Fixin' Fence!

These guys like to run and play. They are always on the look for the greener grass and quite often, just like us, these guys believe the grass is greener on the other side of the fence!


Consequently "Fixin' Fence" is a pretty common chore on the farm!

Here is a what a bunch of hot-wire fence posts look like. The white things, also come in a variety of other colors are called insulators. Hot-wire fences are easy and quick to put up and take down. The wire has a faint electrical current running through and the cattle know--almost instinctively not to go through it. 

We do so much fencing that some creative farmer, took this old pickup bed and made it into a fencing trailer. The wheel up top holds the wire and makes it easy to roll up when you are taking down fence or unroll easy when you are putting it up.

There is a many different types of fences that have to be fixed on the farm. The posts in the back of this pickup are more permanent. They are meant to stay in place for the next 25 years or more. It takes a little more work to get them in the ground. 

Here is our most recent fencing crew! Aren't they handsome! They will take that old bent post out, dig a pretty deep post-hole and insert one of those sturdy wooden posts.






That is a post hole digger. It is basically two shovels working side by side to dig a small roundish hole. It is hard work.  There are post hole diggers that run off a tractor that make this job easier. 

Fencing is a time-honored job. Many cattlemen and farmers have installed fences. It is an ever present job on ranches and farms. Some are to keep the cattle in, other fences mark the beginning and end of their property, some are even used to keep raccoons from raiding the garden. 


Look at the character in this fence post. Wonder what it would say if it could talk...




Thanks for stopping by today, and when you are whizzing by those fence posts on the highway soon you can think about all the work that went into their establishment!

Cotton Plantin' Time

See the seed, that grows into a plant, that produces a bloom, that produces a boll, that produces white cotton, that produces, a thread, that produces the fabric, that became the very shirt you are wearing! Wow!  and it all started with cotton plantin' season!  No we don't plant it by hand but a hand does frequently get out and check the planting. (more on that later)

This is just a short description of how we plant cotton. There are different ways and methods of planting. One big difference is if your cotton is irrigated or if it is dryland.  We are dryland farmers and we depend on the good Lord to provide us with the moisture to plant, grow, and produce. Well it rained last week so now is the time to plant. 


This is the seed box. The lid opens up and a variety of cotton seed is dumped inside. Most of our cotton now a days is what they call "Round-up ready" which means you can spray it for weeds.  It is expensive and not something you plant without serious preparations of the soil. The box/plow has a blower in it.

See those hoses coming out of it in several directions.  Each one of those hoses extends to the modern day see planter--that is the wheel looking things. The row is made, the seed is shot from the seed box through the hose and into the ground. The last wheel helps pad down the soil so the seed is covered in hopefully warm, moist soil.  Cotton likes the heat of summer. 





 We are not high tech so our planter does not have a GPS system so we have this arm that sticks out from the plow.  This marks your row so you know where you have planted. Pretty simple system huh!

My apologizes for the dust but that is what farming is many times. And now the cotton is in the ground!  I will try to up date its progress through the growing season. 

Now you can give a second thought about how your shirt came to be! Thanks for stopping by today! 

Corn is a GOOD thing!

Gardeners' are special people in my book! They plant the seeds. They tenderly nourish and care for young plants.  They weed daily. They water faithfully.  They shew away all things that might harm the garden. They wait, pray and watch for miracles to happen.


 Best of all, I have never known a gardener who would not share their bounty with others! 

 I was blessed enough to have some gardeners' share recently!  They shared this lucious, home-grown veggie! Nothing tastes like fresh corn-on-the-cob right out of the garden. I bet you can taste the buttery sweetness even as you are reading this.

 Here is this little ear growing on the stalk of corn. You reach down and you snap it off by pulling down on the ear. It is covered in a blanket of tightly wrapped leaves.  I am sure there is a technical name but for most of us leaves will suffice.

You can freeze it, store it or grill it at this point but this expert I was with uses the method his mom and grandmother used and that was simply clean the corn in the field and leave the mess there! So we carefully cut the ends off the ears and shed the protective leaves.

