It's starting to feel like Christmas..........

A quote from my Farmer:  "It just doesn't feel like Christmas until you tromp through the woods, murder a tree, take it home, stand it up in your house, and pretend that it is still alive."  This past week, we murdered our tree, so now it feels like Christmas.
My Farmer has been commenting for the last couple of years that we should just buy a fake tree, it would be much easier.  This year I told him I was OK with the idea of a fake tree.  (This is were the reverse psychology comes in.)  So every other day or so I would say, "should I go buy a fake tree?".  He would just shrug his shoulders and walk off.  Then the last time I said it, he said "well, neither one of us have ever had a fake tree for Christmas".  I stated that now that the kids are grown up and on their own, maybe it was time for a change.  That did it.  The next day we went out and murdered our tree.
My Farmer tries to be a scrooge at Christmas, but it really just isn't in him.  He really loves it.  We have had many wonderful "memorable" Christmas' together.  And a big part has always been getting the Christmas tree.  I grew up with nice Christmas trees, but my Farmer's family always had huge trees for Christmas.  So from the start, my Farmer has always gotten huge trees for us.  Which totally thrilled me.  When we moved into this smaller house, the trees had to get smaller, and I was totally OK with that.  This year, however, the tree we got is a little "full".  It takes up a lot of space, in our little living room.  But, once again, I'm OK with that, it's all a part of Christmas.  You have to be careful moving around the furniture that has been scrunched together to make room the tree, and gatherings happen in real close quarters, which we just consider important "bonding" time.
As I ponder my Farmers quote, I wasn't sure about the "pretend it's still alive" part (I know it's not alive, silly).  But as I look at our tree twinkling with lights, adorn with ornaments collected from years past, it really does seem to sing out  "Believe! I am Alive".  And if you think about it, is that what the spirit of Christmas is all about? 

We, here on the farm, are believing and wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas.

Seven Layer Cookies

This recipe is so easy and so yummy!  Give it a try...........
Seven Layer Cookies 
2/3 cup margarine or butter
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup coconut
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup chopped nuts
Melt margarine in 9x13 pan.  Cover with cracker crumbs.  Add remaining ingredients in layers in order as listed above.  Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.  cool and cut.

 Enjoy!

Thanksgiving week

Wow, time has been flying once again.  It's been almost 2 weeks since I sat down to blog.  Not much excitement going on so I thought I would just show what my Thanksgiving week was like.  We hosted my Farmers family this year for the holiday, which meant I had to clean house.  And as you know, this is my least favorite chore.  I think finding the time to clean is a chore in itself.  To be honest, it might not be so much as finding the time to clean as finding the want to clean. But anyways, my week went like this......

Monday.....Took an old cow down to the sale, which is a three hour drive one way.  We left early in the morning, and got back at feeding time, just as it was getting dark.  No cleaning got done.
Tuesday......I gave my Farmer specific instructions not to bother me, I was cleaning house.  And I did......kind of........2 rooms anyhow.
Wednesday.......The one dry day we were suppose to have so we decided it was the day to work the calves.  We were done early afternoon, so I had a little time to clean house, after I ran to town for that last minute shopping. (well, actually, I took my mom with me and we went out for coffee, but don't tell)
Thursday......Turkey Day!  I did manage to finish knocking down the cobwebs in the house the night before.  But after everyone arrived, I'm not sure anyone noticed if the house was clean or not.  We had a wonderful meal and ended the evening by watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, which has become a family tradition.
Friday......Black Friday!  Of course we had to hit the stores at 7:30!  Black Friday shopping in our town, evidently, does not start real early.  The one store, besides the groceries stores, that was open that early, only had one car in the parking lot and I think it belonged to an employee.  So there was no getting run over or getting zapped with a stun gun here.  Then we went to a coffee shop and had to wait until 10 o'clock for any other stores to open.  We decided we were hungry and just went home.  Then that afternoon we went Christmas tree hunting.  It was such a great time, and it was such a beautiful day to be up in the mountains.  We ended the evening with a huge bon fire.  And I mean HUGE!!!  We had been stock piling all the tree limbs from last springs cleaning (and through out the summer) and lite it off.  It was great!
Saturday......Small business day.  Yep, had to go shopping again to support the small businesses.  We would have done this on Friday, but they weren't open early in the morning so we had to go back.
Sunday......Everyone left, so I slept.  It was much needed, believe me.  My Farmer worked, but that was his choice.  (He got his nap in during Saturdays shopping.)  My choice was to sleep.  I think I deserved it.  That's what I told myself anyhow.
So that pretty much sums up my holiday week.  Busy, but great fun.  I hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving too! I thought I would end with a picture of our fire.  It was pretty awesome.  If you look real close, you can see people in the back ground.....way back.  It was putting off some pretty good heat. 

