A blog dedicated to informing people about our family farm, farming practices, and our pumpkin patch, Pumpkins and More A-maiz-ing Farm.
Search This Blog
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,...
Now that Pumpkins and More A-maiz-ing Farm is closed for the season, we seem to have more time on our hands. With extra time, comes reflection. Each year, we try to begin the holiday season by getting into the spirit of kindness and generosity. This year, I decided to start a thankful tree. The process was really quite simple: 1. Get a branch from the yard 2. Find a large vase 3. Strip kernels off Indian corn for filler 4. Cut roughly 100 leaves from construction paper 5. Gather something to hang the leaves (I used fishing wire, but twine or ribbon would work well too) 6. Put the branch in the vase and use the corn to hold it in place Our Thankful Tree - the beginning Now each day, we will write something we are thankful for on a leaf and add it to the tree. By the end of November, our tree will be full and so will our hearts remembering all of the blessings in our lives. What "thankful" traditions have you started with your family? UPDATE: Trying to get caug...
As long as I can remember, I have loved carving pumpkins. Carving pumpkins 1986 Well, truth be known, I just enjoyed digging my hands in the cool, squishy pumpkin goop. I was never one of those kids grossed out by or scared of the orange slime; I loved it! Even now as an adult, my favorite part of pumpkin carving is digging out the "guts." Luckily, all three of the kids also enjoy scooping out the insides. Sadly though, none of us are patient enough to carve the really beautiful, intricate pumpkins that I know some of you are capable of! We are more the jack o'lantern or simple animal style carvers. Each year, I get a spot set on the kitchen floor. I cut the tops off of the pumpkins, put them in the center of the floor with a bowl of water for the seeds, some spoons for digging, and some wet rags; then, I let the kids get to work. Halfway through they got hungry. Luckily, I had a put Chicken and Dumplings in the crock pot, and it was ready ...
Comments
Post a Comment