Pens

Gene built a pen gate for neighboring pig pen.

This is the gate he built for our goat pen in the dairy barn.

Storm Damage Recovery

The storm that happened in UpState NY the summer of 2014, July 3rd, was called a straight line wind - not a tornado.

According to the NWS: "A SERIES OF DOWNBURSTS PRODUCED STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE ... in CENTRAL NEW YORK DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS ON JULY 3 2014. THE DAMAGE FROM THESE DOWNBURSTS WAS DISCONTINUOUS...BUT SPANNED A TOTAL PATH LENGTH OF 30 MILES FROM WEST TO EAST. WHILE THE DAMAGE PATH WAS SPORADIC...THERE WERE POCKETS OF INTENSE DAMAGE. THE DAMAGE WAS MOSTLY FROM SNAPPED AND UPROOTED TREES ALONG THE DURATION OF THE PATH." We have upwards, or should I say sideways, of over 50 trees like this on the farm. Here are some photos - after the snowfall - we still have not recovered all the downed trees.   It took out a bridge, pasture fencing, and destroyed an outdoor shower used for our agritourism campsite. Recovery is slow... Gene is in the process of gathering the trees, and the stumps  - use of a chainsaw and Heavy Equipment requires skill.  I give loggers alot of credit for the dangerous work they do.  We know someone who had a tree fall on them during logging.  Luckily he survived. There were no injuries reported during this storm.

Restoration Projects

Pig Pen

our neighbors pig - the first month...

Assisi

Here are some more photos of Assisi which Gene really helped take care of greatly - now she is back in the wild - and hopefully well - unfortunately we do not know.

Gene believes he spotted her with a doe up on the pasture behind the house where we last saw her...

She even played basketball with me - well the bouncing ball did not bother her - she was last seen on Sept 15th...be well little beauty!

Hay Season in Review

It was very touch and go this season with record consecutive weeks of rain.  Last year, it rained non stop.  This year it rained one day a week - that one day is enough to ruin the hay.  It was pretty STRESSFUL  to think of the animals (horses and goats) this winter without hay.

This is the equipment to make square bales - the best quality hay, especially for horses.

It takes lots of capital, fuel, land taxes, and time - for only $2- $4 a bale - it is a wonder anyone does it... but that just shows our love of animals.

As Gene bales - the hay is sent into this wagon which is than dumped by the hay elevator behind the barn.

This was taken on Sept 20th - Gene loading a dumpster for a customer who got hay right off the field - for the lowest price - we are having a hard time getting paid from him.  So it goes - farming -  nobody does it for the money!!!!!

above is a cute picture of Assisi with the hay - just hanging out with us as we loaded the elevator to put hay into the Barn!  It was such a nice experience for us.  Being around young animals and young humans reinforces the gift of life...they are uplifting due to their playfulness and joie de vivre!!!

Cattle Fencing

Horse Fencing

Goat Fencing

Goat Pasture Expansion - Project Complete

This video shows completion of our expansion of goat pasture.  Our 22 goats have ample space to browse in the summer - and we won't have to give them hay regularly or bring them into their pens.

Goats get bored with one kind of forage ie. grass - so their pasture ideally has lots of trees, brush, and a variety of grasses.

Here is a tree for shade and eating:

Thanks to Gene we have lots of great facilities for our farm animals!!!!

Restoration: Fence

taking a fence apart piece by piece - restoring the section with new wood - painting it - securing the posts - is time consuming.  The result is quite nice!!!

Here is a birdhouse made from an old wine box - perched up on this historic barn!

Cold Frame for Seed Starting

This cold frame was built out of old windows and scrap lumber.  There is foam on the bottom with a heated mat.  The heated mat is made for dogs - left over from the litter of puppies we had over a decade ago.  It still works!

The cold frame works great and the heated mat really helps with cucumber plant starting!

Keeping Company with Goats

Gene repairs back of dairy barn with goats Further and Sorrelina looking on...

A little Help From My Friends!

Securing the barn with a lift from our cousin - Tommy - shown here operating the telehandler and giving Gene a lift - less snow, and pigeons will get in the barn now - to prevent damage to hay stored for the winter.

Woodshop Tool Room

to make space in the woodshop - Gene built a room further into the barn to house all of his tools.  The walls are lined with wood which he plained from lumber salveged from recent storms in the NYS area.

Gene, shown here with his winter beard, is resourceful.  His work speaks for itself.

Cat Condo's

Newly built cat condo's stuffed with hay keep our cats warm in winter! They also come into our house and lay near the woodstove.  But many cats are opting to stay outdoors with their own room!