3rd Cutting...

The weather, the weather...it's all about the weather! 

We've had such a unique summer, weather wise.  A cool, wet spring got the corn and beans in late...1st cutting of hay was a little later than usual...and now we've gone about three weeks without any measurable rain.   Earlier this week we had less than 1/10th of an inch while folks almost within sight had at least 1/2" or more.  The crops are getting a little bit stressed, but the forecast is calling for rain over the next week.  We sure hope they're right!

One thing positive about having no rain, is that Jim was able to get some dry hay baled this week.  He mowed a couple of fields on Tuesday evening, and baled it this afternoon...

I never seem to time my pictures right, so that the bales are in the air between the baler and the wagon.  Oh well...

I had the easiest job...

We're very thankful for several loads of nice, dry small square bales of hay.  Yes, balage is easier and faster to bale, especially when the window of nice weather is short...but no one likes to feed it...and we liken dry hay to gold.  There's not much better than dry hay to keep a cow's rumen happy!

Now it can rain.  Please?!

Shades Of Green...

Green is my absolute favoritist color.  Yes, you read it right...favoritist.

This year we're seeing more green because we've had lots and lots of rain. Last night we had another 1.5" during a thunderstorm.  The corn and beans are growing like crazy!

At a recent family reunion, I was talking to Jim's Aunt, and she mentioned how many different shades of green there are, if you just look around.  She's right, you know!  I've been paying attention, and today I took the camera and captured some of the beautiful shades of green in our neighborhood. Some are at home and some are not, but all are within a two mile radius of home.

Roadside weeds, neighbor's hay fields, corn and tobacco...

Neighbor's tobacco...

Grassy meadow at the other farm, beans, a "just baled" hay field, and corn...

Jim started mowing third cutting alfalfa today...

I think the green hay wagon counts!  Waiting for "hopefully" Saturday, to be filled with some dry hay if the weather behaves...

Headed back home again...corn, tobacco, trees, hay...so many different shades of green...

Back home, the corn behind the barn with tassels, giving it a different look...

I love all these shades in my shrub border and the garden beyond...

...and these lovely variegated coleus are my favorite...

Green really is my favoritist color!  How about you?

Fall Grazing 2013

The corn and bean harvest is finished...

Rye grass has been seeded where the corn was chopped for silage, and is growing nicely...

So now it's time to let the cows out on the fields of rye grass and alfalfa for some fall grazing...

I think this will keep them happy for a while, what do you think?

Fall Grazing...

Instead of trying to bale and wrap a sixth cutting of hay off our alfalfa fields here at home, Jim decided to graze the cows on them instead.

So, this morning, as the cows watched, (they knew something was up!) we fenced off the contour strip...

We gathered our fencing supplies...fiberglass fence posts...a hammer...and very important gloves (those fiberglass posts leave tiny, painful splinters in your hands)...

Pounding in a corner post...

Putting up the wire...

This 1958 Allis Chalmers D-17 has been around the farm since Jim's grandfather farmed.  Check out the handy "wire wheel"!  The tractor used to have a belt-drive, needed to run some types of farm equipment.  When the belt-drive was no longer needed, Jim's dad turned it into a handy "wire wheel".   Unwrap the wire when you're putting up a fence...wrap it back up again when you're finished...

We like to use this flexible but strong "Poly-wire" when putting up temporary fencing.  It's made of fiber and very thin metal, woven together...

Finally...Jim let the cows out of the meadow, and they meandered up the waterway to the alfalfa field...

That little speck in the alfalfa field is Jim...guarding the division wire that we put up.  The cows don't get the entire field at once...we'll move that wire every day to give them a new section.  That green field in the foreground is the barley that Jim planted about ten days ago.  It's really greening up nicely...

Munching away happily...

The cows were so happy to be grazing this morning!   We'll soon bring them inside again, where they can just lay down and make some milk! 

I don't think that's asking too much!

Seeding Alfalfa...

One of the first things that farmers in our area do in the spring (as far as field work goes) is to seed alfalfa.  We have always tried to seed alfalfa the first week of April.  This year however, because of the extremely wet and cool spring that we've had, the alfalfa has gone in later than usual...up to a month behind schedule!

Most of our crops are put into the ground using the no-till method, with one exception being alfalfa.  Alfalfa can be no-tilled, but we don't usually do it that way. 

 A stand of alfalfa will last for several years before it is rotated with either corn or beans, and Jim didn't put in any new stands this year.  So... since I don't have any pictures of the seeder in action, I'll try to describe it to you!

The ground where the alfalfa will be seeded needs to be very smooth and finely worked.  After discing to break up the clumps of dirt, and spring-hiring to smooth the soil, we usually go on a rock picking expedition.  Any stones or rocks bigger than our fists are gathered out of the field and added to the rock pile.  (Did you know that most farms have one of those?  Just check out behind the barn, or in some out of the way place and you'll surely find it!)

Then it's time for the seeder...

The wheels on the seeder are for transport only...they will be removed for use in the field.  The seed is poured into the seed box on the top...and those  heavy rollers on the back tightly pack the soil over the freshly seeded alfalfa...

The seeds are tiny...

If all goes well, with the right combination of rain and sunshine, the field will soon look like this one.  (I "borrowed" a picture of our neighbor's field!)  The green haze that you see in the top picture is the alfalfa beginning to grow.  The close up at the bottom is of the leaves just beginning to form...

This alfalfa will grow quickly, and the farmer will likely get three cuttings of hay from it this year.

We own one of several seeders that are in the area; neighboring farmers rent it by the acre.  Just the other day, an Amish neighbor brought it back and was chatting with Jim for a bit.  He remembers using it way back in 1977, right after Jim's dad purchased it. 

 It's made a lot of rounds, and I'm sure if it could talk, it would have lots of stories to tell!