M-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 25, 1998
On Being a
Farm Wife
(and other
hazards)
Joyce Bupp
Spring is full of surprises.
And each new day seems to
pop onfe into our daily routine.
Not surprising about the sea
sonal surprises is that many of
them have to do with babies.
The first turned up sooner
than expected. Kittens. Hidden
away in that site of so many
interesting farm surprises, the
old bank barn. More specifically,
in the straw mow of the old bank
barn. Four, in a variety of colors
- black, gray, yellow, calico, fat,
furry and adorable.
With a nest of kittens there,
perhaps 'twas a sensible turn of
events when I earlier interrupt
ed one chicken's intentions to
raise a family in a nest just a
few feet away. At some point,
the pecking order would have
been resolved. And probably not
in the chicken's favor.
Another three very welcome
surprises have turned up in the
dairy barn. Spring is usually
when we have our least number
of calves due, so only a relative
ly few number of cows are calv
ing right now. To get four heifer
(girl) babies in a row is a pleas
ant turn of events. While the
bovine gender ratio probably
evens out over time, there
always seem to be a few more
bull calves born than there are
heifers, which we raise for herd
replacements.
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that the number of male babies
slightly surpasses the number of
female babies. So, maybe that's
true for cows, too. Heffers seem
to thrive and survive, on aver
age, somewhat better than bulls,
so perhaps a slightly higher rate
of bull calves is Mother Nature's
compensation for a natural
higher death rate of the bovine
"weaker" gender.
A quick walk around the
meadow ponds a few evenings
ago turned up the beginnings of
another annual and welcome
surprise in process. The dark
mound of feathers snuggled
down into the pile of dry grasses
on the mid-pond nesting plat
form, shiny black neck tucked
around toward her wing, con
firmed that the goose hatching
season is again in full swing. If
all goes well, there should be
fluffy goslings just in time,
appropriately, for Mother’s Day.
Why, we continue to wonder,
when some ponds and wetlands
areas have geese peacefully
nesting in sight of one another,
are ours so highly territorial
that only one pair ever hatches a
family here? We've been curious
about that for a long time. On
the other hand, since more than
a few geese in a given area tend
to get "messy," one family is
probably just the right number.
Also on the feathered-friend
front of surprises, a loud, rau
cous, repetitive squawking
erupted one morning last week
from high up in the maples
around the house. Though I
sneaked outside several times to
try to locate the source of the
racket, which kept moving
around, the bird continued to
elude me. It sounded like some
sort of woodpecker. Finally, qui
etly easing out the front door
onto the porch, in yet another
attempt to put a face to the
squawk, I spied a flicker flitting
from one tree to the next.
Flickers - those beige-brown
colored, ladderback-marked
woodpeckers with the bright
flash of red at the base of their
neck, are common around the
neighborhood. But they don't
usually hang out in the back
yard. A couple of days later, the
squawking began to immediate
ly be followed by a drumming
sound, as the surprise visitor
took to hammering on a piece of
dead limb high up in one of the
old trees. Selecting from a buf
fet of bugs inhabiting the dead
wood, no doubt.
The racket gets amusing,
even louder and more frequent,
anytime a cat stalks out across
the back yard. "Noisy and con
spicuous," grumbles the flicker
description in one Eastern birds
reference book. Wonder if the
author of that note had a cat
companion along during obser
vation jaunts?
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Farmer one day last week from
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Come get a good look at one today.
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the back porch. He pointed out
a robin that was settled on a
cozy nest, eye-level with the
back porch, in a small niche ih>
still another of the maples.
"Looks like we can watch
Learn Art
PHILADELPHIA (Philadel
phia Co.) - Does your dining
table need a little dressing up?
Are your linens limp and life
less? Are you looking for more
creative ways to show off your
unique tableware? Reading
Terminal Market's Art of Dining
investigates the aesthetics of
dining.
On Friday and Saturday,
April 24 and 25, Reading
Terminal Market sponsors the
Art of Dining. From 11 a.m. to 3
p.m. on April 24 and 9 a.m. to 3
p.m. April 25, the market focus
es on arts that enhance the
experience of dining: table set
tings, flower arranging, and gar
nishing. An array of table
arrangements ranging from
country to urban will be on dis-
Spring Homemaker Day
FLEMINGTON, NJ. The
Rutgers Cooperative Extension
Family and Consumer Sciences
Advisory Council will sponsor its
55th annual Spring Homemaker’s
Day on Wednesday, April 29 from
9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. at Echo Hill
Lodge in Clinton Township. A
buffet luncheon will be served.
The program includes the fol
lowing: “Perennials For Your
Flower Garden,” “Protecting
Yourself From Scams,” and “The
Colors of Spring” fashion show.
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717-786-7318
another family of babies being
raised."
V Not only is the nest handy for
observation, it's also right,
smack, above my washline.
Should I be surprised?
Of Dining
play both days. Demonstrations
on Friday include preparing
afternoon tea. Demonstrations
on Saturday include creating
your own decorative vegetable
garnishes, displaying and prop
erly caring for antique linens,
and creating unusual floral
arrangements.
The Art of Dining takes place
at Philadelphia's Kitchen in
Reading Terminal Market and is
hosted by Foster's Gourmet
Cookware, Amy's Place, and the
Pennsylvania General Store
with special guest, the Sweet
Liberty Candle Company.
For more information on the
Art of Dining or other events at
Philadelphia's Kitchen in
Reading Terminal Market, call
(215) 922-2317.
sponsored by Walmart.
All proceeds from Sprint
Homemakers Day will go towaij
the scholarship fund for a Huntct
don County student to study in the
area of family and consume!
sciences.
The fee is SIS. Checks payable
to Home Ec Advisory Counci
should be sent to Rutgers Co
operative Extension, 4 Gauntt
Place, Flemington, NJ 08822. Fat
further information, call (908)
788-1342. 1
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