New Alarm Clock

Debby got us a new alarm clock today. His name is Fred. Fred is a Rhode Island Red Rooster. Thanks Honey.

Frosty Morning

34 degrees and frost this morning, I had to scrape ice off my car's windshield. Another frost advisory tonight.

Cool weather already

It was 37 degrees at the house this morning, we have a frost advisory for tonight.
Yesterday it snowed 3" on Mt. LeConte which is in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in East TN.

Ta Da!

Piller Family on top of the Jungfraujoch in Switzerland, September 1, 2010.

Deer spotters

I just looked outside and saw Morgan and Spirit in the pasture, they were both looking intently at something across the pasture. I looked and saw two bucks and a doe. The bucks were gorgeous, with large racks in velvet. Frequently we will hear a "huff" sound if we come up on a deer accidentally at night or we notice the horses at attention as they always locate deer first.

7 egg day

Today was a 7 egg day, got an egg from each of our 7 golden comet hens. Even better, 6 of the eggs were laid in two nests in the chicken coop, one egg laid in the barn. Yesterday I rearranged perches and nests in the coop and added fresh hay.

Optical Refractometer, pasture brix levels

Yes, it's official, I've gone off the deep end now. Some people who are close to me, names with held to protect the innocent, have been aware of this situation for quite some time.

If you remember I am interested in mob grazing and was recently reading some articles which mentioned pasture forage brix levels. Huh??

Well, apparently brix is the sugar content, and a handheld device called an optical refractometer can measure the sugar content, or brix, of things like honey, grapes, corn, garden produce, and even grass. For example, vinyards will measure brix levels of grapes to determine the proper harvest time.

So, some grass farmers have started to measure the brix levels in their pastures and are reporting very interesting findings. If a pasture is well managed one can achieve brix levels above 10%, even above 20%. Animals perform very well on high brix forage, and a high brix pasture is very healthy. Interestingly, destructive insects such as grass hoppers will leave high brix pastures alone.

I went to Amazon.com and ordered myself a 0-32% optical refractometer so I too could measure brix levels. I paid about $60. An optical refractometer is an interesting device. One collects a few drops of liquid from a sample and puts the liquid on the surface of a prism and then closes a transparent plate which spreads the liquid out in an even film across the surface of the prism. One then holds the device up so that sunlight passes through the sample and looks into an eyepiece and reads the brix level of the sample directly on a scale.

How it works: sunlight passes through the liquid sample and bends, or refracts, just like light bends when it enters a pool of water. If the sugar content of the sample is low then the light is not bent very much. A high sugar content causes the light to bend more. The bent light is collected in the prism and directed to a scale where one can directly read the brix level.

There are a few gotcha's. The readings are temperature sensitive, so the reading must stabilize or one must use a temperature corrected refractometer. Brix levels in grass change during the day, they are lowest early in the morning and highest later in the afternoon on a sunny day. Sunshine, and photosynthesis, cause sugar levels to increase in the plant. So, if you are making hay you might want to cut your hay crop later in the day.

The device measures refraction, but refraction is influenced by minerals and other solids in the sample besides sugar. Many pastures and fields today have been mined of essential minerals so it is good to have brix readings, as well as soil samples.

I measured brix levels in my pasture and had readings in the 3% - 5% range (in doing so I destroyed our flimsy garlic press, which I employed to squeeze juice out of balls of pasture grass, I now need to find a sturdy unit). These are fairly low brix levels. Mob grazing and certain other management practices (such as raw milk applications) are said to be able to increase pasture brix levels above 10% and even above 20%. To be continued.

Living off the land ...

Well, not quite, not yet.
A nice 63 degrees outside this morning.

My morning chores consisted of taking care of pigeons, chickens, and budgies. I watched pigeons fly for about 30 minutes. One group of young pigeons went ranging cross country and came back home about an hour later.

For breakfast I scrambled up three lovely eggs courtesy of our pastured golden comet hens. Yum! I was enjoying a cup of coffee when our power went out. So, I decided to go out and take a look at our power line to make sure that it was not down on our property, no tree had fallen on it, etc. I started down the driveway at a nice slow pace. I decided to wander off into the woods and followed a deer trail down to the old homesite. Then I went back to the driveway and down to the road to check the mail. No mail and no problems with the power line.

I started to hike back up the driveway and came across two pretty wild turkey feathers which I picked up. Then I saw a bunch of wild blackberries, and some were ripe. So, as I hiked back up the driveway I picked a few ripe blackberries and ate them. They are fabulous.

