Organic Farm

Aunt Bethany holding Isaac. Big sisters Lyla and Kinley close by.

Just down the road from the home-place, our Mennonite neighbor has an organic farm. He puts a lot of effort into raising livestock in a healthy, natural way.

My 2nd daughter recently had her 4th child, a new baby boy. My 3rd daughter gave a helping hand by taking her nieces and nephew on a field trip to the organic farm. Aunt Bethany asked if I wanted to come along.

Grandpa and the new baby boy, Leo. (middle name, Thomas)

Our neighbor raises a type of sheep that shed their own wool. They are a meat type and don't need to be sheered like most sheep. He also raises cattle and chickens.

 Yes, there is a lama in with the sheep. Lamas are very aggressive and are often kept with sheep as a "watch dog." They will chase off coyotes and dogs that may otherwise chase or kill sheep.

 In the picture below you can see a portable chicken shed. If you look really close you can see free range chickens near their portable home.

 We had fun visiting our neighbor's organic farm and bought a few frozen chickens and a couple of steaks. My grandchildren said good-bye to the cattle and we headed to a nearby Amish farm to pick up more fresh farm products. My grandchildren enjoyed talking with the Amish children. However, out of respect for Amish beliefs, we didn't take any pictures there. I stopped near the barn, where my Amish friend was milking a goat. We had a short chat while his children crowded around, visiting with Aunt Bethany and my grandchildren. This Amish family has a Chihuahua farm dog that was holding the other goats at bay, while one was being milked. He seemed so bold and confidant for his size. My Amish buddy finished milking and we were heading over toward the children, but we heard a terrible, "Yelp!" My friend said, "Oops, our little dog got too close to the geese!" I looked back just in time to see the poor little Chihuahua running away from a flock of geese.

Making Hay (the old way)

In this old photo you can see small square bales being hoisted up in to a hay mow. The man on the ground has the trip rope. When the hay bales are inside and close to where he wants them, he will pull his rope and drop the bales. This type of hay system was designed for loose hay and used that way from around 1890 until about 1950. In the 1950's everyone started using small square bales and found that they could continue using their "hay trolleys" to hoist those into the mow, six at a time.

(These pictures were loaned to me by a good friend named Jeff, he is one of the boys sitting on the tractor)

For years, horses pulled the hay hoist rope. In this picture a small tractor is being used. My wife remembers her grandmother driving an old pickup to pull the rope. She said that she used to ride on the tailgate much like these boys are riding along on the tractor. I had an opportunity to help a Mennonite farmer put up hay this way in the early 1980's. I know that many Amish farmers still use hay hoists to this day. Some Amish farmers still put up loose hay, including one of the families I bought draft horses from. I enjoyed watching them do things the way it was done around the turn of the last century.

We have a local resident that collects hay trolleys from all over the country. The Kalona Mennonite Historical Society held a meeting in this display barn a few weeks ago. I asked for permission to take some pictures and blog about it.

In the picture below you can see a few sets of "Iron Claw" hay forks. I still have an old set that were used on our home-place even though the big barn is gone.

There were many companies that made hay trolleys, and over the years each company made numerous models. Our local collector told us that he has over 300 distinct trolleys, and some duplicates.

I thought I would throw in this picture of me standing below a few of the old hay forks. This style was used for loose hay.

I've included a short excerpt from my novel, Under the Heavens. This is a short story that was told to me, by a good Amish friend, almost exactly as I put in in the book.

If you have a few minutes, check out this wonderful video by simply clicking on the words below.

  Hay Hoist Demo Link

Mennonite Carpenters

My old "horse barn" needed some help soon, or the roof was gonna fall in. I had been telling my brother-in-law that I wanted his crew to come do the work as soon as I could scrounge up the money.

My wife's granddad put up this corn-crib some 80 years ago and my dad-in-law plastered three sides after they stopped using it to store grain. That made it into a wind-tight and useful horse barn. This wooden side (pictured below) was starting to get really weathered. It didn't show from the road, so looks weren't the issue. However, I love this old building and wanted to save it.

You can see in the picture above, that the rafters were getting soft in places. These Mennonite-raised carpenters knew what they were doing and got us all fixed up. I think this barn will outlast me now!

