Monday, January 24, 2011

too cute!!

Last Wednesday, I [Paula] was leaving for the bank and came upon a newborn! It was such a cold day to be all wet, too. I got out of the vehicle and determined that Mama Angus calved a heifer. The poor thing was shivering to beat all. After returning from town, I got the barn ready so they could move inside when Eric got home. That little girl needed to be out of the wind. A few days later, we extended the corral outside so they could enjoy the sunshine.

She's a special little calf because she's the first Angus/Dexter heifer. All the other crosses are bull-calves. I just figured it was God's way of helping me keep them straight. Guess I'll have to tie a pink bow around her neck! Right now she lets me walk up and pet her, but that won't last long after she & Mama return to the herd in a few days.

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Monday, January 17, 2011

KS wind

If you've lived in Kansas for at least a month, you know we have wind: fast/slow, hot/cold, north/south/east/west. We have wind. And it's always more-so on the farm. Sometimes we appreciate the wind that day, and sometimes we don't. Take last month, for instance.

Paula's brother Mike came down for a few days Christmas to help with farm projects. Finally, the greenhouse was going up (this project has been on the to-do list for quite some time). Once we got started, it was fairly simple.

Day 1: level and fill the foundation

Day 2: construct the frame

Day 3: insert the fiberglass panels

Day 4: see photo below

Three days to build. Two hours to demolish. Eric stated is was a complete structural failure. Even the molded aluminum piece attaching the side walls to the base was ripped in two. At least we didn't need the ladder for final tear-down. All the panels are piled north of the greenhouse and will be used in future, more stable greenhouse projects.

Can you believe starting seeds is just a month away?

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