Farming & Dirt

The past couple of days, I have seen these videos go viral!

I shared them on my Facebook page, but thought I'd share them here as well.

Just another reason why I love the farming/ranching/agriculture life!

Head over to Crystal Cattle, where she emailed the guys and got more details from them.


The next video is from DreamDirt TV.  They are from Iowa! 

How have I not heard of them before? 
After looking up where Mondamin, Iowa is...since I have never heard of it, I learned.
Far western Iowa. 

What a unique and neat treasure we have here in this great state. 

Now it's time to share it with the world!

I hope you enjoyed just a little glimpse of true agriculture.

At the Farm: More Beans!

Time for some more beans!

The last time I was at the farm, my brother was busy planting at the family farm {previous post},
in addition to 2 custom jobs {one yet to post}.

The first custom job was just down the road from the farm.
So Lindsey, Carson, and I hopped in the Ranger and took off. 
Because of that, I just brought my phone....no camera.

So the following pictures are via iPhone & 'edited' with Instagram.

In this field, there was no room to turn around the 'normal' way, 
due to there being a deep waterway at the end of the row.

So instead of turning around forward, Adam would come to a stop,

then reverse all the way around until he was facing forward in the correct direction.

He was then lined up and ready to take off again.

When I first saw it, I thought it was genius!

{So yes, dear brother, I guess I just called you a genius!}  :)

 I wanted to get a video of it, but we didn't stick around for that to happen

after dropping supper off to Adam.

We had some cows and calves to check!

Carson was more concerned about the cows and the waterer,

then to stick around and watch dad plant beans.

:)

 

At the Farm: Planting Beans!

My second favorite season....

Planting Season.

Because.....it leads to my favorite season....

Harvest Season!

:)

I was a big farmgirl, and took all these pictures using 'manual' focus.

That was a fun little adventure.

I've messed around with it before, but don't stick with it.

It's my goal to keep on using it as much as I can,

until it becomes natural.

{None of the pictures have been altered....except for the addition of the watermark.}

One of my favorite nephews joined me in the field.  He wanted to see his dad working.
Plus, he wanted to see his New Holland tractor and his Kinze planter.
{LOVE THAT KID!}

Oh, life on a farm.

I love it!

I hope you all have an enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend.

Keepin' It Rural

Because I'm needing a little farm fix right now...

I thought I'd share with you as well.  :)

Just 3 of my brother's cattle.

According to mom, there are now calves in the view.

 A patch of blue bells along the creek at the farm.

 Chicken's in transit to their new home.

 One of my favorite views!
On a hilltop, about 1 mile from the farm.
{The farm is on the left side in the back of the picture.}

Yup.  Love this shirt!

A while back, my friend Amy and I took our friends' dog on a walk on their farm.  

When out checking out the waterways my brother fixed,
it's no big deal to stop in the middle of the road to talk with a neighbor.
{We were in a Ranger.}

So, until I can get my real fix at the farm,

the pictures will have to do.  

:)

At the Farm! Friday

A couple weekends ago, I had a quick trip back to the farm for about 36 hours.

All the nephews and the niece where there.  :)

One of the highlights....

watching Carson 'hay the cows'.

Yup.  He's just over 2 years old...and he LOVES! getting to hay the cows.
Just ask him about it some day.  :)

But...he'll be driving the tractor soon!

It wasn't too muddy out in the lot this day.

But thinking we were going to work cattle earlier in the day,

I got myself my own pair of muck boots.

Nothing fancy though.  But I have ideas for them!

 The silly kid wanted out of the tractor to go see a cow. 

But, he didn't get to touch her.  She took off for the food!

 And I don't know if Carson ever stopped talking.

He's sure talking in this picture!

But, since he's in charge, he must tell you want to do!

Yup.  I like 'haying cows' now too.

Just as long as the little farm boy is in charge.  :)

At the Farm: Friday! Farmboy Style!

The picture story of a cute little farmboy and
how he likes to spend some of his day.....


Suited up and heading to the shop!


 

 I better help dad make sure the semi is running right.
One of these days, I might get to finally drive it!

  

Time to find my supplies for...

 ....fixing the Ranger.

 

And now it's time to lift some 'weights'.

 Oh, it looks like Grandpa needs some help!
{Whether he knows it or not.}

 Well, enough work.  It's time to play!

 {Who knew that a little stool on wheels could be such fun for a little farmboy!}

 {That boy would just roll around the shop playing 'bumper cars' with anything in the way.}  :)

Now it's time to hang out in a snow bank until I see dad!

The life of a farmboy can be pretty busy at times....but it's awesome!

At the Farm! Friday

Wow.

It has been quite awhile since I have done a farm post. 

Today seems like a good day for one.  :)

The Monday after Christmas, I was getting ready to head back to my place. 
My dad and brother at one point asked if I'd be back on
Wednesday to help with cleaning out a bin.  

Well, I hadn't planned on it.  I didn't have the day off.
I was scheduled to work Tuesday and Wednesday, and then had Thursday and Friday off.  

But, due to having a comp day that I hadn't used yet, I made it happen! 
I went back to work for one day, then headed back to the farm.  :) 
{I probably spent more on gas than I made!}

 I got to join my brother delivering one of the loads to the elevator {local coop}.

I haven't ridden in his 'new' rig, so it was nice to see it...

and feel how loud it can get.  :)

 He and dad also got themselves a 'new' grain hopper.

