Choose Blue, For Goodness' Sake!
A black Lab named Edmond seems mighty interested in the Taste of Home magazine newly arrived by mail.
(These pictures were snapped last winter while I was mulching blueberry rows. Edmond joined me in taking a quick break to look at the mail.)
Posted in Pictures of our Farm, Work Around the Farm.
– January 27, 2012
We have one blue, metal water bottle that was left here during blueberry season…so if you recognize it, please let us know using the “Contact Us” form above so we can arrange to get it back to you. 
Posted in Lost and Found.
– August 9, 2011
So very delicious,
Extremely nutritious,
With a dark shade and hue
Of the juiciest blue;
Grown in big bunches—
Oh, perfect for lunches!—
You will try one and find
That there is no better kind,
So make sure to come
And pick yourself some,
Or they might disappear
Before you can come near!
–by Katie D., a devoted fan of Lost Branch blueberries
Posted in Blueberry picking, Pictures of our Farm.
– June 25, 2011
Blueberry blossoms just before opening.
“The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness therof,
the world and those who dwell therin”
~Psalm 24:1
A beautiful enemy to the blueberry bushes—The Dandelion.
Rascal the Cat.
Posted in Pictures of our Farm.
– April 27, 2011
Here is our latest method for beating the weeds: a weed burner.
Just wave the deadly flame for several seconds over the offending plant, and it supposedly sizzles the life out of it. Death takes place gradually however…results are not immediately obvious.
Warning: Care must be taken not to burn things you do not wish to burn. (Such as a blueberry bush, your irrigation drip-line, or your shoe.) You must use extreme caution around dry mulch or sawdust or you may have a smoldering fire on your hands.
Posted in Pictures of our Farm, Work Around the Farm.
– April 19, 2011
Last Saturday most of our family pitched in for the entire day in an effort to squelch the rapidly sprouting weeds, which rear their ugly heads each spring far too soon for comfort.
Prevention is by far the best method of defeating this somewhat incorrigible enemy of the berry bushes. In years past, partially-composted fine sawdust has been the preventive mulch of choice. Late last year, however, the lumber company deposited something new by accident, and after working with it, we think it could be an improvement on the old stuff. The pros? The new product is much less finely chopped, therefore we hope it will last longer. Also, it will be more resistant to forming a crispy outer crust, which the finer sawdust eventually does and which prevents both precipitation and helpful elements (such as lime or sulfur used in amending soil) from penetrating down to the roots of the blueberry plants.
The only negative aspect to the new product that we have noticed so far is that it is a bit more difficult to handle. Instead of a shovel, we need to use a pitchfork to load and unload. It doesn’t go on quite as smoothly as the sawdust did, therefore it is more tricky to get a thick, even layer on the rows. In my experience, it is necessary to put down a layer at least 6-8 inches thick for good weed prevention.
We were thankful to the Lord for nice weather on Saturday to accomplish quite a lot of work. During the first part of the morning, Karise and I worked at it together…until I got the idea to start taking pictures and then I suppose it was mainly just Karise for awhile. 
Then she snapped a few pics of me, as well. 
Later on, Grant and Daddy shoveled while I drove. When Karise wasn’t checking on the sheep (latest lamb count: 81), she was inside making what turned out to be a very delicious supper of won-ton soup and stir-fried beef-and-broccoli. (Chefs are just as important on work days as are the ones out in the hot sun! There’s nothing like enjoying an exquisite and delectable sit-down meal after a hard day’s work.)
Here’s an unrelated but very cute picture of our nearly 7-year-old Lab, Mercedes.
Posted in Family Doings, Pictures of our Farm, Work Around the Farm.
– April 11, 2011
Of the sheep population, that is. Since about two weeks ago, we have acquired seventy-two new members of the farm…complete with three sets of live triplets!
Two weeks ago we were on a week-long trip to Orlando, FL. to attend a conference. During the course of this vacation we found out from our neighbor (who kindly undertook to take care of our animals) that there were lambs coming on the scene. By the time we arrived home, there were over twenty!
Being gone during the beginning of lambing afforded the perfect opportunity to try a method of lambing we had wanted to implement this year anyway–more of a hands-off arrangement without constantly moving the new mothers into lambing pens after birthing for special care. Sometimes I still put a ewe into a pen with her lambs if I think they need bonding time. Only about six more ewes to lamb and we will be set to go for the year!
When I feed the ewes in the late afternoon or evening the “youth group” loves to frolic.
Their chaperone looks on, unamused.
Who could resist taking a picture of this ADORABLE face?