Tied to the Ranch for the Winter.............

I took my camera over to the corral and snapped some pictures of our weaned calves. You can see the mommas in the background behind the fence.  We actually just rebuild this corral fence last year, so this years weaning process has been a test for the fence.  And it past!!

These are the cute little critters I blogged about last spring.  Growing up so fast.  I personally don't think they are cute anymore.  We will keep these critters in a pen and feed them some good hay until about February, then we will sell them. 

Ok, so maybe they are still kind of cute.  But with the weaning of the calves, comes the end of the "get away together" time for my Farmer and me.  No long vacations for us. (like we really do that, but a girl can dream) There are only 2 windows of opportunity during the year when we are not tied to the ranch and can get away together for more than 12  hours; in the spring when the cows are back on grass and we haven't started irrigating, and in the fall when the irrigation has stopped and we have not begun feeding the cattle.  (Oh ya, if it rains TONS during the summer, we can get away.)  We are the only ones here on the ranch now, so one of us has to be here to feed.  I really enjoy going places with my Farmer, especially when we get to spend the night away, go see a movie, go out to dinner, do some shopping, and just in general relax together.  Oh wait,  that last part didn't really go together, shopping with my Farmer and relaxing.  As memory serves me, it's really not that relaxing shopping with him (unless it's equipment shopping, which then is not relaxing for me cuz that just means big $$$).  Ok, the longer I think about it, it really means he has to be here to feed.  He's just fine by himself, and I will do just fine by myself shopping, seeing a movie, eating out, and coming home the next day.  Yep, second thought, I'm totally OK with that.  To bad he's tied to the ranch........but that's life, the farm life that is.

Sorting Cattle and Layering Wardrobe

We're a little late weaning our calves this year, but we finally got it done.  We brought the cows and calves to the corral, sorted off the calves and worked the cows.  When we wean our calves, we use the nose to nose method.  That means that the cows are on the outside of the pen that the calves are in.  They can not get to each other, (unless they tear the fence down, which can happen, and it has happened) but they can touch noses.  Supposedly this method keeps the stress level down.  We will let the calves settle down for a few days before we vaccinate them, which also plays in with keeping the calf's stress level down which is very important.  If they get too stressed, they are more prone to sickness, which obviously is not a good thing.  But we did go ahead and vaccinate the cows while we had them in the corral. 
Over the years, I have learned the importance of a layering wardrobe when working outdoors this time of year.  I started the morning out with all my winter layers on and my new non-fashion statement boots.  But knowing that the weather could change at any minute, (and it did) before I headed to the corral, I packed extra items with me that could not be layered.  Since I was wearing my non-fashion statement boots, I took my Muck boots, and my Georgia work boots.  I also had 3 hats, my warm fussy one with ear muffs, my beanie hat, and my John Deere baseball hat (this was in all hopes the sun would shine).  And I had 4 pairs of gloves, my warm leather mittens, liners for inside my mittens, warm rubber gloves, and of course my nice fitting leather gloves.  (I have a thing about gloves, but that's a blog all in itself)  I felt I was totally prepared for what ever the weather did.   And believe me, I stripped off layers, changed hats and gloves, and put back on layers, a million times that day.  And my new non-fashion statement boots, (I guess I had better find out the real name of them, so I can call them correctly) were wonderful and very warm, but they do have one draw back.  They are very heavy.  I'm glad I had some lighter boots to change into!  I think by the time I wear those boots all winter, my legs will be looking SO GOOD!  That's livin' the life, the farm life that is........................

Them boots are made for .......working

Here is a picture of my Farmer trenching the ditch that the cable will be put in for the pivot.  (and in the back ground is the stuff that has to be moved.)

