Life on the Farm

[M2A]

My condolences BJ. Sorry to hear.

Congrats on that grad champion!

Your beets look good there, your cart reminds me when we use to grow potatoes and the pull behind digging equipment that went along with the process

Tomato, peppers, lopes, cuks, zuks, corn and some other stuff getting picked here now. Things getting busy. About 3 weeks till ginger gold apples will be ready and that will start the main crop for me.

Much more going on, hope to get more free time to post some stuff soon, but cant right now everything just hitting me at the same time.  so just checking in.
Mike           

[bjrogg]

Definitely understand the to busy to post Mike.

Thanks so much.

Wish you a safe and bountiful harvest.

I woke yesterday morning and looked at my radar. It looked like we were going to for sure get rain. As the morning progressed it all just petered out.

I got ready for dad’s funeral gathered up stuff I wanted to take up in procession. Headed for church. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful Service. Well attended especially for a 85 year old man who has been searching for home for the past three years.

After the service we went to the cemetery and still no rain. Nothing on the radar either. I was feeling a little down but it was so good to see so many people I hadn’t seen in to long. We ate and visited and most all had left. We were cleaning up the hall and it started a beautiful rain. It continued the rest of the day. I think everything we farm got at beautiful inch or better rain. We needed it so badly and the timing was perfect.

I was certain dad was home already, but this definitely reassured me. I think he even got to pull a few strings.

Some of my cousins stayed overnight and I’m spending some time with them today.

As Pappy says Life is Good

Enjoy it everyone

Bjrogg

Bjrogg

[bjrogg]

I had a really relaxing and enjoyable day.

A couple of my cousins stayed overnight and one of them spent the whole day here yet today. When I was a kid he spent a couple summers working with my dad. He grew up in the city and loved working with my dad on the farm. He was a few years older than me, but I can remember it.

When he graduated school he joined the army and was stationed overseas. When he came back he moved out of the city to the upper peninsula. We really had a good visit and got a lot of the world’s problems solved. It was just very pleasant and I showed him around.

He reluctantly left about 6:00 this afternoon.

I’m really hoping we can do it again soon.

After he left I did some hoeing in the garden.

The rain was so welcome. Everything looks so much better.

You can literally smell everything growing today

Got a couple watermelons and cantaloupe developing

Bjrogg

[chamookman]

Glad You got that Rain BJ - God works in Mysterious ways, Dad was smiling for sure. Bob

[bjrogg]

Glad You got that Rain BJ - God works in Mysterious ways, Dad was smiling for sure. Bob

Sure does Bob. My niece has been looking for a house for months. Yesterday they found just what they were looking for and made a offer. Guess we’ll see if they get it

Bjrogg

[Pat B]

Your Dad could finally get back to work, Brian, with the rain and finding the perfect house for your niece. What's he got planned for you guys next?
 

[bjrogg]

Your Dad could finally get back to work, Brian, with the rain and finding the perfect house for your niece. What's he got planned for you guys next?

Thanks Pat.

Everyone likes feeling useful

It is so amazing how fast everything greened up. The beans are setting pods. Looks like the first blossoms had a few that took.

I can see a bunch of tiny one just starting to

Bjrogg

[bjrogg]

Can barely tell which way the rows are planted here at dad’s now

Bjrogg

[bjrogg]

Was just heading home from work the other night and a couple of my cousins called. We didn’t get much time to visit at the funeral and they were wondering if we could go to the beach. Had another nice bonfire and really good visit with more of my cousins.

Just something special about this place. As my cousin Chris says. It’s a good place to reboot your soul.

The weather has been foggy and humid now. The environment is good for growing and for fungus type diseases.

I applied white mold protection to our beans. The windmills where completely hidden by the fog when I first got there in the morning. By the time I refilled sprayer the fog was starting to lift and you could see all but the top of them.

Bjrogg

[bjrogg]

Yesterday my son thought his rye might be dry enough. It was hot and very humid. The rye is for seed for cover crops. It has to be dry enough to not heat and ruin its germinate. I took the combine and header to the field and got a sample. It was 15.1 moisture and I harvested it. It should keep at that moisture.

After we finished we used a cordless leaf blower to clean up the combine a bit . This really helps add years to a combine’s life.

Bjrogg

[Buckskinner]

It almost always rains when a farmer is laid to rest. Rained like the dickens the day we buried my dad and can't tell you how many others farmer funerals I've been to and it's rained.

It's blessing from God and your dad, BJ!

[M2A]

Good to see you guys getting some of your crop in. Your beans are looking nice. Its been wet and humid here for the last few weeks. Crazy how fast it can go from so dry to too wet.
Going to have the crew get a few bins of ginger golds on friday so I can pack some for the market on Saturday. Checked the sugar in them yesterday and their just at 12 brix so hope they sweeten up just a bit more but really like to start early with them. Took a look at some honey crisp the other day and they are coming along good, It will be the first good harvest off these trees so looking forward to how they produce. 
IMG_4966 by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
Another month and we should be starting on them.
I interrupted an armyworm's breakfast the other morning in the last planting of corn.
IMG_4964 by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
They just started to arrive from the south so I'll have to keep tabs on them. They can cause a problems for me in a hurry.
Mike               

[bjrogg]

I know that to busy to post feeling Mike.

It’s been a crazy busy week here to.

Yup it always takes a long time to get to dry but it can get to wet in a hurry.

We certainly aren’t to wet here yet. The only real rain we got was on my dad’s funeral day. Still very great full for it. Sure could use some more. My lawn is starting to turn brown again. We are definitely farming a depleted subsoil now.

One of the reasons we bought the sprayer we did is that it’s designed especially for spraying tall corn. In the past this job was done by the airplane. This sprayer has cones over the wheel rims to smoothy guide the tall corn stalks around them. It also is very  tall so it clears the top of lots of corn. The bottom of unit is covered with smooth removable panels so it doesn’t tear up or break over the corn.
There are two “wands” for sensing the corn rows and steering  between them.
The sprayer boom is designed to raise very high. The center section right in front of the cab can be switched off and a section behind unit turned on to keep from driving through the sprayed corn.

I sprayed almost 2,000 acres this week for neighbors.

It’s a pretty crazy job.

Kinda like being in a corn maze. It’s easy to get lost in the tall corn. It would certainly be difficult without the GPS.

I took a couple pictures and a video. The pictures don’t really do the job justice, but I can’t post the video. Just have to imagine that you are driving 9 mph through a 10’ tall corn crop. 9 mph might not seem very fast to you but I’m pretty sure if you were sitting in the drivers seat you’d think it was.

Bjrogg

[bjrogg]

The crop duster was doing a field a couple miles away.

I have to admit I was a little jealous. I always thought I could really get into aerial application work. I love this kind of flying.

This guy is pulling some pretty serious G’s . He’s banking 90 degrees about 110’ off the deck. Going a lot faster than 10 mph to.

I have a video of him I can’t post either and this isn’t a great picture but it’s always fun watching these guys and gals.

Bjrogg

[bjrogg]

My dad’s cousin passed away. He was 86 and a good friend of my dads. He actually married my dads sister in law after my dad’s brother passed away.

My cousin came back for his funeral and we got together with some friends at the beach for a bonfire.

Was a beautiful night. Prefect temperature for a bonfire. The full moon rising over the lake was amazing. I know I’ve said it before, but this is really a special place. Wish you all could be here.

Bjrogg