The Next Great Adventure

Well, it's official. The Desert Ag Girlhas officially left the desert.  This fall I will be pursuing a degree in International Agriculture and Rural Development at Cornell University and this summer I am at Cornell as part of the prefreshman summer program. Yep, I am officially out of my element! So what happens when you take an Ag Girl out of the desert of California and move her to a college campus in upstate New York? Only time will tell, but you can expect to be updated on all of my great adventures right here, because for this Ag Girl, college is the next great Agventure!

What about that sister anyway?

It has come to my attention that while my blog is full of quirky anecdotes about the exploits of my merry menagerie and my little brother Obie (the snowball throwing, rabbit raising 9 year old); there is little mention of my little sister Brenna ( the sheep raising, music blasting 15 year old).  So it's only natural for you to be wondering things like, "is this girl real?" "Does this girl do anything besides sheep" or even "Do Brenna and Allie even get along? Or are they like those sisters who are not on speaking terms".  This should hopefully put your questions to rest, as well as answer the key question.  What does Brenna do for fun?

Well isn't it obvious?  I mean we live in the desert.

She skis of course! I may be an Ag Girl, but my sister is a bonafide snow bunny.  She is part of the high school alpine race team, and has a membership card and everything. Frequently Brenna uses words like "powder" and "GS" in daily conversation,  when clouds cover the mountains that border the valley she and her excellent friends start to radiate energy and reek of anticipation, she gets alerts on her computer when new snow falls on her "home court" and when she asks me to sheep-sit her ewe Bugonia and brood.... It's because she is on the mountain... Carving it up. 

And now you know.  Brenna the desert snow bunny.  Sking in the desert.  It's true.

Not as different as you would think

Since selecting my excellent steer Stewart (or Beef Stew for short) I have received many comments on how perfect we are for each other.  He has been called my mini-me, what I would be like if I were reincarnated as a bovine, and Allie-The-Steer. But no matter how you put it, I have to admit there is a certain...er... similarity.  This similarity is heightened by the fact that, in addition to both having copper colored hair (or in Stewey's case fur), we both currently have colds.

Now, until now I had never even considered how to treat a 700 lb steer that's coughing and sneezing and I now know that it is quite the process, and quite different than the way I treat my own colds.

Step One: Steer- Move sick steer out of his pen, down the hallway and into the squeeze shoot.  It helps to have some help from the big boys for this step.

                Me- Leave room and drive 40 minutes to Dr's office.  It helps to have a parent to help with the driving part if you don't feel good for this step.



Stewey poses in the squeeze shoot! I was glad to have help getting him in there!



Step Two:  Steer- Find soft cloth and wipe mucus discharge from steer's nose
                  Me- Find box of tissues and you know....

Step Three: Steer-Measure out the appropriate amount of medication according to the weight of the animal.  Remember to follow all directions on the medication, especially any instructions about splitting the dosage.  Stewey needed 20 cc of antibiotics, but could only have 10 in one site, so he needed a shot in either side of his neck. OUCH!

Mrs. Lacey Measuring Antibiotics for Stewey

                  Me- Measure out the appropriate amount of medication according to the prescription.  Remember to follow important directions like "Go to sleep after you take this"

Step Four: Steer-Lead Steer gently back to pen and brush him well.  Make sure to scratch his belly and apologize profusely for the above indignities.  Then leave the pen with soft words and let the poor thing rest and eat lots of hay.

                 Me- Go home and rest as much as possible.  This might take up to an entire week.  Make sure to watch cartoons sparingly and be nice to the rest of your family as they feed you Popsicles and chips 'n salsa. Try not to think about your sick steer.



I'm REALLY glad my shots don't come from needles like this...



Anticpation Rewarded

I am so excited, after weeks of anticipation and several nights spent tossing and turning, wondering when my very own steer will arrive, he is here.  When I got the text this morning, telling me that the steers would be at the FFA farm and ready for picking at 2:15.

Now, because I have been having a sick week this week ('tis the season), I came up with a brilliant plan so that I would have optimum energy for steer selection.  I would take a nap until 1:30, throw on my boots and start driving by 1:45.  So I started my brilliant plan and was in bed at 12:20. 

