The blackberries are here and the raspberries are still developing and trying to ripen.  Everything needs rain!!!!!!   Maggie Mae and Lucky are getting muscle tone now and really looking good.  Gunner did excellent at the horse clinic.....no buck, no bad attitude!!!!!!!!!!  Lazarus got a tune up but just seems to have a lazy streak.  Lazarus would rather walk than run and rather eat than walk!!  LOL  

Blackberries could use a couple more days to be fully ripened.  Raspberries are still developing next fruit.  Still no luck with the mid season blueberries.  Jill Zink

Monday July 18th

 

    Yesterday  about 10 pounds of blackberries were picked.  They have finally started and within a couple of days they will be plentiful.  Anyone who would like to come pick is welcome to come early or late to avoid the heat.  I sure don't want anyone having a heat stroke out there.  If you want you can come as early as first light.  Also if you have containers such as gallon ice cream pails I would appreciate your bringing them.  We can weigh your containers first so we know how much to deduct on the scale.  We are down to just 3 or 4 containers since Craig used them as a chew toy. LOL  There are also a few raspberries still available until the next set ripens.  We also have green beans available.  If we don't get some much needed rain I am not sure how well anything in the garden or the berries will do in this drought.  I know last year they did not fair well and it took its toll on the berries producing this year.  This year has started out much like last year.....alot of rain early followed by a drought.  For all of you following the rest of the farm news......Maggie Mae and Lucky seem to be moving around more and roaming out further.  They still come each morning and evening for their bottles but they leave in a different direction then they use to, not back toward the buck pen or even the pond.  My husband said he thought that he almost hit one crossing the road the other day so if you are out this way please drive slow and be watchful for small fawns darting out into the road.  I was hoping that by taking them for walks when they were young that they would stay closer to home and not range out so far.  Our 3 bucklings are doing well in the buck test so far.  We get results every 17 days or so and their beginning fecal egg counts were excellent.  Samantha's buckling had 0 parasite eggs, and momma's boys had a count of 250  and 300.  They had 4 bucklings that were over 2000!!!!!!!!!!!!!  One of those had over 12,000!! Poor fellow.  Gunner the new horse will get his first experience at being ridden this coming weekend and Lazarus will get some more experience with obstacles and creek crossing.  With the heat index so high I would want to stay in the creek if I was him.  No more chicks have been born yet.  I think I just need to clean the chicken house out and gather eggs again.  The hens have been setting over 21 days now and I don't think they are going to have any luck.  Not sure why since I know the roosters are all proven breeders but this has been a strange year for everything.  One thing that also strikes me odd about this year is the lack of hummingbirds and bees.  We have a total of one hummingbird this year when last year we had more that were always fighting for the food.  I haven't seen the first honey bee....I think the only bees I have seen on the buds have been bumble bees.  It is rather scary really.....people we can't survive without bees.  Anyway, I hope we all survive this next heat wave, so you all try to stay cool and also make sure your pets can find shade and have water. Jill Zink

There are no berries available at this time.  Our raspberries are now blooming and setting fruit for the next round of berries.  The blackberries are getting close to being ripe.  They are now a very deep red.  the bushes for the mid season of blueberries are still not blooming....I hope they don't disappoint us but it has been a bad berry season.  The good thing is that the row and a half of raspberries that didn't produce much in the early fruit set are producing new shoots that will produce late.  For those that have been following Maggie Mae and Lucky, both fawns are doing great.  Lucky had a short bout with scours but has since recovered.  They are now checking out the garden every day and we are feeding them a little cracked corn to help them out between bottles.  They seem to forage on their own too so I think they will be fine as they get closer to weaning.  Even though we don't have berries available at this time everyone is still welcome to come out and see the critters.  I think most who have been here enjoy that as much if not more than picking berries.  We picked green beans this morning and only picked 2 rows and probably got around 50 pounds.  We still have 3 rows to pick and a lot of canning ahead in the next several days.  We will have extra green beans this year so anyone interested in a upick green bean just say so and we will oblige.  They are very nice looking beans with almost no bug bites.  The upick beans will be $1/lb.  Also we have still not set a new date for the berry festival.....we are trying to time it so that we will have our last cutting of hay out of the fields and we will have to go to Oklahoma to pick up our bucklings.  I would think that Oct 1 it would still be pleasant enough weather to enjoy sack races etc.  It might be nice to have a October festival since it would be something fun for a family to do before it gets cold and nasty.  Jill Zink

 

  Saturday July 9th

 

Our raspberries have been well picked and it may be a few days before they are again available. My apologies to those who came over the weekend and did not get the berries they wanted.  I do hope you come back again.  Our raspberries are putting out new shoots for their fall fruit so it looks like we may have more available late then we had early. Our blackberries are turning so I think in a couple weeks we will be swimming in blackberries.  Maggie Mae and Lucky are  doing great!!    I was about 20 minutes late this morning and they were on the front porch waiting for me.  i have posted several clips on you tube of the deer running and also taking their bottle....it is under zinkberryfarm deer.  Warrior the buck  is still getting around but has good days and bad days.  We are still praying that he will get better and make a full recovery.  Gunner  the new horse  is learning fast....we are taking  both gunner and lazarus to a horse training camp for a weekend and are real excited to see how they perform.  lazarus will be getting  experience in riding through an obstacle course and creek crossings.  Gunner will get his first of many experiences having a rider on his back.  We are getting ready to bale hay from our 7 ac bottom  today and the other fields tomorrow.  There is nothing like the smell of fresh hay.  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and enjoy this beautiful weather.    Jill Zink