This method also allows you to see if you got a good ear or one that has been eaten by our friend. (see his picture below) (LOL)  If it happens to not be a nice full ear, pick another one and try your luck.  There are usually two to three ears, at least, per stalk. Keep in mind this is garden variety corn not field corn. 


        

Special thanks to my special garden friends and to all gardeners for growing fresh food for us to eat and enjoy! I am already eyeing my next find if I get invited back to the garden!

Lambs Quarter

Potatoes and onions growing!

Spring is gardening time!


 Any self respecting gardener knows though you plant before spring gets here!  Potatoes and onions are always planted in late February to early March. These are both root crops (which means they grow--their fruit below the ground) so they can take a little more cold than tender veggies that are more sun loving! 

But today's crop is known as Lambs Quarter.

Lambs Quarter up close and personal.

This little known plant is rated #1 as the most nutricious plant with the USDA! It is well known in naturalists' circles. It packs a powerful dose of antioxidants and vitamins that we need in our bodies.  It is a natural blood enhancer too. The funny thing about this little weed, I mean healthy plant, is it comes up anywhere and is usually mistaken for a weed.

Just pinch-off the top 

 It springs up around the edges of my family's garden. One family member remembers picking it out of the ditch as a child! You just pinch-off the young tender leaves. You leave the plant for regrowth. (Its cousin is spinach.)

And then you wash it, wash it, wash it.
You might check for bugs or worms at this point too--just saying!

Pick a heaping amount because it cooks down. Although you can eat it raw in salads and sandwiches, I have not tried that yet. 

Too cook, get your water boiling and drop the greens right into the boiling water. They will turn the most luscious shade of green rather quickly. (I know I should have thought to take pictures of the cooking process but I did not--please forgive.) 

Only leave the leaves in the water for a few minutes and then remove.  The cooking water is loaded with powerful vitamins too so feel free to drink up! This step tenderizes the plant and brings out the nutrients. (It also kills anything you might have missed earlier--see picture--lol)

 Now switch over to your skillet and saute these little greens with the seasonings of your delight. We used bacon drippings, butter, olive oil, garlic, onion, garlic pepper and a smidge of salt. Also vinegar or Tabasco as a topper if you like. Simply delicious!  

Take a minute at your next meal and thank the good Lord for the farmer who raised the food you are about to eat! 

PLOWING!

Upper left before chiseled and sweep, on the right after.

I know I have been too long in returning but please forgive me! I could use a million different good excuses but none of them are really that good. Anyway, I hope you enjoy learning a smidge about plowing on the farm!

Plowing up volunteer wheat~volunteer means it comes up from a previous crop.
 

Plowing is what farmers do to make a crop even better! It either prepares the soil for planting, spreads the moisture around, kills weeds, or keeps the dirt from blowing, just to name a few.  It is pretty continuous on the farm depending which crops are being grown and what the weather has been like. 


 For example, last year during the drought there was not much plowing going on but now that the rain is coming so are the weeds which means more plowing is needed to keep the weeds under control.

On the left is a weed ripped up from plowing.  See its roots. The one on the right is still nestled in the ground, growing bigger by the minute. 

Here comes a "Chisel and sweeps plow"! It is turning the soil over for a seed bed, and killing weeds.  The sweeps are behind the chisel and living up to their name, they sweep the ground making it smooth and level.  I think it is interesting to note that an inch and a half rain had occurred just a few days before.  It had been so dry the soil quickly absorbed the moisture. 

Can you smell the fresh dirt scent as this plow turns the soil over? (This country girl loves that smell!) There are many different plows for a variety of purposes. 

 Most plows serve more than one purpose and serve more than one type of crop.  The plow below is called a "Big Ox". I like to think it was so named after its predecessor--oxen.  They were used to pull plows before tractors.

This big boy is used to RIP the soil good and deep. This breaks the hardpan so the soil will be loosened up for the planted crop's roots to go down deep. (Sometimes that is where the moisture is when it has been dry.)

