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! 

Obsessed Much? Mondays: A new summer-time series

Mondays are a bit of a bitter-sweet pill to swallow. And even though it is summer, they are still hard. Sundays are family days, and really the only day we have Daddy home...the life of a construction man!

 I am starting a little summertime series here on the blog called 

There are so many things that I obsess over...and I can just here my teenage daughters say, "Obsessed much, mom?" These are fun things that I either obsess over at home , while shopping, eating, crafting, etc.

To start things off...this week (actually, EVERY week), I am OBSESSED with:   COWS

{my favorites: Clover and Carly Jo}

This was a NO-BRAINER for anyone who knows me. You all know how OBSESSED I am of my cows. My Instagram feed is full of pictures of Carly Jo and all our other cattle here at Irishman Acres! 

Growing up in a bigger city, and even have lived here in the country for most of our marriage, I am still amazed by the beauty and personality of our cows. We do tend to spoil them....our vet has even teased us about probably giving our cows bottled water. (I wonder how expensive that would be?) 

I do know, that being around them, giving them attention, brushing them, giving them baths, keeps them extremely tame. 

Tame cattle are important when a vet comes for checkups

{Carly getting an ultrasound}

When they give birth, and are as tame as Carly, she doesn't mind me being right there taking pics and helping her baby stand! 

{minutes after giving birth}

Meet baby Carolina! She was born on Friday...and I got to witness it! This is Carly Jo's 4th calf, it is funny how she has had a heifer (girl) every other year. So we were hoping that this was a girl. 

{almost all clean and dry}

{trying to stand}

Shortly after being born, the calves try to stand up (with the Mama's help and encouragement). Carolina was having a tough time on the concrete in the barn...so I moved her outside. 

{so much easier outside}

{Mama's watchful eye}

I think that I stayed down there for about 2 hours watching this miracle and documenting this with my camera. 

{baby's first meal}

I know that many farmers just laugh at me when they find that I am totally obsessed with my cows...but these are more than just cows to us....they are our pets. 

And Carly Jo was the first farm animal that I have ever had to pleasure of loving...she was our bottle-fed baby, and has the personality of a puppy! 

{Carly- when she first came to live at Irishman Acres}

So, when people will ask "obessed much?", about our cows...I would answer YES! And so glad that I am! :) 

I think this will be a fun series every Monday..and hope you don't get too bored listening to the rambling of this Baileywife! It won't always be about our farm animals..I am a home-loving-obsessed-wanna-be-designer, so some weeks I'm sure it will be about home-y stuff. 

Linking up to: From the Farm Blog Hop