Farm Visits-Even for Farm Kids!

This past week I have been meaning to get my kids over to a neighboring farm just 3.5 miles away.  Time was of essence because this farm had just received 300 chicks in the mail!  Their little fuzziness only lasts about a week before they start losing their "cute" factor and get feathers.

See, even farm kids need to experience farm visits to broaden their mindset of what all farming entails!  My kids are not used to fowl of any kind so this was a great learning adventure!

~The natural~

~The awkward but brave~

~The nonchaulant~

~The neither one of us thinks this is a good idea~

I am just happy that our neighbors can share what they do, even if it is completely different from what our farm does.... These chickens may appear on a dinner table near you as they are for consumption for a private label in a Food-COOP.!!!!

Checking those cows!

Family time is sometimes spent checking cows that are out to summer pasture.  It is a favorite pastime!  The scenery is a highlight!

Country Cool in the Pool!

Summertime is here!!!!  I love summer, being outside and working in the yard.  Not that I have a perfect yard, I have a very large yard that sometimes gets invaded by farm equipment!  

Back to sweet, sweet summer!  This summer I put our usual baby wading pool up on our cement slab.  It was banished in a few days by the H-O-R-S-E basketball players, our two college boys for summer help and my husband.  In consolation Orrin suggested we use a stock tank in the pasture across the way. He filled a 18 ft tank! I did have to empty it again, using the whirlpool method (walking around and around and AROUND), making the dirt and rocks and algae go down the drain in the middle of the tank.

  We love it!  We follow cow paths over there or ride a 4-wheeler.

Our country pool!

Everyone having fun!

A good-sized float even fits comfortably.  We even play in the dirt around the tank.  It has a nice cement edge, similar to a sidewalk around the whole edge so we don't track in a ton of mud!  The concrete was poured by my husband and his brother in 1995 see...

Delayed post :(

Sorry I haven't checked in for awhile....busy times on the farm .  Our Miss Germany came back for seventeen days over her Easter break.  She went to prom and visited all her friends, as well as  went on a few 4-wheeler rides around the farm.

She went back today and we miss her.  My kids were so sweet and happy to see her.  I think she is already planning her next visit :). 

Here is our family on Easter Sunday

We also have caught just a little rain and I snapped a picture with our wheat and our cattle.  Although the rain wasn't enough to break our drought, it left a reminder of God's faithfulness in its wake.

Oh and we also hosted a 5K at our house, the second annual 5K in the Boonies.  I will post more about that later!

Milk replacement recipe

This is how I have made milk for our bottle calves.  It suits our setup in the kitchen, others might have a different process that works for them.

I use a two liter pitcher so it doesn't get too heavy to pour, especially when the kids help.  I put very hot water about a third of the way up.  Then I trek to the mud room where in the closet we keep a fifty pound bag of milk replacer(similar to baby formula-but just for calves).

With using a two liter pitcher I can only make two bottles at a time.  In goes four 1cup scoops of powdered milk replacer.

This gets a little messy....

Back to the sink to add more hot water and whisk briskly until mixture is smooth then fill to the top of the pitcher.  This will make two bottles. I pour this into the two bottles equally.

Fill the bottles up to the top with lukewarm water, this makes the hot water used to mix the powder at a more acceptable temperature for the calves to drink.  

Now repeat the process for the next two bottles....last thing is to cap the bottles with nipples and wipe down any moisture on the outside of the bottles~baby calves can be very energetic nursers and pull the bottle out of your hand!

Bottle Babies

We had FIVE bottle babies when this picture was taken just a few days ago.  Since then we have moved down to four but for a good reason.  Gorgeous is a heifer (female calf) and has a twin sister who is with their momma cow.  Since momma cows who have twins sometimes prefer one over the other and it harder for her to care for two at a time we pull one.  That is we pick one to be separated and possibly transferred to another cow.  Gorgeous is a registered calf so worth more on a cow as they usually do better that way.  She was bottle fed about two weeks and has taken to a new momma that loves on her!  Success!!!!

