The Grumpy Farmer

I've been remiss about posting

2010-01-13T08:23:00.000-08:00

FYI - That IS Mary Grace, she is growing up (9) and we are looking into birka's and making applications to Convents, any assistance on that front would be appreciated.

Harvest officially ended December 15, 2009. It was a long, hard slog at the end. This year, we saw snow before the crop came out. We had about 30 acres still standing when the snow came and I pondered how long it would take to hand-pick 30 acres. Luckily for me, I have friends and I think many of them would have stepped in to help-who would have ever thunk that we would have to harvest by hand in 2009? Fortunately, that wasn't necessary.

The corn yield was excellent. Our little 24 acres yielded enough to make the mortgage payment. There were some bumps along the road, but for the most part we are just glad that harvest 2009 is OVER, DONE, in the bin.

Someday I will grouse about why it seems that despite the fact that the grain bins are only used once a year, they never seem to work and other related rants, but all in all, I have to say that I am thankful that the crop is in, TGF is safe and healthy and we will all live to plant another year.

A belated Happy New Year to everyone reading. I hope we all have a healthy and prosperous New Year.

Michael has been defending us from sabertooth tigers, indians, coyotes and bobcats. TGF is planning on decreasing the coyote population in Serena Township and he and Michael have been watching videos about coyote hunting, never a dull moment!

Harvest 2010

2009-11-18T07:24:00.000-08:00

Soybeans have been done for more than a week. Yield was not good (thank heavens for crop insurance). A lot of loss due to white mold. Soybeans are always an "iffy" crop, but you hate to put all your eggs in one basket so to speak and plant all corn although it has been discussed with approximately the same frequency as "what would we do if we won the lottery tonight".

Corn is progressing. The yields are very good, it appears that Farmer Greg's population and strip till tinkering were again successful. The corn is standing well so far and it has dried down a bit, I think somewhere around 24%. They are now alternating between putting wet corn in the bin (you can't put too much at one time or there are problems with the bin) and hauling the wet corn to town. The elevator has been slightly flooded with incoming wet corn (not as bad as last year, yet) and is shutting down earlier than normal (whatever that is). We have possession of a strip till bar and he is trying to strip till when the elevator shuts us off or after dark, so far, not much progress on that front, but he's only had the bar for a day or so. It is raining here, but not really all that much, just about enough to shut down the operation, so we are about in the same boat as those getting tons of rain.

All in all, I'd say aside from the extremely late start to harvest, things are moving along fairly "normally" again, whatever that means. I have not heard yet about modifications/tinkering for the 2010 crop, but Greg has to spend a LOT of time all by his lonesome this time of year doing his thing, I'm sure he'll come up with something. He always does.

Comments encourage me

2009-05-15T10:58:00.001-07:00

Encouraged by a comment made by the former V.P. of Weather (aka Aunt Mary), I post again!

So far TGF has 56 acres of corn planted. He disced the pipeline Monday, May 11th and planted the pipeline part of Aunt Bernices farm and perhaps Hochsteads (sp) on Tuesday, May 12, working until after 10pm thanks to some new and fabulous lights that he purchased this spring for just this occasion. It has now rained steady every other day since. He has taken great pains to point out to me that he has been, "so good" about these rain delays, but he isn't fooling me, I know he is knotted up inside worrying about the weather and the planting.

Jack is home from UIllinois, having survived finals. I went down on 5/9 and cooked dinner for the frat boys, pulled pork and brisket (thanks to TGF), cole slaw, strawberry pretzel salad and tollhouse chocolate chip cookies all from scratch. Jack is relieved to have the semester behind him and a new adventure beginning on Monday as he starts his summer internship. I will let you know on Monday if we will miss him being around for the summer or not.

In my last post, I reported that Lady passed away on St. Patties day this year. We have found a new dog to live with us as her forever family. We named her Indy (Indigo), she is an Australian Cattle Dog/Blue Heeler and we got her from a rescue. OMG is she different from Lady. She is very laid back, but Blue Heelers want a "job" to do and she is constantly looking at things trying to figure out if she needs to do anything. She isn't nearly as big as Lady, but I think she has a wolfish enough look that folks will still look twice before they step out of the car at the house which is the point. She has some training, walks well on a leash, sits, lays, fetches, is crate trained and seems to be housetrained. So far, she is really neat and I have heard the adoption horror stories, she seems to be very well adjusted, the kids like her, but MBM isn't so crazy about her, but again typical for the ACD's, she is a little "mouthy" and he doesn't like that, no she hasn't bitten him, but she will nibble. We start obedience training next week and hopefully that will give me some better tools to deal with those behaviors.

Well, they seem to pay me to work around here, I suppose I'd best get back to it. If anyone has any control of the weather, some warm, dry days, about 14-21 of them would be helpful, please.

Hello? Is anyone out there?

2009-05-06T11:33:00.001-07:00

I see from my stats that I haven't blogged sinch March. Not much has been going on in Serena Township. Oh, wait. Lady our beloved golden retriever-type dog of 13 years crossed over the Rainbow Bridge on March 17. She deserves a post of her own and perhaps I'll do that but suffice it to say that she was the best dog a human could ever ask for. Not only does she leave large pawprints to fill, but a giant hole in our hearts.

