Loose Lugs!

After our usual Tuesday routine of picking and packing Laurie, Liz, and Sara left for market.  So Boo and I decided to lay in bed and watch a movie.  At one point Boo got up and was looking out the window at something.  I asked her what it was but she only laid back down and did not answer.  A couple minutes later I heard a strange noise.  Expecting to see Jake or Val, I peeped out the window. Imagine my surprise at this sight.

After slipping through an open gate Lugs decided to chomp on the tall grass outside our camper.  I tried to coerce him back to the paddocks but he was dead set on eating the grass. I went back to close the gates before any horses got out and grabbed a rope to guide him back.  Once I had the rope on him I figured I'd walk him around the house.  Val saw us through the window and came running out.

Gotta love living on a farm!!

Norwegians Last Day on the Farm

Friday was the last day on the farm for Mette and Henriette.  The five weeks they were here just flew by.  They got to do so much while in Montana but no trip to America is complete without shooting guns.  So after work I got out the guns and we went shooting.

Then we took one last trip to the Bank Bar for a final happy hour.  When we return the new hoop house in garden two had been transformed.  A couple strings of Christmas lights and a few tables and it had become the ReBar.  A quaint little dining area with a place for some live music.

After we ate a spectacular meal it was time for the entertainment.  First Jake read a couple poems that he had written on the farm.  Then Laurie and Billy played a few songs.

It was a beautiful night and one of the most memorable dinners of the summer.  We have been so privileged to meet our guests from Norway and form a great friendship over their stay.  They will be greatly missed on the farm and we hope the rest of their adventures are as wonderful as Montana.

Adjø ny venner!

A new Hoop House

Last Thursday we broke ground on a new hoop house.  It's designed to be movable to make crop rotation easier.  First we had to drive sections of PVC into the ground.  We needed to get them down one foot so we all took turns.

Once we had the posts set we needed to prepare the hoops.  The hoops are a large piece of rebar that is curved and stuck into the PVC.  The original plans called for the rebar to be sheathed with another long section of PVC.  However they no longer sell 20' lengths of PVC.  The purpose of the sheath is to protect the plastic that will be draped over the top.  Instead we used pieces of pipe insulation.

With the insulation covering the rebar it was time to place it into the posts.  This gave it a nice arch.

In the meantime I constructed a crude door frame.  We put it into position to see how it looked.

Then we checked the level on everything.

Slowly we got the rest of the posts in.  Now we wait until the plastic arrives.

Goodbye, Summer

Although it's not officially fall until the end of this week, last night certainly marked the end of summer.  This morning the gardens were fully covered in ice and frost:

Old Man Winter dropped in for a visit.  It got down to the upper-20's.  Frost covered everything - but not before the deer and antelope had a buffet of lettuce.  

Because the frost burned much of the gardens, it was hard day for picking.  We started the only place we could - digging out all the root veggies to sell.  We took out two entire beds of beets and carrots - more then we've ever picked - knowing the it would be hard to get much more out of the garden.   

By the time Laurie and Henriette were off to the market, we were able to scrounge up enough variety for the spicy mix.  So with beets, carrots, spicy mix, tomatoes from the greenhouse, some zucchinis and a bunch of lettuce mix picked yesterday, they headed off to the market in Bozeman.

We've got various veggies growing in flats and lots growing in the greenhouse so if we can get the gardens through this rough spell - and keep the deer out! - we should be able to continue to sell through October and the winter market.

Construction on the Hoop House

Last week we began a project on the hoop house.  It's time to build endwalls.  The walls are currently made out of a tarp like material with zipper doors.  They are only meant to be used for the first two years or less.  The zippers are starting to jam and bust so it's time.  This is how it looked.

After leveling the ground and putting down a base board Billy framed out the door.  Then we hauled over a large glass door.  It was a little bit of a hassle but we got it mounted.  Over the past week he has started to lay out the rest of the wall frame.  So today after we finished our maintenance we put a coat of linseed oil on the wood. 

Since it will all be inside the hoop house the wall will be exposed to amplified sunlight as well as repeated sprinklerings.  The coat of oil is for waterproofing and once it's dry we will coat with a UV protectent.  It's a work in progress but we are making steps.  It'll look real nice once it's finished.

Becoming Real Cowboys (and Cowgirls)

Wilsall has been very kind to us WWOOFers.  Mette got a very special gift this week - two horses to ride while she's here with us from Norway!  Laurie's farrier (horseshoe-er) Bruce brought two of his horses here for her to care for and ride.  Best of all - that means riding lessons for us!

