Garden Planting - Phase 1

Finally a nice afternoon to plant some of the garden... phase 1 includes

1.beans

1. Beans
2. Peas
3. Carrots
4. Beets
5. Radishes
6. Zucchini
7. Cucumber
8. Squash - winter and spaghetti 

Next up, corn and pumpkins in the other garden. Also will add tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, lettuce and a second round of beans soon.

Farming with Papa

One of the girls' favorite things to do it is ride with Papa - especially in the combine.  Well this time - it only took about 10 minutes and they both were sound asleep.

Still lots of fun!

Norm is back in action

With spring comes lots of lawn mowing so Ryan gave Norm a little tune up before his first run.  Blade sharpened and a bold fixed (not really sure about this one).  But Ryan said he ran like a champ!

Ryan's Tree Trimming Service

Thanks to voter's day Ryan got off Tuesday to vote and to make the most of it, he also took Monday off to get some work done around the property. 

He cut down and chopped up 6 trees and these were not small threes.  He also pulled all the plants out of the garden so it's ready to rototill for next year.  Hint Hint Dad!  We still don't have one of those. 

Then he also had himself a huge bonfire! 

Sugar Beet Harvest

Ryan and I ventured to Unionville for some sugar beet harvest, and I'm so glad we did.  It turned out to be a great weekend and we stayed until Sunday.  Friday night got to ride in the field in the dark which is always such a cool experience.  Then Saturday, we got up and headed back out to the field to ride.  Ryan rodes lots with Jason and then took his first trip to the factory. Took a break to go to Grandpa's for lunch with Aunt Judy and Uncle Larry - Aunt Judy made my fav casserole.  Then back out to help switch fields.  And then more riding! 

Saturday, Julie brought out dinner for everyone and then I left with her to go warm up and eat our dinner.  Ryan stayed out and got his first training in beeting tops.  He loved  it so much that he stayed out until 1:00 am until Mom got to go home. 

Sunday, morning we loaded up and then went out to the field to ride a bit and say good-bye.  Ryan got back in and did some topping and I rode with Dad, until the harvest blew a hydraulic hose.  Then I got to ride with Ryan in the beet and mom rode with Dad in the harvestor.  Mom took off to get parts and Ryan and I finished topping most of the field.  Then we took a truck back to the farm and hit the rode about 11:30.  A little later than planned, but I think Ryan found his new calling -farming!

God's Work

Tonight God painted one of the most beautiful skies over the wheat field.

I'm working on my photography skills well.  They need a little tuning up.

The Garden

The garden is looking good!!  Everything is up and growing nicely!  We have been giving it a little shot of water every couple days and can't wait until we can start eating things!

Honeymoon Weekend

Ryan and I decided to do a honeymoon weekend at home and just relax and enjoy being married.  Well we accomplished that.  Friday, we took the day off.  Dad came down in the morning to deliver Norm (who had gotten fixed up) and then to take back his gator.... we were secretly hoping he'd forget about it, but he didn't.  We also got to take Dad out to lunch for sushi.  Great lunch!  Ryan and I then ran some errands - got our joint checking account set-up and changed my name at Chase.  Made some returns to Target and Home Depot.  Then headed to Milan to check out this meat market someone told Ryan about and it was a find!  We got some amazing western potato brat, hot Italian sausage brat, and a chicken and spinach and feta chicken brat.  So yummy!!  We also bought some bacon that was a good 1/4 inch thick and a couple rib eye steaks.  After we left there, we went to Original Gravity so Ryan could enjoy a beer :-)

Saturday, we hit the road about 10:30 for a road trip to antique.  Yes, definitely my idea, but Ryan was game.  We stopped in Jonesville quick and got to see Karle play softball and return a few items left from the wedding. And we were off to Allen, the antique capital of Michigan or something like that.  Well we quickly realized that antiquing in Allen means old crap and sometimes not even that old crap that people don't want.  There was more tea cups, figurines, toys, shoes, clothes... I mean really!  There needs to be some standard for what qualifies as an antique.  We did have a great lunch at Outpost Grill and finally in our last stop, we found what I was looking for!  An old sewing table that matches the one we have. 

