Tassels

17 Jul

We were gone for a couple days and when I got back to the farm it looked like it had exploded! The hot weather has the corn growing so fast you can almost hear it. And as I drove home from hoeing the garden I saw a few tassels peeping out.

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The corn tassels are what pollinate the “silks” on the corn cobs that create the kernels. If you want to know more, here is a funny (but accurate) post about how corn pollination works from Dairy Carrie: http://dairycarrie.com/2013/07/17/corn-sex-with-photos/.

Our corn is raised for livestock feed to help keep the world supplied with delicious, nutritious beef!

God Bless You & American Agriculture,

Liz

[The Lord will create] a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain. – Isaiah 4:6

Day of Rest

10 Jul

I’ve been thinking this week about needing to take all of God’s commandments more seriously (see Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21). The one I neglect the most is keeping the Sabbath. This commandment was on my heart, and then my little girl got sick Saturday night and we took the Day of Rest very literally. I have no complaints.

Day of Rest

God Bless You & American Agriculture,

Liz

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. – Exodus 20:8-11

Wyoming Wildflowers

1 Jul

As my birthday gift, my incredibly busy farmer husband took an afternoon off to take Ella and I for a drive. We drove up to Esterbrook (a little community of summer cabins) and back around Laramie Peak. It was beautiful and we even found a little spot to have a picnic by a creek. It made me nostalgic for the summers I spent at my Grandpa’s cabin in the high elevations of southern Colorado.

Much to my delight, the wildflowers were blooming away! My mom gave me the book “Wildflowers of Wyoming” by Diantha and Jack States two years ago for my birthday and I finally put it to good use. This book is so great for a novice because it has a color guide in the front. I did my best to identify these flowers, but if anyone has more knowledge and sees that I’ve make a mistake (or has a more specific identification) feel free to comment and help us all learn!

And one more thing. Before any of you go teasing me about these being “weeds” not “flowers”, I get it. I’m a rancher’s granddaughter. Grandpa Jim would tell me that locoweed is a dangerous plant, not a pretty flower. But, my definition (as taught to me by my agroecology professor, Dr. Wilson) is “a plant out of place.” And these plants were right where I needed them to be to lift my spirits…so that’s no weed.

Beardtongue | The Farm Paparazzi

Beardtongue (Penstemon)

Bluebell | The Farm Paparazzi

Bluebell

Fleabane Daisy | The Farm Paparazzi

This one I wasn’t quite sure of…my best guess was fleabane daisy…

Nuttall's Evening Primrose | The Farm Paparazzi

Nuttall’s Evening Primrose

Common Harebell | The Farm Paparazzi

Common Harebell

Lambert's Locoweed | The Farm Paparazzi

Lambert’s Locoweed

Silvery Lupine | The Farm Paparazzi

Silvery Lupine

Wild Vetch | The Farm Paparazzi

Wild Vetch

Wild Rose | The Farm Paparazzi

Wild Rose

Wild Geranium | The Farm Paparazzi

Wild Geranium

Richardson's Geranium | The Farm Paparazzi

Richardson’s Geranium

Indian Paintbrush | The Farm Paparazzi

Indian Paintbrush

But the best flowers I saw on the entire trip were these beautiful gifts from God!

Ella and Black Eyed Susans | The Farm Paparazzi

Ella (holding Black Eyed Susans) and Tyler

God Bless You & American Agriculture,

Liz

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” – Isaiah 40:8

Back to Blogging…I Hope

25 Jun

Here it goes. Another attempt at blogging. I’ve never been consistent, mostly because I didn’t want blogging to feel like a chore. But the last 18 months have been consumed by motherhood and I’m only now consistently showering, let alone contributing to my hobbies.

Being the mother of a toddler makes you really evaluate how you spend your time. I’ve been thinking a lot about the “point” of blogging. Although I’m big on communicating, I’ve never been a huge fan of social media for my personal life. I could go down the rabbit hole of why…but I’ll spare you. I know you get it. Real life is just more, well, real.