At 12:37 I double checked the text to make sure we were meeting at 2:15 not 1:15.

At 12:43 I tried to run through potential steer names, an effort that I declared useless by 12:55.

At 1:04 I reviewed key things to look for when choosing my steer.

At 1:16 I received a text from my incredible FFA advisor explaining that "they are beautiful!!!!" Unable to wait any longer, I jumped out of bed, threw on my boots and headed out the door, never mind that I was nearly 14 minutes early!

I got to the farm at 1:58, over 15 minutes early, so I decided to furtively drive by the backside of the farm, right past the beef unit to get a first peek at the steers.  I was unable to see the steers from the road, what I did see however was my friend Rachel's car.  Rachel was also getting a steer.  Seeing that I was by no means too early, I spun the car around (who knew you could break speed records in a 1991 Ford Tempo?) and hurried to the beef unit. 

As soon as I got to the pen where the steers were currently lounging, this little guy caught my eye. 

Pretty soon Mrs. Lacey and the other two, Victoria and Makenna had arrived and we were ready to begin.  Makenna, being the most experienced with two steers already successfully raised, picked first.  I let out a breath as she picked a large black bald steer. Next went Victoria who picked the dark red Shorthorn Charolais cross.  Another silent sigh of relief, my steer was still in the running.  Finally Rachel chose an adorable black steer that was heavily muscled and reminded her of the steer she had two years ago.  If I hadn't been sick I would have jumped for joy, my first choice steer was mine. 



I settled him in his pen and reluctantly left my little guy alone for the night, but not before he demonstrated to me that while he may seem little, he is more than capable of taking me for a nice.... er.... run.  We'll have to get that fixed pretty soon!

The only question left is what to name him.... Any suggestions?

Always Something New

One of my favorite things about Ag is that it is utterly unpredictable and I often find myself in situations that would have been nearly impossible to predict.  The other morning I was completely shocked at the state of my desert home.

That morning started out like any other morning. I woke up, got ready for school and headed out to take care of the animals. But when I opened the door I was confronted with a couple of inches of fluffy powder on the ground, with new snowflakes drifting lazily down from the sky, only to collide with the previously accumulated snow with a soft shushing noise.

Needless to say I was speechless. Although it is January, this has been a very warm, dry year and I certainly was not expecting snow. So I headed up to see how the sheep were coping with this impromptu wether. Begonia was fine, although a bit indignant to find snow contaminating her favorite alfalfa breakfast.

The lambs were curious, and when I opened the door to the hallway, they ran out of their pen. No sooner than they had left the pen when they realized how cold the snow was. Bambi then rocketed back into the pen and hid behind his momma. Flower curiously sniffed the stuff, then followed her sister.

The Llamas had their own strategy for dealing with the snow. They were laying down very still and stoically allowing the snow to collect on their backs while conserving body heat. This very simple, very Llama like coping method worked great! Until I fed them their breakfast and they were forced to get up to eat their hay. I suppose these are the challenges that Llamas face in life.

After everyone was fed, I scooted inside to warm up my hands and realized that I have a lot in common with my favorite ruminents. I don't mind snow, as long as it doesn't interupt my breakfast. I love to play in the snow, but when I get cold I know I can always run inside to warm up, and I know that it is good fun to catch a few snowflakes in my hair.

Well the snow is long melted now, but it's lessons are lingering. No matter how you deal with snow, make sure to surround yourself with people you love!

If you give a Desert Ag Girl some rain...

Early yesterday morning, it began to rain in the desert. According to weather reports, the rain started around 2 am. around 3: 30 I awoke, and the story begins.

If you give an Ag Girl some rain, ultra early in the morning, she will be so excited by the glorious sound of rain pit patting on the roof that she will be unable to get back to sleep. So she will leave the safe, warm cocoon of her bed and head downstairs. Once downstairs, she will realize that she is cold, so she will add wood to the fire.

After the fire is blazing, she will decide that the warmest place to lay down is on the living room couch beside the fire, despite its complete lack of blankets.

