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....

summer heat and staying cool

Today is going to be a hot one! Finally! Last summer we didn't really have much heat, it rained a lot and stayed pretty cool. This summer I think is going to be different. And with this Iowa humidity, it usually feels hotter than the actual temp.

I finally turned on our air yesterday, the humidity got to me. Actually the melting of my Annie Sloan wax while I was trying to work on a piece of furniture inside my house got to me. That is a little uncomfortably warm if your wax melts inside your house, don't ya think?

So, today, I will be working comfortably with air conditioning. But while we have air in the house, our farm animals do not have that luxury.

These gals think they have the answer to staying cool. Yuck!

We will be outside several times a day in this heat, checking on our animals. The cows have automatic waters, and they have ample shade, but all of our birds (chickens and peacocks) will need fresh cool water brought to them throughout the day. Besides drinking it, they like to stand in it. That is the fastest way for the birds to cool their body temperature. 

And also, my pretty flowers will probably need a little extra attention in this heat. 

These are the days that I wish we had a pool here at the farm. But maybe if we go outside in our swimsuits and water down our 4H calves, we can pretend that we are laying poolside....that is what I'll tell my kiddos! 

Hello Again!

Well, hello friends! My name is Kimberly Bailey, and I used to blog about our home and farm and family and life here at Irishman Acres....but I've been M.I.A. for about ....hmmmm....lets just say "Too LONG"!!! But who is really counting?

I have a lot to say, and now with school out for the next 3 months, and tons of things to do around here, I am hoping to get back to documenting it all and sharing it with you! There are some great things happening in our lives, and I have some amazing projects to document, so hold on to your hats! 

If you don't already, make sure to follow on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. So, if you want a crash course on what's been going on, you can always stalk us there!

Please be patient while I get my feet wet into this taking pictures with my real camera again, I kinda miss it, but have gotten really lazy lately with just carrying around my iphone to rely on. I also have been trying to figure out some issues on the technology side of blogging, we have a website that I started for our farm which is just simply www.IrishmanAcres.com , but honestly, I hate technology for the most part....weird that I love writing a blog, huh? But I would love to integrate them so people can find us easier. There is a tab to click on that takes you here to this blog page, but I really want it simpler. 

So, if you like to come read about our farm....I will be sharing lots of fun stories.

If you like to come read about our home and all the never-ending projects that a HOME ADDICT has....I have so many that we have done in the past several months and more to come soon!

If you like to come read about our silly family and all the drama that ensues with a Kardashian flare, you've come to the right place...I hope to share some more of that also! If you can't laugh and make fun of yourself, then who can??

I will be here tomorrow with the beginning of our stories, and projects! I am so excited to be back! 

Thanks for everyone who encouraged me to do so.... I love you all! 

Obsessed Much Mondays: It's OK to be lazy

As we are nearing the end of our summer...I feel myself really wanting to get as many projects done in and around our home as possible. But that is actually a double edge sword. My mind is going in a thousand directions, and it is really tiring! Sometimes, I need to allow myself just to stop and relish in this season. 

Enjoy the fruits of our labor... and just be still.

Summer, when I was growing up, was all about being outside... playing..  and sometimes just good old-fashioned laziness. But these days, it's like keeping up with the Jones'. So and so are going to the pool everyday, or are taking all these vacations.... I really just want my kids to be bored like we were when we grew up! Actually one of my favorite "mom" sayings is "If you are bored, than you are a boring person." (my kids HATE when I say that)

Being HOME is my favorite place to be...and living on a {mini} farm, there is SO MUCH TO DO. To me, we live in a vacation spot. I am aware of the fact that some families that live in the city or in town love to go camping or other vacations to get away from it all. Well, we are away from it all. So, no need to go anywhere, right? 

Having the animals to tend to and play with is just the start of it. 

The exploring of nature and all it's beauty (we live next to a wooded area that has a bike trail and creek running through it)


The sense of pride and accomplishment when eating from your own garden that you planted yourself

The chance to build something yourself, and just let yourself be creative. We need that time to let our minds wonder, to sit and daydream. Getting in tune with yourself and Mother Nature is good for your soul. 

I will try to remind myself of these things as this summer is whizzing past. 

And I hope my children look back and see that their summer was not wasted, but the exact opposite.  

This was part of my Summer Series called Obsessed Much? Mondays. You can read all the other Mondays in this series by clicking HERE. Or at the top of the page, the tab called "Obsessed Much". 

Chicks and Calves

Our farm has some new little ones running around, and I couldn't be more excited. There is nothing cuter than a mama hen hatching her own chicks and taking care of them.

These are the Brahma chicks, there are 6 total

Our Silkie hens hatched 9. One is a black silkie, 7 are white, and one mixed. And the black hen is the one taking care of them all, poor Mama...could you imagine trying to corral 9 toddlers?? She does a great job showing them how to scratch the ground, where to find water, and then keeps them safe and warm from all the rain we've been having.

I took this close-up of them after just a few had hatched to share on our Instagram. SO cute and fluffy...Silkies are my favorites! 

And then this year has been a record...one of our Peacock Hens Peahens has hatched 5 little chicks peachicks herself! She laid on her nest with 5 eggs under her, and ALL 5 hatched and have survived!! 

Daddy Paco is proud too! 

She is taking wonderful care of her babies. There is another Hen laying on a nest with an unknown amount of eggs under her. We are hoping for the best...and the incubator is full (17) of what looks to be good eggs also. (Baileyhusband recently kindled them and they look to have chicks growing inside!)

WHEW! That will be alot of little ones running around....look for our "For SALE" page on our website Irishman Acres if you are interested in purchasing some Peafowl from us! They are MY FAVORITE farm bird. 

I also wanted to show some new pictures of our little calf that Carly Jo had on June 13th...that was Friday, the 13th!!! Her name is Carolina, and she is precious (of course).

You can read all about the day she arrived HERE. 

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I hope that this weekend has some rain-free moments so we can get more outside work done for our big 4th of July party that is coming SOONER than we will be ready for! (Wow, that was one big long sentence..just picture it coming out of my mouth fast and out of breath....because that is how my brain and body are functioning right now!) Happy Friday!

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

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