Oak Springs Mountain Ranch
We Take Pride In Our Ranch. Oak Springs Mountain Ranch consist of 411 acreas of pasture meadows, hay fields and woodland. We love to horseback ride or four wheel, checking on fence and cattle and just wondering over the beautiful mountain range.
Bruce Creek (named after Harve Bruce) runs through the Southeast section of the ranch. Bruce Creek runs into Little Red River which feeds Greers Ferry Lake.
The primary purpose of the ranch is raising Black Angus Cattle. The ranches herd consist of Jeremiah (Registered Black Angus) bull and mostly purebred Black Angus Cattle. One of the most exciting and rewarding events for us is raising calves. Early management decisons determine the relative success of the calves entire life, and its first year is its most critical. Oak Springs Mountain Ranch maintains clean, green pastures that our cattle love to graze upon and we produce our own hay which is fed during the winter months. Pesticide management and vaccinations are conducted routinely to maintain a healthy herd. We pride ourselves on being as natural as possible.
The Kitchen Garden: Homegrown produce,
It is easy to list material benefits that a kitchen garden can bring. Your vegetables will arrive on your table garden fresh. They will probably be far tastier than the often days old produce found on the shelves of food stores, and more nutritious too. And there will be impressive savings in your food dollar; experts say that for each $20 worth of supplies and labor invested, a return of more that $200 can be reaped.
But beyond such practical considerations are additional benefits: the pleasure of working with the soil, of watching seeds sprout and grow, and of knowing that the food on your table is a product of your own labor. It is these reasons, perhaps more than mere economics, that account for the recent upsurge in home vegetable gardening.
The story of vegetable gardening in America goes back further that the current boom or even the victory gardens of World War II. The first gardeners, in fact, were the first Americans: the Indians who raised corn, beans, and squash in neatly tended plots. This food saw the Indians through the lean times of the year when game and fish were scarce. The colonists, like the Indians, depended on their gardens for survival. Life was hard, toil unending, and there was no room in the garden for any plant that was merely ornamental. What herbs and flowers were grown were used for flavoring, medicine, or dye.
For most people today, the home kitchen garden is no longer a necessity for survival. However, the garden still has an important role to play not only in economic terms but also in a well earned sense of independence and accomplishment, as well as in the closer relationship with nature that working with the soil and its produce affords.
And Corn!!! We know how to raise good corn. It's not just the native Americans gold, but it is also our gold.
- Here is Eunice, doing one of the things she does best, other than her word puzzles!
Although growing huge acreages of field corn—like the agribusiness outfits in the Midwest—is impractical for small farmers, growing sweet corn, popcorn, specialty corn, corn decorations, seed corn and building corn mazes can be very profitable activities for the smaller producers. We’re a world that’s crazy about corn, and the small farmer needs only to decide how to help scratch that itch.
How to Splint a Calf’s Broken Leg
The other morning I was out checking on my cows and calves when I noticed one of my calves was limping. I took a closer look and found that it was badly swollen on the back right leg. I don’t know if the calf was just playing and broke it or a cow stepped on its leg or what exactly happened, but I knew I would have to try and do something to help this baby calf. She was only six days old. I drove the cow and calf into the corral and decided to call my vet. He told me to bring her in and he would splint it, or I could do it myself.
There are times when I would not hesitate for the vet to come out and help care for wounded or sick animals. But the cost is usually much more then what the animal will bring if taken to the market. So, after careful deliberation, I chose to splint this calf’s leg myself.
First , check to see if there is any puncture where the bone might have penetrated through the skin. If there is no puncture through the skin, then it is probably a small fracture and will heal nicely. I was lucky and found no cut or penetration through the skin. Carefully wrap the leg with an ace wrap, cloth or foam. Make sure you get the wrap tight enough that it won’t fall off, but not to tight to cut the circulation off.
Second, take a 1 ½” to 2” pvc pipe and split it vertically down into two pieces. This will act as the splint, to hold the bone in place. Make sure the splint is a little longer then the calves leg so that the calf will have to walk on the splint instead of its leg. Place the splint on the inside and outside of the leg to support the broken bone and use gray duct tape to wrap and secure the splint into place. The gray duct tape will last about three weeks, which gives the calves leg time to heal.
I found that the calf began walking on her three legs, and held the wounded leg up off of the ground. Also, it is important that the cow and calf are somewhat restricted in area of movement. I kept the cow and calf in my corral with a stall for shelter. Make sure the area you keep your wounded animal in is as clean as possible. There is plenty of grass there for the mama cow and she can’t roam very far from her baby. I also supplemented the cow with grain and hay and made sure she had plenty of fresh water to drink.
It is astonishing how quickly a young animal can heal, so don’t despair if you see one of your young calves with a serious injury. Just be prepared to help the healing along it's way. There is often a way to help the calf to recover.
Here's an update. I left the splint on the calf for 3 weeks and I noticed that the pvc splint was rubbing the calves hock, causing it to bleed. I have taken the splint off and doctored the cut that the pvc pipe had made. However, the broken leg looks like it has mended. The calf is walking around with a limp, wagging her tail and looks healthy. I'll keep you all informed as to how she turns out
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