Tomatoes and More Tomatoes

Monday, August 12, 2024
Hello friends,
              Happy Birthday to Christin who is in Austria for the next year!  Whoo hoo!  Last week I was complaining about the heat, and just like that, it was much cooler.  Wow, did I feel silly!  We went to the rodeo on Friday night and had to wear a wrap to be comfortable.  So pleasant!  However, we didn’t get beneficial rainfall yet.  I know, I know, it’s in the forecast.  Did you get rain in Kansas City this morning?  Yes?  It stayed north and we didn’t get rain.  The cloud cover has been nice, but Lord, we need rain.  Maybe tonight?  Or tomorrow?
              Tomatoes and more tomatoes!  Big beautiful beefy tomatoes.  Tomatoes that break your heart to cut up and can or freeze.  But I certainly don’t want them to go to waste, so can and freeze I will.  Bill would tell you that I planted too many.  It’s so hard to limit myself to only 4 varieties and only four of each plant.  That potent compost just caused them to grow like crazy.  And the bell peppers are huge!  I’m not complaining at all!  Nope!  Just needing to get busy putting it up…

Hot!

Monday, August 5, 2024
Hello friends,
              HOT!  I am ready for summer to slide into fall.  The grasshoppers are flying as we crunch through the dry grass.  It’s not just hot, but actually low humidity and breezy.  That sucks the moisture out of the plants quickly.  If we don’t get some rain relief soon, we’ll have to start feeding hay, which we don’t have delivered to our farm yet.  The nightly chore of watering everything is becoming tiresome and honestly, not nearly as good as a beneficial rain.  This is typical Kansas summer weather, but I don’t like it at all.
              The dairy cows still get their ration of alfalfa and non-GMO grain, so they are not as dependent on grass as beef cows would be.  Bill takes his “Carr-y’all” loaded with provisions and the cows follow him out to lane 10 after morning milking.  That’s the lane that has a large woodsy area for them to hang out in when it’s so hot.  They are managing so far with milk production dipping just a little.  Perhaps a little higher cream content in each jar as they conserve their moisture intake and put less into fluid milk.  The chickens don’t like heat much either.  I find a tomato or two that has a bad spot and then freeze it.  They have fun pecking the tomato popsicle!  Lord send rain!….

A Tease of Rain

Monday, July 29, 2024
Hello friends,
              A tease of rain.  Just sprinkles fall.  Customers come and tell us their rain stories.  Yeah, they had to stop mowing and wait for it to dry out.  We did get some cloud cover that kept the temperature down a bit, but I would love to squeeze some rain out of this humid air.  I’m just thankful that we still have water in the pond to water the garden. 
              The continuing saga of trying to save the apples and pears!  Last week we recognized that we had a problem.  We are very busy, and we put off doing anything about it.  More apples on the ground, fewer pears on the tree.  Finally, we had enough, and we took down the “easy to put up” fence (thank you Stephen) and brought out the electrified chicken netting.  Bill mowed the grass first, and I picked up all the wasted apples on the ground.  I’m used to windfalls, but 90% of the apples on the ground were either partly eaten or had teeth marks in them and left to drop.  The ground was dry and hard, so we had to wiggle, wiggle to get the stakes in the ground.  The corners were braced with the t-posts that we left in place, and we attached it to power.  After a test with the electric fence tester, we were satisfied that we had done what we could.  I’m not sure if the deer will jump the fence or not, but the coons will definitely be challenged.  So far, so good….

A Little Respite

Monday, July 22, 2024
Hello friends,
              A little respite from the summer heat!  Cool nights, and moderately warm days are just perfect if you ask me.  We could use some rain though.  The grass is beginning to go dormant.  It’s not unusual for summers in Kansas, but a little rain would help everything grow better.
              Just as we suspected, Sally had her calf last Tuesday.  Aunt Bonnie was at it again, hovering around momma and baby trying to take over for Sally.  Sally wasn’t having any of it.  The calf is another boy.  Drats!  Eventually the statistical average has to turn in favor of more heifers, doesn’t it?  Could it be that the cows conceive more males when the weather is a certain way?  I really don’t know.  Sounds like a wive’s tale to me.  Sally has already milked through the colostrum phase, and we are milking her in the bulk tank with all the other cows.  She is happy to be back…

It’s Hot!