Chip's wild blackberry guide:
Blackberries will let you know when they are ready to be picked.
First, the blackberries are black!
Next, the little "balls" that make up a blackberry will be large and plump.
Finally, when you try to pick a ripe blackberry it will come free from the plant with barely any force at all. You just lightly touch the blackberry and it will fall into your hand, or you might give a gentle tug. If you do this and the blackberry does not release then it is not ready, just leave it on the plant.

Finally, pop a ripe blackberry in your mouth.
You don't need to chew it or use your teeth. Just use your tongue and press it against the roof of your mouth and the blackberry will melt in your mouth and release it's sweet goodness. No bitter taste, no seeds, just delicious.

Pup-pup Wiggles Piller of course was with me for the morning walk. He was following the scent trail of some critter in the woods when a nice sized buck with antlers crossed the driveway about 50 feet ahead of me. The deer are probably enjoying the blackberries now too, along with the clover in our pastures. Seeing the antlers reminded me to check on the mineral block we have out in the pasture which is used by the horses and the deer.

I arrived back at the house to find the power had been restored so I finished my cup of coffee and made this blog entry.

Turtles on the move

June 17 (late post). The last two mornings while driving in to work I saw at least 6 turtles crossing the road. It must be turtle migration or mating season or something.

July 5: About 10 days ago while driving up our driveway we came across a nice snapping turtle, those are the ones that look like dinosaurs.

Snakey

I was mowing the grass along the horse pasture fence line when I came across this guy.

Down by the creek today

I took John and a friend of his down to the fishing hole so they could fish. I snapped a couple of pictures while down there. The kids caught four fish, three small and one larger.

Almost time for wild blackberries

We've got lots of wild blackberries growing all over the place. They are mostly green or red right now but will soon be ready for picking. Can't wait.

First Harvest

Debby found she had a few green beans in the garden that were ready to pick.

Free Ranging Baby!

We opened up the chicken tractor and let our Rhode Island Red chicklets loose for the first time. They loved being out.

Biscuits?

John decided to make some biscuits from scratch from a recipe that was in a magic book he was reading. John did an excellent job, the biscuits turned out great, John has now made them a second time.

Cattle, grass & methane

Papa called yesterday and told a joke about cows and methane, if you contact Papa I'm sure he'll be glad to tell you the joke. It reminded me of an article I read which stated that properly managed grass pastures would absorb more methane than a cow produces.

Apparently there are a lot of benefits to natural grass fed products.

Tractor maintenance

My tractor now has 215 hours on it. Today I changed the hydraulic/transmission fluid and filters, put in 15 gallons of Kubota SUDT fluid and two new Kubota transmission filters. While I was at it I also changed the engine oil and filter. Put in almost 3 gallons of Shell Rotella synthetic T6 5w-40 engine oil and new Kubota engine oil filter. Also cleaned radiator screen, checked engine coolant, checked front axle fluid. Tractor is good to go!

The end of the rainbow!

John and Mary were outside playing at about 7pm, it was dry and sunny. Rain hit fast and hard seemingly out of nowhere. Then, another beautiful rainbow. This rainbow was extra special because we could see the end of the rainbow right next to our car!

Just a couple of days ago we were treated with a gorgeous double rainbow, Mary said it was the prettiest rainbow she had ever seen. And today we saw the end of the rainbow.

Gone Fishin'

John dug up some worms from his worm spot near the barn. Debby packed a picnic, we then headed out. We tried to get to the river near Camp Austin but could not find the right place. So we went a mile from our house where Clifty Creek meets the Emory river.

Ginseng?

Someone locally is selling wild american ginseng. I think that we might have some growing on our farm, or at least we have the potential to grow it. I took this picture of a plant that looks a lot like ginseng. I don't think it is ginseng, but we have a lot of it. What is it?
Update June 7, 2010: I believe that this plant is Virginia Creeper.

Snake!

Debby called this afternoon and said she needed me to come and help her. She was driving on Riggs Chapel road taking the kids to John's guitar lesson when John yelled "Snake Mommy!". Debby said "Where John, did I run over a snake?". John replied "No, the snake is in the car!".

There was a snake in the car and it crawled up under the dash. Debby managed to stop the car safely, got the kids in the back, and decided to turn around and head back home, about two miles away.

The snake then crawled down on the floor on the front passenger side, and it coiled up. Debby had an ice scraper and tried to pin the snake down but it went under the seat. Debby stopped the car and told the kids to get out and then she called me.

