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.............?