Here in Serena Twp, it has been rainy and dreary alternating with rainy and dreary. Within the past week, we have had about 4 gorgeous almost perfect days, but rain is predicted today. Not a wheel has been turned in the field to my knowledge as of this minute. TGF has been surprisingly tolerant of Mother Natures most recent practical joke, but I know he is aching to get the corn in the ground. I found 2 morels in the BACK YARD! and TGF claims he found about a dozen, but I have yet to see proof of such.

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending Mothers weekend at UIllinois. I can honestly say that I am not old enough to be "Mrs. Marshall". It made me extremely uncomfortable, but I guess I'll have to get used to it. Jack is preparing to take finals to complete his 1st year of college and as far as I know, he will be invited back next year both to the University and to his frat (IlliDell). I pick him up on May 14th and he reports to his summer internship on Monday, May 18th. He will be working for Hartung Brothers, Inc.
training in Madison, working in Bowling Green, OH, Seattle and perhaps Sturgis. He is allegedly monitoring pickle tanks, but he isn't really sure what he'll be doing and income is income. It will be a long summer for him, but hopefully we'll get out to see him so that we don't forget what he looks like.

That's all the news that is fit to print. We are all relatively happy and healthy and hope y'all have a great spring.

Disney 2009

2009-03-10T19:07:00.000-07:00

Our Disney trip. MG loved the swimming, she was a little intimidated by the dolphins, we saw the Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Animal Kingdom, Discovery Cove (where MG swam with a dolphin - Lester) and SeaWorld. I would have to say that Discovery Cove and SeaWorld were our favorite. For some reason the thin filter on my camera wasn't working (I am surely much thinner than I appear in those pictures). We could not have wished for better weather, the company was perfect. It was really a wonderful trip, but I was glad to be home.

When I called home on Sunday, Michael said, "Are you coming home, mommy?" Melted my heart.

Oh, TGF bravely took one for the team and stayed home to hold down the fort while I cavorted with Mickey Mouse and friends, but don't feel too badly for him, he leaves for Arkansas fishing in a week or so.

To View the pictures:
Ok, so I can't link to my flickr profile. go to www.flickr.com and search for amarshall102 under the people tab. You can see all the photos that I have uploaded onto flicker, but the Disney ones are in a set for your viewing pleaseure as they say.

A Farmers "Garage'

2008-10-18T09:12:00.001-07:00

This is the scene that I saw upon walking out of the house Friday morning. TGF said he was coming home on a tractor and he sure did, parking it right in line like he would have parked his truck. Who needs a Hummer when you have a Tractor!

One more field of beans to harvest (I think), it was still a little too green, so they switched to corn on....Perhaps Sunday, harvest is going well except for a small crunch in the chaff spreader on the combine. No one was hurt and that is the most important thing.

2008 Harvest begins

2008-10-05T17:52:00.000-07:00

Uncle Bill, here is your long awaited update.

2008 harvest officially began Friday, October 3, 2008. They began with the beans at Aunt Bernice's farm, I am never quite sure of the "plan" although I know there is one, but I think they plan to fill the bin there and then haul it out. Serena has no bean storage, but that is a story for another day. Having no elevator storage (we typically store most of the corn in the grain bins and haul the beans to town) makes things a little interesting, but last year it worked out well, so fingers crossed that it will work out as well this year.

I have heard that, "You farmers are all spoiled by the good weather these past years", but I feel a little tense that no wheels were turned in September, but the beans simply weren't fit yet and the moisture in corn was high and with the cost of LP gas, we needed to afford to dry it in the fields a bit.

This financial crisis has been troubling, we've been trying to watch the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates, I hope that one of these days we get a candidate that we want to vote for rather than voting against.

Family wise, Jack is still at U of I. He called me a week or so ago on a Monday and the conversation went something like this...

Jack: Mom, on Thursday we are having an event at the house and they usually make the freshmen be bouncers, now what exactly is the "rule" when the police come? Do I have to let them in without a search warrant...

Angie: If I were you, I'd try my darnedest to stay away from the door, but for the record, no search warrant, no entry, period, end of discussion, however, remember, there isn't a lot of $$ in your monthly allowance for bail.

That's my Jack, always be prepared.

Week before last, we had our first trip to the ER with any of the kids, Michael was finally eating supper and he managed to flip one of our heavy kitchen chairs over and cracked his head open on the radiator. Only 1 staple, and he was fine and then the following Sunday he got eaten by these Hurricane Ivan mosquitos and first his left and then both of his eyes swelled shut. He looked awful, but didn't seem to feel too bad. It was a long week.

Well, that's all the news that is fit to print and then some, I suppose. Here are some pictures taken 10/4/2008 of the pipeline, pretty boring, but I didn't want to get in trouble for trespassing on the right-of-way. Safety issues and all you know.....

The Handsomest Kid at the Prom

2008-04-25T18:18:00.001-07:00

The best looking couple at Marquette Prom, 2008. Even if I do say so myself, that is one handsome boy and Hattie isn't bad either. (Love you Hattie)

2008-02-28T19:23:00.000-08:00

New Toys at TGF.

