WOW, time got away from me!

 

I realized it had been almost 2 years since I had written a post or updated any info so....... I updated all my info and decided I had better make an attempt at writing again.



 

So much has happened in 2 years, where do I even start?

 

Well, Chad and I are still extremely busy on the farm.  

We still have cattle and pigs. 

We have increased our cow herd so that requires a little more time, especially now during calving.  

We were raising feeder-finish hogs but are now raising wean-finish hogs.

 

 

 

We still grow crops consisting of corn, soybeans and wheat. 

Upgrades to equipment has been made and we have added GPS to our farming too.

 

 

Our son Jeremy has been an active part of the farming the last few years.  He and his sister both have cattle (Jeremy quite a few more than Courtney) and Jeremy has also farmed some ground the last few years too.

 

 

Jeremy will graduate from college next month with degrees in Ag Business and Agronomy.  He has a part-time job lined up along with joining us in the farm operation.

 

Courtney is in her 3rd year of college studying Early Childhood Education.  She loves school and keeps really busy with several part-time jobs (2 waitress jobs and a bartending job).  She also helps us out on the farm as much as her busy schedule allows.

 

 

 

Well, there is a little update on our farm life!  Stay tuned for more! 

 

It isn't always a glamorous life but I wouldn't have it any other way!

 

 

 

Camping

We went camping for the very first time on Sunday.

It was my birthday and hubby knows that I really want to start camping so he left the farm for a few days to make my wish come true. We were going to camp overnight Sunday night and Monday night but we were having such a good time we spent another night. We borrowed his parents camper (thank you so much Al and Sharon) and had a wonderful time! We are now looking at campers and hope to buy our own.

Jeremy's girlfriend Stephanie fishing and Jeremy looking on....he was our helper (and boy did we need his help, broke several lines and he was kept pretty busy fixing those for us).

Courtney....pretty proud that she put the bait on her own hook!

Celebration

One of our local small towns (Bryant, SD) held a 125th celebration. The weekend was filled with many activities, visiting with "old" friends and lots of fun.

The great-grandchildren of Clifford and Betty Noem (hubby's grandparents) that were around for the celebration rode on a float in the parade. Our daughter Courtney is in the front of the float in a green "gnome" hat and son Jeremy is driving the ATV pulling the float.

Hubby's dad Al and siblings Sally, Win, Larry, Rollie, Harley and Avis were all raised near Bryant, the town holding the celebration. Here are all the siblings on a float in the very large parade that was held.

Here I am with classmates and very good friends, Jodi on the left and Michelle (also a cousin of mine) on the right. We were best friends in High School and hung out in Bryant lots in those days. Michelle has since moved to Minnesota and Jodi to Watertown but I still do lots of business, go to church and spend lots of time in the town.

Me with cousins Michelle (left) and Staci (right). The were raised just outside of town and their dad was also raised in the area. We spent lots of time with them when we were growing up. It was great to have them back to help celebrate this wonderful small town.

Lots of fun was had by everyone.

I love this little town and LOVE living in this area!

Summer

Wow, this summer is just flying by!

It has been such an unusual farming year so far. With all the rain we had, it took FOREVER to get the crops in and sprayed and now it's taking a long time getting our first cutting of hay put up. Chad is finishing up baling the first cutting as I type this...whew!

Normally we have a little spare time to do something fun for a day or so but have been so caught up with the farm that we really haven't had much time for fun. I am hoping that will change soon! We are trying to plan a family vacation but really difficult with all of our schedules.

Courtney is working 2 part time jobs and is also filling in when needed for her uncle's business. His secretary had a baby a few weeks ago and Courtney has been so happy to help him out. She is also selling Avon and taking 2 summer classes for college.

Jeremy has been home for the summer helping on the farm and has been such a blessing around here. Some days there is so much to do, it is almost impossible to keep up. The extra person around here helps out so much! I do feel sorry for his girlfriend, he has been so busy helping us out that he hasn't had much spare time to spend with her.

To sum it up, I am really hoping things slow down a little here so we can find time to enjoy some family time and enjoy the summer! Life is too short to work all the time, we really need to remind ourselves to stop and enjoy life and each other along the way.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

We are finally starting to see the "light at the end of the tunnel"! If all goes ok (no rain or breakdowns), we should finish planting the beans tomorrow. We do have some to do for a neighbor yet but at least ours will be in.

The cows are all moved to pasture, what a relief that is! That takes days and days of hard work and is always a relief to have them eating fresh green grass instead of having to feed them hay (which the supply is usually dwindling down about this time of the year).

The hog barns are all washed and filled with pigs again. We do have to vaccinate them all yet but at least they are here and all sorted.

I did get the garden in finally....it isn't looking too good right now since the last round of hard rain and little hail we had this last week.

We are getting everything caught up just in time to start cutting hay and spraying the beans. Onto the next phase of summer!!

We do plan on trying to get somewhere this summer to enjoy some family time....I hope you all are enjoying your summer and families!

EXHAUSTED

One word describes how I have been lately....EXHAUSTED!!!

We are trying to get the crops in right now which has been mentally and physically exhausting. We get a few good days of planting and then a few days of rain. Between loading the seed tender, helping to load the planter with seed and liquid fertilizer, running equipment back and forth to the fields, running after chemicals etc., I am trying to take care of the livestock. We are almost done with the calving, which will be a relief this year with all the mud and rain we have had!!!!

Jeremy, Courtney and I have been trying to get the pastures fenced and ready to move cows to. I even hired a few of the kids' friends to come help with that project. With all the snow we had this winter, we have lots of fences down and lots of repairs that needed to be done. Chad has helped on the rainy days when he is not able to be in the field. We have got most of the pastures ready, one more to work on and will start moving cows out tomorrow.

Our pigs are butcher size right now so we have been taking loads of them out as well and getting the hog barns ready to be washed. Jeremy has spent several days washing the barns this week and will wash the last one this coming week as we empty the last barn out at 5am tomorrow.

The garden is not planted yet, am hoping to maybe get that in this week sometime.

And....the house....um yeah, is a disaster right now, but that is the least of my worries.

Spring Work

We are finally in the field and getting some of the crops in!

Please pray for some much needed sunshine! It has been a trying spring with all the moisture and mud and now the rain that keeps coming.

So far I have pulled Chad out 5 times this spring.
I have not had to pull him out in the field yet but where the silage and hay piles were that he fed from all winter and spring....he keeps trying to dig it to dry it out but just keeps getting stuck.
I just hope #5 was the last time for the year and that Mr. Sunshine comes out and dries everything out.