light in the woods

… reveals the magic.

The scenery outside our livingroom windows depends entirely on the natural light any given time of day. No artificial lighting can emulate nature's variability, and as I included the image above I had to look out repeatedly just to confirm to myself that the color-palette in it was real.

As much as I would like all my photos to come through to all visitors as exact copies, neither my equipment nor the visitors' screen-settings can be expected to live up to the degree of perfection one would like. Close enough for comfort will have to do.

I do check that my photos look “natural” on my screens, but that does of course only tell so much about what they may look like on others' screens.

farm routines

Feeding and looking after our small herd, does not require much hard work or heavy farm-machinery. They gather, usually on time, so close to the barn that we could have carried the feed out to them by hand … two trips with the wheelbarrow that is.

But, of course, we drive the short distance in style, and once we have loaded off the meal in front of the cows (and given them a back-rub), we ready the next meal onto the old J.D. Gator back at the barn. Always having the next meal prepared makes it really easy to keep the routines going, and the animals happy.

As the midday feeding routine is quickly done – fifteen minutes or so, we may take a walk in one of the garden-patches that are equally close by. Got to check if the conditions are good for bumblebees and other eager helpers in the area.

Some of the plants flying insects seem to like in particular, grow along the barn-walls. Their smell get mixed with the smell of hay and silage as we pass driving back and forth between barn and feed-area.

nighttime snacks

As I write some of this post after midnight, I can hear cowbells from the farm-roads and feed-area. The cows often come around for a late-night meal of leftovers, the waterpost is near by, and they rest there.
Reassuring to hear those cowbells and nothing else … all is good.

sincerely georg; sign

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

summer in southern norway

Seasonally warm in Southern Norway these days, with highs up to around 28°C (83°F) most days. I have experienced temperatures around 34°C (93°F) in the area, but that's definitely not what we have every year.

Many naturally shady places on the pastures for the cows, but with the present weather and temperatures they don't use them much. They graze back and forth across the designated pastures, and lay down to rest and chew cud where and when they feel like it.
In between we leave small patches where the cows are not given access, so butterflies and other tiny but useful beings can live and help us grow more and more varied grass. Most efficient farming that way.

dinner will be served…

Come rain or shine, our cows need solid food, and, they need plenty and on time. When one silage bale has been consumed – takes about a week this time of year for our small herd, another 500-600kg (1100-1300lbs.) bale will be brought into the barn and made ready to be portioned out twice a day.

We thought of buying a new tractor, for – among other farm-things – moving those heavy silage bales around. We even looked up potential small-farm candidates on the market, and secured the financial side of buying a new one.

However, when treated and handled right the old tractor (a J.D. 1140) is still up to the tasks it is given, so why bother replacing it just to save a minute here and there, and maybe for the look of new laquer that will only look new for a few years anyway.

We are farming, and “showcasing” equipment and farm-methods is not, or at least should not be, one of our priorities. Most important tasks are fulfilled by the animals themselves, and our main task is to take good care of them so they can continue doing what they are good at.

So far after our restart of the farm a couple of years back, we have been taking it slow. Farming is a continuous process, and there are no great goals to reach some time in the future – only a long string of small daily ones. To us farming is more than a way of life, it is life…