Today it is snowing. Again. According to the National Weather Service, Albany has had 16 days of measurable snow out of 28 days so far. Looking at the window right now, it is snowing big, fluffy flakes. Snow is a mixed blessing on the winter farm. It insulates the garden and trees, so roots can survive a bit better than without the snow. It also keeps mud season down to a reasonable 6 weeks in March/April. But snow does make the animals more "coop-bound" and they do get a little nutty. As of today, we have had snow on the ground since early December (right after T-giving). That snow has made moving around feed, hay, and water tougher too.
Down by the barn, you can make out 2 blue-tarped "chicken tractors", buried in snow and with a nice "snow hood" on top. These are stacked full of 2nd cutting haybales we bought en masse. 112 bales came in two loads one morning in late December.
Our Hay Man is Paul Molesky - he is a retired teamster who hays and runs his 70 cows on grass he can't harvest for hay. No waste there. Our relationship with Paul is pretty special - I found him 3 years ago through a notecard ad posted at the Agway. He had decent prices on hay, but we were nickel-and-diming, 12 bales at a time is all I can fit in my truck. He grows around 6 thousand squares bales of 2nd cutting, alfalfa, and some blends.
As our herd grew in the past two years, our needs have increased too. We are still small potatoes as customers go for Paul (maybe 250 bales per year for 17 dwarf goats), but he looks out for us. Paul had been talking about more calls from far way asking for hay - not pressuring us, just conversationally. This year we decided we were going to buy a hundred bales before Xmas (and then after the big Ice Storm it became after New Years) to take us through birthing season - 2nd cutting gets harder and harder to find. The last thing you want is a doe near the birthing date who gets cranky as you change her hay to 1st cutting.
Paul called us early one morning and said, "How about today?" Sure, and after all the fuss of unloading and packing bales into nooks, crannies, and piles as tall as the barn ceiling, we did it.
After the fact, we realized that Paul had sold us the very last of his 2nd cutting bales. He also sells to a new horse farm that eats up bales as quick as you blink - but he looked out for us.
That is what we are losing today - personal connections to the people that support our gardens and small farms. We depend on Paul for hay, on Agway for feed and minerals, on other goat farms for new genes, on heirloom seed companies for reliable seed, etc. The more we care about the people who work with us, the stronger our connections are. The better we all are.
