March Madness

All  of a sudden, March Madness started down on the farm.

Even though we know spring is coming--it is always a surprise to

shift gears and get ready for the growing season.

Spring is definitely here with its unpredictable weather. 

The Jonquils bloomed in February and then we had a freeze

 with high winds that shocked all of us! 

In between the hot and cold days,

we have been vaccinating the young cattle and moving them to

new pastures.

Spring calving has started. It's a good part of the March madness.

There's nothing like seeing the new babies

running around with their mamas.

We've got new farmers in training and a few old ones

to give advice

and 

 just as we end the month of March,

we look forward to full blown magic in

 the flower garden and April showers.

 

If Barns Could Talk

My how time flies--5 years ago when I turned 65, I celebrated with the gift of a barn quilt.

You may have noticed that there are barn quilts all across Benton County  and the 

state of Arkansas.  We are on the Arkansas Quilt Trail.  

If barns could talk, this one on our farm would tell you it was built in 1957.

It has been a place for milking cows, storing machinery, providing housing 

for calves and hay storage.

Before the introduction of big round hay bales, the barn stored over

 8000 square bales during summer harvest. Even in those hot August harvest days,

 stacking hay in the Anglin Barn was not all bad when you were treated

 to a late-night supper and homemade ice cream prepared by Bonnah Lyn Anglin. 

The barn continues to be used as part of our farming operation.  

When we painted the barn this fall , we discovered that the barn quilt 

needed more than a fresh coat of paint. After 5 years of weathering, 

it required a new board and a fresh paint job. 

It was our good fortune to find the willing soul to paint a new board.

I am one lucky Mother to have two sons and their good friends that were willing

to  install it on the barn. 

Like many jobs on the farm, it takes communication, coordination

and a lot of craziness.

The boys started with one in the bucket and several on the ground.

To hold the painted board and get it on the barn,

it took two in the bucket.  It was a tight fit!

If barns could talk--I think she would be proud of her

new paint and quilt!

                                                         

                                                              Merry Christmas to me!!

Fall Fun Down on the Farm

Did you know that farmers think there is fun in work?

We don't talk about having fun on the farm,

but part of our definition of fun  includes  getting the work done!

It's been a busy few weeks with harvesting the last of the hay crop,

and working cattle before winter.  

 Working  cattle includes giving vaccinations,  

worming the cattle, and castrating. 

That is a whole day of fun!

We also have the touch a tongue fun for our

youngest family members!

One of our best times this last month was welcoming

our newest member of the family.

Casey and Shelby became the parents of

Bristol Kristine.

More fun ahead!

Now you know, we do have fun on the farm!

"Everyday may not be good but there's 

something good in everyday."

                  ----anonymous

 

Reflections of Summer

Where did summer go?

It's hard to believe that Labor Day has already happened

 and our local schools are humming with activities.

Here on the farm, we're winding up the hay season.

This field of hay grazer was cut Saturday and will be wrapped to 

make bailage--silage in a bale. The cows will think it's yummy!

Our end of summer days will include a little bit more hay cutting,

brush-hogging pastures and weed spraying where it is needed.

 

We have been blessed with  adequate rain

 throughout the growing season and not too many extremely   hot days. 

For Northwest Arkansas, I would say it was almost perfect! 

We celebrated a milestone birthday with our 

youngest son, Casey.  I don't know how he got so old

and I am still this young! 

The flowers must know their days are getting shorter

but my how they bring smiles on these last days of summer.

---------------------------

Find the joy in everyday.

                       ---unknown

Thankful Thursday

Spring is filled with new beginnings.  

Welcoming new babies to the herd is a spring time event

that we look forward to and spend a lot of time

monitoring the expecting mama cows. 

                                   It's also been a couple of months filled with family celebrations--

                                                   Family gatherings that give us opportunity to

                                                   laugh at the fun the  grandchildren provide,

                                       

birthday celebrations

and Mother's Day.

                                      Our world changed on May 15 with the passing of

                                                     my sweet Mother, Mary.

                                Ninety four years is a very long life and yet it would

                                                 never seem long enough for me.

                                         She moved to the farm to be my next door

                                                     neighbor 10 years ago. 

                                      We had so many great times together just being

                                              on the farm and working in the yard.

                             I am thankful for her life  of loving and living and for everyday

                                                   she was with us on the farm.  

New Beginnings

Hello Spring....

I'm so glad to see you!

Green is the color we see while driving across the pastures

checking for any new babies that have been

 born in the last few hours.

Spring has always been a favorite season because it 

is the beginning of a new growing year on the farm.

This year is filled with new beginnings for our family.

Hattie had her first mock  horse jumping  clinic.

She's been riding for almost a year and is loving the

experience so much.

We also participated in a "reveal party" 

for Casey and Shelby.

Welcoming a new baby girl in late fall is

pretty exciting spring news, too.

I'm thankful for all the new beginnings

that God supplies to us daily.

                                                                

                                                                     Happy Spring!

Thankful Thursday

                     

                            It was a little easier to take those bitterly cold temperatures this month

                                                      when we received the gift of snow.

I am thankful for the beautiful snow days.

The blanket of snow makes everything look so pretty.

 Even though the daily  chores continue

regardless of the weather, there is  a joy in 

the beauty a snowy day provides.

The cows are fed a little more hay and grain  to

 meet their nutritional needs during extreme cold weather.

Big round hay bales are  unrolled to  provide a soft,

 warm place for cows to rest during snowy weather.  

