Wordless Wednesday

Welcoming a New Year and a new baby!

 

I'm back from....an unplanned break



The boys with Santa; Little C2 wasn't so sure.

 

I will start this post by apologizing for "taking a break" I didn't plan to take a break from blogging but life happens and some things fall to the side. I tried to keep up with Wordless Wednesdays as best I could. My goal is to get back on track writing more frequently.

 

We were busy with harvest from September to a week before Thanksgiving. This is a very busy time on the farm my days were full of running to the field to move employees to other farms, meals to the field, running to the store for parts for machines and various other tasks. All with 2 and 4 year old boys in tow. We would ride with Daddy in the tractor or combine when we could 'cause this was sometimes the only time the boys would see Daddy for the day or days.

 

On the farm we grow corn, soybeans, wheat and pigs. Sometimes we grow in employees, land and newer equipment. This fall we started growing an addition to our family! I'm expecting number 3 the end of May. Hoping to squeeze a new baby in between planting and wheat harvest. We will see how well that timing is; baby's come when they are ready.

 

So adding this on top of harvest busyness; I was down right tired this fall. The tiredness subsided just in time for holiday busyness and conferences. Eight years ago I didn't know farmers attended conferences with hundreds sometimes thousands of farmers from around the state and country. Our winter months are full of conferences in state and out of state learning about the newest farming technology, products, and networking with farming friends.

 

We are looking forward to a busy Christmas season and a Happy New Year!

Wordless Wednesday

 

 

Last night's sunset

Wordless Wednesday

Still a little dusting on the field from the snow Monday. Thankful all the crops are harvested since winter started early.

 

Wordless Wednesday

Planting wheat yesterday and it's rained all day today. I hope to be back to writing posts with words soon. This has been a busy harvest season and when it does rain I'm playing catch up.

Wordless Wednesday

Fall colors...soybeans about ready for harvest.

 

Wordless Wednesday

Still enjoying the sand box.

 

Brotherly love caught on camera

Wordless Wednesday

Looking out my door. Rain, rain, and more rain is what we've seen everyday for a week. Harvest has taken a long break. Hope to be back in the field soon. Soybeans are getting ready and still have some corn to harvest and wheat to plant.

 

Farmland the Movie

 

I'm very excited to let you know that you can watch Farmland the movie for free on Hulu right now. This is a film I was able to prescreen at some conferences at the beginning of the year. I could tell it was going to be good even in the raw stages. This film produced by James Moll follows young farmers in the up and downs of farming. These 20-30 year old farmers show how it really is. The film footage is really good. He did a good job in choosing a variety of farming practices: conventional practices, organic practices and livestock from across the country. These farmers also tackle some of the issues facing farming today. I can't speak enough about how great this movie is. Please take time to watch this movie; it's just over an hour long and it's free. You won't regret it. Let me know if you watched it and what you think or if it sparks some questions I can answer.

 

Click here to watch Farmland

Wordless Wednesday

I looked out the window to check on the boys playing outside and this is the sight. Little C1 said he was trying to climb the tree. Needless to say I took the ladder.

Apples and Porkchops

Here's quick recipe for Apples and Porkchops. This recipe is really flexible for size. I also have a problem of not measuring sometimes so I'll just tell you what I did and hope you can repeat.

 

Ingredients:

4-6 pork chops

brown sugar

cinnamon

butter

 

I put 6 pork chops on the bottom of the casserole dish.

Then poured on the apples. I have apples frozen in bags so it's a matter of dumping them out.

I mixed up some brown sugar and cinnamon to sprinkle on top. Now I'm not sure how much I used it's mostly brown sugar (1/4 cup) and a dash or two of cinnamon (1/2 tsp.).

Lastly a few pats of butter on top.

COVER and Bake 350 degrees for 1-1.5 hours.

Dinner is served

 

Before baking

  

Fresh out of the oven

Wordless Wednesday

The corn crop is better than expected and we are running out of storage space. This is a good problem to have; so we are quickly building a new grain bin to store the corn.

