2015 Warren County Farm Tour

2015 wasn't really my year, and it is hard to write when you feel like all you have is complaints and negativity.  But I wanted to share a fun day the kids and I shared back in August.

Warren County in Southern Iowa is home to many wonderful family run farms.  The Warren County Farm Tour offers the opportunity for locals to visit several farms, meet the farmers, tour the gardens, animals barns, sample goodies and buy locally produced products.  And though we live and run our own small family farming operation, it was so enjoyable and educational to see how other farms run.  Out of the 10 participating farms, the kids and I visited 5.

Goats at Laotian Farm

Our first visit was to Laotian Farm.  We got to see a unique rotational system of ducks, chickens, goats and cattle implemented by the Laotian born farmer.

Chickens at Laotian Farm

Owner of Laotian Farm - "Air"

3 yr old in indoor arena at Ridgetop Horse Ranch

Our second stop was one of the kids' favorites of the day - Ridgetop Horse Ranch.  A family operated horse ranch that opened in 2012, Ridgetop Horse Ranch has a beautiful indoor arena, along with 80 acres of outdoor timber and riding trails.  They offer riding lessons, birthday parties, retreats and trail rides.  So you can guess what all my kids were begging for after this visit!

5 yr old in indoor arena at Ridgetop Horse Ranch

7 yr old in indoor arena at Ridgetop Horse Ranch

10 yr old in indoor arena at Ridgetop Horse Ranch

Some places have very creative names, some have very descriptive names and some are straight to the point.  Stop number three was The Farm.  The Farm boasts a barn full of animals, the most adorable shop and refurbished farm machinery.

Barrel train at The Farm

Tractor at The Farm

Equipment at The Farm

Kids and large hay bale at The Farm

milking a goat at Willis Farm

After taking a ride in the barrel train, petting the animals, checking out all the old tractors, trucks and other equipment, strolling through the shop and putting everything they sell on our wishlist, it was time to leave The Farm and head to our next destination - Willis Farm.  The Willis Farm is a diverse piece of property including hay fields and pasture, 5 gardens, a 107 year old restored barn and commercial zinnia gardens.  During the Warren County Farm Tour, visitors could tour all the gardens and the barn, along with visiting several vendors set up on the front lawn.  Vendors were selling handcrafted items, fresh honey, produce and goat's milk soap.   

milking a goat at Willis Farm

We ended the day at Peace & Plenty Farm, not too far from home.  I could have spent hours here, and the kids had a great time too.  From the front porch of the farm house, a bluegrass band played as people sat on blankets relaxing and eating locally raised meat - bbq'd and catered by a local restaurant.  The rest of the lawn was filled with more local vendors, selling handcrafted goods and locally grown produce.  Down by the front driveway is a pond, stocked with fish for the kids to catch and release.  I purchased the softest t-shirt from the FarmHer booth and have thoroughly enjoyed my free calendar every time I sit at my desk to work (I guess it's time to get a 2016 one!)

fishing at Peace & Plenty Farm

fishing at Peace & Plenty Farm

fishing at Peace & Plenty Farm

fishing at Peace & Plenty Farm

So after spending hours driving to and walking around enjoying these five farms, I can say that the kids an I had a wonderful time, but were thoroughly ready for a rest when we got home.  On our drive home the kids talked about all the fun things they saw and did and requested that next year we be a part of the farm tours also.  Unfortunately, we don't live in Warren County... but maybe we can do our own farm tour anyways!

Working Hard on the Homestead

In March of this year, I took on the roll of Clarke County Farmers Market President, just in case I thought I might have some spare time on my hands.  Our local farmers market is fairly small, averaging about ten vendors per market, but they are all enthusiastic about their products and love to talk to our customers about how they are produced.  And more than that, they are a community of friendly neighbors who work together, help each other and want to make the market an awesome place to be.  I have so enjoyed getting to know these people better, introducing some new things this summer, such as partnering with local fitness groups and dietitians and being a part of a statewide scavenger hunt for school aged children through Iowa Farm to School. 