I have posted a video of the deer Maggie Mae and Lucky on U-tube under zinkberryfarm deer.  This shows them after they have taken their bottle and them going with me to feed.  There is also video clips of  a family that came to pick berries and got to feed the deer.  I hope you enjoy watching the clips.  There are still raspberries to pick and the blackberries are turning colors.  The lab seem to think that our berry problems were mostly weather related, our leaf samples show that there is a defiency of boron and sulfur uptake so we will be adding some sulfur to the soil which will help the plants uptake micronutrients.  This will also help them uptake nitrogen from the soil.  Anyone wanting a chance to view/feed the deer: they usually come up to eat at 8 am and between 5-6 pm.  they have come as early as 7am but I am trying to get them to wait until 8am so they won't feed so early in the evening.  When they feed in the evening they tend to go back into the woods rather quickly.  Only in the morning do they tend to stay around and run around and play.  For those of you who have taken pics and videos of the deer feel free to post them on our utube or facebook page.  Happy picking!!

 

On the 4th of July we will be closed until 3pm. My mother-in-law will be 95 and we will be having a family picnic.  Maggie mae and Lucky didn't come up for a bottle last night but I got up early this morning and they were ready and waiting.  They hung out and ran and played for awhile before making their way back into the woods.  Warrior, the buck that is weak in the hind end, seems to be better on the right side and worse on the left side.  We are giving him a series of shots to try and help him overcome his disability. 

 

We made it back from Oklahoma in one piece and got the bucklings delivered safely to their new home for 3 months.  I hope they do well and enjoy their vacation.  Maggie Mae and Lucky look fantastic this morning.  I was concerned when Lucky didn't come to take a bottle last night but she was there this morning after  Maggie Mae  had already eaten.  They haved moved back home again to live in the goat pasture closer to the house.  It is the same area where they came when I couldn't find Lucky for a day and said my prayer for God to bring her to me since I couldn't find her.  I don't know what prompted the move but they came back up here right before we left and have stayed.  While we were gone my son Daryl and his family stayed and took care of the critters.  We had him call the vet, our buck Warrior  is having trouble walking or even standing.  He has evidently gotten hurt in his back or something and has trouble moving his right rear leg.  There is a parasite called a deer worm that can cause problems like that but it is usually in LLamas not goats.  This parasite can get in the area of their spine and cause paralysis by damaging their central nervous system.  The vet doesn't think that is as likely though and that Warrior just got hurt when sparring with his pasture mates.  We had some berry pickers while we were gone and I guess they got to see the deer.  By the way there are still plenty of raspberries to be picked and the blackberries are starting to turn colors.  You all have a safe and fun weekend and enjoy the holiday.    Jill zink

June 29th Wednesday

 

    Last night Maggie mae came to the house around 5:30 and wanted a bottle.  I usually feed them around that time but I go to our spot in the woods and feed them.  I was concerned because by the time I got the bottles warmed up she had disappeared.  I walked down to the woods calling her and Lucky.  Maggie Mae immediately came and ate.  Lucky never did show up last night even though I walked and called for an hour or so.  My husband and grandkids walked down a couple hours later and she still did not come to eat.  This morning I went to feed them and neither one showed up to eat.  I walked and called and cried.  I said a prayed that God would protect them and keep them from being hungry if my job was done. I told him that even if He was going to care for them I'd at least like to know that they were safe.   I came back to the house and tried to occupy my mind by getting our things packed to leave for Oklahoma (we are taking our bucklings to the forage performance test).  We had a family show up to pick berries and while they were out picking and I was packing, and Wayne was working with the horses, Lucky shows up at the house ready to eat.  I gave her a bottle while sitting on the step of the garage.  The grandkids and I where getting a bottle warmed for Maggie Mae (going to go back to the woods and try to find her)  when the family with 3 small girls came back from picking berries.  They got a chance to see and pet Lucky.  The young girls were very gentle with Lucky and I think enjoyed seeing a fawn up that close.  We headed back down the dam road and were just getting close to the woods when out runs Maggie Mae ready for her bottle. She ate and then ran and played on the dam road up and down while Lucky was content to just stay close and watch the dogs play in the water.  Finally Maggie Mae went into the woods and stayed.  Lucky followed but came back out and headed back toward the house.  We came back after playing in the water a few minutes and Lucky was behind the house in the tall grass in the goat pen.  I think she decided to stay close for supper.  The new horse Gunner is doing great.  He is young and so we are teaching him to lunge, drive, stand tied (his hardest lesson), and tolerate a saddle on his back.  He seems eager to please and we are very happy with his progress.  I lunged Lazarus a little last night (just a walk since he is still healing up on his leg) and he still remembered that he has gears.  A slow easy walk and a fast paced walk.  Lazarus has decided that when he is out browsing that he would stand in the horse trailer when he wants to rest.  He is very easy to handle and so we let him free range alot of the time.  I guess I better close and get finished getting things loaded up.  As far as the berries, there are still a bunch of red raspberries ready to be picked so even though we are gone, feel free to come pick our youngest son and his family will be here.