The main reason I started the blog was to share our life on the farm. Because after reading the twelfth article of the day about how evil/wrong we farmers and ranchers are, you just get plain fed up with the misinformation, misunderstandings, and flat out lies. And although I have doubts about my ability to make a difference and doubts about subjecting myself to criticism, I’ve concluded that it is worthwhile and I should forge ahead. We all have a story to tell and this is ours.

I’m looking forward to reconnecting with friends and family who’ve been readers in the past. And I’m looking forward to making new connections. So, onward and upward!

God Bless You and American Agriculture,

Liz

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

Crawling Baby Photo Shoot

17 Oct

Each month I do a little photo session with Ella to mark her growth and progress. It’s what any good Pinterest mom would do.

In all seriousness, I just enjoy the creative outlet and it’s fun to brag about my kiddo.

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The quilt was made by my Great Grandmother Helen and finished by my Aunt Mary. It’s called Pussy Willows. Adorable, right?

Ella has been very compliant (for the most part) as we do these photo sessions. But, three days after she turned 9 months old, she started crawling. It’s exciting and wonderful, but not conducive to these photo shoots. Allow me to demonstrate.

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I was laughing so hard and Ella was moving so fast that most of the images are a blur.

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I kept trying.

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And trying.

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But Ella got the better of me each time. I think it may be foreshadowing of our future battles.

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We’ll see how the 10 month update goes.

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God Bless You & American Agriculture,

Liz

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;his faithfulness continues through all generations. – Psalm 100:5

 

Back to Blogging and Free Giveaway!

30 Sep

As any blogger knows, it’s so fun to tell our stories, but sometimes we just don’t have time to devote to writing. Having our first child this year has been the best, most amazing, most fun and hardest, life-changing thing I’ve ever done. So blogging isn’t really a top priority – even though I love sharing our farm life with you.

I can’t promise I’ll be able to blog very regularly in the near future, but I do have a fun giveaway to do, so that’s good enough reason to dust off my typing fingers!

The Denver Rescue Mission’s Harvest Farm has generously donated 4 tickets to the 14th Annual Fall Festival & Corn Maze for me to giveaway! I’ve never been, but you can bet I’m going this year. I’m already imaging the fall fun we’ll have with Miss Ella!

The Harvest Farm Fall Festival & Corn Maze opens tomorrow (Oct. 1) and runs through Oct. 30. It is located at 4240 East County Rd. 66 in Wellington, Colo. (Exit 278 from I-25). It’s open Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. and Sundays from Noon – 6 p.m.

Attractions include the corn maze, hay wagon rides, pig races, petting zoo, kettle corn, pumpkin junction and lots more! Visit their website to see special weekly events and learn more!

The best part about attending is you are supporting Harvest Farm, a 209-acre farm and rehabilitation center for men, with the goal of breaking the cycles of addiction and homelessness. Harvest Farm works in partnership with Fort Collins Rescue Mission, and both operate under the umbrella of Denver Rescue Mission.

So, enter to win by commenting on this blog post and telling me your favorite part about Fall! Giveaway ends Wednesday, Oct 5 at Noon. One entry per person.

God Bless You & American Agriculture,

Liz

God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. – Hebrews 6:10

Ella Goes to Work

16 Apr

Ella has been getting an introduction into what Mama and Daddy do – besides being her parents, of course.

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First, Ella got a crash course in magazine layout as I put together the Spring 2016 issue of CowCountry: The Official Magazine of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association.

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Ella decided InDesign and Photoshop weren’t that interesting.

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Then we took our first tractor ride with Daddy while he did some strip tilling. This was WAY more interesting. She loved looking at everything work and listening to the new sounds.

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We are so glad to be raising our daughter around farming. It’s a wonderful lifestyle and an important part of our world’s economy. Around 97 percent of American farms are family owned and we’re proud to be one of those families.