On February 26, we had a sleety rain and then overnight got some beautiful snow. It coated the plants outside and it was really beautiful. This is my walking stick bush against the outhouse in the garden. Photo is dark because it was taken at about 5:30am, it was really beautiful.

Some things are meant to be.....

2008-02-25T07:59:00.001-08:00

A new day has dawned at TGF. Today (Monday, February 25, 2008) we closed on our farm. 26.404 acres just south of our house. It touches both E. 22nd Road and E. 2150th Road. Its story is interesting to us, perhaps it is interesting to you. About a year ago. (March 2007) our banker, Richard Bend called me and inquired if we had noticed the auction notices for some land that was close to what we currently farmed. I teased him about his unusual method of drumming up business. We talked it over and decided to go to the auction to bid on the property. I had a little health scare (breast-all is FINE, thank you) and wouldn't finish the tests until after the auction. Because of that and general unknowns, we decided to bid $X. It was interesting to go to the auction as the neighbors were all nosy and there not perhaps to bid, but more importantly to see who bid. If you've ever been to an estate auction, a land auction is similar. Our parcel was the last to be sold. The piece that sold ahead of our intended piece went for less than our maximum bid. I was sure that we were going to get the property and then someone from the doorway bid and when we reached our maximum, we stopped bidding. I was so nervous, I thought I was going to pass out-seriously, I thought I was going to hyperventilate. TGF had teased me that I would buy get my arms a-waiving and buy the farm regardless of the bid, but when the time came, I couldn't bid-it was all I could do to stand upright, he did the bidding for us that day. Anyway, we didn't buy the land that day and my health issue turned out to be nothing but a scare (yes, thank heavens). The new buyer planted it and by the beginning of the summer, we heard rumors that he wanted to sell it, pretty soon we saw a listing sign on the property and I checked it out. He had it listed for $10,000 per acre, definitely more than we were interested in paying. Cut to January, a Thursday, for some reason, I was home alone that day and I saw him come down and pick up some of the bales that he left on the property. I heard the tractor stop and then a knock came on the front door (no one who knows us knocks on the front door). He asked to speak with TGF who wasn't home. TGF called and we worked out the deal. Coincidence? I think not, but I'm a little nutty that way as perhaps you know. I plan to walk the boundaries of the property, make a snow angel in the middle of it and pray extra hard for soft rain, good sunlight and a bountiful harvest. I have recently come to discover that unconsciously more than consciously, I longed for the safety of owning a piece of "God's Green Earth" as my friend Janette says and today thanks to the banker, TGF and I do.

HAIL TO THE CHIEF

2008-02-24T07:35:00.000-08:00

The 4th generation in the AG Department at the University of Illinois. Katie was the 1st 4th generation, but Jack is the 1st 4th Gen in Ag. It's a good thing as there is so much orange and blue around here, if he didn't get in, I don't know what we would do. He was accepted into Purdue (chemistry) as well, but U of I was HIS first choice. Heaven help my checkbook and keep good thoughts for him that he uses his best study skills to absorb all of the opportunities available at the University of Illinois. HAIL TO THE CHIEF!

Time Flies???

2008-02-01T09:01:00.000-08:00

It is Illinois Today. We were dumped with about 8" of snow yesterday and last night, it is beautiful to look at and I'd love to take a walk in the woods, but alas, I was faced with the following choice. Go to work or Referee the hoard of children who were not in school due to a snow day - easy choice for me. TGF was not so lucky as he has no work excuse, hee, hee, hee.

I don't remember the last time I posted to the blog, but I think it was after harvest. We were blessed this year with timely rains, abundant harvest and increased prices for the corn and soybeans that we grew this year. Of course the imput prices (fertilizers and seed and etc) have adjusted their prices accordingly, but all in all, it was an excellent year for us. All harvest was accomplished in a safe and more or less organized manner. I have said before and will probably say again, I think farming is the most important job in the world, without TGF and his partners in relaxation (i.e. other farmers) we would not enjoy the abundance of goods to be purchased at the store. If we don't eat well, we don't live well. It does us good to remember that from time to time.

2007 Harvest in the Bin

2007-10-25T09:33:00.000-07:00

TGF finished the last 10 acres of beans yesterday (October 24). Now on to the Anhydrous application, and fall spraying and of course the negotiation of what new implement will need to be purchased before the end of the year. But first a well deserved vacation to one of the Dakota's with TGF brothers (Steve and Dickster) for some Pheasant slaughter. Good luck to the Pheasants.

