Gravel, Gutters & A Third Lamb???

Fall on our farm is usually a time to coast-there is no more new calves, most of the haying is done, and the activities of summer wind down as we settle into a more regular daily routine.  However, this year we have found ourselves to still be quite busy with all the things that are left on our "to do" list.  The plethora of rain we received the spring and summer created a harship on the whole farm.  Not only did it create excessive damage to the cow lane,  lesser quality pasture, a garden that's producing at about 10% of it's normal production, it was a lot of stress on the driveway.  Rick said to me one day, "I have Sean coming with his dozer and a couple loads of gravel to fill the holes in the driveway."  Sounds like a little repair, right? Nope-we got a whole new driveway!  Your car won't bottom out if you drive up to the barn now-and neither will the milkman!

 

 

We also had new gutters installed on the shop/pole barn.   Benjamin Thomas Carpentry has done all of our gutters. They're seamless, and have held up well.  On this day he brought his daughter to help, and with Rick they finished just in time for the next rain.  This time, the water was directed away from the barn. Hooray!!!!  

Last Tuesday, we got a third lamb!  This one is just visiting, though. Our good friend Chris bought a buck (boy un-casterated) and brought it over to visit Bonnie and Avery.  If all goes well we'll have new baby lambs next February.  The lambs, which will be born at the right time for 4-hers, are suppose to be sold, which is suppose to make this project break-even (or better). Stay tuned!

We started school last Tuesday with the rest of Michigan.  We are trying some new curriculum for our older son, and so we are both learning many new things!  I'm very grateful for friends who have helped me learn how to administer and operate the program.  An exciting addition to our homeschool this year is Kid #4!  He started pre-school.  He was so excited the night before, he dragged Rick into the office to show him his crayons and pencils.  He said "Look! 2 long ones and lots of short ones!"  :)  If that's all it takes, why then I'll go buy you a box of 64!

Rick has taken up running.  It seems to come very easy for him.  He said he wanted to so we had something to do/work on together.  His intentions are very sweet, but quite frankly, he runs faster than I can keep up with.  Imagine what he could do if he practiced?  At our last 5k, he got his medal, and I said "that's the fourth time he's run."  Another lady asked, "you mean, run a 5k, right?" and I said "no...ever. He's only run 4 times in his adult life." We continue to sign up for 5ks in our area.  Many of them raise funds for worthy causes and it keeps us running.  It's too easy to quit if there is no goal.

Rick's first 5k at the Harrison Street Fair.  It was a last minute decision while we were on vacation.  Want to know the easiest way to earn a medal? Join a race that only has 11 people.  That's right folks, they're all pictured above!

This was the toughest run I've ran.  I was slow by 2 minutes, Mom by 4 minutes, and according to Rick's time at the Farm to Fork, he was slow by about 2 minutes. 

One of the problems with this blog is how long-winded the writer gets-so I'll save the tomato tutorial and the camping pictures until next time! 

Fair, Frank, and Farm Fun!

Last week was our county fair.  Kid #1 entered a convenience food, model, diorama, electrical science, and a feeder calf.  Kid #2 entered a model and a feeder calf.  They worked hard on all the projects, but the competition in this county is fierce.  Many wonderful, successful adults have come out of this program.  In the truck on the way home from set-up, I told the boys that I had prayed that God would reward their hard work somehow, and that it would be interesting to see how He does that.  I want them to grow up expecting that God will do great things, not just hoping that He will.  They did have a good week.  Kid #1 was awarded a rosette on his electrical science, Kid #2 a rosette on his model (which I thought was amazing. You take ONE project and you get a rosette?), and Kid #3 took home a trophy in the kids' pedal pull.  She is just a Cloverbud, but she sure did start her 4-H career off with a bang!

 

 

The prospect beef show also went well.  One made it to the final showmanship round, and the other to the final market class.  Each year we take a picture in the park for the tack box.  This was my favorite:

For the first time ever we were able to make a purchase at the Livestock Sale.  We bought my nephew's pen of chickens and a lamb.  The lamb was Rick's idea....then before I knew it my sister sold him another lamb!  The plan is to breed them and sell the offspring.  We'll see how this goes....

Our friend's son had a rooster at the fair.  The dad wanted to butcher it, the son could not do that. The compromise was that it came to our house to live.  We gladly took Frank home the last night of the fair with Bonnie, the lamb.  There were a lot of unusual noises the next morning when we went out to milk!  The following Sunday we played a little joke, and left a cooler in our friend's drive with a meat bird in it.....except it wasn't quite as funny to them as it was to us until later in the day when we reassured them that it was NOT Frank!  Now we call him Frankster the Prankster.

