New Baby On The Farm.....:)

Lee was on a journey of some sort this afternoon and ran across this new fawn in the woods across from the cabin and sought out Marie to do the photo shoot. It is probably only a day old as it still doesn't have it's legs under it yet but it did manage to get up and walk a few feet, I mean hoof, deer don't have feet, but then right back down it would go and pose some more. I am sure mama was near by watching these two "humans" annoy her new baby (kinda like a new mom at the mall huh) but all was set right with nature and all is well on the farm once again...........:)

Maykinbaykin and Corn and Beans and.......

Now that's some corn ain't it!!!! Course we got some of the most potent fertilizer you'll ever find just ask anyone that knows me. I apologize for the tired look but I had been chasing that darn pig for hours and as you can see, he had been out for a while cause he got a little sun burned. No kidding aside, all the corn is in the ground (and some coming back out as you can see) and at the time of this post probably half the beans. Planting is rolling right along ahead of schedule only after a long rain delay which has apparently turned into a rain deficit or so it appears as you can see by the cracks in the ground (almost lost the pig in one) ! But despite Mother Natures attempts to stop them Terry, Lee and Randy are going to "Gitter-done"!!

Things have been a little hectic in the barns the past few weeks. Despite the usual routine it is time to get the cool cells up and running so the mommies can maintain their coolness (my word) and hopefully maintain their embryos that we spent so much time getting into place and hopefully those embryos will turn into little piggies running all over the place. To this point Lori and I haven't had a problem in that respect. In only a few months the 4-H pigs we sold will start winning at fairs all across the state and states and before you know it the State Fair will start. Time just flies when you are having fun don't it!! We have sold more pigs this year so Steve is going to have to have wings before all the shows are over. Good luck with that (won't take much of a set of wings to lift him)!!!

Marie and I have been working in the garden for the last two days and finally finished today but now the flower beds need redone, says her, what a load, says I, doesn't matter what you say, says her, yes mam, says I, so redone we do. There is something to be said for concrete and gravel. I once made fun of a guy who had to take out the garbage all the time till I met my wife and had to do everything but.....

Well, it's another beautiful warm sunny day here on the farm but it is finally winding down or at least slowing to a crawl but for the most part everyone is home and tucked in for the day and all is well on the farm once again.

"Baby J"

This little Buckaroo is finally sprouting choppers, as you can see, and just like his daddy he sure know how to use them!! He came for a visit last week and we had a blast. He likes to play with hats and he thinks he looks best in this one. I chose the John Deere hat but he wasn't having any.

It is finally starting to warm up around here so the planter is at the door and the tunnel vent fans are humming so summer is almost here (think we missed spring)...........:)

We ALL could use a smile this week...........

If ever there was a week from Hell it was last week. Everything that could go wrong did and we can only hope it is over. It started last Monday with Ronda's daughter being hospitalized with some serious medical problems that has everyone concerned. Let's all keep them in our thoughts and prayers and hope for the best.

Tuesday and Wednesday arrived with the mill trying to sabotage every command given to it almost as if it had a mind of it's own and making Steve lose a few more hairs up there, which is something he really can't afford to do, and the feed company, both by the way, either didn't deliver what we ordered or delivered the wrong order so those two days went to the crapper real fast. Thursday, well Thursday is always a very hectic day to begin with but given the previous days events it actually went rather smooth giving us hope that "Good Friday" would be a short day and we could all go home early and relax in Lu of the Easter weekend coming up, but it was not to be. Kim's family started flying in Friday morning for the Easter weekend. One didn't show up at the airport and missed his flight but couldn't be reached anywhere which kinda put a damper on the get together. But instead of helping track him down he had to spend the day with us digging pigs out of a pit. Yep, 51 was our count. They, for what ever the reason, decided to go "poopa-diving" and the only way for them to get out of there is for us to go in after them and literally drag them out one at a time. It's one of those times when you say to yourself, self... what the hell am I farming for?? But then it's over and you are back to reality and you remember it's because you love it so much and you get a charge from that feeling of everyone coming together the way we did under some very unappealing conditions to achieve a common goal, and we did it extremely well if I say so myself!! I would like to thank Terry, Randy, Kim, Eric and Lori for their participation in completing a most horrible task that we need to vow is never repeated, and I vow there are no better friends and co-workers anywhere, you are the best!

Well, Saturday is almost over and to this point in time everything is going pretty smooth and to the best of my knowledge everyone is home and tucked in for the day and all is well on the farm once again...........:))))

Another week's end........

NO, this is not a recent photo but they are growing like crazy and it won't be long now cause it's in the 70's and sunny and I even mowed lawn yesterday....yep, I said it, MOWED, it's that time already and I like it!!!

