Why Is It Oakdale? The Farm Report 07-12-2019

Why Is It Oakdale? 

The Farm Report 07-12-2019

I thought this time I should tell you why we call our farm 'Oakdale' but I want to show some other stuff first. Like the cherries! For the first time in two years, I have cherries in the freezer - 47 bags of 'em to be exact. I love cherries. These are North Stars, but I have even more Balatons. They are both Morello types, meaning they have dark flesh and dark juice. Both of these are super extra tasty, and sweet. Tart of course, but sweet.  

This could be a July farm picture if you are making a calendar at home.

Summer progress. The front of my shop looks great this year so far. 

That brown down there near Walnut creek is where the flooding (3 times and counting) has wiped out the crops. Those buildings are where my next door neighbors live.

If you want to zoom in, you'll see the remains of dozer work at the top left corner of the picture. After we thought (silly us!) the flooding was over, we had the bull dozer come in and push the sand off the good field soil so it could be farmed again. (Thanks Larry!) Of course, Ma Nature was just laughing while she caught her breath, then she flooded the fields AGAIN.  

Iowa farmers ain't nothin' if they ain't stubborn though. Merideth Wilson wrote a song about that in The Music Man. Did you know he really was an Iowan? He was, and he was a very talented musicial guy - composer, conductor, musician. He really was from Mason City, Iowa, too. If you have never seen the 'real' musical movie 'The Music Man' from the 1960's you should see it. It is a 1960's era corny musical, but the music is great. One song says that Iowans are 'so by God stubborn....' Well, we are. Here is Mark down there planting the sand and gooo yet another time. We never give up!

I think this is how I would go to Nebraska City shopping if I could go. I used to go there a lot. It is only about 20 miles away. This road once connected I-29 to Highway 2 and the bridge over the Missouri river. Have I ever mentioned that the US Army Corp of Engineers missed a cue on flood control this year and ended up with egg (or river mud) all over their faces? They have dams all up and down the river which CAN prevent this, if they want to..... If I'm not careful, I'll start telling 'iNgneer jokes, so we'd better go on to other and better things. 

Like puppies! A week ago, my good neighbor, Ron, and I took a field trip to go see the new puppies. This is the one I hope I'll be bringing home in a couple of weeks or so. Ain't she a sweetie?! Look close: that's Mom's nose in the bottom left hand corner of the picture.

That's Mom in the shot. Actually, Mom was in EVERY shot. But I'm a very happy camper. Ron and I arrived at a cattle feeding operation where Mom lives. We were alone and unannounced. The Boss knew we were coming, but schedules are schedules so we were there by ourselves. Neither of us had ever met Mom before. She is a blue heeler, and they can be assertive - of course ALL Moms can be assertive, but especially a heeler. We were cautious. We found her laying on top of a truck hiding from her pups. She had just fed them, and she needed some 'Me' time. This will be her last litter; she's an older and wiser girl (that's a line from Meredith Wilson's play, too - just sayin') She spent a lot of her younger time at the rodeo and was her owner's barrel racing companion as I understand it. She's used to people. She was thrilled to see us! No barking, no challenge, just happy. That made me happy. Dad was around too. He is the Australian Shepherd. He was hanging out in another pasture with a burro. No barking from him either. I think he and the burro work coyote duty at night, so they were 'resting.' Both parents seemed really friendly and sweet, which really pleased me. So is the pup bob tailed or long tailed? No idea. Mom wouldn't leave us alone long enough to get a peek - without pressing our luck. We didn't want to press our luck. Mom had already started to dry up at a little more than 4 weeks for these pups. We're thinking they might be weaned closer to 6 weeks than 8; time will tell and we'll all make the move when Mom tells us it's time.

This is Miss Kitty, the shop cat. You've heard about her before, but I don't think she's ever held still long enough for a portrait. I was telling her about the new pup that might be coming to Oakdale Farm. 

"You're going to do what?!" she said. 

"Well! I can see there will be some corrective training work that will need to be done," she said to herself, and disappeared into the bowels of the shop. It's hard to see, but Miss Kitty has all black feet on the bottoms. 

So This is why it is called Oakdale Farm. But wait! Oh Crap! It isn't Oakdale Farm; it should be Oak Dale Farm. Oh No!

When I got out the archive files to get this registration to show you, I discovered much to my chagrin that I've been misspelling the farm name. Oak Dale was registered by my Great Grandfather, Myron O. Inman (M.O.) in 1911. I've done some research and have discovered that the Iowa Farm Bureau had a farm naming bill passed through the Iowa legislature back then. The name was registered at the county Recorder's offices throughout the state. It is unique within Iowa. What is really fun about this registration form is that M.O. filled most of it out in his own handwriting. That's special. He was a farmer/banker/attorney, so he would certainly have been up to the job. But - neat! My Great Aunt Irene (his daughter who moved into the house when she was 2 and moved out when she was 92) had the original form tucked away in a drawer. When Joyce and I bought the farm from her, handing over that form to us was one of her special happy moments.

So why bring this up now? Well, I'm giving you a clue about outcome of the 'Name That Dog' contest. Stay tuned. You'll see. And, I think I'll just go on spelling it Oakdale. Like Mark Twain, I feel sorry for anybody who can only spell something one way. Anything otherwise shows a lack of creativity, I think.

The Japanese beetles are back. This one is on my Hawkeye Delicious apple tree. 

They devastate the leaves. Even though they don't kill the trees, they really sting them. 

Then I found more on my strawberries! 

Oh no!  

But 'Great Green Gobs!' When I went all the way down to the corner of the orchard to check my favorite summer apple, Yellow Transparent, this is what I found. 