Yesterday we had the windshield in the truck replaced.  I went out and asked if I could take some pictures, and he said "Yes, but you're not allowed to swat mosquitoes on the windshield anymore!"
In reply I said "For the record....I got 'em!"

 Our garden has not fared well.  The very wet spring and summer has been hard on it.  We're getting some tomatoes but I'm not sure if there will even be enough for the minimum amount of canning that needs to be done.  On the bright side, the gladiola bulbs that Rick and the kids gave me on mother's day are beautiful.

"There's no big loss without some small gain."
-Caroline Ingalls

Have a great week!
-Terri

Running Times

If you have been following me or the farm facebook page at all, you already know that my brother and I (and some others) have taken on a little running challenge this year.  In February we joined the Borgess Run Camp.  Each week my brother ran with our "team" of like-pace runners, while I followed the scheduled workouts at home on the treadmill.  I live about 1.5 hours from the actual camp.  The Finale of the camp was the Borgess Run For The Health Of It 5k.  Since then we've been running about one 5k per month to stay motivated.

It has been about 17 years since I ran regularly.  My freshman through Junior year of high school I was on the cross country team.  I was never one of the top runners, but I worked hard. My freshman year I had two coaches.  One of them said to me, "you'll probably never be a fantastic runner."  Ouch.  Now was he being mean? Not really-it was a truthful statement.  I will never run for living, and Nike won't be sponsoring me in any events.  But 17 years later I still remember him saying that.  The assistant coach, who became head coach after that year, had a different style.  He focused on training each team member to reach their absolute best-even if that wasn't considered fantastic in the running world.  He would give you tips on how to run better, faster, and smarter.  He didn't focus on what you weren't-he focused on what you could be.

One of my favorite meets was the Eastern Invitational.  Both my mom and my dad were there, which was special. Dad didn't always make it to the meets.  I remember my dad saying to me, "If you run a 24:00 or less, I'll milk for you this afternoon."  That was a tall order.  At the time I was running between a 25:00 and 26:00 5k.  It was worth a shot.

Dad and me-do you see the deal in the making?

I had a fast start-my fastest mile time ever, a 7:06.  I remember focusing on trying to pass people, one at a time.  I come up to another team member, Kelly, and together we passed about three girls.  Then I went on.  I was feeling great.  In my head I could hear Coach Sackrider yelling, "lengthen your stride!" "get your breathing under control!" "attack the hill!" and other phrases he said regularly.  The best part though was when I came around one of the last curves.  He started jumping up and down, yelling really loudly, "Go, Terri Go! You want to run a 23????? You want a 23???" That was what he said, but his face said "Holy crap girl where did you come from?"  To say he looked surprised is an understatement.

I didn't run a 23:00-but I was close. I ran a 24:01.  My best time ever.  And guess who milked that afternoon? I did.

When I run, I have a choice. I can listen to my first coach, or I can listen to my second coach.  I can focus on what I will never be, or I can focus on doing my best.

Who will you listen to?  Better yet, which type of person will you be?

Our county fair is coming up shortly.  I have spent hours upon hours with the boys and their prospect beef calves.  I have given them tips,  suggestions, demonstrations, and shared with them every thing I know.  We took them to the practice night so they could hear everything the leaders know.  No matter how much coaching they receive, they may never be the top showman.  They could go their whole 4-H career without a trophy.  But I will not say that to them.  I will always leave that door open in their mind, with encouraging words to help them reach their potential.  I told them all I wanted them to do was their best.  No matter what happens on show day, they won't have to milk in the afternoon (ha ha ha- I had to throw that in there, Dad).

Like the old saying about a horse and water....you can take them to the county fair, but you can't make them win.

Good luck to all the 4-Hers this week.  No matter what you do in life, listen to the people who believe in you and lift you up with encouraging words and helpful hints.  I am 34 years old, and running again.  I'm running a 26:18 5k and as soon as Rick says he'll milk for me, I just might run a little faster!

I'm second from the left.  My last year of showing I won Grand Champion Senior Showman for Prospect Beef. Sometimes, when the kids don't want to listen to you, the photos come out. :)

Babysitting Bessie

Hello Readers!