All in all it has been a good week here on the farm. Thursday went off without a hitch in regards to our "flow go" that we had such a problem with a while back, and now that we have those couple of hundred extra pigs taken care of we have gotten back to normal with a nice comfortable surplus of sows and a modest 20 to 30 pigs over target per room, ya gotta love it! Steve has been running to keep the mill up AND keep up with selling 4-H pigs, AND keep up with having calvs at home and at least the 4-H and calving is about to wind down or at least to a comfortable level. Terry and Randy have been juggling between getting ready to plant, firing up the new irrigation system and hauling corn and luckily that is going fairly smooth. Ronda is still doing her Perry Mason imitation and juggling end of quarter stuff at the same time and probably could use a hug about now. Marie, Lee and Joe are still trying to build a house or two and even that seems to be on schedule. Eric and Lori finally got their permit from IDEM they have been waiting for so they are moving on to the next step with their adventure and "Baby J" got to play with his first snake last week but it didn't seem to be a big deal to him, all he wanted to do was poke it with a stick (I know a lot of snakes I'd like to do that to), so yep, it's been a good week down on the farm.

And by the way, (I'm not sure what that means) Kim and Susan returned home last week so be sure and give them a "hidy ho" when you see them. And speaking of Susan, I heard it from a very reliable source (Susan) that she has a really interesting tale to tell or should I say a tale to tell of an event that happened to her and Kim but I am sworn to secrecy so maybe if I have aroused the curiosity in enough people and those people pester her enough she will do a Lee and tell on herself at the next round table!!!!
Sorry Susan, Kim labeled me the farm comedian so it's anything for a laugh (but you gotta tell)!

Well, I gotta go fertilize trees. It appears that everyone is home and tucked it for the day and all is well on the farm once again.......:)

Interesting Week......

This is one of a thousand photos Marie and I took on our most excellent 10 year anniversary trip. We headed to Tennessee where we played in the mountains, and the valleys, for a week and we really had, as far as we are concerned, the best vacation we have ever had(thanks to the farm)!!! It is really a different world down there. Everyone and everything revolves around the tourist (that was us) and there is more to see and do than can be seen and done (cute huh) in a week so you (we) have to go back hopefully again and again. So, coming back to work after a week like that was to say the least different. The photo is a view from our room and that was really nice to wake up to every morning....:)

Today was Thursday and you know what that means, weaning day. Everything went rather smooth in that respect but Lori and I have done a little better job of getting enough sows bred than we should have and now our surplus has turned into a serious situation ( for you previous readers that means our goflow has turned into a great big flood) at least it was yesterday but we think we see the light (I hope it's not the wrong one) at the end of the tunnel. Yesterday we had 15 sows waiting to get in and due today. That doesn't sound too bad until you understand that those 15 and 13 more will fill the room we are washing. Good you say, but not so good when you realize that there are now 23 left with now where to put them and their due date is next Wednesday, bad you say, but not really cause we can usually make it work with a lot of running and moving and sorting, so good you say, but not so good when you have so many due so close!! Bad you say, but not really cause we got another room rented today and we will be moving them in shortly!! Good you say and we would agree....:) It sounds a little complicated but it really is.

We like to call it Maykinbaykin x 2!!!

That was pretty much the yukky part of the week, Eric and Lori had to go to the state house (no capital letters tee hee) to rub elbows with some of our elected idiots, Randy and Terry are getting planting in gear, Ronda is working on her Perry Mason imitation(jury duty), nobody knows where Lee is at any given time, and the rest of us are just maykinbaykin like a big dog, fast and lots of it and not only lots but the best money can buy to boot!!!

Well, Thursday went rather well for a Thursday and we got all the mommies in without a, you know, and for that we are thankful, and at this point in time everyone is home and tucked in for the day and all is well on the farm once again.....:)

Weeks Over.....

I am REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY glad this week is over and hopefully the cold spell along with it. This photo Marie took in Kim's yard does not do the miserable conditions justice at all. It looks so peaceful and quiet (because it is too darn cold for anything to be moving) and you can see the frost on the tree tops from the dampness in the below temperature air, looks about the same on your face when you are out in it a while. We dealt with the blizzard OK, as far as the snow went, except for some hairy moments trying to get the feed truck down the one lane roads without meeting another vehicle, that makes you sweat a little no matter how cold it is. If it hadn't been for Randy plowing the roads all the way to the highway we might still be waiting for the county to haul feed. Sometimes I think those county highway boys believe that everybody who lives on a county road just stays in the house when it snows and don't need to get out, I think we should send them a bill for plowing snow and see how that flies. Well, dealing with the snow was the easy part, there were a few days the some of the employees didn't make it to work so that put things behind about a day at least but then we added to that the high humidity and extreme cold and fans and feed systems started to freeze and break. The high wind and snow will blow against the fans and in extreme situations, like last week, will slow the fan down enough to allow the snow to accumulate around the blades eventually stopping the fan and burning out the motor. In the case of the feed systems moisture collects in the bottom of the boot and freezes to the flex auger making it impossible to run. Most of the time you can heat them up with a propane torch, clean out the bottom, and she is good to go, but sometimes, like last week, the motor kicks on and twists the flex auger into. We had as many as 6 down at a time, everybody ran there butts off last week, we all need a hug!!!! And to make matters worse worse (that's two worses) Steve gave Ronda, Lori, and myself what resembles bronchitis. Eric is getting the symptoms but so far just that, symptoms. It can't get anything but better!!!!!