11 puppies

At about this same time, hubby managed to cut his hand so badly at work that they sent him to the hospital for stitches, we were trying to look for homes for 11 puppies and we were finishing re-siding the house and two other buildings.  Needless to say, between hubby's already busy work schedule and injury, I did a lot more work myself on the siding than I expected. 

wild violets

In April and May the farm was starting to look more like spring.  Flowers started blooming, we received all our new chicks and ducklings and our new trees began to arrive.  The kids were great helpers getting the boxes ready for the new little birds.  Unfortunately, due to several different circumstances, we lost most of the babies early on.  We still have a few new chicks and one new duck though.  The kids were pretty upset, but it was a learning experience for all of us.  Luckily the older chickens are still happy, healthy and producing more eggs than we can eat.  (They have been big sellers at the farmers market!)

Towards the end of May we discovered our first ripe strawberries in the garden!  The strawberries were followed by wild black raspberries, mulberries, red raspberries and black currants.  All the rain and sunshine helping the fruit to ripen was also helping the weeds grow like crazy.  It didn't take long for the kiddos to be tired of helping mom pull weeds in the garden.  And I have to admit, I wasn't so keen on pulling any more weeds either!

 It seemed like, no sooner had we gotten our new cherry and peach trees into the ground that we were hit with a pretty big storm.  On June 24th there were sever thunderstorms, large hail, strong winds and funnel clouds.  Many throughout central and southern Iowa experienced damage to their property.  We lost a large apple tree (the kids favorite one, of course!) and several limbs fell off others.  Our small trees were untouched though, thank goodness!!

fallen apple tree

This is where the summer gets really fun!  For nearly three weeks, my mom, stepdad, their two kids and my niece were here to replace the roof on the house.  Hubby and I helped as we were able, but the work was nearly all done by my parents and kids ages 7 and up (the 3 and 4 year old would have loved to be up on the roof too...)  No one can quite tell a story like my stepdad, so here is an excerpt from an email he wrote about the experience:

"MAN, was that ever a project.  Got'r done in two weeks flat though... Had to use a lot of child labor to get it done.  Debra ran the "all child roofing demo and shingling crew" pretty much non-stop from 8 am till 9 pm, with short breaks in between.  That's the problem with kids . . . you have to stop to feed them.  Ages 7 (Addy), 9 (Lily), 12 (Natalie), 13 (Nicolas), and 16 (Kaci).  Good thing the child labor laws are fairly lax in Iowa.  (They all did wonderful, with a little complaining from time to time.)  I was in charge of initial damage assessment, equipment and material procurement, general project oversight, deck rehabilitation and rafter tail repair.  The work project (after planning and material procurement) took 13 full days, hard labor with one day off in between.  I personally packed 122 shingle bundles (60# a whack), up a ladder to the top of the roof on my shoulder (thats 7,320# total).  Nicolas and I unload (by hand) the first half of the removed shingles from a flat bed trailer in over 100 degree temps.  I estimated it would take "an hour or two", but it took over five hours and we must have drank over 5 gallons of water.  Total tonnage off loaded:  4.8 tons.  Debra worked with the other kids on top of the roof in the 100 degree heat and high humidity to proceed with demo of the remaining shingles (two layers deep).  It was a great weight loss program.  I lost 8 pounds in two weeks!  Back down to my high school wresting weight.  Now that's what I call a vacation baby."

It now feels like we have a few major projects to cross off the list... But they are quickly replaced by new projects.  

2014 Year in Review

The blog has been quiet, but if you follow us on facebook you have likely seen photos of our animals, garden and projects showing that things on the farm are certainly not quiet!  As we gear up for the new year of adventures, here is a look at what we did in 2014.

We look forward to keeping all our friends, family and supporters updated in 2015.  Happy New Year!

Farm Name (part 2!)

Back in January we asked for your assistance in naming the farm.  The kids had helped us come up with some ideas and some of you suggested some great names too!  From the chart below, you can see that Redhead Acres was the clear favorite.  Unfortunately, there is already a farm in Missouri with that name.

