Around The House With Baby J - May Edition

Baby J loves brownies!

Babyt J also loves spaghetti!

The vaccume may not have a steering wheel, but it's still loud and moves!

Just growin' too fast!

Love Amy

Cuttin Seed Wheat

Once the wheat is "the dryer the better", you cut it.

When the combine is full, you dump it into the wheat truck.

Then you drive the truck to the grain bin and get it in position.

You raise the bed on the truck and open the latch.  And let the wheat pour into the auger bucket.

Then, turn on the PTO on the little tractor.  That runs the augar.

The wheat then travels up the augar, where it is dumped into the top of the grain bin.

The wheat will remain there until we sow in the fall!

Love,

The Farmer's Wife

 

This Past Week

1. We started cutting wheat and then got rained out for 3 days.


2. On Monday, while LB was working on the wheat truck, I caught the dryer on fire!
  NOTE:  Do not drop a metal hanger behind the dryer where it might catch on the plug!!  Sparks will fly and stray lint will ignite!


No, there was no damage to our house other than black soot on the wall and burned linoleum.  I on the other hand, came near to a heartattack!  But now all is well, and the dryer is up and running again!


3. Thanks to the Oklahoma wind, we were able to get back into the field on Wednesday





4. So far, we have only had two slight breakdowns.


5. On Thursday, I cooked dinner for the field.  I thought it was a great meal, except for the fact that I accidentally stuck my finger into hot cooking oil!


6. Friday, I cooked dinner again.  This time it was accident free other than the part where I forgot to use potholders when I picked up the pan of brownies!


7. Yesterday I went garage selling and I bought this wallet...



Unfortunately, it's not made in the USA.  But it is still very cute!
You can find more of these products here.




8. Today, we are cutting seed wheat for next year.  After we're finished with that, only two fields left! 

Love Amy

Lodge Cast Iron

This is one of my most favorite pieces of cookware!

This is a Lodge Cast Iron Skillet and it is Proudly made in the USA!

Lodge is a family owned business that began making cookware in 1896, South Pittsburgh, Tennessee.

Today they are still family owned and produced here in America.  They do have an enamel covered line that is imported from China, but everything else is made here.

They have lots of products besides the plain cast iron.  There is cast iron with stainless steel handles, outdoor camping gear, and serve ware!  I think every American home needs at least one Lodge skillet!

Love, Amy

He Loves Tractors!

Baby J is only 10 months old, and he LOVES tractors.

Well, it's really not just tractors he loves.  If it has a steering wheel, big tires or a loud motor he's good to go.  He gets on and just squeals with delight!

Love, the very proud Farmer's Mommy

Tricky Business

 

Harvesting wheat can be a tricky thing.  The wheat has to be dry, in fact, the dryer the better.  But it definitely can't be to wet.  If it's too wet, the elevator won't take it because it can cause mold and it also lowers the value of the wheat.

But, then again, as soon as it's dry enough, you don't want to wait until it's at "the dryer the better".  You want to get it out and to the elevator as soon as possible! 

Every second the wheat is in the field, it is at the mercy of the weather.  Right now, our harvest is at a standstill.  We got 3 inches of rain on Saturday night, so now our wheat is wet again.  It also makes the field to muddy for our heavy equipment to get in and out. Most generally in a case like ours, the wheat will dry out and be ready to cut before the ground is dry enough.

Rain isn't the only thing to worry about during harvest.  Lightning could catch the field on fire, a hail storm could wipe out the entire crop in one night, or the market can go down.  And the list can go on and on.  So, now you see, when your entire year's income is based on 2 weeks, why it's such an important event to our family.

Just continue to pray that the rest of the bad weather holds off so we can get the rest of our wheat out!

Love, The Farmer's Wife 

Supper Time During Harvest

I love supper time during harvest.

It's the time during the day, when the whole family is able to get together; even if it is for just a few minutes.

Every family is different, but in our family, my mother-in-law and I take turns cooking supper for the whole family.  Then we all meet in the field and eat together while the combine is dumping it's load in the semi.

The meals during harvest are exceptionally good too!

We eat meals like chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, homemade biscuits AND homemade jelly.  And there is always a dessert.  Usually something like Apple pie or cobbler!

It may be a little rushed.  And we may have to battle the elements(ants, flies, wind, dirt) but it's still one of my favorite times!

Even if I gain a few pounds!

Love Amy

Introducing......Harvest!

Yesterday was the first day of harvest!  As you all know I love harvest, and this year is going to be even more fun now that we get to introduce Baby J to the exciting world of Harvest!

He learned that wheat beards tickle...

And that the semi has a LARGE steering wheel!

But most importantly,

He learned about the Combine.

We only made one round with LB yesterday, but he'll have plenty more opportunities in the next few days  for more rides. 

He did so good!  He sat real still and just watched everything that went on!  I have a feeling we have a little farmer on our hands!

Love The Farmer's Wife

Haulin' Hay

One of the activities that precedes harvest, is hay!

One of the things I love about hay time is the way the fields look with all the bales rolled up!  I seem to never be able to capture the beauty of it with my camera.

Hauling hay is a very time consuming job.  We need to make 25 trips to successfully move all the hay this field made to the home place.

Our trailer holds seven bales.  There are trailers that will hold more, but sometimes those trailers make it hard to get up and down these backroads and in and out of the fields.

Later this week, I'll tell you the benefits of cutting some of our wheat for hay.

But right now...

 Baby J and I love to haul hay with LB.

You can just leave it all to up to us, we'll get the job done!

TTFN

(Ta Ta for Now!)

Amy

Huggies

Baby J wears these.

And we use these.

The other day, I curiously looked for the Made In... stamp on these products and I was suprised to find that they are made in the USA.  I had never looked before because I don't really have a choice on buying diapers.  I chose the Huggies brand because they are the ones that fit Baby J the best and don't leak!  But the fact that they are made in the USA just added Icing to the cake!

Love The Farmer's Wife