I Beg to Differ

…If it clouds up in the city, the weather man complains

But where I come from

Rain is a good thing!

Rain is a good thing…

…Farmer Johnson does a little dance
Creek’s on the rise, roll up your pants
Country girls, they wanna cuddle
Kids out playin' in a big mud puddle

Rain is a good thing!

…Start washin' all our worries down the drain
Rain is a good thing, rain is a good thing

Rain is a good thing, rain is a good thing

Rain is a good thing, rain is a good thing

Rain is a good thing, rain is a good thing

Rain is a good thing!

                       -Luke Bryan “Rain is a Good Thing”

Enough already!

So close, but yet so far...
it's raining SO hard that I can't get out of the truck to open the gate!

Ever since the release of Luke Bryan’s wildly popular song in early 2010, it seems that a whole lot of people think that all farmers want it to rain all the time.  

I cannot tell you how many folks have said, “guess you’re lovin’ all this rain!” 

(okay...it's not really Luke Bryan's fault...)

Rain is great, rain is wonderful…rain is essential to our survival. 

However…

another day-another downpour
this time I'm stranded in the hoophouse

This year we find ourselves in the odd position of praying that it will NOT rain.  …at least for a few days.

While many folks think that farmers want rain, LOTS of rain, and Luke Bryan’s song has us out dancing, drinking and enjoying the downpour, there comes a point when too much moisture causes all sorts of problems.

The corn and bean farmers (who actually got their crops planted) are seeing some amazing growth.  That’s good.

The hay farmers are either watching the hay crop get more and more mature…too mature, or they “washed” the hay crop in the unexpected, torrential rains that keep popping up.  That’s NOT good. As a matter of fact, that's very bad!

there's a river through the barnyard

On a personal level, vegetable crops really don’t need this much water. The challenges that come with TOO much moisture are every bit as challenging as drought conditions.

Disease runs rampant in the warm, wet weather.

The bug population increases exponentially. Slugs and snails in particular, are eating everything they slide over.

Proper pollination becomes an issue as flying insects don’t get out much on dark, rainy days.

the strange shape is due to poor pollination--these will never look "normal"

Weed seeds, dormant for years, germinate and threaten to take over the entire garden.

Too much water causes tomatoes to crack open.

Crops, like cucumbers, where the fruit sits on the ground are subject to rot.

…and the animals are at risk for all sorts of parasites and possible foot issues due to the weather conditions.

When we face drought conditions, we can irrigate.  That’s not the perfect solution, but it does help. Oddly enough, I quoted a different part of this same song two summers ago when we were experiencing very different, very DRY conditions.  Read this.  For the record, I actually like the sound of the song and it’s in the MP3 line-up that is an essential part of my work routine.

However, there are no umbrellas big enough to cover our farm. (or any other farm, for that matter) There is no way to divert the rain water to some of our agricultural brethren elsewhere who are praying diligently for moisture.  Although, believe me, we would if we could.

So, we do other stuff.  We hope and pray that tomorrow will be a little drier.  That we will get a chance to get those potatoes in the ground. 

potatoes are cut and ready to go

can't plant potatoes in THIS!

That we will be able to get the crops for fall planted…BEFORE fall.

But, for the record…we’re not out dancing in the creek OR mud puddles. Although I have nearly lost my boots more than once in all the muck.

 …and right now,

 SUN would be a good thing!

The Object of Great Desire

I admit it…every single animal around here is spoiled.

  I give in far too easily.

Back when Miss Kitty was still alive and well here on the hill, I began buying canned cat food because she didn’t seem to have the strength to eat the crunchy stuff. If you somehow missed the tale of “Miss Kitty”, you should read this. "End of an Era" (be sure you have a tissue…it’s sad)

The other barn kitties got accustomed to eating clean-up after Miss Kitty, she always got first dibs and no one ever argued with her. But, after she died…I just kept buying canned cat food for them, because they seemed to like it so much.  See?  I told you.

It began to seem like that cat food was disappearing rather quickly.  I mean, three kitties can eat…and eat quickly, but this was getting ridiculous.  …and wait a minute!  How are these cat food cans getting outside?  …in the front yard? Hmmmmm

The Boss insisted that the DOGS were eating the cat food. I had suspected as much, but we had no hard evidence.  Occasionally, a dog would brush past us while we were doing chores, but either one of them just hurried back out the door…and at first we never suspected…we never gave them a second thought.

But, one day, something about the whole thing seemed more than a little suspicious. 

I waited…I watched… AH HA!  The dogs are so large that they can hold the entire cat food can in their mouth with ease.  Their floppy lips covered the contraband and they would slink out the door, taking their little goodie outside for some al fresco dining.

By the times the cats finish with the food, there is at most a tablespoon left in the bottom.  Why the dogs even bother is beyond me, but they both have a true weakness for all things feline.

