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So riding out to the pumpkin patch the other day - we just don't have too many pumpkins this year. It's heart breaking and MAYBE by the 18th we'll have more turn orange. But it was not a great year this time. Again, we planted late (and I remember planting and it was raining as we did it)..... and well bugs are up there.
So we'll see what happens. At least the hay ride will be going for the farm tour. And we WILL be cooking up yummy brats :)
Monday, September 29, 2008
Ok guys - if you haven't seen it.... Alexis (my lil girl) is on the cover of the 2008 Fall Farm Tour Brochure!
Way to go girl!! Ain't she just the cutest!
Rumor has it that there might not BE farm tours next year because of the budget. Don't you just love it? So may I suggest voicing your opinion to SOMEONE over in the local government (not sure who) and let them know you want the farm tours!
To give you an idea - we pass through about 1000 people over the weekend. People who have never seen a chicken. I mean some people thought chickens had 4 legs!?! So "city-people" NEED the education that coming out to the farm brings. It's important no matter what. Kids need to see the animals - need to participate and also get out of the front of their computer or TV (even as both my kids are watching a movie right now)
So many kids are afraid of animals. They come out here all excited and then when an animal gets close they FREAK! Screaming & kicking and crying and everything else you can imagine. They NEED to learn that animals are ok to be around - you just need to be careful and approach them cautiously.
I really hope that the tours aren't done away with - because even though that weekend is exhausting - it's well worth seeing the kids faces light up when they get to see all these animals.
We'll see you that weekend! It's one not to miss!
Way to go girl!! Ain't she just the cutest!
Rumor has it that there might not BE farm tours next year because of the budget. Don't you just love it? So may I suggest voicing your opinion to SOMEONE over in the local government (not sure who) and let them know you want the farm tours!
To give you an idea - we pass through about 1000 people over the weekend. People who have never seen a chicken. I mean some people thought chickens had 4 legs!?! So "city-people" NEED the education that coming out to the farm brings. It's important no matter what. Kids need to see the animals - need to participate and also get out of the front of their computer or TV (even as both my kids are watching a movie right now)
So many kids are afraid of animals. They come out here all excited and then when an animal gets close they FREAK! Screaming & kicking and crying and everything else you can imagine. They NEED to learn that animals are ok to be around - you just need to be careful and approach them cautiously.
I really hope that the tours aren't done away with - because even though that weekend is exhausting - it's well worth seeing the kids faces light up when they get to see all these animals.
We'll see you that weekend! It's one not to miss!
What useful little creatures goats can be! We need weeds, trees and a bunch of junk removed from a pile of dirt and rocks so we can clear the pile (made when we had the pool built). So portable electric fencing with 5 little goats are busy at work! The electric fencing rocks! We are in the process of moving these guys around where ever we need them to clear stuff. See??? We do have working animals on here!
Yes - I brag about Joe a lot. Why? Because simply some days what he does just is great - and not any man will do what he does (and put up with my ark I seem to be building).
Yesterday he STARTED cleaning out the chicken coop. Oh - 800 chickens can make a MESS! And all summer long we've just been adding shavings as needed to help with the smell - not cleaning it all out. Well TODAY (Saturday) he finished and it looks just amazing!! I mean come on ladies - how many of you out there have a husband who will clean out a chicken coop which is a good 8 inches of.... well.... chicken poop!?!?!?!
So this is my public acknowledgement of how wonderful my husband can be :)
I know - it was 90 degrees two days ago and now we start planning for the winter! Stuff needs to get butchered - but we can't run as many animals during the middle of the winter - and honestly I think both Joe and myself want to slow down this year a little more than we tried to this year.
Slowing down is the hardest part. During the mad-dash of the fall we need to get all the butchering dates in - maybe try out a new butcher? (I'm checking that tomorrow).....finalize trucking the animals, picking up.... and then well we have to continue and plan school. And gosh darn it - it's the year I decided the kids need to start doing some other stuff - so my weeks are BOOKED!!!
I can truly say there is never a dull moment during this time of year. It's a rush that will leave us exhausted at the end - but hopefully a bill or 2 will be paid off!
I know it is.... but 92 degrees today is going to be HOT! I guess the kids can go in the pool for a little bit to cool off and I got the chickens out of their coops by 7:30 - but I can already feel the stickiness. At least the rest of the week will be in the 70's! Much better I think!
Come on! The A/C was off and I was hoping to keep it off - but it looks now like it will have to be on today until tomorrow.
I screw a lot of stuff up by changing it - but I felt I had to. I actually talk a lot and am on the computer....well a lot. But I wasn't adding to the blog and I feel it's a fun thing and amazing enough - people READ it!
So I was having problems with Wordpress and remembering to log in etc. Apparently with Blogger I can just put a little thing on my homepage (through igoogle.com) and type here and it posts on my blog! Super easy!
Ok - newest thing. Joe is down in the garage while they install a new walk-in freezer. It occured to us that when we have 8 steers butchered it MIGHT be a good idea to have SOMEPLACE to store at least some of the meat! The 2 - 72 cubic foot ones were not enough unfortunately when we do the larger quantities of custom processing. So in comes the 6x6x8 foot walk-in! It should be amazing when it's done I think. I guess it doesn't take THAT long - but they will come back and install the compressor (something like that).
I can't believe it's almost fall already. It seems like yesterday I was writing that we were about to plant stuff and now the season is coming to a close. And yes - I still need to can tomatoes even though I have about 36 quarts of spaghetti sauce canned so far. I've lost track of the hot pepper jelly I have made and Joe wants more pickled pepper rings.
Off to do more stuff (oh hey - isn't this template cool!?) Fingers crossed that we will have pumpkins for the fall tour!