School days - history event

The Camp, complete with Scottish Highland skull and horns. The hide is inside the tent.

a wider camp view

teaching about the trade axe

We participated in the White Oak school days, history learning days.  It is a fun event and the school children get a chance to actually do things. It has several stations of learning through the ages. The time frame is from the 1500's up until the fur trade era of 1798.  My son told them about the history behind the trade axe or tomahawk and demonstrated his throwing ability.  The children also got the opportunity to try their hand at throwing the trade axe at targets. This is a fun and entertaining event for children to learn history and try things they only read about in books. There were medieval mercenaries and a fur trade era fort complete with store and bakery, and just outside the fort was a story teller and blackpowder shoot and trade axe or tomahawk throwing.  It was a beautiful day for adventure.

The Scottish Highland cattle were imported to the US just after fur trade era, but they were very well know and used by the medieval mercenaries.  They would travel with their own herds to be used as beef and milk and dairy products such as cheese and butter. Not to mention their hides for warmth.

  We hope to get a permanent fence put up on site so we can bring the Scottish Highland cattle and hopefully Red Wattle pigs and Dorset /cross sheep too!  White Oak also does a much bigger and week long event in August.  This event brings in many traders from all over the US.  It is a fun time to get together and swap goods and stories of adventure. Especially for those of us who rarely wander far from home.

warm at last...

Today was great! The sun was out and the air was warm. Not sure how hot it got but saw the thermometer over 80 at one point. I like being warm and today was nice.  The buds were popping and everything looked greener by the afternoon.

the Fold ...greeting (eating) the new green grass

The turkeys were strutting and Hamlet, the pet potbelly pig, was looking for his vanished puddles.

two Tom s

Hamlet

 

 

 

 The sheep were out nibbling the new grass faster than it could grow. It's hard to see them but good to see the green grass and the normally smaller pond.

This old cow is one of two in the nursery. Eighteen of the other calves are now out on pasture with their mothers.  Two more cows are due shortly and two heifers are waiting it out.   

They usually take a little longer to calve. 

Old Penny

 Penny is our oldest cow. We bought her in the spring of 1999 from a slaughter plant that knew we liked highland cattle.  She was bred and days from calving. The place thought it was a great loss to butcher a cow so close to giving birth, and I agree. She was an old cow with large horns when we first saw her She had her baby three days after we brought her home.  Penny has had a calf for us every year since, two were even white.  We have only seen three white calves in our red and blond herd since we started in 1997.

Today was so nice that my #2 son, even got the planting bug and tilled up the tomato and pepper garden.  The wild asparagus was thatched today too. Ready for the shoots to come up, it won't be long now.  The morel mushrooms are up too.  Friends have collected some but I haven't found any yet.

Now the day is done.  Looking forward towards more beautiful days.

My Little Helper

Almost friends

Shoot them turkeys!

Fresh Milk !

Lamb kisses

Ready for the Fair !

Good Kitty !

Hunting what?

This is my littlest helper. She has been in the middle of everything since the day she was born.  Had to look through the pictures and find cute stuff. She was being an un-helper today and I got nothing I had planned, done.We as parents just have to learn to be flexible and enjoy it all.  One day soon she will be grown and living her own life.

almost dry again

The snow melted but it's still not warm and green yet. This spring is having a hard time breaking through. Everyone is doing well and enjoying the sun when it does peek through.

This is the red wattle boar just standing in the sunshine. He has two sows and is the father to all our little piglets. My daughter, Eva, sold three little ones at the (almost) local chicken swap in Carlton last weekend. The weather was cold and rainy but many people came out to see all the various animals brought to the swap.  It is always a good time, no matter what the weather brings.

A quick shot of the new white bull calf. Yesterday he got a new ear ring and was out running with the other older calves in the bigger pasture. We ear tag them when they go out of the nursery pen.