Fair Week

It's the 4-H Fair!  Kris and I both led cattle and had projects at our fairs, our siblings did, our parents did, our grandparents were leaders ... the connection is long and storied!  Until now our kids have just enjoyed attending the fair, but this year our twins had prospect beef steers.  They worked very hard on teaching them and leading them (way, way more than I ever remember working with my calf), and yesterday they showed them.  They were in showmanship and market, and they did well!  We're spending the rest of the week there taking care of them, and the auction is on Wednesday night.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the family members, friends, and 4-H people who helped us!

Meanwhile on the farm ... summer is quite the time.  Sentences like, "Seven calves were born before noon," "My phone battery died hours ago," "It's just one thing after another," are pretty much an every day type of thing.  Let's hope the month of August is boring and predictable ... and that someone invents a phone battery that actually lasts an entire day.

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Clinton County 4-H Fair

Today I visited the fantastic Clinton County 4-H Fair.

I have fond memories of fair week, and I'm looking forward to when my boys are old enough to fully participate.

I also watched a (commercial) video today - I'm fully aware of the irony of it being a video - about how different childhood recreation is now compared to when our parents and grandparents were growing up.  In it, the grandparents talk about fishing, the parents talk about playing outside, and the kids talk about playing video games and watching TV for hours a day.

Not these 4-H kids!  These kids are definitely working with their hands and/or spending time outside. The projects - woodworking, photography, cake decorating - and the animals.  Rabbits, cattle, sheep, you name the farm animal, it was there.  (Minus the poultry due to the avian flu!)  The kids obviously care for these animals.

The kids were also friendly and liked talking about their projects and animals to us.

We also saw a show by Tim Salisbury.  He had Ty and Cole hold the jump rope while he jumped with a pogo stick.  Later, he literally juggled two balls ... and Max.

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Meanwhile, back on the farm ... still with the calving!  We're having cement work done on part of our barn, and we're continuing the three times a day milking.  The irrigation pivot is on, but it stopped working and Kris was able to fix it.  The wheel loader wasn't working but now it is.  The regular breaking and fixing of machinery continues as always!  The fair is a great reminder of the upcoming generations who will continue farming ... and fixing.

Or they'll just chuck it all and take up juggling.  I know my kids were inspired!

Cole found a 4-leaf clover at the 4-H fair!  Lucky #17!

Ty wants to build a bookcase just like this beautiful project.

Max called this a cow bunny.

See you again soon!

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Family, 4-H, farm

This past week the irrigation broke, but the company was able to fix it in just a few days!  Kris is currently working on a different issue with the irrigation right now - at 10:00 p.m.  I'm sure he'd rather be doing this: 

 

 

Yep, that's my sister Tracy and her family - plus my kids - checking out the freestall mattresses for themselves in the unfinished half of the barn.  (We have more visitors, yay!)  They all agreed that they were very comfortable.  They all had dirty shirts when they stood up.

 

We also checked this out: 

 

 

 

The lagoon is almost ready for manure to be poured into it.  The cement around it is done too.  Tracy said she was so tempted to run down the incline into the bottom because she'd never have the chance to do it again.  She resisted. 

We went to the 4-H Fair today.  It was wonderful - we all got to see animals we rarely see.  Even though we live on a dairy we don't see pigs, rabbits, turkeys, chickens, goats ... I even held a tarantula.  (Even though all of my self-preservation instincts were telling me it was a bad idea.)

When we were seeing the sheep, Tracy pointed out something else ...

This sheep and I have the same hair.  Color, style, and cut. 

Isn't it great having a sister around to question whether or not you're part sheep?

Amazing

And just like that, it's August! And time to start the third cutting of alfalfa!

The chopper was delivered (from the fix-it shop) first thing this morning so the chopping could begin. Rain is forecasted for tomorrow, which isn't great, because you don't want rain on your newly chopped hay. But the forecast might change before then.

Today also starts the 4-H Fair in Clinton County. Kris and I were in 4-H when we were young, and I always look forward to taking the kids.

We started off in the horse barn, and a girl said, "Do you want to pet my horse?" She led her out of her stall and was very patient as the boys worked up the courage to pet her.

We went to the goat barn and petted the goat kids, which were so tiny. They were fainting goats - goats that get stiff and fall over when they're scared - and they had informational posters about them that the kids had made.

In the pig barn, a woman asked if they wanted to feed the pigs watermelon. Of course! In the small animals tent, a boy got out his hen so they could pet it, and a girl got out her rabbit for the same reason.

Everyone was so friendly and eager to share their animals with us.

A friend there said, "It's like a zoo!" It was! Even though I live on a dairy farm, I don't see goats and sheep and pigs. It's a great learning experience.

And did I mention free? Way more free than a zoo!