They congregate on a hand of fruit and chow down. The leaves went first, apparently. I had sprayed these trees just 2 weeks earlier. It's always somethin' isn't it? Maybe I can get enough for a pie.

I looked up and the sweetcorn is tasseling. 

This is our favorite, Ambrosia. In about 2 weeks, I'll be enjoying the 'ambrosia' of the Gods. I just got updated on my cholesterol pills, so I'll give them something to work on and add extra butter when I enjoy eating this! (I'm just kidding, Dr. W. - probably....)

Tomatoes from the greenhouse. They aren't what they will be later on, but they are ten times better than what comes from the store. 

I have a regular on my back porch. 'Kermit' the tree frog hangs around. Most of the time, he is grey/whitish. Sometimes he is leaf green though. Depends on his mood I guess. 

He's happy here all day long. He works the night shift. 

As much damage as they cause, you still can't not look at or enjoy deer. At dusk the other night, I looked out the window to see two deer heading through the soybean field. This is a poor picture, but what really stands out to me is how red their hair is right now. Like Kermit, they change colors, too. As fall nears, their hair will go brown like the corn stalks. As long as they stay WAY far away from my orchard and gardens, they're just fine. 

And finally, O.J. wanted to make a personal commentary about summer. 'Pfffffft.' He doesn't like heat and humidity any more than I do. The difference is that I have to keep working - or at least act like I'm working. He just couches out and sleeps away. You might have to really zoom up the picture to see him, but that's his feet hanging over the front porch steps. You will have to guess what the rest of him looks like, but I'm telling you, there's very little stress in his life right now. I take the blood pressure pills, he relaxes and enjoys the life. And we think we are superior to animals. Pffffft.

All is well - at Oakdale Farm. 

Sweet Potato Pie: The Farm Report 06-22-2019

Sweet Potato Pie
The FarmReport 06-22-2019

OK, so this isn't exactly a sweet potato pie starter picture. It is the announcement of our 'Name That Dog' contest! Everybody is invited to enter. No limit on entries, no penalties for trying, no prize for winning.  This pic is a decoy. See last time's post for a real picture of our new pup. She is a cross between an Australian Shepherd and a Blue Heeler.

Now we'll get back to the subject at hand for this time. Sweet potatoes! If you've been watching, you'll remember seeing this milk jug/sweet potato slip factory. It has been perking along for a long time on a heated mat in the greenhouse. The original 'tater is just one from the grocery store. Given enough heat and time, they'll sprout.  Joyce made world famous 'pumpkin' pies. Actually, she almost never used pumpkin; it was almost always sweet potatoes in there that made 'em so good.

Out of the jug, and here's what we've got. See the roots on the new little slips!?

If you've never done this before, you just let the tater sprout, root and then break off the little slips from the mamma tater. 

I buy some slips each season, too. This is how they arrive. Sometimes they don't look too good. 

Every single one will usually grow though. Taters is tough. 

Another gardener's secret weapon. This is an especially good secret weapon for an old guy like me that doesn't like bending over so much. I'm not into 'nurturing' my plants that much. I just want 'em in the ground and growing. This tool makes that happen. 

The first order of business is to throw up a hill. I use Troybilt for that. Then I just lay the slips end to end on the crest of the hill. 

Here we go. Slips all laid out and ready to be happy. I usually buy my slips from 'Tater Man' and he says if you don't crowd your slips a little, they will not make taters; they'll make vines. I crowd 'em. 

Remember that stick? See the notch in the end. That is where the magic happens.  If you want one from me just like this one, let me know and I'll list it on Etsy for $89 for you. Otherwise, just cut a notch in the end of your broomstick and you'll have exactly the same tool. It's your choice.
 

Directions for use: Lay out slips. Put notch over root end of the slip about 1/3 of the way up. 

Push down. 

Presto! Job Done. The slip is planted and that's all there is to it. 

Next! 

Sweet potatoes are easy to grow once they get started. I give mine a little drink and then go away. These plants will spread out at least 4 ft on each side. In a couple of months this area will be totally covered with vines - and taters underneath. 

'Sweet' is the operative term here. The deer think they are super sweet and will eat every single one if I don't protect them. In the past, I've always used electricity! This year, I'm having such great results with the flash/snake/scare tape I'm putting up some to start. If the deer come in, then they will learn the hard way that flashy tape breatheth fire! 

These are the white/Irish spuds. They have been hilled up for probably the last time now. 

Doesn't that look nice. They will make bigger and more potatoes now with all that earth mounded up around the plant stems. That little corner is where you'll be seeing my melons pretty soon. 

How do I do that? Me and Henry Ford team up with a tool I made. Officially, it is called a hilling disc. I bought the discs and made the rest. 

To use, Henry and I just putt down the rows and the hilling discs throw up the mound of earth around the plants. 

For those with a little black smithing blood in their veins, here are some closeups of the construction details.  

Reddy Bolt or 'all thread' rod is what I used to hold the brackets onto the tool bar. 

A couple of bolts act as the positioning clamp. 

Mowing mowing mowing is the order of the days here many days now. This is Joyce's Picnic Point where I split wood for the winters. 

This is the lane that goes into Picnic Point. That mud puddle is like a moat right now! 

Don't forget to give me your entry for the 'Name That Dog' contest. Add it to the comments below, email me, add a Facebook comment, or whatever. I already have a pretty good suggestion, but I'll with hold final judgement until later. No limit on entries, no prize for winning. The judge's decision is final. (FYI: These are just internet dog pictures, but my former Heeler, Ben, looked just like this one, right down to laying with his legs crossed. He was a great dog, too.) Until next time, all is well at Oakdale Farm. Fido? Pooch? Arnold - get creative.