4 July 2017 – Sunny and highs in the upper 80’s
Today is my favorite holiday. I love reading about the Founding Fathers and the enormous risk they took to throw down that Declaration and say, “We don’t want a king, we want to be free from your rule and here’s why.” And the list is honest, eloquent, and timeless. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. This is what it means to be American and this is what we celebrate today. If you really want to refresh your patriotism and appreciate your freedom, here’s a link to the Declaration of Independence. Read it out loud and you cannot help but be moved. God Bless America!
Out here in the free, wide opened spaces of the great state of South Dakota, we are celebrating today by going to the Veterans’ Parade in Custer. It is a small town Fourth of July parade and will likely be full of locally built floats, fire trucks, horses, and the high school marching band. Oh yeah, and we get a B-1 Bomber low pass to start things off. Cool!
We are cooking out this afternoon for some friends, likely drinking some Keystones and eating some burgers and dogs and watching the cows and chickens from the south porch. What’s everyone else doing out there?
Now for the Holler update. We finished bailing Shari’s property with 171 more hay bales. Now all we have left is the oats once they get tall enough. That is unless we get some incredible moisture and we hay again in August? Here’s hoping for that…sort of!
The bees have been extremely busy. There are so many wildflowers that I had to add another “super” or house on top of their main hive body. Then, 7 days later, that box had 6 frames full of honey so I put another super on top of that! I hope they can make enough honey to sustain themselves throughout the winter. I read they need 70-90lbs; that is about one full deep box. Anything they make beyond that I plan on keeping. If they are successful and survive the winter I will probably get another hive next year. Two hives won’t be much more work than one.
The garden is going gangbusters. Dave and I have been eating spinach every day and giving some away as well. Pretty soon we are going to have Pop-eye arms!
We are also harvesting lettuce for the burgers we will serve later today.
We pulled this turnip out of the garden yesterday. This morning the breakfast menu consists of “Hashtag-Hash” which is a diced turnip, spinach, onion, and bacon with a fried egg on top.
The corn is not quite knee high at the 4th of July, unless you have really short legs!
The chickens are free ranging (under supervision) most of the day. We like to sit out and watch them in the evening. Chicken TV is better than anything on cable. They truly are bird-brains and they have a lot of self-induced drama. They are getting big and FAT, or we could say fluffy if we don’t want to hurt their feelings.
Yesterday was branding day. We took 7 calves to the Vet and they got their vaccinations and their brands. Cowboy Dave did the branding and Pilot Dave worked the calving table while the new Vet in town (an ISU grad!) administered the meds. I got to work the gates and take pictures.
Well, that’s all from the Holler for now. We are wishing everyone out there a Happy Independence Day! Freedom, baby! It’s what it’s all about!
July 5, 2017 at 3:22 PM
Those 3 dogs on the dog bed!! So cute. And your garden looks amazing. Did you start the carrots from seed? I have had good luck with cukes, basil, peas and beans from seed, but carrots are a harder deal. And they are our favorites! Teach me your ways, Farmer Jenny!
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July 6, 2017 at 6:30 AM
Hey, Cat! Thanks for reading. I did start the carrots from seed but next year I don’t think I will waste any money on seeds. I started tomatoes and peppers 3 times and none of them made it so I ended up buying little plants anyway. Then again, the lettuce, spinach, carrots and turnips are all from seed and they have done pretty well. I have never had luck with carrots, even in Florida so I’m still keeping my fingers crossed. I need to thin them out and I never do well at that. I feel bad like I’m in charge of the carrot death panel! Anyway, I’ll keep you “posted” about the fate of the carrots. It’s going to be in the 90’s here for the next 10 days so I hope the heat and sun will make that bunny food grow!
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July 5, 2017 at 6:11 PM
Sounds as if you guys had a really good plan to enjoy Independence Day. I cut grass all day, which was a blast! Anyway, it needed doing and I am very thankful to live in this great country where i have the freedom to cut grass if i want to. Always enjoy your “Hoten Holler” posts so keep them coming. If you could send me some of the cooler temps it would be nice. I have
peas that need picking and the heat is a killer. My regards to both of you. Keep up the good work,
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July 6, 2017 at 6:43 AM
Hi Joel! Independence day was really great and we had a good time. I’m also glad we live in a country where we have the freedom to cut the grass…..or not to cut the grass if we so choose! We appreciate the comments on the blog and are happy you are enjoying it.
We would send you some cooler temps but we are having a heat wave here and expecting 90’s for the next ten days or so. I hate to tell you the humidity is around 12%, however, so it doesn’t feel too bad.
You keep up the good work there as well. Let us know how the peas turn out. Nothing like fresh garden peas! God Bless…..
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July 6, 2017 at 2:39 PM
God`s blessings back to you. My wife is shelling peas right now. She braved the heat today long enough to pick a 5 gallon bucket full. Now, if i could just figure out how to send some of this humidity your way—-hmmm, I will work on that. Always glad to share, you know. I will discuss this with our mutual friend, Andy, and see if he will fly some up that way and drop it off. Anyway, good to hear from you guys. Will be expecting another post soon.
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July 6, 2017 at 7:43 PM
You guys have seriously settled in to the pioneer style of life. Good for ya! I love the expression on the calfs face on the branding…take care, best from us. 😎👩🏻🐕
Sent from my iPad
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