Playtime.
Some of my favorites, one of the triplet sets–would you care for dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or vanilla?
A very new lamb.
On another note, last weekend we finally finished pruning the blueberry bushes for this year! Cheers! If you had traveled down Lost Branch Way Saturday evening between eight-thirty and nine, you might have seen a very odd sight: Two pruners rushing to finish the last of the bushes by the illumination of the truck’s headlights. Unfortunately, we did not document that with a picture, but the one below is from earlier this year–Daddy instructing us about pruning.
Below are Daddy and Grant fertilizing the bushes last Saturday, which was a gorgeous day perfect for working outside.
The buds are starting to swell…not too long from now we should have a beautiful field of white blossoms!
Posted in Pictures of our Farm, Work Around the Farm.
– April 8, 2011
For one thing, not too long ago we sold the rest our Katahdin lambs from last year!! Here are some of them ready to leave in January, although these were not the last to go.
A couple pictures of the ever-present donkeys.
Not too flattering, Jessie, but kinda amusing.
Blueberry plants in the snow.
And shortly after that, in early February, we got a REALLY big snow…at least, for us. Northerners would probably laugh. But as young northeast-Missourians who haven’t seen much deep snow in our area, we thought this drift outside our front door was amazing!
The dogs analyzing the situation.
Posted in Farm Animals, Pictures of our Farm.
– April 5, 2011
Since there isn’t a whole lot exciting going on as far as the farm goes at this time of year, I thought you all might like to see a few pictures of our trip to the Grand Canyon this September. It was a completely awesome trip and we even made it clear out to California to spend a little time with some of our wonderful family out there. Yep, it was a LOT of time in the car, because we drove all the way out and back…in our old Buick, no less. Some of us were more than a bit nervous as to whether our car could make it back in one piece, especially over the mountains. But the Lord really blessed us with safety and a great time. So, without further ado, here is a sample of the many pictures we took of the Grand Canyon.
To begin with, we rode the bus around a lot during the first day (we spent two days at the Canyon). This was very convenient and nice, but at times crowded.
Wow! Awesome is the only word to describe it, and pictures DEFINITELY can’t get it across. You lose perspective looking at it because the proportions are so vast. Unfortunately, this probably makes for not realizing what imminent danger you could be in on the trails…but more on that later.
After a while, we decided to venture a ways down the Bright Angel Trail. Our first moments on it were quite exhilarating. There’s nothing like knowing you could accidentally fall down a huge precipice! If you are afraid of heights, this is most certainly not the place for you. No guard rails and spectacular views…it was amazing!
The next day, since the Bright Angel Trail was such a big hit, we determined to try the South Kaibab Trail, which was even better–more steep, and more treacherous.
Daddy and Grant get ahead of us on the trail, making for a cool picture.
Mother and Abriana in front of a scenic drop-off. They were convinced I was taking pictures on the trail at the risk of life and limb. :)
Trailblazers!
Unfortunately, we didn’t have time or energy to go clear to the bottom and come back up, so when we approached this large boulder (which partly overhung the edge) was about the time we turned around to head back up the trail. Grant found that it was an excellent seat and vantage point for a view.
“Grant, will you PLEASE come down from there? The agreement was for you to stay on the PATH!”
And a few other random pictures…
We got to see a sunset as we ate supper. A bunch of people were taking pictures of the sunset, but it was a quiet atmosphere even with all the people. A few dedicated photographers really DID appear to be risking life and limb.
Daddy enjoying the view.
A fabulous time had by all!
Posted in Family Doings, Other Pictures.
– January 18, 2011
This post comes a little late, but this spring we did plant about 300 asparagus plants, hoping that when they get established (about 3 years) we will be able to offer U-pick asparagus as well as the blueberries. If you’d like to read a little more about how the asparagus rows were plowed up, go here.
You have to prepare the rows by adding composted manure first, since the soil is so clay like around here. Here Grant is shoveling it into buckets to be transferred to the rows. That wagon, by the way, is our most invaluable farm tool! (At least, I personally think it is one of them). We really can’t get along with out it! It has hauled dozens and dozens of loads of saw dust and absolutely everything else that needs to be taken from one place to another! Recently, however, I fear it is beginning to show serious signs of aging.
I, knowing virtually nothing about how asparagus works except that we had a very poor patch of it in the garden, did not realize that we would be planting many spider-like roots instead of real plants. Most of the roots thankfully sprouted into wispy green plants not too long after these pictures were taken.
Posted in Asparagus, Pictures of our Farm, Work Around the Farm.
– September 10, 2010