Luke and Betsy were bought from some friends/neighbors for Crash and Scooters 4-H calves BEFORE we ended up with three bottle calves from our own herd.  They are Angus calves while our own herd is mainly Gelbvieh and some Angus.

Black Betty is from our herd and is a twin to a bull calf so she is sterile.  She is what we call a Free Martin, don't ask me why! She will not be kept for breeding but be sold and will end up at a finishing yard to get ready for slaughter.  Or we may keep her and feed her and have her butchered for our family to eat.

Norman is my special needs calf.  I am not quite sure what is wrong with him . It takes about thirty minutes to feed just him because he does not suck, just swallows and gags.  He is a messy eater and I usually wear gloves because I have to wipe mucus off his nose and out of his mouth.  He is more lethargic and I wonder if he has a joint problem or arthritis.  Sometimes I have Orrin tube him(put milk directly into his stomach by putting a tube down his throat) to make sure he is getting enough, since I can only get him to take half a bottle in thirty minutes when the other calves take mere minutes for a full bottle.  Poor Norman, I just don't know if I can pull him through.

Anyway with that many little ones to feed, this is what my sink look like.

See that long tube, we also call that a drencher or tuber. The bottle that does not have a flat bottom goes with it.

Werkin calves Part 2

So here is a calf cradle.  It is actually one my parents had and we bought for our calves.  Since these were a little older we did not throw them.

That's Tall Paul our hired man who is also Orrin's Father's first cousin...true family farm ;)

The calves are pushed one at a time into the cradle until their neck is secured by the head gate(same we use on bigger cattle only....bigger). Then Paul releases the catch and it swings the calf up horizontal.  Then we can band or brand while the calf is immobilized and somewhat still.

See the bars we can release to access the side of the calf.  Pretty handy if I do say so myself.  My job was a pusher.  Getting a calf out of the squeeze pen(a pen that can smaller as more calves leave so there is not room to run and hurt is or the calves.  Down side of a pusher is you will be the dirtiest one with calf poop all down the front of your legs and bruises from the kicks and your feet will hurt from being stepped on.  I love it.

As always we have extra help from Crash and Scooter, even Cuddle and Wally were trying to get in the way as much as possible, that's how farm kids learn though.

Thank you Lord for letting me grow up on a farm and blessing my kids the same way.

Werkin' calves

Around this time of year things really get hopping on the farm.  Today after feeding our (at the time) FIVE bottle calves, we went to the calving pen.  My husband had already got thirty pairs(that's a momma cow and her baby) in the pens by the little barn. 

 We needed to do several things to them.  Bull calves that were not purebred were banned.  We basically take a very strong, very little rubber band and place it around their testicles.  In a few weeks those will fall off with no pain to the calf.  We have also been known to do this to our barn cats, yes I just said that.  Saves us from taking a barn cat ,that any night might become coyote food, from an expensive trip to the vet. Back to the calves.... The now future steer calves get branded with our brand so we can always identify them if they lose an eartag (cattle rustling DOES still happen). We then inject a ralgrow implant in their ear that will help them grow without their testosterone.  We also notch their ears as another way of identification.  The heifers mainly got branded and ear notched. 

Getting those little balls... Notice my husband holding the calf down with his body weight.  This is only possible to do within the first week or two of a calf's life.  After that they are way too big to hold down without injury to us peeps.  My family did not throw calves(what this method is called since you physically pick up the calf and throw it on its side).  We worked calves just before taking them to grass with a calf cradle.

After working thirty calves we loaded them up in the trailer, I loaded my kids that are not in school yet....and then loaded up their concerned momma cows and headed to a pasture very close to our house.  This opens up our calving pen and relieves conjestion that would hamper Orrin's ability to get cows in that need assistance.  It really does make a huge difference when checking.  The cattle will continue to be fed corn silage and distillers with some feed cane in bunks (feed holders).  The ones in this pasture just happen to be recycled tractor tires that have been modified.

