Been a busy month.
Corn is looking pretty good for getting a late start. It was over waist high today.

The chickens got moved out to their coop this week. I was going to wait to open their hatch to the yard but I opened it today. They aren't too interested in going outside yet though.

The garden is looking good. Been keeping ahead of the weeds for the most part. Tammy has been giving her new tiller a workout.

Didn't have any plans on making hay this year but the neighbor asked if we wanted to make some on his land for 3/4 of the hay. So we got to try out the new tractor on the baler and Chris got to stack while I drove. At least for the first wagon.

And after a few years without them, goats are back on the place. Found a deal on some does that I couldn't pass up so Chris and I went and picked 4 up. We got 2 yearling Alpines and 2 of this springs Saanens.They look like decent animals.

Chris and I pulled out a lean to I had behind the garage and made a little fence so they have a place to stay at night and we use the electro-netting to make them new pasture as needed. They can really eat!

Spring has sprung

Finally was able to get out in the fields and get some stuff done.
The new tractor works like a champ. Had an issue with the 656 but it was just the starter solenoid so we got it up and running without too much fuss. The little Case donated a front wheel to the grain drill so we need to get that fixed.
Had a big bash for the May birthdays and such. Dad tried out the new tractor on the disc. Had to pry him out of the seat or he'd still be running it.
Got the old powerline and fenceline torn out on the north field so now I have 2 2 acre fields. Got 1 in corn and 1 in oats/hay. Bought a bag of seed corn and it was just enough to get the job done. Bought 5 bu of oats and 1 50 lb sack of hay seed and it was enough for the 2 acres with some left over to do half the back acre if it ever dries out enough to plant.
Working n getting some of the mess cleaned up around here. Was a junk hole when we bought it and haven't had much time to fix that. Hopefully this year we can make a dent in it.
Tammy has been busy out in the garden and working on the pond in the front. It's looking pretty good.
So here are some pics from around the place. Here is Dad discing up the corn ground.

Here's the corn field all planted.

Here's the oats up and growing.

Chris on his new toy.

And Tammy working on her pond.

Been a few days since my last post. Our little Koko up and died not too long after we got her. Still not sure what happened, she was growing quite well, no scours or anything, just a perky little girl. Then one night Chris went out to feed her and she was gone. If we get another calf we will be trying to raise it outside in a hutch and see if that does the trick. Calves are pretty expensive at the moment so it may be a bit. We will be getting chickens in June. Gonna get a few layers as well and see about having some fresh eggs around here. Picked up a new tractor this winter. Had purchased an old M with a snow bucket for snow clearing but the hydraulics had some moisture in them and the tires were pretty poor. So we got a fairly new New Holland with a big loader and bucket. A really nice rig. Actually had it out plowing today. First in the field around here. Tammy get a new tiller for her birthday and she had that out in the garden yesterday. Spring is really late in coming but were pecking away at stuff. So here's the new tractor.

Will be doing some more flipping and getting the number of tractors reduced around here. Got the old power line out to a well way out back down and the poles removed so I can get the fence out and make 2 small fields one bigger field. Will be a chore getting the fence out, but we did one last year and it's nice to have a bigger field to work in. Plan on planting half the back land to corn and half to oats/hay. THe back acre got plowed last fall and I want to finally try an 8 section rotation based on John Seymours plan. Then I suppose I'll have to get a calf, although Chris has been bugging about goats lately. Chris did some work for a neighbor and got some turkeys for it. Hasn't got them home yet as we ripped out the chicken yard fence last weekend. I told him it was his baby and he needed to come up with a plan so we'll see if he has learned anything.

A fresh start

After a year of not having any big animals around we brought home a cute calf today. Her name is KoKo and she's a Holstein/Swiss cross. We picked her up from a local farm where Tammy's friend is the herds person. We built her a nice pen with a calf hutch in it to stay out of any drafts. She should be a dandy.

Got the combine home. The auctioneer said it had been run out of gas when it was driven off the truck so we cleaned the filter bowl and drained out the old gas and replaced it with new. It fired right up and drove home without a problem.
Slow though, it took 3 hours to get it home. Here are a few pics.

Not a bad little machine, I hope to put it to good use next year.

September is here, summer is almost played out. It has tried to make a comeback the last couple of days though. Chris and I spent Saturday at a local machinery consignment auction and it was pretty hot. I had to find a shady spot a couple of times and we left before it was over because we just couldn't stand it anymore.
Friends of ours dropped off a rooster last night because all they wanted were nice spot free eggs from their hens. I hear him exercising his crowing apparatus just now at 5am. I think he will go along with the rest of the birds when it is time to get processed. We found a place that will do it for $2.55 a bird and since Tammy wants them with the skin on this year that's what we will be doing.
Tammy has been busy around the place, she had me cut down a few of the arbor vitae trees along the driveway so the pond would have more room and that looks nice. She made a batch of plum jelly yesterday and it is divine as was her applesauce. Tomatoes are coming on and salsa and spaghetti sauce are in the works.
Bought a combine at the auction yesterday. Hope to get it home today, should be an adventure...
The second crop hay turned out a bit nicer than the first crop but there wasn't a whole lot of it. Here are a couple of pics of the baling.