They seemed to be taking turns.  Jed would get it and then Ellie.  They weren’t fighting over it at all.  I guess they were just putting one over on the humans.

Since the Boss is almost as soft-hearted as I am (oh, don’t tell), he devised a system so that the cats got their food and the dogs just ate “clean-up”.  Now, Jed and Ellie know that they can’t come in the barn to eat until we allow it…and yes, they get the can.

Now, if we could just get them to pick up after themselves!

Sunday Walkabout 7-7

alpenglow over the Allegheny Mountains on Sunday morning

Aaah!  It’s Sunday…our day to take it easy (relatively) and take stock of some of the things that happened here on the hill in the past week.

We had rain every single day Monday to Friday.  While the total for the week (somewhere just over 2 inches) isn’t really all that impressive, conditions were already wet and the daily rain occurrences kept us from doing all that we had planned. Again.

Awesome sunset

the sun is shining...just not on the farm

The wet, warm conditions are not only playing havoc with our schedule, the weeds and bugs are reaching epic proportion. That is a topic for a whole series of posts. (I’ll get to that when/if we get the bugs and weeds under control)  We are also starting to see evidence of heat related stress and disease in some of the plants.

Jed survived a traumatic haircut, at least three thunderstorms AND the Fourth of July celebrations.  Now it is the dog days of summer and I’m pretty sure that this is pretty much all we can expect from him until things get relatively cooler.

There is good news…the cucumber harvest is beginning (finally), the winter squash crop looks like it will be wonderful, and the corn made it to “knee high by the Fourth of July”.

We managed to beat the rain and get some new potatoes harvested.  They are beautiful!  They also sold well (and taste delicious!).  The yield rate is excellent, as well.

bush-hogging the "broccoli garden"

The broccoli/cabbage/cauliflower garden was bush-hogged and plowed in anticipation of planting the fall potato crop. This year's brassicas were record-setting.  I haven't run the figures yet, but it was MOST impressive! If the weather holds, the Boss should be able to get in and till and we should be able to get all the “fall” potatoes planted by Tuesday.  Here’s hoping!

plowing the "broccoli garden"

The Market was great on Saturday! We actually went a whole day without rain.

We added a new member to the “farm team” this week.  This is tiny Tess…although we may need to reconsider her name.  Those ears just say….YODA.

 Hopefully she will grow quickly and join Squeekie and Sissie in their efforts to rid the barn of rodents.  For now, she is content to chase dust bunnies in the house. (and believe me, there are plenty for her to chase)

That was our week. The upcoming week promises to be full of planting, harvesting, and a truck repair…

Thanks for visiting!  Hope the upcoming week is a great one for you.

Happy Sunday!

Independence Day

25 years ago today, I declared my independence from the corporate world.

Yes, it’s been 25 years since I received a “real” paycheck or worked “regular” hours. (but that’s another story)

In the summer of 1988, the Boss and I were eagerly anticipating the birth of our first child.  It was our plan that I would stay home and care for the baby and any subsequent siblings while the Boss continued as sole breadwinner in his career with the power company.

It seemed only fitting that my first day away from corporate America was the 4^th of July...Independence Day. It was somewhat thrilling to start that first day of independence, charting my own course and all… although, I must admit I have questioned my decision more than once over the years.

"June Cleaver"
from LEAVE IT TO BEAVER
on tv from 1956-1963

I can honestly say that my life is nothing like I imagined as I drove away from my former office that long ago July day.  I envisioned myself being some sort of rural “June Cleaver”, trading the pearls and heels for boots and jeans…keeping house, baking cookies and keeping track of kiddos, while being incredibly, audaciously calm, cool and collected. 

Life apparently had other plans.

(I am pretty sure I have NEVER been audaciously calm...or cool...or even remotely collected!)






My first clue should have been when “Wally and the Beaver” turned out to be two little girls!

our girls - May 1, 1990

Little girls who developed a great love of pink and purple...

...and for a while...a certain dinosaur on PBS.

1994

I never could have imagined all those years ago that we would be living in a way and place so different from my childhood, starting from scratch and learning to coax a living from this little plot of land. Read this about the early days.   That our little girls would be grown-up, successful, married women. 

It’s been hard, it’s been fun, and it’s been scary. 

But, I can say without hesitation…”we’re doin’ OK!” We live in a very special place.

We’ve had experiences that would have escaped us if we hadn’t been open to change and challenge. We have met folks who have changed our lives and world view. Every day here on the hill offers us something new and different.  

Here are a few of my favorite stories.

http://homesteadhillfarm.blogspot.com/2012/02/i-smell-like-cow.html

http://homesteadhillfarm.blogspot.com/2012/07/a-random-act.html

http://homesteadhillfarm.blogspot.com/2012/08/a-special-thank-you-to-mrs-squash.html

…and the all-time greatest “living in the country” story…http://homesteadhillfarm.blogspot.com/2012/02/his-cow-is-in-your-barn.html.  Use your imagination and I guarantee...you'll laugh out loud.

