Farmyard Fun

 

I haven’t been out to the farmyard for months.  That probably sounds unreal, but with a baby and the super cold winter…it just didn’t happen.  It’s not easy to leave him inside and get all wrapped up to just go out and walk around to see what’s happening.  But, this day, it finally happened!  I bundled up Marcus; because he’s still little and it’s still cool.

Here’s what I found…

Graham riding bike.  It think it’s amazing that kids ride bikes on the grass!  It’s a lot of work to ride through grass; and they have to ride through grass to get up on the main farmyard or to Grandma Green Acres’s home.

The chickens are still able to roam the farmyard.  It’s such a late year, the garden isn’t planted and not much it ‘up’ that they can peck to death in the flower gardens.  A favorite place to scratch is around the hog barn.  I love seeing them roam around the farm…this year, we have enough roosters that the flock is split into two or three groups.  Each is lead/watched over by a rooster. 

The hogs in their outside pen.  We were finally able to open this up when the weather started to become more predictably warm.  It’s been a cold spring.

For this kid, Zeke, it was the BEST birthday gift.  I get such a kick out of seeing him ride it around the farmyard.

The sheep are so friendly this year!  They came right over when Marcus and I walked up to their pen.  The kids will have a much easier time showing these lambs, in my opinion.

This is the first time I’ve taken Marcus out in a stroller.  He loved it!

We moved the laying chicks out to the Wahoo.  They have two heat lamps to make sure they’re warm enough and Eric covered part of their pen so keep the heat lower.  Crazy Spring!!  It’s been in the 30’s at night, even in May.  Hope the weather becomes more seasonal very soon.

I’m trying to get a picture of the polish chicks.  They have feather crests on top of their heads – or will once they’re fully grown.  One of them has a mohawk right now, and it’s quite funny.  They are going to be fun to watch. 

4-H Achievement Days 2012

Monday, June 25, 2012.  Officially known as 4-H Prep Day in our household.  It’s the day on which ALL the baking is done and many last minute tasks are completed.  We make sure all the small animals are clipped and primped.  Tack and food for the big animals is readied.  Clothing is laid out for the next day’s static exhibit showing/interview judging.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012.  Early in the morning, garden produce was picked, cleaned and set up for display.  Static exhibits (no animals today for our family) were loaded up.  Dash and I were assigned to be judges’ helpers, so we left for town early.

I sat at the sewing/needlework table, enabling me to hear Zach’s response to the judge when he was asked if he ‘liked his sewing project’.  His reply?  “No.”  Silly kiddo!  He didn’t complain at all during the project and he did really well.  The judges encouraged him to keep sewing!

Our kids’ projects for 2012:

Dash: Cooking/Baking – Pear Streusel Pie, Lemon Blueberry Quick Bread; Aerospace – 2 rockets; Crop Production – 2 grain samples; Welding – Snowmobile stand, Butterfly garden stake; Gardening – rhubarb; Poultry – rooster, hen; Rabbits – Senior Doe; Swine – barrow, gilt; Sheep – Mkt. Wether

Angelina: Cooking/Baking – Maple Pecan Cornbread, Double Chocolate Chip Cookies; Food Preservation – Bing Cherry Sauce; Sewing – dress, lace trimmed skirt, pillowcase; Crop Production – 2 grain samples; Gardening – potted flowers; Pottery – Hand formed name plaque; Poultry – hen; Rabbits – Senior Buck; Swine – barrow, gilt; Sheep – Mkt. Wether

Zeke (first year as ‘true’ 4-H member): Cooking/Baking – Brownies, Make Your Own Cocoa Mix; Aerospace – 2 rockets; Sewing – drawstring swim tote with front pocket; Woodworking – cutting board; Crop Production – 2 grain samples; Gardening – potted flowers; Poultry – hen; Rabbits – Senior Doe; Swine – barrow, gilt; Sheep – Mkt. Ewe

Graham (first year as Cloverbud): Cloverbud projects – 2 rockets, potted flowers; Rabbits – Senior Buck

After lunch, I went home with Louis!  It was definitely time for a nap.  Eric stayed behind to get the kids (Dash, Angelina and Zeke) to the Consumer Choices contest.  Dash placed 2nd in the Sr. Division, Angelina placed 1st (and was the only entrant) in the Jr. Division, and Zeke won the beginner division.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012.  Small animal (rabbit & poultry) showing began at 9:30am.  Dash, Angelina and Zeke showed poultry this year.  Dash won overall poultry with the Buff Orpington rooster and was also awarded overall poultry showman.  Angelina showed a bantam hen, while Dash & Zeke showed Ameraucana hens.  They were the only entrants in poultry.