Here is a picture of me watching my Farmer trench the ditch.   Such a glamorous picture of me.  I was freezing my ass off.  My top part was OK (plenty of layers), just the bottom half was dressed wrong.   The boots I'm wearing are my muck boots,  which are wonderful and I dearly love, but they get cold after a while when it is below freezing.  So the next day I went to town and bought some new warmer boots.  I picked out a really pretty pair, but then my Farmer informed me that I needed practical boots for working in, not boots to make a fashion statement.  OK, Fine!  So I bought the practical pair.  They feel really warm, are all rubber, insulated, and come clear up to my knees.  They will work really well for walking in the deep snow this winter when I go out to start my tractor.  And I have since learned that they are water proof, and maybe the reason behind my Farmers reasoning for my getting them.
We were finishing up with the trench and got into a sloppy mucking water situation.  Well, with him being on the tractor, someone had to get in the slop and do the dirty work.  (This is one reason I learned to work the tractors, but there are times that doing the dirty work is a lot less stressful than running the tractor.)  So since I had on my new non-fashion statement boots, and he just happened to be wearing plain (non water proof) work shoes, I was elected to enter the slop.  And I must say, my new shinny boots worked just fine.  My feet did not get wet and stayed warm.

 Pretty nice huh?!  These were only 2 hours old when I took this picture, see the tags are still on them.  But they served their purpose, I was still toasty warm and I was able to just stick them under the facet and wash them off.  So I guess my Farmer knew what he was talking about when he said I needed practical boots to work in.  I just think I might get lots of funny looks when I run to town to do my shopping this winter.  But ya know, that's livin' the life, the farm life that is....................

Move over, make room for progress...............

So we've gone back to working on the new pivot.  For those that have been following, we have put up the pivot, installed the pipeline to the canal, and now we are putting in the power.  As I mentioned before, there are a lot of objects on the ranch that need to be moved before our pivot can go completely around.  And some of those objects had to be moved yesterday so we could go through with the trencher for the power.  

Some things are old and kind of cool.  I think they will go into my yard for new (or old) yard art.

However, some of the items are old but not that cool.  I believe we will just take them to the scrap yard.

But the more I look at this old red truck, the more I'm thinking that maybe we should keep it.  I'm thinking it reminds me of something from the Pixar movie Cars.  But then when I look around, we have a lot of these old trucks and we probably do not need to keep all of them  Heck, with the price of metal right now, I could probably scrape them all and have enough money to put a darn good down payment on a new pickup truck.

There's a lot of junk in this picture!  And it all has to be moved.  And this is only a small part!  There's the old spud cellar, more trucks, old equipment, and this list goes on and on.  Remember, my Farmers family has been here for 100 years, and they did not throw anything away!  But we did get things moved so the trencher can go through.  But we haven't hauled anything off.  My farmer is figuring on doing that this winter.  Hopefully before the snow gets too deep.  And the more I think about it, I think it is a good idea to scrape all of the old trucks, but instead of a new pickup, I'm thinking I would look better in a new shinny sports car!  Yep, that's what I need.  It would make livin' the farm life wayyyy better.................

The Legend of Bergie...........

You ever heard of the traveling plate?  You know, someone gives you a plate with goodies and after you empty it, you refill it and pass it on.  Well we have a similar custom with some really good friends of ours, only it's not with a plate of cookies.  It's a stump of wood. Yep, you read it right.  And it gets better.  The stump of wood has a name.  Bergie.  We have been trading Bergie back and forth for over a year now.  Yep, we are a little weird, but let me give you a little background.  It happened one weekend while we were camping.  Our friend was cutting firewood with a chainsaw, and decided to try his hand at chainsaw carving. (We did tell him not to quit his day job)  There was a lot a discussion on what he had carved, an eagle, a bear, or an alien, but what ever it was suppose to be really didn't matter, cuz Bergie was born.  His full name is Bergie Shirdorf.  (yep, there was alcohol involved)  Our friends took Bergie home to do a few touch ups, and a few weeks later he appeared in our yard on my birthday.  I guess it was suppose to be a birthday present, but I just didn't feel right keeping Bergie all to myself.  He seemed to be missing our friends.  So after a few months, we returned him to our friends house, (when they weren't home of course), and so started the traveling Bergie.  The reason I am sharing this story with you is that Bergie has returned to our house.  Evidently while we were gone, (we have to remember never to tell our friends when we are leaving) they snuck into our house and put Bergie in the bathroom, behind the shower curtain.  They did put caution tape on the door, warning us, but I didn't get it.  It wasn't until my Farmer opened up the curtain to shower that we discover Bergie.  And yes he did scream.  My Farmer, not Bergie, or at least I think it was him.  

