Tired Farmer’s Wife

I asked my best friend and helpmate (a lot of you know her as Janie, my wife,) to pose for this photo after we had just completed a major relocation of a group of cattle.  Other demands of the farm had required our attention earlier in the day, so we didn’t get to start the project until 5:00 pm. 
The move required setting up an alley way of tape and twine fencing over 1000 feet in length to get the cattle from where they were to where they needed to be.  Then their water tubs and mineral tubs had to be relocated and filled.  Then all the tape and twine had to be picked up and returned to where they are kept for future use.  We finished up a little after 8:00 pm which gave us a some daylight left to water all the other animals on the farm.  It was after 9:00 and dark before we got into the house.  No wonder she was tired.  Thank God she was there.
Farmer's Wife

Spring Finally Arrives at Dennis Farms

 
Spring is always eagerly anticipated at Dennis Farms, but never more so than this year.  This winter was easily the most brutal we can remember in the 30+ years Janie and I have lived in the area.
As always, Spring brings new life to the farm.  The beautiful new grass and new animals coincide beautifully with the new life Christ gives us at Easter.
Spring Lambs on the Way
We moved our pregnant ewes to fresh grass close to the house prior to lambing.  This way we can almost walk out the front door to check on them.
 Expectant Mothers
Two of our sows, Penny and Suzy, both very pregnant were moved to their farrowing paddock the day this photo was taken.  Two days later, both had their babies.
Greg & Janie

Snow Day at Dennis Farms

Happy Snow Day!  Over the past few days we’ve been experiencing a rare winter storm here in Alabama and we thought we’d share a little of what we’ve been doing to keep our animals fat, warm, and happy through it all.

Snow Cows

Our high for the day yesterday was a whopping 22 degrees, which was also the temperature that we woke up to – that may not seem very cold to those of you used to a Northern winter, but that’s almost unheard of for us Southerners.  Last winter we only say a handful of days (probable less than a week total) that hit below freezing, and that just barely.  With the temperatures so low the main challenge for us is keeping everyone watered.  Our livestock is spread over our acreage in several different pastures and getting running water to everyone is quite the task!  We started out breaking up the ice in the stock tanks, and from there moved on to filling them.  When our hoses were frozen solid we filled 5 gallon bucket and carried the water by hand to fill the tanks.  We certainly got plenty of excercise!

After watering, we had to make sure that everyone had appropriate bedding to keep warm in – the pigs particularly like to have a nest of hay to sleep in and it’s especially important for us to make sure they have clean dry bedding when it’s this cold since they lack a thick winter coat like the rest of our critters.  We provide them with fresh hay to bed down in so they have some extra insulation from the cold.

Greg Feeding Pigs in Snow

And of course we have to keep the farmer’s hand and feet thawed out while doing all of this!

We hope you all are staying warm and safe through this winter storm and we look forward to seeing you all again soon as the weather warms up and the Cotton Mill Farmer’s Market gears up for another season!