You can see how deep it ripped the soil here.  You can also see very little moisture in the underneath soil.  Thank the good Lord, we have been blessed with rain since this picture was taken.

Thanks for spending a little bit of your time with me today and don't forget to thank the Lord for your own blessings!

 

Baby Calves

 

 the "Three Musketeers"

Think you could find this guy in a crowd?

Love those eyes!

Baby Calves are soooo many things!  They bring to the farm what children bring to a home! I love watching them discover the world running on the green carpet of winter wheat. They always seem to remind me of the promise of spring or a renewing of life.

 ( I know sounds sappy--lol@ms)

They  are funny, cautious, full of energy,  always wanting to run, play, eat, and want their Mama.  We have taken calves that weigh in the neighborhood of 400 pounds or more and they will bellar (slang for a loud mooing calf) and cry for their Mama all night long. 

To give you and idea of how large that is, a newborn calf will weigh roughly 75 pounds. They get up and are able to walk within a few minutes.

Mother and child so precious, but soon the Teenage years.

As soon as they stand up, you can guess what they want next--Mama's Milk! They must have their Mama's colostrom for survival.  And Mama cows are ready for them to eat or suck to relieve their pressure!

He is saying
"What chew be looking at?"

Instead of a milk mustache he is going for a milk gotee!

They eat pretty much as often and as much as they want.  Mama has to eat enough wheat, hay, cake, and minerals to keep both her and the calf going. Plus she has to keep up with the active little booger.  AND, AND she has no daycare, no mother's day out, and she would never ever leave her baby with mean ole' onery Bull-daddy!!!

"You kids get back over here"

And then before you know it, they are leaving home! (teenagers!) 


Actually in about 6 months they are weaned from Mom and forced to eat green lush wheat, yummy praire grass, cow cake, molasses, and other delcious cattle delecacies! (again just like their human counter parts--you know Tacos, burgers, and cokes) 

Here's hoping you get to lay down and rest in some green place today too!

TRACTORS!

Tractors are a way of life for farmers. They are as necessary as a Firetruck is to a fireman, or a cupcake to a baker, or a heckler to a stand-up Comedian.  Most people kind of romanticize tractors with farm life.  (I can say I have had a romantic moment or two on a tractor but nothing to write poems or blog about!) You might notice too, that our tractors are not green and yellow.  Many people think that is the only color tractors are made in but it is just a brand like Chevys or Fords. 

This one is called "One-eyed Jack".

This guy has been here long enough
 to have dirt blown in under it. 

You can look around our farm and tell we are long-term farmers.  Farmers tend to "marry" their tractors  and they never ever divorce/trade-in their tractors for a newer model.  (At least not in this family.)  They are sometimes put out to pasture, but most of the time they are running as much as possible.  

This one has a brick so the little ones can climb-on
and pretend they are plowing!

The old smaller ones are used for plowing the garden spot or filling in a water hole in the dirt driveway.  One a little bigger might be used to move hay bales, or pull someone out who is stuck in the mud down the road (when we are not in a drought as we currently are experiencing).  

This tractor is named "Vera".
(Yes, we name our tractors!)
((Quit LOLing))

The one with the front-end loader might be used to take out an old stump or move a big rock, or if necessary dig a hole to bury something.  In days gone by they were the work horses that did the plowing, planting, and cultivating.

Today's tractors can plow ten times the ground of the old tractors.  They have 435 horsepower. That means there motor has the power of a really big bunch of horses.  One hard working farmer can farm as much land as 20 farmers could years ago. 

My Darlin' plowing up volunteer wheat and weeds!

What we really all need to remember about tractors is they provide many things for us.  All kinds of food for our ferocious eating habits are planted, groomed, and harvested with tractors.  Much of our wardrobe is made possible do to the hard work of tractors. Why even the very towels we use to dry off with after our showers can be traced back to the tracks of a tractor somewhere.  

So the next time you see a tractor, whether it is slowing you down on the road somewhere, in a parade, or just a picture in a storybook or magazine remember how many great things get their start behind the wheels of a tractor!

Next the plows behind these big rigs! May you find a little Country Sunshine this week!