We took our annual vacation trip this year to the Outer Banks North Carolina the first part of August. Before I left it was very dry and it was supposed to rain while we were gone so Scott and I hurried to get everything seeded and the hay made so it would all be ready for rain.
Since the hay fields were nine years old and were declining quite badly I decided to kill them off and reseed this year. We made oats in early summer and have been waiting for it to dry out to seed the field back down. It rained for almost 7 weeks straight and then it shut off and hasn't come back since! I am seeding in a new batch of orchard grass, clover, alfalfa, and fescue. This should produce almost double the tonnage per acre that my previous mix of grass and clover did and will be a much much higher quality hay crop. Now we just need some RAIN!!!!!
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| Seeding fields down with Alfalfa, orchard grass, clover, and tall fescue. |
The one share crop field I kept for this year is the same seed mix that I just seeded at home. We made third cutting on it the night before we left for the south. That was some super beautiful hay! We will be able to sell for a premium price this winter if the drought conditions continue. No one could make dry hay in the spring and most people just waited till the rains quit. Since we feed beef cattle and have a market for silage hay we went ahead and stuck to our schedule and made the hay mid May, end of June, and now we have perfect third cutting in August. Everyone who had to wait made dry very old first cutting in July and is currently waiting for second cut, which if we don't get any rain, will never grow. Flexibility is one of the main keys to survival and success. There is always a way to get to where you want to go, it just may be a path most are not willing/able to take.
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| Square baling selfie! |
To get to Frisco NC we drive down to Swan Quarter and Ferry across the sound to Ocracoke Island. From there we drive up the island and take the next ferry to Hatteras Island and drive up to Frisco. We were fortunate to have a new ferry this year. It had only been in use for three years and was very nice. The kids greatly enjoyed the ride as well.
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| NC Ferry from Swan Quarter to Ocracoke Island |
After we got to the campgrounds we set up camp and headed to the beach. I get a beach pass every year so we can drive on the beaches. That way we can go early in the morning, pick a spot, and stay the day. We cook lunch at the beach so we don't have to leave unless we want to go somewhere else! We did manage to catch a couple of fish but the fishing this year was bad so there wasn't much to get. We did however catch several crabs of pretty good size and a bucket of Clams. We learned how to clam from a local guy named Eddie. He and his wife own and operate A.S. Austins in Hatteras and are both wonderful and very helpful people! The kayak you see in the picture is from his store. I cannot wait to go back again and learn even more off of him and try out some new stuff. Thank you very much Eddie for your friendship and your kindness and hospitality. I look forward to seeing you again during our next trip!
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| Parked on the beach outside Frisco NPS campground on Hatteras Island NC. |
This was our third trip to the outer banks. Every time has been quite different in conditions and experiences. There is secluded beach near the ferry dock in Hatteras that we refer to as Sunset Beach. It is the perfect spot to watch the sunset. We have been trying several times every trip to see a perfect sunset and it has always clouded up, including the first two times we went this trip.
So, our last night on the island we decided to try one last time. We also went to catch crabs and some more clams as well. We were successful with all three!!!! The sunset was perfect and we dined on our catches from the day as we watched the sun fall into the water. The perfect ending to a wonderful trip. I learned so much this time and I cannot wait to go back and learn some more. My goal one day is to be able to go more than just a few days a year! It would be nice to make the trip two times in a summer. There is so much to do and see and learn that 5 days is just not enough.
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| Perfect sunset in Hatteras NC. |
Now that we are home and back into the swing of things I do have some updates. We have had two new calves, one just before we left and the other just two days after we got back home! One of my new cows I got last year had another heifer calf. It is a beaut and is very healthy. I am pretty sure due to the coloring that the father is Thunder! I am very thankful to have so many of his girls in the herd to keep his genetics going.
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| Sire: Charolais Dam: Hereford Holstein cross |
The other cow to have a calf is Princess, my daughters cow. She had a sturdy looking little black bull so I know he is out of legacy. He is quite spunky and healthy. Now Lisa has something to sell!
Update on the buttermilk. I am seeing quite positive results from feeding the buttermilk. The cows look much better and are not losing the weight they usually do during lactating feeding their calves. Usually by the time fall rolls around some of them are thinned down and struggle to catch up going into winter as they become pregnant again and start to wean the calves off. Their hair is also shinier and I have not had any issues with sick cattle this summer at all. The pigs are also showing very similar results. Usually by the time the piglets get to about 25 lbs. the sows start getting thin and I have to wean the piglets sooner than I want to. This round however, the sows are maintaining their weight very well and the piglets are growing faster than they have in the past. I have also been able to greatly limit the extra supplemental feed that I would normally have to be feeding due to the dry weather right now. I am hoping to see similar results as we move into fall and winter.
I will hopefully get to start posting a little more often again. We have fall harvest coming up but nothing like it has been the last few years. This year I just need to get a building built to store the milk tanks to keep them from freezing, help harvest corn and beans for the neighbor, and possibly make one more cutting of hay if we get any rain in the next week or two. Maybe this fall will be a little hiatus in the craziness that has prevailed her for the last couple of years!
Have a great weekend everyone and I hope you all are having a pleasurable summer and are ready for fall!
Kenny
