Helping Those in Need

As we've been hearing for months (or is it years?) the economy sucks. People are losing their jobs, their homes and their dignity. This, coupled with the ridiculously high prices of food staples like milk and grain, has caused millions of people in America (as well as all over the world) to go hungry or starve. I find it deplorable that Iowa, a state that has tens of thousands of acres of farm land, has a hunger rate higher than the national average. We can't count on the government to fix this problem in the short term- if we waited for them scores of people would starve to death before Washington (or even the local governments) could figure anything out. I know there are a few of you out there who, like Art and I, have a vegetable garden. I urge you all to take a look at this website:

http://www.gardenwriters.org/gwa.php?p=par/index.html

It's a program called "Plant a Row for the Hungry" where you donate extra fruits and vegetables from your garden to local organizations to help those in need. Since it was started in 1995, PAR participants have donated over 14 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to hungry people all over America. You can also contact your local food bank, soup kitchens or shelters for more information or to see how you can help.
Some other useful websites (in you're interested):
www.grogood.com (for more information on how to help feed the hungry)
http://feedingamerica.org (where you can find more information as well as your local food bank)

The End of an Era

Art has put his dirt bike up for sale. It's a sad affair as Art has had many good times and close races with that bike. But don't worry, he's not selling it because he is 'maturing' or 'getting too old'. No, he is going to buy a newer and better bike that is 'better for the environment' (that's the excuse he gives me in the hopes that I will go along with this idea). There is a part of our hay field that consistently makes bad hay- it's pretty shaded so the grass doesn't dry well. He's decided that someday he is going to make that into a small dirt bike track. I gave him the OK because I would rather him ride his bike here where I can easily get to him when (oops, I mean 'if') he falls and hurts himself and also so he doesn't feel bad when (oops, again I mean 'if') he can't keep up with the young kids.

In keeping with the spring clean-up and planting theme of the weekend, Art cultivated the pasture behind the barn on Sunday. The pigs (whom we regretfully did not ring last year) had the run of it last spring and summer. In their constant and persistent search for roots of all kinds they did a number on the field, turning what was once a lovely clover-filled piece of land in to a lumpy and dead wasteland. We borrowed a 'culti-packer' from a friend- this goes on the back of the tractor and tills and evens out the ground. We will re-seed it with grass and by July we should be able to put the cows on it for a little rotational grazing (after putting up a better fence, of course)

Keller, one of our calves, cut himself on something today. It's really, really disgusting; the kind of disgusting that you can't help but keep looking at. There is a chunk of...tissue, I guess, that is hanging from his eyelid. I asked Art if we should call the vet and he said that he wouldn't do anything other than give him antibiotics. So I guess we're just going to leave it. Art said that it'll dry up and fall off and I asked him how he knows that and he said that he just does. Art asked me why I was so grossed out since I see this kind of thing everyday, I had to explain that my patients are completely healed and devoid of all hanging tissues by the time they come to see me.

We have some iodine spray and some colloidal silver that we will use as back up, but so far it doesn't seem to be bothering Keller at all. I have a picture of it, but it's really gross so I won't post it.

Spring Has Sprung

It was a beautiful 60 degrees with barely a breeze today- it's about damn time!

We received our first shipment of seeds and plants from the seed company a couple of days ago. I thought it was too early to plant strawberries and rhubarb, but Guernsey Seed Co. assured me that it is not too early to plant in zone 5. Art tilled up the gardens today to prepare for this weekends' planting of 4 rhubarb plants, 50 strawberry plants and 10 lbs of Yukon Gold seed potatoes (the bag said that it should yield 100-150 lbs of potatoes) We extended our garden this year and now have two separate patches... together it measures out to be approximately 1650 square feet- that's about 100 square feet smaller than my house..

Like Paul Bunyan, Only Better

Art has acquired yet another piece of machinery, only this time I can actually see the value of said machinery. He bought a log splitter! I know that may not seem too exciting but it's kind of cool. Art has been chopping wood with an axe which is really good exercise but it's kind of a bitch when he has to split logs that are 2 1/2- 3 feet in diameter. He bought it from the same person he bought the 'beater' truck (Art said this guy has all sorts of 'great' and 'useful' stuff just lying around) and because it's not free standing but runs off the tractor it was super cheap (as most people don't have a tractor in their garage).

Practical Does Not Mean Ugly

I just received my new rain boots in the mail (thank you Zappos!). They are Kamik's, a Canadian company that makes high quality outdoors boots (or so Art tells me). I needed a pair of rubber boots to knock around in but I didn't want the regular black rubber, I wanted something that had some personality. I had been looking at Coach wellies but couldn't really justify $200, no matter how cute they were. The Kamiks were much more reasonable but still super cute. They are made of PVC (so they won't crack or rot like rubber), fully lined and really comfy (I did have to stretch out the shaft because my calves are far from stickly). The best part is that when they are tattered and can no longer be worn, I can sent them back to Kamik and they will recycle them.