About Our Blog

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Our blog is to inform and entertain you as we pursue our goal of starting a farm. Here we plan on recording thoughts, projects, farm additions and other note-worthy happenings. You may even see us on a magazine or two. If you would like to comment on our blog or just say "Hi" feel free to do so on our CBOX to the left.  Just enter your name and a message, then click the 'GO' button.  We were using shout-box, but had poor luck with it.  We enjoy your emails too, so don't be afraid to email us a note. Yahoo users: feel free to contact us...our profile is mn_nice_couple.  Just because we don't appear online, doesn't mean we're not.  When you send us an IM, please identify yourselves... and let us know why you're contacting us. Put yourself on the map! CLICK HERE to show us where you are in the world.

George - Our new Spanish/Boer Buck.

The Blog   

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Some days I blog w/o checking for errors - you'll know it when you read it

What is it called?
- Husked kernels.

I was given this corn.  The previous owner said it was one of the first types of corn planted in the Americas.  If you look closely, you can see that each kernel has its own husk.

I think it's Pod corn.  If it is, Pod corn is thought to have been the first type of corn ever grown. Each kernel grows in its own husk, so it is difficult to use without incorporating a lot of labor. It is raised today for scientific research.

 

Sept 30, 2008
- White ain't just a color.

Late morning brought Carol and I south of the grove.  We were hoping to plant raspberries.  As Carol was readying her plants, my sister Shelly called.  She mentioned that there was a farm auction east of us and there is a White tractor on the sale bill.  She didn't think it would go for much, since it appeared to be more of an antique type sale.

I was hoping to get the tractor for a good deal, but I was disappointed. I comfortable bid to $5000, but easily ran the bid to $6k.  The tractor was nice, so with a little convincing from the auctioneer and sister Shelly, I reluctantly bid to $7000... then I quit.  Going once... going twice... SOLD to the gentleman bidding against me.  WHEW!  I'm glad I didn't get it.  It seemed too expensive, especially with crop prices dropping like a lead balloon and the general economy in the stink.

I didn't walk away from the auction empty handed though.  I bought a 250 gal. fuel tank for the farm.  I most likely won't put fuel for it until spring, but when the need should arise, I know I won't have to buy gasoline by the 5 gallon can anymore.

After bringing the goods home from the sale, I dug 12 holes for the raspberry plants Carol had.  The same ones we were going to plant in the morning.  The two varieties we planted were June baring and Ever baring.  I don't know anything about raspberries, so maybe these are the only kinds there are.  We need still to put a little manure/straw bedding material around the plants, and we'll be done.

Later on, Carol and I went to our old house, in Raymond, to pick-up Madison from piano lessons and to harvest some apples from our little urban orchard.  We collected approx. 170+ lbs of apples.  Most of it being Haralson, but Madison and Carol grabbed a few pounds off the Crabapple trees, for jelly making.

Tonight, it's suppose to be freezing cold.  As a precaution, we draped tarps over Carol's tomatoes, peppers and her fall garden (carrots, beets & lettuce).

 

Sept 29, 2008
- Rocks for sale.

Yepper!  You read it correctly... we have rocks for sale.

An older brother of an old school buddy stopped by looking for 2ft rocks.  He's in the market for approx. 110 rocks 2' or larger, but not too large.  He wants to be the contractor for a project foe a mobile home park 30-40 miles south of us.  It seems the owner of the park is fed up with tenants driving on the grass.  His solution is to put car damaging rocks around the borders of the parking areas.

Do we have 100+ rocks for the project?  Probably.  The gentleman interested asked how much I wanted for the rocks.  I told him I would rather barter than sell.  I mentioned I need a few rock dug-up and removed from one of the grass/hay fields that was giving us some problems.  I would consider the clearing of the field payment enough, as I have nothing to dig with and he does.

When we were north of the creek, looking at the field rocks, we saw our resident Bald Eagle near the banks of creek.  It's truly quite a sight to see these majestic birds take flight and soar overhead.

My rock guy is now trying to put a bid together for the trailer park owner.  It sounds like he's going to ask for $1000.  For the digging, loading and hauling, it sounds fair to me.  It will take a minimum of 2 days... add in a little profit and I think it's a good price.

Throughout the day, I worked on a couple of small projects.  I found an old mineral feeder - rusted and in pieces.  It's the kind of feeder that sits outside.  When the wind blows, the top spins to help shield the feeder contents from the elements.  I fixed the rusted and broken components the best I could.  It now seems to be working, maybe not as smoothly as it did when it was new, but it works.

The feeder sits up off the ground, where our other feeder sat on the ground.  Hopefully, this 'new' feeder will help prevent the goats from pooping on the mineral block.

Carol and I also moved the farm's only cow, Caitlin, back to her old pen.  We're hoping she will find the entrance to the north pasture before the other Scottish Highlanders arrive.  If she is comfortable with the north pasture, she should lead the others out there, where they can all take advantage of the large amounts of vegetation before snow flies.

When are we getting the new cattle?  Hopefully soon.  We're waiting for Farmer Mike's schedule to open up.  He is also trying to arrange the hauling of our cattle with the hauling of a bull he is looking at purchasing from the same general area of the state.  With the cost of fuel, it only makes sense.

