Archive for December, 2008
December 17, 2008 – Kids Christmas ’08
Ok, it’s time for the obligatory photo of the kids around the tree.
December 16, 2008 – Ski!
It’s time to break out the cross-country skis! Emma and Linda broke and hit the on-farm loop trail today.
Linda chose a perimeter path and Emma opted to ski in the pasture, where Chelsea the mini horse was delighted to have someone to herd with out in the snow!
December 15, 2008 – Ice/Snow/Sleet
We’ve had a dicey forecast for a while. We were advertised as the dividing line between up to 3/4 of an inch of ice or 6-10 inches of snow. I’ll always take the snow when left those to those choices.
We ended up getting a glazing of ice, then a matrix of about 2 inches of ice pellets and sleet, topped off with a little snow. Although not very deep, it was like shoveling sand or granulated sugar – the ice pellets were very heavy. Even the tractor, which never usually complains about pushing snow, whined and complained and spun tires with this mess.
one year ago…”Farmstead in December”
December 14, 2008 – Tree All Dressed Up
Even though we tried to pick a narrow tree, this one is still pretty fat once it gets into the house!.
My favorite part of this year’s tree is the tree topper which didn’t fit on the top, so instead is sticking out near the top on the right side. This placement is somewhat controversial between the people who like the non-traditional placement and those who think it just plain looks dumb.
I bought some of the LED lights on clearance this year for the tree. I was surprised how bright they are.
one year ago…”Bird Tracks in the Snow”
December 13, 2008 – Lumberjacking Christmas Tree
[begin rant] There are few things I maintain a fundamentalist attitude about – Christmas trees are one. I know all the arguments for artificial trees and some of them have merit (I live in a small apartment, I’m unable to go get a tree because of age or disability), but convenience is one I just don’t buy!
If once a year it’s too much of a bother to select a tree and clean up the needles, then why not dispense with other Christmas items as well? Exchange cash instead of gifts – it would be much more convenient not to go shopping and wrapping. Buy Christmas cookies at the store instead of homemade – that would be more convenient. I just think the trees, which are one of the oldest holiday traditions, get the short stick. [end rant].
The selection process is the longest part of the Christmas tree experience.
Heave-ho and out of the Christmas tree farm goes the tree. This may be the last year we have to drive to get a Christmas tree. Now that we are growing our own, next year our trees may be large enough for us to cut our own home-grown tree.
one year ago…”Thingamajig Thursday #99″
December 12, 2008 – Photo Friday “Weathered”
This week’s Photo Friday theme is weathered.
Here’s a double shot of “weathered” – some weather on a weathered board.
one year ago…”Another Outsider’s Perspective”.
December 11, 2008 – Thingamajig Thursday #145
Here’s this week’s “Thingamajig” entry. Name the catalog that this page of heirloom vegetables can be found.
Also check out the last thingamajig answer.
As always, put your guess in a comment below.
Hold mouse over this sentence to pop-up answer.
one year ago…”More Ice; Another Snow Day”.
December 10, 2008 – Shooting Star
OK, it doesn’t look as good in the picture as it does in real life, but trust me on this one, in person, it is eye-catching. The photo lacks the proper sense of proportion and scale.
I almost hate to admit this, but credit must be given where credit is due – I first saw this idea in a Martha Stewart magazine.
one year ago…”High Hopes Gift Boxes”.
December 9, 2008 – Oh Little Star
Once again, it’s time to get the holiday lights up. Although I’m not necessarily out for the best display in the neighborhood, I do like to add a few touches to the farmstead.
This is as Clark Griswoldesque (Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation) as I get. Using the tractor loader, and a couple of ladders, I can reach fairly high up on the barn. Â Once again, the star is put into place.
one year ago…”Gift Box Assembly”.
December 8, 2008 – First No School Day of the Season
The first winter storm of the year headed our way last night. As a result, no school for anyone and I elected to go to work tomorrow instead of today.
The storm started out as rain and turned to snow, but the rain lasted longer than it was forecast, so we ended up with more ice than snow.
The accumulation wasn’t heavy enough to knock power out, but has temporarily shut down the wind turbine until the wind comes out to melt the ice off the blades. But since the wind was at about 40 mph today, it wouldn’t have been spinning because of high winds. Sun is forecast for the next 4 days. It will be nice to get the ice melted off the roads and sidewalks.
one year ago…”Break out the Skis”.
December 7, 2008 – Off Season Brooding
We have experienced reduced production in the laying hens, in part because we did not replace our two and three year old hens last summer. So, to get back on track next spring, we ordered 35 more last week.
You may remember the entry about trying to ready the new brooder. With the cold weather, we decided to try to keep the chick in the basement for a few weeks, rather than having them out in the cold coop while breeding them. So far so good – they don’t eat much and don’t smell as long as the “litter box” is changed occasionally.
December 6, 2008 – Dinosaur Farming
Martin, having lived on a farm for all of his seven years, has learned a thing or two about handling animals.
He needed all his expertise in designing this farm to contain these dangerous dinosaurs. Fencing, animal cohabitation, feeding, and disease management all need to be considered. These calm, contained, happy dinosaurs are a great sign of a successful design.
one year ago…”Thingamajig Thursday #98″.
December 5, 2008 – 2009 High Hopes Gift Boxes
Once again, this year we are offering gift boxes for the holidays – great non-cluttering gifts ranging from $7.50 to $25. They are great for family, teachers, and others on your gift list. All the products are grown or made at high hopes gardens. The jams are from fruit from our trees, the soap we make ourselves from local fats and our goat milk, the beeswax candles and honey are from our bees (with some additional wax from other central Iowa beekeepers). We ship for actual shipping costs with no additional handling charges.
If you’d like to order, leave a comment with your contact info at the bottom of the page (we won’t publish your comment) or send an email to mark(at)highhopesgardens(dot)com (to keep the email from being scanned by spamming robots, I’ve somewhat disguised it, but figured out you can figure out what it’s really supposed to be).
This is the large sampler box with two 4 oz jam samplers, 4 oz honey sampler, goat milk soap, a beeswax pillar candle and two beeswax votive candles offered for $25.
This is the medium sampler box with 4 oz jam sampler, honey, goat milk soap, a beeswax votive candle offered for $15.
This is the three jam sampler box with three kinds of 4 oz jam samplers made with organic fruit from the farm offered for $10.
This is the two jam sampler box with two kinds of 4 oz jam samplers made with organic fruit from the farm offered for $7.50.
his is a small non-food sampler box with a large bar of soap and a beeswax candle offered for $7.50.
one year ago…”Latke Time of Year”.
December 4, 2008 – Thingamajig Thursday #144
Here’s this week’s “Thingamajig” entry.
Also check out the last thingamajig answer.
As always, put your guess in a comment below.