So she will search the house for a suitable blanket, immediately disregarding any that are too thin or too thick in a Goldilocks like manner. Once a perfect blanket is found she will attempt snuggling under it, but will realize that she forgot a pillow. The process for finding the blanket will be repeated until a nice fluffy pillow is found to accompany her on the couch.

Then, the Desert Ag Girl will snuggle under the blanket with her head resting on the pillow only to realize that the couch is not snugly enough, so she will pull the sheepskin onto the couch and settle on top of it with her pillow and blanket.

Finally comfortable the Desert Ag Girl will settle back to sleep, only to awaken a few minutes (in Desert Ag Girl time, in reality it was probably an hour or so) later to find that the rain has stopped and it is now much to quiet to fall asleep.

Resigned to being awake, she will realize that she is hungry and, although it is only 5:30 am, she decides to make breakfast. Searching the web, she decides to make these lemon walnut muffins from Add A Little Love. The muffins come out of the oven at 6:30, just as her family begins to stir. First Dad, then Obie, Mom and finally Brenna wake up to the aroma of heavenly muffins.

At 7:00 the rest of the family is energized for the day with delicious muffins, but the Desert Ag Girl has fallen asleep. Finally.

A Cautionary Tale

As you might possibly remember from a previous post, I am currently a very enthusiastic teen driver. You might also have heard that teen drivers can be easily distracted. Well, Desert Ag Girl is no exception to that rule, my distractions however, are far from ordinary.

Earlier, I was retrieving my sisters math book from her bedroom to deliver to her at school. I was driving along, going straight home and minding my own business.

The Math Book that Started It All!

Okay, so I was mostly minding my own business, but I also really like lambs. So, when passing the field where Mrs. Lacey keeps the ewes and their new lambs, I slowed down to watch them frolic as I crept by.

Today, this was my distraction. Because there was this one lamb that was stretched out on its side, stomach up, head back. It looked dead. Horrified at the thought of a dead lamb lying in the field, I slammed on the brakes, shoved the car into park and I flung open the door, leaped out of the car and took off toward the fence to see if I could scare the lamb into moving. I reached the fence, and several lambs scattered. The dead looking one did not.

I shoved the fence with my arms, gently, acting as if I were coming after the lamb. The lamb shook it's head and looked at me. Irritated that I had disturbed it's sun bathing efforts. Relieved I turned back to head home and realized that I had forgotten a crucial step: pulling to the side of the road. I had left the car in the northbound lane while the drama unfolded.


The moral of the story is this: Be careful when driving past fields of lambs, because it is more than possible to forget the car in the process. If it can happen to Desert Ag Girl, it can happen to anyone!

The Ultimate Challenge

For the past six years I have enjoyed all aspects of the joys of raising sheep, I have walked them, fed them, taught them showmanship and even inadvertantly ridden them a couple of times.

My first lamb and I

Through this project I have grown exponentially: Physically: as can be seen that I now weigh more than my market lambs; Mentally: As can be seen by my incredible skills at outsmarting those rascally lambs and getting them onto their halters even when they are at their most persnickety; and even in my ability to haul a sheep around the ring and make it look nearly effortless. But although I will always remember my times with various lambs this year I am graduating, not only from high school, but also from the market lamb project. This year I will take on the Ultimate Challenge. I. Will. Raise. A. Steer.

Now, this is no 120 pound market lamb we're talking about, nor is it a 300 pound breeding ewe. We are talking about at least 1,200 pounds of muscle, energy and equal parts stubbornness and over exuberance. That I am going to raise, walk, feed and teach showmanship too.

Insert Ag Girl Here right beside a steer!

This crazy animal will be here in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned for the excitement, the tears (0f joy) and the undoubtably hilarious moments that will happen on my 7 month journy. Because this time, Desert Ag Girl really DOESN'T know what she's getting herself into. The only things I'm sure of are that it's going to be a wild ride. And that you will be right there with me.

Name A Herbivore....

