Thankful Thursday

Although our daylight hours are silently 

slipping away as fall approaches,

the hours in September have been packed

with weaning calves and cattle working.

Each calf has received a new ear tag for 

identification, vaccinations, and wormer before

being moved to a new pasture. 

It wasn't a rodeo but it was fun to watch the 

calves kicking up their heels and showing off

as they were released from the head chute.

We decided it was their reaction to the cooler

temperatures we were all enjoying!

Even though we are not milking cows on the farm,

we are still raising babies in the hutches.

These calves are from our cows

 that are being milked at other farms. 

Their care requires feeding milk and grain 

twice daily and monitoring them

 closely for any illness. 

Living on the farm isn't just all work!

As you can see,

Hattie and Breck make life exciting and fun.

                                      I'm thankful for our life on the farm and for the jobs

                                                      of raising calves and kids!

Thankful Thursday

Just before Labor Day, the square baler was pulled out of the shed, greased and

oiled, and sent to the field for what almost seems like an outdated practice.

The making of small square bales is a might more tedious than 

driving the big round baler down the field.  

You have decisions to make on the size of the

bale and the tension of the string. It proves that there is an art

  to farming and a lot of patience and praying with each bale

 that scoots out the shoot!

With the help of  the hay accumulator, a skid loader,

and a long trailer, the job of storing the hay is greatly 

 improved from the days of  a hay hauling crew that 

bucked each bale on the trailer in the field then

 unloaded and stacked  them in the barn on

 a 100 degree summer day.

I'm thankful for all the modern machinery that 

makes it possible to produce food for our calves and cows,

for the rain that we have been blessed with in this 

late summer season,

                                                                                  

                                                                                 and 

                                                 for these farm dogs that love life on the farm!

 

Thankful Thursday

It was a bitter sweet moment as I watched the group of 

bred Holstein heifers being checked by the veterinarian

before being loaded on a truck for a trip to their 

new home in Texas. 

The heifers will be having their babies in just

a couple of months.

 

We have almost three years invested in the  daily

           care of each of these heifers.

I was with them on their first day on the farm

when we moved their mother to the milking barn and

I became their caretaker feeding them with a bottle.

I'm going to miss seeing their babies !

I'm thankful to have married the dairy farmer 

that has shared his calling with me  to be a caretaker

of these beautiful animals and a steward of the 

land we call home,

                             
                                                        the continued daily work on the farm,

and

for the opportunities that appear through transitions

in life on the farm.

 

Thankful Thursday

Although every day is different on the farm, 

we also have a routine that you can set your clock by.

When I see the calves gathering by the gate, hear the chain on the gate fall,

and see black calves turn and make  the big run for the feed manger,

I know the farmer with the feed has arrived!

The farmer and his feed truck are a little like the Pied Piper.

Calves will follow the farmer and his feed truck anywhere!

                                  

                                         Calves aren't the only things growing down on the farm!

                                   

                                 I'm thankful that Breck and Hattie are often part of our routine

                                                             days down on the farm!

Welcome to Vaughn Elementary

The community is  invited to attend the Vaughn Elementary

 ribbon cutting and open house on Monday, July 18,5:30-7:30.

I can't wait!

I've been excited since the Bentonville School Board chose

the name Vaughn Elementary. It was a labor of love for several 

community members to speak up for the name that brings

many fond memories of school days at the original 

Vaughn School.

The new Vaughn Elementary is located at

5301 SW Barron Road, Bentonville.

Since the new school is located on the southwest side

of our farm, I have watched the construction through 

every phase. It is a beautiful campus. 

This new school definitely changes the landscape of 

our community and our farming community.

At night with all the lights  it looks like a small city! 

It is my hope that  students that attend this school

will love their school like those who attended the

original Vaughn School.

                                                       Welcome to Vaughn Elementary!

                                          

                                        

                                           

                                                   
 

Thankful Thursday

After the chores were finished, our family  gathered around the table for

our traditional  July 4th picnic supper in the cool of the air conditioner and

then made our journey to the pond for a fantastic fireworks display.

We all have a few mosquito and chigger bites but it was worth it

for the fun we had.

I am thankful for the many July 4th  memories we have

 made in this pastoral spot on the farm,

for the curious guests that joined in the fun until the first 

fire cracker was lit,

for the two inches of rain we received that 

allowed us to plant  part of our fall crop,

and

 for the freedoms we enjoy every day!

                                                            God bless America!
 

Thankful Thursday

                       

                                         

                                                             What excites a farmer?  

                                                         Hay season, of course!

                                      The farmers have been waiting impatiently to 

                                                     get started harvesting  the hay

                                                          and now, it is happening. 

                                     I'm thankful for the perfect hot and dry  weather

                                         this week  so the hay can be cut, raked

                                                  and baled in perfect condition,

                                                 for the opportunity to celebrate  Father's Day 

                                                            with  homemade ice cream,

for the memories made with our sons on all the 

days we  work together,

and for the memories 

of the fathers who raised us.