Elk CIty Farm

SoI know it has been quite a long time since I have written but I am just going to pick up like I never left quit. In November of 2010 we moved to a farm place outside of a teeny town, (basically it is a street with some houses and the Ponderosa Bar on it). We LOVE it out here!!! Below is a picture of our cozy 3 bedroom farm house. I love the porch in front that over looks a bean field and the Elk Horn River. This Farm is such a precious blessing to us!

In Janauary, my sweet husband bought me 3 baby dairy calves. Just for me to have some chores to do and I love it. Ralph, Percy, and Piget (short for Pidgeon cause he is pigeon toed) live in the chicken coup( in the picture below) right to he east of our house.

Last week, Ty finally decided to get some of his own cows, he prefers big beef cows. While we were waiting for the bred beef cows to be sold some weak, lonely dairy calves saunter into the ring...the sold for $5 a piece! So Sad! So below are my new calf projects...honestly we are just happy they are still alive. These calves are yet to be named as I do not want to get too connect yet. They bunk up together in the barn to the north of our house. Naomi doesn't say "cow" yet but she has a pretty good "moo" down.

Ty bought 17 bred beef cows. He loves them and says they love him. IT is so good for him to have something that he really enjoys that doesn't suck the life out of him at the same time. Our cows are expected to start calving the end of March. When they have all calved we will sell them as pairs.

It warms my heart to know that Naomi is now on a farm. A lifestyle not just a location that both Ty and I desire for our family. Praise be to God from whom ALL blessings flow!

(Naomi in the back pasture/ 18 mnths)

Gazebo

One of my favorite things to do in the summer is sell at our produce stand in Omaha. My husband's maternal grandmother started it 20 years ago. She has graciously passed it down to Ty and Ty passed it to me. I LOVE it. I love interacting with all of our customers. I love the pride of selling something that we have prayed and labored over. I love finding new and creative way to display the produce and decorate our little stand. This year we decided we it was time to revamp the look of our stand. My father-in-law, has taken on the task of building our gazebo. He has put so much time and effort and creativity into the gazebo. I am just so pumped to sell from it this season! A HUGE thanks to my father-in-law! If any of you are in the Omaha area this summer come see us on 120&I street. We plan on opening the 20th of June.

Planting

We started planting, in the ground, last Saturday. Planting vegetables is quite different than planting beans and corn. We literally place thousands of plants in the ground by hand. It is a fun job that everyone enjoys, especially on sunny days.
Planting marks the start of the season. Even though we have been planting in the greenhouses since February, planting outside means that we are going to have fruit in around 30 days. This is when things start to get crazy. Like right now, it is 10pm and my man is still out working. Probably switching water lines, fertilizing, and getting things set up for morning when the workers come out. He likes to have everything ready to go when the crew comes to work so that we are not "paying them to stand around".
I am so proud of how hard he works. Thanks to my man for planting good seeds of work ethics in our family.

Firsts

Spring is all about new beginnings and firsts. First blooms, first warm day in what seems like years, first bbq. Naomi had a lot of first last week. She went swinging in the park (one of my favorites) for the first time. She had her first visit to the beauty shop for her first haircut. She played on a piano for the first time. Wore her first Easter dress on her first Easter. Went for her first wagon ride. I can't believe all that she is doing and growing so fast. I try to capture all the firsts. There are so many. Other firsts I am just so excited for are her walking, her first birthday (I love birthdays, they are a HUGE deal to me) first time eating watermelon and sweetcorn. Her first prayer,and the first time she calls me mama, intentionally. What a privilege to get to experience so much of someone's life. WOW! Motherhood, I was always excited for it, couldn't wait to be one, and it is still overwhelming and more rewarding then I could have ever expected. Thank-you Lord for giving us children and your First born.

Dirt and Daddy

Yesterday was a gorgeous 75 degree day so I decided to take a break from painting (that's another story for another day)and take Ty lunch out at our Haygrove by Yutan. It was so nice just to soak up the sun and breath in the sweet aroma of freshly tilled soil. Ty loves showing Naomi all about farming. She helped daddy drive the tractor yesterday and he enjoyed it just as much if not more than she did. She loves her some daddy! She always has a huge smile for him when he comes home. As a mother there is nothing that I enjoy more than watching others love and enjoy my daughter as much as I do. As a wife, I fall in love with my husband all over again every time I see him love up on our little girl.

My Firefighter

Tonight my hubby and I went to the annual Waterloo Firefighters Banquet at Farmer Brown's (which has amazing prime rib!). Ty has been a volunteer going on 3 years already. I am so proud of him. Last year I nagged on him a lot when he went to calls. I don't know why just selfish and needy I guess... I was prego...but still inexcusable. Now I wish he went on more calls. I see what a good thing it is for him. The way it connects us to our community and how wholesome it is for my man to be part of something with other men. Plus,it is amazing how almost any man looks good in a pair of fireman pants and a helmet. I am proud of you, Ty, and am so thankful that you rescued me.

the Beginning

So it has begun. Planting. Watering. Weather watching. Fertilizing. The first tomatoes, green peppers, and watermelons have been planted. We start all of our produce in tray with cells in a greenhouse. We normally only need to heat it at night and a few days here and there. But the sun has been hiding for almost a month. This equals a very high propane bill and a cranky wife. I need the sun. If it is 85 degrees out with no sun, I'm cold.
Right now we have around 50 thousand plants growing in the starter greenhouse. It is a starter greenhouse because it is where we start the plants out. In May, we transplant a quarter of them to our Haygrove and the rest to our field along the Elkhorn River.
So far all of our little plants are healthy and growing strong and steady. I keep the radio station tuned to classical music for my seedlings. I don't really know if it even helps, but it can't hurt, right?