Dimes2Vines » farm

Catching Up!

Dina-Marie — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 22:08:53 +0000

Time leading up to and following harvest has certainly flown! We harvested the Roussanne, Montepulciano and Aglianico successfully and with much help from family and friends. Because of the extreme heat which causes problems with the harvester, harvesting began anywhere from 10pm to 3am. Before dawn there is an amazing beauty in the vineyard. Lit up by the harvester, with the stars shining overhead, it is an atmosphere made for romantics!

Given the hard winter, unusually high summer temperatures and drought, we had very good yields. Praise the Lord for His provision!

Although we began work on the house as soon as the vineyard work slowed, we still found time to glean the vines for our own wine-making fruit! Remember the “I Love Lucy” show when she and Ethel stomped the grapes with their feet? Well, everyone got in on the action:

From children:

To grandchildren:

Everyone wanted their feet to be a part of it:

Note: Every pair of feet which stomped were properly cleaned and disinfected. However, according to our grape consultant, micronutrients provided, whatever the source, actually help the yeast!

If you remember, we had begun an insulated concrete form (ICF) house. Working on the house which overlooks the vineyard consumed our time once vineyard work was finished. Each morning we packed lunch and dinner to take with us. We even carried school work to the new house and studied in our bedroom which had become the makeshift dining room. Naps were taken in the boy’s bedroom on a rug with blankets. Doing all the work ourselves not only saved quite a bit of money, but has also provided many learning experiences, as well as, great memories.

During this period, I have had a very difficult time physically. My rheumatoid arthritis decided to rear its ugly head. It was aggravated by two plus days of texturing all the walls with sheet rock mud to give a stucco look. Anyway, I am excited about dietary changes that have made an amazing difference and look forward to sharing them with you in the new year.

We moved into the new house the weekend after Thanksgiving (I will be posting pictures soon). Slowly and surely, we are getting settled. Everyone is looking forward to our first Christmas here. Our traditional trim the tree party was a success and our tree appropriately trimmed!

Buttercup handled the move without a problem. The chickens on the other hand have dropped their egg production by half. Squiggles and now our new dog, Bob, are also glad to be here on a permanent basis and not have the 1/2 mile walk one way to work everyday!

Morning Milking

Dina-Marie — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 11:00:03 +0000

There are many benefits to having a family cow, among them being, the abundance of fresh milk and homemade cheese. Buttercup does require work, but I think everyone in the family (whether or not they admit it) agrees that the milk is worth it. In fact, we miss it when she is dried off (the period of time we stop milking so she has a rest) in preparation for calving.

Our milking schedule for Buttercup is 6am and 6pm. I admit that to get up and out at 6:00 in the morning to milk a cow can be a bit much. Even though we may get up that early, to HAVE to milk a cow can be a chore. To help with this, we have a rotation schedule in which two people at a time are responsible for milking and then it rotates to others.

One benefit of milking is that we are up and outside to see the sunrise. The sun is just rising as we finish milking and it can be gorgeous! Last week, our 18 year old son took this picture:

I was reminded of the verse in Jeremiah 32:17

Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You.

Puppies!

Dina-Marie — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 16:22:35 +0000

Puppies, beans, corn and peas … We have had an exciting couple of days around here!

The most exciting news first, our corgi, Sophie had her puppies – 3 tri colored boys and 1 red female. Born Wednesday, they are adorable and of course the children are thrilled. A couple of months ago, Sophie survived a coyote attack ( I am not sure who attacked whom) which really aged her. So, I am planning on keeping the red and white female. For now, we are contemplating names for her and Squiggles is in first place. At the present, there is no second or third place.

Sophie now has inside privileges again and is really enjoying all the attention. When she does leave, the box of puppies which is under a chair, is pulled out and examined. Sophie will never want for a puppy-sitter!

Earlier Wednesday, beans were picked. The same day, a friend blessed us with several plastic bags of corn. We shucked and cut the corn off the cob and creamed some. After the corn was done, we started snapping beans and did not finish until 12:30pm. The time went quickly with everyone working together. Of course, watching Oceans 11 helped too!

Some little people could not wait for the corn to be cooked and got right to eating. If you have never tried raw corn on the cob, it is really good.

