in passing

… all those quiet days.

Nothing much has been going on since my last posting, apart from all that has been plastered all across media (be it social, dictatorial or nonsensical) in overstated or understated forms. The usual mix of up- and down-played crises of global and more local arts, that do not need further comments from me.

Thus, not much worth mentioning from the world outside the farm, and that is where this posting could have ended. But you already know that's not how the story ends when I power up my laptop.

mostly quiet, but not quite…

A few days ago we had to ask people in the neighborhood for help, as our heifers had found a weak spot in the fence and gone for a long late-evening walk. When we found them the next day, car-traffic scared them off from entering the local roads they had to follow to get home.

Took hours to gather the manpower, and then another hour to gather the animals close to the road while waiting for the traffic to die down towards the evening. With half a dozen people behind them, and me in front with a bucket of concentrate, we finally managed to convince the heifers that it was safe to thread onto the asfalt and follow me.

Most of the way home I drove in front on the old J.D. Gator they are used to be fed silage from – the only vehicle they trust close up. Once they got going it was steady speed all the way to the food station by the front yard (see pictures), without a single deviation along the entire mile (1.5km) long trip.

After having spent almost 24 hours in a, for them, unknown environment, our heifers showed clear signs of being happy being back home with us and the ordinary farm-routines. Ever been licked by happy cows? “The simple life on the farm” seems to suit them just fine, even if they do like to check up the wider area now and then.
I don't blame them, as so do I.

chilly spring on the farm

Daytime temperatures are a little on the low side in our part of Southern Norway for being past mid May – late spring and slow grass-growth, but nothing all that unusual. Been a little light rain now and then, but mostly just cloudy and dry with moderate wind in our area. Cold nights, but no frost.

I would not mind more sunny and warm days this close to official summer, but we are not descendants from vikings for nothing.
Anyway, warmer days on a truly global scale ahead, they say … or was it colder? Maybe they'll make up their mind one day.

Stay safe now, and don't stop using common sense…

sincerely georg; sign

Hageland 20.may.2020
last rev: 22.may.2020

constitution day

On May 17th we celebrated Norway's constitution day, in quiet forms and within the social distancing rules and limitations related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemy. For us these rules do not represent any practical problems in day-to-day life, and we live relatively risk-free in the area even on constitution day.

Since “penalty taxes” (that's right) tied to national media (NRK) was introduced last year, I no longer watch or listen much to those. So I have little to no idea how our constitution day was celebrated elsewhere in Norway, if at all.
From what little I pick up in passing, not much worth our time is coming from NRK any day of the year anyway (that's why they tax us to keep them and their crap alive). Thus, no loss if they go the way of the Dodo.

chewing cud in the sun…

For obvious reasons there isn't much grass growing around the feed station, and what does grow there does not last long with the heifers around.

When it is dry, like in those pictures, our animals like to rest in the soft dust covering that space, before and after mealtime. They have a few such rest-areas, mainly on farm-roads where the dark ground dries and gets heated up faster by the sun than the grass-covered pastures.

The area around the feed station is covered by concrete slabs over drainage by the way, as otherwise neither our machines nor the animals would get around there when rain pours down for weeks and/or months.
Makes it easier to remove snow too, of course, but luckily not any of that white stuff in our area now. Looks worse further north in Norway where they had an unusually snow-rich winter.