Harvest 2007

2007-09-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

TGF began the 2007 harvest on Thursday, September 20, the earliest that TGF's father has ever remembered starting. The moisture in the corn was 16% and the yields were, well, lets just say amaizing. Scary amaizing. (yes, I said amaizing for a reason) The first day began without incident, they took the headlands off of Dick's farm and then they progressed to the Greg 40 which is currently about 2/3 harvested. On Saturday, they moved to Hochstead's and harvested that, hauling the corn to the elevator in Serena, hoping to beat the crowds as the other area farmers either haven't started, or are currently working on their bean harvest due to sudden death syndrome or brown stem rot (no, I don't make this up). On Saturday I was helping them jockey machinery and I had occasion to drive into the field. I couldn't believe how tall the corn is, the ears are attached to the stalks at about shoulder height (a good 18" higher than normal) and they are huge, the corn was probably at least a foot higher than TGF's huge 4wheel drive truck. So far everything is standing well and we did have some down-time last week for a couple of miscellaneous breakdowns, but so far so good is the report from the home front.

Hummer-Birdies

2007-09-18T21:25:00.000-07:00

I have feed Hummingbirds for several years. They are preparing to head south for the winter and they are "swarming" the feeders. I put 2 feeders on the front porch so that Michael and I can watch them. He calls them "Hummer-birdies" and we watch their dancing/fighting. I hope this shows up. Greg thinks he saw at least 7 tonight, but I think I only caught 4 on film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPTrU9kmEy8

5/18/2007 - BEANS PLANTED: CHECK

2007-05-18T08:07:00.001-07:00

Today, TGF will finish planting the beans! Let's say it all together please, like a chorus of angels, "HALLELUJAH!" Overall, although perhaps TGF might report differently, planting went well. No accidents, a few breakdowns, but nothing too spectacular or costly. Probably the most alarming was the 2" nut that came off of the drill at the part that actually holds the drill to the tractor, that could have been spectacular, but TGF caught it in his pre-planting review of the machinery. Now if we can get the VP in charge of weather (i.e. Aunt Mary or Mary Marshall-Grace) to assist us with good sunshine, warm, but not too warm temperatures and soft rain upon our fields, we will be in like flynn-oh, yes, please no FR*ST. I suspect that all of the corn is now up and TGF said that he figured some of the beans have begun to break the surface, always a good sign. So things are off to a good start here in the Country.

The roads have settled and the dust from same is flying again. MG wrote me this note this morning regarding the Mothers Tea that we will attend later today. http://www.flickr.com/photos/88424487@N00/503324859/ Pretty funny, I particularly enjoy, "Note to Self".

The weekend looks like it will be beautiful. I hope you all have a great weekend, until I type again.... :)

Mary Grace

2007-05-18T07:14:00.001-07:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/88424487@N00/503324859/ Check out this picture. This is the note I received this morning from Mary Grace. They are having a Mothers Tea at school and she has been looking forward to it for 2 weeks. So precious, I can't believe it. That girl is something.

The corn is planted

2007-05-11T14:49:00.000-07:00

For the record, TGF began planting corn...April 16, 2007. He planted some headlands at Dick's farm and then we got some rain. On and off, he planted and finished up corn without incident on May 7th or 8th (I can't remember exactly, the days all run together when field work is being done). The weather gods/goddesses cooperated and he sprayed for 2 days (or at least he said he did) and then commenced to planting beans on May 10th.

Our corn is up, no death by rotary hoe at TGF and looking good. TGF feels that the strip till was a good idea so far and I think it is a good idea because he can't plant after dark because he can't see the marks, so at least I have some sort of ETA for when he might arrive for the evening (must get the beer cold afterall)

It is hard for me to wrangle the 2 little children by myself and get to work with clothes/shoes/makeup on by 9am, so I look forward to the planting being completed.

Michael takes a bath

2007-04-27T19:49:00.000-07:00

I posted a pic of Jack and now Michael, I'll have to get a good pic of MG so that they all have equal time. Michael loves his bath. My digital camera is slow and it is hard for me to get a good shot of him, this is the best that I could do. Not much cuter than babies in a tub.

Skippy goes to Prom

2007-04-27T19:31:00.000-07:00

Who said he could grow up? Tonight Jack went to his first Prom. He looked so handsome and gentlemanly in his Tuxedo, so tall and confident. My Heart overflows.

HE HAD BETTER BEHAVE HIMSELF OR HE'LL REPORT TO ME!

Big Day at TGF

2007-04-27T19:18:00.000-07:00

Recently it was a big day at TGF. Another new piece of equipment to play with. We have had the same mower for the 17 years that we have co-habited. It was around 30 years old, sometimes nothing truly does run like a Deere. It was old and loud and in really bad shape, but Old Faithful as we called it started every spring without fail no matter how much TGF choose to neglect it. We have about a 3 acre yard, the deck on Old Faithful was a 48" deck. Jack is about done living with us and TGF will again be faced with mowing the lawn (I do NOT mow lawn - that's a rant for another day). Kind of funny story, TGF was looking at the mowers online, he found one with a 48" deck and had found one with a 58" deck for about $900 more. Being the smart aleck that I am, I told him that I would pay $900 for 10 inches - of mower deck, get your mind out of the gutter! Anyway, we ended up with this beauty, 2 years old, 62" deck, it even has a cup holder and a plug to charge a cel phone or the like. The sad thing is that it cost almost as much as my (used) Cadillac http://the-grumpy-farmer.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_archive.html (scroll down for car story) The lawn was mowed the first time this year with Old Faithful and once already with the new mower - yet to be named. Old Faithful - RIP

