Winter Weather | The Richard Mason Show

Last week, here in Southeastern Kentucky, we got three inches in three hours! That may not sound like much to you folks in the northern states, but this is a mountainous area. The roads were so treacherous! My dad who is a school bus driver was stranded on a hill for two hours when a 18 wheeler jackknifed in front of him. There were more accidents than there were rescue crews! Well, anyways, while all this was going on, I was home safe on the farm where the only treachery was the risk of snow falling down your shirt collar! Here is the video I made for my youtube channel: The Richard Mason Show.

Doomsday 2012 | The Richard Mason Show

Happy December 21st, 2012!!! I hope the Mayans don't get you!

Newborn Calf!

 So I'm a little late getting these pics up on the blog. These pics were taken on the day this little guy was born. He was only a few hours old when I took the picture on the left.



Later that evening, we separated him from his mother. It caused a little stress on mama cow, but not as much as I expected. I've separated kid goats from their mothers before and they cry aaallll night long. But Caramel is experienced in calving and the separation stress was minimal. We remove the calves from the cows because we want control of the milk. If little guy stayed in the field, he would nurse all of the milk and by evening, we would not get any milk for ourselves. So we become the new mommy and feed little guy a ration of his mother's milk through a bottle or bucket. We can devote time to working with him to grow him into a big, strong, healthy steer.

Another reason we separate the calves is because of the coyote problem in the area. I have lost goats the same size as this calf to coyotes. By putting him in a tight pen until he is large enough not to be threatened by predators, we ensure his safety. Soon he will be out grazing grass and growing nice and strong!

I'm a plow boy | The Richard Mason Show

Yeah I'm a plowboy, I ain't no city boy, Oh, I was born with dirty hands...well not technically, but soon after that, I got dirt on my hands and my Mommy had to teach me how to wash my hands. Anyways, here's this week's video. Enjoy!

A Beautiful Fall Day

Caramel grazing next to the hay pasture.

 I just wanted to put up a blog post to share with you some photos that I took right here on Clover Creek Farm! It was a beautiful fall day and the leaves hadn't all fallen yet. The mountains were in an array of shades of green, red, orange, and browns. The neighbors (who are our next of kin) had just finished baling their hay. Caramel, our jersey milk cow was out grazing and lazily acknowledged my presence. She could have cared less as I snapped picture after picture. Anyways, here are my favorite pictures. Enjoy!

I thought this picture was a lost cause with the sunlight's glare
but my computer editing program made me see it differently!

Hay. It's cow food!

I think it's worthy of a frame!

A black and white of the scene.

Clover Creek Farm Commercial--Richard Mason Show

Here is a video I made of Dad and my brother working in the hay. It's almost got the feel of a commercial! As a matter of face, thats what I'll call it...a Clover Creek Farm Commercial. What do you think?
Watch until the end and give me thumbs up for the huge fail!

Feeding the calf--Richard Mason Show

So our most recent calf to be born on Clover Creek Farm is an angus/jersey cross. We feed him twice daily after each milking. During the middle of the day, he grazes grass. I'm surprised he picked it up so quickly, most of our calves don't learn how to graze so soon after being born, but I'm glad he did learn because it will cause him to grow much faster. If you have any questions, comment below, or on the youtube page. Don't forget to subscribe!