 

Carving the boys initials.

 

 

When there was only one.

 

Then came 2 and it's bigger.

Yes, I'm a stay at home mom

When I get asked if I'm a stay at home mom I answer with a yes. Inside I'm really thinking I'm not a typical stay at home mom where my husband works 9-5 M-F and I'm "free" to watch the kids and clean house. I'm a farmer's wife and mom with many hats.
 

 I'll give you a glimpse into my day.

It started at 5am when I was trying to get my husband out of bed. Then he remembered he needed a list to take to the hog barn that I had not printed. So I stumble to the office to print out this list. Side note: I keep the records for each of our sows (the momma pigs) which takes a few hours a week normally when the boys are asleep. Then back to bed to get Big C up for the day. I go back to sleep til the boys get up or so I thought. Not long after Big C leaves I get a text he needs another list taken to the barn first thing this morning. Then I get a call a little before 8 that he forgot the lists that I printed at 5am. By this time Little C1 is up so I have him run them out to his Daddy since I was still in my night gown. Little C2 decides to sleep in so I go ahead and make biscuits and eggs as requested by Little C1. Another call from Big C saying I needed to intercept the UPS man and get a draw bar to replace the one that broke on a tractor earlier this week and needed to be there at 9:15 and it was 8:30. Most of the time I don't really know what the piece is that I'm picking up; no exception this time. I just know this broke and it's pretty important cause the tractor can't pull anything without it. This particular tractor had a grain cart hooked to it needed for harvest. Thankfully, I was dressed and somewhat ready for the day but no make-up. Little C2 woke, we ate a quick breakfast, dressed the boys and were out the door at 9:00 and there at 9:13. Time to spare. I got the piece and headed to the farm where the tractor was. And I thought I would get to go home at this point.

 

I should have learned by now that once I'm out of the house it's really hard to get back home.

 

Big C says you can wait here or ride out in the field while I slip this back together it will only take 15 minutes. I said Little C2 and I will stay here; Little C1 went with him. Another side note: I've learned things take longer than estimated. They went to slip it on at 9:55 and didn't make it back til 11:00.

Little C2 and I had a fun time taking pictures and playing with corn.

It was a really nice day.

Once they returned to us we shuttled Big C around to get trucks and tractors that were left in various parts of the farm. We were on a part that was really steep I wish I had a picture to show how steep it was just imagine almost straight up and down. We don't have mountains but this came pretty close. I made it up and down them and the boys just thought it was fun. My mother-in-law called to let me know she would have enough supper if we wanted to eat in the field tonight; I said that would be great because I could tell I wasn't making it home for awhile. After shuttling around the farm we headed to get semi truck that needed some new tires. Before we left I went to the barn to drop off another list for the workers at the hog barn. So we picked Big C up from tire place which was 15 or so minutes away. On our way back we called in lunch from a really cute nice country diner. We arrived there at 1 for a late lunch but the boys have become flexible. We enjoyed our lunch in the car as we returned Big C to the farm and we headed to the tractor dealership to get a hitch pin for the new draw bar. The dealership was a 30 minute drive away by way of a gas station. I was running very low from all this back and forth. Once we got the hitch pin we took it to the tractor and then made it home by 3. Naps are at 2 fortunately the boys didn't fall asleep in the car.

 

The boys napped from 3:30-5:30. When they woke it was about time to head back to the field for supper. I was contributing some apple cake and ice cream to the dinner. We stopped by the Dollar Store to get ice cream and headed to the field. It was a pretty successful day in the field with 75+ acres of corn harvested and we have a good problem of running out of space to store the corn. We enjoyed meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and lima beans followed by my cake for supper with all the men working in the field.

Picnic in the field

We were home by 8 and after baths, brushing teeth and reading books the boys are finally asleep at 9:30 (late nap=struggle to go to bed.)

