Our fuel was delivered for the season.  Now THAT is a jolt to your pocketbook, believe me. 

And the weather held long enough to get the plow on and head to the corn and hay fields.

  As you can tell we are small farmers and our equipment is older.  We use a four-bottom plow any larger and we would have to enlarge everything else.  Four plow shears go down, then the plow is turned over and the other side of the four shears do the work.

 Here Terry is setting the plow into the ground

The primary purpose of plowing is to turn over the upper layer of the soil, bringing fresh nutrients to the surface, while burying weeds and the remains of previous crops, allowing them to break down. It also aerates the soil, and allows it to hold moisture better.  If the weather is nice (meaning not storming or dropping down moisture) most farmers, in our area, leave the ground to warm up and freeze (that is what you really want) for a week.  The repeated warming and freezing makes for a very soft and friable soil.  

It  is now down.

And off he goes.  We are having lots of wind so this soil will be dry faster than a week.  Every day the soil needs to be checked, if it dries out too much the soil will turn to clods.  Clods are a pain, a real pain. 

We should be able to roll this weekend. (and yes I know how to roll).

  All of this seems like lots of work, but to us it’s a real labor of love.  When you enjoy what you are doing, work is never part of the equation

 Linda