 

Sept 28, 2008
- More of the same.

If you guessed we butchered more chickens this morning, you would have guessed correctly.  About half way through the processing, two well dressed gentleman drove up in a pickup... it was Farmer Mike and his son Jake.  They stopped in after church for a quick chit-chat.  It was a pleasant surprise.

As we were talking, we could hear the combining start again.  It shouldn't be but a couple of hours before the beans are gone from the field. 

October is only a few days away, so with that said, Carol and I decided to let George (our Spanish/Boer Billy goat) out of his pen.  He is now with the rest of the herd, enjoy fresh grass instead of hay.  As of yet, we haven't noticed him "taking care of business".

Later in the day, Carol went to Willmar to do some sort of nursing stuff for a client she recently acquired.  So, left alone to my own devices, I did some more work on my fencing projects.  Before heading to the fences, I noticed things quiet down in the fields.  I flagged down the combine driver to ask him how the harvest looked.  He mentioned that the computers on the combine showed the beans at 12% moisture with a test weight of approx. 30lb/bushel.  Over three semi loads went out so I would expect they harvested 3000+ bushels, giving us a yield of over 40bu/acre.  I was hoping for that, but expecting 30bu/acre.

After getting the low-down on the beans, I completed the construction of a 16ft wide lane to the north pasture.  I also opened a 10' wide gate opening from the 'L' pasture to the north pasture, giving us two accesses to the large area north of the place.  It should come in quite useful, when the Highlanders arrive.

 

Sept 27, 2008
- Established homesteaders.

Tonight, we made our way over to very nice couple's farm.  We had known these folks or years now, but not real well (he was a bus driver for our children).  As I'm not sure if they want to be known as homesteaders, we'll refer to them as 'M' & 'T'.  They are well established and, in my opinion, have done quite well for themselves, with conventional farming practices.

Regardless how they got to where they are, we learned they are homesteaders at heart.  They do things simple, if they can and enjoy the small personal successes and seem to relish in the glow of doing it themselves.  M & T have a large capacity, yet simple, rain water recovery system in place.  I say large because they can hold nearly 4500 gallons of soft rain water.  They have a 3000 gal. cistern outside and a 1500 poly tank in their basement.  I was impressed beyond words.  Most of us, who read the Acres, Country Living, Mother Earth News & Hobby Farms type periodicals, have read about others who do this sort of thing... but to actually meet individuals who do it... and have done it for years upon years, is something else.

M & T heat with corn, have a sock knitting machine, spin yarn on a spinning wheel, make a little wine, make flavored tea, dehydrate there own herbs AND invite others to sample some of their work.  The Mr. enjoy making others laugh with a practical joke or two... here's an example.  He showed me this little copper horn he made.  It kind of looks like a tiny French horn.  The finger holes are directly in front of the mouth piece and the horn part points back to the person, but angled up.  Mr. M asked Madison if she wanted to give it a try, she said she couldn't, since she was eating an apple.  So I took it.  I gave it a good blow, just to have a big PUFF of flour shoot onto my face.  Everyone seemed to have a good laugh and I can tell you all, he got me good.  This stunt, I did not see coming. 

Before the night was over, Carol had about a dozen new raspberry plants and M gave us some shelled corn that had spilled when he was cleaning corn for his corn furnace.  I'm so glad we were able to give them something we had produced on the farm, in return.  We gave them a nice sized whole chicken.  If they appreciated it half as much as we appreciated their hospitality and the time we spent with them, it would say quite a bit about the character of these nice folks.

There is so much more to tell about this really cool retired couple, but any more said about them now, would seem like we were bragging.  Since we started this farming project of ours, we have come to realize that one does not need a lot of social friends to be happy, not when just a few REAL friends will do. 

FYI: I now think we have collected nearly 50 bushels of cracked and/or shelled corn that would have otherwise been thrown out or left to rot.

Earlier in the day, we butchered more chickens... the number of live birds is steadily declining... it's nice to see.

In the afternoon, the farmers we hire to do the field work, started combining the farm's 70-some acres of beans.  When we got back from M & T's place, after dark, we could still see the combine and trucks in the field.  We're not sure if they got done or not.  We'll see tomorrow.  The spring was a wet one, but the beans were starting to dry up towards the end of summer.  Hopefully, we'll get more beans than we are expecting.  I think we should be able to, as I'm expecting the worst.

 

Sept 26, 2008
- Highlander hay.

Rain was in the forecast again for tonight and tomorrow, so there was an urgency to bale more hay... but not before Carol and I butchered more chickens.  10 more gone.  Processing 10-12 birds every few days should give us a nice variety of our tender butchered birds... and just in time.  Carol got a call from her brother.  He was ordering more birds for a gal at his work place.  She purchased a single bird some time ago, just to give it a taste... and she loved it.   She now wants more.

After butchering, we quick had lunch and I was out baling again.  A few hours later, I was done.  We now have over 32+ large round hay bales for the Scottish Highlanders we have on the way.  It was a great feeling to have it all baled.