Checking water hydrants and breaking ice on the ponds when

necessary are also part of the snowy day protocol.

                                            

                                             While I'm hoping for another snow day this year,

                                                               I'm thankful for this one!

Life's Seasons

These past few weeks have been busy with calf vaccinations, selling cattle and 

moving cattle to different fields  for the fall breeding season.

We also planted a few fields of wheat and grass

 after the ground was softened with rain.

A change of the season always brings changes in the work on the farm.

As I walked through the feed barn, these calves seemed to be watching me.

I'm sure they were wondering if I was the person bringing their feed.

What a disappointment it must have been to just have their picture taken!

We have seasons in our own lives.

I made the decision to not seek re-election to the Benton County 

Quorum Court.  It has been my honor and privilege to represent

the citizens of District 9 for the past 12 years.

I shared this special retiring event with my sweet Mother.

You see, she was a great influence in my desire to serve in 

an elected position.

While growing up, my parents were involved in community activities.

Mother served on the Bentonville City Council and the Benton County Quorum Court.

In fact, she was the first woman to serve on the Benton County Quorum Court.

Mother and I made a little bit of Benton County history

by being the only mother and daughter to serve

 on the Benton County Quorum Court.

A season of service.

 

Drought in a Season of Blessings

Drought---it's defined as a prolonged dry period in the natural

climate cycle that can occur anywhere in the world.

It's happening in Northwest Arkansas!

Last week, our area was declared a drought area --D2 --to

be specific.

As you can see all around us--the color is brown.

Brown grass and brown trees.

Ponds are extremely low or dried up.

                                    

                                We actually moved beef cows from this pasture last week 

                                      because of very little water.  Even though there

                            is still water in the pond, the water quality has diminished.

                                 Hay feeding has been a daily job for several weeks.

Even during drought periods there are blessings.

At the beginning of this drought period when the grass

still had a little green color, we were able to chop the

corn for silage.  This silage will be used in our

feed ration and will definitely help provide nutrition 

and help stretch our hay supply.

                                

                                        Blessings come in all sizes---like finding a buyer

                          for our large milk tank.  It left for another dairy farm today!

                                                         

Even during drought--we are blessed with new life on the farm!

                                  A highlight and for sure a blessing during this drought--

                                                               a wedding!

                       We've been showered with blessings during this season of drought!

                              

                                                   

Labor Day Season

Happy Labor Day!

We celebrated Labor Day with our labor of love

called farming!

Labor Day seems to be the beginning of a new season--

the beginning of a wind down to prepare us for fall 

and winter.

It is a day to breathe a sigh of relief and offer a thank-you

to the good Lord for bringing us this far in the year with

sunshine and rain for the crops and water in the pond.

The cows would not understand if we didn't show up 

to feed them and make sure their day was going well!

While we were all doing different jobs today,

Cody chose to mow a field of hay 

located at the back of  a new neighborhood.

As we watched Cody pass by this house, I wondered what the neighbors 

think when a big green tractor passes by their back porch!

In Northwest Arkansas, this is becoming a much more

common occurrence to be farming next to a new 

housing subdivision.

                                               It gives a different meaning to urban farming!

 In this season of Labor,

we will be chopping corn soon to make corn silage

for winter feeding.

And the season of Labor Day continues,

with the very best gift--

                                                                   a farm and  family to love!

Everyday Farming Miracles

Do you cut hay first or get the crop planted?

The hay and corn crops are both important to our

beef cows daily diet.

No matter what decision is made,

farming is filled with these moments of

second guessing about the timing of any task.

Farmers are gamblers--without the trip to the casino!

Hay cutting started before the corn  planting.

It is not unusual to have  two or three activities 

going on at the same time.

Farming is truly a juggling act with a little 

gambling on the side!

Miracles on the farm  often begin with the farmer's hard work

but 

it's the sun and the rain provided by God

that gives the crop.

We are blessed by these everyday farming miracles!

 

Farmer's Perspective

 

Farmers talk about the weather a lot.

That's an understatement.

It's a topic of conversation everyday.

As we watched the ponds get lower and lower in late

March and early April, we were concerned 

about drought and the impact that has on our farm.

While the local weather men and women talked about

the sunny, pleasant weekends, we were hoping for rain.

We definitely have a different perspective when

 it comes to the weather.

Just when we were feeling depressed about no rain,

it started to rain!  

The pastures went from short blades of grass to

thick green pastures  with buttercup weed.

Although you don't want to see weeds in the pastures,

I am thankful for the grass that the rain has provided 

and ponds that are in better shape as we get closer to

summer time temperatures and dry weather.

While weather is a prominent topic of discussion,

there are always fun topics to share with our family,

like the eclipse experience of a 5 year old,

                                              who can blow out birthday candles the fastest,

                                                                                     and

                                          the beauty provided by the long awaited spring rains.

Thankful Thursday

Spring is happening!

Welcoming new babies to the herd is definitely a sign of spring

down on the farm.

We're checking the pastures at least twice daily for any new arrivals 

and making sure we are available to assist in delivery if necessary.

As you can see, this mama was not too sure about us circling

 around for a picture!

Birthdays  on the farm are always special.

Thank goodness for the extra help in blowing out 

the candles when you are celebrating the 93rd birthday 

for my Mother!

 

I love all the seasons on the farm, but I'm thankful for all the beauty

and the joy we experience in the spring!

 

                                                                    Happy Spring!