 

I've learned when living on a farm to not have very concrete plans during planting and harvest time. My plans for today were to get some more preschool work in; we were on a good roll this week. Also do some straightening of the garage and outside areas to enjoy this good weather before it turns cold. There's always laundry and a kitchen to clean but that can just wait for another day or when the boys are asleep tonight. Also a big milestone for Little C2 is working on potty training this week and he's doing great.

 

Rereading through all this makes me tired but all in all it's worth it. We got to spend time as a family. The boys were able too see their daddy, grandparents, and even their great grandfather throughout the day. I wouldn't trade it; now to all that housework that didn't get done today while waiting on Big C to come home from the field.

 



Wordless Wednesday

While corn is being harvested the soybeans are growing.

 

Look close for a little critter.

Wordless Wednesday

Determined to do slip-n-slide.

 

Fall has arrived

Fall has arrived in a big way this week. We have switched quickly to jeans and sweatshirts from shorts and flip flops last week. I do hope it's just a cold front and we can get one more water day with the boys. The Florida part of me is sad for the summer to leave.

 

On Thursday I was able to represent farm women as I volunteered with Commonground (findourcommonground.com) at a trade show for women in Bowling Green, KY. I was able to share facts about GMO's and other hot topics surrounding farming. Commonground's slogan is conversations about farming and food and we were connecting with women who usually make most of the food choices for their family. I was able to tell them we grow genetically modified corn and soybeans on our farm and feed them to our children. The ladies responded great and wanted to talk about where their food comes from; family farms. We reiterated we care about the land it's our livelihood. The main message is we are real people and care about doing our job well.

 

 

Friday I was home on the farm taking meals to the field while the crew was harvesting our GMO corn. This was our first full day of the season. I thought I would explain how the corn is taken from the field. Eight years ago I wouldn't have been able to tell you any of this. I'm going to assume most of you are like I was back then.

 This green machine is called the combine that is harvesting the corn. Little C1 is riding with his Granddaddy. This machine is pretty neat it takes the whole corn stalk in the machine but only keeps the corn kernels and spits the stalk out the back. The first time I rode in combine it felt like a ride at Disney World.

When the tank on the combine is full the grain cart is driven along side to unload and they can even do it with both tractor and combine moving. Once the grain cart is full then it unloads the corn into a semi trailer waiting at the edge of the field.

 

 

Having the grain cart keeps things moving along otherwise the combine would have to drive over to the semi to unload. The grain cart speeds us up a lot. Once the truck is full it's driven back to the farm to unload one last time into the grain bins for storage. The corn will later be ground up to feed the pigs for the year.

 

 

Wordless Wednesday

Helping Daddy shell corn to check moisture to see if it's ready to harvest.

 

What is busy?

We say we are busy but what really is busy. I'm beginning to think it's just the life we make for ourselves. Even if I stayed home all day I would still be busy. I have 2 very active boys who are always busy. This summer has seemed to have flown by. I find myself sometimes wishing for the busyness of field work because then we are home and not running here, there and everywhere. We do enjoy taking trips and seeing new places but it's nice to be home too. Farm work is always busy though. August flew by. We kicked the month off with AGstravaganza and then headed to the beach in Florida for a vacation. It was nice to get away and have family time.

We checked a few things off Little C1's list of request: a zoo trip and a train ride. The zoo we visited was the one I visited at about my boys ages. We also attended the church I grew up in. It was nice to see some old friends. Some things never change like driving through Destin and seeing the HOT NOW sign at Krispy Kreme. The boys discovered the goodness in the church parking lot. During church Little C2 kept saying in a whisper (thank goodness) "more donuts."

Feeding the giraffe was a highlight of the zoo even when I was little.

 

Once we were well relaxed from the beach we welcomed in friends from college for the 4th annual Labor Day Hog Roast weekend. We enjoy hosting this event each year and catching up on the past year as well as meeting new little ones.