Some neighbors tried to help but they could not find the snake. They then turned the car on and after a few minutes the snake was seen coming out from underneath the car and it went into a creek. Debby thinks it was likely a black snake about 4 feet long.

Beef time

We just bought 1/4 beef from the man who is leasing our pasture for beef cattle. The beef steer was #682 and it had a live weight of 1135 lbs. This steer was an angus cross which was grass fed except for the last few months when it had free choice of pasture and grain. All natural, no hormones or antibiotics.

Hanging weight was 58.4% or 663 lbs, of which we got one fourth, or 165.75 lbs. Actually, we got a little less than that as there was some trimming. We paid $383 total for this beef, $1.10 per pound live weight plus 1/4 of the slaughter/butcher bill.

Cuts of beef included filet, t-bone, ribeye, ribs, chuck roast, eye round, flank, flat iron, tip sirloin, cube steak, and ground beef.

Memorial Day weekend

We had a nice Holiday weekend. Events included visiting the park, having a picnic, riding bikes, playing tennis, going to the local drive-in theatre with friends, having a cookout, seeing a beautiful rainbow, ...

Monster Egg!

The eggs from our chickens are fairly large, occasionally we get a "twin" yolk egg, however this egg was just huge!

Belgian sputnik drop in traps

I recently upgraded the traps on my pigeon lofts to some 32" wide sputnik traps. The sputnik serves as an aviary and as a trap which can allow birds to enter the loft, allow birds to exit and enter, or prevent birds from entering or exiting.

The birds like the traps, the traps work well and are fast and easy to operate.

Handsome Lad and Pup

Chilly spring day

We had several late frosts this year.

Beautiful and Handsome

Chicken Defense squad!

Intoxicating fragrance

Right now on our farm and in the nearby region we are enjoying the most wonderful fragrance. Clover is in bloom, honeysuckle is in bloom, but we think the primary source of the fragrance is some type of bush with white flowers which has just come into bloom in our area. We have several of these bushes/trees around the edge of our pasture and they can also be found along the nearby roads. Truly delightful!

Farm visit

On Saturday May 22 we visited nearby Shady Grove Farms in Lancing, TN. Shady Grove Farms is run by a home schooling family, they are involved in some interesting farm enterprises which include mob grazing, pastured poultry broilers and eggs, grass fed hair sheep/lambs, grass fed beef, and Devon cattle seed stock. Also of interest is that they are in the final stages of completing a beautiful timber frame home which they built themselves. The farm also features a sawmill operation managed by one of their sons which features both a woodmizer band saw mill and a peterson swing blade mill.

Chicklets outside

We've started putting the chicks outside in the chicken tractor during the day.

Horse time

Spending some time with the horses.

John's new bike

John is enjoying his new 24" mountain bike.

Snakebit!!

May 2, 2010: I was working on the driveway trying to repair some damage from the storm that flooded Nashville when Puppy came up and he was looking really pathetic. I picked him up and guessed that he had been bitten by a snake. I took him to the house but got worried when he started to swell up and wanted to sleep and tried to hide under the bed. I took him to the animal hospital and they checked him and said he had been bitten by a poisonous snake but that his temperature, respiration, and heartrate were OK. They gave him an antibiotic and some pain medicine. They had antivenin but it was $800 per vial, it was good that it was not needed!
It took a couple of days but Puppy has recovered and is feeling well. Puppy weighs 16 lbs. The swelling under his neck has gone away, he still has some damage near the wound on his right upper muzzle.

John's Birthday

John's birthday came just a few days after Mary's first Holy Communion. In our house birthdays are celebrated for several days, sometimes up to a week. One tradition in our home is being served breakfast in bed on your birthday, it looks like John requested chocolate pancakes! Kids don't sit still very long, especially when presents are involved. John requested one of Debby's fabulous chocolate birthday cakes as well.

First Holy Communion April 25, 2010

Mary celebrated the sacrament of first holy communion on April 25. We were very blessed to have Nanny and Mamaw and Papa present for the event.
Debby made a coconut cake at Mary's request.

Baby Chicks

We decided to increase the size of our chicken flock, here are the newcomers, 11 Rhode Island Red chicks.

Just Relaxing in the Pasture

Upper pasture, pond leak

Mr. Collins said he noticed that the water level in the upper pond had dropped, turns out that the cows had decided to rub on a drain pipe which was not adequately protected, resulting in a broken pipe and a loss of water. I provided wood posts and gravel, Mr. Collins and his son installed and repaired the pipe. The pond has since refilled.