Staying Cool--Farm Style

The city has fire hydrants to keep cool in the summer--we have irrigation! The kids were enjoying themselves last night in the cauliflower field next to my house.

Coming Attractions

On our walk this morning with the dogs, we checked out the veggies--Here's a sneak peek of what's coming soon!

Up, Up and Away!

We had some unannounced visitors "drop by" Saturday morning. Actually, they didn't quite land, but they sure came close! It's not unusual to see a few hot air balloons early in the morning--there is a place nearby that runs a business. One of these days, we'll go for a ride ourselves. In the meantime, they are beautiful to watch from the ground!

Old Turtle

There have been quite a few of these large turtles saved around here recently.  They seem to be seen often on roadsides...teetering on the brink of a fatal crossing.  They end up in the back of the truck...and end up near the stream or pond.

This one Chris spotted as he was headed into the field the other morning and so the kids and I went to have a look.  I have told our children many times about the plight of the giant sea turtles.  Chris and I were able to witness them lumbering up the shores of western Costa Rica to lay their eggs 11 years ago on our honeymoon.  They know that the turtles may not make it as they swim the ocean, they understand that many animals including humans relish turtle eggs, and then those tiny little turtles trying to make it back to sea...predators just waiting for those eggs to hatch.

Now...this is not a giant sea turtle, but it is a s close as Lael has ever gotten to one.  The thought of us stressing this mother snapping turtle out as she lays her eggs was very upsetting to Lael.  She would only let us get this close with the camera...we do not have a great zoom lens as you can see.

So here she is (from behind where she could not see us) laying her eggs in the middle of the hay field above the stream.  We hope her little ones make it!!!!

Beef and all that goes with it

It was a beautiful Spring Day and the kids and I went up to Pam's (our neighbor who has our cows on her pasture for parts of the season) to watch Daddy catch cows for market.

We also had to castrate two bull calves before they got too big and unruly to catch.

Connelly has always been a ca;f whisperer, so he had a go with this little guy.

Close, but he never did touch or pet this one.

Everyone else was waiting for the big moment.  Lael has the elasticator and rubber bands in her hands in the photo above.

Christopher John and Pam are watching all the men trying to catch the calves...not an easy job.

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OK Lael hand over the tools.

The elastic bands are tight...I mean really tight,  and as they give the bull calves a pinch, they cut off the blood supply to the animals testicles and they fall off within a few weeks.  Though this is surely unpleasant for the calf, it is better than an unruly testosterone laden 2500 lb bull within the year.  We spend too much time with the herd to want to risk the unpredictable behavior of a bull.

The children all understand this, they have been with these animals from birth, they understand where all their food comes from and that eating meat means taking a life.  Unlike some adults, the kids have no baggage about this issue, they love the cows, and recognize their importance to our farm..

Finally the calves are on their way to castration and the two animals that were going to the butcher were loaded.

Ice Cream's little Sundae

Our pony was really so so so good...she did not mind being dressed up like this, she did not mind a four year old wrapping her from head to toe in purple fleece polo wraps, she came when we called regardless of treats.

But Ice Cream had Sundae...and that changed everything.  I am unsure if you can train hormones, but it would seem that our new Mama needs to go back to school.

Time will tell, but somehow we had envisioned snuggling, petting and working with this lovely filly all day everyday.

That has not happened yet.

Week 3

From the Farmers…


The past week has brought back memories of 2009—rain, rain, and more rain!

While we did need a good soaking, we got a lot more, so we’re hoping the weather pattern changes in the coming week

Into the Rye!!!

This past week we just about finished our big plantings for 2010. Our sweet potato plants finally arrived from Tennessee, and they were immediately planted into the ground. Sweet potato “slips” as they are called are just leaves of the plants that are planted into the ground. Once the stem of the leaf roots, the sweet potato begins to from on the roots

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Sweet Potato Slips planted

Our storage cabbage, cauliflower, fall carrots and beets were all planted as the drops of rain began on Saturday morning.

We hope to finish mulching our peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes this week, and then we’ll just wait for the sun to come out again!

Our tomato crop (knock on wood) looks great, and we will begin the tedious job of staking and trellising this week as well.

While the veggies do need the water, they also need the heat, and so do we. We are hoping that the fields dry up enough so we can cultivate the crops with our tractors, and then get in there with hoes, knives, and hands, and kill those weeds!
Plenty of work to do….Enjoy the veggies, Chris

Beautiful Rows of Potatoes