This blog features happenings on the Old Windmill Farm in Lancaster County, PA and a glimpse into the Amish way of life.
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Friday, April 5, 2024
Old Windmill Farm garden
“Springtime On The Farm”
Its Springtime here on the farm. That means it’s time to clip the mules’ wintertime manes and tails, also time to give tetanus vaccines to the horses, mules, and ponies.
As you can see Jack in the photo looks cleaned up versus shaggy with his long mane. The mules have a hairstyle like a donkey, short cropped mane and short tail. Clipping the mules also helps to shed a lot of heat trapped under the thick winter coat. The warm weather makes them sweat a lot more in the warmer days.
The mules keep the thick coat till end of June at times. Stevie and Sara ages (6 and 9) will take a handful of tail hair and hold it to their chin and pretend it’s a long beard. I bought the clippers at my grandfather’s auction. Usually an auction for the immediate family (cousins, aunts and uncles) is held after both grandparents pass away or when they downsize to a smaller house.
One of the sheep and goats had twins here on the farm. The mother rejected them so now we are bottle feeding the babies. The children really enjoy helping with that. We need to mix the milk replacer powder in hot water. The baby lambs are amazing how they get very attached to whoever feeds and cares for them. They stay right by my side when strangers are around, much more so than the goats. There is a Bible lesson in that. The Lord Jesus said,”My sheep know my voice”.
Our daughter Sadie is a teacher at one of the local Amish schools. For an Easter gift she gave her 30 students each a baby chick. I ordered the chicks from Hoffman’s hatchery in Gratz, Pa. They were delivered by mail as day-old chicks. We ordered 40 red Rhode Island Red chicks which are brown egg layers. Her school came to the farm for an egg hunt and to enjoy time outside the classroom. She teaches grades one to eight.
The grass in the fields and pasture is green and ready to support the cattle and horses. The animals can be on the pasture for only half day at first because it’s very rich in protein and the animals love it. They can get colic and the horses can founder which can destroy their hooves. (Founder happens if a horse eats too much grain or fresh grass all at once. It overheats the horses’ body, especially the hooves and they can have lifelong lame issues. If it is detected early enough the farmer will take the horse to the creek and have the horse stand in the cool water to keep the hooves cool.)
We have planted potatoes, carrots, beets and radishes. The vegetables are up just a bit. The same height as the weeds. Every time it rains we need to till the garden and pull the weeds so the weeds can not grow ahead of the veggies. Next week we’ll plant corn. It is a bit early but worth taking a chance to get early sweet corn. We will also plant pop corn.
Here’s a wise saying: Give a man a bag of popcorn. He can pop it and enjoy a bowl of popcorn. Or he can plant it and have enough popcorn for a year.
We also plant beans, onions, broccoli plus more once it warms up a bit. Nothing like the scent of freshly plowed or turned soil. Besides freshly cut hay.
We expect cows to freshen in the spring as well. We are very excited. We have them serviced to a Mini Highland cattle bull. This was administered artificially by the vet. Sent here frozen from Idaho. Due dates in May, July and August. 2 Horses due in April and July.
The beautiful promise is: “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease” (Genesis 8:22). Of course we expect to see it that way every season. That is called faith. We plant a seed and expect it to grow and multiply many times.
From our family to yours,
The Lapps
Bringing a baby pig home from market
Farm news: As spring approaches we are open for limited tours which must be reserved. We will be opening back up with a regular schedule in several weeks. Today (March 16) we expect a very busy day due to the nice weather!
Jesse Lapp
262 Paradise Ln
Ronks, PA 17572
US
717-687-7929
Old Windmill Farm
https://www.oldwindmillfarm.com
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