The new house going up
June 24, 2013
In my old meadow, a house is taking shape. It belongs to my son and his wife. I did make the hay that was growing in what will be their front and back yards. It was very odd shaped to cut, but the hay was heavy and well worth the effort.
I first plowed this field in the spring of 1993. It was a little forgotten corner next to the woods. It plowed hard. The horses and I used my walking plow. We kept after it, doing a little each day. We planted corn that spring in the poor neglected ground.
The corn did grow and made a crop. We picked it by hand. The two acre field yielded just over 120 bushels of corn, a mere 60 bushels to the acre. The ears were small, but the animals were happy to eat it.
We put tons of manure on the field year after year. Lime and soil ammendments were also spread on the ground. The soil has improved by leaps and bounds. the last time corn was planted there, the yield was just over 100 bushels to the acre. The ears were large and easy to pick.
A crop of oats followed the corn, nursing the hay crop that was planted at the same time. I baled the oats for the animals and watched the new hay crop burst forth in the little field. It had improved very much since the first days of my farming here. I wa proud of my efforts.
We gave the little field to my son and his wife. A house is now rising from the soil. A new crop will soon be grown there. The crop will be that of children. I will nurture and watch them grow too.
I will share many of my farming experiences with them. I will hand down wisdom from my grandparents. I can’t wait to tell them about my great grandfather’s “kid grower”. Every spring, when the cows were turned out on grass for the first time, my grandpa would tell us kids that the soupy green manure coming out of those cows would make us grow. The secrect was to run through the stinky green goo in our bare feet.
We fell for it every year. The warm manure would squeeze up through our toes, as we searched the little pasture for more of the magic growing potion. Our feet would be stained for a week or more. The green grass stains having to wear off… no amount of soap and scrubbing would work…. only time, would make our feet white again.
So for now, I wait on that new crop, but while I wait, I will make a list of all the forgotten things that will make those kids grow. I remember getting a big growth spurt one Easter Sunday from riding on grandpa’s manure spreader seat as he spread the watery mess that is dairy cow manure. A fine mist covered my little suit and exposed skin. He cleaned me up with an old feed bag before I showed mom.
There I stood, covered in crap, dusted with cow feed smiling from ear to ear. Not only had I got to do some farming with my great grandpa, he was making sure that I was going to grow too! I guess it worked. All of us kids did indeed grow up, got taller and a few of us even got smarter 😮
The next crop in the little corner field will be that of speltz. I will plant them to get a nice lawn started for my son. The speltz will nurse the grass. The other crop, that of children, is up to them. I will explain that the season is year round, so get busy…after all timing is everything. We want to catch that first spring grass manure as soon as they babies are walking 😮
1 Comment so far
Leave a comment
RicelandMeadows 
Some got rounder too! HEHE
Comment by Minnow June 24, 2013 @ 7:11 pm