Pasture Bouquet and Herd Greeters

An ideal clover patch for the cows to produce lots of high energy milk. It has a beauty all of its own before the teeth and hooves make their trek through the field.

The herd greets the camera as they graze the new strip along the ever moving fenceline of the Alice clover field.

Here are the photos of our herd from years past that show the actual reality of how the cows cast themselves across the fields while they are grazing.

They start at the back of the barnyard on the hillside and then make the trek out to the field over their stream crossing. But the payoff if the ability to graze the lush, tender clovers and grasses to produce the golden milk.

Cast Off to the Fields

They eagerly pass through an alley after milking and bypass several closed gates. As they reach the pasture of the day and step through the gate, the line of cows or sheep spreads out happily in all directions. The pasture has been growing for three weeks since it was last grazed and is full of fresh tender grasses, clovers, vetch and trefoil about six inches high. The pasture calls the hungry herd and in the warmth of summer they are cast off to the fields, away from the barns, out into the fresh sweet air to eat and relax in the fields. The cooler evening air is also a pleasure to all and the sky is accented by high fluffy clouds in the setting sun.

The pasture contains the freshest and healthiest of nutrients and typically the milk turns golden after eating this freshest of feeds.

I am struck by the pattern the sheep or cows make as they spread out in the field. This is one of my favorite sights and I am pondering some batik that will be inspired by this theme to add to my collection of farmscapes.

Cow and Calf below Trees

Here is the batik I mentioned before in the blog post.

A Morning Snort

This morning, as I like to do on those mornings I'm not milking, I walked up the hill behind my house to practice Tai Chi. Up there, I leave my worries behind. They are insignificant as I look out on the expansive view. The bright sun and clouds work together to accent the fields, farms, and the Adirondack mountains in the distance.

I had finished my warm ups and began the Tai Chi form when I heard three loud snorts below me. A red deer had been watching me and was startled when I faced him/ her. The deer ran to the edge of the field and continued to watch me do the form from this safe distance. Animals can enjoy the soft movements of Tai Chi as well as us humans.

As I returned home, I took some time to look about the yard. New flowers had blossomed since last night when the day lilies looked so spectacular in the evening sun. Today new lilies had blossomed as well as roses, violets, hostas, honeysuckle, and other flowers on shrubs, squash, and tomatoes. The coneflowers were getting ready to blossom and the spike like flower shapes were as beautiful with iridescent green as they will be later in full colors.

My favorite flower is the day lily. Each blossom is with us for one day only. This is a reminder to me to take note, as tomorrow, these blossoms will be forever gone, as will so many other aspects of the day.

Footstep and Steppin are happy with their rotational grazing program. Each paddock has trees for shade and is edged with flowers. Please see the blue batik of cow and calf below trees.