Michael Gets his Horse

2007-04-27T19:11:00.000-07:00

TGF's Father is a woodworker. He started around the time he started to think about retirement. I should someday take a picture of all the beautiful things he has made each of this children. One of the beauties of these items is that all the wood he uses comes from the farms that he owns. Each of our 3 children have rocking horses-actually, I think all of the grandchildren younger than Jack have rocking horses as well, he is very fair about doing equally for each. Jack's horse is made out of Ash and the pattern is from the New Yankee Workshop, MG's is made out of Cherry was a pattern that he purchased and this one is Walnut and is for Michael. It is an original Grandpa Marshall design. I tried to get a picture of Michael riding on it, but it just turns out a blur, he loves it and the horse is big enough for he and MG to ride the horse together. We are thankful that we will have these items to pass down for many generations.

What the????

2007-04-12T05:44:00.000-07:00

Who ordered this? It was 75 degrees earlier this week and now we get SNOW!! Life in Illinois.

The joys of a gravel road

2007-03-21T07:22:00.000-07:00

I love where we live, I love the country-ness, the wide open spaces, the no neighbors, the darkness, the no neighbors, however, sometimes in the spring it gets dicey. You see, the frost is coming out of our gravel road. Sounds harmless doesn't it? Except that makes the road soft-kind of like standing on a balloon. Usually it is just a matter of moving to another side of the road to drive on a flat spot, but this year for some reason the road is quite a spectacle. I was careening down it this morning being sucked abruptly from one side to another when I was reminded that perhaps this was good "blog fodder", something that folks that don't live in the country or on a gravel road would be interested in reading about. MG wondered if perhaps we would have to stay overnight in a hotel because we couldn't get down our road to get home. She thought that was a great idea, but I am sure she is thinking... POOL!!! Anywhoo, pretty much the entire road is mush, like driving in oatmeal, about 18" of it, quite spectacular really. I am reminded of a picture that my former mentor, Linda, had made from the archives of the Histerical society in Bloomington of a woman all dressed in black standing in front of her Model-T that was stuck in the mud road. That woman could be me as I felt like I was going to get stuck this morning as I took little bit to school this am...and it supposed to rain all day today.

4/20-the road has dried, we are back to our (dusty) normal. The universe is again in balance. I can safely wash my car.

WwwwHhhhhaaaaatttt'sss UuuuPPPP!

2007-01-23T14:40:00.000-08:00

What's up at TGF? Well, it is the dead of winter, we are checking the grain market prices 2-3 times per day. I really don't understand why, we have only about 6,000 bushels of corn that hasn't been sold from the '06 crop. We are pre-selling the '07 crop and very enthusiastic about the prices we have locked in, now we just have to grow it!

TGF is working on his winter projects. Normally, I get a shot at some Honey Do's, but this year, we have a new and improved project.

For more years than I care to think about, TGF has wanted to convert our beautiful 1902-ish barn into something a little more conducive to use in the current age. Let me just say before I go any further. I.LOVE.THAT.BARN, I love that barn just the way it is, with it's horse stalls and grain rooms and milking stanchions and feed bunks. I have always loved barns, I feel they have a story to tell and if I were able to sit long and quietly enough (try that with 3 Jr.-TGF's) I could hear them. BUT if we can't convert it into something useful, it will simply fall down around itself from neglect, SO if gutting it will save it, perhaps when I am old-er and the 3 Jr.-TGF's are grown, I can still listen for the stories. To that end, TGF has been cleaning and pitching and burning 30 years or so of accumulated "stuff" from the barn (think about what you have in your basement-this barn is HUGE) On top of the normal dose of "junk in the barn" in the hayloft (which BTW is big enough for a full sized basketball court) is a full load of chopped hay from the 50's. TGF is trying to work out a better/faster way to do this, but right now it looks as if it will have to be pushed out one.pitchfork.at.a.time. I will be documenting the renovation of the barn in this here blog. I will be needing to get pictures of the before soon, after the junk is out and before the de-construction begins. It is a beautiful barn and at least this way, it will be saved AND still look like a barn....oh, and I might get a place to park my car in bad weather...

Hobbit Names

2006-12-27T08:51:00.000-08:00

From here is a small diversion: http://www.chriswetherell.com/hobbit/, TGF's name is Togo Hamwich of Buckleberry Fern, which is really interesting because my name (using my maiden name) is Daisy Hamwich of Buckleberry Fern....How did they know we were married????

Merry Christmas

2006-12-25T11:08:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve Dinner was hosted. It was successful yet again this year. 2 Bottles of wine consumed, "Thank you Uncle Bill" for giving Dick that wonderful bottle of Cab from Little Mary's winery, it was very, very, very good.

I don't have a family pic this year, we just didn't take one, but I do have a picture of MG on Christmas Eve.

This is an overview of the scene on Christmas morning.

From the bottom of TGF's little Republican heart, please accept our best wishes for a Merry Christmas.

P.S. I refuse to apolgize for wishing anyone Merry Christmas, we here at TGF are Christian, (Catholic to be specific) and we make no apologies for that, HOWEVER, We wish anyone who celebrates the best celebration of whatever sort you might celebrate.

