Brush strokes of the setting sun

We've had a really busy summer - as Becky described in an earlier post, we spent much of the summer getting roofing and siding repaired/replaced and installing new windows and doors on our house and outbuildings. We also had the treat of having Joel and TeeTee and their boys with us for the summer as they looked for a house in the area.

If we had a cottage, we would take time to "smell the roses". But having a farm, we enjoy the visual pleasures of the farm in the afternoon's fading sunlight instead. The golden rays are especially kind to the farm in the fall.

When we walk out of the garage, we look to the north between the barn and the corn crib. Becky's dad planted 20 maples about 25 years ago and we enjoy the colors they turn in the fall. The prairie grasses add their golden heads to the painting.

To the west the dogs and sheep look forward to the coming night. The Great Pyrenees dogs tend to rest/sleep for most of the day and then spend the night guarding the perimeter of their fenced in world. The coyotes howl in the night but are careful to stay away from the pasture that the dogs patrol.

The dogs and sheep have an enclosed shelter attached to the west end of the chicken house. I built a new Dutch door for the dogs and sheep (the bottom is open in the picture), so that the top could stay closed in the winter and the shelter would retain more of the day's heat. But I suspect that the sheep will be the ones who benefit most from the new construction. Even in the winter the dogs prefer the "comfort" of a snow drift over a warm bed of hay in a barn.

We had the natural prairie grasses in the filter strip mowed back in early July. But not to worry, their root systems are strong and established and they grew back quickly. The shadows of the corn in the west field are creeping across the field behind the grain bins and reaching for the "20 trees" from Becky's dad that I mentioned earlier.

The grain bins stand like sentinels of another world - a world of sowing and reaping, of tractors and combines and grain trucks. Beyond them the Illinois prairies stretch into the distance.

Some of the trees turn brilliant colors in the fall ...

... while others keep their green coloring until the leaves fall off and turn brown. You might think we'd be covered two feet deep in leaves, but the winds of fall pick them up and carry them off to enrich the fields with their compost.

We began the summer with a pair of ducks we had raised from ducklings. The female sat on a nest of eggs so long that we thought they must not be fertile ... but a few more days and a dozen ducklings later we knew that she had known what she was doing all along. We lost a couple of little ones along the way (to coyotes?) and gained an adult who flew in to join our flock, so now we have 5 drakes and 7 females. Some nights they spend in the chicken house, some nights in the creek. A couple of times a day they take to the air, flying their obligatory laps around the farm.

This year's crop on the acreage we lease out is corn. Harvest season is in full swing. We expect any day to see a combine rumbling through our field.

 The little white farm house "that could". The two story section on the west is from the late 1800's, the one story next to it from the 1970's and the sunroom on the east is one of our contributions from 2015. We wish we could have a reunion of all the people who have lived in the house. I'm sure there would be stories to tell!

By the time we've finished our walk around the farm, the sun has sunk lower and the shadows stretch their fingers far across the lawn. It's a good time to go inside, start a fire in the wood stove and pour a glass of apple cider from our own trees. We've lived in Germany and on both coasts in the US, but our favorite spot on earth is this little midwest farm that God has given us to call home ... and we're very grateful.

Good for another generation or two

Here on the farm we have 6 outbuildings (barns, garages, former corn crib, etc).  The "big barn" was here in 1916 when my grandparents moved in, although my grandfather added a significant portion to the front of it.  All the other buildings were built by my grandfather with the exception of the machine shed.  Buildings like these that are no longer used for their original purpose (no one having milk cows or storing corn on the cobs for shelling at some future time) usually fall into disrepair and fall down.  Driving around the countryside here there are so many barns in the last stages of collapse.  It's a sad sight but understandable - it is costly to keep large buildings in good repair and with no purpose for them, it's an expense most of us can't justify.  Metal "pole buildings" have replaced most barns and are used to house the farm equipment.  

Here on our farm we are fortunate that my parents kept the siding on our buildings in good repair after they bought the farm from my grandfather.  When it was our turn to take over the maintenance, we couldn't afford to have roofs put on them when they needed it so Pete spent many a hot summer day ripping old shingles off roofs and nailing new shingles on.  "Lose the roof, lose the building" was the old saying that kept us at it.  Eventually (when we got all the kids through college), we were able to start thinking about having some work done.  The big barn and old corn crib got metal siding and roofing a couple of years ago.  This summer, the old sheep barn and the old garage got roofed and sided.  There are two more buildings that will probably get some work done on them in the future.  But for now, the most important buildings are watertight and in good repair and should hold up for another generation or two.  They have new windows, too, thanks to Pete's ability to make new frames and windows fit existing openings!  We wanted to do our part to save the farm intact to pass on to the next generations.