I spoke with a neighbor of mine, who has cattle.  We chatted about the hay I just baled and about the projected winter needs of the cattle.   He thought my grass hay would be just fine for the Highlanders.  Although he didn't know what the feed to weight ratio was for the Highlanders, he did give me some general pointers.  He mentioned that 2.8 lbs of hay per day for every 100 lbs of animal is a good feed ration.  He suspects that the cattle we will be feeding will consume less than 2.8 lbs hay per 100 pounds.  Excellent advice.  I guess when one needs to learn about cattle, one needs to talk to a cattle man.

Upon leaving the neighbors farm, he suggested I hook onto the International 4-row planter he had sitting at the end of his driveway.  I asked what he wanted for it... he said, "Just take it!, nobody wants it."  It seems he had been trying to sell it for quite some time. 

A few people offered him $100, but he said they were 'Citiots' (city + idiots = citiots) who just wanted the planter for deer plots.  He wanted the planter to go to a farmer.  So, I now have a planter.

 

Sept 25, 2008
- Tearing down fence.

In just a few short months, our fencing needs are already changing.  We have seen how well animals have responded to the 3 small pastures we have in place.  I'm now constructing lanes between the pastures.

Early this spring, we erected fence as we best thought... it worked well.  As fall approaches, we can see the increased need for better pasture management for next spring and following year.  So... we are pulling out some of our old (3 month old) fencing.  Our new hope for our pasture layout is to efficiently interconnect them all.

Sheep, goats and a soon arriving small cattle herd, all have different dietary needs.  We simple want to be able to easily move animals across the path/lane of other animals, to a different pasture, without the risk of mixing.  We believe doing this before winter will allow us to keep the necessary feeds near the animals that need them.  We'll see how that works.

 

Sept 24, 2008
- Surgery day.

We knew when we got up, that most of this day would be spent in St Cloud, MN... Chastiti' was scheduled to have her teeth cleaned.  For those who don't know, Chas is a special needs child, of 21 yrs old, and she needs to be under general anesthesia for what you and I would consider a routine oral procedure.   Anyway, we left the farm bright and early of our 1½ hr ride to the surgery center.  After check-in, she was due to be in the O.R. at 9:30 AM, but the preceding surgery was running long.

Shortly after 10:30, she was wheeled in, with parents in tow.  The doctors thought it best if she could see us, amongst all the strangers dressed in surgical scrubs.  With only minor incident, Chas was soon passed-out and enjoying her newfound la-la land.

She was a little groggy coming out of surgery, and already we could see she was in pain.  A couple squirts of pain meds and she was better.  With help from the great staff, we were out the door within an hour.  Carol & I were starving by this time, so we made a quick stop into a restaurant.  Chas was doing fine until then.  Once inside the eatery, Chastiti' noticed that one ceiling fan was turning and one was not.  She started to get a little bucky so we finally made the strange request to the wait staff to have the other fan turned on.  They graciously obliged and the world was good once again.

After, finally, arriving home again, I quick changed clothes and went out to check the grass hay.  Yesterday was too wet to bail, but perhaps, with a few hours of daylight remaining, I could get a handful of bales rolled this afternoon.  The hay felt fine.

From 4PM to 7:45, I was able to produce another 12-14 1000# bales.  Rain was in the forecast for tonight and I thought even one more bale rolled would be better than nothing.  As dusk was setting in, I did my best to count the bails I had waiting to be hauled.  I think I came up with approx. 26 or 27.  With the new cattle coming, we'll be in great shape for winter. 

It feels so good to have this a working farm again.  Granted, not everything has gone as planned and we have had some major setbacks, but the progress has been mostly positive.  The cutting and bailing of this hay is just the icing on the proverbial cake.  Other than 15-20 acres of grass, we are making use of nearly all the usable acreage we have under our care. 

Next year we'll work on using more of the grassy areas and implementing better land management practices, so we can use what we have more efficiently.

 

Sept 23, 2008
- Good-bye Ross.

Our young Boer Billy goat, Ross, was sold today.  We had an ad out for him for the last week our so.  The folks that originally contacted us, when the ad first started running, finally gave us a call.  The proud owners are new to goats (just a few months) owning a single Alpine doeling.  With Ross being so young, it should be a nice fit.

When I retrieved Ross from the pasture, his little sister, Betsy, was crying something fierce.. almost as if she knew she would never be seeing him again.  Once out of the cow yard, Ross called back.  It was kind of sad, since I already knew how the story was going to end with these two.

I will have to say that Madison did a great job taming Ross.  Without ever being on a halter or tether, this little guy led pretty easily.

While waiting for Jewels, Ross' new owner, Ross presented me with the final act of defiance.  As I had him on Ellie's dog leash, Ross acted a little weird.  By the time I noticed what he was doing, it was already too late to do much about it.  He was pee-ing on my shoe.  I went inside to change shoes.  In doing so, he proceeded to poop on our silo stave patio.

It wasn't long after that, when Ross' ride showed up.  We got him loaded and the gate secured, when Carol and Madison pulled into the drive.  Madison was worried that she wasn't going to be able to say good-bye to him, so their timing was perfect.

