“I’d rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world.” ― George Washington
About three years ago my dear husband was picking up rocks on the far east end of our farm. He happened to look up into the towering eastern red cedar trees at the end of our fields and saw a large nest! A Bald Eagle nest!
Continue reading “Bald Eagles in Iowa”
I have to warn you that some of the photos in this post are disturbing.
Continue reading “How Farmers Can Save Soil”
Wind conditions are just right to use our air compressor to “dust” the combine. A strong northwest wind is blowing consistently to help me with this three-hour job. Our John Deere 9410 four-row combine is considered vintage, and while it may appear laughable in 2024, it’s OUR vintage combine. We own it and we can repair it at will.
Now hunker down for the longest post I’ve ever written….
Continue reading “What is Big Ag?”
A Story of the Ultimate Sacrifice
I was going through a box of newspaper clippings of Lila’s. There was a farm auction sale bill dated from January of 1944. I think you will find it very clever.
PUBLIC SALE
As I am sick and tired of farming and quarreling with my neighbors, I have joined the Navy and am going to end it all by offering the following to the highest bidder at my place, known as Poverty Point, located 2 miles south and ½ mile east of Center Point, Iowa.
Continue reading “Farm Auction Sale Bill 1944”
We started combining corn early. Drought has affected both our corn and beans. Wherever the soil is less than deep black dirt, plants are stunted and show stress because of lack of moisture. We are thankful that we practice crop rotation, where our corn is planted on last year’s bean ground. With extreme drought crop conditions crop rotation is one of several ways to raise a better crop.
Continue reading “Harvesting During a Drought”
Today’s recipe is Corn on the Cob! There are people who think it’s weird that we will eat corn on the cob exclusively for some meals with nothing else on our plates. I’m sure to the average person that is kind of different. But there’s a reason.
Continue reading “Iowa Sweet Corn”
I stand under the shade of a grain bin to escape the searing sun, waiting for the signal to push in a gate lever over the grain bin sump to cut off the flow to the bin’s unloading auger. I then move to the control panel to turn off the power to that unloading auger. I’m here to save my husband from having to climb in and out of the grain bin multiple times for each wagonload of grain.
Continue reading “Dealing With Drought”
Looking out at the farmyard I see a sea of yellow; with neon-yellow dandelions against the neon-green of the grass in our yard. No one would call the area around the house and buildings on our farm a lawn.
Continue reading “Dandelions and Violets in My Yard”
A clump of rhubarb is a given on any older farmstead. Our farmstead is no exception, and it features two rhubarb clumps. I could divide them, and expand my rhubarb holdings, but my two clumps are enough.
Continue reading “Rhubarb Cobbler”
According to Andrew Van Dam’s recent Washington Post article, The happiest, least stressful, most meaningful jobs in America, farmers, lumberjacks and foresters love their jobs the most. Lawyers self-report that they are the least happy profession in the United States.
Why in the world would the whitest of the white-collar professions have less career happiness than the bluest of the blue-collar professions?