A blog dedicated to informing people about our family farm, farming practices, and our pumpkin patch, Pumpkins and More A-maiz-ing Farm.
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Muddin' and Shootin'
Cousin E and Bubs
What do farm kids do in the winter? Not to sound too redneck, but, of course, they go out muddin' and shootin.' 😀
This Colorado January has had such crazy weather that it goes from three inches of snow to sunshine within two days. A few weekends ago, it peaked at almost 52 degrees, so we decided to head to the farm for some fun. The kids hadn't been out to the farm since harvest ended which meant they were very excited to play.
Near the end of July, we upgraded our bench Gator to a two-row Ranger. While we were shopping, we bought the girls a little four wheeler for all of the hard work they had done over the summer. They were troopers out there every day helping us irrigate, giving up a family vacation to hoe pumpkins, and hardly complaining at all.
Family-sized ride
Since we bought it so late in the summer and then got busy with back to school and the opening of Pumpkins and More A-maiz-ing Farm, they didn't have much time to play with it. But they had a blast muddin' it up all over the farm thanks to the recent snow fall.
E and Aubs
While they were busy riding (with big cousin E), Boots and I had a chance to do some target practice. A few months ago, he bought me my very first gun, a Walther PK380. I never would have imagined I would enjoy shooting, but after taking a tactical skills class and practicing, I really truly enjoy it. Boots likes hunting as well, so it is something that we can do together. There is nothing like the sound of gunfire and nailing your target to get the adrenaline rushing. This winter, Boots has upped his hunting game with a group of friends. They have been out multiple times shooting pheasant and coyotes. So far, he has shot four pheasant and two coyotes. Thankfully, he lets his friends keep them. I am not quite ready to dress a pheasant or skin a coyote, but maybe eventually I will be.
During our January excursion, I focused most of my camera attention on the kids and didn't get any good shooting pictures. Yesterday, though, Boots and I went out with family and had a great time shooting a variety of guns at our new targets. The best part is that thanks to the Holyoke Friends of NRA banquet last week and a Boots and Mike being so lucky, we added some new toys to our collection. So thankful for 60 degree February days and the crack of a gun!
Sugar beet harvest is a crazy time on our farm with early mornings and late nights. I am at school or at home with the kids for the majority of harvest, so Boots and our truckers were my official photographers. Tractor with Digger & Loaded Trailer Sugar beets are a root crop, so they grow underground. The harvesting process begins with the defoliating tractor which rips the leaves off of the root. Field of beets 1/2 defoliated and 1/2 not yet defoliated Tractor and defoliator Defoliated beet Next, the beet digger uses a two part system to pull the beets up and run them through scrub rollers. These rollers then push the beets back to the elevator chain belt and into the tank. There are also Ferris wheel style diggers that circulate the beets into the tank. Front view of Digger Back view of Digger Ferris wheel style digger When the digger is full, it unloads into a trailer pulled by a semi. We use cage trailers which tip to unload,...
Every year at the beginning of school, parents are asked to help or volunteer (if possible) for one of the holiday parties: Halloween, Christmas, or Valentine's Day. I always let the girls decide which ones they want me to help with. This year, both decided on Valentine's Day. As a result, we have 52 treats to make plus their own class Valentines and boxes. Pig and unicorn Valentine boxes Once I got the note from preschool that Boo was responsible for bringing the "eat at school" snack, I scoured Pinterest for ideas. I gave her the options of: a popcorn, marshmallow, snickers, M&M mix heart-shaped and chocolate dipped Rice Krispie treats heart-shaped sugar cookies chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes strawberry shortcake trifle cups She (not surprisingly) chose the strawberry shortcake trifle cups. This weekend we worked on getting everything baked and prepared, and on Monday we put it all together. I looked at quite a few different recipes and i...
Festus is definitely enjoying the warmer weather and being able to root around. We have *finally* built him a permanent outdoor enclosure, so he has a decent safe space in the yard where he can play and dig. Getting belly rubs from Bah He shares his pen with the chickens which is pretty entertaining. They get along quite well and keep him from getting lonely. It is funny that the chickens are terrified of the dog but are very friendly with the pig, especially because the dog and pig are currently about the same size. Inside of their pen is the chicken coop (which stays open for shade), a small covered lean-to, a swimming pool, and plenty of food and water. Festus still sleeps in his cage in the garage, but when I let him out each morning he runs straight to his pen (hoping to sneak into the chicken feed I think). Inside the coop Festus turned 6 months old on April 30th, and to celebrate we had watermelon. His currents stats are Weight: 20-25 pounds ...
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