Yep, that's Bergie.  Ain't he cute?  Well, maybe not, but he kind of grows on ya after awhile. I think he looks like Alf, the alien from a TV show in the '80's.
So now we have Bergie, and I want to come up with a very creative way to return him. So I am asking my followers for any idea's.  So far Bergie has worn Mardi Gras attire, a Santa hat, Bunny ears, an Indian feather, and now the witches hat. I would LOVE for you to help me out.  Just leave me a comment with your ideas.  I could hold a contest and give the winner a prize.  But I'm not ready for that, so if I pick your idea, you will just have to be happy with bragging rights.  Until next time, I'm livin' the farm life, and Bergie is too, for now anyhow............

Spud Harvest

We dug potatoes last week.  It took us a whole 2 hours to harvest our potato crop.  It took longer to hook up to the digger then it did to dig them.  Yep, that's me picking up the spuds.  I finally got my Farmer to snap a picture of me working so I could post it.

 Here is my Farmer in the tractor starting down the potato rows.  He is pulling the cross-over digger.  This machine digs 2 rows at a time.  

 As the blades go down in the ground under the potatoes, the dirt and potatoes go up a chain that has a slight bounce to it.  As it all travels up the chain, the dirt sifts out, leaving the potatoes on the chain.

Then the potatoes fall onto another chain that is crossing over in another direction.  This chain then drops the potatoes on the ground.  Typically, the spuds would drop between 2 un-dug rows and then another digger would come along and pick up the two un-dug rows along with the dug potatoes, so 4 rows total.  The spuds then travel up the chains on that machine and eventually travel up a conveyor that dumps them into a truck.  Since we only have a few to dig, we skip this last part.  No big digger and no spud truck.  We just pick them up by hand and put them in sacks to store in the potato cellars.  And now instead of filling the cellars with 30+ semi-loads of potatoes, we put a pickup load in.  It also seems pretty crazy to use the one machine for such a small amount of spuds, but we have it so we use it.  And it does go faster than just using a shovel.   

This is me admiring a nice baker.  This is something my Farmer's grandpa did.  I can still picture him standing beside the sorting table, watching the potatoes go by, and when he spotted that perfect baker he would pick it up, and start gently rubbing the dirt off, almost as if he was petting it.  He knew how hard it was to grow a nice crop of spuds, so he would take the time to admire a nice looking potato.  He took a lot of pride in our potato crops.  I think he is the reason we still grown the large garden spot of potatoes that we do.  I believe it's my Farmers way (and mine too) of staying connected to his family heritage.

Potato Chip Cookies

Recipe #1 in honor of potato harvest.   I got this recipe from a country magazine a long time ago.  This cookie tastes a lot like the pecan shortbread cookies you buy at the store.  yum yum.....


Potato Chip Cookies -makes 7 dozen
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 sticks butter or margarine
2 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup crushed potato chips
1 tsp baking soda
3 cups flour
1 cup pecans (or walnuts)
Mix all ingredients together well and roll into balls the size of a walnut.  Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, pressing down with the palm of your hand or a fork.  Bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees.

Down time means Domestic duty time............

There's not much going on around our farm these days.  My farmer is delivering hay with the semi-truck and that does not require my help, so that leaves me with time to do my domestic duties.  Which I pretty much hate dislike greatly.  My mother told me as I was growing up that I should never hate anyone or anything, so I came to just dislike greatly those things that I hate.  And one of them is housework.  I would so rather be out helping my Farmer than doing housework.  However, if I don't do the domestic duties, they don't get done. (was that a double negative?)  Now don't get me wrong, my Farmer does help me out around the house.  Just ask him.  However he does drawn the line at;  laundry, vacuuming, dusting, mopping, dishes.......you get it.  Oh wait, I think he did do the dishes one day 5 months ago.  And as far as the laundry, he does create that, and very well I might add.  But that's OK, he does the farm work and I will do the house work. So as I am doing my housework, I'm thinking about my blog and what I can blog about when there's not much happening around here.  And I decided I would share recipes.  Lots of people out there blog about cooking and share recipes so I might as well join in.  My recipes are usually very simple.  If it's not simple, I probably won't make it.  And I am really not into making fancy things.  My Farmer is pretty much a meat and potatoes kind of guy so that's basically my cooking style.  So next time you stop by my blog to check out what's new, if there's not much going on around the farm, I'll be sharing a recipe.  But first I had better finish my housework.  I've been working all summer off of the philosophy, "Don't fret about it, it'll still be there tomorrow".  And yep, the housework is still there, only deeper. 

