Grass

Last night, Doug, my mom and our friend Ron, planted our first batch of grass seed on the cleared 16 acres.

While I was waiting at home for them it hit me just how much this lifestyle if governed by nature. I knew that it was...but it was always a background thought...until now. Now, we have to hope and pray for rain. Not too much and not too little.

I think that as a society we forget just how much nature governs our life. It is true that in the urban life we feel much removed from the weather and in control of what happens in our life...unless it rains on the day of our perfectly planned picnic. But even still we can not escape the rath of a severe storm such as a tornado or hurricane. But it is there...still dictating our lives. If there is not enough rain or too much even, the cost of our food goes up. But with so much processed food in the stores and in our mouths, we just pick something else to eat in order to prevent being inconvenienced.

I think that this removal from nature has taken away our reverence for life in general. If we can't even appreciate all of the detail, work, and even luck that goes just into making our food...how can we even begin to appreciate all that goes into living a life? And how can we begin to show that process the proper respect?

You can't appreciate the light until you have experienced the darkness

I had an epiphany this morning in my vehicle (as this is where I have a lot of my epiphanies - among other places) in regards to our work on the farm. Yesterday, I was reading through some of my journal entries voicing (?), noting, my frustrations with the lack of progress on the farm around the holidays last year. I noted that I was ready to either do something or walk away...the frustration was distracting to me. I wasn't depressed (that only happens when I don't get my way) but I was certainly feeling defeated by the lack of progress, issues with the neighbors, and no resolution in sight.

Since then we have had the back property line cleared and started putting in the fence. The 16,000,000 16 piles of trees have been moved to a better spot (creating a sort of fencerow splitting the cleared fields), and the fields have been disced, which makes it much easier to walk on without spraining an ankle. Not to mention things are really greening up out there and we have been trying to make nice with the neighbors.

But this morning, while sipping my coffee, sitting in traffic, I realized that I needed to have those moments of frustration with a lack of progress in order to truly appreciate the things we have accomplished in just the last couple of months. When I go out there, I can see things taking shape (yet it still looks pretty much the same as when we last went out there). When I think back to the fact that this land started off as 30 acres of trunk to trunk mesquite, I am amazed that we have come this far (even if it has been 3 years) and it makes hopeful of how far we can get in just a short amount of time if we communicate, plan, and prepare properly.

Farm Update

We met with Milton the last weekend of January to go over the items we wanted to get done at the beginning of this season, to include:

Clearing the back property line – so that we can get the place fenced off
Moving the piles of mesquite into rows – so that the discing and raking can be done
Discing and raking the already cleared 13 acres – that we can get seed in the ground so we can get cattle out there this year

As luck and the weather would have it, none of this has been done yet, because it has been pretty rainy the last month. In the next week or so I think we can get this party going and get some things done out there.

Speaking of the weather, there is a book that I would like to recommend, “The Contrary Farmer” by Lodgson. It speaks a lot to what we are trying to accomplish here and some of the issues we face with this project.

Foiled Again...

Doug and my mom were supposed to be meeting with the guy today to talk about getting our back property line cleared for a fence and having the other 16 acres he cleared disked and raked so we could get some grass seed out there for the cattle. Unfortunately, due to this cold front, he had some work he had to get done for another guy before the cold front came in. So we have to postpone the work a little while longer. GGGRRRRHHHH!

Zen And The Art of Farm Maintenance

We got a lot of work done one the property this weekend. In fact, aside from the stock tank, I think we got more done on the property this weekend than all of last year.

Doug and my mom put t-posts along the fence line where there were just twisted spacers. Then we went in and wire clipped the barbed wire to the t-posts. Wire clipping the barbed wire to the t-posts is actually really meditative. But, after awhile, you forget to meditate because your hands can't even grip the plyers anymore.

This was Thursday and Friday. Saturday we continued down the fenceline, removing prickly pear and pencil cactus, along with some mesquite trees, as we went. I HATE CACTUS! (insert footstomp here) I know it serves a purpose...but when you have to dig out entire neighborhoods of it that are older than you are, it gets tedious. Plus I think I have stickers in places that have never even seen the light of day and I was stuck using The World's Heaviest Shovel. On a side note, yesterday Doug and I saw a shovel with teeth marks in the blade...I was ready to give up our first born for it, to not have to use the other one again, but Doug said he'd rather take a saw to the other shovel and do it himself. Foiled again...

Our tractor was in a low spot where it was moved 30 feet by rainwater overflow the last time it rained 3 inches. Our friend James was wonderful enough to come out with his Jeep and help Doug move it up the hill, where we don't have to worry about it floating down to our neighbors property and can get it fixed.

Getting that done actually felt like the biggest accomplishment of the weekend, though, clearing 165 feet of cactus and mesquite and fixing fenceline is nothing to sneeze at either.

