Spring At Last!

It seems to have taken extra long this year for Spring to arrive at our farm.  Perhaps it’s because we had the earliest Easter any of us will ever experience.  Regardless, I am happy to finally see the green pastures, hear the engines on tractors roaring in the fields, and watch as the buds burst into flower in gardens and on bare branches of winter-weary trees.  Many of our stately timbers still show the battle scars of December’s ice storm.  So many limbs lie scattered around their trunks, and some have entirely toppled to the ground.  Mike has scouted the fence lines and removed a majority of the fallen trees, but some will take more chain saw attention to lift them off the resilient hi-tensile wires on which they rest.  Firewood for the coming fall and winter seasons will be plentiful, if we get busy cutting, chopping and stacking the broken branches.

As I enjoy the warmer temperatures of the past few days, I look forward to a break from stoking up the wood-burning fireplace insert that has warmed our farmhouse for the past seven months.  There is a special comfort that the heat from this efficient stove brings to our home, but with that comes lots of dust and ashes, as well.  While we have been burning wood for decades on our farm, this is the first season that I have utilized a stove thermometer to gauge the right burn level.  This investment of less than twenty dollars has given me a fortune of piece of mind.  I finally realize how to correctly control the heat level so that the culprit, creosote, doesn’t clog my chimney liner and cause a fire.  While we thought we knew the right way to heat with wood in the past, this new stove-top gadget has opened our eyes to a better way to burn.  As a result, we’ve opened the draft and damper to keep the dial in the “safe” range as it gives our home that comforting warmth until warmer spring temperatures arrive.

Opening the house windows is another ritual I look forward to each spring.  I reluctantly close up the house every fall as the cold temperatures chill us inside and out.  I postpone that time as long as possible in order to keep the crisp, fresh air rushing through every room.  I also don't want to look through the dusty glass window panes that I meant to clean all summer as I seal out the cold.  Now I can throw open the sash and welcome in the smells of flowers, along with the aroma of field work that is carried on the breeze.  I smile when I smell the scent of land-applied manure and know that this cycle is a key part to keeping our soils healthy.  While some of our neighbors don’t appreciate this seasonal lesson in agronomic practices, we are lucky that most of them understand agriculture and everything that comes with country life.

Another sign of spring is the arrival of the Canada geese that rest on our farm pond, and attempt to nest there.  The pasture where this pond is located is not utilized by our cattle until we begin the rotation of sections, so its quiet location is attractive to two pairs that have staked out their territory to include our farm.  Much to their chagrin, our five Border collies are part-time goose-busters when they aren’t working cattle.

Every morning, I hear the honking arrival of the geese.  On cue, my black and whites streak down toward the pond and circle the dam breast in an attempt to lift off their winged flock.  Both the geese and the dogs are smart, so it is an interesting showdown of wills.  Nellie, who has recovered completely from her bungee cord fiasco, is the bravest of the bunch.  She enters the water and swims toward the evasive geese who move to the deep center of the pond while her comrades balance her position from opposite sides of the bank.  Eventually, the geese tire of the “predator” pressure and with a little help from Mike and me at times, the dogs succeed in herding them off the pond.  Honking their displeasure, the geese take off for quieter waters and I am left with muddy, soaking wet, tired dogs who seem to smile all the way back to the house as their pink tongues and panting mouths wait for a dog treat for good behavior.

While goose-busting helps to get our dogs in shape for the herding season, our goal is primarily to discourage the pairs from nesting in an area that will be dangerous for any future goslings.  We’ve learned from experience that cows and a family of geese don’t get along.  One year when we didn’t allow the dogs to move the geese to a safer spot for nesting, we watched our Hereford cows attack the line of goslings and their parents as they waddled through the grass, heading for an upper pond on the outside of our fence.  The gander blocked the bawling cows until his flightless brood scurried under the fence to safety.  He was bruised and bloodied by the protective mama cows whose savage attack surprised the goose and us.  From that point on, we use the Border collies to push the geese to a safer haven to raise their brood.  That way their young aren't trampled by an angry herd of defensive Herefords with no tolerance for feathered squatters in their pasture.

Our cows and calves are looking forward to the lush green pastures that wait outside of their winter lots.  I enjoy watching the frolicking calves testing their prowess in head-to-head sparring contests.  Whoever turns away first leads the pack as they race across the hill with tails flagging high over their backs, trying out their speed and strength under the watchful eyes of cud-chewing mama cows.  A few of the calves slide in next to their resting moms, trying their patience as they butt up against their massive heads.  With a gentle nudge, the Hereford cow seems to be telling the bouncing calf to “knock it off and let me alone for a minute of peace and quiet.”  The calf tears off to pick on a buddy bovine more its size.  What a wonderful sight to behold.

Spring has finally arrived to warm the body, mind and soul.

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