And the rain, rain, rain, came down, down, down...

2006-12-21T12:27:00.000-08:00

And Piglet started bailing....so the song goes from the Winnie the Pooh movie. It has been raining here, not that we don't need it, but in typical fashion, we just don't need it right now. TGF is trying to haul out the bins and the roads are no longer frozen and the ground surrounding the bins is no longer frozen. We're talking ruts that are about 18 inches deep. Not a good thing near the bins nor on the gravel (yes, we still have gravel out here) roads. In short, no hauling, we're shut down.

Oh My.....

2006-12-12T13:38:00.000-08:00

Have I not posted since Thanksgiving? A quick peruse of the blog confims it. What have we been up to at TGF since Thanksgiving? Well, hauling grain mostly. Thank heavens the bins are full and we are in the process of trucking it to the river to trade the yellow grains for green backs. I often wonder why this must be done in the most frigid temps. I did ask TGF about this and he mumbled something about the ground has to be frozen to support the weight of the truck, contracts are due in December, yadda, yadda, yadda. It is a cold and miserable job although at first glance it looks as simple as pushing the green button (green=go, red=stop) on the unload auger. Sometimes it is that simple, other times things must be thawed with a torch (a BIG torch), tractors must be plugged in to warm them, rats have to be evacuated from the augers, there is a lot of outside work and most of the time it is fairly miserable even when one is well dressed for the work.

Speaking of weather, we received our first big snowstorm of Winter 2006 on December 1. It was only maybe 8 inches or so, but man did it blow. School was cancelled, I stayed home from work. I will refrain from relating the entire story here in the blog for fear of reprisal from TGF, but lets just say it began with no shovel. The temps were frigid for a week or so (see above paragraph), but today it is about 45 degrees outside which has brought the fog. Hopefully it will get rid of the snow and dry off before it freezes again and makes ice. The farm looks pretty bleak, I hate dirty snow.

I don't know if I'll get Christmas cards out in the mail this year, but I am enjoying receiving the cards, pictures and letters that we receive from friends far and near. A simple plea, however, please include mom and dad with the family picture. I love to see how the kids and dogs have grown, but want to see the whole family.

Speaking of pictures, TGF loves Eggnog, no one else here will even touch the stuff, so each holiday season he buys himself a carton and nurses it until it goes bad. Seems that we have a new EggNog drinker here at TGF. Michael Seems to think it's ok, so good that we call this..... GOT EGGNOG?

Thankful

2006-11-24T12:35:00.000-08:00

This is MG in her 'Indian Princess" vest and headband from school. The Kindergarteners were the Pilgrims and the 1st graders were the Indians. I made the vest from a brown paper grocery sack (Jack says I have MAD skills - whatever that is - he says it's good). The children feasted on chicken noodle soup. I guess a turkey sandwich was too much to ask...

Thanksgiving is THE big holiday at TGF. Relatives from far and wide gather at the "Home place" for food and drink. The gathering can range anywhere from 35 - 20 give or take. As descendants of farmers, Thanksgiving is a day to relax and recoup from the year, revel in the successes and examine the not so successes and re-acquaint with non-farm relatives. We only see most of these relatives once a year and it is good to gather with them and catch up. Being from a small family myself, the dynamics of a large family are interesting to observe. It is good to have gathered again this year.

National Honor Society

2006-11-21T03:18:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday, we had the honor of attending a blissfully short and sweet National Honor Society induction at our "friendly" high school. Yes, TGF DS#1 was inducted, he is the handsome one on the far left with the white tie. We here at TGF are exceedingly proud of him. Suffice it to say that it is hard to be the only Republican in a Democratic school system.

I can't believe that we will only have 1 more year of him here at home. Some days I know it will be a looong year, but I know it will go by in a flash and he will fly from the nest. Yikes, I'm not ready for that.

I will leave for another day the discussion of, "what are those girls thinking dressing like that" I am only to assume that there must have been a sale on dresses without tops or bottoms.

High Holy Day

2006-11-17T07:44:00.000-08:00

Today is the opening day of Deer season, i.e. High Holy Day. It's funny, back oh, 17 years ago when I was a young-er bride. I rose early (4:30am) to cook breakfast for the assembled group of deer hunters, yes, hot breakfast for my men as they go forth to slay the dreaded White Tailed Deer. I haven't cooked breakfast for them in years. The cooking effort has dissolved to coffee and donuts. It used to be a group of about 8, TGF, his dad, the local priest, a friend from town, TGF brother #1 and #2, old high school friend, a bunch of coverall wearing, tall broad, manly men, everyone of them. My favorite SIL joined them one year. This morning, TGF left the kitchen alone, to slay the Bambi-dragon, everyone else is otherwise busy this year.

