Cypress Hill Farm: Accomplishments

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Accomplishments

October 18, 2011

Last week we caught up on a few things that needed to be done. Spending two weeks home out the month for hubby makes it challenging to get things done sometimes. I think we did pretty good last week and got alot accomplished.
Planting the pasture with winter grass was high on the priority list, and had to be done at the right time to be successful. In the past we plowed then fertilized and planted, with only ten acres and few head of livestock we found we lost alot of grazing time using this method. We looked into the No Till version of planting winter grass and decided to top seed our pasture last winter. While the animals did have grass to continue grazing on while the winter grasses came up, the stand was not as lush as we would have liked it to be. This year we are trying a different method of getting the seed down in the ground with a seed drill. We found out our local USDA office rents out this implement by the acre. This method drills little holes in the soil, drops the seed and covers it back up, without the entire field being chopped up. This saves precious topsoil from being washed away, and from loosing your stand of established grass, which takes about two years to get back each and every year you plow.

We planted winter wheat, Elbon rye and oats for this years winter grass. The seed cost us $150 and $50 to rent the seeder.

To top off this project, that evening while sitting back on the porch envisioning a lush green pasture, It came a rain storm. We got close to an inch of rain 4 hours after completing this planting. So we are praying that our efforts were successful. I will keep you posted.

Another project on the list was to put up my clothesline again. These poles were pulled up a few years ago when they were sorta in the way and not being used often. I read an article in our local electric co-op newspaper stating that by summer of 2012 we can expect an increase in our electric bill, so like everything else, we make adjustments to help us save money where we can.
Here is a pic of my hubby being crucified, by all these projects he's trying to accomplish this week.

Thank you my sweetheart..........They are gonna look nice after i put a coat of paint on them.

After that rain the other day the soil was just right to dig up the sweet potatoes, next on the list of things to get done. This was our first year growing some, and with the drought this year we didn't think they would make any.

We were excited to get a few of these out the ground.

The chickens were right behind us while we were digging, searching for some bugs to snack on.

His hands are still busy...........That evening he shelled the first picking of fall peas i picked earlier that day. What a Man!!!!!!!!!!

I think we got alot accomplished this week and even made time for a fun day at a local event called "Old Farmers Day". It's an annual two day event filled with demonstrations of old times on the local farms. They had demonstrations of hog butchering, campfire cooking that cooked up some biscuits and gravy early that morning, sheep shearing, smokehouse meats being cooked,and lots of delicious foods to try. Demonstrations of horse and mule drawn plows and other implements were going on throughout the day. On the last day the horse and mule pull contest took place. Vendors with arts and crafts were there and lots of fun Cajun music to enjoy.

It was a wonderful time and a beautiful day, it made me think about the hard times of our ancestors but still what a simple life they lived back then. It also made me think about how some of us are incorporating some of those old task back into our lives today, like raising chickens and cows, making bread, even hanging our clothes out on the line . We all do them for different reasons, some do it for healthier living, some for economical reasons, and some for the pure pleasure ..............of living a..... simple life.

Sheryl

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