Any Farm

worth its salt has a "Bone Yard" or a parts store where pieces wait, sometimes for years, to be useful again.

They make great photo fodder.

Warm Watermelon

Was reading a great post at Wishes, Dreams & Other Things.  Ida mentioned how she didn't like watermelon.  I thought I was alone!  Glad to know a fellow watermelon disliker.

Mom said it was her fault I didn't like watermelon.  She told me how she was craving watermelon when she was pregnant with me.  It was late October in 1954 and Dad drove all over trying to find a watermelon in St Louis, Missouri.  Finally he found one, much to Mom's delight.  She cut it open immediately and began to eat.  Something was wrong with it and she became very ill.  Her conclusion was I didn't like watermelon because of that...an old wive's tale.

I never developed a love for this fruit/vegetable.  I kept trying.  I did love the watermelon seed spitting contests we had.

We grew our own watermelons.  Some, for what ever reason, might begin to end rot in the field.  As children part of our job was to find these melons and pick them for the pig and chickens to eat. Waste not, want not.  We discovered that the heart, which was still good, is mighty tasty on a warm summer day.  I remember busting a watermelon open in the field (a forbidden thing to happen with a good melon) and digging in with bare hands to reach the seedless portion.  The memory of sweet watermelon juice running down my arms as we ate with no manners sitting in the dirt still makes me smile.  This was the only time I enjoyed watermelon.  That and when we sold them because we were allowed to keep part of that money.

Thanks, Ida, for bringing that memory to the surface.

A Few Seconds

 running

 with

 Bonnie

 in

 the

 creek

 enjoying

 scent-sations

At The Farm

Joining Saturday's Critters with Eileen

Good Fences In The Country

On a back road

there's no telling what you might see.

This time of year 

there's always hay

farms

and water, if you're lucky.

Yep, all kinds of fences.

Sharing with Good Fences with

The Run*A*Round Report

The Sign

When we first moved to the farm we raised miniature horses.  My sister, Beverly, and I had cleaned and repaired the barn from one end to the other.  I gave tours to groups at no charge. I was just proud of what we had accomplished and wanted to share with the world.

During the repairs we found many pieces of our family history had been destroyed just by storing them so many years in a barn.  I took the pieces, and, yes, I knew the story for every piece and made a sign.  I had a piece of something that belonged to every member of the family generations past.

 I even had t-shirts made. Front

and back. (Raindrops on the shirt not stains)

After the tornado the barn and the sign (and many other things) had much damage.  This past month I tried to resurrect my sign.  Too much destroyed so I began anew.  Different pieces but the same purpose...to share the name we chose.

All that remained of the original sign was part of an F so I began there.

I gathered pieces of this and that and pieced them together to recreate my original sign.  It's not the same but we are labeled again.

Some may wonder why At The Farm.  Before we moved here someone would ask, Where's Dad? Where's Hubby?  At The Farm was always the answer so with my horses' registration I used At The Farm as the suffix instead of the standard prefix in a farm/ranch name.  

The first filly born here was Angel's Trumpet At The Farm and the first colt was named Walking Small At The Farm...see where I'm going besides in circles?

When my sister, Beverly, said I should blog the name came naturally...At The Farm.

Although we are no longer a horse ranch nor a cattle ranch the name remains mainly because of my blog.  Presenting the new old sign and it's new location...Ta daaaaa!

The Funny Farm

has asked, "Do you think sustainable farming is a reality in the 21st century?"  Amy, who I think has changed her blog name to Our Piece of Country Paradise is living the country dream.  She is new to blogdom so go on by and visit.

Amy, thanks for the hard question!  Will Rogers, in all his wisdom, said, "Behind every successful farmer, there is a wife who works in town."

Diversify, diversity is the key to success.  Many farms make a living by adding tours, crafts, farm products and other things.  Animals are sometimes a money maker but anything that eats does cost. 

I do think there is a place  in the 21st century and a need.  Small family farms are rare.  You need to work on being able to take care of your needs without outside sources and then expand to include the money maker plans.  What that is, will be up to you.

Farmers in the past have sold their products, eggs, milk, butter, animals and have made enough to buy the things they needed.  Bartering was common, in labor and in products.

Good luck and thanks for the really, really difficult question.

F Is For...

Fur and Feathers...

Frosty chairs...

Fur and firewood...

Furry felines...
Farm and family...

Flowers and Fauna...

Last, but not least, Friends...fine friends, funny friends, first friends, and flaky friends.