We will miss our little guy, but know he was going to a good home with another goat - a female he can call his own.  There just wasn't a place on our farm where he fit in.  Most of the other goats were related to him.  That was the same reason we felt we needed to part with his dad, Willy.  It was for the good of the herd.

 

Sept 22, 2008
- Big round bales.

We started the day by butchering another 10 birds, which went pretty smoothly.  I am streamlining my role in the process.  I kill and pluck... Carol does the rest.  Today, I was able to keep Carol busy at the table.  The speed in which I'm able to do my part is getting faster.  Our goal is to get be able to have others help us.  The problem we have in doing so, is that we don't have a system in place that allows an additional person.  We're hoping, with experience, we'll be able to expand our processing to others.

Yesterday would have been a great day to bale hay, but we were looking at cattle down by Blue Earth, MN.  Today, feels like a "do-or-die" type of day, with rain in the forecast for the next days.  I raked a small amount of hay to give the underside a chance to dry.  I didn't want to do it all, just incase I couldn't get our balers to work right away.

It turns out, the probable cause that my balers not knotting in the past, may have been because I was using the wrong sized twine.  I was using round baler twine, which has a smaller diameter than standard small square baler twine.  So... with the correct twine in the New Holland baler, I headed out.  And... it didn't knot.  I worked on it for awhile, but nothing productive came of it.  Plan 'B'?

I drove back to the farm to get the other baler (a McCormick #46).  I moved the twine over, did a quick greasing and headed north to the field.  CRAP! CRAP! CRAP!  This baler started strong, but the reel/hay pick-up thingy stopped working.  I couldn't get it working again... THIS SUCKS!

Time to go to plan 'C'... a big round baler from the farm down the road.

The first round bale turned out perfect... Cool.  The 2nd bale... not so good.  Instead of reaching for the tier lever, I hit the bale ejector.  Out came an untied bale... oh well.  Let's try for a 3rd bale.  In a few short minutes, the baler jammed tight.  It seems the rear latch on the baler didn't close properly, and for some reason it causes the hay to get stuck between the rollers.  20 minutes later, the mess was clear and I was on my way again... and w/o incident.

The ground was rough, so baling went very slow.  All in all, I got about a dozen bales baled, with an estimated 20-30 more to go.  If it doesn't rain tonight or tomorrow, I'll try to get more baling done.  The hay will be perfect for the cattle we'll be feeding this winter.  We're very lucky to have access to so much forage.

Carol and I are slowly learning that we should not try to force the land or farm to give what it was not meant to, but to graciously accept only what the property offers.

 

Sept 21, 2008
- Scottish Highlanders.

The morning was a waste of time.  My friend Jon (a.k.a. Johnny Who) and I were suppose to clean a restaurant (he owns a hood cleaning company) at 10:30 AM.  Of course, this didn't come to fruition.  He forgot to schedule the appointment with the owner of the cafe... typical.

The second thing I had on our agenda, was to head to southern MN, with Carol, to check out a small herd of Scottish Highlands.  The owners of the herd had called last night while we were out with Mike & Karen.  It was discussed that they would be around all day Sunday... and to give them a call before heading out the door.

Shortly after 12:30 PM, I made the call... no answer.  I left a message, mentioning we were on our way and that I had Google'd their names for their street address.  With address and printed map in hand, we were ready to go.  The Google map maker noted it was a 4 hr trip... UGH!

We never did get a call-back from the cattle owners.  5 minutes from reaching their farm, I mentioned to Carol that I hoped somebody was home.  I called their number again... no answer, again.  Hmmm.  At least we weren't on the road for 4 hours... actual time was a hair over 3.

Before pulling into the drive, we saw the cattle.  They were beautiful.  We then parked the car near the house and I walked to the door.  From outside, I could hear a vacuum running... whew... someone's home.  I knocked and a very surprised woman greeted me.  I introduced myself and within seconds, we were all on our way to see the cattle.

The bull looked perfect.  He was short, fuzzy and playful.  He would rush to the other young cattle and rub his head on them, as if trying to say, "Let's play."  His color is blonde (more like silver) and is only 2 yrs old.

The two cows (5 yrs of age) are red and tall.  One can tell they are of the mainland Highlander variety.  The Highlander cattle from the Scottish Isles are smaller.  Their daughters are lighter in color and just over a year old.  The 5th heifer is a Kyloe (black and short) and young as well.

We knew the ages of the cows before arriving, but were surprised to learn how young the heifers and bull were.  This herd is a beginners dream.  Being so young, the cows should be productive for a minimum of 15 years and the heifers for at least 20 yrs.  And at 2 yrs., the bull, Sampson, is just coming of age.  Hopefully, he won't get much taller, but he should get little wider.  Personally, we don't like the big highlanders and would like the bull to help produce some smaller/shorter calves.

Did we buy the herd?  Kind of.  We put a deposit down...  due to be picked-up in the next week or two.  Farmer Mike has agreed to do the hauling for us... but only on a non-fieldwork day (a rain day).  Carol and I are very excited to have these cattle on their way to the farm.  We have so many acres of grassland waiting to be put to use.  These Highlanders will be a perfect fit.

