Flat Stanley visits our ranch

A friend I met on twitter has a nephew who made a "Flat Stanley" and asked if anyone would be interested in hosting Stanley on their farm or ranch. I heartily agreed to print out her nephew's Flat Stanley (F.S.) and take him with me on my daily chores one day this week.

The F.S. teaching tool is really neat, for those of you who are not familiar with it. A few years ago, my cousin in Ohio was in grade school and she sent me her F.S. to take with me and photograph on my ranch. I then had to print the pictures and send them, along with Stanley, back to her to show her classmates. It is a great opportunity to learn more about a different part of America, and even a different way of life. 

Today's F.S. has been all over the place, and that was made possible by the Internet. My friend, Janice Person, posted a pdf file of her nephew's F.S. to print, cut out and then take along with me. I just had to take a few pictures with F.S. in them and email them back to her. Pretty easy and a great way to connect with a classroom full of kids!

So F.S. and I watered the cows (photo at top), checked the maternity pen for heifers looking close to calving--we didn't find any ready to calve. (photo above)
F.S. then helped me check out supply of corn silage that we feed our bulls and heifers. It looks good--he is here lying in the sun in the silage. It is made by chopping whole corn stalks, with the developing ears of corn into small bits, then putting it in a big pit or pile and covering it to keep out the oxygen. That allows it to ferment--making it smell absolutely delicious to cattle, and helping their digestive tracts break down the fiber to extract the nutrients. Cattle love silage!
Then F.S. and I  drove to the feed yard where we have a pen of steers that we raised. They look great despite the cold weather.

Taking F.S. with me and taking pictures of the various things that I did today helped me with some new ideas for blog posts! So watch the next few weeks as I tell more about each of these things in detail. Also, we are expecting our first calf the end of this month, so I promise to share photos (and videos, if possible) of our new babies on the ranch. Hopefully some of the snow will melt before then.

Thanks, Flat Stanley, for hanging out with me today...I enjoyed it! (And thanks Janice, for asking!)  Here is a link to Janice's blog about Flat Stanley!

3 comments:

  1. Love what you do Want to follow your blog We raise cattle in Indiana 100 head and crop farmers. Farming is hard work for a lady but so enjoyable to do Don't get in the tractor or feed anymore Family takes care of most everything, I have other duties that I must do.

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  2. I just found your blog today...this reminds me a bit of life on our dairy farm in PA...there's always work to be done, regardless of the weather! It is, however, a good life!

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  3. I simply discovered your blog today...this helps me a bit to remember life on our dairy cultivate in PA...there's dependably work to be done, paying little heed to the climate! It is, be that as it may, a great life!

    ReplyDelete

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