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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! :) 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!
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 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! 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 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.
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! 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!
Our new house – can you see it? OK, I know I am asking for some imagination but eventually it will be beautiful! We have been talking about staking the house site and we did it. It overlooks the vineyard and eventually (Lord willing) will be surrounded by vineyard as we expand. If you look carefully, you can see 4 white arrows pointing to the stakes at the 4 corners of what will be our new house. Think Italy, Tuscany, wine country with rolling hills – maybe forget the hills since there are none here – quaint, picturesque, you get the picture. If all goes according to plan (and they are always subject to change) the house will be one story with basement, stucco and have a metal roof which looks like terra-cotta tile. I think for landscaping we will use cactuses (since I won’t have to water them!) surrounded by pebbles. For now, the plan for the house is to begin digging and building the basement. It will be a walk-out basement, meaning that three sides will be covered with dirt leaving only one side exposed. I never thought I would be so excited about living like a mole. When completed, the basement will be slightly bigger than the house we rent now. Once the house in Alabama sells, we will finish the upstairs.
This will be the view from the front porch once the whole house is completed. Now, in winter the look is so different than what it will be in the summer. Though the vines have no foliage and are bare-looking, they have their own beauty even now. Once we expand 10 more acres, the vineyard will be up to the house. Just to be on our own property, so close to the vineyard is exciting to plan towards. Even if it does mean living like a mole for now!!!! Wow! Have we had a day of snow! It started this morning and has continued throughout the day. We have gotten at least 4 inches and as you can see from the pictures below, it has been met with mixed emotion. Everything is white and the roads are slick because it has not gotten above freezing all day! I am thankful for a warm house. The children had a ball making a snowman! All helped but the others had gone inside by picture time. Only these diehards are left out in the cold and they are still smiling!
The dogs did not want to get off the porch even though it was wet and muddy from the children going in and out!
The chickens very carefully picked their way thru the white stuff. As cold as it has been today, we have still gotten plenty of eggs!.
Even Buttercup seemed in awe as she stands in the snow with it coming down around her. She has a “cow palace” to go into but she seems to enjoy the snow!
Resolutions – have you forgotten? Here we are in 2010, January is gone and February is here! How are you doing with your new year’s Resolutions or re-commitments? As you may remember, I shared my resolutions in Looking Forward. To be quite honest, I am having varying degrees of success with these. Things I have no control over:
Resolutions or things I do control:
What about you? How are doing with any resolutions or recommitments you made? Leave a comment and let’s hear it: confessions, bragging, needing encouragement…
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God has amazingly blessed me, Dina-Marie, with a wonderful husband and 10 beautiful children. Moving from our "secure" life in Alabama to the "exciting" life of starting a vineyard in west Texas has been challenging to say the least. I have had the opportunity to take a crash course in frugal living and become a real farm girl - complete with milk cow and chickens. I have learned the importance of health from the inside out, "traditional" cooking and cod liver oil! I hope to encourage you to make the most of where you are and what you have. 
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So, when she did not deliver in June, we figured the neighbor’s bull was the father of the calf.
My husband and children are so encouraging – it makes me want to play better so I can join in the fun and play with them. They especially enjoy playing gospel and bluegrass together.