It's big enough for Bridger!

Our other truck was......... wellllllllllllllll used and just about dead so it was time for a different one. This is what we got. It was less than what I'd anticipated spending and had less than 100K miles on it, the other one had over 232K!! AND it's big enough for Bridger! lol

Introducing my truckactor

*photo credit Andrew
When you're desperate - you punt! I was desperate! I'm about a month behind on planting and I've moved the garden to a much bigger location. The old location was very small for what I want to do and didn't really get enough sunlight because of the huge old oak tree to the west of it. I'm not about to cut that down beside it's the best place for hanging the tire swing.

This is the area that was really overgrown last year, so we ran the pigs in there, and what a wonderful job they did eating the grass, weeds and rototilling by rooting it all up. Nature doesn't like bare open ground so by being a month behind schedule there was lots of bare ground that was fair game as far as weeds and grass were concerned. So I borrowed my brother-in-law's spring tooth harrow (that "old fashioned" as Andrew calls it - piece of equipment behind the truck) having used one with great success before I knew it would work. Only problem was that the wallows or nests that the pigs had made were too deep for me to drive the tractor over with the mowing deck on. I nearly burst into tears out of frustration. I walked into the house defeated and told Ron my woes. He brilliantly suggested I use my truck in 4WD! I never pass up the chance to drive my truck, I LOVE driving it. So I grabbed the keys, a chain that I'd used to haul out some logs (with my truck) a couple years back and went to work. It worked great, I cranked the harrow way down so it would really dig it up and was even able to smooth out all the wallows from the pigs! Once that was done I knew from past experience that I'd be able to pull it with the tractor. Yea!

Now that that was done, (I am forever thankful for the harrow), we could plant! I've got big plans, but have to first see how things go and grow here this year. Andrew has big plans too, he wants to have a vegetable stand. Great idea, right? well we only have 5 people on out entire road and we're so far off the beaten path that he'll likely have to tweak it just a bit. I'm sure he'll figure out a way to work it. Ha! He'll soon have Buckley harness broke and driving and plans to build his own goat cart, he'll likely be driving his cart to all the neighbors veggies in tow - how will they be able to say no to that?! Watch out world, Andrew's coming!


Clearly we did a bit of planting before I was able to get it all harrowed, I'm not the most patient person you know!

And of course they had to be inspected by Bridger, Mr. Potato Inspector.
After the rest of the potatoes were planted; and just for the record was about 10-12 pounds of seed potato, which should produce about 100-120 pounds of potatoes. I don't know who figured that out, but that what I read somewhere so I'm going with it. Anyway, after they were planted Andrew wanted to plant his corn, he loves sweet corn and Indian corn or ornamental corn and had tried desperately to grow it for years in his square foot garden with minimal success. He'd have an unannounced competition with the local dairy farmer as to who's corn would be up first and who's corn was taller and get so excited when he won. This year since we've got a much larger garden he's planted several types and rows of it. I sincerely hope he's successful! And now that I could use the tractor, I did! And Bridger; my faithful sidekick, followed along dutifully. Since this was in fact Andrew's corn I thought I'd let him have ago of harrowing and making a row to plant his corn in. (I was going to let Faith have a go at it too but the rain forced us to get as much in the ground as quickly as possible, I'll let her have a turn next time.)
You want to talk about an excited little boy?! Over the MOON happy!
I think this grin is permanent! He said to me today, "I love being a farmer!" Me too; son, me too.

Faith is such a trooper! It spit rain on an off for most of the afternoon, which incidently is when we were trying to get it planted. I'm not complaining, I'd much rather plant in the rain or spitting rain than the stifling heat we had last week.

Beautiful hands. Just like the young lady they belong to. We were forced to stop planting because the rain got heavier, but tomorrow's weather looks like ti might work. Honestly though if it doesn't too bad for me, I'll have to suck it up and deal with it, I've got to get it planted! We had a wonderful day today; being silly, slightly hucklebuck, working like crazy, making memories and
capturing smiles!

Momma D's Mack Daddy

I love my truck. As crazy as that sounds, it's true, I love my truck! It's fun to drive, roomy enough for the kids in the backseat and all that they need to bring along where ever we go, and it sits up high enough so they don't get carsick in; unlike Ron's car. Maybe it's an illusion, but I feel so much safer when I drive my truck verses the car too. It's been handy to have especially when needing to transport pigs, goats, turkeys, or chickens from point a to b. One time last year on my way home during a wicked snowstorm I skidded off the road an onto a front lawn! Boy was I glad to have 4WD to get out of that mess! Fortunately I was driving slowly and cautiously, nobody was hurt and there was no damage done to anything. I'm thankful to have a truck like this and I'm even more thankful it's almost paid off!

*It' got it's name via my mother and my sister, kind of a combo thing.

Life is good!

Tonight I finally felt like a full fledged farmer! A friend of mine is moving and needs to downsize some of her animals and for one particular goat she thought of me, of course I accepted and went to pick her up tonight.



The kids and I took the tonneau cover off the back of my truck this morning, went to pick up my sisters large dog crate did our usual Thursday things and went to meet this friend face to face (it's amazing how well you can 'get' someone via email. I think this girl and I are twins separated at birth! Though we do not look a thing alike.....) and pick up the goat, did things to a couple of her bull calves I never thought I'd do... (I'll post pics later), unloaded the dog crate and she was convinced to follow me using a bit of grain, we got her loaded into the dog crate, which was a tight squeeze as she's an angora cross and has a TON of fiber! Lifted it onto the back of the truck and wrapped the crate with blanket and secured them with bungee cords. Shut the tailgate with the cha-klink sound of authenticity, of my farm truck; the one I bought specifically for this purpose and headed back up to the farmhouse to warm up. On the way home I realized that I felt like an actual farmer for the first time since I started this crazy path I've chosen. I was doing what I'd wanted to do for a while; odd as it may sound, I was transporting my livestock in my truck to my farm and realized I felt like a farmer! What an amazing feeling to feel like you're living your life according to the plan that was for you. Like you're doing what you were put on Earth to do even if it's just a piece of what you're supposed to be doing.

I've had a busy day and another long one tomorrow but I'll post pictures of the latest cast member later, that and the bulls....