Manicures and Worms...

We finally caught a (little) break in the weather this past weekend. The forecast said snow on Sunday, but it turned out to be a surprisingly warm and snow-free couple of days.

We have a professional hoof trimmer come every 3 months to trim up the girls' hooves, to keep their feet healthy. We've found that our cow's hooves grow quickly, especially in the wetter months when the ground is soft, and we don't want to take any chances with having them become uncomfortable or lame. 

None of the cows mind being lifted off the ground and turned sideways. Most of them are used to it, and know that their feet are going to be taken care of. Our yearling bull was the only one who seemed a bit uncertain of the whole thing this time, but he quickly discovered that manicures aren't just for women. With 8 cows, most of whom are pregnant, it took a couple of hours to get everyone done. By the time we finished on Friday night, it was dark and cold and I was glad to be finished. I can only imagine what an event it is for dairies that have thousands of cows to go through this process multiple times each year.

We are about 35 days away from our first calves. We are already starting our official "count downs" and keeping watch for issues or complications with any of the girls. We have a couple of cows that traditionally calve early, so watching the calendar is especially important while we still have nights that drop below freezing. Between watching for lambs and keeping an eye on the cows, it isn't uncommon for us to be out in the barn at 2 am and 4 am every day doing checks. This is normally the time in pregnancy when a cow who has had a couple of calves can start to prolapse, so we carefully monitor everyone multiple times a day.

The girls are all still "free ranging" with supplemental hay, since the ground is still frozen.

In the house, our worm bins are beginning to overflow with nutrient-rich castings. We are getting ready to start more seeds in the house for transplanting to the garden in early Spring, and the compost will come in handy. It's always amazing to watch the worms work together to "dissolve" the green waste and coffee grounds we feed them. 

I fired a large load of large mugs this past weekend, too, since the weather was so mild. All of these guys will be shipped this week to fill a wholesale order.

This fun little mug was a new clay test that I included in the load. It fired up beautifully, and Little Q quickly claimed it!

 I fired more recycled glass pendants this weekend, too. I love the effects that I'm starting to get with refined stoneware shapes and learning which colored glasses yield the best results at which temperatures.

This week, it's back to the wheel to finish out a bisque load of yogurt containers, more mugs, coffee tumblers, and noodle bowls.

What are your plans for the week?