Just a picture of a cute black white faced calf.  We call these calves baldies and I have a fondness for them! Cute!

11 months

So last year Orrin and I were parents of a teenage girl.  Right before school started we entered into a new phase.... Hosting an exchange student.  

Miss Germany was only just 15 yrs old(birthday in May) and used to the comforts of urban life with no younger siblings!  Well, her life changed!  She suddenly was the big sister to four kids 7, 5, 3, 1 yrs old.  Plus her Dad was now Orrin.  :) 

It was a learning experience for sure.  I wasn't old enough for her to call me Mom or treat me like a mom. We definitely had our disagreements and she learned fast which parent to approach for what.  

I pray she took away from living in our chaos that there is a family who loves her in Kansas.  And I know she has a new appreciation for farmers and farm life as well as loving the small town atmosphere....she got the rock star treatment wherever she went.  I will not lie when I say it was a bit of a relief to see her head back home after 11 months.  It should have been 10 months but she applied for an extension to stay 30 more days.  

Ahhhh you say, she didn't want to leave our family.  I wish I could say that but she didn't want to go home while her parents foreign exchange student from China was still there.....in HER room.  However it was the best, most drama free time with her.  Oh, I could tell stories, but she might find this ;). 

More updates to come!

She would not like this picture... I love it!

1st Baby of the year!!!!!

Brand new!!! Born Tuesday February 18th 

We had our first new baby!  This one was born to a cow(a female bovine who has already had at least one calf before).  The cows and heifers that we have are bred to start calving March 1st.  Just like with humans, sometimes babies come a little early.  This little one is doing just fine, he had already been licked clean and dry and had gotten up and sucked(drank milk from his mother's udder through her teats). This cow is doing a great job taking care of her baby calf.

Including a cute pic of Wally hanging out with Orrin while he took care of cattle.

Patience, Patience.

Sigh, I remember growing up when harvest began and ended in June....O.K. maybe July. Why does it seem like harvest is getting later.....and later.....and later. We started cutting wheat on June 30th and we are still not finished. The main reason is a storm last night that developed right above us, hung around for a while before deciding to hail and rain, then taking off like a jack rabbit. Seriously. We were on our last field so we still have about 160 acres left to cut. Oh well. We have had a good harvest so far. And the corn that got hailed right across the road WAS our best corn (that we were chopping for silage anyway...guess less ears of corn for the cows). My poor, poor petunias were looking so pretty and full, but just maybe there is enough summer left to let them fill out again. The best thing about the storm was the rainbow behind it. One end was in our corn field! Very cool!

So since it rained the kids and I went with Orrin to check some cows and possibly fix a draw because of a 4 inch rain a few days prior. Orrin did need to fix it and we saw some happy cows and calves and bull. The kids enjoy going on the 4-wheelers, however the handlebars got both Crash and Little Miss in the head due to cow paths/holes. The kids and I climbed on some rocks after stern warnings about snakes and staying close to Mommy while Daddy toiled fixing fence.

Orrin is very proud of his hulking bull. So he asked me to take pictures of it. :)

The boys immediately started to throw rocks at "imaginary" snakes, while yelling "I see a snake!!!" That always soothes a mother's heart.

Little Miss is starting to really be sassy. Anyone have experience with a little sassy 18 month old? She is at the stage where she can't (won't) say Yes but will say No with a please following it.

And she hits her brothers if they are bothering her (which having older brothers I can understand) but I was really hoping I would have a "naturally ladylike" daughter. Another *sigh*. But I still love my onery, annoying, loving, stubborn, sweet kids.

Fun with Family

The last two weekends have been filled with family get-togethers or just spending time as a family unit. We had to go back to North Central Kansas for my *gasp* 10th year class reunion. It was a good time and I enjoyed seeing some of my best friends and their families.
On Sunday my brother Max and his wife Leann graciously hosted a swimming/BBQ party for our family and some cousins! It was great! My oldest brother, Milton, decided to still try some "older brother scare tactics" on me and I am glad to say, I did not go running:)


Even when he got this close! Yes that is his headlight, which is why he had to leave early, while he could still see!



