CDJ Hilltop Homestead

02/12/2026

The first few trees have been tapped. Last year the ones on the other side of the property did not do as well as the ones on top of the hill so this year I switched hillsides to see if these ones do better.

02/11/2026

Learn from our mistakes. Twice daily I am on calf watch. I’ve been checking her tail and her bag for signs it is time to calve. She didn’t get to run with the bull because of her size so she stayed with the young heifers. She is way too far along to have been bred by the bull this past summer. The only way this could have happened was the steer she was with. We didn’t double check. He came from someone who has had cattle for a long time. We blindly trusted and now I don’t know when she was bred to know when this calf is coming. So I watch twice and check and take pictures so I can compare the previous day or week to how she looks today. With the extreme cold I was terrified she would decide it was time. Thankfully she hasn’t. So don’t let yourselves get in this predicament. Check what you are buying just for your own peace of mind.

02/10/2026

Happy boys enjoying the sun without their blankets on.

02/07/2026

That wasn’t supposed to be pig hay but I guess it is now. They keep breaking out of their barn and being free range pigs.

02/02/2026

01/31/2026

Every once in a while he comes up with a genius idea. It beats carrying water in 5 gallon jugs.

10/18/2025

Firewood supervisor sleeping on the job.

10/15/2025

He tells me all the time we need to get rid of the little red tractor because it’s too small for what we need. Well let me tell you, she never leaves me stranded and she gets the job done every time. Like today when I had to pull his broken tractor down from the field.

09/29/2025

They seem to like the persimmons

08/25/2025

Peaceful