Monday, July 15, 2024
Hello friends,
              It’s hot!  Not the hottest we’ve ever been, but certainly hot enough to justify a little complaining.  We have to make sure all the animals are as comfortable as possible.  Lane one has a lot of trees growing up in the western fence line, so a lot of afternoon shade for the cows.  We put a shade cloth on the top of the chicken enclosure, and I had some frozen cantaloupe from a year I had such an abundance.  They tasted like the freezer, but the chickens didn’t seem to mind, and they picked at it while it thawed.
              We put Fresca and Chanel with the dry cows and steers (no alfalfa or grain for the next almost two months for them) and brought Sally back with the milkers to keep an eye on her until her due date.  Next Monday is the estimated birthing day, but who knows.  Her udder is filling out and she is waddling around a bit.  There are two heifers in the front pasture that are just about old enough to breed, but not quite.  I’m keeping track of their cycles, and when the weather moderates, I will work on getting them bred and in the milker herd.  Hopefully the ratio of heifers to bull calves will bring us more females this year.  I have a name already picked out for Sally’s calf if she should have a heifer….

Two Cows Go Offline

Monday, July 8, 2024
Hello friends,
              Hope your Independence Day was liberating!  We had a houseful of family, and it was never a dull moment.  The weather was nice, and we had plenty of room to spread out and play.  We went fishing, we made pickles, we grilled, we ate, and we sat around a lot playing with grandchildren.  I think a good time was had by all.  It’s quiet now, but not without plenty to do.  Catch up on that laundry!
              This week two cows go offline for their pregnancy vacations, and we’ll be milking 12 cows.  That’s still plenty of milk for everyone who wants it, and enough to make yogurt, and an occasional cheese.  It means chores will be done a little more quickly, just a little.  By the end of the month Sally should have her calf and we’ll add one more milker.  It’s going to go up and down like that all fall as most of the cows take time off and come back online with a fresh supply of milk….

And Just Like That, June is Gone

Monday, July 1, 2024
Hello friends,
              Just like that, June is gone!  That was fast!  Those of you who live in the Kansas City area got pelted with rain this morning.  We saw the dark clouds.  We watched the radar.  We heard reports about flooding.  Not a drop fell here.  Isn’t that amazing?  Less than an hour south and we can have very different weather.  In this case, we are still fine after 0.8” of rain this past weekend so we weren’t longing for the deluge.  Looks like more chances of rain are coming.
              The WHOLE family will be here this week so we will have a happy house full!  Christin is home for a few days, Max and Rachel with Josephine will be here, and Stephen, Celia and the boys will be here.  I’m looking forward to it because everyone will pitch in.  It’s a great time to have everyone here because the garden is producing!  Help us eat all these wonderful vegetables.  I am stockpiling eggs and not selling them this week.  We just got a steer back from the butcher, so we have all the cuts available in the freezer.  The cows are producing lots of milk, and we have a cheese cave full of cheese.  We will not be hungry!  Living on a farm is a lot of work, but it’s nice to have an abundance of food in season…

Hottest Day of the Year So Far

Monday, June 24, 2024
Hello friends,
              The hottest day of the year so far!  Whew!  We tried to prepare yesterday by watering the garden and flower beds as much as we dared.  I pulled all the lettuce that I could because I figured it wouldn’t survive the searing sunshine.  I was right.  The tomato plants are loving this weather.  They are a tropical plant after all.  The cows were in pastures that have plenty of shade.  It is summer, but this is pretty hot for June.
              Bill has located a source of alfalfa in BIG square bales and this week his project is to bring it home and strategically stack it in the barn.  When you see the big round bales of regular hay out in the field waiting to be moved, they are designed to shed rainwater so they can be stored outside.  Alfalfa is generally put up in square bales so it can be stacked under a roof of some sort to protect the precious nutrient dense hay.  It’s very expensive and we carefully portion it out to the dairy cows a little at a time.  They love it and produce lots of milk because of it.  Asking a dairy cow to produce way more milk than it naturally would need to feed a calf means it needs more nutrition, and alfalfa is an important part of that.  It will be good to secure enough alfalfa for probably the whole year!…

The Pastures are Still Green and Lush

Monday, June 17, 2024
Hello friends,
              And just like that it’s summer!  Hot and dry, very seasonal but not my favorite weather.  After so much rain last weekend, the warm, dry air is sucking all the moisture out of the plants, and we actually have to water!  I can’t complain too much.  The pastures are still green and lush, and the pond is still full of water.  We’ll make it.  All over the county, farmers are putting up hay in this weather so I’m sure they are taking advantage…

More Rain!

