Days of Thankfulness on the Family Farm-Day 5

Day 5-A SHOP

About seven years ago we got a ginormous gift.  Nope, I’m not talking about this adorable brown-eyed blondie. I’m talking about the opportunity to build a heated shop on our farm. At that time, I didn’t live on the farm, but lived 5 miles away in a little farm house that was away from all of the action, therefore I didn’t realize the gravity of building a heated shop. 

I had, on numerous occasions seen my hubs and his dad, laid out on the gravel under equipment.  I had seen them washing equipment in all sorts of weather.  I had seen them in the snow and cold have to do all kind of things that made me glad NOT TO BE  A FARMER!  Mostly because I hate the cold!  Don’t get me started on the horrible memories of sledding as a child.  Maybe my mom didn’t dress me right, but good gravy it was awful!  The guys however, never seemed to mind or complain.

I do know that when this shop was completed, their lives changed a great deal.  Now they can wash equipment in the relative heat of the shop, they can pull a semi over a big pit, go down the steps of the pit and turn the light on and work on the underbelly without frozen wrists or rain in their face or gravel in their hind ends. 

This shop is a game changer you could say.

They still have to work out in the elements, they still have to get wet and dirty and they still have to work long, hard hours, but at least some of their work can be done in a better environment and I know they are thankful for that. 

Now let’s get to the Farmer’s Wife part of this story… this shop has been a blessing to our family in many ways!  I mean, who can turn 5 and have a cowgirl party inside in the middle of a snowstorm in January?  My girl can!

We had hay bales and a pretend fire!  Twenty some kids were there with plenty of room to blow off some winter steam. Yee-to-the-haw! See that boy in the middle, with the adorable little Wrangler jeans on?  For the love, those cheeks!

   Her farmer dad and grandpa helped corral cowgirls and cut pink cake.  The steel workbench doubled as a gift table, the Snap-On chest was the coat holder.  It was a down right success of a party and we had 20 sweaty cowpoke after the hay treasure hunt and the roping contest! 

Because of the heated shop, each cowgirl even got a chance to ride…..a REAL LIVE PONY!  He’s a miniature horse actually, but they all called poor Shrinky Dink a pony and most giggled as they got a photo taken in front of the semi which doubled as a corn field backdrop. 

 

Since then, our shop has served as the locale of various other parties, dinners as well as middle of the winter campground and  bike racetrack.  It allows the kiddos to hang with their dad, uncle and grandpa while they are working.  It allows us a place to play a family pick-up game of basketball and it allows us to be together and enjoy our life here on the Family Farm, just a little bit more! 

 

Yee Haw for heated shops and pink ostrich crepe soled boots.  Life on the farm…just as it is!

 

Want to start at the beginning? Day 1

Want to follow along and learn more about farming and food? Click on over to 30 Days on a Prairie Farm Series.

LiveJournal Tags: 30 days of thankful,farm shop,party

30 Days of Thankfulness on the Family Farm-Day 4

Day 4-Playground Equipment

 

We actually own a swing set.  We own a sandbox or two as well.  We own a million balls, pogo sticks, soccer goals and the like.  But this my friends, is the one of the most popular pieces of playground equipment we own.  It’s a hopper bottom for a semi.  The corn goes in from the top via auger wagon and it gets dumped out the bottom of the trailer into a pit or an auger that takes the corn into the bin or the elevator.

What’s totally irresistible to the 6-7 year old boy set is that it is slick as snot-on-a-popsicle on the inside! AND…. it’s slanty!  So if you take off your shoes and you are wearing a nice soft pair of sweat pants you can spend all day climbing up and sliding down the hoppers.  When you are tired with sliding down the front half, you move on back and slide around on the back. 

This makes for really dirty sweatpants and socks that need to be pitched.  It didn’t take me long to learn, when the semi is parked in the shed and I can’t find the boys after repeatedly calling them, ringing the dinner bell and giving our signature “whoop whoop” call, then I should climb my hiney up into a hopper bottom where I’m likely to find a couple of really dirty, but really happy little boys.  Life on the farm, you can’t beat it with a stick.