This last weekend was the Herndon Ox Roast held in Herndon Kansas just straight north of our farm about 13 miles. I had never been and Orrin hadn't been as an adult. Since it had rained the day before there was no spraying or field work to do so for a change the men got to participate also. We had a "mini float" in the parade and with our Scooter(oldest child) pulling a wagon with a pedal tractor. The sign said "The future looks bright in Herndon" with all the kids wearing their sunglasses(on a very cloudy cool day!). I pulled a wagon with the other two kids in it and advertised for our VBS night at church which is coming up at the end of June. The kids had alot of fun. Little Miss(our little girl) was busy trying to steal candy out of Crash's(our second child) bucket so there was some tension in my wagon but otherwise went well! I couldn't believe the parade lasted so long....at least 45 minutes!



Crash "crashed" while eating corn on the cob. He would take a bite and slowly close his eyes, then open to take a bite. Sometimes even onery kids can be so cute!



*I am taking a clue off a fellow blogger and cousin by not putting my children's names but nicknames instead. Hopefully these will not change as to confuse you.*

My Mom's shoes

Last week I spent some time in my mom's shoes. YIKES!

For those of you who don't know, my parents live on a farm and ranch. Their house is dubbed "Grand Central Station". I have three older brothers who also are back farming/ranching with my Dad so they are coming and going all the time. Right now there is only one hired hand that is living in one of my parents houses close to GCS. Oh, did I mention I also have a sister that lives only 9 miles away?

My super mom watches her grandchildren when her schedule allows it, which means every Monday and Wednesday during the school year. This year on Mondays Mom had a 4yr boy, just 2 yr girl, 5 month girl, and three month girl. On Wednesdays, same kids but not the 3 month old. All the girls get picked up by their mothers who are teachers at Sylvan and they only teach half days and the boy waits for his three older siblings to get off the bus at "Grammie and Papa's" Sometimes other cousins like to get dropped off too, then get taken home with their fathers or until their moms come back and get them. So there are alot of kids around....alot.

I should also mention that I have another sister who lives by Wichita. She and I are the only ones not living within 20 miles of my parents and since she moved from Kansas City to Wichita she is now 15 minutes closer to our parents than I am. If you are counting that is six total, three girls, three boys of my parents.

Now I come to visit and help out as my Dad got an infection in his leg....cellulitis and was in the hospital for a week. He is O.K. but is still receiving two IV treatments a day still and this whole process is in the third week. O.K. so I come to visit as MY house was going to be a hard place to be with kids as our plumbing was getting totally replaced by Orrin's Uncle Larry. Thanks Larry! We have awesome water pressure everywhere now.

I come with my THREE kids and add a little spice to the mix. As if it needed any. Mom also makes hot meals twice a day for anyone and everyone that happens to be around or if they aren't promptly makes them a lunch. OY.

I did survive three hours by myself with seven kids four and under. I kept saying to myself...if people with multiples can do it...so can I. Here are the run down of ages...two 4 yr boys, one almost three yr boy, one almost two yr girl, one 14 month girl, one five month girl, and one three month girl. I was to have help from another sister-in-law but her kindergartner was sick, but on Wednesday I had her awesome help.

I really hope my Mom stays in good health forever so I won't be called on to fill her shoes for over that three hours. But if she can do it, I can too. Just not as well. :) She is an awesome farm mom and now grandmother.


My Dad's leg in the hospital two weeks ago.



Let's spend some time coloring!!!! My three kids and a nephew and niece!



You are never too old to play dress-up in Grandma's clothes!!! Who else loves polyester???!!!!! See I wasn't busy all the time!