While our 1st cutting of hay gets rinsed off (again....and yes, today is June 20th) we are freed up a bit to catch up on some other things...like the blog!  I could go on and on about some of the challenges we have been facing, but the fact of the matter is that we have done all that we can do, and things such as the weather are out of our control.   So while we wait and prepare to finish the hay, haul the compost barn out, and start 2nd cutting, we keep busy with some other things....


Monday I picked up 4 flats of berries.  I started at 10am, and by 5:30pm I had 61 jars of jam-enough for almost 2 years and some for gifts.  7.5 hours every-other-summer is SO worth it!  They recommend consuming home canned goods within a year, but I have not had a problem with the product into the 2nd summer.  I've also found that doing all of the berry prep first, then the jam making, is much more time- efficient.

 

Tuesday we managed to get what we had baled hauled home and wrapped!  Now we just have the 2 fields and pasture to get baled and wrapped, then its on to hauling compost and starting 2nd-already!



We paid the wrapper off this week! Only one month early, we saved about $2.00 on the interest.  This picture is from the day that we bought it, almost 3 years ago. :) Happy Day-both of them!



Today, since it is raining, Rick and the boys are taking a load of scrap to the junkyard.  It's a win-win for us...the farm stays cleaned up, and we get paid to recycle!

FINALLY...the best part of this past week.  This is "Bessie". She is actually cow number 486.  See that red collar she wears?  It holds what is called a "responder"-an electronic device that robotic milkers use to identify cows that go into the robots to be milked.  No, we didn't get robots.  My dad called and said he had a cow that was just recently fresh.  She gives 80lbs milk/day.  The issue is that her recent calving has caused some udder edema (swelling), making her udder a tad too low for the robot to milk her.  He asked if we were interested in her staying with us for awhile.  I said "sure!"

Bessie has been so much fun.  At home, she gets to go to the barn to get milked and eat grain whenever she likes.  Here, she is on a much more structured schedule, and she doesn't care for it too much.  She waits at the paddock gate and hollers.  She moos continuously in the holding pen.   She complains on her way down to the paddock.  Dad said she was a little bit of a pet, but I think he forgot an "s" in between the "e" and "t".  She likes to be petted, and is in no hurry, ever.  Bessie had been milked in my dad's parlor before he and Mom got the robots, so she comes into the parlor well.  Bessie puts our milking herd numbers to 120, with 6 left to freshen yet. 

May God bless you this week, and if you need rain, may God send it your way.....

-Terri

Taco Seasoning...without MSG!

I told a friend the other night I would get this recipe to her, and then I thought you might enjoy it, too.  I buy all the seasonings in bulk, then mix about 2 cups worth and store in an airtight container.  I do not care for the cumin in the recipe, so I do not include it.

For about 3 Tbs., or the equivalent of a .25 oz package from the store:

1 Tbs. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Onion powder
1 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. Garlic powder (I've also used salt)
1 tsp. Paprika
1 tsp. Oregano
1 tsp. Sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt

Mix together in bowl...and you're done!  Just like the packets from the store, you may want to add a small amount of water to your meat with this mix.

In terms of healthy eating, one small change at a time can make a difference-in your wallet, too!

The Cube

This morning we were greeted by Grace and her new calf, a bull.  Is it a coincidence that Grace calved on a Sunday morning? Maybe. Probably not.

Our new calf pens are 90% finished!  Here is "the cube"

In front of the new barn, we made three new pens.  Each pen has a super-hutch, a 10-bar Braden milk bar feeder, and 10 calves.

Under each feeder are two cement slabs out of an old hog barn.  They are slated so water drain through, yet they protect the feeding area from becoming a mud hole.  This also helps the calves be at the correct height for the feeder.  This pen is being weaned this week. They get milk in the morning only, for one week.  They have grain and water available all the time.

This pen was weaned last week. In the morning they get water in their feeder, to satisfy the suckling need that calves have.  Eventually they will tire of the feeder and stop going to it.  They will get water in the morning for no more than one week.  They also have grain and fresh pasture available.

This pen was weaned a couple of weeks ago.  While the feeder is still on their gate, they do not get milk or water in it.  They get a pail of grain each morning and pasture.  The feeder will be left on their gate until we see that they no longer show interest in it.  By leaving it in there, they will suckle the feeder and not the other calves, which may cause udder health issues when the calves are older.

This year I took all the milk I needed to the new pens using a wagon.  It was nice to only make one trip.  Water is available from the new barn, and the calf pens are on their own electric fence system, so we can unplug it right there at the pens, keeping the rest of the farm's fence hot.  I've also noticed that the calves have not been spooked so much since they are not by the road.