 

Want to start at the beginning? Day 1

Want to follow along and learn more about farming and food? Click on over to 30 Days on a Prairie Farm Series.

LiveJournal Tags: 30 days of thankful,kids,life on the farm

30 Days of Thankfulness-Day 3

Day 3-HELP!!!

Okay, so go to my FACEBOOK page and “like the page.” When you do that, you’ll get a link in your newsfeed each time I post, so if you care to read my ramblings, you won’t get behind:)

We have THE BEST people that help us on our farm.  I am so incredibly thankful for the crazy hours they put in to harvest and plant the crop and to do all the junk in between.  Yes, they get paid for their hours, but it’s an insane time commitment to work with this family and I’m glad we have such a great crew that chooses to come back year after year.  I just may have to post about some more of them in the days to follow.  This is the photo I came to first, so you win boys.

Now these two, I’m especially thankful for.  These two are my brothers.  It’s so incredibly nice for the Green Family to take them on and let them work here on our farm and you know what…they get to do WHATEVER THEY WANT, because they go with me, which makes them family!

IF YOU BELIVIE the above, you would not be the first.  These two guys are life long friends of my husband.  They grew up here in our small town with the hubs.  THEY ARE NOT MY BROTHERS.  Several years ago there was a rumor going around within the crew that they were my brothers and that’s why they got their dinners first or something like that.  We all have chuckled about this mishap for several years now.  When you are around these two, you are ALWAYS chuckling about something, anything actually. They are really sumpthin’! They are one of a kind (well, two of a kind.)

These two actually are brothers, if you haven’t noticed, they are twins.  They both have off farm jobs and pretty hefty civic duties in our town.  Let me brag a minute about my bros…one is Mayor and one is Park Board President. Somehow they find time on weekends and weeknights during the busy season to help us farm.  They love to work and their kids do too! One of their sons knows more about our semi line-up than I do (though that’s not really anything to brag about) but this kid is really schooled in the world of Heritage Farms Semi fleet! I’m very thankful for the relationship our family has with these two and their families!

Sometimes family isn’t defined by blood, but by love!  Love ya Bros!

(That looks really weird in print. Let’s try it this way)…thanks guys for being great guys with great wives and fantastic kids that we can’t imagine life without.  

Geesh, sappy, but it’s a thankfulness post right?  I’m thankful.

 

Want to start at the beginning? Day 1

Want to follow along and learn more about farming and food? Click on over to 30 Days on a Prairie Farm Series.

 

LiveJournal Tags: 30 days of thankful,friends

30 Days of Thankfulness on the Family Farm-Day 2

Day 2-Abundance

“Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase.” (Psalm 85:12)

As we are coming out of the harvest season here on our farm and I’m am sharing what I am thankful for, I just have to point out the obvious. I’m thankful for our abundant harvest. 

Year and year after year, farmers all over this world plant one little corn kernel that magically turns into 650-750 kernels. 

Let’s multiply for fun:

We plant roughly 36,000 kernels of corn per acre and we get 23,400,000-27,000,000 kernels of corn from harvesting that acre.

 

 

 

To me, though I’ve been a farmer’s wife now for 14 years and have seen 15 or 16 crops years come and go, I am still in awe of that blessing. 

Semi load after semi load of corn is hauled out of the fields at harvest time.    Even on a low-yielding year like this year, it is still astounding that this occurs. Though much care is taken to ensure that the crop has the best conditions we can offer and the best care and protection we can provide, it’s nothing short of a gift from God that we are blessed with such abundance. I for one, am grateful. 

