Archive for July, 2009
July 31, 2009 – Midwest Living Photo Shoot
Thursday and Friday a crew from Midwest Living magazine descended on the farm. At a photo shoot like this, they leave very little to chance, including bringing their own potted sunflowers. They also bring various hard good props (in case we don’t have enough junky old stuff lying around)! On Friday, they started at sunrise. ...Read more.
July 30, 2009 – Thingamajig Thursday #172
Here’s this week’s thingamajig Thursday. 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…”New Aerial Applicator No Spray Signs”
July 29, 2009 – Chicago
GJ, Emma, and Cousin Jill from CA took a mid-week trip to Chicago this week. They were checking out DePaul for college for Jill, but did some sightseeing along the way.. American Gothic – larger than life and three dimensional! Mr Moose with a stylin’ downtown girl. one year ago…”Someday!”
July 28, 2009 – Sunflowers!
Once again, dumb luck descends upon High Hopes Gardens. Midwest Living magazine is planning on coming out to the farm this Thursday and Friday to shoot for a story on sunflowers. We have been sending small amounts of garden products to sell at the Des Moines Farmer’s Market. The editors were scouting the market for ...Read more.
July 27, 2009 – Curing the Garlic
After the garlic is harvested, it needs to dry and cure in a warm, dry place. The hayloft of the barn is the best place on the farm to do just that. Part of the fun is getting the garlic up to the hayloft. First, we open one of the trapdoors on the loft and ...Read more.
July 26, 2009 – Garlic Harvest
The garlic harvest starts in earnest today. Garlic is a favorite crop, in part because it is planted in the fall and opens up garden space in July for a cover crop to improve the soil. Most of this garlic is headed for Wheatsfield Grocery in Ames. It’s been a good year for garlic as ...Read more.
July 25, 2009 – 1,000 Friends of Iowa Conference
Today we attended the annual conference of the 1,000 Friends of Iowa held in Iowa City. 1000 Friends of Iowa promotes responsible development that 1) conserves and protects our agricultural and natural resources, 2) revitalizes our neighborhoods, towns and cities, and 3) improves the quality of life for future generations. We learned about prospects for ...Read more.
July 24, 2009 – Who Put a Spell on Mark?
Today there was some magic at the farm. This 1993 Ford F150 turned into… a 2010 Toyota Corolla! This is a milestone for me as this is the first new car I have ever purchased. I always bought used cars and trucks and sold my cars when domestic cars hit 150,000 miles and imports hit ...Read more.
July 23, 2009 – Thingamajig Thursday #171
Here’s this week’s thingamajig Thursday. 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…”Food Sealer”
July 22, 2009 – Kudos to L.L. Bean!
I occasionally use this blog to rant about poor products or customer service. In fairness, I thought I should rave about good experiences. When we were in Maine, I bought a deeply discounted leather and green canvas attache case at a L.L. Bean Outlet store in Ellsworth. Now, a few months later, the one of ...Read more.
July 21, 2009 – Turkeys Arrive
Today the turkeys arrived, just in time to mature by Thanksgiving. Here’s a two-day old turkey poult (baby turkey). They’ll be inside and under a heat lamp until they are strong/big enough to survive outside. A group of poults gets used to their new home. We’re thinking of butchering our own poultry this year, after ...Read more.
July 20, 2009 – Fine Apple Crop (so far)
The apple trees have set a tremendous amount of fruit this year. Today I tried to make the trees resemble apple trees more so than grapevines. In the first go-round, I probably picked a couple of 5 gallon buckets of golf-ball sized and smaller apples from four trees. But the William’s Pride apples are further ...Read more.
July 19, 2009 – Catch-up Begins
After being gone for eight days, it’s amazing how “unkept” the place looks. It’s rather unnerving just how close to the edge of chaos things are without us. I wonder what it would look like after a summer of no people on the farm? one year ago…”Wetland Success”
July 18, 2009 – Final Day of Vacation
Today it’s back in the car for another 10 hour ride back home. This year’s parting shot is a group shot in the rain – after all we got about 5 year’s worth of rain this week so the next few years should be great! one year ago…”Visitors from the East”
