How Cute is This? July 26, 2009

My guy and “our baby” Isabelle, now four weeks old.  She just LOVES to have her neck scratched . . .

Obviously, they’re still “bonding,” aka “imprinting.”

“Are you taking pictures, again?” they both seem to say.

Isabelle’s main source of nutrition is still her mother, Annabelle, but as she ventures into new tastes, like grass in the pasture, or grain, she is so cute . . .

Baby Belle’s legs are still disproportionately long to her growing body and neck and she has to do this weird stance, bending her legs, to reach the ground.  She reminds me of a giraffe!

Do you have animals in your life who give you joy?

Happy 4th!!! July 4, 2009

Hope it’s a fun day for you, whatever you might be doing!

Last night, we watched some great fireworks (which were shot off from a barge on the Sound) with friends, which was wonderful.

It’s amazing that the show went on, after a severe summer thunder-and-lightning storm, which threw torrents of rain just hours before.  The sky looked like ominous, as we raced to get the horses, including Annabelle and her new baby, Isabelle,  into the barn.  We—and them—got soaked to the bone, then we listened to the thunder and watched the lightning spark all around us, from the safety of the horses’ stalls.

The horizon right after the storm.

 HAPPY DAY TO YOU AND YOURS !!!

Oh. . . I found this pretty mermaid in our pool . . . might you know her?

Aloha Friday #11 July 2, 2009

Friday is coming again, so that means it’s time for . . .

My “Aloha Friday” question this week is: 

IF YOU HAD A BABY SHIRE WORKHORSE THIS CUTE,

WHAT WOULD YOU NAME HER?

Here’s a little background . . . her Mom is a Shire Workhorse named Annabelle and the baby filly (girl) is black & white and a week old.  She’s more than 150 lbs. already with long, spindly legs, who loves to run!

Here are some of the names in the running, but our family is having trouble coming to consensus on the perfect name:

• Belle
• Bella
• Isabelle
• Shiloh
• Shania
• Beauty
• Cinderella/”Ella”

(Thanks so much for your ideas!!!)

 

If you’d like to participate in more Aloha Friday questions, click on over to  An Island Life for Kailani’s  “Aloha Friday.”

Annabelle & Baby (3 days old) out in the pasture for the first time.

“Imprinting” AKA “Bonding” June 30, 2009

I guess you could say  that everything people know they learned from animals–about bonding with newborns, that is.

I’ve always appreciated the importance of “bonding” with our newborn children and I felt the same way about “being there” with our newborn baby filly as soon as she was born.  Instinctively, I felt the need for my husband and me to bond with that filly, even though we aren’t the biological parents.  After all, her mother, Annabelle, gets all the credit for all the hard work she’s done with carrying and delivering her baby, and with what lies ahead for this single mother (as the father is in Michigan and never got to meet his offspring.)

Anyway, back to the bonding. . . I knew it was important, I didn’t know until just recently that there’s an actual word for it in the “horse world.”  It’s called “imprinting” and it’s vital to the newborn foal’s future relationship with people.  I admit we humans are only surrogate parents here, but we do want to do our part.  By the time we greeted our baby foal (still yet to be named, as we continue to seek the perfect fit!), she was already licked clean by her dear mother, nursed, and was walking around the stall. 

My husband, Al, bonding with our new filly.

Horse experts say  that imprinting in the first days after birth is crucial.  This includes handling the foal, while always being cognizant of the mother horse’s anxiety level of those around her.  Using soft tones, you must hold the baby in an embrace, while it’s laying down, and stroke its ears  and handle its feet and gums, so that it’s comfortable later on when you need to clean and attend to these areas.  Horse people even say you should blow gently into the baby’s nostrils, so that it recognizes your breath and smell and feels comfortable with you.  If the mare is comfortable with you and how you handle her and her baby, then the baby also generalizes that people are good.

I’ve so enjoyed being a part of this process, although I’ll be the first to say that Annabelle and her new baby respond first and foremost to my dear husband and our children, who have always been directly involved in their care.  I must admit that sometimes I feel like a “third wheel,” more of someone who documents this incredible phase of life through pictures and words.  They’re the ones who actually do it.

I’m happy to say that all this imprinting is working.  Annabelle’s baby is adjusting to her new home so well and Annabelle is such an accomplished mother.  She is somewhat of an expert, as she’s delivered and cared for two previous foals before she came to live with us.   Annabelle came to us as an expectant mother and as already an expert in the matter!

"The fam" walks Annabelle and her baby out to the pasture.

Annabelle’s baby walks nicely with us, in her halter now, as long as dear Mom is nearby.  Annabelle also makes sure that she is always the one in charge, knowing where her baby is at all times.  When the baby is sleeping, Annabelle stands guard over her.  When people approach to visit, the baby will come up to the fence to greet them, and as I found yesterday, will even suck on your fingers in her effort to appease this oral stage.  She gets the idea that people are good.  We’re just protecting her from too much visiting by closely monitoring the time she spends–always with Mom–in public view.  But we’re all adjusting nicely, this new family of ours!

Annabelle stands guard over her sleeping baby.

Our new filly, exercising her sucking reflex, on my fingers!

Talk of the Barnyard! (Sunday Stroll–June 28) June 28, 2009

Since our new filly was born, she’s been the talk of the barnyard.  On her third day, we introduced her to the menagerie of other animals on the farm.

Here’s what everyone is saying . . .

"Who's the new kid on the block?"

"I don't see what all the fuss is about. She isn't even a long neck!"

"Let's get a closer look. . ."

"Mommy, will they be nice to me?"

"I'm king of the mountain!"

"Whinny, you may THINK you're king of the mountain, but you WILL be nice to my new baby girl!"

