Around the farm, part two...

Hi Everyone!  Yesterday I showed you that the hay ground had been cut and baled into large rectangular bales....well, today I thought I'd show you what we've been waiting all spring and summer to start work on....in fact Dad has been waiting for this to happen for several years...

....the pond and dam are being worked on.  They brought the big equipment on Monday afternoon and began working on it on Tuesday.  My grandpa original dug out this pond and created the dam and it lasted a good many years. 

But my first year here (10 years ago) we had winter kill of the fish because the pond was getting filled in with silt (from run off from the fields and pasture).  Then a few years later we had a couple of years worth of flooding that broke the dam, right where he's working (above photo).

 Not only are they rebuilding the dam, but they are also digging it out and making it deeper.

 There use to be three large cottonwood trees in this group but a couple of years ago we lost one in a big storm.  They used the smaller excavator to move it and pile it up and then started burning it.  It will take a few days to burn it (it was a huge tree!) and then they will bury what remains of it.

 I've taken pictures on my lunch break each day and down by the pond each night because it's so interesting to see the progress they make each day.

 Below is a picture of what the pond looked like when I first moved here.  This is of the pond from the southwest side looking toward the house.  All the other pictures are looking from the house side.

They are also going to be putting in a driveway from the road to the east pasture (south of the barn) but I'll show you that on another day.  So far the weather has been great for this work and looks to stay that way for a while!  So that's what's going on at the farm these days.  What's happening in your neck of the woods?  Thanks for stopping by.

Around the farm...

Hi Everyone!  I have something a little different to share with you today....scenes from around the farm.  Things have been happening around the farm lately.  A couple of weeks ago they came and cut the grass for haying...

...and raked it...

...then came back a few days later and baled it....

 ...into large rectangular bales....

....and then of course they returned to pick them up as most of them had already been sold.  While this has been going on, I've been working not on my house...that's on hold for a while...I've been trying to get ready for an upcoming open house and the Clarinda Craft Carnival that I attend every year.  This year, it's the only Fair that I will be attending so I need to make sure it's a good one.  Remodeling the house this year was the priority so I didn't attend any other fairs and I wasn't able to have an open house this spring, but I'm working on having one this fall and definitely before Christmas!  Tomorrow I'll show you what else has been going on around the farm.  Thanks for stopping by.

Milestones...

Hi Everyone! As I was driving the five miles to my parent’s house the other night, it dawned on me that a milestone had passed without a thought.  I have been living here for 10 years.  This might not sound like anything major to you, but for me it is.  For the ten years following my graduation from college I had moved 13 times and lived in four states.  I had wings and knew how to use them.  I would have opportunities to transfer or find a different job with a new company and then move.  I’d make new friends and it would seem like I was ready to settle down and stick somewhere for a while but then I’d decide it was time for a change and within no time, I’d be on the road again, moving.

Until my last move to the farm.  I remember the day in September that I took off and went for a drive in the Colorado Rockies to see the Aspens change.  I stopped to enjoy the scenery and it dawned on me that where I wanted and needed to be was the farm.

My grandparents had passed and the farmhouse was sitting empty and it was calling to me.  I made plans to go home for Thanksgiving.  The day I was to leave, I got called into a meeting and found out that they were offering a management separation (fancy words for lay off), and I could get paid to leave the company, the timing could not have been better.  I needed to make sure this was a move I wanted to make.  So while I was there I spent some time at the farm and it just felt right.  And by January 14th, I was living on the farm.

I was home.  And amazingly enough, I have never felt the urge to spread my wings again.  I had planted roots.  And they run deep.

Sometimes I miss the sounds of the city….or seeing the mountains….or the waves of Puget Sound....or the thought of a new adventure....but not enough to leave.  My roots are here.  And there’s nothing like sitting outside listening to the birds or the frogs at the pond, walking the pastures with the dogs, listening to the wild animals at night or seeing the deer in the pasture.  I have a sign in my kitchen that says, “A day in the country is worth a month in town.”  And it is so true.

I always thought I wanted to be a city girl but I discovered along the way that I’m just a country girl at heart.  And I’m happy to be home on the farm.  Thanks for stopping by.