Losing Weight for a Cow is Different than Losing Weight for a Woman

The Challenge
I found out about a 90 day health challenge a while back and it is awesome!  I took on the challenge and it is one of the best things I have done for myself (and my Farmer) in a long time.  Not only do we feel healthier, we have both lost weight and have more energy.  I am so excited about the results that we have experienced and the results so many others are experiencing that I am sharing it with everyone I know, (and don't know for that matter).  As I am losing weight, I am reminded of a story from a few years back involving my Farmer.  It was one of those times when he should have just thought his thought and not said it out loud, but he did, and it was kind of funny, so here goes.
Where's the duct tape!
We ran into a friend that we hadn't see for a few months and she had lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time.  As my Farmer was visiting with her,  he mentioned something regarding her weight loss.  (I had stepped away, so I was not there with the duct tape.)  He asked her if she was feeling OK, or if she had been sick.  She answered that she was fine.  (In his opinion she didn't need to lose the weight)  Then he continued on with his thoughts.  (This is where the duct tape was needed)  He stated that when he has a cow that losses a lot of weight really fast, it's usually because there's something wrong with her, which means it's time to get rid of her, so she's shipped off to the sale yard.  (See, I told you, duct tape!)
Excuses
I was shocked when he told me he said this to her.  I know he was just joking with her but still!  I informed him that was not a very nice thing to say.  This story became a little joke between me and my Farmer.  It  became the excuse I used as to why I didn't lose weight.  You know, "If I lost weight, my Farmer would just ship me off to the sale yard".  HA!
Losing Weight
Now that I am actually losing weight, this story keeps popping into my head.  My weight has been coming off,  I look healthier, and I actually have more energy.  My farmer seems to like what he sees, and with having more energy I get more work done! (could be why he likes it??)  So, I'm really not worried about being sold off or replaced.  He could never get rid of me THAT easy, cuz  I have come to like it here on the farm.  (After 31 years, I guess it grew on me.)
Lovin' Life
And so, as my saying goes, I'm livin' the life, the farm life that is, and now I'm living the Vi-Life and loving my life even more!

The Pipe Is In!!!

Well, we went from getting sunburned and dying of heat on the first day of installing the pipe to being wet and cold on the last day.  It's amazing how the weather can change so quickly.  I am just thankful that we only had one day of rain the whole time we were installing the pipe.  Here are some pictures of the pipe installation.

The first scope of dirt

view looking from the pivot center towards my house

this view is from half way to the canal looking back towards my house

Padded pipe

A very large rock that was in the path.  Now it will be yard decor at my house

 This pipe line is approximately 6200 ft.  It has enough of a drop in elevation to run on gravity, which will be wonderful.  The digging went really well.  There was enough help that I didn't have to get in the trench once to pad pipe. (I have padded pipe in the past.  In fact, that's what I was doing on the day of our 10th wedding anniversary, which I often remind my Farmer.  But that's another blog story)  I just stayed up on top and pushed the pipe closer or handed the guys things so they didn't have to get in and out of the trench to much.  Plus, I took pictures.  I also made the crew lunch everyday.  I usually choose to be involved with the field work and have never really been one to stay at home and make the meals.  But I've really been enjoying making lunch for everyone.  And then in the afternoons, my sister-in-law would bring treats out to the crew.  (and she makes wonderful treats!)  When we were digging potatoes, she would brings us goodies every day.  It became something the crew would really look forward to, and it really helped get through those long days.  So it was great to have this little ritual again.  Now that we are done with the pipe, my Farmer is really going to miss those goodies (and I'm sure the other guys will too).  And I guarantee that I will not be making treats for him like that everyday!   So the pipe is in, except for hooking it up to the canal.  And then the next step is removing things that are in the way of the pivot going around in a complete circle.  Like some trees, old machinery, the shop, power poles, you know just stuff.   This step might take a little while, but heck, we have all winter to get it done.........

