A Day in the Garden

Last week we spent a day in the garden.  The BIG garden.  And we planted everything!  Corn, green beans, squash, cucumbers, cabbage, broccoli, onions, green peppers, okra, tomatoes, some potatoes, watermelon, and cantaloupe.  Did I miss anything?

Anywho, here is a before picture of the bare garden.

Once everything starts to grow, I'll post some more pics.

In this pic, Rhen is adding fertilizer to the soil.

Our brother, the Knight, is planting green beans in this one.

Poppy is laying out the rows in the lower part of the garden.  I did exactly that in the upper part.

This area is where the watermelons and cantaloupes are usually planted.  

In case you haven't noticed, we are a Farmall Family.  Below, Poppy is driving the A Farmall, which is used specifically for garden or ground work (plowing, planting, etc.)

Broccoli plant.

We bought these as plants, not seed.

Yellow Squash.

Cucumber.

Ma is tilling the ground free of footprints.

Our grandfather is very picky about his garden and how it looks after working in it...

But shh! Don't tell him I said that!

Here are the 'mater plants.

How To Plant a 'Mater Plant:

First, dig hole.  Then pour cup of water in hole.  Place plant in hole and cover base.

Be sure to make a mound so that rain water won't be able to stand and drown'd the little plant.  If you hear word of coming frost, take buckets, according to plant size, and place upside-down on top of plant, effectively guarding it from the cold.  Let grow on their own, watering occasionally, when needed.  When time is right, pick ripe, bright red 'maters (or green, your preference) from plant and serve in whatever way preferred.

Well, there you have it.

Now to wait for yummy home-grown veggibles.

Until next time,

Elisera

All photos by me.  To check out our mother's version of the garden, click here.

On the Farm: Corn and Cattle

Greetings, friends!  I wanted to share what we've been up to the past couple days.  First off...

MONDAY

In the Garden.

The corn had yielded the last of the crop this season and it was time to cut and feed to the cows.  They LOVE the stuff.  So, here's Catlia and the brother, hard at work. 

 

Oh, that's me and our grandmother.

Grandmama again...

This pic (and the one below) kinda gives you an idea how big this garden is.  We have another crop of corn growing to the left. 

After chopping the corn, we tilled the new crop of corn (to keep out the weeds) and picked okra and green bell peppers.

This is just one load.  I think we ended up taking three to the two herds of cattle we have.

Look at the cows.  =3  They're so happy they came to meet us!

Happy cows.  =}

Catlia is driving the Farmall, we are headed back to the garden to chop another load.

This one was piled even higher.

That's my favorite tractor right there. *sits proudly and types* The "M" Farmall.

Okay, okay, I had to put these on.  The next two pics were taken later that evening and are featuring our neighbors/relative's dogs.  Below, you will see Fudge, a border collie.  Fudge's owners, R and J, were the ones who gave us horse-back riding lessons.  They have a farm which adjoins ours, and of course, they have horses. =]  We were given quite a show.  Fudge is learning many tricks, it is so much fun to watch him.  He could play with his frisbee ALL day long, you have to make him stop to take a drink of water, or he'll wear himself out.

This is Gus, Scottish terrier.  He is also learning some tricks.  I love watching him and his little legs zoom all over the yard.  He's hilarious to watch!

TUESDAY

We were working in cattle Tuesday morning, getting the cows and calves up to separate and sell. 

Poppy S.

In this pic, we're putting them into the stalls.  This makes it easy to separate the cows from the calves.

First, let me explain the two types of cattle we have.  The black beasties are called Angus and the "white" Charolais (pronounced SHAR-lay).

Then, once they are separated, cows from calves, and keepers from sellers, it's time to load up the trailer, which this one below is nearly 28 years old (that's pretty old, but, hey, it works just like it should).  =D

Aw, this poor cow is missing her baby... =[ But, sadly, that's how it is.  We have to sell, in order to keep our herds nice and trim.  On our farm, we keep about 60-70 head of cattle, but of course, when the cows have calves that bumps our number up a good deal. 

This one here is looking for her calf, too.

Just a bit of the scenery.

Well, that's all for this post.  Thanks for reading!

Fairfarren, my friends,

Elisera

Summary of Our Week

Greetings, my friends! Forgive the lack of posting, it's been crazy... So, I'll give you a summary of our week.

Last week we helped our grandfather (my dad's dad) dig potatoes in his large garden. Actually, he used his tractor to dig them up, but anyway, we ended up with 12 crates of the earthen veggibles. =D I took my camera along, of course, and managed to get a few pics of the workers, despite muddy hands... Oddly enough, though, I didn't get any pics of the potatoes...

This is Rhen and Ma hard at work. Notice Rhen's bare feet. ^ - ^

This is Poppy D. (Yes, he, like our other grandfather, is also known as Poppy. So, we have Poppy D. and Poppy S.)

Ah, here we are, at the hayfield! This is the Big Field and we are getting a second cutting, usually not as good as the first cutting, but still better than none. Please note: I took these picks with my camera phone while driving. *bows* Yes, yes, thank you! It takes skill to do so on a machine without power steering. I love it.

This, my friends, is a hay rake. A few people, though not all, when we say, "to rake hay," think that we do it with an actual hand rake. Well, this is the little contraption we use. I wish I could get the picture in motion, because it's hard to explain how it works, although it's probably the most simplest thing. Anyway, I'll try my best. The yellow part of this contraption rotates and "rakes" the hay into windrows (I have a picture of that also), which makes it easy for the baler to pick up.
... That's it really. See, simple. =]

Below, is part of the process of raking the hay into windrows. For your sake, I'll spare the long explanations. In the big fields, we use two tractors and rakes with one following the other, while in the smaller pieces, only one set is needed. The tractor in the lead is known as "lead dog." In the pic below, I am in front and the raker behind will finish this incomplete windrow.

And here we have a beautiful pic, taken from the tractor mind you, of the field, not yet raked. This time, because it was our second cutting and the hay was not as thick, we did not tett the hay, so as to spread it out and to let it dry more completely. But that is another story.

The completed windrows of which the hay baler will compress into round bales.

Ta-da!

And here we come to fresh, garden, green beans.  Picked, washed, broken, and canned all in one day. And, believe me, it took all day. By midnight, we had canned 47 quarts.

And another day, it was tomatoes, though that didn't take all day and we ended up with 7 quarts to add to the other number we'd canned the week before.

Also, it was somebody's birthday... Yes, mine. I am officially 91.

No really, flip the numbers. ;D

I had to post a picture of the cupcakes I made.

For my actual b-day, we ate lunch at this great Japanese restaurant where they cook the meal in front of you and do all sorts of tricks. I loved it!

And last, but not least, I wanted to post some pics taken from my camera. I love doing close-ups of flowers and such.

Summertime blooms.

Creek side beauty.

A misty morning.

Well, that's all for now. Blessings!

Fairfarren, my friends,

Elisera