 

Sept 20, 2008
- Mooo-ve to another pen.

As soon as the morning began for me, I found myself in the sheep pen again.  I opened the pen to the pasture area.  It took awhile, but the sheep found their way to the long grass of the grove's edge.  They looked very happy.

A few hours later, Carol and I moved Caitlin (the farm's Scottish Highlander) to the new sheep pen.  We now think she's pregnant and we want to make sure she's getting all fresh vegetation she can eat.  As I manned the gate opening, Carol coaxed our little black cow with a dish pan full of cucumber chucks.  She was a little distracted with loose hay and greenery on the ground.  Unsure of her environment outside her old pasture, she meandered a bit, but Carol was able to capture the cow's focus with the food chunks.  In a matter of a few short minutes, the cow was in the sheep pen, tasting everything insight.

We went inside for a quick lunch, that's when I got a call from Farmer Mike.  Asking what I was doing this afternoon, I came to the conclusion I was going to help him collect some antique horse-powered equipment - a mower and a 8' disk.  The disk was in wonderful shape, nearly field ready... the mower was another story.

Later that eve, Carol and I met Mike and wife Karen in Willmar for a little Mexican food.  We picked-up the check, telling both Mike and Karen it was our small way of letting them know how much we appreciate them for helping us start our farming practice.  I think we still need to thank them for getting us out.  It had been months (and months and months) since Carol and I had gone out to eat... and even longer since we were out with another couple.

 

Sept 19, 2008
- 2009 chicks.

Is it too early to think about next year's chick order?  Probably, but maybe not too early to think about a simple nostalgic brooder project. 

When searching though some of my old homestead project photos, I ran across this gem... enjoy.

In the early afternoon, I moved the 2 other sheep (Cooper & Sunny) with the others to the new pen.  I then face reality... I didn't get all the cockleburs from their new pen yesterday.  Cockleburs and sheep is a farm's equivalent to Velcro™.

 

Sept 18, 2008
- Separate quarters.

Austin had a day off from work.  And with that day off, he helped Carol with Chastiti'.  Today was the day Chas had her first appointment with a new OT and speech therapist.  The last "experts" that tried to help us with developing better communication with Chas, turned out to be a waste of time & money.

When Carol and Austin returned from the appointments, with Chas, it sounded like Chas now has a qualified team.  Since Chas is deaf, retarded and doesn't take food orally, the speech therapist recognized we are at a huge disadvantage, compared to most other clients.

While the three of them were in Willmar, I was working on more pasture... this time a little one for the sheep.  It's time to separate the sheep from the goats.  With pasture vegetation changing, due to the seasonal difference, we want to make more copper available to the goats.  As most sheep and goat folks know, too much copper can kill sheep.

The first part of my morning was spent cutting burdock and cocklebur from the new outside sheep pen.  I think I got most of it.  There might be some dead on the ground, but the standing plants have been extinguished.  I then progressed to fencing the ½ acre pasture in the grove.  This small pasture will connect to the sheep pen.

Yesterday, I cleared away some brush and debris to make way for the new pasture fence line.  Today, I vacated more by hand.  I then ran a light gauge wire from fence post to fence post.  I did this as a guide to make sure my fence would be straight.  I then pounded in my fence posts and strung my barbed wire.  Badda-bing... badda-bang... the job was done.

The weather was hot and windy... quite uncomfortable, but I knew it would be drying the hay I cut a couple of days ago, so I was OK with being so warm.  Tomorrow afternoon, I'll check on the hay.  Maybe some of it can be raked.

Carol kept herself busy in the afternoon.  Laundry seems like it is always being done, so that's nothing new... but tomatoes were being processed.  There were yellow and red tomatoes all over the kitchen... all different shapes and sizes  I think Carol was canning from mid-afternoon to after 10 PM.  AND she said that as soon as she wakes in the morning, she needed to finish some of tomato stuff she had started.  SHEESH!  Tomatoes sure take a long time.

I then cleaned up more cockleburs and burdocks from the sheep pen.  After I got done, I was able to move the 3 Shetland sheep (Snowman, Buckwheat & Black Jack).  They started munching immediately.

 

Sept 17, 2008
- Here chicken, chicken, chicken.

Around 9 AM this morning, Carol and I started butchering her second batch of Cornish cross chickens.  As half of the chickens are already spoken for, we have quite a few orders to fill.  We have orders for fryers, roasters and everything in between.

We thought we would process about 10 birds/day, over the next 2 weeks.  In doing so, we should a nice variety of farm raised chicken for folks to chose from, as well as give us what we need for those who have already ordered.

After the butchering, I cleared some woods.  We decided to pen-in more of the grove.  Over the years, fallen trees, weeds and junk has filled much of the area that was once clear.  The portion of the grove we're fencing will border the east pasture and lane, so we only need to run one line of fence.  By doing so, we'll make use of the barn and existing fencing as boundaries... seems like the easiest fencing project thus far.

Sept 16, 2008
- Using what you got.

