This morning in the shower I happened to open my eyes while rinsing the shampoo from my head and I noticed several, no make that many, small dark spots near the exhaust fan and in a corner where two walls and the ceiling join together.   At first I couldn’t figure out what was going on. Then I put on my glasses and eureka … more like oh duh … I remembered that we had a couple of hard frosts earlier this week and that those dark little spots were actually Asian lady beetles.

When I was a youngster … and even a young adult … our houses were usually invaded with box elder bugs every fall. I haven’t seen more than one or two box elder bugs since moving to Kansas, but I have seen thousands of Asian lady beetles … most of them in the house. I don’t really mind the beetles, and they do a number on aphids and other pesky garden pests, but when they crawl on your face at night it is a little disconcerting. We combat them with some household cleaning tools … I wrote about them in the magazine here … the tools that is.

The Asian lady beetles were introduced into this country at least twice … once a long time ago by the USDA in its search for beneficial pest-fighting insects. This more recent outbreak of spotted bugs is attributed to the escape of a large group of stowaways that hitched a ride to the Port of New Orleans aboard a cargo ship in 1988. These invaders were determined to stay in this fair land of ours, and they have done well. 

I wouldn’t have noticed that these bugs were here except that they bite you if they get a chance (I never had a lady bug bite me when I was a youngster) and they emit an off-putting smell when you mess with them. And here in Kansas anyway, they invade the house in late fall. Read more about the invasion of the lady bugs in a story we did last year for our electronic newsletter here.

I hurried home from the office yesterday to finish up a small fencing project for the cattle. Once they were fully engaged with the lush, green, 24-inch long growth in the new paddock, I grabbed a flashlight to go have a look at our four little Mulefoot pigs.

Kate had just placed a big pan of warm oatmeal, complete with real cream, real butter and a bit of brown sugar into their pen. She was brooding about the smallest of the lot, a little yellow ear-tagged gilt she named Daffodil (because of the yellow tag; Tulip has the orange ear tag), and wanted to send her to bed with a belly full of warm and energy-rich good stuff. Kate was brooding especially because the temperature was likely to drop into the 20s overnight. I really love that about Kate.

I watched and listened as four small, smart creatures grunted with delight and emitted wonderful lip-smacking-like sounds while plowing their way through the porridge. And when they were finished, they grunted and snorted their way across the grass to their little crate, rearranged some of the straw, piled inside and settled in.

This morning they were still sound asleep when I left for work. In the predawn glow, I could just make out four little black noses peeking from beneath the straw; all were snoring contentedly.

Well, it’s official. It looks like we’re about to become pig ranchers. Kate and I just returned from a fun trip to Southeastern South Dakota to visit friends and pick up some weanling Mulefoot hogs.

As a dedicated cattle person, I can’t really explain how it happened, but I think I can blame it on Carol Ekarius and her Illustrated Guide to Sheep, Goats, Cattle and Pigs, which is the book that first introduced me to Mulefoot hogs. How could I resist when the history of these interesting and tasty animals is rooted smack in the center of this country? How could Kate and I resist, when we learned that much of the breed’s history centers on Louisiana, Missouri and includes a North Dakota connection as well. Kate’s ancestors came to Missouri four or five generations ago, and settled in Louisiana, Missouri. My ancestors settled in the northern half of Dakota Territory. It seems like Mulefoot hogs were meant for us.

The Mulefoot breed is on the ALBC’s critical list, which means that only a very few are registered each year. Thanks to some very dedicated folks, this medium-sized pig no longer stares in the eye of extinction, but it isn’t out of the woods yet. The Mulefoot is one of only a few recognized breeds that has a syndactyl hoof … that’s right, these pigs have fused toes and a hoof reminiscent of a mule’s foot. There’s quite a bit of lore and legend about how they came to be; all accounts point to their hardy adaptability, relative good nature and performance on pasture … or dirt anyway.

We obtained our pigs from Maveric Heritage Ranch near Trent, South Dakota. These folks are responsible for much of the preservation work that has gone into the Mulefoot breed. They are also incredibly forward thinking, gracious and just plain delightful to visit with. As hog people to the end they have put into motion big plans to save the American Guinea, Wessex Saddleback and other historically and genetically important swine. Maveric is also committed to introducing consumers to real pork, produced by real pigs that get to root around on pasture and live full porcine lives. And no folks this pork is most definitely not the “other white meat.”

When we unloaded our little pigs, they gave us a brief once over and went to rooting in their little pasture pen.

I used to think that the most calming thing in the world was to listen to the cows tearing mouthfuls of lush grass when turned into a new paddock. More recently, it was the contented vocalizations of chickens devouring grasshoppers in the garden. Today, I am antsy to get home before dark to catch another glimpse of weanlings up to their eyeballs in the soil … snorting with delight.

Thanks to Kate for snapping these shots. I suspect she will let you know what the pigs' names are in the not too distant future.

A few head of Scottish Highland cattle arrived at the farm recently. They are easily the most docile cattle I have ever been around. Kate wants to blog about our new Highlands in more detail, but I just couldn’t wait.

When Kate asked me what I wanted for my birthday, at first I couldn’t come up with anything. We have this tradition of trying to do something for each other’s special day, so it just wouldn’t fly that I really couldn’t think of anything. After a few minutes of musing, Kate said that some Highland cattle would make a nice present. I totally agreed.

As it turns out there are a number of successful Highland herds in Kansas. One of them, OZ Highland Farm, is a mere 20 miles away from our place. Early this month, Kate and I spent a few hours with John and Debbie Jenkins out at OZ Farm looking over their lovely stock and sampling the best grass-finished beef I have ever tasted. Long story short, my friend and partner in livestock crime, Bryan Welch, showed up with his truck and trailer last Saturday and we brought two bred cows, two young open heifers and a young bull home to Osage County.