Very nice, if I do say so myself.

 It cut the number of trips probably in half.

Living about 4 miles from the elevator, 

each round took about 1 hour.  

Loading, driving, weighing, unloading, weighing, returning.

 I really wasn't needed until the bin was mostly empty. 

At first, I was helping the corn into the pit.
But according to dad, I was doing too much work.  Oops!

Eventually he kicked me to the sweep auger to help push it along.

Sure, it has a little wheel on the end. 
But it needed pressure to keep moving in the right direction.

 On either Thursday or Friday, I had the joy of driving the

'newest' tractor to a town that is about 25 miles from the farm.

 It took about 1 hour to get there...traveling just above 20 miles per hour.

It was actually fun...until I got to town.

It does have a stop light.

And it turned yellow right when I got to it.

I didn't stop.  :)

But I made it to the fix-it shop in one piece,
without any new scratches or dents to the tractor!

Driving the tractor to town saved a few hundred dollars instead of loading it on a semi.

It gave me 1 hour to enjoy some countryside I haven't visited in years,
and some that was new to me.

{Took back roads, and avoided all gravel.  It was raining and would have been a mess.}

{I love my iPhone!  It took all these pictures.  Dad even figured out how to take a picture of me working! And yes, I did climb a bin to get a couple of the pictures.  It was a little tricky...climbing the bin, removing gloves, getting out the phone and taking pictures without dropping it, returning it to my pocket, putting gloves back on, and climbing back down.}

Head over to Fresh from the Farm.  You can see the Farm Photo Friday entries, as well as sign up for the Gooseberry Patch cookbook giveaway!

Back to Reality

Since December 17, I have worked only 2 days!  :)
The rest have been vacation days, university holidays, and a comp day....
all spent at the farm!

Gina and Jay {who live in Germany} were able to return for Christmas this year!

Because of this, I wanted to be sure that I was with them as much as possible.

I haven't seen them since last November.

Plus, they got to meet a couple of their newer nephews as well.

During my time at the farm, I did some crafting {including some that were Christmas gifts!}, played with kids, helped clean out a corn bin, played with kids some more, watched lots of Hallmark movies {I don't have cable...but the farm does!}, took a few shopping trips with various family members, and played with some kids.

As you can tell, I played with my niece and nephews a lot.

Things definitely got crazy and loud at the farm when they were all there. 
But it was fun!

This being my 7th Christmas in my position,
I don't recall ever taking so many days off over Christmas.

I kind of liked it.  It was definintely crazy fun!  :)

But...today it was back to reality and  I was back to the office.

I don't start traveling to my schools until next week,
which is also when classes start up again.
It is nice that campus is still quite for the next couple of days. 
It definitely helps to get back in to the working mode.

I finished off my evening with caucusing for my first time!

I live in a small town, and there were 4 different caucus locations.  

The numbers for my location were definitely under 100.

But I'm glad I went. 
It was a great learning opportunity to better understand
the process of selecting the next President of the United States.

Do you caucus?

Turkey Break Recap....

...in Instagram form.

:)

Thursday Daily paper....Black Friday ads on the left, news/info on the right!
Maybe my sister-in-law and I ran to Kohl's and Younkers........for the midnight sales. 
Crazy?  Yes.
We were in and out within 2.5 hours,
which includes about 25 minutes drive time there and back.

The sweetest, new nephew.

He even dressed for me on Turkey Day.   {Bib and onesie were gifts from me.}

Of course we had to play outside the next day.
Lots of time playing with the cats and Kasey, the new dog.
{I couldn't get a good picture of her...she kept trying to get my phone!}

As well as lots of kiddos!
{The niece and all the nephews were at the farm most of the weekend,
my mom watches a boy on Friday,
in addition to 4 kids I wrangled Saturday and Sunday.}

At some point this fall, my brother got himself {the farm} a 'new' Ranger.
Let's just say, I had fun with it.

Taking these boys on a tour of the farm, as well as checking cattle.

Uncle Adam, Dad, or Adam {depending on which kid you are referring to}
in the field with the 'new' strip-till bar

A kid is never to young to learn how to farm!

 

 These kids were a great help in picking up the fall/harvest display
of pumpkins and hay bales for Grandma.
We even got a treat when we were done!

{How many kids can fit on a Ranger?}

The Saturday boys.  Another tour of the farm.

 But more fun, watching Uncle Adam work in the field with his 'new' strip-till bar.

{And it was a windy and chilly day at the farm!}

 

Time to warm up a bit while cruising in the Jeep, in the comfort of the shop.

 

And not that I'm excluding these girls....they were just being girls!

Hiding out in my sister's {former} room, finding fun hair things, make up, lip gloss/stick,

doing make-overs, etc.  Most times intruders weren't welcome.  :)

Thursday, there were 6 kiddos at the farm.
Friday, there were 7 rascals running around.
Saturday, go up another number to 8 pipsqueaks making lots of noise.

And Sunday, let's top it off at 10 whippersnappers!

The farm will be much more quite tomorrow with only 3 boys.

Plus, I'm guessing Kacey {the new dog} and the cats will enjoy the break from all the kids.

What a fun and enjoyable and crazy break it was!

And I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat!
{Well, maybe in a few days.}  

Hope you all had much fun with your family and friends.

:)