What Summer Looks like around here

SUMMER IS HERE! 

Since today is the first day of summer, officially, I want to document what ours looks like. Owning a small farm is always at it's busiest right now. The County Fair is next month and we are bringing 5 of our last year's calves with us. So taking care of them, to get them "show ready", is a full-time job in itself. The kids have homemade projects to complete and show in front of a judge also. 

This time of year is really fun, because BABIES....

We had a record number born at Irishman Acres this year....8! And one Mama had a set of twins!! Now Baileyhusband has the daunting task of picking out this year's baby daddies and figuring out when to breed our cows. I told him that he is a cow pimp.. HA! 

The yard, landscaping, etc has always been a huge passion of mine and has become kind of another hobby for me. Mowing our acreage, planting and watering our flowers....and making sure our porches and patios are pretty and cozy (of course). 

Our back porch/ deck has finally received some TLC in the form of fresh stain, and new furniture! (Just don't mind the broken umbrella! It still does the job of keeping us shaded :) And we've already spent a lot of time out here. Even in the morning with my cup of coffee, there is not a better view of our farm than on this porch! 

I looked high and low for an affordable, yet SOFT, outdoor rug. And ultimately used what I had stored in a closet. I've had this rug forever and was gonna throw it away, why not just use it outside? I'm not sad if it only makes it this year out here, and it was FREE! I do bring it in if it's gonna rain, but not a big deal at all. Making our back porch cozy and inviting makes me want to spend more time out here, and draws us all out to rest at night after the chores are done instead of just heading inside to watch TV. 

Our playground is next in my project list, it has not been touched this spring yet as you can see. Our annual big 4th of July Party is coming up and this will look a lot better by then. As well as our sand volleyball...the weeds sure have taken over! 

Our farm is getting something that I never knew I always wanted....a greenhouse! It's actually a gift for our son, Wyatt, he is extremely passionate about horticulture. He and dad are building this (when time allows) and I will definitely be documenting the process here on the blog and can't wait to see it completed! 

In another post, I will show our vegetable gardens that Wyatt has planted and is tending to daily. I'm so glad he is so passionate about this and getting a greenhouse will help him start his seeds even sooner. 

And soon, I will also be posting a summer tour of our home, I realized so much has changed around here and cannot wait to update our Home Tour tab at the top of this page. 

I hope you all are having a great start to your summer....

Top Ten Rules for Country Living

Top Ten Rules for Country Living

(according to me, a Baileywife, who after living in the country for almost 15 years, still has SO MUCH to learn!)

{Hershey and Buddy}

1. Plant tomatoes- LOTS OF THEM-  more than anyone can possibly eat or even can (i.e. canning into sauces, salsa, etc). This also goes for potatoes for us this year....who needs this many potatoes?? I love me some potatoes, rather baked, mashed, fried, or frenched.....but we will NEVER be able to eat all that will be harvested.

{a portion of our garden this year!}

  2. Share all that is harvested with your neighbors and family....or for us, our neighbors ARE family! :) Kind of like a free farmer's market!

 3. Know the difference between an annual and a perennial. Makes gardening a lot easier. And know the difference in your weeds....makes those itchy rashes less annoying in your life!

{perennials}

{annuals}

4.Be willing to re-plant numerous things due to storms, kids, deer, or a certain peacock! Actually witnessed this fellow helping himself to our pepper and zucchini plants, but didn't tell Baileyhusband....I let him believe it was a rabbit in the middle of the night that kept coming back! (hehehe)

{Felipe trying to eat the blooms of our zucchini plant} 

5. Make peace with spiders and snakes- still working on the whole snake thing!

{this was NOT taken here, I copied from Fresh Eggs Daily's Facebook page}

6. Be early to bed, so you can be early to rise. Your rooster is good at helping you with that!

But you don't want to miss the most amazing sunrises....

7. Front porches are a MUST.....keeps you cool in the shade, covered in the rain, somewhere to sit and sip lemonade after a long day of yardwork, and up off the ground away from snakes. (And please don't burst my bubble telling me snakes can slither up to my happy place too, I will pretend they don't)

8. Learn to drive a tractor and/or riding lawn mower. Let's face it, no one wants to push mow an acreage. (and you are up off the ground, where there are snakes) This took me many years to get the nerve up to learn a Kubota tractor mower, but now that I did, it is MY JOB.... My mommy-time to myself and listen to the music I want to listen to on my IPOD.

9. No need for a gym membership, there is plenty to do around the farm....weeding, raking, mowing, gardening, sweeping, watering, feeding....and if that isn't enough: the country roads are amazing for bike riding and jogging!

10. And speaking of the farm....You must have animals.... if for no other reason than entertainment. 

{Tiny, our gray silkie, half-way through his bath....this makes me LAUGH}

{no denying who the culprit was that got into the garbage! } 

These next few weeks are going to be FULL of farm entertainment....we are getting ready for our 4H County Fair, so we are knee deep in homemade projects and getting our "Show Animals" ready.

Hope everyone has an awesome family and friends- filled 4th of July Weekend! 

~Kim

Linking up to:

From the Farm Blog Hop

Wyatt's Garden Greenbeans

This little man of mine has been working hard in his vegetable garden since the day he planted it....

Now he is enjoying the first crop of the season....GREENBEANS.......

Which Daddy has turned into this...

Baileyhusband is proud of his canned HOT PICKLED BEANS!

Yep, my man is talented in the kitchen! And I'm grateful he is teaching the next generation of Bailey Men to be just as talented! Thank goodness, or we would all starve!! :)

~Kim