Ehrenholz Farms

10/19/2026

The last of the cattle came home today!

This cow-calf pair stayed behind in the pasture when we brought the rest of their herd home on Saturday. This morning, I bribed the cow into the loading pen with a bit of grain and then we easily got her on the trailer and home.

That's one mpre thing done this fall.

10/18/2026

It's been a bit of a crazy day!

This morning, we moved the cows home from pasture, which means we had our annual cattle drive down a mile and a half of highway. This time we encountered the most traffic ever for a cattle drive day, but everyone was really helpful in slowing down, and pulling to the side to let us pass by calmly. It wasn't a full success: one cow and calf stayed behind at the pasture. We'll have to truck them home next week.

Next, we set up the auger to allow Dad to unload his oats from the grain truck into the grain bin. That normally routine job quickly became dangerous when the wind picked up speed and force WHILE I was on the roof of the bin, opening up the lid. After a few terrifying moments, I was able to make my way down the ladder in between wind gusts. And no, you should not set up an auger in the wind. We still did - very carefully - and it almost tipped over on Dad.

The wind was bringing in dark clouds, so we planned to try to bale the last of the hay before it rained. Part way through lunch, Dale Ehrenholz sent me this picture, telling me that the wind was blowing my hay away. The picture doesn't show the absolute chaos that is now spread across that last hay field. I tried baling it, but it was still too wet.

To end the day on a good note, Dad and I are now harvesting Dad's oats. Very calmly. Very successfully.

10/15/2026

Mistakes were made. And it's all okay.

This morning I got a message from the lady who sold me Rex. I had mistakenly been given the puppy that was promised to her children. The puppy I had actually picked out previously was still there. In all the excitement, a simple mistake occurred.

So, Rex, whose name is actually Blaze, has been returned to his loving family.

I am pleased to introduce the puppy that was meant to be here yesterday: Daisy.

Note: The kittens are still here. They been renamed Sugar and Spice.

In her first 10 minutes on the farm, Daisy met Max, Bandit, and the kittens, made friends with my friend, Jamy, and supervised the loading of straw bales.

What a great little addition to the farm!

10/14/2026

We've got some new farm hands!

The puppy is named Rex. He'll be in training as the new herding dog, as Max and Bandit are both getting old and having trouble keeping up.

The kittens are Daisy and Clover. They have been hired to keep Rex company in the barn and will eventually transition to pest management positions.

10/08/2026

We're keeping company with moose today!

It's supposed to rain again, so we're doing our utmost to get as much hay baled as possible. I saw a lone bull moose while raking the hay this afternoon, then Dad and I saw a female with a young male this evening while we baled.

Moose are sure majestic animals!

09/15/2026

This little calf was born a little over a week ago. He was doing fine for the first few days, so I wasn't worried about him.

Saturday morning, Dad, who could see the herd from his kitchen window, noticed a cow staying on a certain hill alone. He walked into the pasture and found this calf stretched out on the ground, looking very weak and sick. Dad quickly came to my house to tell me.

I had just put some cakes in the oven, so Dad suddenly got put in charge of taking those out at the appropriate time. I rushed to get ready to go to the vet, while Dad called ahead to let the vet know I was coming.

We got back to the calf 10 or 15 minutes after Dad found it. By then a coyote had found him and chewed on the poor baby's tail.

We loaded the calf into the cab of my truck and I hurried into town, listening to his rough breathing. When I arrived at the Barr-North Veterinary Services Clinic, Dr. Mikayla checked the calf over and diagnosed him with pneumonia. He would need an overnight stay to get IV fluids and antibiotics.

Later in the afternoon, Dr. Mikayla called. The calf also had scours and seemed to be doing worse. Neither of us was very optimistic.

Sunday afternoon, I had a phone message, telling me the calf was alive and doing well. He'd need one more night at the clinic and then he could come home.

Sure enough, the calf was bright-eyed and spunky when I went to pick him up. He even tried to escape while Debbie, the vet tech, and I guided him to the trailer. Debbie told me the staff has decided he is The Cutest Calf.

When I got the calf home, he jumped/fell of the trailer in his haste to get back to his mother and immediately started suckling.

All in all, an excellent end to this story.

The calf and his mother will stay close to home for a few days to ensure his continued recovery.

08/29/2026

One of our fall calvers had twins! They were born earlier this week, but this is the first time I took a picture.

08/27/2026

Thank you to the kind strangers who helped us get our cattle off the road!

My doorbell rang a little while ago, and I answered the door to find a woman I did not know who told me there were cows running down the middle of the highway next to the farm. I'll be honest, I first assumed they were the neighbour's cows.

She showed me a picture of the cattle in question and I immediately recognized the three steers that I've had eating the grass off around the farmyard for the past few days. Two of them are scheduled to go to the butcher soon, so I wanted them close to home, but Dad and I got distracted in our work this afternoon and left a gate open. The steers obviously took advantage.

I grabbed my boots and my keys, thanked the woman for letting me know and for moving them into the ditch, then ran for the side-by-side. I sped out of my yard and tore through the ditch, slowing down as I neared the animals, not wanting to spook them further. As I drove, I could see my dad's truck turning out of his driveway and slowly approaching.

A man in a pick-up truck was parked on the road, keeping the steers in the ditch. He asked me which way they needed to go and I showed him the gate I was about to open into our nearby pasture. The man, who clearly had experience with cattle, calmly and slowly chased the nervous steers toward me as I alternated between calling them to me and telling Max to stay (he wanted to chase them so badly, but I was worried he'd turn them the wrong way).

The steers were suspicious of me, but they slowly made their way toward the gate. They could see a small group of cows in the pasture and wanted to get to them, which was extremely helpful. Once they found the gate, they ran in and trotted to the group of cows, accidentally scaring up a new calf Dad and I had spent a good deal of time trying to find earlier in the day. The steers and calf joined the little herd and they will all stay there for now.

The whole thing went about as well as it could have and I am so thankful for the kind strangers who helped us out!

08/19/2026

An important thought to consider each day on the farm.

Should I alter, manipulate, "work" the land, in whatever manner I see fit, in order to make it produce what I want it to produce?
Or should I alter, adjust, manage my practices in such a manner as to make best use of that which the land itself wants to provide?
For I most certainly did not make myself, the land nor anything that lives on it.

08/16/2026

Does this bracelet belong to you (or more likely, your child)?

It was found in our parking area yesterday afternoon. If it's yours, let us know, and we will do our best to get it back to you.