For the longest time my sister has wanted a bunny. For years, she has gazed longingly at the cages of "for sale" rabbits at the Junior Livestock Show. Finally, she has her own rabbit. A little dutch we have named Nermal. Now that Brenna has a rabbit, she is constantly thinking about her little Nermal. This caused the following events to occur during biology class. Brenna's retelling of these events left my entire family rolling on the floor at dinner time

"Brenna" The teacher began "Please name a herbivore."

Brenna smiled, being on a first name basis with several herbivores, she had this one down. "Nermal." She replied confidently.

"Excuse me?" asked the teacher, confused "What's a Nermal?"
"My rabbit." said Brenna, a little confused herself. "She's a herbivore, named Nermal."

Nermal

Needless to say, I have come to know that the more herbivores you can name, the more interesting and rewarding your life becomes.

Surprise!

This morning, when Brenna went to feed Begonia one of her favorite delacacies for breakfast (alfalfa hay, nicely flaked), she was in for quite a surprise. Now, where I enjoy rising early enough to take in a sunrise before starting my day, Brenna is quite the night owl. So the following events took place while Brenna was in that dreamlike state of half conciousness that comes from being a night owl, forced by circumstance against her nature.

Brenna peeled off half a flake of hay from the bale, and carried it into Begonia's pen. She then proceeded to do a quick check of her lamb "Ok, I fed Begonia, Begonia's allright, and her lambs are all right, so I'm just going to-wait! Her LAMBS are all right? Those certainly weren't there last night!"

Begonia and Flower

Now, Begonia just came home a few days ago, and while we knew that she had been at Camp Ram, and planned accordingly for her pregnancy, we expected to have about a week before the lambs were actually born. This led to all sorts of fumbling about for straw ( the entire county is cleaned out), and then shavings (I'm sure my mom didn't mind the little 45 minute drive!), iodine (why oh why was last year's bottle int he medicine cabinet?), and musings over whether or not our current weather calls for a heat lamp (well they were all right last night...). But everything worked itself out, and the babies are curled against their momma, sleeping soundly, the way it's supposed to be.

Begonia and Bambi

And that is how our lambing went this season. Begonia had twins, two girls we named Bambi-Pie and Cutie-Flower. (check out my post on the art of naming sheep for more info:) I found the surprise! method of lambing to be very enjoyable, and as neither of the lambs seem to be damaged either physically or emotionally, I will conclude that Begonia is a good mother.

Desert Ag Girl doesn't PLAY video games

Yesterday we finally welcomed our family's breeding ewe, Begonia home after a summer and fall at Camp Ram. When my sister led her up the walkway we greeted her with pets and hugs and her favorite treat-a cookie. However, the events leading up to her homecoming was anything but boring.

Worming Begonia so she could come home

Begonia had come up in the trailer with a passel of other extraordinarily pregnant ewes. All of these ewes belong to my very favorite mentor/Ag teacher/FFA advisor, Mrs. Lacey. Now all of the ewes, including Begonia, were tucked safe and sound into a field, where they were doing their thing. The problem was, ewes that are doing... whatever it is that ewes do when we aren't watching them, don't particularly want to be caught.

The goal was get them in the pen, like this,

What ended up happening reminded me of a giant, real life video game. I'm predicting it would go viral, and attract fans of both Farmville and Angry Birds.

-Four players: Preferably all girls, (and preferably looking like real women, not like the ones found in nerdy video games)
-About 30 VERY pregnant ewes: These could be computer generated and programmed to avoid the four players AT ALL COSTS.
-The object of the game is to get the sheep into a small pen, for some reasonable purpose like separating one ewe out to take her home.
-This is accomplished by moving a variety of semi heavy and cumbersome objects to form blockades and fortresses that direct the sheep in a variety of directions.

-If this cannot be accomplished, there should be a cheat code available that involves super awesome dogs.
-There can be a variety of levels with different sheep moods and available objects.

And after each level, you might see a screen like this, because the Battle of Penning Sheep is never truly won!

I'm telling you, this could totally catch on, and when it does, I will finally be able to say that Desert Ag Girl doesn't PLAY video games, her life IS a video game!

(All I need now is a catchy name... Maybe: Woman vs. Sheep, Sheep a Rama, or Cranky Ewes...hmm I'll have to think about that one!)