Fog creeped between trees and slunk through fields this morning. I could see a breath cloud surrounding little Miss Q as she perched on my hip with a handful of hay ready to feed the cows.  Though we had been outside for nay 5 minutes her clenched chubby fist was red from the cold. 
As Q helped call them in I beamed with joy as she touched the nose of Molly our Dexter calf and began trying to hand feed hay.  Only after had she successfully fed the cows every last particle of hay were we able to move on to other chores.  She already takes such pride in her work.

Later as she showed a few of her toddler friends the complete Melville Farms tour, I beamed with pride as she demonstrated the way to feed the chickens.  Like a seasoned pro she walked through clucking hens and scattered grain in different areas so even those lower in the pecking order could have a snack. At the age of 1 she’s in love with raising animals and I could not be more estatic.
I know there will be many times in our future when she will whine about farm chores or dread going outside on a stormy morning, but for now I will revel in her excitement, encourage her love of farming, be patient as she feeds the cows one blade off grass at a time, and try to smile when she wakes up 2 hours before dawn yelling “COWS!!!!”

It was easy to forget the summer drought as our Melville neighbors experienced flooding, landslides, and vibrant pastures as a result of the fall rain. But as our family purchased our first cow/calf pair and tried to source local hay, it became apparent how the weather had affected our normally extremely productive hay crops.
Though we were not able to source Melville grown hay, we were able to secure local bales from a family farm on the other side of the county -for a premium price of course.  Once delivered those hay bales were unloaded and tightly stacked quickly with help from 3 strapping men and we waved a thankful farewell to the friendly farmer who delivered. 

As we began moving on with our day, Hubby Dearest began looking for his cell phone.  As luck would have it, it was NOT in the pickup, the shop, or the barn, but vibrating innocently from within our haystack. 
We stared in horror at the perfectly stacked bales and feared that the slender smartphone had slid through the stack into the pallets at the very bottom.  With a sigh Hubby Dearest and my Father Dear began disassembling bales attempting to find a cell phone in a haystack. 3 layers of 70 pound bales later, they found that dang phone and began restacking.  Even Hubby’s exasperated look and intentional irritated sighs (directed my way) weren’t enough to dampen my excitement for the arrival of our first cow/calf pair the next day!
It felt like Christmas when Mable and her calf Molly arrived at dusk and were ushered into their pasture corral that a neighbor let us borrow.  Even after 10 hours of trailered travel they were calm, approachable, and responsive to a bucket of oats. These well-bred heritage Dexter girls were healthy, happy, and loved by their previous owner and I was so excited to have my first breeding stock I was practically skipping! 

A few days later Mable and Molly have eaten from my hand, let me pet them, and have officially become part of the Melville Farms family!

My sweet husband works incredibly hard.  Long hours, stressful situations, on call 24-7, all part of the territory when one is in management.  Yet, he continues to support my scheming and dreaming for our family farm: Melville Farms.
Hubby Dearest is a reluctant farmer to say the least, but luckily he volunteers for a “honey-do” list of sorts. 
As summer turns to fall, days become  shorter, rain falls harder and my toddler is less willing to cooperate, I have quite the list for him:
1)Drainage: we want use of our small field in the winter, even if it’s only for poultry.  I discussed renting equipment to ease the task, but of course Mr. Do-it-himself went out there and dug a drainage ditch BY HAND.  It is well done, but a failed culvert has turned his hardwork and our access road into a lake complete with miniature waterfall.

(Faithful dog Ted testing out his new swimming hole)

(Our new water feauture: Waterfall de Melville)

2)Help winterize the coop: for some reason I feel like it’s a bad parenting decision to work on electrical with your toddler helping.. so the Hubs will be hooking up a light timer to keep those ladies laying!
3) New chicken housing- our multiple chicken tractors have served us well, but the ladies need some new digs and we are trying to improve production here on the farm by raising meat birds through the monsoon months as well as the happy-go-lucky summer months

(The Hubbity-hubs helping move one of the tractors around)

4) Contain the madness- I do not want chicken juices on my front porch as I have been there, done that, over that.  So imagine my suprise when I brought home 14 new chickens and over half of the newbies REFUSE to be contained.  The cozy coop, spacious winter run, treats and fun roosting options were not good enough for them apparently and dag nab it they flew the coop to then roam the world, coming in and out of the fenced area with ease and roosting 20 feet into the trees around the chicken house only mocking my attempts to lure them back to the rest of the flock. 
My Little Miss Q is only so helpful while I do daily chores or chase animals as she often tries to sample miscellaneous livestock poop like they are rare delicacies, attempts to jump in the impromptu lake, or break into the chicken coop and dig in their food. She is being an adventurous  kiddo, but as it can cut into my productivity I’m glad Sir Hubby Dearest is willing to help out on the farm!!!

