Fall on the Farm

I took a moment to regroup this weekend and it occurred to me this weekend that fall has arrived.  Although the 90+ degree temps are odd for fall, the trees in the creek below my house have changed and that is certainly a big indicator.

The creek below our house

Other indicators that fall has arrived at the Hadrick House:

Corn Harvest has started. For this cowgirl, it's still a challenge to embrace the cropping side of the operation. To let you in on a little secret; seeing brown cornstalks in the field does not evoke happiness or excitement for me.  I know, can I really call myself a farmer?   This cowgirl, did offer to drive grain cart if needed- I'm not sure they will get that desperate. My Cowboy took a picture the other night. I had to text him to send this to me.  We don't see each other much this time of year...

Me with the weaned calves in the background

Weaning is done! I love to work cattle and to see calves adjusted well is a good feeling.  This morning I heard the tractor running outside of my office window. My Cowboy was busy doing chores. Although I have to say I hate how having chores everyday ties us down I do love seeing the calves grow.

We've also ultrasound the first group of cows. My Cowboy does all the ultrasounding for the farm. Using this technology helps us to determine what cows are pregnant and which ones are open (not pregnant).  In years like these where grass is short because of the drought.  We are able to sell those animals and stretch our feed resources a little further.

I'm excited to report that Morgan (T's heifer from last year) is pregnant! So, we will have another calf expected from her in the spring.

Young Mr. Hadrick has started football. He loves it! We went to his first game last night and he played some and he did really well for only a bit of football knowledge. He has practice twice a week and it's an indicator of what I have to look forward to as my children's schedule takes over mine.  Keep in mind that in our very rural community, there are not a lot of choices for youth activities. So I've been able to put off running the mom taxi like many of my friends in populated areas do all the time.

Fall is my favorite time of year and I'm excited it is here. I'm not excited about the snow flying yet- but I'm mentally preparing.

August Was For Australia

August was the month that My Cowboy and I were visited by our Australian friends. As we've traveled in Australia the past year we have always said to people if you get to the states we would love to host you.  Who knew they would actually take us up on it! Let's face it South Dakota is not on the beaten path. Just by pure coincidence, the ones wanting to come see us, all wanted to come in August.

We should have known some crazy Aussies would make the journey.  The one thing we learned while traveling in Australia is that many of the Aussie's have seen more of the states then most Americans.

David with my dad

David Maconochie is a great friend we met on our last trip down under.  David and his family run Hopkins River Beef in Victoria.  David had won the Young Feedlot producer award and was given a trip to America to tour feedlots. It just so happened he picked the exact time I was planning a feedlot tour for my job so he was able to influence lots of South Dakotan's with his Aussie views.  David's blog, Aussie Beef Boy details his trip to America and his views of the beef industry.

David and I spent a memorable trip driving across Kansas and he even made it up to South Dakota to do a little R&R in the before moving on. There are so many memorable things about David's trip that we continue to laugh and can't wait to see him again.

While out on the road David and I were able to meet up with two very special friends.  Angus Street & Elly Daley. Angus and Elly served as our tour guides while in Australia and we love them. They were both mixing business with pleasure on their US trip and were unable to get up to South Dakota to spend time at the Hadrick place but were able to meet up for supper in Denver one night. You may notice that My Cowboy was not in the picture.  He was home working while I was out having fun.

Angus, Me, Elly, and David

August finished out with our last visit from Ray & Leah Vella. Ray is a Nuffield scholar and is spent 6 weeks in North America learning more about land and farm management. Ray has a great blog about his travels and life in Australia.

We had visited Ray & Leah at their place in Queensland on our last trip. We were able to spend a short day with them and their wonderful family at their house.  These crabs are from the ocean that their land touches. They were amazing! Leah and I hit it off right away.  I really admire her for the rural life she leads and homeschooling her oldest child while balancing the two younger children.  Leah has to homeschool her son because of how far they live from town.

Vella's had been on the road for almost a month when they arrived in South Dakota. We were so excited that they were able to spend a few days with us.  I paraded Leah through the schools for show and tell and Ray helped install a new fence at the feedlot. It was great to catch up with them and look forward to the time when we can get back to their place and spend some time.

Me, Leah, Ray, My Cowboy

So, to all our Aussie friends that have not been here- the spare room is ready! Fall is coming on- so you might want to wait until spring it's a much better experience when it's not cold. Can't wait to see you!