Thursday was met with (in addition to vineyard work) peas to be picked and shelled.Whew, just relating all that has been done makes me tired! I am looking forward to a quieter weekend.

Watch Your Step!

Dina-Marie — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 19:22:16 +0000

Leaving the vineyard yesterday for lunch, our oldest daughter almost stepped on the snake in the picture! Thankfully, he (or she – I didn’t ask which) was not poisonous. But, I must admit, in my opinion, the only good snake is a dead one! We did not kill him because as some family members pointed out, they do have a purpose – they eat rodents like mice and rats – I would rather use a mouse trap! :)

Harvesting Rye

Dina-Marie — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:46:53 +0000

When we decided on a lifestyle change in 2007 and purchased land here in west Tx for a vineyard, 65 acres of it had been farmed in cotton. This had been done by the common practice of farming in a circle with an irrigation pivot in the center to water the crops. Because the orientation of the cotton rows were the same orientation which would be best for grape vines, we used the center of the circle to begin the vineyard. This orientation allows for the most sun exposure early in the day thus drying the leaves quickly and decreasing the opportunity for disease growth.

This year we planted the remainder of the circle ( about 45 acres) in rye as a cover crop. The purpose of a cover crop is to replenish the soil but also to hold the soil in the blowing wind. Last year, we had wind damage to our young, newly planted vines and did not want this to happen again! With the wet spring, it has done exceptionally well.

Thankfully, the rye was harvested before the rains began. A neighboring farmer has a combine which was used. The harvester is huge as you can see in relation to the man at the side! We took turns riding with the driver in the enclosed cab and were all equally impressed. From the front, you see the header which consists of first the sickle bar which cuts the grain, the reel which knocks it into the auger and finally, the auger which pushes it into the threshing mechanism. After threshing, the grain goes into the cleaning unit and then into the storage bin. Doing all this, no wonder the machine is so big!

The arm that you see out the back is used for unloading the grain once the storage bin of the harvester is full.

We are saving some for seed to plant in the fall and have tried grinding some in our grain mill. After all, if we can grow our own rye to grind and use, we would not only have more diversity in our diet, but also buy less wheat and therefore save money! We have good success with using the rye flour in baking. It has made great pancakes – both substituting a portion of the wheat flour and using only rye flour. For biscuits the rye worked best when used in conjunction with wheat.

I am not a fan of commercial rye bread, but, to be honest, fresh ground rye flour does not taste like store bought rye bread. It actually gives a slight ginger taste to recipes and remind me of ginger snaps!

Buttercup’s New Calf!

Dina-Marie — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 11:00:33 +0000

This has definitely been an exciting week around here with the flooding and now a new addition to the “family”! Buttercup, our family milk cow had a bull calf and thankfully, did it problem free. We knew she was close, in fact we thought she was overdue. In my zeal to keep our small house clutter free, I had thrown away last year’s calendar which had the dates of her heat cycle and the dates we took her to an Angus bull for mating! We were expecting a calf the first of June! But last year, the month after we had taken her to the bull, she broke out and found her way to a neighbors Angus bull! – she is such a social butterfly So, when she did not deliver in June, we figured the neighbor’s bull was the father of the calf.

We could tell from her behavior that she was ready but since last year’s calving had taken quite a while, we went inside to eat supper. We have definitely relaxed – last year we were all outside in lawn chairs moving around the yard as Buttercup did, to watch her! We must have been quite a site! With such an attentive audience, no wonder it took her so long to calve!

While the kitchen was being cleaned up, our 10 yr old went outside to check on her and was the first to see “Brownie”. Thus named because he is a light brown color! He had the bone structure of an Angus rather than the jersey breed. As soon as he could stand and take a few steps, he was trying to follow us around like he was ready to play. Buttercup was not too thrilled about this but she sure liked all the praise we lauded upon her!

Last year, Buttercup had problems delivering the placenta. So, we planned to leave the calf on her for a few days hoping it would help in the delivery of the placenta. This time, however, she delivered it the same night. Since she delivered the placenta, Brownie was having trouble latching on, and Buttercup was frantic when taken in to be milked (even with John holding him at her head during milking) we decided to separate them the next day. This proved to be a wonderful move – Buttercup is calmer and now easy to milk.