I love to complain about the High Holy Day, but in truth, I love it. It is the essense of survival that intrigues me. There have been and probably will be years when the product of the hunt was the majority of the meat on TGF's table for the year. Venison is healthy (nevermind that black tongue business and Chronic wasting disease talk) and is quite tasty if prepared properly, no it isn't beef, but it will do. TGF isn't a "Country Boy", but I keep hearing Hank Williams, Jr. singing "A Country Boy can survive". I don't know if TGF would appreciate that sentiment, but it's my blog. :)

Would I hunt deer? I have threatened to many times. I'd love an excuse to bundle up warmly and hide in the woods from my family for hours, take a day off work and do nothing but sit in the woods watching the going's on and thinking big thoughts. The deer eat an enormous amout of our corn and beans which makes them not only tasty, but a pest to the level of a lowly rodent and the less rodents the better. I've smacked a few of them with various cars and I know that is an expensive proposition. They are beautiful, majestic animals. Could I shoot one? You bet, however field dressing one of them would not be my cup of tea so for now, I go to work on the holy day and wish them luck with their hunting and safety in the hunt.

Update: I had hoped to have a picture to post but was too lazy to get out. Final count for 1st deer season, TGF and friends: 2

Sort of ...

2006-11-09T04:24:00.000-08:00

Well, I posted that we were done, we did finish the harvest a week or so ago, but this year we have some additional field work.

TGF is "Strip Tilling" his Anhydrous on this year. Normally we hire a company to apply our anhydrous amonia (fertilizer) on in the fall, they come in with this big machinery any time of the day and night and we sit snuggly in the living room on the couch and watch them thinking, "Darn, I'm glad we're done". This year, however, TGF is doing it himself because this strip till business needs to be applied in a very precise manner and some things are best done ones self. The theory is.... Fertilizer applied in the fall, in the spring, TGF will plant as close to on top of the fertilizer application as humanly possible. There is a thing called auto-steer that is run by the satellites which makes this a little more accurate, but more about that later. The idea is that the sooner the little corn plant can get it's snout full of yummy fertilizer, the sooner it will get it's act together and start growing well and getting ready to produce us lots of little kernels of corn on it's little cob later in the year. In the past, the theory was that the corn would get burned by too much fertilizer too quickly, but evidently that wasn't exactly true. Anyway, the University of Illinois says it's ok, so we're a doin it. According to the U of I, this will increase our yields and we're all about increasing our yields.

Some day when I have more time, I will put together a post on "Farming isn't the same today as it used to be". I have seen so many advances in technology and farming practices just for the 17 years I have been involved as Mrs. TGF. Farmers are not hayseed, un-intelligent, backward looking, bib overall wearing folk (Well at least not ALL of them). Farming is every bit similar to running one's own company, except that you must rely on the kindness of mother nature to give you rain and warmth and gentle breezes. We watch our inputs carefully, there is no benefit to applying more fertilizer than we absolutely need to, fertilizer is expensive. We need return on our investment, just like the big CEO's. Anyway, this is getting out of hand. I'll compose myself and begin again some day soon.

Stick a Fork in it - We're DONE!

2006-11-01T19:30:00.000-08:00

FINALLY, FINALLY!!! The combine is safely tucked in the machine shed, it still needs to be cleaned up, but he is tucked safely into the shed. Mrs. TGF is thankful again this year. We are fortunate to be blessed with an abundant harvest and so far prices are very good, Of course we can always hang on until the prices is at rock bottom (don't laugh - it has happened), but for the first time in quite a few years, we got the enviable combination of good yields, good price. Not that I want to support the notion that Farmers are "rich farmers", the running joke at TGF this year is that we had such a good year, TGF bought Mrs. TGF a Cadillac. Well, close, but not QUITE the way it happened. Mrs. TGF bought herself a 9 year old Cadillac at an estate auction. Yes, folks 9 years old, 44,000 miles on it. It is a beautiful, luxurious car, to be sure, but not exactly what you picture when TGF says he bought his wife a new Cadillac. The proof is in the pictures.

Almost done...

2006-11-01T03:40:00.000-08:00

Harvest is sliding into home plate here at TGF. I was out last week and took some pics of TGF unloading that I thought I would share.

The first is the line-up at the unload auger, the second is the yellow gold streaming from the wagons into the unload auger, then we have some random shots of TGF and DS#2 to add to the cuteness factor.

this one is Yellow Gold streaming from the wagons into the unload auger...

Are we DONE yet?

2006-10-21T07:33:00.000-07:00

Well, October 22....we want to be done, we should be done, we could have been done...but we aren't. Not even really close at this point. We have been blessed with the rain here this fall, and for no-till farmers this is better than conventional till farmers, but still it is getting annoying. We have about 40 acres of beans yet to finish, the weather isn't cooperating on that. They are working on the corn, but the fields are wet and what is the word TGF uses? Greasy on top, meaning, believe it or not, that that great big powerful tractor is spinning its tires hauling the 2 wagons. They are reduced to 3 combine dumps per wagon (not even 1/2 full) and pulling 1 half full wagon at a time rather than 2 full wagons, makes for greater fuel usage (read more costly) and more trips to town with the wagons(again read more costly). Not good, but far better than sitting still.

TGF will likely miss the well deserved Pheasant Hunting trip next week, he deserves a nice man vacation. Perhaps I can persuade him to mount his own expedition and go with a different group of guys.

Gloom and doom.