You can see Karm and Coke were displaced for a few weeks, till the carpenters were done. There is a strand of electric fence keeping them out. They seemed to enjoy all the company they had while the crew was working (normally things are pretty quiet.)  I spent about a week with a magnet picking up nails before I let them back in this area. Sure hope I got them all!

My brother-in-law is way up top fixing the peak.

Dan put in a clear piece of siding, for a window to let in light.

Randy and Henry put in the final touches on my doors.

The whole place looks a lot better now, huh? (Rear view: above. From the road: below)

A special thank you to Randy, Dan and Henry.

You guys did a great job... and it was really fun having you around the home place!

(...by the way, this farm was Randy's home place when he was growing up.)

Christmas in Iowa

 It was a beautiful day to celebrate our family Christmas here in Iowa.

A snowstorm laid down the perfect background for our holiday festivities. We had a wonderful home-cooked meal (my wife grew up Mennonite and she can cook!) After we ate it was time to open the presents. My children all had some input into my novel "Under the Heavens" and they got their copies today.

After the gifts were opened we all headed into the barn for our annual reading of the Christmas story.

 My daughter read to us from Luke, Chapter 2

Karm and Coke ate hay, playing the part of animals in the nativity scene.
We have found this to be a meaningful tradition, something about being in a stable to read the story makes it seem so real.

Our grandchildren wanted to try out their new sleds and we all ended up having a great time watching and many of us took a turn at it too!

Our Old Homeplace

     There used to be a huge barn about were my horses are standing. When I first met my wife the barn was still there but it came down in the 80's

     This smaller barn is actually a corn crib my wife's grandpa built. It makes a great horse barn.


     My wife's grandparents moved onto this farm when they got married in 1918. Her grandmother was the 4th daughter in a family of 5. My mother-in-law was born in this very house in 1928, she was the 4th daughter in a family of 5. My wife grew up in this home and, you guessed it, she was the 4th daughter in a family of 5. It so happens we have 5 children and we like to tell our 4th daughter she is destined to take over when we move off the place, but she better have 5 children!                                    

     Our old windmill isn't in use anymore but if the wind catches it just right, it starts spinning again. I hired an elderly Amish man to climb up to the top and wire it so it couldn't spin. I was surprised when he got up there and I could see that the face of this windmill was taller than a man. After all the effort my Amish neighbor put into fixing my windmill, the very next wind storm it broke loose and went right back to work, spinning.  

My Neighbor's Barn

            I saw my neighbor pushing his bike down the road about ten miles from our place.  He had a flat tire, so we threw his bicycle in the bed of my faithful little S-10 pickup and hauled it home.  When I pulled in his drive and saw his barn up close, all I could say was, "Wow, can I take some pictures?"
          I am a big fan of old barns!  I love to look inside and imagine what life was like back in the old days.
          That is what I like about having Amish around... the old days are still alive and well on their farms!

           A lot of time was put into building these old structures.  Look at that foundation!  Most old barns in Iowa were built with native oak lumber; such hard wood you can't drive a nail in the beams.
(At least I can't)
           If you click on these pictures you will get a closer view.

           I love barns with a ramp access to the mow. Just imagine how many loads of hay were pulled up that ramp by teams of horses over the years.

           Back in the good old days this barn would have been hopping with activity around chore time. People and livestock probably hurried inside during cold winter snowstorms, or walked out of its doors at the perfect time of evening to see a beautiful sunset.  I bet this old barn could tell some great stories and a few romantic tales too.

    Check out my Facebook page,    https://www.facebook.com/AmishHorses   Look at my photo album named "Barns."

Fun on the Farm

 My Grandchildren love Karm and Coke!  Whenever they come out to the farm they always ask, "Can we feed the horses?"  Of course there is nothing that makes this old Grandpa happier than his grandchildren wanting to see the horses.  They aren't afraid of Karm and Coke which is great, but I want them to have a healthy respect of how big these horses are.  Both are gentle, friendly horses, but their shear size makes them dangerous if a person isn't cautious.  For example, don't let them accidentally step on your foot!  My oldest grandson Alex and I took a ride in the wagon last Sunday evening.
           Lyla was born a horse girl, she is pictured below riding our out-door rocking pony, blowing on dandelion seeds and taking a ride on Coke.

           Karm and Coke out in the pasture, you can see my manure spreader in the background.