Farm Rules
Rule 1: Do not complain that the barn “stinks.” Poop smells. You know it… I know it… even the cows know it.
I’d rather be mowing hay
Another Nor’easter rages outside my window. The winds are howling, the snow is falling and the temperature is dropping. Oh, how I’d rather be mowing hay in the summer sunshine!
Harvest moon and farming folklore
I think the old farmers knew a thing or two about the inner workings of Mother Nature. They were able to predict the weather, the movements of animals and planting and harvesting times, all by simply paying attention to the world around them. The old timer up the road (although full of bullsh*t most of…
Happy Days at the barn
Fonzi does not like to share the feed. He waits until Pinky Tuscadero and Richie Cunningham go get a drink of water, and then… He climbs in the feed trough… Becomes belligerent… And lays down on top of the feed. Aaaaay!
Full moon baby boom
Most doctors will say that there is no connection between a full moon and the onset of labor. Talk to a farmer, and they will most likely disagree. The old timer up the road is a firm believer – he says that if the moon can effect the tides of the ocean, then it can…
WPC: Landscape (Amish country)
“Then followed that beautiful season… Summer… Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.” ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Legend of the onion snow
In the dark ages (before the internet), the old timers would use nature’s calendar to know when to plant and harvest. Since they had no such luxury as a seven day forecast, they took cues from their surroundings to predict the weather. If the cows laid down in the field during the day, it meant…
And… my socks keep falling down!
Ugh. It’s been one of those days. I awoke at 4am to an overpowering smell of skunk. “NO, no, no, no, nah no!” my brain was screaming. “Too late,” my nose was saying. Now, if you’ve never smelled skunk close up, than you’re lucky. It smells nothing like the skunk smell you are used to when…
WPC: grid (haymow)
True craftsmanship has become a thing of the past. The days of horse-drawn logging, hand-hewed beams and even handmade nails are mostly extinct. Fortunately, the legacy of those skilled workers still lives on in many old barns around the country. With nothing more than hammers, saws and measuring tapes made from leather, they constructed grids…
Make hay when the sun shines
Usually by this time of year, we are done with first cut hay and the haymow is filled to the ceiling. However, Mother Nature, in all her fickleness, has seen to it that we’ve only had seven days of sunshine in the last five weeks. Rain has been the norm. Now, if you don’t know…
Weekly Photo Challenge – Symbol (family farm)
A tractor in the field. The sweet smell of freshly mowed hay blowing through the air. The steady drum beat of the hay baler. Harbingers of haying season and hard work. Weekly Photo Challenge
Weekly Photo Challenge: Off-Season
This week’s Word Press Weekly Photo Challenge theme is off-season. Winter was the first thing that came to my mind and I knew the exact picture I wanted to use. I took this picture right after one of the numerous snowstorms this winter. It’s a barn just a short walk from my house. But then…
The Farmers in the Dell 