Then we headed back and decided to stop at all the places we say look really cool and wish we had more time to stop.  Well today we did! First stop, Cherry Creek Winery on US12... cute little place and okay wines... we did buy a bottle out of courtesy but probably won't go back.  Then for Ryan's highlight of the trip... Randy's BBQ!  And it was great!!  We have ribs, pulled pork and brisket.  Tasty!  We will definitely go back there.  Then a couple beers at Dan's in Clinton.  And finally back home for a little campfire... which didn't last too long as our friends Jason and Christy called and asked if we wanted to go to the OG for a couple beers... so off we went!

Sunday was a great day.  Beautiful morning for church and for planting our unity tree!  We picked our spot and started to dig (well Ryan did) and wouldn't you know it... right in the middle of our hole was the sprinkler line!  So we started digging again and moved the hole over just a little.  It looks great!

The garden is in!

It's official... RAD Farms has their first garden in.  A big thanks to mom and dad who came down today and brought their lawn mower and their rototiller.  They also brought us seeds, sweet corn, tomato plants and some onions.  So great!  I'm excited so see how everything turns out. 

Dad also brought a load of loose rocks to put around the drive where there were low spots to help improve it for the wedding.  Ryan did some string trimming and mowed Joey's kennel and got the grill hooked up in the garage and we used it for lunch.  Mary and I moved a bunch of the stuff from the wedding room out to the barn (you can almost see the carpet in there now).  Mom helped roll the rest of the programs so they are ready.  The kids played and ran through the sprinklers and kept us all entertained.  Ryan and I also finished hanging up the lights in the barn and plotted the strategy for the outside lights - and I think we have it!

Ryan and I also went and checked out a sound system to use for the wedding - left without buying it and hoping that we can get him to come down a little bit.  So we'll see where we end up. 

I think that's all... weather forecast for next Sunday.. sunny and 80!  Here's hoping!  I can't believe in one week I get to marry my perfect match!  Love him (especially since he's putting up with a slightly stressed out Abbey).

An unwelcome visitor

Saturday night Ryan and I are eating dinner out by the barn around 9:30 and I look up and see a very unwelcome visitor with a white stripe down it's back.  That's right!  A skunk!  So I hurried up and put Joey in the barn so there was no unexpected chores to do before the wedding - like clean a stinky dog.  The skunk stuck around for about 15 minutes, had himself a little dinner and then left, without spraying anything.  Guess this is another reason why Ryan needs a riffle!

The Barn is Ready!

With only 13 days until the wedding, the barn is ready!  Sunday morning, I headed off to church and Ryan tackled the outside area of the barn (the poison ivy area or at least where Ryan got it).  He dressed in long sleeves and went to work, pulling up vines, dugging out roots and when I got home from church it looked like this!

But this what he pulled out!

A huge improvement to what it was before (which of course I don't have a pictures of).  But then we put mulch down and planted a few left over hostas from Ryan's mom and tada!

Just wanted to share a before picture - this is what it looked like when we bought the house!



Crazy how much better it looks!

How much mulch?!

After 4 times back and forth from the landscape place in Saline, we finally had enough mulch for everything.  8 cubic yards!  Really?!  Our initial estimate was pretty low and everytime we went back, I said this should do it and Ryan said I don't think so.  Well he was always right.  Here's what the truck looked like everytime... I'm thinking a trailer might be in our future.  But I told Ryan we were never putting mulch down again.

But after a full day's work of mulching, it looks great and is now wedding ready!  Even though I'm not sure how much we'll be moving tomorrow. 

Check it out!

Of course, the day wouldn't be complete without some nastiness... while mulching Ryan found a poor bush covering and I mean literally covered in these nasty worms.  After mixing up some very concentrated bug spray and spraying them on the bush, the worms lost.  Thanks goodness!  And hopefully the bush will survive!  Multiply the worms in this picture by 100.. and that was maybe how many worms there were.

And of course we had some time for some fun pictures!  Our spring family picture and Farmer Ryan.



Sunday, Work Day

I think Sundays are one of my favorite days.  We wake up, go to church, have breakfast, usually go to Lowe's and then come home to work on the farm.  And today was just the same. 

