Walk By Faith

In the past week and a half my community has come together in prayer, volunteer efforts, and so much more for something that this small town never would have thought of happening. Two girls were abducted. One amazing girl (12 years old) got away. The other amazing girl (15 years old) is still missing (if you want to find out more about this story, I’d suggest the Dayton Leader on Facebook, or KCCI). 

I have been a wreck. I feel so helpless.

However, among the bad feelings - there is such a wonderful outpouring of great people in (and out) of this community. To know that so many people have come together to send thoughts and prayers to all the families involved in this is heartwarming. I'm thankful of the good that I am seeing. I'm thankful for faith, hope, and love.

I’m trying to Walk By Faith. 

3 Cheers for Planting!

Finally, we are out in the field!  Alright, I'm a day late…I'll never claim to be perfect! :)

So, I have a confession: I myself haven't been out to any field yet!  *GASP*  The most I've seen of the planter is here:

Yup, spring is officially here!

We've had our issues with getting everything to work well out in the field (I should say AJ has had his issues – I just hear about them later on).  From little wires that can prevent an entire 24 row planter from planting, to the GPS not working like it should.  We have kinks every spring, and just keep moving to get the crop in the ground!  Isn't that a lot like life?

The weather has turned nice enough to play outside.  FINALLY.  So, the kids and I have kept ourselves busy in Grandma Becky's garden, the sandbox, and the backyard!  Their bathwater is plenty dirty, and we are ALL tired by bedtime.  I love being on the farm!!

Happy Planting :)

Preparing for Spring Planting

Planting has been set back a bit this year. But that doesn't mean we are just sitting watching the weather!  We have been out to:

Check soil moisture

We've had a lot of rain/moisture this spring so far.  Our equipment can't get in and out of the field when it is wet.  Another concern is compaction:  corn and beans can't grow in soil that is as hard as cement!

Check soil temperatures.

The soil temperature is important.  For example, if we plant into warm moist soils, corn can emerge within 4-5 days.  If we plant into cool or dry conditions it can take 2 or more weeks to emerge.  This can give pests (insects) and diseases time to eat and infest the seed.  Generally we want the soil to be about 50 degrees for a few days.  A helpful tool that we use is on the Iowa State University website that shows the approximate temperature of soils across the state. http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/npknowledge/soiltemphistory.html. The temperatures have been jumping up and down a lot lately.  3 days ago it was 37 degrees in Webster County.  Yesterday it was already back up to 53 degrees.  Ah…the power of sunshine!

Spray herbicides. 

Thankfully we got this done before the snow.  We have some bean fields that we need to spray prior to planting to keep the weeds down (pre-emerge herbicide).  We also have rye that we plant in the fall that needs to be killed before planting corn.  We planted the rye right after harvest and spray to kill it about 2 weeks before planting.

Check new tile.

Last fall we put down a lot of tile to help drain the wet spots in our fields. However, last fall it was dry! This spring we are able to look at what we did last fall to see if everything is working how we imagined.   

Do chores!

No matter what season or day it is, the animals always need feed and care.

Prep the planter.

Don’t worry, we are ready to plant as soon as it dries up! 

Rainy, er, Snowy Spring Day

I decided that this week that I'd start my blog again.  I was thinking:  “Sure, lets start because fieldwork started last week and planting is going to start!”  Obviously, Mother Nature had a different idea of how May should begin!  I'm very sorry it's been about 2 years since my last post, but I think I'm ready to give it a go again!

We got about 6 inches of snow when we woke up this morning.  This COLD wet weather is setting us back a bit on planting.  We don’t have any corn in the ground yet, and now I’m thinking that’s a good thing! 

Yes, yes. I feel the same as everyone about snow in May: YUCK. However, to spread a little sunshine, I want to tell you what I love about spring rainy days (or, in this case, snow days!):

Time with my husband.

Normally during the planting season, the kids and I don’t get to see much of him.  He’s gone before the kids wake up and home after they are in bed.  Okay, okay, I’ll admit it: some days I am still in bed when he leaves and in bed when he gets home! 

However, when he can’t be in the field, he is in at ‘normal’ times (like breakfast, lunch, and dinner).  For some reason, reading a book, or the paper, or watching a movie sounds better than paying bills, or catching up on bookwork!  We don’t get much work at all done on these days! 

Sure, I dislike the snow.  But, how can I dislike watching the kids wrestle, snuggle, and play with their daddy?  Look on the bright side of the snow/rainy days: that is time EVERYONE enjoys! 

What is your bright side on rainy/snow days?