have helped us learn so much! I continue to be amazed at how much these farmers know and do without a second thought...and without one day in the university!

....how does your garden grow?

Gardening should probably be classified as a hobby for me rather than a chore. If I had nothing else to do, I think I could spend every waking hour out in the garden. Now, I must say that I am not the best gardener, not the most productive, but when given a day to do anything I want...I would be outside, in the sunshine, weeding/seeding/watering/picking! There are so many different techniques to gardening...so many methods. How does your garden grow?



We use an organic method of growing. We have NEVER used pesticides/herbicides of any sort on our land. I love the "Ruth Stout's No Work Garden" mulching system to keep weeds down and moisture in. We compost in place...with mulch of hay and grass clippings, decomposed chicken/cow manure and even use the animals to assist in the tilling of the land. Chickens tractors help fertilize and prepare the soil for planting. Pigs till up and fertilize our old corn fields. I use companion planting methods, where some plants actually benefit others when growing nearby...as a natural bug repellent or to encourage certain insects to help with pollination. Read "Carrots Love Tomatoes" for more information on this.



Last Year Dennis built our little cold-frame boxes, which give us a head start on cool weather planting. We already have pea plants approaching 1 foot tall thanks to these boxes.

My least favorite gardening activity is weeding. If I were doing the Ruth Stout method correctly, there would be little to no weeding, but I am sometimes stingy with my hay/mulch! As of today, in the ground are the following: potatoes, cabbage, beets, rutabaga, turnips, kale, lettuce, spinach, snow peas, sugar snap peas, carrots, radishes, swiss chard, mustard greens, sunflowers, dill, cilantro, onions, leeks, shallots! Coming back from last year we have asparagus, mint, oregano, strawberries, rhubarb, sunflowers, bronze fennel, not to mention a mystery squash that is volunteering in our old pig-pen! We need to get our corn in the ground soon!

After Mother's Day we will plant sweet and hot peppers, tomatoes, pumpkin, melons, squash, green beans, lima beans, butter beans, cukes, okra, basil, nasturtium, sweet potatoes...and whatever else we have room for!

It is a very busy time of year for the Bessette family. We will start with farmer's market the first week of May...then try to keep our garden watered and growing in between bread baking and animal care. I wonder how some people could feel bored??? I could fill my days with this farm/garden stuff! Thankfully the sunsets are stunning here on this hill, because otherwise I would feel sad that the sun had to go down...and that another day is finished!

The dangerous job of chicken farming!

Bessette Family Farm has gotten a little "cocky" this year. We are enjoying the Dark Cornish breeder-flock that we started last year, for the purpose of egg production, but also for the ability to hatch our own meat-birds for butchering. We have had incredible success at hatching (83%) and excellent survival rates...I think we have only lost 3 chicks out of about 70. So far, so good. But we are getting a little "cocky" around here....

To produce baby chicks, there are several key ingredients....in addition to hens that lay eggs, it is important that we have roosters that fertilize the eggs. Of course, unfertilized eggs make great omelets, but not so great baby chicks! Anyway, we have been experimenting at the correct number of roosters that abide with the hens. We have read that a 1:10 ratio of rooster:hens is ideal. We started with 25 roosters to 100 hens, figuring that we would lose some to predators. All roosters survived. This resulted in a small butchering session.... a day when 12 roosters earned the privilege of abiding in the Bessette chest freezer instead of the hen-house!

Last Friday, while the girls were doing school work, I decided to get the chicken chores done by myself. Usually, we feed the chickens outside of the hen house (in their electric-fenced yard),then one person blocks up the entrance to their house with a trash-can lid, while the second person collects eggs and replenishes water. All of this is necessary due to not-so-friendly roosters! On this day, I guess I wasn't thinking about the dangers of chicken farming. I fed the chickens, then entered the house. No eggs yet, so I grabbed the waterer and began to exit the hen house. Just as I was leaving, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a rooster flying up at me...feet-first...attempting to "spur" me! I quickly reacted by shutting the door. What I saw next not only perplexed me, but made me double over in laughter!

There is a gap between the bottom of the door and the frame. I haven't measured it, but it looks to me like it is just about the width of a rooster's leg....




The bad rooster did a little "sit-up" and just looked at me with discouragement as his efforts to kill me were thwarted! I left him there for just long enough to get Austyn to take some pictures, because I couldn't even begin to describe how this happened???? Once set free, he returned to the flock...scolded by his band of brothers and ashamed of his miserable failure. The dictionary defines "cocky" as too sure of oneself; arrogant; conceited....may we all learn a lesson from the roosters!

All flesh is grass

"All flesh is grass..." this is part of a bible verse,Isiah 40:6. This verse is taken out of context, but even in its partial state it holds amazing truths. Think about it...plants are the only "producers" in our ecosystem. They are able to use the energy from the sun to produce food for themselves in the form of glucose through the process of photosynthesis. It is actually a chemical reaction, taking water, carbon dioxide and energy from the sun, along with chlorophyll to produce glucose and oxygen! The producers (veggies/fruit/nuts/grasses/algae/kelp) provide food not only for themselves, but for living things that are unable to produce their own food... a cow eats the grass, we eat the beef that the cow produces. The nutrients that we eat give us energy to survive, but also are the source of any bio synthesis in our body. Remember that we "are what we eat" and that "all flesh is grass".
So, if we eat a hamburger, then we are benefiting from the cows ability to take grass (which is indigestible to us) and convert it into meat. If grass is managed properly, it continues to grow, even thrive, with the frequent grazing that a herd of animals provides. It is a "free" renewable resource! What good news!



The Bessettes have been inspired to take advantage of this free food. We host cattle, goats, chickens and pigs here at our farm. Cattle and goats are herbivores (ie vegetarians). Chickens and pigs are omnivores...like the Bessettes...(eat fruit/veggies/meat or just about anything). Since grass is the topic, I'll stick to the cattle and goats for now.

At this time of year our "free-food" is abundant. In the past, Dennis or Alex would spend hours on the mower and use gallons of gas every week to "manage" the huge lawn that we have. We have now realized, as have many other farmers, that the key to our sustainability is growing (not mowing) that free renewable resource that humans can not digest! GRASS! We are becoming "grass farmers"!

We now set up electric fencing /netting, powered by solar chargers (free again)in areas of the land that have sufficient grass growth. We move the cattle and goats to these areas and they naturally do the rest. They "cut" the grass to just the right height. They release nitrogen and healthy microbes into the soil through their urine and manure. They tread on the ground aerating the soil and allowing "pockets" for moisture to soak into. It is an amazing symbiosis! The size of the grass above mirrors the root matter below. When an animal "cuts" the grass, the roots die back underground to again mirror the grass above. This is great for the soil, as it adds organic matter to the soil, which will then be decomposed by earthworms and microbes, adding necessary nutrient/minerals to the soil to help the grass to stay healthy! What a design! When the grass is grazed to just the right height, we move the pen and the animals to a new spot! Over-grazing kills the grass, so we're careful to not keep them in one place for too long.

So, as the rain poured down last night, I thanked God for free food for our animals! Grass, which will become food for us in the form of beef, milk and cheese!Thank you, God, for your masterful design and for the free food!