Filed under: August 2020 | Tags: animal corn, garden, gardening, home grown, husky not fat, maize
August 4, 2020
We have gotten some much needed rain. The crops are showing their gratitude! The pastures are green and growing. The corn is amazing…or perhaps “a-maize-ing” :o)
The hay fields are growing steadily, making growth for yet another cutting. The gardens too are growing great and vegetables are ripening quickly.
These summer squashes made it into the freezer today. I like them in vegetable soup, especially on a cold winter day. The taste of summer lasts all year that way.
Today marks the usual start of our county fair. Wet weather has been a long standing addition to the fair activities. This year, much of the fair has been cancelled due to Covid-19. I guess someone forgot to tell the weatherman. I won’t complain, we needed this recent rain.
From the look of my picture, I think it is time for me to eat more squash and less potatoes! All garden rewards should not go to waste…in my case, should not go to “waist”!
Filed under: July 2020 | Tags: grass growing in grain, lemons/lemonade, maize, open pollenated corn, Spelt, speltz
July 13, 2020
Some folks call this crop spelt. We have always called it speltz. It is a small grain like oats, that we grow for horse feed and straw. This year’s crop was part of an experiment that I won’t try again. I planted them on plowed sod. The grasses tried to overtake the grain. I salvaged what I could by setting the combine head high as I harvested them.
We only got about half a harvest because the grasses choked some of the grain out. It will still make great horse feed, it’s just that our yield was down.
The green in the combined mix shows just how much of a problem the grass turned out to be.
I will make the best of it. I mowed the grass and straw mix. I will take care to get the fluffy stuff dry for baling. The animals can decide what they want to eat, then lie down on the rest. It will all work out, just not like I had planned.
On another note, we got two inches of much needed rain. The pastures, gardens and corn crop all jumped from the moisture. Things are greening up again…including t he lawn. It looks like our corn crop will be a success. It surpassed the knee high by the fourth of July criteria. Here it is yesterday 7-12-2020.
Filed under: October 2019 | Tags: field corn, horse drawn, kindness, maize, sunset
October 16, 2019
First I should clarify, any day is a good day. Each day we are given the opportunity to reach for our goals, strive for excellence and share our light with the world. It is a choice to be happy, so smile, be kind and give of yourself to others. This positive attitude towards life, will make every day better. Sometimes, you may be the only positive thing others will see that day. You may uplift someone else, by simply smiling, now that my friends, is power!
I have been working on many projects as autumn is making itself known. It’s that last dash of preparation before winter slows down and even stops some outside activities. My biggest push right now, is to get the field corn harvested. The picker is ready to go. The crib needs emptied of the last of last year’s corn. A good clean out, fix a slat or two and the crib will be ready to receive the new crop.
Abby managed to lose her front shoe. So, yesterday, we ran to get one nailed on. You can’t pick corn with a flat tire on your tractor…or a missing shoe on your draft horse! She was all fixed up in the space of ten minutes. Abby and the geldings are ready and waiting for the corn harvest to begin. The corn is almost dry enough. The last two mornings of hard frost, will help in that effort too.
So, after a day of preparing for winter, equine pedicures and a beautiful sunset, I would say that it is the end to a perfect day.
Filed under: May 2019 | Tags: corn, dead furrow, draft horses, maize, plowing with horses, Small Farming, Spring, spring plowing
May 28, 2019
After a very wet spring and many delays due to soggy conditions, our corn crop has been planted! The horses and I finished plowing the second “land” yesterday. This is a three acre field. If it gives us a normal yield, we will have plenty of corn for the animals.
I am happy with my plowing job. The horses worked beautifully. The soil turned over very nicely yesterday. This is the last strip in this section. In the distance, you can see my cousin discing with the tractor. Having his help made it possible to finish the field prep and get the corn planted by suppertime.
As the strip gets smaller, the horses have to walk a little differently. Here, Hoss walks in the main furrow. Abby walks on the strip of green. Knight walks in the furrow made from our last pass coming from the opposite direction. We plow this strip until all of the green has been flipped over. The last pass makes a small ditch that helps to drain water from the field. This ditch is called a dead furrow.
A view of my mixed powered farm. The horses do much of the work, but a tractor can be utilized when needed. Yesterday, we pushed hard to beat the coming rains. As we all ate supper last night, (horses included) we took great pleasure in knowing that the corn field and our main garden were both planted before the weather turns wet again.
It was a crazy past few days. The horses and I plowed almost every day for a few hours. They are improving in condition after having so many days off due to weather. We got the rest of the tillage equipment ready, knowing that the corn would have to be planted soon. We even captured a wild swarm of honeybees that had stop to rest on a tree in the chicken park. They are all snug and happy in their new hive too. So, as the month of May is coming to a close, we have much to be thankful for and thankful, we are!
A quick look at the dead furrow. Once disced, this makes a smooth swale for the water to flow out of the field.
Filed under: August 2018 | Tags: autumn, draft horses, farm work, field corn, maize
August 24, 2018
There is a nip in the air this morning. How can it be? I still have hay to make, wood to gather and garden crops to harvest. I guess today was just a teaser. The August heat showed up by late afternoon. I think this is just a warning that soon, autumn will be here. I heard the school bus as I closed the gate. It was almost an exclamation point for my thoughts!
Work here at the farm continues, but so does the “fun”. Baby calves have started to be born. We calve in the fall. It’s backwards for most folks but works well for us. Pastures are in good shape with lots of feed for the animals. Plowing will begin soon for our speltz crop planting in the next few weeks….one more sign that fall is close at hand.
The corp crop is looking very well. It is one of our best crops in a long while. The reconditioned corn planter did an awesome job. The stand of corn is spaced just right. The ears are plentiful and well formed. The timely rain allowed the kernels to fill and made for some nice soon to be “hand picked” ears!…If picking corn by hand doesn’t signal fall… then winter… I don’t know what does.
Filed under: November 2016 | Tags: corn, corn picking, draft horses, Farming with Draft horses, husking corn, maize, Small Farming
November 1, 2016
What a beautiful day today was. The temperature was in the mid seventies. A small breeze blew and the sun shined overhead all day. The corn husked easily and the horses worked perfectly. After a late start getting things ready, I still managed to get two loads picked and put into the crib. Many thanks to friends and some family. We could pick four rows at a time. So every round got us out of the tracks from the last load.
The ground is very soft from recent rains. My corn is spotty due to a goof at planting time. The weeds too are a bit out of hand from our summer drought, but ears I am getting are large and easy to pick. The horses are sinking in a little, but the wagon, not too much. Because we get to move over with each round, the field should be in great shape once the job is done.
I am picking this corn by hand. I like to do it that way anyway, but this year with the soft ground, I am especially happy to be doing it. I am avoiding calling the field muddy, because so far it isn’t, not for horses anyway. If I was using a tractor, I would be buried up to the axles with no hope in sight. Thanks to my horses, I am picking and grinning!
RicelandMeadows 