Guess What's Making a Nest Behind the Barn?

NOPE!



A Stinkin BALD EAGLE! What am I supposed to do with my 4 OUTSIDE kitties?

The tallest tree is where she's making her nest. The barn is right underneath it.




As anyone ever dealt with this before? We have lambs, turkeys, and dogs too!

Let the Swathing Begin

My new job on the farm is beck n' call girl for Farm Boy. I can't go anywhere, because he might need a pepsi, or bacon and egg sandwhich, or want me to check his e-mail, or ?????? Swathing season is here. That means Farm Boy gets to go around and around for hours lost in his own thoughts. He contemplates life, plans hunting trips, and thinks of new toys he has to have. Yesterday, he almost ran over a nest of baby hawks and wanted me to take them home in a box, it's a good thing I was pickin' up the kids at Grandma's and couldn't. (Don't worry, He moved the nest over and the mama found them.)





I really don't mind my new job and every once in awhile he does come up with a pretty good idea.

Rabbit, It's What's for Dinner

Why couldn't I have married a doctor or lawyer or even a construction worker? Nope, I married a farmer that requested this for dinner:




I wonder which one this was? I hope it wasn't the one with the gray nose.

WILD AMERICA (In my backyard)

The back of our house looks out over our backyard, pasture and then a grass field. Our dining room table has a big window next to it looking out over this stuff. While eating meals we have had some wild visitors. All of us will be eating, then all of a sudden someone spots something and everyone runs to the window. Farm Boy assesses the situation and sometimes runs for the gun safe. As he pushes the numbers on the safe, the dogs show up at the back door desperately wanting in. I slowly open the door to let them in, shushing the kids and trying not to scare whatevers out there.




These guys showed up on Tuesday, I know the pics bad, it was taken through the window. It's 3 bucks that were headed down to the river. They almost were free and clear of the fences, until the llamas spotted them. They ran full speed at the deer bucking and kicking like only a llama can. Scaring the day lights out of the deer and sending them running for their lives.

I tried to make it easier to spot the deer, but you'll just have to believe me, they're there.

Now yesterday was more of an adventure. The kids were at grandma's and Farm Boy and I were relaxing eating lunch. All of a sudden "COYOTE!". Farm Boy lept into the living room pounding numbers into the gun safe. He dissappeared, while I quietly opened the door for my little border collie. She flew into the house and headed straight for my daughters bed. I started shutting the door when, POP! I nearly jumped out of my skin. He had shot from our bedroom window, while I thought he went down stairs. I went out to see if he got it and didn't see anything. He came out asking "Did you see that blood?" "NO" I said disgusted.

I grabbed my camera, as we headed out the door to get the body. The way down we talked about how all of our kitties hunt right in that very spot the coyote was in. I think I would pass out if I saw a coyote ripping one of my cats apart. Not to mention our lambs, chickens, and turkeys that aren't that far away.

As we got down there sure enough there was blood and meat splattered. We followed the blood trail into the tall grass looking for the body. All of a sudden Farm Boy jumped back and I saw two coyote ears running through the grass. That was enough to make me go stand in the back of the truck and Farm Boy to get his gun again. He felt real bad that it wasn't a kill shot. With all the blood she lost we figured she was dead. Now he had to put her out of her misery.

Here he is following the blood trail through the high grass, while I'm standing on the truck box.

I was supposed to be watching for the grass to move, but I took a picture of the back of our house instead. So you can see what I'm talking about.

Finally he found her, with a kill shot. Sad. But, better her then my poor cats or baby animals.

A Little Farm History

Our farm used to be called a hop ranch, before my husband's grandfather bought it in the 50's. It was the largest hop yard under one trellis in the world in the 1920's. In the old days of growing hops there were between 2,500 and 3,000 people employed every season to bring in the hops. They brought their families and camped out where our hazelnut orchard is now. The ranch gave the pickers tents to live in, a stove, fire wood, a table and benches, enough clean straw to make a comfortable mat for beds, and garbage service.
Pickers were paid 1 cent per pound of hops. In an average day a picker picked about 200 lbs. More experienced pickers picked 300 to 400 lbs. The pickers made enough money for winter supplies and school clothing.

Our ranch had 6 hop houses on it, that were used for drying the hops. The ranch had 19 to 20 horse teams, it's own store, restaurant, depuity sheriff and place of entertainment.

The ranch also hired Indians with the understanding that the ranch would furnish a certain amount of pasture for some horses, and would give them the same camping privileges as the other pickers. There was 2 tribes of Indians that did not get along, so they had to camp in different sections.
The peek of the hop era was during the 1920's and 30's, by the early 1950's there was hardly any hops left.

Before the hops, where our house is now located there was an Indian camp. We find arrow heads and bowls and pounders made from rock all the time. There is also a "dump" where the hop campers garbage went. After a heavy rain sometimes we discover old bottles, lamps, and other things from that era.

We now grow grass seed, hazelnuts, green beans, and corn.