Spring Preparations

Well, spring is getting busier all the time! After a few very busy weeks of traveling to the homeschool convention and going to Carlton Minnesota, it is good to be back to a routine and be able to get things ready for the season ahead.

We have some new additions to the farm that you have probably heard about from the other blogs. One of them is the new pigs. Blackhock the gilt had a litter of 13 half Hampshire and half Berkshire pigs. We have taken one in the house to feed since it didn't grow fast enough for some reason and it wasn't getting a chance to nurse.

I'm back to milking now, since Della delivered her calf. It's a heifer and she is doing really good. We separated the calf from her mother soon after she was born so that we wouldn't run into problems keeping them apart later. The weather was nice too so there wasn't the threat of it getting chilled. It was an easy and fast delivery.

My days now include about an hour of horse training with David and Darla. It is a pleasure to work with an animal that tries really hard to do what you want. She is learning very well and will be all set to ride by the time the snow has melted.

Peter

Done milking

Hello,

I just thought I'd let you see the brochure up close. Here's the links to the images:

http://bartlettfarm.us/images/Front.jpg

http://bartlettfarm.us/images/Inside.jpg


Early Saturday morning, Jonathan and I packed up and left for Minot to instruct at the Appleseed at the Minot Rifle and Pistol Club's indoor range. We got a call from the shoot boss the day before saying that he was half way here from Iowa and that he had to turn and head back home for a family emergency. Jonathan was already going to be trained in to be shoot boss, but it was a surprise to us to hear that we were the only full instructors to attend. It all went very well and we had 15 shooters on the line on Saturday, and about 10 on Sunday. One other Instructor In Training was there and helped us out on Sunday. We didn't get any riflemen out of the weekend, but two of the shooters got 208 and 206 points of the 210 needed to score Rifleman or "Expert" on the AQT.

I milked Sandy for the last time on Friday evening. She will be dry now until April 27th (Lord willing!) and then the other cow is due on March 21st. So for now, I have a break from milking! The evening of the first day of the Appleseed, we stayed at some friends place in Minot, which for me, was the first night away from home since December of 2010. I do miss going out and bringing in a bucket of milk though.

Until next time,

Peter