Doing a little shuffling around and decided to upgrade from the old Allis WD to a Case 611B. It needs a little attention here and there, but overall it's a nice little tractor and I've always been partial to Case stuff.

Garden is getting along nicely. Found a Simplicity with a deck and tiller so if I can figure out how to attach the thing, next year Tammy can till in style. Also picked up a smaller tiller in a pile of stuff for 125 bucks. It didn't work but Tammy changed the primer bulb and it took right off. So we made out well on that deal.
Yellow transparent tree is loaded and they should be ready to eat and make jelly pretty soon.

summertime is here

Summer has finally arrived. Been a pretty crappy spring. Missed the chance to plant our field corn due to some mechanical difficulties with the tractor and an overaboundance of rain. Since we need ripe cob corn it had to be in early and we missed it. Oh well, there's always next year. Sold last years corn for 170 a ton and have used that money to get a few things for around the place. Tammu got a nice used lawn mower and I got a nice used tractor. The only animals around the place this year are the 2 dogs and 25 chickens. The chicks arrived Jun 6 and are all ready moved from the brooder into the coop and I think I'll let them access the outside this week. Made 1 acre of hay so far and of course it got rained on. Weatherman said good to go for 4 days and it poured on the 3rd day.... Did get it dried out and baled but it isn't the greatest. 2nd crop should be beter I hope. So here is some of the garden

Here is the lawn mower

Here are the chicks.

And here is the new tractor

After many years we have come to a sad day here on the homestead. This will be the first month without any sort of livestock around. Our pretty Fireball went down and the vet had no idea why. Unable to find a remedy for her and now she's gone.
So now we have some time to retool and refine the place but we are up in the air as to which way we should head. Goats or cows, enough to sell or just enough to keep the family supplied.....lots of things to work through. This might be the only bright side to this long winter.
The snow will just not let go. Temps are very low compared to average. We have some plants started but I'm afraid they'll get pretty large before we'll be able to transplant.
Lots of field work to do once we can get out. Will be ripping the fences out on some of the feedlots and trying to make it into 2 2 acre fields or maybe even 1 big 4 acre patch. I am hoping to run 2 acres in corn and 2 in hay. If I can get the old Cat running I may be able to do some more renovation and free up a bit more ground on the west end of the patches.
Hope to try a bit of John Seymours rotation plan for an acre involving 8 plots on the back acre and will be moving the garden area and doing some tillage and cover cropping on the old garden plot. All in all a very ambitious plan and with Chris scheduled to be gone to various camps this summer it may not all happen but we can hope for the best.
Changed jobs in Jan. Still working 3rd shift and will have to drive a bit further to work but the pay should end up being a whole lot better once I get up to rate.
Tammy has been busy, one of the boys that is out on his own will become a father sometime in May/June so she is making a couple of really nice crib quilts for the new arrival plus helping out with a lot of the seed starting.
We are in the middle of re-doing the laundry room. It's a project we've started on a while ago but are finally getting stuff done. Nice that the new job pays a bit more so we can finally get material together.

Last week saw the end to operation chicken 2012. We sold 18 to a nice lady and her daughter and butchered the last 7 on Sunday. Tammy ground up the birds and we have lots of that. Got a good snow this weekend. A few inches on the ground. Not the 6 or so they predicted though. Not much else going on around here, just keeping the cow fed and watered and the house warm.

Winter is closing in. Decided to lay off the wood heat this year. We have some left and will burn through that, but overall we will be using the gas furnace this year.
The wood burner is getting rather decrepit and the pipe in the chimney isn't up to code. The insurance company is making noises about it, so we will be disconnecting it when the wood runs out.
Can't say I'll miss the extra work involved....
Went to the mill yesterday and prebought our seed corn for next year. 10% discount for stuff bought now. We only bought needed one bag, but with the drought last year and tight seed supplies, it's nice to know we will have it.
I forgot to mention that this fall we finally finished a project that has been in the works since 2005.
Before we got all involved with the self sufficiency thing and the farming thing we started running a brick walkway around 2 sides of the house. We got one side done along with a nice little pond and then we started finding all kinds of other things to do. THis fall Tammy finally cracked the whip and we finished running the walkway on the front of the house. Doesn't look too bad either.
This is how it looked in 2005. And here are some pics of the final run


Bout it for this post. Stay warm!

Our little heifer Fireball who has been with us from the day she was born
Has been growing up and hopefully is bred
So we decided to remove the goat pen and install a tie stall and keep her for a family milk cow. Here are some pics of the installation. The last remaining bit of goat pen, the kid cave.
Here we figured out where the stall was going and started knocking out the concrete



Then we formed the curb and set the stall


Mixed and poured new cement


And finally removed the form after a day




Should be a nice place to keep Fireball over the winter and at night during the summer. We hope to pour a 2" slab in the stall to help keep her cleaner but that might have to wait. Looks like winter is fast approaching.