A Shinny new item arrives at our farm.....So Exciting!

Things have been very exciting around here lately.  We have been installing a new pipeline and pivot.  We have been wanting to do this project for a long time and now it is finally happening.  It's a pretty spendy project, but in the long run, it will save us time and money.  I wanted to share this with everyone, so I grabbed my camera to capture it in pictures.  My mother-in-law has always taken pictures when a new structure goes up on the farm.  It's really cool to look back through her pictures and see the steps from beginning to end.  So that was my goal with this pivot installation.  The following picture is one I took looking out across the field of where the pivot will go as I was waiting for the truck to arrive that was hauling the pivot.  My Farmer thought I was really crazy for wanting to take a picture of the truck, but I wanted to document every step, and the arrival is the first step. 

Waiting for the truck.  The sun has just peaked over the mountain.

waiting for the truck

still waiting for the truck

I guess I was a little anxious, cuz I had to wait quite a while before the truck arrived, so I just kept taking pictures of the field.  But hey, it was a gorgeous morning.

 Yep, still waiting for the truck, so we might as well check to see if the oats are ready to harvest.

Yea, it's here!!!  I was so excited!  I'm sure the truck driver thought I was totally a crazy woman out there taking pictures of him arriving but oh well.  I gave him coffee so I'm sure he forgot about the picture taking crazy lady.

There it goes, turning into our field.  So exciting!!!  Are you feeling the excitement too?

 This picture is from the center of the pivot looking out across the field.  The truck drives along thru the field and the workers lay out the pipe and all the pieces along the way.  When everything is laid out, they go back and put it all together. 
                                   
This picture is what had been completed at the end of the first day.  The next day I had errands to do in town, and by the time I got home around 3:00 the pivot was all up and done.  It was so amazing how fast they put it up!  I was totally bummed to not have pictures of this process, but oh well, it's up and looking pretty shinny.

AWESOME!!!

 Now we are installing the pipe line that will carry the water from our canal to the center pivot.  This does go a little slower, and I am getting more pictures of it. So once I get a break, I will be posting pictures of the pipeline installation.  So fun and exciting!!!!

Gathering around the Fire Pit.............

 

Well, Labor Day has come and gone, and by the most part so has the summer.  The end of summer vacations and the end of playing in the sun.  Here on the farm, we really do not get summer vacations, and our playing in the sun is really  "working" in the sun.  Labor day to us means this crop year is coming to a close, and we finally get to slow down a little.  We have spent all summer working hard at growing our crops.  Most of the hay is cut and stored away, the oats are almost ready to harvest,  the cows are fat and happy, and those cute little baby calves are not longer little.  We are sooo ready for some down time.  But back to summer.  Not taking summer vacations was one of the hardest things for me to adjust to when I married my Farmer.  Growing up, my family always went camping for 2 weeks every summer, so I really missed camping.  Since this was pretty much out of the question, we did the next best thing.  We brought the camp ground to us.  We put a fire pit in our yard. Over the years, this has been one of the best things we have ever done.  When our boys were little, we would even roll out our sleeping bags and camp out by the pit on those warm nights.  Until the skunks showed up, then it was back inside.  (but that's another story)  All of our summer gatherings are around our fire pits (all of our families have pits in the back yards).  And our pits are not just little things.  They are made from truck wheels or tractor wheels.  And we have gotten very good at cooking on the pit.  My Farmer is famous for his BBQ ribs, and I've even cooked pizza on the pit, but never tried again. We love cooking breakfast over the fire.  We have cooked breakfast on the fire pit for our class reunions.  On Labor day, we have a large family gathering here at the ranch, and a lot of the cooking is done on the fire pit.  Here are some pictures.

Pancakes on the griddle, nothing better......

 

Breakfast is done, ring the dinner bell!!!

evening gathering....nice fire......

