Second Tuesday on Franklin Hill Farm

Tranquility

By
Bettina Sperry

It sets in when foaling and calving season is over. It is arguably one of the most restful and peaceful times of the year for me. Spending time watching the new babies grow consumes much of my attention.
    Still, there is plenty to accomplish on the farm, such as cleaning the barns and sheds, repairing fencing, and constructing new fencing. All of this will be completed over the course of the coming seven months, so there’s no rush. The work will be leisurely attended to. Franklin Hill Farm has been blessed with a wonderful group of individuals who assist me in its growth and continuous improvement. This year we are adding two new paddocks for the horses and re-establishing a new feeding location for the cows to use next winter. We will also be moving the two new run-in sheds to a different location to make winter a little easier for the horses too.

    During the end of April, and through May, the cows and horses begin the process of ascending the mountain where they spend well over ninety percent of their time until the end of November. The abundance of grass on this farm permits the horses to graze without desiring grain feedings. They will come down about once a week, and during that time, I’ll provide them grain and supplements. While there’s much less work for me, this does require me to climb the mountain regularly to check up on the herds. The mountaintop is lush with grass and is ever so much a paradise for the cows and horses. Being in the pasture atop the mountain is a breathtaking experience.

The farm has about 30 acres of mountain pasture.

The small trees are apple trees.

The grass is always greener at Franklin Hill Farm.

    We finished the breeding season with six new calves. I was fortunate to be present during two of their births. Our calves were beautiful and healthy. All but one was born in the nursery. The one that was born in the large run-in shed was within yards of the barn, for which I was very grateful. The cows surrender themselves to the nursery when they know it’s time for birthing. That doesn’t sound so miraculous, but one cow came to me wanting in the barn area within an hour of calving and I’d been trying for weeks to get her into the nursery. Though I prepared the stall with hay and straw for her, she ended up having the calf in the nursery yard – in the mud. Just yesterday all the cows visited the area where the calves were born, and they looked at me as if to say, “We remember.”

    Our new foal is a knock-out. She has great conformation and long legs. Her name is Robin, but she’ll earn a racing name as well. She, like my other thoroughbreds, are racehorses – past, present, or future. During the coming weeks I’ll spend time getting her adjusted to me and getting her adjusted to putting a halter on. She’s a very active young lady, and her mom keeps her running quite a bit.

    Our newest addition to horseracing, Mr. Prosecutor, won his maiden race in April. While we’ve had some obstacles to overcome, Mr. Prosecutor has cooperated very nicely with his trainer and has responded well to the expectations we have for him. He has a lot of speed and we’ve been happy with his racing progress thus far. We’re expecting good things out of this racehorse in the years ahead. Additionally, we have two yearlings and one two-year-old born to the farm that are expected to leave to begin training later this year.

Here in spring, planting season is also upon us. I’ve added several fruit trees, raspberry bushes, roses, sunflowers, and lavender. I will soon start growing Muscadine grapes along the steep of the mountain. I have planted my grandmother’s favorite flower, Lily of the Valley, next to the house in remembrance of the days she spent preparing me for the enjoyment of farming, fields, and flowers.

    Slowly the farm is budding, with the blessings and heritage born to me through my family, the farming women with whom I was raised, and others who prepared me to undertake such an initiative as that of which they were so fond themselves. Lately I find myself living and repeating the life of my mother and grandmother – a path I know well and understand.

Copyright © 2015 by Bettina Sperry