I am pretty sure that Kate will tell you all about the names she has bestowed upon the beasts. I still refer to them by ear tag number. After spending so many years with slick black cattle, I find the hairy, multi-colored Highlands to be pure joy. In the photos, which Kate took and shared for this blog, you will see a white heifer, red bull and cow and dun heifer and cow. The dun is kind of a beige/gray color; I really like it.

I just received a report from the ARS (Agricultural Research Service), which is the USDA’s chief scientific research agency, that it’s true, one of the foods that I just love to indulge in is actually good for me.

In this brief report, scientists funded by the ARS and the Almond Board of California discovered that making almonds a regular part of the diet significantly reduced levels of a couple of blood and urine compounds that indicate an individual is under oxidative stress. That’s a complicated way of saying that the almonds are powerful anti-oxidants, and we all know that anti-oxidants are good for us, right?

This news makes me feel so much better about eating the bulk of a carton of almond butter that Kate brought home from a trek to Lawrence or Kansas City, in search of really good things to eat. She also brought home some cashew butter … I can’t wait to learn how good it is for me to eat that stuff by the spoonful.

I have been nuts for nuts since I was a youngster. Peanuts and peanut butter were never my favorites, but it is good to know that in spite of their fat calories, nuts can do you a hull lot of good … rules of moderation probably still apply though. And when the almonds or cashews come home in the form of butter … well, it’s pretty hard for me to behave in a moderate way.

When I first read of Deere & Company’s AutoConnect mid-mount mowing deck, designed for the 3000 Twenty-series compact utility tractors, I was pleasantly surprised. When I got to experience the technology down in Sarasota, Florida, last week, my pleasant surprise turned into complete excitement. This new design, coupled with some mid-mount hitch innovation, reduces a once vexing, knuckle-busting task to a relaxing walk in the park.

Hard as it is to believe, the AutoConnect feature automatically connects the mower deck to the tractor and hooks up the difficult to reach PTO shaft when the operator drives over the top of the mower. This means you can install your mower deck in seconds without leaving the tractor seat. You need only leave the tractor seat to set the gauge wheels and then the machine is ready for mowing. Removing the mower deck is just as simple.

Right now, 60-inch cut Model 60D and 72-inch cut 72D decks are available, and they are matched to John Deere’s 3120, 3320, 3520 and 3720 tractors. The folks at Deere who are responsible for creating products to fit the rural lifestyle say we should look for several other ease-of-use innovations this fall.

For more on mowing machines of all kinds, click here.

Cub Cadet Yanmar  has added a new 45-horsepower machine called the Ex450 to its compact tractor lineup. According to Roger Gifford, Cub Cadet Yanmar product manager, the new workhorse stacks up well to the competition in terms of features, capabilities and cost of ownership, and like other Cub Cadet Yanmar machines, it is backed by a two-year warranty (3 years on engine and drive train) and a product team that holds quality control at the forefront of its entire operation. I had a chance to spend time with a couple of iterations of the Ex450 yesterday at the Yanmar plant in Georgia. I was pleasantly surprised.

I found the Ex450’s direct-injected Yanmar diesel engine to be easy to start and a fearless powerhouse over a wide range of engine speeds and loads. This largest of the Cub Cadet Yanmar tractors (to date) features an integrated triple-range, three-speed sliding-gear transmission with synchronized shuttle – you get nine speeds all together in both forward and reverse. The multi-disc wet clutch had a smooth and confident feel, and the engine’s governor was plenty quick to adjust fueling with load changes. One of the most enjoyable aspects to the Ex450 is its robust hydraulic system that’s capable of keeping remote valves active and the power steering smooth.

The Ex450 won’t be available until next spring, but if you are in the market for a robust tractor with some of the best diesel engine technology out there, and a drive train that’s well overbuilt, it’ll be worth the wait. Rumor has it that you can get a sneak peak at the Ex450 at the GIE Expo in Louisville later this month.

The folks at Hustler Turf of Hesston, Kansas, plan to introduce the Hustler Zeon, a clean-sheet-designed, battery-powered, zero-turning-radius mower at the Green Industry Expo in Louisville, Kentucky, later this month. They called us late last week to tell us their news, and I immediately asked whether I might take a pre-Louisville look at the concept, which is just what I did today.

Wow, is about all I can say. The Zeon is a full-fledged ZTR mowing concept that is eerily quiet, simple to control, comfortable to operate and doesn’t generate a single bit of pollution directly. You don’t have to wear ear protection, breathe fumes or get all heated up while keeping the lawn lovely with this new machine. In addition to the obvious advantages of electric, this mower has many fewer moving parts than its hydro/mechanically motivated counterparts and is simple to build and to maintain. Gone are belts, hydraulic hoses and controls, pulleys, PTO clutches and other bits and pieces that require routine maintenance and adjusting. In their place, the Zeon uses a pair of DC motors to drive the cutting blades directly and a pair of microprocessor-controlled AC motors to control the drive wheels. Speed and direction are controlled with a pair of levers, as with most ZTR mowers. When the mowing is finished, just plug the machine into a standard outlet, and it will be ready for work the next time you need it.  

The Zeon is rated to easily mow an acre on a single charge. An integrated battery minder will shut the deck off when the juice gets critically low to leave enough energy to bring the mower back to the shed for a recharge.

Zeon pricing hasn’t been determined, but expect the initial 48-volt 42-inch cut, side-discharge deck equipped model to be priced competitively with similarly-sized high quality ZTRs.