Mette caretaking for Rascal and Jo

On Monday, Dave and Marc got their first lessons toward becoming real cowboys.  They helped brush and saddle up the pair of horses for a ride around the farm.

Dave was first in the saddle.  He said he was just a kid when he first rode and didn't enjoy the experience at all.  He stuck to the walking ring, practiced some figure-8's and looked like a natural on Jo.

Marc has a bit more experience so he and Mette rode together out of the ring into the pastures along the trail.

I hung out on top of the hay rolls taking photos - I'll get lessons one of these days.  Dave came up and played on the rolls, jumping from one to another.  I am, apparently, terrified of heights and could hardly budge.  The rolls are two stories tall!

We're really becoming Montanans, I'd say.

Full Moon

Sunday night was a stunning view of the full moon out here on the farm.  Did you see it where you were?

Just wanted to share some fun pictures of us playing on the hay rolls with the moon.

Beerfest!

For the past few weeks Dave's had a steady countdown of days until the Montana Brewers Association Beerfest.  And Friday it finally came.


We all - Dave, Marc, Mette, Henriette, Val, Jake and I - picked up tickets to the brewfest in Bozeman and headed out for a WWOOFer good time.

Dave had every intention to sample every single beer served - all fifty or so of them!  That's alot of ounces.  But with five hours and bottomless pours, the feat was not impossible.

Jake & Val cut a rug

Needless to say, we gave it our best shot. Early on we tasted and graded each sample, keeping great notes and whatnot... but then, as you can imagine, the senses dull, the dancing picks up, and then one beer is as good as another.  So we danced to the great live band and got refill after refill.

 You'll be happy to know that we planned ahead for our adventure - we got a hotel room a few blocks away and stumbled back to it all together.  Seven in one room for two - just like the old college days.

Skål!  (Cheers in Norwegian)

We love Montana beer!

Marc's here!

I'm happy to report that this week we had our latest (and presumably last!) visitor to the farm: my best friend Marc!  Marc came up from Fort Collins, CO, last week to see the farm, lend a hand, and hangout in the most beautiful place around.

And on his first day of hard labor on the farm we had a brand new task at hand: peeling garlic.  Laurie planted garlic at the end of last season and she and Dave picked it out of the ground last week.  It's not as big as we're hoping yet so Laurie had us peel the garlic and we'll replant it in October to grow over-winter.  She told us that sometimes a plant needs time to adjust to the soil and conditions it grows in so if this garlic has a second-go-around, it'll be familiar with the conditions and will grow stronger for next year.

In the meantime, the whole workshed smells like delicious garlic.  Isn't it pretty?

 We were garlic paparazzi.

Duck House and Bank Bar

Yesterday I volunteered for the job of moving the duck enclosure.  I had to break it all down and then reassemble it in a different location.  Their house was built out of straw bales so it could be moved in order to rotate the land the ducks are on.

Halfway disassembled

It took me until lunch but I got it done fairly easily.

After work we took it upon ourselves to show the new WWOOFers where the bar was.  So Jake, Valerie, Mette, Henriette, and myself took a trip down to the Bank Bar for happy hour. We enjoyed a few drinks and even went up in the tower to look around.

When we came downstairs we headed into the back room and shot some pool.

As happy hour was ending Sara showed up to join us.  After that we all walked across the street to the cafe to see Liz and have another round.  We all had a great time.

And then there were 7

Thursday we welcomed two more WWOOFers to our clan.  Jake and Valerie have come to us from California.  This is the third farm that they've WWOOFed on and they will be going to one more in Florida after they leave.

They're both studied English in college and met at Shakespeare.  They will be with us til the end of the month.  We're pleased to have them here and look forward to the good times ahead.   There is now 7 WWOOFers here and it's going to be a great time.


Welcome to the farm Jake and Valerie!!

Old Settlers Days

Last weekend Clyde Park had their annual Old Settlers Days.  There was various activities going on but we headed down to catch the parade on Saturday morning.  We were running a little bit late and caught the end of the parade.  Fortunately it goes around the block so we cut across and were at the beginning of the parade!!  It was a pretty run of the mill occasion but one thing that really stood out to me was an old steam engine.

After the parade we grabbed a little lunch and checked out the old timey band.  We stayed for a few songs and they were great.

Then we headed back home.  It was nice to have a little break in the day.