Christmas Blitz and Visitors

We've played in the snow,

decorated the tree,

modeled Christmas gifts,

baked and eaten Christmas delights.

For the recipe, click this link.

And then, after the glitz and blitz had settled, it was time to get to work. 
David Tometich made a trip to shear our sheep. 

Shearing the last of the sheep.

No one but a shepherd understands why we shear them in winter, but its for a number of reasons (not all of them are privy to me, either).  Our ewes are bred to have lambs when it's still cold and no matter who you are or how cold it is, a dingle-berry-infested environment does not make for happy, healthy babies.  Also, a cold sheep will seek shelter from harsh weather.  They're not the brightest animals in the world, so if they register the actual temperature, there's a chance we'll find new lambs in a protected place during a classic mid-west ice storm.

David Tometich and the Big Guy weighing the wool.

Do we keep the wool? No.  We don't have a market or the ability to process it correctly.  David Tometich pays us for the wool.  We pay him to shear.  It's a win-win proposition, but we end up with healthy, clean sheep as our compensation.

That same day we were thrilled to have Zoe Martin, a field representative from Iowa Farmer Today,  interview Grace for a feature article this next month.

We'll let you know when and where it comes out--and we haven't forgotten to let you in on the secret in the hay bale, we just haven't gotten to it yet (Believe it!  Or not!).

After the interview, the Big Guy came to the house to sample goodies and get a report.  If the experience can be measured by Grace's after-interview demeanor, it was a huge success.  Thank you, Zoe!

Today, with family visiting from Colorado and a hopeful expectation of the Boyfriend, we are planning to break open the bale--and resume work on the new office (pictures coming soon to a blog near you).

Snow Day in Iowa

It's a snowy day in Iowa.  School was cancelled.  Traffic is slow to zero.  Slow is flying, ice is clinging, trees are dancing.

Grace was frosting sugar cookies and making cinnamon-swirl pancakes when Laura rushed in from the barn, a surprise in hand.  Who knew Babbit the Rabbit had babies?

The kitchen is empty as children have run outside to look for treasure--and to make a cozy home for a new little bunny, "The Cuteness." 

The joy of snow!  It's already a good day at Pine Ridge Farm!

Coming Up on Christmas!

Yesterday Matthew came home from college for Christmas break.  The Big Guy's been working on an addition to the shop and they were both very tired:

The Big Guy contracted 28 loads of grain for the month of December. He has already spent quite a bit of time driving and sitting in line, but left a great deal for Matthew to finish off the next couple weeks (Matthew's been looking for a few extra dollars to line his pocket).

The weather has been unseasonably warm.  Last weekend Grace and The Boyfriend spent the afternoon making a fort out of hay bales in the haymow.  You can see TB peering down at me from the top of the pile:

And in their adventuring, they found something quite curious:

The Big Guy says it's a raccoon--a SLOW raccoon.  The kids are hoping to dissect the bale of hay over the holidays and see what's really inside.  Until we find out, it's rather creepy.  Okay, so it's creepy whether we find out or not.

In other farm news, the chicks are growing--but they move fast enough to elude the camera most of the time.  Can you see them following the two black mama chickens?  The mild weather has given them a jump start on a harsh winter.

Christmas is closing in upon us.  From our house to yours, blessings as you anticipate the Savior's birth!

Fall: In Season and Out of Season

One of the really fun things about living on a farm is sharing it--especially in the Fall.  A couple of weeks ago we invited international students who attend the University of Iowa to come out for a bonfire and hay-rack ride.  We thought you'd enjoy seeing pictures of students from China, Iraq, and Burkina Faso, among others.  For many of them, it was the first time they had cooked food over an open fire (American hot dogs and s'mores, anyway).
 

 

During the day, the Big Guy finished spreading potash on the fields before turning over the soil.  Because of our location, he drove the semi-truck to the Mississippi River and watched as they loaded fertilizer onto his truck from the barge one time,

 

 

...and from the large storage facilities another time.

 

 

Then, despite the unseasonable weather, he came home one night to find five brand new chicks wandering and peeping outside the hen house.  After a look inside he discovered more.