PS.  It's only taken me ten years, but it's time to do a little remodeling of the spaces in my home.  And I'm beginning with my bathroom.  More on that soon.

Around the farm...

Hi Everyone!  Happy Wednesday.  I don't have any finished projects to share with you but I thought I'd show you a couple of things here on the farm.  I had my camera outside about a week ago and took some pictures of a couple of things around the farm.

 The big red barn...needs a little paint job on those doors.

 The hay has all been baled and the little square bales have been picked up, but now we are waiting for the large bales to get picked up.  The equipment is sitting out in front of the shop just waiting for the manpower...hopefully in the next day or too.  Then we will be praying for rain!  And since the hay is up, the dogs and I can once again walk in the pasture.  Once the pasture gets up to mid-calf we can no longer walk in it.

 I finally got a good picture of Bailey...it was hot that evening...we went back inside to the comfort of the air conditioning once I took her picture.

 And that same night I took another one of Bo...he's panting too and ready to go back inside.

 My day lilies are late this year.  My grandmother wouldn't have liked this in her yard...she didn't like yellow flowers, but I love them!

And the newest addition to the farm, Miss Kitty.  She showed up one day and has claimed us and the implement shed as her new home.  She's had a rough life...and she's not that old.  She's lost almost half of one of her ears and the tip of the other one.  I'm not sure what happened to her, but when she first arrived both ears were really raw.  She doesn't like the dogs, but seems to like me just fine.  I hope she decides to stick around for a long while.  That's a small look at some things around the farm.  Thanks for stopping by.

At the farm...

Hi Everyone!  I hope you have wonderful plans for this weekend.  I'm planning on getting some work done in the shop.  So hopefully I'll have plenty of things to share with you next week.  But today I thought I'd show you a couple of things going on at the farm.

 It's hay time!  What a beautiful sight!

 In fact, it's past hay time.  Each time they were ready to cut the hay it rained but yesterday they were able to cut and rake the hay.  Now it just needs to dry and then it can be baled.

 And while I was out with the dogs last evening, I saw this mom and her baby in the hay field.  By the time I had gotten the camera, they had moved to the road.

 The baby is young and little and was moving very tentatively on it's legs.  I have seen the mom in the pasture the last month or so but never got to see the baby due to the high grass.

 Here she is waiting for the baby to cross the road and deep ditch to join her in the field across the road.

 I'm guessing mom wasn't too happy when the pasture was cut today....it was a great place to hid a baby...

...and there they are back together in the bean field across the road.  It was fun to watch them together.  Sorry the pictures aren't any better but I wasn't able to get any closer.  Any interesting critters outside your door lately?  Well, now I need to get out to the shop, it's going to be hot today.  Thanks for stopping by.

We're havin' a heat wave...

...a tropical heat wave...the temperature's rising...it isn't surprising....she certainly can...can-can.....Boy is it hot out!  Hi Everyone!  I have this song going through my head...so I had to share it with you!  I hate hot weather.  At least really hot weather.  There isn't any air movement either which makes it feel even worse. 

And do you know what hot weather is good for?......

 ....well on the farm.....

....this is what happens during hot weather...

 ....the grass was mowed Tuesday.....

 ....left to dry on Wednesday....

 ....raked this morning....

....and baled this afternoon....and now is being picked up and loaded as I write this.  And it's hot out.  And they are doing this on a tractor without a cab...no air conditioning...and no air movement....it's so hot out that it takes your breath away.  But it's done...well almost.

Have you been watching the Olympic Swim Trials that are going on in Omaha?  This is located about an hour from me.  Oh how I wish I could have attended.  Back in the day I was a swimmer.  My events were the 100 and 200 Butterfly, the 100, 200 and 500 Freestyle, and both relays.  I loved swimming and I love watching these trials and the Olympic hopefuls.  I can't wait for the Olympics.

Here's a peek at what I was working on Tuesday on my day off.  I didn't get it finished because I had to go to my parents to do my mom's hair and by the time I got back it was just too hot to work out in the shop.  This is the first thing I need to finish when I get out to the shop this weekend since it's for a client.  But I already think I'm going to change the top to something a bit wider.  I'm so glad I didn't attach it.  Be careful if you're in this heat wave.  Drink plenty of fluids and don't over stress yourself.  Thanks for stopping by.