 

So our life is busy but I don't think we could create a slow pace. Now we are waiting and prepping equipment for harvest time.

Wordless Wednesday

My backyard-a soybean field.

 

Wordless Wednesday

Last year's Labor Day Hog Roast weekend group. Gearing up for this years group.

 

"Putting up" Time

I've been learning over the years to embrace this farm wife role.

 In the summer time it's canning and freezing time of garden fresh veggies.

I'm not sure I ever thought I would be "putting up" vegetables. Our first summer married my grandmother-in-law asked if I wanted to can tomatoes with her. I thought this could be a fun thing to learn. So I did and have been every summer since. I wasn't sure what I would do with all these tomatoes but it makes great chili and I've started canning salsa too. I've expanded to other food as well: sweet corn, strawberry jelly, blackberries, peaches, and applesauce. It may seem like alot of work for something so cheap from the store but it taste so much better and it's less I have to buy. I did have a garden our first summer but I didn't know what I was doing and it didn't turn our so great. I did learn that people who like to garden also like to share the fruits of their labor or vegetables. I like having fruits on hand to throw in a cobbler or muffins. Now that I'm feeding 2 active little boys it helps to have all this on hand.

I remember visiting my great grandmothers and seeing her shelves lined with bread and butter pickles and fig preserves. It was always a treat to open a jar and I had to have her permission; now I understand why they were so treasured.
 

This week I canned tomatoes one day and froze sweet corn the next day. I won't go into all the process but here are some pictures along the way. I had no idea you could pour boiling water on tomatoes for a few minutes and their skin just peel right off. I learned that from my first tomatoes canning lesson. I use a pressure canner for sealing the tomato jars. I started with 2 five gallon buckets of tomatoes and ended with 14 quart jars and 10 pint jars.

 

 Freezing sweet corn isn't as time consuming as canning. I did have help shucking all that pile. I started by shucking that pile and boiled it for about 10 minutes and let cool. Then I cut off the kernels and froze some on the ears. We like to eat it on the ears once in a while. I will give a shout out to Pampered Chef for the best corn-kernel-cutter-off-thing. I'm not sure what it's called but it works so nicely and keep corn from splattering all over. Corn is quite a messy job. So yummy in the winter popped right of the freezer. I started with that huge pile and ended with 26 bags with 2 cups in each and 4 bags with 6-8 ears still on the cob. We should make it til next summer.



Next on the "putting up" agenda is applesauce in the fall. This comes in first place in favorites in our house with strawberry jelly not far behind.

Wordless Wednesday

Nala snagged an ear while we were shucking sweet corn.

Farm Bureau's AGstravaganza

Yesterday we hosted the public on our farm as a tour stop for AGstravaganza. Our county Kentucky Farm Bureau board put on the event with the help from a bunch of sponsors. The idea was for the people of our county and some surrounding counties to come see some of the farms in our county. We were 1 of 6 stops. People were free to choose the locations they visited. We had a great turnout. I'll take a minute and explain Farm Bureau. When people hear Farm Bureau they think of insurance; well it's a lot more than that. Insurance is just a member service. People can be a member of Farm Bureau which is an organization that works for farmers. They are in D.C. and Frankfort lobbying for farmers. They also help with events such as this for educating the public on what farmers do. We get so busy in our farming lifestyle sometimes we forget to share our farm and story with other people. This was a good day to take a break and mingle with the public on our farm.

 

We were unable to take people into the barns for biosecurity reason and keeping our herd of pigs healthy; but we did bring a baby out periodically. As you can see my boys are still excited to see a pig too.

 We set up 2 pools full of corn and wheat for the children to play in like a sand box.



Here's the family that was present for the day. 4 generations right there.

Wordless Wedneday

 Big C with a soybean plant.

A few days later with Little C1 and his soybean plants.

Wordless Wednesday

Today on the way to the grocery we stopped by Lincoln's Birthplace National Park.

Little C1 asks every time we go to town to stop so I did today.