 

 



And what should pop up in the barn but a baby bunny, fuzzy-headed and dark, flashing out from under a wooden pallet.  Life in the country.  It happens.  Life.

Post Harvest

This year's harvest was done October 6. That has never happened in all of my husband's years growing up and working on a farm.  Unbelievable. Now that the harvest is over, he is preparing for next year's harvest. Leaves are falling. And children are growing.

We were blessed to have extra children for a week. Laura, finally a big sister, recruited help building the walls of her fort.

The Big Guy went bow hunting morning and evening. I grew up in Wyoming eating everything from venison to antelope, elk, buffalo and an occasional moose (some are more enjoyable than others). 

David and, as the littlest one said, "Goover" (Hoover).

While I was out that dark, rainy morning, I stuck my head in the barn to capture pictures of domesticated food--just for you.

The rooster sleeps alone, the rooster sleeps alone, hi-ho, the derry-oh, the rooster sleeps alone.

The big cows--one is missing.  Hmmm.

Why don't the chickens sleep in the hen house?  Perhaps it has something to do with the mink that ate their friends last winter...

The little cows sleeping together in their stall.

On rare nights of the week (when we do not have cross country meets, church activities or other functions) we enjoy at night at home. Unlike many families in America, our only television station is the Public Broadcasting Network. We do subscribe to Netflix, that way we can watch what we want to and leave the rest. We also spend time practicing and writing music, reading and writing books, cooking and baking, drawing pictures, crocheting, knitting and playing games.

Laura  practicing on her keyboard in the parlor.

Rachael doing homework at the kitchen table.

Grace picked pears from Mrs. Hawley's and made pear tarts.

Soybean Harvest

We've nearly finished harvesting corn and have moved on to soybeans.  At the end of the school day, I grabbed the camera and headed out to the fields where the Big Guy was moving farm equipment.

The head of the combine is too wide to drive down roads and across bridges, so it has to be removed and transported separately.  To remove it, the Big Guy lines up the combine with the parked wagon, then lowers the head (cutting bar) onto the supports:

He disconnects the hydraulics and releases the catches, leaving the head behind.

Using a large chain and binder, he secures the head to the wagon--which is especially necessary for traveling across the field, over gravel roads and uneven pavement.

 A rare picture of the truck/wagon driver:

At the new field, the Big Guy reattaches the bean head:

Working with the hydraulics.

 And opens the field to make room for the semi truck, tractor and grain cart:

Matthew was home (smiley face) and drove the semi for the Big Guy over the weekend.  He took a load of beans to the elevator 40 miles away and hauled grain to our grain bin facilities on the other side of town (too far to drive the cart).

While we were out moving equipment, Laura was home, practicing entomology and, note the stained hands, creativity.

With charcoal from our fire ring, she made paint for her sign, peeled and hung up black walnuts to dry (see stained hands above),

and created a new fort in the backyard.

We're enjoying so many blessings this Fall!  The Big Guy is harvesting the last field of beans today (58 acres) and we have one shriveled field of corn that was affected by the drought.

The calves no longer need milk and the girls are rejoicing that they eat grain independently (if we can keep it away from the big guys).

More to come....

Saturday Morning Blues

Laura's friend spent the night last night.  Once they finished giggling at Mr. Bean, they tucked in around midnight, but had to get up and feed calves at 7:00 a.m.

While the girls went to do chores, I made pancakes with a double-yoked fresh egg (one of our chickens seems to do that regularly).

The girls took a long time, so I went to investigate.

"Look, Mom!  He's eating with the big boys, now!"

We have extra corn from one of the Big Guy's unfortunate spills. Rachael and the Big Guy filled buckets from the field last night.  Although the girls reimburse us for feed, anytime there's "wasted" corn in the field or on the road, it's free--all they have to do is retrieve it with a shovel and buckets.

Grace has been custom mowing yards this summer.  She was out until dark last night and didn't finish, so she's loaded and ready to go after running a 5k to benefit our local schools this morning.