Life is like a sunny day in November

well, it was a wet fall. we picked plenty of pumpkins in the rain and mud and had to wash them all, however the demand was good and we sold every one.
i had plenty of anxiety about the soybeans; whether or not we would ever get them off the field and if they would be dry enough to avoid big discounts, fortunately the weather turned around and things worked out about perfect in the end.
now, my life is plowing, birch, dogwood, spruce tops and good grief we started getting ready for christmas trees today. those few weeks between pumpkins and trees are fleeting.

8/18

We are going to start picking white corn tomorrow!!!
It's beautiful and very sweet

8/14 Corn update

Last weekends rain and the heat that followed has brought the corn along nicely.
We got around 2 inches which was nice considering some people got severe weather and maybe too much rain.
The problems in the fields that the dry weather created do not suddenly disappear, but now the plants can develop and ripen up much better.
I was hoping there would be some white corn for the weekend; alas, it just isnt going to make it.
there will be some starting weds at the UofMn.
There will be some all yellow corn next week too. The all yellow is one of my favorites.

Corn Update

The rain and warm weather has changed/ripened the corn dramatically.
We started picking today.
I can see the early corn is not going to yield well enough to warrent going to market this weekend. We will sell it locally.
We will start selling at markets starting Weds the 29th.
There will be a nice supply.

the past few years i've had some problems finding good white varieties. by good i mean not only do they taste good; i want them stress tolerant and i want them to yield well.
this is a new variety and so far i am quite pleased. this is on some low slightly peat ground and wow it is lush.
in a few weeks we'll all find out if it tastes as good as it looks.

unsolicited testimonial; yesterday at a small party Julia came up to me and stood on a chair and said "I love the corn".
What more could a guy ask for in life?

the corn is just coming ripe. we'll know in next day or two if there will be enough volume for market.

2009 Market Schedule

2009 Market Schedule

Wednesdays; UofMn Farmers Market, Church street, east bank, 11am-2pm

Thursdays; Nicollet Mall Farmers Market, 8th and Nicollet, 9:30am-3pm

Saturdays; Minneapolis Farmers Market, 6am-1pm
Mill City Farmers Market, 7am-1pm

Sundays; Minneapolis Farmers Market 6am-1pm

the corn is progressing nicely

with some rain and warm weather, this ear will be ripe in two weeks

still looks like the 18th or 19th for harvest start date

new plantings continue; i'll plant until July 12th, giving us corn well into October

what looks like small leaves will soon form form the sweet cob of corn that we will be hand harvesting and bringing to market
i expect the harvest to begin right around Saturday July 18

the corn is a little short as a result of the dry weather
recent rains and warm weather have brought the crop back to good health
one can now see tassels forming
as a general rule of thumb, i figure on harvesting 3 weeks from 3/4 tassels
so i expect to have corn right around Saturday July 18.

isnt it lovely

the wheat looks nice
could use a little rain

sweet corn came up today!!!
in the morning there was nothing
but by the afternoon, sure enough, there it was
and if you looked carefully you could see the rows.
the ground has worked up really nicely this year. i'm expecting nice even germination and good crops.
i'm predicting ripe sweet corn July 15th

all that carbon fiber
ppfffffff
they didn't know i'd been to boone

yes, its true
i'm back in the chicken business
also,
planted wheat friday the 17th,
sweet corn today
!!!!!!

this is our new and improved high tech syrup cooking system
it works really well. about 10 times faster than our old sytem
and nicer finished product too

biking boone
long climbs, treacherous descents, beautiful views

Biking Boone NC

i'm sorry
what is the point of offering me a corn hook
without offering to use it

um, well,

i've been caught

maybe it wasn't all stress and worry and sleepless nights

Dad and I near Pisac

I was born on a mountain so high,
One could swear it was heaven

And it was known in the bones
Of GrandMother Earth…

When I was only one year old,
I grew wings, and I could fly

And it was known in the bones
Of GrandMother Earth…

Maria Quispe

some one asked
am i...?
i hesitated, not from doubt
the real question is
will i...?
even then, what other answer is there
..."old charlie stole the handle
and the train(bus) it wont stop going
no way to slow down"

25 below this morning
and, as is usual on a cold morning like this
something breaks just because it is so darn cold
silo unloader, ugh
in a way it wouldnt be so bad, but having so much clothing on makes it diffucult just to get up there and get all the tools up there and in.
Picks, bar, hammer, screw driver, wrenches
then the dim light and the cold
lying in the frozen silage hoping no one down below gets antsy and hits the switch
or for some reason that cable decides to give out
unlikely for sure, but it crosses ones mind up there in that cold tomb
it took Jim and i about an hour to fix it
we were plenty cold; a little relieved
i think its about the best one can hope for on a morning like this