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Singing Falls - Mohair Natural Fiber Cottage Industry
Our Oxen
Farming doesn't come easy when you are not born into it. No doubt a tremendous amount of knowledge and skill has slipped away from our society when it comes to small scale farming. An entire legacy of animal husbandry and homestead management has vaporized with the lives of people, long gone, who have ventured this way. Nonetheless there are those of us who just have this knack for swimming up stream and doing things the hard way. For two decades Alexandra and I have been gleaning old and new methods of country living in the hopes of touching the fringe of the ways of our fathers. We help it along with modern technology as long as it doesn't violate our fundamental principle to be careful with the land we are stewards of. We have a solar array waiting in the wings for the timberframe barn to be finished. Our hands are full of labors but we steadily are gaining on it.
Singing Falls is our third homesteading venture. Prior to that we lived in Montana and Colorado. Each place has had a new set of rules to govern our attempt to derive our sustenance directly from the land. We avoid the use of "chemicals" when at all possible even if it means a work intensive solution to a problem. Our ideas of living have been molded by a deep seated spirituality that we long to have permeate every aspect of our lives. Each of our homesteads has been the building block for the next. Yet we know that we have left behind us something of worth. The natural fiber cottage industry was a spontaneous and welcomed addition to our way of life.We believe in what we are doing and enjoy it very much. (Even with the hard knocks.) Let me show you around via the www. We plan on posting new pictures and information periodically.
OXEN
"The Boys", Bright and Tears, were raised from the bottle from February 1993. They aren't a perfectly matched pair (off by only inches) but they work together well. It was a thrill to train them and it is a profound experience to use their great strength to do tasks. Bright and Tears' combined weight is near 4,000 lbs. right now. They really like to work and hang around (getting into trouble) when we're involved in a project they have access to.
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Tears(spotted) is the "nigh" ox. Strong and outgoing. He likes testing the fences when not in the yoke. The nigh ox is the animal that is generally next to the ox driver. Most teamsters put the ox that needs most of the attention next to themselves. Communication is so important. One of the big tasks of training is developing a language that the oxen can understand. This is accomplished through positive and negative reinforcement of commands and an ability on the part of the oxen and the oxdriver to read body language. I have not found the old phrase, "dumb ox" applicable to my steers. They have good memories and need a little time to think.
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Bright is the "Off" ox. Strong but sensitive. Kind of shy but very friendly. To avoid illness a magnet is inserted into one of the four stomachs of each ox. This gathers any stray metal (like nails) they might eat and prevents harm. Ever since I gave Bright his magnet he looks real close at what I feed him!
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This picture of Bright and Tears is very telling. If you look closely, you will see a grain ration in their feed bowls. They attentively watch me to give them the command to eat. They are neither in the yoke nor haltered to restrain them from their food. This training is important because a very large animal like an ox can easily hurt you if it is unruly,especially at feeding time. One of the beauties of working with these animals is found in the mutual respect and trust between man and animal, something I was hard pressed to experience with my tractor. They are warm and sensitive and filled with an innate penchant to work with man. With good training these characteristics come full bloom. Bright and Tears are my first effort at such a task and I am very pleased with their forgiving ways and the fruit of my labors.
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The boys at two yrs. hanging around the dairy shed. This is everyone's favorite spot. I've got a funny feeling it has something to do with the feed bowl. These two guys have far surpassed my wildest imagination as far as their being an asset to our homestead. I've taken them places few men would walk on the high grounds of our place. They hauled heavy loads right up the mountain side. I am willing to train oxen for others. If you're interested email me and perhaps we can make some arrangements.
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Here's a picture of the "the boys", myself and the beloved Alexandra. We were at the Josephine County Historical Society grand opening of the Applegate Trail Museum, Fall of '98. I usually don't halter them when driving them but there were many people there in cramped quarters. You can see that Tears' hind quarters just about reach the top of my head and he's still growing!
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Our beautiful old intact sliding ox yoke acquired by the gracious barter of Rene' Feuille of www.greyleaf.com It's design allows for smoother work rhythm between oxen.
An "Update 2002" on my oxen is here
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