Welcome to July. I'm still recovering from Kurt's recent absence and am still trying to catch up. There was a time (many years ago) when summer was a time to relax and catch up. I'm pretty sure those days are over now that we have kids and chickens. Now, I'm plotting and planning for September when I can resume my short naps and catch up (about 2 years worth of scrap booking).

At the beginning of June, the girls and I began attending the farmers market in Greensburg. We've had to take the last few weeks off - Natalie was sick one Saturday and there was a t-ball tournament last week (wouldn't have missed that for anything). Looking forward to being back this week.

A big thank you to everyone who has been so understanding as we've waited to restock our hamburger. We're still learning how to manage inventory. I'm headed to McPherson this week to pick up several hundred pounds of hamburger - let me know if you need some. Please note our hamburger is now $4.00/pound.

At the beginning of the month, Kurt and several of our neighbors worked our calves. Kurt worked much harder that day than I did but Natalie and I did our part and made sure the men were well fed and watered.

The pullets are now in their new house (the Egg Sled II) and they have adjusted nicely. The chickens range during the day and we shut them up at night to protect them from predation. Currently, there are 125 young pullets that should start laying in mid to late September. Our older layers are still doing a good job although they have dropped off a little with the 100+ degree weather. Can't blame them, I don't want to do much in the heat either.

In addition to the laying hens, broilers keep showing up. Currently, we have 250 broilers on the farm - another 100 just showed up today. They were kind of a surprise, I'm embarrassed to say. I knew we had more chicks coming but I was pretty sure we had another week. I'll watch the calendar a little more closely the rest of the summer. Our first processing date will be July 30th. We still have some broilers available for that date but they're starting to go fast. Our next dates will be mid-August and the end of August. If you'd like some reserved, please let me know.

Dale Family Farms is engaged in a new learning experience. About 2 weeks ago, Kurt, Natalie and Anna went to pick up our 12 pigs. They're different sizes so we can stagger processing. We've enjoyed watching them. Pigs are very curious and love weeds. Now that the pigs are comfortable in their pen, Kurt has opened up an area in the trees. They love the weeds and we're hoping they'll take care of some of the underbrush and elm sprouts. This fall we hope to use them as mini plows in the garden before we mulch it for the winter.

Last week, several of the animals went on a short field trip to church. It was Vacation Bible School week and the leaders wanted a small petting zoo. We took Allison's 2 goats, the bucket calf, and 2 chickens plus a neighbor took in a horse for rides. The kids loved interacting with the animals and the bucket calf came home with a very full belly - Kurt let several of the kids feed it that morning.

Our garden is starting to produce - not quite what I planned but we're starting to bring veggies in for meals. I learned a lot about onions, lettuce and potatoes and hope to have a better crop next year. My zucchini plants are huge but not very many zucchini yet. Beans, okra, corn, pumpkins and cantaloupe will keep up hopping in a few weeks. And the tomatoes, oh the tomatoes. In a week or so, I'll be elbow deep in canning. I planted 30 some plants this year - expecting them to produce like they have in the past. What I didn't figure into the equation was my tending to them this spring. I've never cared for my tomatoes like this - there's never been the time in the past. Hmmm . . . . probably a life lesson there - the better we care for something, the more it thrives. Regardless of how well they've produced, the vegetables from our garden taste so much better than what I buy in the store. This was so true for the 7 strawberries we harvested. They were small but incredibly sweet. I hope to have a real strawberry patch in a few years. Any good tips out there?

As I write, we are headed to our last baseball game of the season (whew). Both Allison and Natalie have played ball this summer. Allison - coach pitch and Natalie t-ball. They have both really enjoyed it but with 4 games (2 nights a week) and a couple of practices a week, I'm ready for a regular meal at the table in the evenings. (Update: Allison's team won - they went 9-1 for the season - and won the league championship game. Sorry, just had to toot her horn a little.)

Last week, Kurt went to football camp with the high school football team (he's the assistant coach). They went to Northwest Missouri State (NE of Kansas City) and other than some minor, ok, major car troubles with our suburban (we're very thankful for the good friend who helped out), they had a good weekend. However, while Kurt was gone, I worked hard. Not only was I in charge of the kids and ballgames, etc., I also got to chore for Kurt. He assured me it never takes him more that an hour total a day to take care of chores around the farm (watering and feeding the livestock). Ok, there's a few variables he forgot to take into account: 1)he knows what he's doing since this is part of his routine, 2)while I can pick up Anna, Natalie or Allison, it's NOT the same as lifting and emptying a 50#bag of feed, 3) he gets to do chores unencumbered - i.e. without children helping or hollering for his help, and 4) did I say, he knows what he's doing. For the most part we fared pretty well, if you don't take into account the rogue snake under the brooder, the pick-up that I was planning on using that was unavailable and the very short nights I had. Thankfully, a good friend of mine came down to help out and proved to be invaluable at diffusing panic - mostly when I discovered the 5 FOOT LONG SNAKE. Most importantly, she was another adult and provided backup and sanity when I most needed it - everyone needs a friend like this.

This week we're starting to prepare for the fair which begins in a little over a week. Allison will be showing her goats and entering photographs and muffins. Natalie is gone to my mom's so we'll visit this weekend and then make some plans.

We are also starting to prepare for another Tips and Tastes part in August in the Olathe area. It's such a good opportunity to visit with customers and give them a chance to sample our products.

Quick family updates:

Allison: She's recovering from a busy month. Two camps, one visit to Grandma Billie's and baseball. She's looking forward to sleeping in a few mornings this month.

Natalie: Had a great time playing t-ball and doing gymnastics. However, when asked if she will play t-ball next year, Natalie will tell you, "probably not - my back gets too sweaty in ready position."

Anna: She also enjoyed gymnastics. I never enrolled the bigger girls in anything this young but Anna was copying everything Natalie was doing. I thought we'd try the 6 sessions this summer and see what happened. Anna and her sisters have been playing gymnastics in the basement - it keeps the floor picked up. Other big news for Anna - she's almost (I use that word expectantly) potty trained.

Kurt: He's been busy with livestock, hay and football. We're looking forward to cooler evenings (hopefully) where we can sit and visit on the porch again.

Me: Most of my time this month has been spent making sure everyone is packed for ballgames, camp or other adventures as well as making sure everyone arrives at said activities on time. Ok, that might be a slight exaggeration and it's been time well spent. I have managed to read a few books.

Hope your July isn't a scorcher.

Andi

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