Farm To Do List

1. Clear back property line and install fence

2. Clear roadways around property

3. Buy and spread road base on all cleared roads

4. Rake and disk the 16 acres cleared 6 months ago

5. Continue perimeter and interior fencing

6. Plant native grasses on disked 16 acres

7. Repair tractor

8. Build water troughs and install in paddocks

9. Buy cattle and release on property

10. Build cattle shelter on South corner of property

11. Buy and install solar fence charger

12. Build garden shed that will sub for temp. shelter

13. Install culvert at water feature on easement

14. Improve water quality in tank and stock with fish

15. Dig second tank

16. Cut channel from 1st tank to 2nd tank

17. Improve channel between tanks for improved drainage

18. Improve dams on both tanks

19. Dig water well

20. Improve paddock fencing

21. Buy and release goats on paddocks

22. Establish rotation and implement

23. Disk the garden and plant

24. Install irrigation

Where I spend my time not really giving you an update...

So...long time no see. All I can do is apologize and give you an update or at least an update on the updates I will be posting later.

We just got back from Ireland. It was a great trip. I'll have to do a post on that later but I have some other things I need to catch up on first.

We haven't done anything on the property, but we a planning on sitting down and re-working our "to-do" list so that I can have a better grasp on where we are and what we need to get done. I feel lost not knowing where we are and where we are headed. I'll give you an update on that too once I have it figured out in my head.

With that little bit of a "no real update to speak of" I will get back to you soon.

I am so happy that fall is finally rolling around to our parts. Now perhaps I can stop sweating when I breath. The other exciting part of this is that as it cools off, we will be able to get things done around the property.

Ahhh...the property...for the last few months it has been a huge source of frustration for me. Back in May, someone cut one of our gates and some cows that we had allowed to run on our property (they are not ours) got out. Of course, our non-english speaking "neighbors" saw big dollar signs when the cows started messing up the place. Keep in mind the cows were out for THREE DAYS before we even got a call from the police about it.

THREE DAYS!!

They "couldn't get a hold of us". REALLY?!?!? Then please remind me WHY WE BOTHERED TO GIVE OUR PHONE NUMBERS TO THE MAYOR OF THE CITY!!!!!!

We went out there (I with my camera to take pictures for evidence) and these people had the audacity to claim that these cows that aren't even ours damaged a lot property (some of which we know for a fact was already damaged). The cops gave us a bunch of crap about it...and were trying to tell us where they came from because we were going to need to patch up the fence and there was no damage where they kept saying that they were coming from.

So everyone left and we walked down the fenceline of the property to find that someone had cut the wire to our drop gate on the other side of the property. When we called the cops back to tell them, there statement was...get this..."we can't do anything about it because it's in another county".

I can tell already that this is going to potentially be an issue for us since the county line runs through part of our property.

So ever since that event I have not wanted to go out there and have even had thoughts of selling the place and buying property elsewhere just to not have to deal with these people that throw trash on our property, cut our fence lines, and play their music at ungoldly levels all night. My only hope is that since the weather is cooling off we will be able to get out there and get some work done, so we can get out there on a more permanent basis and can create a permanent solution.

Lets just hope the weather holds up.

Facebook Farming

So...I finally stepped into the 21st century and joined Facebook. I only signed up so that I could play a piano game that was offered on there.

That's not the amazing part.

The amazing part is that I am actually playing a game that requires some effort. Not the piano game, but another game called "Farmville". I know...you're shocked. I was too. Doug started playing it about a week or two ago and practically owns the King Ranch now. I, on the other hand, have 9 little squares of strawberries, eggplant, wheat, and *gasp* soybeans. This is not the funny part.

The best part is that you actually have to wait for things to harvest. Granted on a much faster scale. For example, strawberries have to wait 4 HOURS to be harvested.

Okay...call me crazy...but my brain just couldn't register that.

Why do I have to wait???

Can't I harvest now?

Not even just a teeny little bit?

Not one soybean??

YOU MEAN I HAVE TO WAIT?!?!?!?

Because as disturbing as it is that this game perverts nature into growing and harvesting crops in 4 hours from start to finish, my little instant-gratification, pee-brain couldn't even wait that long.

Dear God, I hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

Hot Dog...

Well, since Satan has taken up residence in South Texas and it is hotter than, well, Hades, we haven't been able to get much done on the property this summer. Unfortunately, since we do not have a place to stay out there, by the time we drive out there, it is already pushing "hot enough to make your ankles sweat", and you can't do much before you get to "dead from heat exhaustion". If only meteorologists used this kind of terminology on the evening news...maybe I would watch...maybe.

Our lack of being able to get anything done on the property and my sheer laziness is the reason why I haven't posted much in the last month. We have been busy with other items though, namely chasing around the son of Satan AKA Merlin. He is now in intermediate training, and while I do love torturing myself, I am really ready for it to be over. Actually, I am really ready for him to be over a year old because I am telling you right now, that if I have sons I will desert them when they become teenagers. You have all been warned. Actually, I will just send them out to their father. That should do the trick.

My New Favorite Place

I've been up the Eiffel Tower, walk the halls of The Louvre, gazed in wonder at the carvings in Notre Dame and Chartres Cathedral, and they are beautiful, breathtaking. Believe me. But I have a new favorite place. Without a doubt. It's our new stock tank. This is what the land looked like before...