After some work getting Brownie to suck, he now eagerly takes his milk bottle. He flicks his tail like a happy little puppy while he eats. Buttercup is doing well and is increasing in milk production. Last year when she freshened we were getting 8 gallons a day (4 in the morning and 4 in the evening). Although the break from milking was very nice, not having milk for over a month has made everyone excited about it again!

A wonderful book to read if you are interested in a milk cow is “Keeping a Family Cow” by Joann S. Grohman. This is my authority on cows and she warns owners to beware of letting the cow eat the placenta. Although it is suppose to be good for them, there is a chance of choking. This is exactly what happened with Buttercup. We thought she was going to die in front of our eyes! How would you do the Heimlich maneuver on a 900 + pound cow? Thankfully, she managed to save herself because I sure did no know what to do!

Bees Swarming

Dina-Marie — Wed, 19 May 2010 15:04:09 +0000

Bees swarming! This is what was found one morning when we got the vineyard:

After investigating on the internet, we found that this is what happens when there are two queens. One leaves taking her following with her to a temporary location. The queen is in the middle of all the honey bees for protection.

Seven to ten scouts are then sent out to find a permanent location to build their hive. Upon returning, the scouts each try to convince the swarm that their location is the best. Once one has convinced the others that theirs is the better choice, they swarm to the new location and begin their new home.

The swarm stayed in the vineyard for three days before moving on.

Too bad we did not have a hive box for them – we could have had our own honey bees!

The Garden is Planted!

Dina-Marie — Tue, 18 May 2010 16:40:06 +0000

The garden is officially planted and it was definitely a family affair! It took us several hours on Sunday afternoon to complete but I am so excited to have it finished.

The garden spot is in the middle of the rye which has been planted as a cover crop – to hold the soil from blowing and to prevent the soil from washing. A while back, John laid irrigation drip tape (underground) where we wanted the rows to be. Last week a friend shredded the rye for us so, all that was left was to prepare the rows. First, using a tractor, John broke the rows which are 200 ft long.

We then smoothed the rows with rakes and made furrows. For the beans, peas and corn, we planted double rows – one on either side of the drip tape.

The tomatoes, squashes (summer yellow, zucchini, butternut and pumpkins) peppers (bell and jalapeños), cucumbers, watermelons and cantaloupes were planted in single rows. I will be adding some more tomato plants as well as some zinnias (they make such pretty cut flowers for the table and are so easy to grow!).

We have had a lot of rain this year so far and the ground is still quite moist. To help the seeds get started, we placed a soaker hose in the row to add more water. Now, we pray, wait and watch!

Below is a picture of the finished garden. You might wonder why we have all the buckets and milk cartons out in the garden. They are used to protect young plants from the west Texas wind! The buckets are protecting the peppers and eggplants. They will be left on for the duration of the summer. The milk cartons (blue) are protecting the tomato plants. Once we put up the trellising and the plants reach it and are taped to it for support, we will remove the cartons.

It’s 5:00 Somewhere!

Dina-Marie — Wed, 05 May 2010 11:00:37 +0000

What does 5:00 mean to you? To our chickens it means, time to get out of the chicken yard and out into the open range!

Pouring Concrete for the Slab!

Dina-Marie — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 15:43:45 +0000

Here are some pictures of the basement slab being poured. We ended up having 5 cement trucks come – which was very exciting for our little boys, the big ones too actually! OK, we were all excited about it!

Because the trucks were coming from 50 miles away, the slab was worked in sections. As the concrete was poured it was spread out over the plastic.

After spreading the concrete, it was leveled.

Once leveled, the men used a wire mesh tamper to cause the stones in the concrete mix to sink. This helps give a smoother surface to the finished slab.

After the surface had become dry enough, a whirlybird was used to finish the concrete to a smooth surface.

Needless to say, with a family our size, we had plenty of supervisors!

Here is the slab almost completed and we are waiting on one more truck!

Once sufficiently dried and the surface finished with the whirlybird, the slab was covered with plastic. This prevents the concrete from drying to quickly and allows it to cure slowly giving a stronger slab.

The walls will be next!