It been getting busy here again... or should I say 'busier'?  Mother Nature has gotten out of her cold weather funk that she seemed to think we needed.  We're looking forward to the summer-like temps to get more things done, without the needs for fall jackets.

Fearing that we will not have enough hay for winter, I decided to cut more of the grass land north of the creek.  Farmer Mike attempted to cut some of it earlier this year with his rotary mower, but there were more hidden rocks than he had the knives and the time for... I don't blame him.  When he was out there, it seemed we were spending more time replacing cutting blades than we were cutting.  At that time, he suggested I use some with a sickle blade, as they can be easier set to skim over the top of rocks and not spin into them.

Since then, I have been somewhat disappointed that we have not been able to use the land to it's potential.  I finally got up the nerve to cut what Mike hadn't been able to finish.  Fearing the worst, I cut the small section of grass.  Well, Mike was right, The sickle bar of the mower glided over most of the rock without incident.  In fact, it went so well, I decided to go for more.

Way in back of the property, between the tracts of CRP land we have about 8+ acres of wetland (that never seems to be wet anymore).  It's mostly Reed Canary Grass, about 4-5 feet tall, but grass just the same.  Since our Scottish Highlander and goats seem to love it... and thinking we may have more Highlanders someday, it's better to have too much hay than not enough.

3 hours later, I had it all cut.  It seemed to take longer than it should have, but when not knowing what is out there, I went as slow as I could.  I guess I would rather feel a bump than hear a crash.

As I left the area than now resembles a field and not a marsh, I felt good.  I was putting it back into production.  With the CRP land, the creek and the remaining grass fields, there is still more than enough acreage for wildlife.  And when I say production, I don't mean the land is being tilled, just that it's being used... I'd like to think we're doing it responsibly.  The land hasn't been used in decades.  Some say idle land is dying land.  Those same folks say that grassland that is healthy is stimulated either by fire or grazing... or something similar.  When done properly, the grass and soils are revitalized. 

Sept 15, 2008
- Too wet for anything else.

To say we got a little rain over the last couple of days would be like saying the pope is just a little catholic.

I had planned to cut some hay today, but everything seems to be dripping wet and the soil around here feels like mush.  Instead, I decided to finally put the laminate flooring into the trailer.  It is the super cheap stuff (only .59/sq ft), but looks pretty nice.  Why did I decide to put the flooring down today and not a different wet day?  I read Carol's blog... lol.  I think she was commenting on how she needs the floor done before the snow flies... or something like that.

And ladies, with your [alleged] lazy husbands... be thankful they are not me.  The flooring I put in today, was purchased in April and was suppose to be installed before we moved out here (May 30th).

Anyway, the floor went in pretty easily and it looks great.  The old flooring was dark, ripped and sort of nasty.  The new stuff even took out some of the 'saggy' spots in floor (old trailer house floors are a lot like women... they're both known to have plenty of soft areas.  Everything is fine for the first 10-15 years, but then the areas that get used the most, start to sag).

 

Sept 14, 2008
- When it rains, it pours.

We've seen more rain today... off and on.  And the Vikings lost... again.  The cloud does have a silver lining though... since Carol is trapped indoors, she decided to make an apple pie.  The whole house has taken on the smell of cinnamon and warm apples.  I can't post the recipe she used because she combined a couple recipes she was familiar with... and she didn't write down what she did.

We've had a few folks inquire as to how our dog Ellie is doing.  She's doing much better since the accident.  She is more active each day.  Today, she wanted to play chase with me in the barn.  My guess is in a few more days, she be as good as new.

- Check, check.  One, two... one, two.

When Carol and I went to an auction 2 weekends ago, she bought some heated bowls for the critters to use this winter.  Mixed in the bowls and other junk, we found a wireless intercom system in an old candy container.  Today was the day we tested it. 

Madison and I plugged the units in and they all worked.  Cool huh?  So, as of today, we have a base-unit in the house and one of the transmitter-receiver units in the barn.  Does it work perfectly?  Heck no, but they work good enough for our farm.  At least we will be able to let one another know we have something to say... when something important comes up.

 

Sept 13, 2008
- A rain day.

Today was filled with some much needed rain... it drizzled and sprinkled for most of the day.  In between showers, we found time to prepared our brooder house (the chicken box) for the waiting chicks that just hatched. 

As Carol did some rabbit chores and then took a call about the goat we have for sale, I cleaned the messy shavings from the brooder house.

We decided to keep the chicks in the house for another day since we are experiencing cooler than usual weather. 

Sept 12, 2008
- In the woods.

There wasn't much going on today.  I searched the woods at my grandparents old place for stuff my dad had left behind.  I spied some haying equipment I might be able to use.

The first was another baler.  This one is a New Holland with a thrower attachment.  I don't need a thrower, but with all the problems I've been having with balers, I decided to give this baler a yank out of the weeds.  It looked clean and well taken care of.  When I first saw it, it appeared nicer than it really was.  From in the weeds, the paint looked pretty fresh, But once in the plain view, I could see that someone had brush painted it years ago... and it wasn't a good job.

When I got the baler home, I greased it up.  I then hooked it the Farmall to it and gave it a whirl.  For such an old baler, it ran fairly quiet.  I was impressed.  I plan on cutting some grass hay next week.  That's when I'll see if the baler was worth recovering.