A Rainy Day

2006-10-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

Today the rain rolled in. What does TGF do on rain days? Well, usually he gathers his strength, takes a good well deserved nap in the easy chair, repairs the things he has duct taped and safety pinned together when the weather is good, generally re-groups to begin again when the crop is again fit to harvest.

My Grumpy Farmer is amazing, I swear to you, he can fix ANYTHING, anything that he wants to fix that is. He does all of our own maintenance (let's just not revisit the combine check-over fiasco of earlier in the year) and when things break down in the fields, he fixes them. Most recently, he told me that he fixed a hole in the grain tank in the combine with duct tape and a Miller Lite beer can - Look out McGiver - TGF is out for your job, but really seriously, he did fix it with a beer can and duct tape.

I hope to have some pictures up soon. On Monday, a co-worker brought her sons to visit and ride the combine, a good time was had by all, I'd venture, did I remember my camera..No, knucklehead that I am.

And today we harvest beans

2006-10-06T18:46:00.000-07:00

Soybeans that is for all who aren't familiar with our particular brand of farming. Yes, the very same beans of which Tofu is made, but not our beans because they are usually genetically engineered, but that is a rant for another day.

For those who may be non farmers, soybeans are picky and unpredictable. They can only be combined if the moisture is just right because honestly, that great big strong combine simply can't cut throught their little pencil thin dried up stalks..yup, believe it or not, it is the truth. Soybeans are a civilized crop. You can't usually start on them until around 10am, or when the dew is gone from the plants and usually as soon as the sun starts to set and the dew comes up from the ground, you are forced to quit because the beans are too tough to cut. When harvesting beans, a farmer can plan to spend the hours between 10am and say 8pm in the combine seat. The other hours are spent delivering beans to the local elevator (we have very little on farm storage for soybeans) repairing things, checking the corn in the grain bins, maintencing the grain bins, they certainly don't sit around this time of year.

Bean yields are unpredictable, a farmer could have the most beautiful looking field of beans, big, strong, strapping healthy beans and they might not yield as well as the shrimpy, short, whimpy beans, believe it, I've seen it happen. In the State of Illinois, national average is between 40-43 bushels per acre. Current price for beans delivered to the local elevator straight from the combine is $5.09 per bushel.

Here we go again...

2006-10-01T10:38:00.000-07:00

Well, just when you think you've got the bases covered....Day 1 of harvest 2006 went not too well. Probably about a 1 on the scale of great days. Seems there were 2 or 3 trips to the implement dealership for parts that should have been found when the combine was inspected/washed by the aforementioned dealership, good news on that is that they probably won't charge us for the inspection, batteries were dead, tires were flat (they were aired up the day prior), a host of "challenges" as they say in the corporate world. According to The Grumpy Farmer (TGF), about a whole acre was harvested on 9/29/06...not a good day. Sooooo...

What happened on Day #2 of Harvest 2006. Seems fun and games were again in store for TGF. Some sort of seal failed in some flinky do...The Grumpy Farmer contends that it failed because the system was overgreased by the dealership at the annual check-up. I wasn't there, but I can tell you that I seriously hope that someone at the dealership was wearing their kelvar undies. Another trip to dealership, some repair time and they did get to the fields on September 29. Had a good run after that, TGF ran the combine and DS#1 hauled in. I asked if I could haul in, I bet I could get a lot of knitting time in while waiting to fill the wagons, but my resume doesn't list any qualifications for that job except the knitting experience and so my idea was rejected.

First Day of Harvest 2006

2006-09-29T05:31:00.000-07:00

Well, Today's the day (9/29/2006) , first field day of 2006. Will the beans be as good as the neighbors say they are, will the corn stand, will we make it through the season without a breakdown? These are just a few of the questions that will be answered for Harvest 2006 (H06). The tires are all aired up, the tractor windshields are all cleaned off, the fuel tanks are filled. Let's think good thoughts for a safe harvest for all our friends and neighbors.

No Grumpy Farmers Here today

2006-09-26T19:19:00.000-07:00

Today was the day that the "new" tractor arrived here at TGF. Yes, believe it folks, we have actually gone red. The Green ones were as usual, more expensive than they should have been and we have a Case dealer now in the neighborhood. This is a 200 hp tractor, front wheel assist, to pull an 8 knife tool bar for strip tilling. Yep, he says we're going to try it this year. Next year I bet it will be the Auto-steer, who knows. I greet this beauty with a little trepidation. Strip till means fall tillage and Mrs. GF likes her hubby to be HOME at the end of the haulin' in, and this means more work after the crop is in. I actually got to drive this one. 17 years and this is the first tractor I have driven...It is pretty big, here is a picture of Michael for some scale, he is about 24" tall.
The neighbors are tearing up the crops, but the ground is still awfully wet, our late season crops are still maturing in the fields, no need to be in a hurry, but the season of harvest is upon us. Please watch for large, slow machinery, drive and harvest carefully.

Happy Birthday to me

2006-09-22T05:47:00.000-07:00

Rained last night, that will put harvest off yet again. However, the wind is howling, perhaps that will dry it back out.

A recent pic of the smallest one.