PA State Farm Show...

Jim and I are glad for the opportunity we had to go to the PA State Farm Show in Harrisburg  between milkings on Monday!  The kids were both still home on break, and chose not to go with us. They helped with the morning work and agreed to feed the cows at lunchtime, so we could get on our way in good time.

You never know what kind of traffic you might encounter in that area, but we  had no delays until we got to the parking lot.  We parked about a mile away, and took a shuttle bus that dropped us off at the door to the complex.

I always enjoy the butter sculpture.  Each year it has a different theme,  and is unveiled at the opening of the farm show.  It is carved from 1000 lb of butter, and features individuals wearing super hero capes...a doctor, an athlete, a soldier, a firefighter and a dairy farmer...

We wandered through various exhibits.  This one featured old tractors that were restored by various FFA groups...

We saw many, many animals , but I only got pictures of a few.

These piglets were about two weeks old, and growing fast!

I'm not sure what breed of cows these are, but I thought they were especially pretty...

This steer was getting his pre-show bath...

There were lots of displays...veggies, flowers, fruits, baked items, and more, too numerous to count...

We were there for several hours, and could have seen so much more if we'd have had the time.  Throughout the week there are lots of animal judging contests and special events. Tomorrow,  I'm  taking my mom up to see the Sheep to Shawl contest.   She has always wanted to see it, and I never have, so it will be a new experience for us both!

Feeding the Rye Grass...

Do you remember this post about baling rye grass from a few weeks ago? We've now been feeding these bales since the middle of May.

Here, Jim is putting a new bale in place, upstairs in the barn.

The first thing he does is...make sure that the barn floor is swept clean of debris, and open the big barn doors.  Next, he spears the bale with the forks on the back of the tractor, and backs the bale into the barn...

He puts it just where he wants it on the barn floor.  The hay hole is just on the other side of the bale...

He cuts off the plastic wrapping...

...unwraps the netting...

...and there you go, beautiful rye grass!  It smells wonderful...and the cows love it!

We pull the bale apart in big armfuls, and toss it down the hay hole into the feed cart.  Each cow gets an armful, several times throughout the day. We've been feeding it in place of all but one "serving" of the dry hay or balage that they would normally be eating.  For those of you who might find it interesting...it tested at 16% protein and 50% moisture.  Jim's been very pleased...and so are the cows...

munch...munch...munch...

Photo gallery from the past year...

It's that time of year...we're in our slow mode...and if I don't keep myself motivated, I can waste a lot of time! 

I'd like to think, though, that blogging is NOT a waste of time...so I've compiled a collection of pictures from the past year that I found interesting. 

 Some of them are directly related to farming, some of them are of family, and some of them are just beautiful scenery.  (Some may be repeats from earlier blog posts, but if you see them twice, you know I really like them!)

Enjoy!


2010 began with a bang!  In February we had two major snow storms a week apart, resulting in 40+ inches of snow...

Our neighbor's farm to the west always makes a great photo, no matter the weather...

Several years ago Jim bought a Honda 50 dirtbike like he rode when he was a kid.  Last winter he found a Honda 100, so now the kids each have a dirt bike to ride.  They use them for fun and for work...

Spring arrived, like always, and I was thrilled...

These particular chickens loved to sit on top of the fence around their pen...



Of course there was also work to do...my nephew from Chicago loved gathering eggs...



And Murphy blessed us with nine adorable puppies...but they wore her out!  They were born in June, during one of the hottest weeks of the year...



Our neighbor Joe came over every day to see them...

The laundry never ended...

Some beautiful scenes shot by Jenna...

And then of course there was some more work...baling round bales...Jim drove the tractor while the Amishman who owns the baler rode behind and operated the mechanism that released the bale into the field...

Fun...it doesn't take alot to be entertained...

We just can't seem to get away from those cows!   (photo by Jenna)

More "real" work...Eric unloading hay...



The east hay mow is almost full...



Jim's dad on his old (1950 something) Ferguson 30, just before he sold it...he used to use it for cleaning out pens...

After a dry summer, we had a LONG day of rain...over 8 inches of rain...(I forgot to empty the rain gauge before bed, so we aren't sure just how much we had, but it was a lot!)

We chopped corn the next day, and left no tracks in the field or mud on the driveway!  The ground was thirsty...

And there's our neighbors' farm again...taken out the west barn windows...



We found a little time to play...we spent an afternoon picnicking with friends at a park...

Fall work was upon us...combining corn, and loads of corn fodder waiting to be unloaded...

My dad repaired our cow trailer...he doesn't look 81, does he?!

This is where the dogs hang out while we're milking...right under our feet...

And this is where Slinky the cat hangs out...high above the dogs...

Self-service balage...or so they think!

Me and my next-oldest sister...Look behind us...I just can't get away from those cows!

And I couldn't let this one out.  We all gathered after Christmas to watch my brother in law start his old 1936 John Deere D that he, with some help from my Dad, restored.  It started up, he whooped and hollered, we cheered, and he's still grinning!  This one's for you, Marty!

And to round out the year, here's another picture of the sunrise on New Year's Day 2011...

Thanks for humoring me...do you have any favorites?