Monday, June 10, 2024
Hello friends,
              More rain!  Three or four inches in the last 5 days!  We’re not sure exactly how much because there is a little top on the rain gauge that blew off some time in the night and it collected more rain than it officially should.  I don’t think we got that much rain all last year!  We don’t take this for granted.  I just wish I could save up some of that rain and bring it out when we needed it in July and August. 
              We’ve been out of ground beef for a couple of weeks now, but two more beeves are going in this Wednesday, so it won’t be long before we have a fresh supply.  One will be whole cow ground, the other we just have to take a few steaks out of our half Jersey, half Angus steer.  He looks so good.  There are two more steers coming and then we probably won’t have steer beef for a while.  Our grass has to go to the girls so we can milk and make cheese.  That being said, there are three half breed (Angus again) calves due around September 10 or so.  Remember when our neighbor’s bull paid us a visit?  Well, he wasn’t visiting us, rather our frisky milk cows.  We may be tempted to raise up another steer if we get a bull calf.  It takes a long time to get that beef!…

Where Did May Go?

Monday, June 3, 2023
Hello friends,
              Where did May go?  It seems like it just flew past and now it’s already June.  I guess time does fly when you are busy.  And we’re having fun.  We just celebrated my oldest grandson’s birthday yesterday.  How can it be that he is already 6 years old?  Seems like such a short time ago that he was just a little baby.
              Intermittent rains just keep the grass growing like crazy.  We decided that for the number of cows we have and want to have, we will need the pastures for them to graze.  That means we will plan on buying hay for the wintertime.  The last two years were so dry that hay was at a premium price.  This  year, if they can get the hay cut between rains, the price of hay should be lower because of the abundance of grass.  Milk production is still up, and the cows are really chowing down.  Yum!…

A Little Time Off

Monday, May 27, 2024
Hello friends,
              Happy Memorial Day!  A day that is specifically to remember those that have died serving our country, but also is used to remember loved ones in general that have passed away and frankly all service members.  It’s good to be thankful.  We can’t fully understand the benefit that we enjoy because those brave heroes gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we can live securely.  Thank you!
              This weekend was a bit of a mini vacation for Bill and me.  Stephen and Celia and the boys came down to watch the farm, our workers stepped up to the plate and covered for the weekend shifts that they normally have off, and we went to the city for some time off.  We went to the Liberty Memorial, we got sandwiches and ate them in the park, we went shopping, and then went out to eat again before going home to sleep in our own beds.  Then we got up Sunday day morning and after church went up to the zoo.  Today was a workday for us as Stephen and Celia were still here so we made cheese and caught up on some work in the creamery.  All in all, a very pleasant weekend making for two refreshed farmers…

Another Successful Farm Tour

Monday, May 20, 2024
Hello friends,
              More beneficial rain!  The grass is really growing now.  In the yard and especially in the pastures.  I took my window of opportunity and finished transplanting my tomatoes yesterday in a mad rush.  I get so much gardening done just before it rains.  All I have left is peppers to go out and then transplant my lettuce into a triangular planting bed.  Meanwhile, the weeds are going nuts!  The compost I applied was full of weed seeds and they are well fertilized.  Yikes!
              The farm tour was a success!  We already had quite a few people scheduled to come pick up milk, and then we had the tour people coming too.  Stephen and the boys were a big help.  Little Xavier was a big hit as he followed the tours and welcomed all the children and adults.  When it was over, and  after a little “chill” time, we went out to our pond for some fishing.  We discovered that the duck has been spending time on the dock leaving lots of little calling cards.  Actually, big calling cards.  Maybe the rain will wash it off.  We caught 2 fish, so it was a happy excursion.  After a long day, we were so tired!…