Monsanto (save the sighs) has set forth a general goal for corn producers to produce a national average of 300 bushel of corn per acre by 2030.  This is an attempt to keep up with the pace of our growing world population.  We need to feed this population in some way and agriculturalists all over the world are striving to meet this goal.  Equipment manufacturers are doing their part to produce equipment that reduces compaction and does the job faster and more efficiently.  Seed companies are continually working on seeds that are more resistant to pests, weather and soil conditions and produce higher yields.  Chemical companies are doing their part to produce chemicals that will increase yields and farmers are doing their part by researching and implementing the best practices to be used on their properties’ unique conditions in order to increase yields. 

My Farmer Husband (not FORMER Husband) takes this very seriously.  He feels a real responsibility to do his part in the plight for Food, Fuel and Fiber.    With a passion like that paired with blessings unfolding each year in front of our eyes, how can we not feel thankful to live on a family farm?

 

Want to start at the beginning? Day 1

Want to follow along and learn more about farming and food? Click on over to 30 Days on a Prairie Farm Series.

LiveJournal Tags: 30 days of thankful,corn,harvest

30 Days of Thankfulness on a Family Farm-Day 1

Day 1-The Hubster

 

Oh Dear!  If you know me at all, you may know:
     1. I'm pretty spontaneous
     2. I get myself in jams often
     3. I am a "Yes Girl"
     4. I'm a joiner
     5. I'm a sharer of information
     6. I'm kind of an open book
     7. I wear my very emotional life right there on my sleeve for all to see

And, if you know me, you won't be at all surprised that I've signed up to blog 30 out of 30 days in November!  Whoa! 

This, from a very sporadic blogger even in optimal conditions.
This, from a person who is currently doing a full time long-term substitute job.
This, is from a person who has two big kids involved in too many activities in the evenings.
This, is from a person who has a two-year old to drag to said activities.
This, is from a person who has a husband that works from 6:30 am-10:00 pm most days and 6-7 days a week!

Hey, why not blog EVERY SINGLE DAY for a month.  Bring it!

I am hooking up with Holly Spangler from Prairie Farmer on this little journey.  There are other bloggers that signed up before November 1 of this venture and if you click on the link you can find links to their blogs as well. Sign up early?  Not me, I'm spontaneous, remember?! I signed up November 1 at 5pm.

My topic is about looking for the blessings and the reasons to be thankful while farming with your family.  (or my husband's family actually)

So today, November 1=DAY 1 and I am thankful for the reason I am working with my husband's family on a family farm...

 

MY HUSBAND. 

Let's refer back to the list above describing myself as we examine my second half.

If you know my husband at all, you may know:

1. He is not super spontaneous
2. He does get in jams often, but you would never know it
3. He's a "depends on the weather" kind of person when it comes to committing to anything.
4. He's not pressured to be a joiner, but he's not a loner either (thankfully!)
5. He's not  a big sharer of information (unless you're talking fertilizer, yield maps, pivots, you know, farm stuff.)
6. He's SO NOT AN OPEN BOOK
8. His emotional life is very steady.  No major highs and no major lows.

Thankfully his list compliments my list very well and he is able to help me out of situations in which I over committed myself and he talks me off of the emotional cliff when I'm wound up about XY and Z and he is steady and there and calm and honest as the day is long.  He's always living his advice to "do the right thing, even when it's hard."  He is a man of integrity and I'm glad he brought me back here for this life on the family farm.
Want to read the whole series? 30 Days of Thankfulness On a Family Farm
Day 1-The Hubster
Day 2-Abundance
Day 3-HELP!!!
Day 4-Playground Equipment
Day 5-A SHOP
Day 6-USA
Day 7-Point of View
Day 8-Sharing the Love of the Farm
Day 9-The Best of Both Worlds
Day 10-Rain, It’s A Love/Hate Relationship
Day11-Veteran’s Day

Day 12-Crafting Time on the Farm

Day 13-Romantic Afternoons With My Main Squeeze

Day 14-The Circle of Life on the Farm

Day 15-Raise Your Hands for Concession Stands

Day 16-Whoops

Day 17-Small Town Living

Day 18-Itty Bitty Bits

Day 19-Baby Daddy’s and Dilly Bars

Day 20-Dedication

Day 21-Crazy Boyz Down on the Farm

Day 22- Thanksgiving & No Shave November

Day 23-Thanksgiving-What’s the Point?

