Family Farm Fun

Happy almost December! I don't know about you all, but I just love the holiday season. Each year, I try to create a "25 days of Christmas" activity calendar to keep us in the holiday spirit. It consists of parties and gatherings, traditions, cooking, and crafts. Many of the ideas have been passed down (like traditions and recipes), but I also find wonderful new ideas on Pinterest. Some of our traditions happen before December even starts though like decorating the house, taking Christmas card pictures, and some online shopping. We usually begin decorating the day after Thanksgiving. The kids are at such a fun age that they really enjoy helping. They have their own tree that they can decorate however they want: Kid tree All done That means Mom gets to have a pretty tree all to herself. The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we usually reserve for taking either family or just kid pictures. This year, I ...

Since June of this year, the girls and I have been discussing adding a mini pig to our family. Boo has been obsessed with piggies for years, and Bah went through a phase when she was 2 or 3 where she was in love with pigs too.  After a TON of research and discussion, we put a deposit on a litter whose babies would be ready in December. The breeder we chose is Colorado Cutie Pigs . The owner is very friendly and knowledgeable. We especially liked that the pigs would be familiar with children, too. We have been anxiously awaiting their birth, and it finally happened on October 30th - an "almost" Halloween piggy. Baby will stay with its mom for about 8 weeks, and then we will go get it.  Babies and their mom - photo courtesy of Colorado Cutie Pigs The timing is perfect that he will be a family Christmas present. For the next few weeks now we are planning and preparing for his arrival. Must buy items on our list include: Extra large dog kennel Rubbermaid conta...

Now that beet harvest is FINALLY over, corn harvest is kicking into gear. While all harvest is somewhat stressful, corn harvest seems much more relaxed after the crazy hours of beet harvest. Beets can only be harvested in optimal temperature. If the weather is too hot or too cold, the piler where the beets are collected shuts down. Corn, though, can be picked in most temperatures as long as the crop is dry and the ground isn't too muddy. Combine in the field On our farm, corn harvest also does not require quite as many workers. For beets, we usually have 6 people working harvest; for corn, we can make it with 3 or 4. The main pieces of equipment used for corn harvest are a combine, grain cart, and semis. First, the combine goes through the field. The corn is planted in straight rows, so the header fits between each row. The header pulls the corn cobs off of the stalk. The cobs are then sent through a threshing drum where the kernels are beaten from the cob and sent by an au...

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...

Two weeks ago it was a full moon and the official start of our Haunted Maze! 2012  One of my favorite parts of Halloween is dressing up in different costumes. Normally, I don't wear much (if any) makeup, so I like to go all out for Halloween. Each year, I experiment trying different strategies without spending too much money on supplies. During our Haunted Maze at Pumpkins and More A-maiz-ing Farm, my role is usually to collect admissions. This makes it difficult to wear a complex costume, but I still like to have one. My "go to" is some type of zombie or walking dead girl. It has to be something I can throw together quickly since we are usually busy with customers all throughout the day. I also like something not TOO scary since some nights our kiddos stay out there with us. 2013 Two years ago, I read online about using unflavored gelatin powder as a liquid latex substitute. I used it to create this look: 2014 Last year on Halloween night, our friend...

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 ...

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,...