Calving Season

Working with calves is insanity.

Farm Life, Calving SeasonJS PortJuly 27, 2023Farm Life, Calving SeasonComment

All In

I am not a person prone to doing things part way. Consider, as an example, my fashion.

Farm Life, IdeasJS PortJuly 24, 2023Farm Life, Personality, IdeasComment

Amateur Butchery

I am not a good butcher.

Farm Life, Homesteading, ButcheryJS PortJuly 20, 2023Farm Life, Homesteading, ButcheryComment

Enough

“I feel pretty secure having reached this milestone. Other businesses can try as hard as they want but I’m not sure they’ll ever catch us as long as we produce Enough.”

Farm LifeJS PortJuly 17, 2023Farm LifeComment

Calf Pulling

I am not one who considers difficulty a necessary or inherent part of cattle rearing.

Farm LifeJS PortJuly 13, 2023Farm LifeComment

Timesaver

I think it’s plain to see that I’ll soon be kicking back and relaxing with my wife and kids because I’ve worked out such an amazing strategy to save time – it’s just not quite pulled together yet.

Farm Life, TimeJS PortJune 13, 2023Farm Life, TimeComment

Analogies Don't Work

It feels weird taking so much time to explain something so very simple, so we avoid the awkwardness and stick to that wonderful mantra of failure: “Just do what you think is right.”

Communication, Farm LifeJS PortJune 9, 2023Farm Life, CommunicationComment

Letters

It does not take too much time to hand write something. I find it easier to pick up a pen and jot a few thoughts in a moment of tranquility than it is to fire up the computer and open the document to do the same.

Communication, Farm LifeJS PortJanuary 27, 2023Communication, Farm LifeComment

Can't Get Dirt

I would very much like the opportunity to stabilize the yard and expand my composting operation into the space.

Compost, Community RelationshipsJS PortJanuary 9, 2023Compost, Farm Life, Community RelationshipsComment

A Place to Live

There is something of a war going on between the folks who believe a farm is a business and those who believe a farm is not.

Farm LifeJS PortNovember 26, 2022Farm LifeComment

Sappy

For me and my sister, the biggest DO NOT CROSS line was boredom. Just alluding to the possibility of being bored conjured up Mom’s List of Suggestions that we could undertake in order to overcome our unfortunate childhood entertainment deficit.

Farm Life, Home MadeJS PortMarch 11, 2022Maple Syrup, Hickory Syrup, Farm LifeComment

Anxiety the Bull

Most of my days are spent on the edge of my proverbial seat, waiting for something to go wrong so I can proclaim my rightness for worrying about it.

Farm LifeJS PortAugust 5, 2021Farm LifeComment

Why I Farm, Part I

My goodness, if that’s the whole philosophy backing sustenance production, then maybe we really are forever doomed to be on the brunt end of hick jokes passed around more urbane classes of society.

Farm Life, Farming, Local FoodJS PortFebruary 9, 2021Farming, Farm LifeComment

Soundproofed

By accepting distress, I can operate the baler very effectively using my own abilities. Inside a soundproofed cab, I felt vague and disconnected, clawing at my ears as if the motion would somehow clear an obstruction.

The Sort

Picking a specific animal out of a mob, then convincing the chosen steer to walk through a narrow gate and into a new location is a misunderstood form of art.

Farm LifeJS PortJuly 4, 2020Farm LifeComment

Henry's Farm Update, 4-13-20

This place has gone bananas. I might need some sanity reinforcement this week. Let me fill you in on the events from yesterday:

Mom, Dad, and I got dressed and headed over to Grammy and Grandpa’s house. They were home and Aunt Kate was there, too, waiting on Uncle BJ to jog in from town. Nothing unusual so far.

Henry's Farm Update, Farm LifeJS PortApril 13, 2020Henry's Farm Update, Farm LifeComment

Henry's Farm Update, 4-6-20

I like to help Dad with the grassfed herd. He covers a LOT of territory in a day, though, and that makes it tough for my short legs to keep up.

Queue my Mom Engine.

Clarion Farms Beef, Farm Life, Henry's Farm UpdateJS PortApril 6, 2020Henry's Farm Update, Farm Life, Clarion Farms BeefComment

Henry's Farm Update, 3-30-20

I got a fort. Aunt Kate and Uncle BJ went on an adventure and retrieved the structure to be assembled in our yard. When it arrived I was pretty confused; Mom got me up from a nap and there were planks and sturdy supports scattered in front of the house.

Clarion Farms Beef, Farm Life, Henry's Farm UpdateJS PortMarch 30, 2020Henry's Farm Update, Clarion Farms Beef, Farm LifeComment

Henry's Farm Update, 3-23-20

You can imagine my excitement, then, when Dad surprised me on a warm day last week. He rooted long wooden poles out of the barn and flipped over a metal igloo that’s been sitting near the water’s edge for my entire life. Guess what? IT FLOATS!

Henry's Farm Update, Clarion Farms Beef, Farm LifeJS PortMarch 23, 2020Henry's Farm Update, Clarion Farms Beef, Farm LifeComment

Henry's Farm Update, 3-16-20

We all know certain characteristics are inherited from our parents. I got my mom’s good looks and my dad’s butt.

Farm Life, Henry's Farm UpdateJS PortMarch 16, 2020Henry's Farm Update, Farm Life, Farm KidComment