Accidents Happen

Well, accidents happen to everyone. We have had our fair share on this farm however this weekend has been pretty accident-prone.
First off I want to say that this is NOT our semi or trailer but it is our bales (which much to Orrin's dismay have not been weighed yet to calculate the price per ton) and it is very, very close to our house. Oh and I forgot...that's our fence we have to fix now. So it is someonelse's mistake but definitely our problem. We now have to glorious duty of helping with putting it back on its wheels with our equipment and our time. Joy. We don't like it but nor can we just say "Sorry, your problem." Argh...the guilty conscience is a mighty weapon to rural, Christian people.
We have to keep repeating to ourselves....treat them how you would want to be treated!
Everyone has accidents...my big one involved my middle son and it got him hurt. One of a mother's worst fears is hurting her child. I was making Unbaked Peanut Butter Cookies, a staple while I was growing up and it involves boiling corn syrup and sugar...so a hot stove. When I was moving the hot pan from the stove to the counter to spoon the cookies onto parchment paper is when it happened. A previously uninterested son chose that moment to see what was going on and put his hand on the freshly vacated burner. His hand was burned and I felt it was my fault by not keeping my eye on the stove. My pride of making yummy cookies for my children was gone and in its place was a sick feeling. I wonder if this is how God feels when he sees one of His children sin? I hate the feeling of failure and am always disappointed with myself, however I can't seem to make myself "hover" over my children to ensure their constant safety. I know that I can't always be there and they must learn some lessons on their own. I have a feeling that I could have reminded my son a million times that the stove was hot but it took him getting hurt to always remember that lesson. Is that how God deals with us? When we sin He could take away the consequences but when we have to face them...it impacts us so much more. We remember! So accidents happen because we forget or don't heed the warnings but in the end it makes us remember so much better.
Well, that's it for Deep Thoughts by Beth. :)
Unbaked Peanut Butter Cookies
1 c. sugar
1 c. corn syrup
2 c. peanut butter
6 c. corn flakes
Mix sugar and syrup in a saucepan and bring to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and add peanut butter and mix well. Mix in corn flakes. Drop from a teaspoon on waxed paper or parchment paper.
Below is a picture of my friend's little boy and my little girl enjoying Polly!

Starting out

I guess I have entered into the world of blogging. I know several people with blogs from what their families are doing to what issues most concern them. I believe that I will be a mix of things from the F's....Faith, Family, Farm, Friends.

Today I am waiting for one of my best friends to come visit my family for a few days with her little son. Although he is only seven months old, I look forward to exposing him to his first baby calf. We have two bottle calves right now that we feed twice a day. Both were born twins and Orrin pulled them off so their sibling could stay with their mom. We hope we have to feed these two throughout the calving season because otherwise another calf would have had to die. These are "adoption" calves. We are saving these calves for a momma cow who has lost her calf.

I have decided to name them Polly (the Gelbvieh calf-more redish/brown) and Molly (the Black Angus calf). You know....Polly Holle and Molly Holle!

Orrin gets a little frustrated at them, and I do too! They both demand to be fed but can't quite figure out that if they concentrate on their OWN bottle instead of the other calf's it would go smoother. Instead I end up coming back in the house covered from the hip down in calf slobber and smelling of milk replacer. But they are so cute so I forgive them!

Calving season is going well as evidenced by us having two extra calves. Some years we are calling neighbors and scouring the sale barns for baby calves to buy to put on a cow that has lost her calf. It is then a whole ordeal to get the cow to accept the new calf. Orrin has found the best way is to skin the dead calf from shoulder to hip and then tie the skin on the new calf with twine. That way there the new calf smells just like the dead calf. We make sure to put the cow and new calf in a stall together so they can bond quicker. It is easier for some than others but we try hard to give each cow a chance to prove herself as a mother.

The weather isn't cooperating well today. It has continued to snow most of the day with a wet heavy snow. The ground is not frozen so under the snow is a layer of mud. The good thing is the temperature is not so cold nor is the wind blowing. We can't wait for it to dry out and be sunny and warm!