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God Bless You & American Agriculture,

Liz

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. – Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)

 

Introducing Rozella

7 Feb

Biirth Announcement_Page_1Biirth Announcement_Page_2

Photography by Leah Yetter (check out her Uprooted Magnolia blog: https://leahyetter.wordpress.com/)

Brewery Tour: Where Our Malt Barley Turns into Beer

22 Dec

 

Malt Barley Harvest 2014 | The Farm Paparazzi

Malt barley harvest on T&L Farms

Last summer we arranged a tour of the MillerCoors brewery in Golden, Colo. As contracted malt barley growers, we got the special treatment.

MillerCoors Tour | The Farm Paparazzi

Our tour group consisted of Tyler and I, my mom Amy, dad Steve, brother Ben, Tyler’s mom Kim, her husband Bill, and Tyler’s Great Uncle Harry, and Great Aunt Veletia. Veletia put together a detailed, very informative slideshow of the trip, the company’s history, and the brewing process here. It’s a fun read with great photos!

MillerCoors Tour | The Farm Paparazzi

During Prohibition, the company diversified by making ceramics and other malted products.

We learned a lot about how beer is brewed in mass quantity. It was fun to see the final leg in our barley’s existence. Now I’ve seen it go from field to cup!

Malt Barley Harvest 2014 | The Farm Paparazzi

Barley growing on T&L Farms

MillerCoors Tour | The Farm Paparazzi

I’d never seen hops in person before. Have you? They had it growing outside the brewery, and had some of it to touch on the way into the facility.

MillerCoors Tour | The Farm Paparazzi

MillerCoors Tour | The Farm Paparazzi

We saw what the barley goes through before other ingredients are added.

MillerCoors Tour | The Farm Paparazzi

Steeping tanks. The barley is soaked twice before it is germinated.

MillerCoors Tour | The Farm Paparazzi

Germinated barley. This must be done before the grain is suitable for brewing.

MillerCoors Tour | The Farm Paparazzi

Kilning or roasting is done to get the barley just right for different types of beer.

MillerCoors Tour | The Farm Paparazzi

Kilning or roasting before the barley is sent to the brewing process.

This was the best smelling place. The barley goes through the brewing process where other ingredients are introduced. Veletia’s slideshow really has a great explanation of the details.

MillerCoors Tour | The Farm Paparazzi

MillerCoors Tour | The Farm Paparazzi

The finished beer goes through quality control. It’s all more scientific than I ever imagined beer brewing would entail.

MillerCoors Tour | The Farm Paparazzi

We also got to see the product being packaged on site. Look at that sea of cans.

MillerCoors Tour | The Farm Paparazzi

And, of course, we got to taste test some of the product. Was a fun time had by all!

MillerCoors Tour | The Farm Paparazzi

 

“Let a man walk ten miles steadily on a hot summer’s day along a dusty English road, and he will soon discover why beer was invented.” – Gilbert K Chesterton.

God Bless You & American Agriculture,

Liz

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. – Hebrews 10:25

 

Learning About Corn

14 Dec

Corn can sound like such a mundane topic, but its genetic evolution and impact on the world around us is actually quite fascinating! Recently, my farmer husband ran across two pretty interesting pieces of learning material about corn.

The first is Discovery Channel’s How Stuff Works episode on corn.

It’s about 43 minutes long, so hunker down with a bowl of popcorn and watch this fun overview of the crop and how it affects the world.

The second is from the University of Utah and describes the evolution of corn genetics from a primitive plant to a domesticated crop.

So, now that I’ve completely “nerded out” on you, hopefully you’ll find some of the information as interesting as we did! And, always remember, if you want to know about how corn is grown, be sure to talk to a farmer near you. They are the professionals on the ground, after all.

Mother Nature's Pop Science Guide to Corn [Infographic]

God Bless You and American Agriculture,

Liz

Intelligent people are always ready to learn. Their ears are open for knowledge. – Proverbs 18:15 (NLT)

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