That's Doug and Merlin in the bottom of the tank.

The tank was built to capture rain run-off. About two weeks after the tank was completed, we received 4" of rain.

This is what it looks like now...
This is where you will find me in the future...pondering my belly button lint...while hearing this:


It has been a year since we signed the paperwork buying this property. In that time, we have:
- Spent the night on OUR land
- Put in two gates
- Cleared 13 acres
- Purchased a tractor and trailer
- Built a stock tank
- Marked fence lines and put in posts
- Purchased auger and bit to help with the fence post holes
- Took lots of pictures. I still like taking pictures of the cows...

It's been a slow process, but it occurs to me that it is all falling into place. All of the setbacks have been frustrating, but it seems they have all happened for a reason. That's the best we can hope for.

Update...

We leave on Friday for TCOOPS (the annual Texas Organic Farmers and Grower's Association's Conference). I am very excited. I hope to learn a lot of things. I have not forgotten about posting the pictures of the property. But I don't like the pictures I took, so I am going to have to take some more before I will post them.

No Turning Back Now...

The large pasture has been cleared, all thirteen acres. It's amazing. I almost cried. I do not have pictures because we were not sure anything would be done, so I just didn't think about it. But I will soon.

It took my breath away. For the last 8 months or so we have been looking at a field that we couldn't even see across because of all of the mesquite trees. Now...we can see all of the way across. I feel bad that we have taken away habitat areas for some animals (although we have left 4 acres uncleared). However, I know that what we are doing is a very good thing and responsible use of the land versus it just sitting there as a mesquite field. At least, that's what I tell myself.

Once I get pictures, I will post them up.

Bulldozing...

Property Update:

The bulldozer should be getting out there in the next week or two and start clearing the rest of what needs to be cleared. I can't wait to stand at the top of the hill, look down and imagine what it will look like when it has beautiful grass, a garden, a house, animals our children, and animals. I will be posting pictures once it is completed. I can't wait.

Tractor Update...

It would have been my sincerest desire to not have to give tractor updates. But since we did not want to go into debt up to our eyeballs to get a tractor, we had to by an older model. That being said...it is currently out of commission. Apparently, it needs a new ignition switch. There are other minor items that we will be touching up as we go along.
Ideally, we will be fixing the ignition switch this weekend and can get some work done.
Quite frankly, I don't know where we are and where we are going with the property at the moment. Rather frustrating, actually. But then again, I haven't actually been out there in several weeks. I miss it.

City Girl Lessons Learned V3.0 - Driving a Tractor

Is holy crap fun!!!!



1. Not matter how fat your butt is, it will be sore after riding in that hard metal seat.
2. If you are trying to look at someone or something, grass will immediately fly up and hit you in the face, blinding you and causing an involuntary flailing of the arms which makes you look as though you are being attacked by a swarm of bees, which will cause you to veer off course and look like an idiot.
3. Most old tractors do not come with power steering...so your arms will want to give out on you...most likely in the middle of a turn, which will cause you to veer off course and look like an idiot, again. I promise.
4. Thankfully, items #2 & #3 were not caught on video for those of you who were looking for it. Thank you.
5. At the end of the day (if this is your first time), then you have done something that you have never done before...and that alone is worth being proud of.

A Year Later

I can't believe that it has been a year since I started this here little blog. It looks like I didn't have nearly as much to say as I thought I would. As a one year gift, it is my goal and commitment to post more regularly.

I guess I still don't think that people want to read what I have to say. Or to be more realistic...I have a lot of days like I did today...and I think that the best option is for me to just keep my mouth shut...or not type as the case may be. It prevents people from getting their feelings hurt.

As I think back to a year ago...I can say that some things are definitely better and some things just haven't changed.

But I guess that's the way the cookie crumbles...and the world just keeps turning.

Sexing Bob White Quail

Since the quail are coming into laying age, I thought I would share how to tell the boys from the girls. Basically, the only really way to tell (besides watching them all day to see which one squirts out an egg) is to look at their faces:
The males have white accent feathers along the side of their faces around to the front and along their throat:
Whereas the females have brown accent feathers:
I apologize for the quality of these pictures, as the wire from the cage kept getting in the way.

At any rate, you have been learned. Go out into the world and share your knowledge...or not.

Evidence...

I ran a Photoshop Action on this photo called "Define and Sharpen".

Dear God,
Help me for thinking that is hilarious.

Yours truly,

Melissa

He Wore a Size 9...

While out at the property this weekend pulling the rest of the root balls that were connected to bonsai trees in China. My mother came across this:
We were all very excited. In these parts (to coin a phrase) finding a horseshoe is good luck. But this horseshoe looks to be pretty old. It is very brittle and we believe that it was handmade based on the asymmetrical shape. So we took it to Hobby Lobby and had it framed:
I couldn’t help but think about what kind of adventure caused this horseshoe to end up in a field that was, until recently, covered in mesquite. Probably everyday life…but I'm sure I could come up with some wild story. What I do know is that I can’t wait to put it in the house once we have it built…open end up, of course, based on our mythology.