This Saturday, May 18th, is the Linn County Tour

Monday, May 13, 2024
Hello friends,
              I hope your Mother’s Day was wonderful.  Mine started out okay, but I ended up with a stomach bug.  Ugh!  So, we will postpone going out to eat until another day when we can enjoy it.  The restaurants were probably crowded anyway.  I’m feeling much better but now we hope no one else catches it.  No fun.
              We have been dealing with a few milk issues.  If you got milk that spoiled quickly or tasted off right away, we will replace it or refund.  After the second report last Monday we began to investigate and discovered a loose gasket on one of the milking assemblies which left a place for residue to form.  Then we also discovered one cow had mastitis!  After doing an inconclusive CMT test on every cow, we finally found the culprit Thursday evening.  We have rectified both problems but if you got milk that you couldn’t drink, just dump it and we will replace it.  Thank you for reporting so that we could go to look for a problem.  We want to keep our milk top quality.
              This Saturday is the Linn County Farm Tour!  If you ever wanted to tour the creamery, now is your chance.  I will prepare ahead of time; you will need to take off your shoes if you want to go into the make room.  We’ll have samples to taste and plenty of cheese to purchase.  The cows and heifers will be nearby so you can see the real working girls.  Here is a link to the Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=445315411488893&set=pcb.445315998155501

Farm Tour Coming up May 18th

Monday, May 6, 2024
Hello friends,
              More rain on the way!  We don’t actually need any more rain for a while, but as long as it doesn’t storm, I’m thankful for the rain.  We don’t need strong wind, hail, or even tornadoes.  I have to admit that there are areas of the “lawn” that haven’t had much actual grass growing after the last two years of extreme dry weather, and now the grass is starting to perk up.  Maybe we’ll have a real lawn this year?  The pastures are loving this.
              Less than two weeks until the Linn County Farm Tour!  Mark your calendar for May 18 and be prepared to come see the farm.  We’ll go throughout the creamery explaining what we do.   The milking girls will be nearby to pet or talk to, and the younger heifers will be near the barn.  Even the little heifer Violet will want to see you.  There will be cheese samples to taste and purchase along with other local products in our store.  Look up the Facebook page for details….

Lots of Rain

Monday, April 29, 2024
Hello friends,
              Wow!  What a difference a week makes!  Last week I was bemoaning the teasing of rain in the forecast with nothing to show for it.  This week I am so thankful that it didn’t rain today so that the standing water can soak in.  Oh my!  It started with 3 ¼ inches over two days, and then Saturday night we got a whopping 7 inches!  Our rain gauge holds 8 so it was very full.  Some gauges only hold 5 and they were overflowing.  Our driveway is pretty washed out and a good portion of the gravel is displaced downhill, and ultimately in the road.  The pond by the house is so full!  I haven’t been back to our big pond, but it has a large area of overflow.  I’m hoping the fish didn’t overflow. 
            Two times my phone alerted me of a tornado warning in the area and we considered taking shelter in the basement.  That would be an ordeal for Mom, so we wanted to make sure it was necessary.  Ultimately the tornadoes went south of us, and the potential radar indicated rotation was northwest of us, so we were safe.  We even got the cows milked on Saturday before the storm started.   The grass is growing like crazy, and the cows are happy, so we are happy…

Garden Planting in Full Swing

Monday, April 22, 2024
Hello friends,
              Garden planting is in full swing!  Bill got a couple of scoops of compost with the tractor from where the cows spent last winter eating hay and laying around on it, and of course there was some manure involved as well.  He had piled it up so that it would break down more efficiently and for the most part it is awesome.  Whenever you use the tractor to get a big scoop, you are bound to scoop up more than you need, and I do have to sort through some parts that are not quite finished composting.  I toss that in my garden compost pile for more time to break down.  Anyway, I’m not figuring that we’re getting any more frost, but I’ll hold back on putting out tomatoes for a little while longer.
              We are still getting lots of delicious milk, but we sure could use some rain on the pastures!  Last week was a big nothingburger.  So many rain icons in the forecast, but it was a lot of false hope.  Most of the rain went north, and lots of it.  That’s the way it goes sometimes.  I’m just taking advantage of being able to work in the garden.  When I’m done it can soak everything with spring rain…

It’s a Girl!