We also got to bring home these guys recently!  We start them in a hutch until they're eating well and have adjusted, then we move them to a larger pen on pasture.  The pigs are always fun.  Taste great, too!

We're trying to finish up planting.  Its taking a bit longer since the drill broke down, but that is nothing more than a mere bump in the road.  The alfalfa is not quite to bud stage, so we should still be on time for first cutting.  Its hard not to feel rushed as you see the other farmers getting their hay done.  It reminds me that we cannot get caught up in comparing ourselves to others.  We need to do what is right for us, which is getting the planting done first, then the hay.

We had two sermons this weekend on discipleship.  It was interesting how they differed so much in delivery, tone, and presentation of the gospel-yet at the end they were both the same. We are to go, follow Christ, and make disciples.  This looks different for everyone.  Some may be called to actually go to far off places and converse with people.  Some may be called to go to the neighbors...or their own dining table.  The key is to listen to what God is trying to tell you, have faith-then GO.

-Terri

Country Cousins

A couple of weeks ago Rick was in need of an unscheduled appointment at the doctor's office, and I needed to be there. My sister called up and enthusiastically offered to watch the kids.  It was a beautiful day outside, and it sounded like she already had planned activities for the 11 kids she would have before she even called me. It was a great help!

When I picked up the kids later that evening, I asked how their day was. They said:

"Oh man, we had a blast!"
"It was like, the best day EVER!"
"Yeah Mom, I can't wait until we get to go back!"

I could relate.  Growing up, we had many cousins. Some of them I got to know better than others, although they're all great.  Some of my best memories  involve two cousins we were the closest to.  Because I don't like to use names without permission, we'll call them Red and Blonde.

Red and Blonde's parents had a neat place "up north".  On the weekends they would go up north, mostly because my uncle has an unmatched passion for fishing.  Sometimes they would pick me up on the way.  For me, this was "the best day ever!".  When I was little we did not go away very often, and it was a real treat.  At least once per trip my uncle would take us out on the lake to go swimming or tubing.  It was much better than jumping off the dock where the muck was plentiful, but we did that, too.  Often we would take the pedal boat out and go up and down the channel.  We'd ride our bikes down to the little store (now closed) and spend every last dime we had on penny candy.

One weekend the three of us acquired 24 cans of red pop.  I have no idea how we got that case...but it didn't take us long to figure out that we each got 8 cans.  While Blonde and I were a little more strategic in our consumption, Red enjoyed most all of hers the first day.  That night we went to bed in the little hallway type bedroom, which had bunk beds.  It was quiet for a little while. Then it was noisy as Red got sick from all that Red Pop...and my aunt made sure we all knew the lesson about drinking too much Red Pop. I have not had one can since!

Another trip they picked me up in their bluish Buick car.  There was a recliner in the backseat, flipped over so the back part layed on top of the bench seat.  It took up half the seat, leaving the other half for the three of us.  I still don't know how we fit back there, but man it was worth it!

It was a blast at their house, too. In the winter we would ride their snowmobiles around the yard, singing old Alabama songs, for what seemed like forever.  In the Summer we would swim in the horse tank (no kidding), play on the custom Merry-go-Round my uncle made, and hang up LOADS of laundry.  When I think about their house, I can hear the Detroit Tigers playing on the T.V. and I can almost smell my aunt's suppers cooking.  Occasionally my uncle would let us split a Mountain Dew, which came in the tall green glass bottle.

My mom took Red, Blonde and I to cedar point one time. We camped at a campground overnight then promptly left mom as soon as we entered the park.  I think mom thought the 4 of us were going to spend the day together...sorry 'bout that, mom!




I searched through all my photo books, only to learn I have no pictures from about 1st grade through 8th grade.  They must be at Mom's.  This is Red and Blonde at a concert we all went to together, which I'm sure we had a blast at.  We saw The Tractors, David Ball, and Brooks & Dunn...all of which are no longer together. Great memories with even better cousins.  Love you guys!

As we grew older there were fewer sleep-overs and trips up north, but we filled in with cousin campouts and graduation open houses.  As adults we may only see each other a couple times per year,  but I think of Red and Blonde often-including every time I see a can of Red Pop or a commemorative glass bottle of Mountain Dew.
Cousins are special people-they're friends and family all rolled into one.  My sister may have been doing us a favor that day, but really she helped create life long memories for my kids, for which I am grateful for. Thank you!

-Terri