Now that I potential have a baler with a thrower, I thought I'd look at one of Dad's old throw racks.  I went back to the old farmstead with the air compressor.  3 of the tires pumped up nicely, the other went up just fine, but lost the air nearly as quick as the air went in.

I could barely see the rack because of the weeds around it (8' Marsh Elders).  Instead of trying to cut the monster weeds down, I crawled underneath the rack to take a closer look at it.  I was disappointed.  The far side of the rack had rotted and was resting on the tires... and with 4' of either hay or straw rotting on the bed of the rack, I knew today was not the day I was going to bring this wreck home.

Sept 11, 2008
- Our poor dog.

After morning chores, our dog, Ellie was a little skun-up and was limping.  She has abrasions on 3 of her legs and some on her belly.  We assumed she may have chased a rabbit or some other critter into a roll of fencing, panicked and then became injured trying to get free.

That's where I left it before going to a farm auction with Farmer Mike, where I purchased a small hay rack.

Upon my arrival home, Carol explained what she had learned about our dogs injuries.  It seems Ellie was hit by a truck... more precisely, she ran into a truck.  Each morning, a van comes to pick-up our handicapped daughter, Chastiti', and brings her to a pseudo work training program.  Anyway, Ellie likes to chase the van.  The van driver mentioned she saw Ellie... she saw the truck, but couldn't bare to watch the impending accident.  When the van driver opened her eyes she saw Ellie running into the ditch.

Tonight, our dog was in much pain... you could see it in her eyes.  It was sad to see our bouncy dog nearly lethargic.

Onto better news... we have loads of peeping in the house.  Carol and Madison have chicks hatching in the incubator.  A few of the chicks were pipping last night, but the actual hatching started today.

The chicks, thus far, are assorted.  Assorted colors, assorted sizes and assorted stages of activity/maturity.  When we retire, there was an even dozen out of the shell and more on their way.  I think the girls are planning one more batch of eggs to be put in the incubator, before winter comes.  That will be their last until spring.

Sept 08, 2008
- A killer morning.

Bright and early, Carol says it's butchering day.  Too cold for one thing... too wet for another, but just right for taking care of a few chickens and rabbits.  Unfortunately, when we finished up our 8th chicken, we broke for lunch... and then it started to rain.  The bunnies live to see another day.

Sept 07, 2008
- A little of this, a little of that.

This morning, Austin and I mad a quick run to farm that had the auction yesterday.  There we loaded some hog panels, that Carol had bid on... and got.  They were cheap and in descent shape.  Her thinking was to use them for gates... we'll get our money's worth out of them.

We later stopped into my Grandparents old farm, to talk with my sister.  There is a 6'x6' shed out back.  I think Dad had gotten it from a friend, years ago, but never put it to use.  We want it for either a small chicken coup or a temp. roadside stand for this fall.  Our chickens are laying big-time and we need to get rid of some of their free-range eggs - white, brown and the [always] colorful Araucana eggs (pink, blue or green).

We got the building loaded onto a car trailer with little difficulty.  It's when we tried to unload it at here is when we ran into a few problems... it sort of fell apart.  Before we try moving it again, some serious repairs will need to be made.  I think some scrap lumber should work.  After all, it's only 6'x6'.

At my grandparent farm, Austin eyed an 1980's styled Chevy Camaro.  It once belonged to my dad.  I think it was the same car Austin saw when he was 13 or 14 yrs old.  At that time it was in rough shape... it's even rougher now.  We pulled it out of the weeds, pulled it to the shop, pumped the tires up and put the charger to it.  While the battery was getting a boost, Austin cleaned the glass and wiped the grime from the tires. 

After I had a beer or two, we dumped a little gas into the carb (remember those?) and hit the starter.  WOW, it fired... then died.  We did it again... same results.  Again and again... we could hear the fuel pump run, then stop.  Maybe it was a clogged filter.  Whatever the case, let's pull the car home and work on it there. 

Once home, I disconnected the fuel line, just before the filter.  Austin turned the key... we heard the pump... no gas.  Crap!  We have a bad pump.  No biggy.  We'll wait til tomorrow to set the car on jacks to pull the tanks off.

It was a fun day... especially of Austin.  He's VERY excited about the car.

Sept 06, 2008
- Auction day.

Carol and I went to a farm action, just a few miles away.  They had some nice older equipment I was interested in.  We didn't get any of that, but we did come home with a 6' deep freeze for $10.  Carol wants to use the freezer for cooling chickens when we butcher.

The hardest part of processing poultry is cooling them down quickly.  What we'll do is fill the freezer part-way with cool water, hit the control and wait til the water is nice and cold.  It should cool the  birds down quickly.  The freezer has a drain plug, so draining, cleaning and sanitizing should be easy.  Already, it's in the old milk house, waiting for a chance to prove its worth.

We also walk away from the sale with quite a nice Ahrens riding lawn mower... $145 for it... AND IT WORKS!!!  lol  - sometimes things don't.  It even came with a bagger unit.  For a low bid of $1, we got ourselves 3 electric baseboard units for the trailer.  One is portable - the other 2 are 8' long.  We're hoping they will work in the bedrooms (where we don't have heat yet).

