New calf pasture

There is a plot of land between the 2 farm driveways that sits in front of the barn.  Maybe it was the site of the original farm house, but now it is  empty except for the sad little granary whose roof needs mending and whose windows are all broken.  Eventually we hope to restore the building to its original splendor, but for now we thought that the grassy little field would make a wonderful place for weaned calves to spend their time.  All summer long we kept saying how nice those calves would look romping around that big yard, visible to passersby, yet close enough to the barn so feeding and watering them would be relatively easy. 

 Summer and farming being what they are, we weren't able to find the time to get the paddock fenced in until the wet gloomy weather of fall moved in, making any further haying pretty much impossible.  So, last Friday, with help from our son Peter and our oldest daughter Stephanie, visiting for the week from their respective homes in West Redding, Connecticut and Cold Spring, NY we were finally able to turn our two oldest heifer calves out into their big new yard.

Dan, on the left, gathering up all the burdocks before they go to seed.  Peter, on the right, next
to the granary, finishing up fencing.

The little building in the middle makes a nice, dry calf house and opens up into the big yard.

Liesel, the daughter of our Brown Swiss Melody, and Tartine, daughter of Jersey cow Icarus, meet for the first time.

They are both a little shy at first, but by the end of the day they are good friends.

Here is a short clip of Liesel frolicking in her new yard with Stephanie, Dan and Peter.

As always, Oscar was on hand for the activity, overseeing things and making sure everything was done just right.  And of course, the guinea hens felt compelled to offer their 2 cents as well.