"Mommy, I'm scared!"

"Will you be my friend? We're about the same size!"

"Mommy, I'm hungry!"

 

"Can we play together?"

"Mommy, I think they like me, but I'm SO tired . . ."

“A Mother’s work is never done . . . “

To see who else is “strolling” today, click here.

The Miracle of Birth June 27, 2009

 

Annabelle’s foal surprised us my making her entrance into the world a little sooner than expected!  She is the most beautiful, perfect, spotted draft filly with lanky legs, beautiful, long eyelashes, and a skip in her step . . . all in her first day!

Annabelle is the MOST PERFECT mother, catering to her young daughter’s every wish . . .

Of course, timing is everything and when I got the call early Thursday morning that our new baby had arrived, I didn’t believe it at first.  I was also heartbroken because I was hours away, giving an educational workshop.  Even though school was out for students, it wasn’t for me and I was dying to bond with our new baby.  I dashed out just as soon as I could and spent the next 2 hours in the barn, just admiring this work of perfection!  She is so perfect, it is almost surreal!

We’re still searching for JUST the right name for her.  Under consideration at the moment are:  Isabelle, Belle, Beauty, Rosabelle, Belle of the Ball, Cinderella, probably all preceeded by Rose Farms’ ___________.  It’s a difficult decision to agree on!  Any thoughts?

To see more pix, skip on over to our Rose Orchards site.  Abbie and I have taken hundreds of photos of our new treasure in the first couple of days and will post more soon, as soon as I return from barn to admire her some more . . .

Annabelle’s Sister’s Baby June 24, 2009

OK, don’t get too excited just yet.  Annabelle hasn’t had her foal yet, but her sister recently had a new baby!

How cute is she?  We’re just imagining what Annabelle’s baby will look like because she and her sister look so similar.

Annabelle’s biological family lives in Michigan, but she’s got a huge “adoptive” family here.

Here is Annabelle’s niece, who also lives with a menagerie of “adoptive” family members.  She’s meeting a buffalo for the first time . . .

Here’s a baby zebra who lives on that farm in Michigan.  How adorable!  I understand he’s for sale . . . any takers?

I wouldn’t be surprised if he pops up on our farm sometime soon.

It’s so much fun to see very different species of animals getting along together so well.  Too bad people aren’t the same!

What are YOUR favorite animals?  What kinds of pets join you in your day?

Fast Friends June 24, 2009

We’re so delighted that Annabelle, our huge Shire, has taken a liking to some of the “little guys” in the barnyard.  Annabelle and Whinny, our mini-horse, hit it off right away.  After all, they are in the same horse family, more or less.

But what is so absolutely sweet to see is that Annabelle (Mom-to-be) has also taken a shining to our Baby Bull, even showing a bit of a maternal side, protecting Baby Bull from the llamas, who aren’t always so nice to him.  Perhaps Annabelle is practicing for what’s to come?

As I stood in the rain taking these photos today, sometimes I feel like, OMG, this could be the barnyard in “Charlotte’s Web.”  How lucky are we?

Launching a New Blog! March 23, 2009

Abbie over at Farmer’s Daughter (and my daughter in real life, as many of you know) and I are so excited to be collaborating on a new blog for our family’s 12th generation family farm, Rose Orchards.  To view it, please click here or cruise on over to:   http://roseorchards.wordpress.com/

Tractor-drawn hayrides around the farm are a favorite fall activity!

Frozen custard lovers line up at the ice cream window, next to the bags of freshly-picked Macoun apples.

The water wheel barn, complete with fish pond, is another favorite place to visit, also home to our newest member of the family, Annabelle!

Do stop by our new Rose Orchards blog and let us know what you think!

We hope you enjoy reading about our latest “green”  experiments with straw hay bale gardening for fruits and vegetables!

Sunday Stroll: Tapping Trees March 8, 2009

Late February/early March is the time we get busy with tapping Maple trees in the Northeast, depending on what the weather’s doing.  In order to have a productive run with sap, to transform into sweet, sticky, amber syrup, you need freezing temps at night and thawing temps during the day.

Due to a bunch of storms and a really cold snap that hung around, we waited until March to tap our Maple trees here on the farm.

Our youngest, Nathaniel, drills the holes for the quills/taps.  We used to use a hand-powered drill, but now a battery-operated drill speeds up the job.

Our older son, Jonathan, hammers in the taps and adjusts the line.

My DH makes some adjustments to the main sap pipeline.

As always, Duke find a comfortable spot from which he can supervise the work!

We also use traditional pails and quills to collect sap from our maples.

On this warm, spring-like day, the snow is quickly melting and the sap is dripping practically in a constant stream, almost like a slow-dripping faucet.

When the buckets are full of sap, we collect the precious liquid and haul it to the Sugar House, where we cook it down into syrup.  When you see steam and smoke escaping, you know the wonderful transformation is taking place!

The long process from sap to syrup takes place in the wood-fired evaporater.  It takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of sweet maple syrup!

It’s a long process that requires lots of man-power and wood-power and you must be patient!  When we finish a fresh batch, there’s nothing better than to sample the sweet stuff over hot pancakes or johnnycake!

A stroll around the farm just isn’t complete without a stop to say hi to our newest addition, Annabelle.  She’s due to deliver a foal in August, which we’re very excited about!

 

I also came upon Nathaniel using his mini-excavator to clean up Annabelle’s pasture, making more room for her and her friends.  They’re enlarging the fenced-in pasture space, complete with new fence posts, so Nate’s excavator was perfect for pulling out the old posts.   I just know that Annabelle and her baby will love their new space!

To see who else is strolling on this lovely March day, stop by the Quiet Country House.