Day 24-Opportunities on the Farm

Day 25-Farm Dogs

Day 26-Party It Up on the Farm

Day 27-Elf on the Shelf Goes Country

Day 28-Farm Kids and Their Love of Animals

Day 29-My First (and possibly only) Printable

Day 30-

Want to follow along and learn more about farming and food? Click on over to 30 Days on a Prairie Farm Series.

LiveJournal Tags: 30 days of thankful,family,farming

Drainage Down On The Farm

 

 

 

Something new to our farm within the last few years is tiling.  I'm gonna be honest here, this is some boring stuff in my mind, but I know it's important, and afterall, my man is into it, so.....I'm into it....errr well kinda.

 

We have always tiled, but until recently, we have had a tiling company do it.  Well, things are changing and due to accessability of GPS and an intense interest in drainage from my husband, we have started doing our own tiling.

 

Drainage is a WEIRD thing to take on as a hobby, but I marreid a hard-core farmer and I guess that's par for the course.  Several years ago, I kept finding him watching videos and reading articles about tile plows and GPS and grid systems and pipe.  Some guys have Fantasy Football and Justin has tile plows!  To each his own I guess.

 

This is a quick pic from a field that they were working on this week.  When I take pictures of this kind of stuff, I try to get the big picture, showing the angles and the guys etc. to add a little excitement.  This my friends, is excitement to him and he sent me this picture to share with all of you! You are floored by the spectacle of it, I can tell! 

 

They "lay tile" into these trenches that they have carefully planned throughout a field in order to direct the excess  rainwater off of the field.  The "pipe" is HUGE BLACK PLASTIC tubes.  So to me, it's not "tile" and it's not "pipe," it's plastic tubes!  Historically drainage tile was actually made from tile,  hence the name.

 

They have a tile plow that is pulled behind a tractor that digs the trenches guided by GPS. It picks up the tile that has been laid on the ground by my dear brother in law.   The tile is guided into the trench and the dirt falls back on top of the tile and trench!  Our man Lamar is in charge of the hard labor of hooking up the pipe to the main at the end of each row. That's a hard job man!  Kudos to you Lamar, and bummer the pipe got you in the eye the other day!

 

Then it's all ready for the ground to be worked and the pipe to do it's job during the next big rain.  If you see big puddles and ponds in a field, be assured, it is in need of a little drainage tile.  Call my man Justin.  He'll be all over it. 

 

 

How to Catch Wild Turkeys

See if you can guess what is going on here.  I think you can't comment on the blog directly because commenting is disabled.  It's on my list to figure out, just behind get rid of the 4 million gnats in my kitchen. Here are the clues:

1. We live near a small river.

2. We went on a little gator ride recently.

 

             This is my middle son, he went first, he's got courage.

3. We ran into our neighbors out in the woods as they were taking a walk too.

4.  The woods really belong to them, and they showed us this spot!

           This is my nephew.  He's pretty darn fearless. And I love him to pieces.

6. This little spot has been active in these woods for….ever?  At least for a very, very long time.

          This is my niece.  She is a tiny little thang, and I swear she is part monkey.  XOXO little doll!

7.  The neighbors built this little box several years ago.

8. Wid turkeys used to drink here.

 

          This is my oldest.  She was a little hesitant, but she did it after she saw that the boys lived. She just very well may be the smartest one of all of them!

 

Here's the answer:

This is a natural occurring spring that is in the woods.  Apparently they would shoot the turnkeys when they came to drink here.  

It looks like turkeys are still drinking from it!  These turkeys are just ALOT cuter than the wild variety.  Wait, after having these kiddos for a few days, they got a little wild too!  

Drinking from cool clear spring water while taking a stroll in the woods, helps to fill a childhood with lovely memories!  We are so thankful our neighbors share their woods with us.