The rest of the day was spoiled with rain.  We need the rain, yes.  But I still have straw bales in the field.  It seems as though things dry out just long enough to get a couple of loads out before it rains again.  With this cooler weather, nothing dries as fast as it did, just a few weeks ago.

Sept 05, 2008
- Miniature Cows Making Sense For Some.

Check out this article and video on pint-sized cattle -
http://green.msn.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx?bid=611&GT1=45002

Sept 03, 2008
- Cool motivation.

We've had our 2nd cool day in a row and now we're freaking out... it feels like snow is coming right around the corner.  Even though we know [statistically] winter weather is at least a month away, our thoughts are going directly into cold weather mood. 

Weeks ago, I built a new, sliding door for the north end of the barn, but I couldn't hang it because I was unable to find door rollers for it.  It seems as though none of our local stores carry the style I need... and the hardware of the new quad-roller style (that everyone has) runs about $32.  OUCH!  So, I did a bit of scrounging and found both an 8' long, track and 4 wheeled roller set in the weeds.  It was the perfect length - even the holes lined up for mounting the hardware.  We now have a working door for the barn.

After hanging the 'new' door, we did some rearranging of cattle panels inside the barn.  Carol, Austin and I resized the sheep/goat pen, that accesses the cow yard.  We have a few more animals this year.  We want them to be warm and comfortable.  Austin and I also scavenged a cow panel and a hog panel from the weeds.  The cattle panel was set aside for later, but secured the hog panel in the barn.  We mounted it up on the wall, but leaning into the pen, forming a hay feeder.

Goats and sheep have a tendency to waste hay.  Lots of it.  They love to stand in the feeder and pee and poop in the hay, where they eat.  Food goes in and waste comes out, most of the time, these two functions are happening at the same time.  Hopefully, with the newly constructed feeder, we can eliminate some of the waste.  The hay feeder is off of the ground, requiring the critters to reach up and pull the hay through the hog panel openings.  I'll let you know how it works.

Before supper, I thought I would attack another item on my "honey-do" list.  I installed a motion detector light for the south side of the barn.  This side of the barn is pretty dark.  With the days getting shorter, I thought the girls might like the light when they walk up to do the rabbit chores.

Sept 01, 2008
- Is summer over?

Summer may be over but the work hasn't let up.  We still have plenty to do before winter.

We got a call from the folks at Fox Lake Farms... they will be completely moved to their new farm and the pasture projects will be completed in a couple weeks.  Best news is that the will be ready for us to pick up the Scottish Highlander we bartered for a few months back.  We're quite excited.

The day was very hot at the farm... the temp felt 15 degrees warmer when we collected another load of straw bales.  Sweaty and tired, I stacked the bales before cooling off in the house, with a tall glass of Kool-Aid. 

The temps kept rising, so instead of going out for more bales, we picked a less strenuous project.  Sometime ago, Carol bought me 20+ rake teeth for the farms old John Deere.  So, I started the little H, grabbed the rake and pulled it up into the yard, under a shade tree.  There, Max and I replaced the teeth... later greasing the old girl up... getting ready for the next time we hay.

Our new Billy goat, George, is doing fine.  When we went to get him, his previous owner mentioned they though he was part Spanish.  I did a little research on the Spanish Goat breed.  Both Carol and I think that George shows some hint of the Spanish breed.  What a find.

The Spanish goat is on the The American Livestock Breeds Conservatory list.  We also found out the the Spanish and Boer breeds are a great meat goat mix.  Through natural selection alone, the breed of the Spanish goat is a real survival success story and a true US breed.  They are know for being hardy and rugged, thriving on rough forage and in difficult environments.

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CHICKENS FOR SALE -  Only $2/lb ** We are now selling  processed birds by the pound. ** (as outlined by the Dairy and Food Inspection Division of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture) Carol has 100+ (25 47 55 are either sold or reserved) Cornish Cross Broiler Chickens on hand and growing well (this batch of chickens is the 2nd of what she is growing this year).  If you would like to buy some hormone free/antibiotic free chickens Aug. - Sept, make sure you contact us immediately. These chickens dress out at approx. 6-9 lbs.  We also can sell a live bird if you want to process them yourself... but if you want us to process them for you, make sure you tell us.  Cornish game hens (1½- 3 lbs) sell for $2.50. The Cornish hens are SOLD OUT! Already, we have a few folks reserving their birds.  We will call you a week before it's time to get your birds and again the day of.  Please contact us for details. We sell all our birds skinless and frozen.  If you want skin-on, quartered or cut-up chicken, please let us know ahead of time. Do we eat what we raise?  You betcha!  We will be raising approx. 100 chickens for our family alone.  Why so many?  Simple... we like knowing we are eating a healthy chicken, raised with care in healthy conditions and we love the way they taste. We also have some beautiful Heritage Turkeys (Red Bourbon) growing well.  Turkeys should be ready in Nov - early Dec.  CALL CAROL TODAY:  320-220-3235

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