(Q helping with her wheel barrow)

Wind was blowing rain into our living room window in loud sporadic sheets.  Sweet Little Miss Q was staring wide eyed as leaves ripped off branches and swirled away out of view.  Dense clouds turned the sun into a gray-blue twilight that lasted from dawn to late morning.  Only poultry remain on the farm as the butcher has come and our pastures recover over winter.  Though we are striving to have breeding livestock year-round, I’m not upset that I don’t have to water hogs, chase sheep, or mend fences today.  I will watch the storm and maintain caffeine levels.
Coffee is a food group on days like today.  I need the energy to continue the battle against spiders attempting to colonize my home.  Spiders of all shapes and sizes have decided that our humble abode would be the perfect place to nest.  I’ve found them in boots, blankets, beds, toilets, you name a room and I’ve likely chased a spider there.  My methods of removal vary based on my level of horror: when a choice specimen was crawling up the chest of my 15 month old I squished a quarter sized arachnid with my thumb and forefinger, when one crawled out of the towel drawer in the kitchen the weapon of choice was a cheese slicer, and when one dropped onto me in the shower I’m not sure which karate chop move did the trick but only one of us walked out alive…
The farm is a horror show in terms of spiders, webs and their ability to get in or around my hair or on my baby. I don’t mind spiders, they are important to food-webs and I am in awe of their natural ability to spin silk art.  But I pity the spider who chooses to jump from the chicken coop door onto Little Miss Q or flies through the air to land on my head… “oh was that an alder cone falling from that tree?” NOPE.
A few fun facts about spiders from Random History: 
1)There are typically 1 million spiders in 1 acre of land
2)Spiders are not only pollinators of plants but support bird and small animal diets
3)Spiders help control insect populations (which is increasingly important for years like 2015 when insect populations boom, thus negatively affecting food crops, timber production, and other environmental sectors)
4)Some of the most deadly spiders in the world include black widow and brown recluse (both of which have been found in the Pacific Northwest).

So, though I love spiders and all the work they do, I will fight the good fight to keep them out of my house and off my baby. If that includes squishing a quick little spider with the baby monitor as I write blog posts- so be it.

     
Little Miss Q watching the storm

With the changing leaves, wool socks, and brisk mornings also comes school bus traffic, increased time indoors, and muddy boots. All summer I had put off laundry, paperwork, organization and hot dinners in order to accomodate busy work schedules, farming and making memories with the family.  But with the family spending more time indoors it was time for the removal of unorganized clutter and clever placement of fall decor.
My allotted budget for decor of any kind is a big goose egg, but by using a lot of natural materials found on the farm, a Graceful Finds Boo Banner  and a shameful amount of burlap and twine I was able to decorate with beautiful rustic touches without breaking the bank.

(Spruce cones collected on the farm)

(Home – grown and home-dried hydrangeas)

(Boo Banner from Graceful Finds)

Along with our family, Frank the cat has also been spending a lot of quality time indoors.  He has been sleeping with Little Miss Q at night, gently playing with her during the day, and endearing himself to the most important person in the world (Miss Q).  Thus, when I accidentally forgot to put him outside before a morning walk and came home to a pile of kitty bowel movements in my kitchen, my hatred for the precious cat was only overcome by Miss Q’s tears that I wouldn’t let him inside.  I’m not sure if Frank hates fall, didnt like my decor, was confused by having a clean house for once, or if he was mad for another feline reason, but the intentional placement of poo was unmistakable cat anger.
Though I once again wanted to banish him from our house, sweet Q’s insistence on letting the cat inside undermined my resolve. Just another day in Melville.