The Cow in Apple Time

Something inspires the only cow of late
To make no more of a wall than an open gate,
And think no more of wall-builders than fools.
Her face is flecked with pomace and she drools
A cider syrup. Having tasted fruit,
She scorns a pasture withering to the root.
She runs from tree to tree where lie and sweeten.
The windfalls spiked with stubble and worm-eaten.
She leaves them bitten when she has to fly.
She bellows on a knoll against the sky.
Her udder shrivels and the milk goes dry.   

~Robert Frost  

LOL

Finally Baling!!

Finally starting to bale all the corn we swathed. It's taking awhile but I think if we keep pluggin along we should get done before to long. What stinks is the humidity has to be above 50% and there can't be much wind or else the teeth that pick up the hay will just chew it up and spit it back out. So the only time we can bale is around 3am to 9am. So I'm getting some early mornings in. ;) We have 320 acres done and nearly 1,000 left to go. Needless to say, I'll be spending the snowy days this winter catching up on schoolwork.

Happy Birthday Kit-Kat!

Kit-Kat is now a year old as of September 4th. Happy Birthday Killer!

Jeremiah 29:11-13

¹¹ For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
 ¹² Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
 ¹³ And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Do Everything <>< Steven Curtis Chapman

Corn hay update...

I've got 1600 acers of failed corn on the ground and 400 more to go. Just about ready to start baling too! :) The tough part is that it has to be humid enough to bale or else it will chop up the leaves and spit em back out. So the only real time we can bale is after dark. This is gonna be interesting.

Balin' Corn

We have about 600 acres of failed corn we're swathing and baling. So I'm up at 5 every morning and in bed around 11 pm if I'm lucky. I love life. :)

haha

Rainbow!

The rainbow reminds me of God's great promises. To keep us safe and to look after us... and to always have a plan for us. Even when we don't see it at the time. Especially in this drought or whatever trials you're going through.

Ronan driving!

This is scary!! Dad often lets the kids drive on the country road inbetween our calving pasture and our house. I usually close my eyes. ;)

Ahh... This is the life.

We were movin' cows again the other day and so Dad sent me on ahead of them so noone would come flying over the hill and hit em. That would not be good. So I just parked on the hill and propped my feet on the fourwheeler handle. It was a cool evening and the clouds were beautiful. Course the photo is a bit blurry because I took it with my phone. Nevertheless I still like it. :)

Hello!

Lordwilling, I am going to start an email list if anyone is interested in getting an email from me every now and then. It won't be lengthy and I won't email you every day. And at anytime you want off the list, just let me know. :) Email me rileywshay@hotmail.com or comment below with your email address. Thanks!

Moving Cattle

First we check the cattle. We mainly look at their legs and eyes, but we also count them to make sure they're all there. Sometimes one will get out or if she's sick she will probably be laying down by herself somewhwere.

Here's Dad on the fourwheeler, following them down the road.

Now I'm up closer and you can see little white stickers on their backs. We use those for AIing. If you want more details email me. ;) I'm not going to get into the specifics of Artificial Insemenation on here. :)

John 15:1-8

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
² Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
 ³ Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
 ⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
 ⁵ I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
 ⁶ If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
 ⁷ If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
 ⁸ Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

Butterflies and bunnies

This is a ridiculously large butterfly we saw the other day. I wish there was something in the picture to compare it's size to. Butterflies are really amazing creatures. And so pretty. I used to love taking pictures of them.

These are two little bunnies a hired man for our grandparents caught in the field and sent home with me to turn out in the pasture. The kids had a lot of fun cuddling with them first. :)

Here's Rayden with one of the baby bunnies.

Happy Independence Day!!

                                     God bless America!!

Hay time!



This is Dad's super M Vermeer baler. Pretty cool. :) Although I did struggle with the net wrap... And the tractor is a John Deere 8300 that I borrowed from my grandpa. I wish it was mine though! ;)



Here are the bales. I got 88 on a different field and 123 on this one. They were weighing about 900-1200 lbs until the monitor started telling me they weighed 2500 lbs. So I got out and pushed the bale around a bit and decided there was no way it could weigh 2500 lbs! Silly monitor...

http://www.kansas.com/2012/06/27/2389506/saline-county-brothers-parody.html