So, while our country celebrates its independence with fireworks and picnics…I will note the amazing adventures that my own “independence day" granted me with a trip to the barn…gardens…hoophouse and sheep shed, all the while feeling thankful that...

a cloudy July day on the hill

Independence Day is just the start of all sorts of great things!

...these are MY people...

Enjoy!

...and This is Why I’m NOT a Dog Groomer…

D.I.Y. 

Do It Yourself

That’s generally how we roll.  There are not too many projects we haven’t tackled.  We’ve built stuff (okay, the Boss built, I helped) We’ve milked cows, sheared sheep, tilled gardens, grown food, made clothes, raised kids, cut hair,churned butter, baked bread, painted, repaired...

So, surely…surely…we could give a dog a haircut.  I mean, we’ve done it before. Read this.

It’s been two years since I wrote that story.  Those two years haven’t done anything for Jed’s appearance.  I mean NOTHING.  His fur was a dirty, matted mess.  There were grass and burdock seeds down near his skin.  I worried they might sprout.  His naps in the soft dirt or hay of the barn didn’t help.  …and there was no denying it…he smelled AWFUL!  The hot, humid days were just making things worse.

The weather was playing havoc with our garden schedule once more and we found ourselves with a small chunk of free time, a dry dog, and the determination to put aside a nagging job.  We joked about the need for a dog groomer, or at least a sedative.  But, really…we could do this…how hard could it be to clip a dog?

The Boss got out the sheep stand, hooked Jed in, and fired up the clippers.  Jed tried to jump off the stand.  He did get his head free and growled unhappily.  We re-positioned him.  I stood in front of him and held his face tightly.  The Boss fired up the clippers again.  At the end of the first blow (line of cutting), Jed tried to jump off the stand again.

Oh, this was going to be fun.  NOT

Jed’s latent fear of noises seems to be getting worse. Thunder, gunshots, loud motorcycles reduce him to a trembling mass of fur and drool. So, we put the clippers away and started in with scissors.  The scissor method would take far longer, but it was better than having a hundred pounds of dog jumping through the air.  The Boss took one side and I worked on the other.

But, it was getting hotter by the minute.  I think my eyelids were sweating…and my glasses were slipping down my nose. Fluffy white dog fur began to adhere to my sticky skin.    blech!

Snip, snip, snip…oh, he’s looking better.

Snip, snip…Jed started to calm down and acted as if he was enjoying it.

Snip, snip…he was enjoying it.  He wagged his tail just as I snipped the hair at the very end.  Ack!  Wait a minute!  Is that blood on my scissors?

Wag, wag…oh yes, it was definitely blood…and with every happy wag of Jed’s enormous tail, blood went everywhere.   Little splatters of blood landed on the front of my shirt, mingling with the dog drool and fur that were already covering it. We both ended up with dog blood down the front of our jeans.  Oh….ewww….

How could such a tiny injury cause such a mess?

“Direct pressure.  We need direct pressure.  The blood-stop powder.  We need the blood stop powder.  Here, hold this.”  The Boss had me hold Jed’s tail, tightly bandaged with blood-stop powder and paper towels, in hopes that it would stop bleeding while he finished the clipping.  The bleeding didn’t stop.  I began to look like I worked in a M*A*S*H unit. The iodine and the smell of blood-stop powder added to the trauma room atmosphere.

The Boss suggested that we band the end of the tail in order to stop the bleeding.  Once the little rubber band went around the tail, the bleeding stopped.  We finished the job with no other calamities.

Although Jed is incredibly lumpy, he does seem cooler.

His little tail injury didn’t seem to faze him a bit.

Ellie got a little haircut, too.  Thankfully, no injuries were reported.  For some reason, she kept jumping up and flouncing around the yard.  I think she was showing off her new look.  

As I finished trimming the worst bits of Ellie's fur, the wind picked up.  Drifts of fluffy white fur began billowing in the breeze.

 The backyard looked as if some horrible disaster had befallen an entire herd of stuffed toy animals, bits of fuzz stuck to the grass, the trees. I could see it floating in the breeze toward M'brook.  It took some serious raking, but containment was mostly successful. If you should see clouds of white fuzz floating past...don't be alarmed...just remember this story.

By this time, I was covered in dirt, drool, blood, sweat, blood-stop powder, iodine and dog fur.  The prolong snipping with the scissors raised blisters on two of my fingers.  The smell of blood-stop powder and dirty dog seemed to have permeated my every pore. 

Ellie - after

Jed-after

While I’m all for “Do-It-Yourself” and we have the skills to do a lot of things, dog grooming is certainly NOT one of my talents.  

Next year…we should find a professional.

                                                               I'm pretty sure Jed would agree!