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Showing posts from May, 2013

The Silo Story

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This has been a big week for Busy B's Farm.   After 60+ years of starting guard over the farm, the silo was worn out and had become a danger for anyone in the yard.  Big chunks of concrete would occasionally fall off the top without warning.  It was very clear that removal was our only option. I took a few pictures from inside the silo in the past few days. Looking up the silo from the inside The ladder which Tom climbed daily as a youngster to shovel  down silage. Tommy and his family and our neighbors all gathered to watch from a safe distance. The work started with taking off the granary off from around the silo. Once the granary was taken off, Dave, the contractor, used a sledge hammer to knock holes in the bottom of the silo.  He had a chain attached to guide the direction of the fall.  The plan worked well. This video shows the last two swipes with the sledge hammer.  But there were many swipes before that.   The girls decided to

Busy B's Farm

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 Busy B's Farm-When we bought Tom's parent's farm in 2010, we decided to bring back the name Tom remembered from his childhood.  We aren't sure if we have it exactly right, but we are definitely busy Benedicts, so we are going with Busy B's Farm. The barn was standing when Wally and Marge purchased the farm in 1948 from a couple of bachelors.  Family lore tells us that the men held poker games to get  money to build and add to the house.  I have no idea if any of that is true, but it makes a great story. Wally added the silo to the barn shortly after moving here.  The silo has stood faithfully for at least 60 years.  In 1959 the cows were sold and the need for the silo ended. A few years ago our barn was voted by the community as the prettiest barn in Bowne Township.  We have been very proud of the barn and every morning we enjoy the view of the field and barn out the breakfast nook windows. Time changes things.   But the work we have done on Busy B

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Tom gave me the count from the field this morning.  One deer, two Canada geese, two sandhill cranes and four turkeys. Looking out our back window, he was watching the wildlife in our field.  The corn was just planted this week, so we still have a clear view of our early morning visitors. Our farm is situated just right for bird watching.  There is a swamp to our east which gives birds a place to nest and live.  We also have several bushes and small trees around the garage and house which gives the birds cover so they can fly in and eat. We really enjoy watching the birds and the number of feeders in the yard shows just how much. There are five feeders in front of the family room window and seven more over by the garage.  All 12 feeders stay busy all winter long with a variety of species.  There are book identification books by each window so you can look up any unusual sightings. Last December we had a visitor to the feeder that was looking for something other than bird s