We started by finishing up the barn - a little more painting and trim to put up.  I started move things out of the one bay for the wedding.  Then we started the more yard maintenance - fertilizing the shrubs in the front, pruning the roses, pulling weeds, cleaning up poop and mowing Joey's kennel.  Then it was time to light the BIG burn pile.  Holy fire we had going, but it's all gone.

We finished the night we some yummy tilapia and rice and Pirates of the Caribbean (the first one, since I've seen 2 of the newer ones).  3 weeks and counting!

Soccer, play date and barn work

If I have to say so myself, I had a great Saturday.  I spent the night at the Welden Hotel on Friday night and woke up to 2 of my favorite smiling faces.  We had breakfast and then off to soccer.  They played at the same time and right next to each other so I was able to watch both play, and they both did great. 

After soccer, I decided to kidnap the kids for the day so Mary could get a few things done.  So we packed up and headed to RAD Farms.  The kids painted signs for the wedding, rode the 4-wheeler, got to ride with Papa on the mule, watched a movie in the barn and rode their bikes.  When Mary came to get them, I think they were pretty pooped out and starting to break down.  But I did my job, get them nice and tired and sent them home.  Love those 2!

Dad also came down to spray the yard one more time before the wedding, which was much needed and you can already see a different (aka things dying).  I am truly blessed with an amazing dad. 

Ryan also made some major headway in the barn too.  He put up a rubber baseboard (which looks amazing), put up the trim around the door, added some support structure boards to the frame, and cleaned the window sills out.  I painted the doors in the barn and also the exterior trim around the doors and made some signs for the wedding.  The kids and I moved some plants around, and cleaned up some of the barn.

After a long days work, Ryan and I hunkered down on the couch with a Cinco de Mayo fiest and watched the Kentucky Derby that I had taped.  And I should have bet, because I picked the winning horse - I'll have another.  He was named that because his owner always said that when his wife asked if he wanted another cookie.  And you know me and cookies... I figured it was a sign.

A great Saturday!

The barn gets a face lift

The barn got itself a make over this weekend. I am happy to say that is is now ready for the wedding... well maybe not 100% ready, but I would say about 90% ready.

Saturday morning, we were up and at 'em. I stayed in the house and finished my chores, while Ryan headed to the barn to start moving stuff out of the barn.

Mission 1: cleaned everything out of the barn so we could sweep and clean because everything had concrete dust on it. This task took about an hour just getting everything moved out and swept. Next step, start start cleaning the walls. One word for that - NASTY! And I thought our house had tall ceilings, well I quickly realized that the barn is even taller... about 13 or 14! up and down the ladder, and up and down the ladder.

THE BEFORE PICTURES

 

While I scrubbed the walls, Ryan started working on the wall in the other bay. It needed some serious mudding before we could even paint it. He is one awesome mudder!

Mission 2: Go to Lowes and buy paint. What a process. Buy a color that might match the color already on the walls. Yeah, right! The color I bought that looked like the swatch I took it, only matched that spot, because the rest of the walls were so discolored that it was next to impossible. And then also buy a light gray color to paint the rest of the walls. After a long process, I decided on Gravity (which is a shade lighter than the gray in the basement) and Sawyer White.

Mission 3: Prime and Paint. Paint. Paint. Again with the 14 foot ceilings. So I started priming the blue stripe and the D. J. Wheeler & Son.

And got rid of that and then painted the wall white. I am going to put a custom paint job on it, but that will get revealed later. I also did my first cut in job without painter tape. Figured it was a good chance to do it, since it was only the barn. And I did it! Then 2 more walls I painted gray. The last wall became my nemesis. Pipes, tubes, furnaces, everything that needed to be painted around and between. But we finished it.

THE AFTER PICTURES

After Ryan finished mudding and sanding his wall, he primed it with Kilz and then painted it the same gray color. One coat and it looks awesome!!

Mission 4: Sit on the couch and veg out and try to not think about how sore we are. 2 days of up and down the ladder, reaching, stretching... oh my!

But mission accomplished! Check it out!