Canyon Ridge Farms

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Airi

Happy Tuesday!

I was just thinking about how well the first fresheners (first time milkers) are doing at milking time now. Occasionally one of them has a relapse, but it so much better than it was there for a while. Anyway, this got me to thinking about Airi. Have I ever told you about Airi?

Airi is an absolutely drop dead gorgeous LaMancha girl that came to us from Colorado about 2 ½ years ago. If we are out in the field or in the barn, Airi is so sweet and loving. She wants constant petting and will rub and love on you until you are just about rubbed and loved out. After she had her first baby here we were so excited to finally get to milk her because she is so beautiful and there was lots of milk there. That feeling continued………..until we actually did milk her. She went into the milk barn fine. She went up on the milk stand great. We started milking her and OH MY GOODNESS! The rodeo was on!! She would kick and jump and literally stand up on her front feet only with her back feet almost touching the ceiling. Honestly, it would take at least two of us to milk her. One to milk and dodge the stray foot aimed right at your head and the other to “try” to hold her legs so that she couldn’t hit the afore mentioned head. Now, we are either hopeful, stubborn or just plain dumb because we endured this twice a day for two full milking seasons (a milking season is generally 300 days). Well, Miss Airi kidded this year and it was finally time to bring her to the milk stand. With a sense of dread, we brought her into the milk barn. As we bring her up onto the milk stand the dread heightens. We finally get to the milking part and Queen Airi is a calm, well behaved little angel. Each day when it is Airi’s turn to milk, there is still some anxiety, but thus far she has been a very well behaved little lady. I guess endurance does pay off.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

New Baby Chicks!

The new baby chicks have arrived!

These are Red Sex Link Chickens.

They are a cross bred chicken that the sex of the baby can be determined by its color when it hatches.

I'm not sure that you can see them very well in the pictures, but there are also 3 Ameraucana chicks. They are grey and they will lay the "Easter" eggs (colored eggs).

We expect these little girls to start laying in September sometime. :)

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

The Burying Tree

On our farm stands an Oak tree. This Oak tree is not the tallest tree on the place, but it is by far the tree with the most expansive reach. This tree is a real beauty to look at. In fact, our house is situated so that when you look out of the big kitchen window you can view this tree. I have no idea how old this tree is. Daddy said that it was already a big big tree when he bought this land some 45 plus years ago. As children, my siblings and I climbed its sturdy branches and played beneath the refreshing shade which it provided. For its beauty and memories alone it is a special tree, but what makes this Oak tree so very very special is that it is the burying tree. So many pets from my childhood are buried beneath it. There are dogs, cats, puppies, kittens, rabbits and squirrels just to name a few. This week, sadly, we laid two more beloved pets to rest beneath the protective arms of the Oak tree. Motzy, our daughters little Shih Tzu dog, passed away on Thursday. She was such a sweet little dog with lots of love to give. On Sunday, our cat, Dharma, passed away. It is always difficult to lose a pet, but it is also consoling to be able to lay them to rest in a safe and comfortable place…..to lay them to rest beneath the arms of the Oak tree.