Thanks to the most wonderful and unique healing powers of my environment I BELIEVE I have recovered most excellently from my brush with yuk so I am quite thankful for that!! Marie and I are on the verge of our Family Farm Fun Fest which hopefully will commence in about two weeks baring any unseen problems which I don't foresee or at least can't foresee at this time. I need to apologise to threecollie at North View Diary for not posting a comment on her site or at least responding to her comments, that was rather rood of me but I just haven't been spending as much time on this thing in the past few months as usual. I do visit your site and think it is great, you seem to have a great dairy, and I really like reading about it and I appreciate your comments on mine.

I need to take my leave now and progress to something else preferably something that doesn't require any effort physically or mentally (no, I'm not running for President) but I think I have snow to shovel again, you know, the best laid plans....

Well, Randy is out moving snow again, 4 inches last night again, but everyone else including the little piggies is cozy and warm and tucked in for the day and all is well on the farm once again...:)

COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLD.........

Well, needless to say it has been an extremely cold week here. Lows below zero with wind chills WELL below zero. But despite Mother Nature's attempt to freeze us and all inanimate objects solid, I think we have fared quite well!!! To this point in time, all is well and warm with no major freeze ups. Had about 7 inches of snow yesterday that looked nice but it just added to the cold and we really didn't need it so actually we wish it hadn't snowed if you get my drift, get it, snow, drift, oh well. There is really not much new to talk about. Everyone is trying to get their tax's completed and just trying to stay warm, which actually they kinda go hand in hand especially if you itemize and you don't keep good records, that will keep you warm!!!!

Is this not the cutest darn little piggy you ever did see. I got him from a friend in an email and at this moment I haven't posted him on the blog yet so I don't know if he will be animated or not but if he is not the hoof he is holding up is waving, is that a stitch....:)

Well it is getting dark and I am gonna move on and start the end of another day. It is very cold and damp but all are home and tucked in for the day and all is well on the farm once again.

Baby "J"

Looks like he is contemplating something very serious like moving snow, cleaning off the truck or getting that new barn up and running, but I'll bet it's more like " I can't believe she put all this crap on me, it's gotta be 60 out here, I would walk now if I could"....all kidding aside, he is growing like a Chia pet so cleaning that drive ain't far off!

Our round table meeting went great yesterday although I must admit I was in a lot of pain after my pill started wearing off mid morning but that's just part of the recovery process. So far I haven't given Lori a heart attach at work, though she watches me like I am going to do something stupid or something, go figure, you know me. I will have to tell you later about her hitting me in my tummy, not once but three times.....I get no respect..........:)

Smile and have a nice day, somebody loves you......:)

Whataweeek.......

This is a photo of what was going on yesterday, as you can see, it was a beautifull day to work. Today, however, is a different story. It is snowing blowing and even a little freezing drizzle, go figure, hey, this is Indiana, if you don't like the weather stick around an hour and it will change...:)

I can't real attest to what went on at the farm last week cause my body had made plans for me not to be there but had failed to mention them to me until the last minute which by that time had changed from a casual mention to a full blown protest in other words "if you go to work you will die" kinda thing so needless to say I said okee dokee and went to the hospital emergency room where they said "dude, your whole gastrointestinal system is full of infection and has shut down, we think that little thingy on your right side has gotten sick and died, we gotta get that outta there" dude, hence the emergency appendectomy! The infection made the hospital stay longer and I am still on antibiotics and a lot of pain from the swelling but it will pass..(get it, swelling, pass, gas) Made a lot of new friends in the hospital, the last time I was there they were all very well poised professionals, now they seem to be more relaxed "care givers" and it suits them a whole lot better, I tried being professional once and I still went home with the same stain in my shorts they just cost 5 times as much....:)

Again, I would like to thank everyone at the farm (and a special thanks to Ronda) for all your thoughts and prayers and visits. It does speed the healing and makes the coming home a wondrous occasion (that's yee-ha for all you country folk) we love you one and all.

The only other spectacular news I have is that Eric and Lori (possibly the new "Snyder Family Pork") was given the go ahead by the zoning board on their quest to be family farmers in their community and we all wish them nothing but the best in the future!

Well, I have been up and down from this chair 20 times so I will rap this up for now. From what I can see everything has been taken care of, all are home and tucked in for the day and all is well on the farm once again...........:)