Here's the old sheep barn before:

South of sheep barn, before

East view of sheep barn, before

And here it is today, with the new windows, roofing and siding.  One new door done, one in the works.

South view after

The old garage, which has beautiful tile on parts of the walls, has new siding and roofing, too.  I couldn't find a "before" picture but here's the "after".

There are still a few windows to replace in this garage but they are already here, awaiting installation.  

This is the completion of a major project on our "farm bucket list".  The buildings should be good for another generation or two.  I think my grandfather would be pleased and very surprised that his handiwork is looking so good, almost 100 years later.

Another chapter

The workers gather...

Fueled by coffee and donuts, the work is about to begin

Four trucks, three trailers, three SUVs and a Prius - and the kids' move to the Fern Dell house was accomplished!  After four and a half months of house-hunting they found a wonderful property with lots of scope for country living and a beautiful house with acres of space.  After having been crammed into the upstairs of this house, they are stretching out and enjoying the space I'm sure!

Back here on Minooka Road we are adjusting to life with half the population (four instead of eight!).  We're stretching out a bit, too, and returning things to where they were before the kids came.  And now we're looking forward to the Goldens visiting in a couple of weeks.

It's been a busy autumn with work on the farm buildings (metal roofing and siding being put on), pressing apple cider, putting the garden to bed for the winter, having the Pyrs neutered and a few adventures with the bees (to the sad tune of some major stings).  Next up is cleaning the chicken house out in preparation for winter.  

Life on the Prairie

It is arguable that what was once endless prairie is now just cultivated fields and human settlements and no longer qualifies for the estimable title "prairie". However, when I look around me at the way the sky dominates the landscape and when I see vestiges of native prairie plants in the roadsides and forgotten corners, in my mind the prairie is still very much with us.  

This afternoon Pete and I visited Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, an amazing place just half an hour from home.  Midewin is the only national tallgrass prairie east of the Mississippi River and contains about 20,000 acres of restored prairie lands and forest.  In 2015 bison were reintroduced to the prairie and studies are ongoing about the relationship between grazing bison and prairie health and restoration.  Right now in July many of the tall grasses are coming into their own and many, many species of native prairie plants are in bloom.  I find it a magical place and one that inspires me to keep at the task of planting prairie plants here on the farm.  

It's been just over a year since we planted 1,972 (!) plugs of native prairie plants around the house here at the farm.  Most of them survived the first year and first winter and have even reproduced beyond my wildest imaginings.  Some bloomed early in the spring but the summer ones are just now coming into their own.

Culver's root

St. John's wort (a shrub)

Rudbeckia (Brown eyed Susan)

Joe Pye weed - this picture doesn't give you an inkling of the height on these plants!

Great blue lobelia

Royal catchfly

Purple coneflower with monarch and rattlesnake master in background

Coneflower with one of my bees

Yarrow

Pokeweed (which we didn't plant - it moved in by itself).  This can become invasive but it is just such a danged interesting plant that I can't bear to yank it out.  Maybe next year....

Hoary vervain

Joe Pye weed again

And here are a few photos taken at Midewin this afternoon.  We didn't walk out far enough to see the bison but will definitely be taking our bikes over for longer explorations soon.

Yellow coneflower just coming into bloom

Beebalm in back, royal catchfly and purple coneflower in foreground

Yellow coneflower

There are many more natives in bloom out in our yard that I didn't photograph today and each variety makes me so happy.  Out in the prairie grasses by the creek the beebalm and yellow coneflowers are putting on a show as the tall grasses begin their midseason climb to full height.

But of course we have lots of non-natives around the yard and buildings, too!

Anne's hummingbird garden

A black hollyhock by the barn

Blackberries coloring up!

We plant lots of dill for the tiger swallowtail butterflies.  And there are many, many milkweed plants for the monarchs!

The prairie sky was spectacular this evening, too...

June days on the farm

Cherry pickin' days

Cherry pie nights!

New expanded dog run for Phoenix and Henry.  This is just the north end - the whole east side of the barn is enclosed, too.