Trying to savor these last summer days, we have been cooking every meal this week on a fire pit, at someones house.  Like I said, we have slowed down a bit, so now we can enjoy it!  And whats better than sitting around a fire with family and friends and enjoying each others company. Nothing!! SO if you are ever in our neck of the woods, stop by and we'll put a log on the fire, throw on some beef steaks to cook, pop open a cold one, and tell each other some stories.  THAT'S what livin' the farm life is all about....................and I'm lovin' it!!

pork steak and new potatoes and onions

If you've got some fireside stories, I would love to hear them.  Just them me a comment.  Thanks!

And The Cow Jumped Over The.............Pivot?

NOW for a cow story.  In the summer, we really do not do much with our cattle.  Other than just checking on them now and then, moving them from pasture to pasture, and making sure they have salt, that's about it. They are content just grazing on the grass in the fields, soaking up the sun. They are pretty much "happy cows".  (I had to add that on behalf of ....well you know who you are......wink wink)    The other day, my Farmer was in the pasture where the cows are and started the pivot. 
  As he was riding along the pivot making sure it was moving and everything was good, he came upon one of the pivot towers, and there was a cow stuck on top of the cross member.  Evidently she had tried to jump over the cross member, which connects the wheels, and got stuck.

pivot tower and cross member

  Now this cow is pretty lazy, because it would have taken her maybe 10 steps to get around it.  But no, she wanted to the other side quicker, so she jumped (or attempted to).  So as my Farmer rides up to this cow, he figures that she has been there a while, because all of the grass in front of her, within her reach, was eaten.  As the pivot starts to move, taking the cow with it, (remember she is high centered on it) she becomes a happy cow again, cuz now there is new fresh grass in front of her.  So she just starts eating again!  The heck with trying to get off.  Well, she probably was hungry, and this way she didn't have to walk to fresh grass.  Anyway, my Farmer is watching and trying to figure out how to get her off without getting her hurt and without tearing up the wiring and the gear box on the pivot cross member.   So he calls for help.  But, he does not ask me to come and help or even tell me whats going on, he just asks me to send our son (he was home visiting) out to the field. He did say send a camera with him.  (I guess I should have taken this as a clue, next time I'll know)  In the mean time, he has also called a friend (we will refer to him as my Farmer's Farmer Friend) to see if he might have any ideas on how to remove a cow from a pivot.  Never having seen this before, Farmer Friend says he'll be right there and is first to arrive to help.  After some debating and studying, and just as my son enters the field with the camera, Farmer Friend spooks the cow and off she jumps.  Just like that!  Nothing was torn up or hurt in the process.  Except me, cuz they left me out of the ordeal.  Evidently, my Farmer didn't tell me what was going on cuz he didn't want me to blog about it.  Now would I do that?? (yep)  At least they could have waited until my son was there with the camera before they spooked the cow.  That picture would have been so cool!  I think that was a little narrow minded of them, don't ya think?  My Farmer should always think of me and my blog first.  After all, I am making him famous now aren't I.............? 

Time to Bale that Hay..............

My Farmer servicing the baler.

Now on to baling.  Baling the hay is the tricky part.  You don't want it to dry or to wet.  If you bale it to wet it will mold and if it is really wet, it can get hot and actually burn.  Not a good thing.  We let the hay get dry, which usually takes 3 to 4 days, and then bale it in the evening with a little dew on it.  The dew helps  hold the hay together and keeps the alfalfa leaves from shattering.  However, when the dew gets to heavy, we have to stop.  Our balers have moisture sensors in the bale chamber that measures the moisture content of the hay and displays it in the tractor.  Very seldom do I run the baler.  I can, but luckily I don't have to very much.  We have two balers, one makes small bales, and one makes big bales.  The small bales usually average around 110 pounds, and the larger bales are 3X3's and they average around 950 pounds.    

This is our big baler picking up the windrow of hay

This is our little baler.

Here's Pete trying to lay in the shade of the bale.

 After the hay is baled, the last step is hauling it to the barn.  We use a stacker wagon to do this, and we actually use it for both kinds of bales.  The machine picks up the little bales by itself as you drive along. 

To stack the big bales, we load them on to the stacker with a fork lift.

Yep, that's my Farmer wearing shorts.....it was really hot that day!!

OK, so now all the hay is put away, and we have a break for a little while until it is ready to harvest the 2nd cutting.  Which, by the way, is now.  Not much of a break, but oh well, we'll live with it.  That's "livin' the farm life"...........Gotta love it!!!!!!