Monday, April 15, 2024
Hello friends,
              Tax Day I suppose.  Isn’t every day Tax Day?  As self-employed farmers we have to turn our taxes in by the end of February.  Fortunately, there are a lot of perks for farmers that we can take advantage of, and we rarely pay very much income tax.  Property tax, oh my that is ridiculous!  It’s like we pay rent on property that we own, and we have very few services provided.  They grade the gravel road occasionally.  Anyway, we are thankful that we only have about ¾ mile of gravel to get to our driveway.
              Our little heifer Blossom had her calf on Saturday and it’s a girl!  Whoo hoo!  Finally!  I am leaning toward calling her Violet and Bill is advocating for Lily, but either way it will be a flower.  Bonnie was convinced that it was her calf and probably fed it milk, which the calf shouldn’t have.  She needs momma’s first colostrum!  We milked Blossom and made a bottle for “Violet”, but she wasn’t interested.  Too full.  We saved the precious colostrum and warmed up the bottle Sunday morning.  Then she drank it right down.  They HAVE to have colostrum, or they literally could die.  I have farmers stop by occasionally asking for it when they have a cow die and they have to bottle feed the calf, but they need colostrum first!…

The Expo was a Success

Monday, April 8, 2024
Hello friends,
              We survived the eclipse.  I wasn’t worried, but it was interesting.  A sign in the heavens.  The farm was farther from the totality today than in 2017 so it was a little less dramatic.  We were busy making cheese and every once in a while, we went outside to see what was going on.  I big dark area around the sun surrounded by a rainbow in a complete circle.  That was different.  Then we finished the cheese.  I don’t think the cows noticed anything was different.
              The Expo was a success!  I saw so many people that I haven’t seen in a long time.  Some of them have been reading the newsletter all along.  That is amazing.  A surprising number of them have their own farms and of course they would be interested in farm life.  We got to let people taste the samples which is important when choosing cheese, and we sold a good amount of cheese.  All my grandchildren stopped by with their parents or other grandparents.  It was a great day, and I was very tired at the end of it!  Thank you, Alaina, for all your help!…

Eat Local and Organic Expo

Monday, April 1, 2024
Hello friends,
              I trust that you all had a Happy and meaningful Resurrection Sunday.  We did.  After a very busy Saturday getting prepared, Bill, Mom, and I went to Atchison for our family celebration.  All the grandchildren (3 of them) were there, and delicious food was abundant.  The weather was 20 degrees cooler than here in Pleasanton, but we were prepared for that too.  While we were gone, our helpers milked the cows and kept an eye on things.  We kept our phones nearby, but the only message we got was that they were done, and all went well.  A big sigh of happiness from us.
              The apple and pear trees are in full bloom. Apparently, the frost didn’t damage the blossoms last week.  Our little peach trees are just that, little.  No peaches this year.  My neighbor down the road has her garden plot already cultivated and ready to plant.  I’m so far behind.  My garden plot is covered with purple henbit flowers and last year’s tomato cages and other climbing plant supports.  I planted my tomato, pepper, cabbage, and kohlrabi seeds inside, and they are up and going. 
              Last week we worked on cutting, packaging, and labeling aged cheese for the Eat Local and Organic Expo that is coming up this Saturday, April 6 from 9 to 3 at the Johnson County Community College.  It’s packed into boxes, and back down on shelves in the cheese cave until we load up to go Saturday morning.  This week we’re working on making lots of Pure Jersey Silk and Fromage Blanc.  That’s the Greek style yogurt and the fresh spreading cheese respectively.  How much can I haul up to the city?  How much weight can the cooler handles endure?  How strong are we to lift it into the car or truck?  Hmm.  Not sure, but you can bet we will be well stocked when we arrive.  Remember, admission and parking are free, kids are welcome, and bring a cooler bag to carry home anything that should be kept cool while you peruse the wonderful booths.  See you there!….