So now we are into round two of picking out a name.  We have come up with a whole list of names below similar to Redhead Acres.  And we are calling on you again to help us narrow the choices. 

• Redhead Meadows
• Redhead Fields
• Redhead Family Farm
• Redhead Pastures
• Redhead Patches
• Redhead Homestead
• Redhead Country
• Redhead Tillage
• Redhead Cultivars

* Our offer still stand of a free jar of homemade applesauce to the person who submits a winning farm name.

double rainbow & apple trees

What's In a Name?

Seed catalogs have begun to arrive and we are making plans for Spring.  But we can't just show up at the Farmer's Market trying to sell our wares without a snazzy name for the farm.  So we've been brainstorming ideas and we need your help!  Below are some of the ideas we've had.  Help us narrow it down a little by letting us know which name(s) is/are your favorite(s)!

summertime

• Starline Creek Farm
• Squaw Creek Farm
• Rolling Hills Farm
• Toad Run Farm
• Honeybun Farm
• Nick Squared Growers
• Black Dog Farm
• Dannon Fields
• Redhead Acres
• Apple Hills Farm
• Ginger Estates
• The Wilson Farm  (Lily's pick)
• The Best Known Farm Ever  (Lily's pick)
• The Family Farm  (Addy's pick)
• Daddy's Farm (Addy's pick)
• Sean's Farm  (Sean's pick)
• Seanie's Farm (Sean's pick)

Do you have an idea that you think we will like?  Let us know!!  If you suggest the winning farm name (not on the list above) we will send you a jar of homemade applesauce.
 

the farm circa 1988

How did we end up on a farm in Iowa?

When I was three years old, my parents made the decision to leave Iowa and move to California's Central Valley. I grew up in California, occasionally spending a few weeks of summer or holidays with my grandparents back in Iowa. My sister, cousins and I always found adventures on the farm. Our favorites were playing in the barn or the old house, throwing apples at the pigs, riding lawn mowers and driving the tractor. Grandpa was strict and made us help out with the chores - cleaning pig pens, bailing hay, swatting flies or changing out a feeder, but he also gave us chocolate milk each day for lunch and would share his popcorn as we lay on the couch watching an afternoon movie. Grandma took us on errands to town, would pick strawberries with us to make jam or have us snap beans from the garden for supper. She taught me how to sew and let me try on her shoes and jewelry. She would let me sneak into her bed at night if I woke up and was scared of sleeping in the dark basement bedroom.

When I was older, there were fewer chores to do. Few animals were left and Grandpa wasn't growing as much. But I still loved visiting the farm. We would sit on the wrap around porch listening to Grandpa's stories, some that we had heard over and over. We would still go for rides on the tractor with all the kids, stay up late playing pool with cousins and dance to Grandma and Grandpa's favorite records.

Grandma passed away in 2007. Grandpa stayed on the farm, but would visit us in California often. He told my husband and I we should move in with him on the farm. He passed away last fall, right before Thanksgiving 2012. I took my youngest with me to the funeral. Towards the end of my trip, I realized I didn't want this to be the last time I visited.

Even without my grandparents there, the farm is a place I love to be and I wanted all four of my kids to have a chance to make their own adventures on the farm. I promptly texted my husband and told my parents we should move there. Everyone laughed and joked about what we would do when we moved to Iowa. When I got home to California, my husband and I talked about what we thought was a far-fetched possibility of actually moving to the farm and becoming farmers ourselves. My heart hurt at the thought of not returning to the farm, so my husband and I spent several months researching, discussing, crunching numbers and putting together a proposal that ultimately landed us here, living on Grandma and Grandpa's farm in Iowa.

My husband took off with a Uhaul full of stuff and about a month later, my mom and I followed with six kids for a road trip half way across the country. After surviving more than 30 hours in the car with six kids under the age 12, I am relatively confident that we can handle this farming thing. And after being on the farm just three and a half weeks, we've already got some stories to tell.