Dash, Angelina, Zeke and Graham (his first year!) showed rabbits.  Our county had a large group of rabbits this year, making it quite a bit of fun!  Angelina was named overall rabbit showman.

A few families went together to order pizza for lunch.  We have such a fun group!  The Tractor Driving Contest began at noon.  Dash won the Sr. division this year.  It seemed to be particularly difficult for our senior entrants this year.  Plenty of stakes were bent, broke or knocked over by all.  They drove a large tractor and a trailer large enough to carry two snowmobiles.

Zeke and Angelina both competed in the Jr. division.  Lots of fun trying to maneuver the lawn mower tractor and trailer around cones and then back it into ‘storage’.

The swine show started at 3pm.  Dash, Angelina, and Zeke each showed a barrow and a gilt.  Zeke won both the barrow and gilt class – he was ALL smiles!  Angelina was awarded the overall swine showman.

In the sheep show, Angelina and Dash showed market wethers and Zeke showed a market ewe.  Dash won the overall sheep showman award.

Dash also won the overall showman award.  He, Angelina and another 4-H member competed in beef, swine and sheep (the only large animals exhibited at our Achievement Days). 

On to the ND State Fair at the end of July, 2012!!

33/52 & 34/52

Joining Barbara in commemorating the year in once a week posts … just whatever is going on in your life: the mundane, the crazy, the normal, the everyday.

 

33/52

Other FMCHE Annual Book Sale purchases…

Charity for the Suffering Souls:  An Explanation of the Catholic Doctrine of Purgatory by Rev. John A. Nageleisen

 

Padre Pio: The True Story by C. Bernard Ruffin

 

The Jesse Tree: A Cutout Book by Marlene Konrady

 

Essentials Digital Photography – this is more for Zeke than anyone else, but I imagine I’ll be reading some of it to him.  He has an interest in photography and videography.

 

Below is the Marian Garden Shrine Dash made for me.  He used the old shrine (it completely fell apart) to make a pattern on oak (leftover from building our hosue) and used the ‘old’ statue and added a crucifix.  I think they’re beautiful!  He’s making a few more for gifts.

 

German chocolates brought by a good college friend when she and her kids visited this past weekend.

 

And, the Kroshus crew is out again.  This time, they’re tearing out the front walk (that’s done), lowering the grade so water will drain AWAY from the house and foundation, installing a new walk, and landscaping between the walk and the house.  These guys know how to work…I really like their productivity!

Redoing the drainage.

 

And chickens…

…running out to meet their mistress…

…dust bath time…

…the broody hen…

…older pullets and two cockerels in the holding pen and getting used to the big hens.   The door was opened and the two flocks merged on August 18 (about a week after the two flocks were housed together).  We’ve kept the younger flock separated at night, but they needed outside time during the daylight.  A people-person stuck around the first couple days when they were out together.  On Saturday they were pretty much left alone.  The Buff rooster is definitely the dominant as he gets into the most fights with ‘head’ hens.  I just enjoy sitting and watching them…

 

…the Ameraucanas enjoying the outdoors…

I’m going to harvest tomatillas this year!!

 

And, a sleepy child (Zeke) to end the collage.

 

34/52

And another crazy week!  Lots of travel, first varsity football game for Dash (and he played because they were ahead by sooo many points… ended up winning 68-13), Dentist and Orthodontist appointments, Sam’s club shopping (with the three youngest in tow – they did better than I imagined!), overnight with a good friend for Angelina, peaches from the fruit truck in Fargo, first corn on the cob from the garden.

Big chickens have been successfully merged.  The roosters are settled in with the new hens and their authority established.  The flock is happy and the youngest pullets are getting closer to the ‘laying’ age.

We’ll be harvesting a few more chickens later in the year because the Ameraucana group includes about 4-5 cockerels that we cannot keep, or need, as adults.  So, more for the freezer later this Fall.

The newest three were moved to the Wahoo on Thursday.  They’ve outgrown their water tank home and were just getting too smelly to keep up with in the outside garage!  They have more space and better feed containers in the Wahoo.

Here are a few pics to memorialize the week…

Progress on front landscaping…

and the next day!

At the Ransom Co. Fair:

Zeke and his friend, Brett.  These are Mickey Mouse ears.

Above: Dash showing a pig.

Below: Graham in the tractor pedal contest…he won tickets to the rides (participation prize … but he did well for his first time ever!).

Below: Angelina showing a pig.

Below:  Louis was just happy to run around and see all the animals.  As for me, I was absolutely beat by the end of the day!

Above:  Love this pic of Angelina walking back from the mailbox.  Wheat field being harvested in the background.

Below:  Happy Birthday, Eric!