Catering to Differing Tastes

Many of the fine people in the Cedar Valley who know us probably don't know Rob in any other context other than as his role as a vegetable farmer.  In fact, if you are from the area and you haven't done much reading of this blog, you will probably make some erroneous assumptions.  For example, a vegetable farmer has to be someone who has ALWAYS loved vegetables.  Therefore, Rob has always loved all vegetables and must have no idea how hard it is for some of you to figure out how to enjoy/use vegetables in a CSA share.

I am sorry to burst your bubble - but my parents can assure you that the list of things I would eat when I was growing up could probably fit on a 3"x5" card.  When it came to veggies it had to be green beans, lima beans, peas, corn and potatoes.  Onions would work if cut very small and well cooked.  Tomatoes would be ok if it was a cooked sauce with very little evidence of skin or chunks of tomato. There were numerous incidents where shredded lettuce ruined a sandwich for me and my college friends encouraged me to get the mixed vegetables to watch me quickly and efficiently root out the carrot squares.  I could eat my mixed veggies as fast as anyone else and not eat a single one of those icky things.

So, what happened?

Touchstone Gold Beets

Is it true that I like each and every vegetable that we grow equally well?  No, of course not.  But, I very much like some of them, kind of like others and tolerate still others.  There are a few that I still haven't found a way to tolerate, but I sure do make less of a stink about it when they show up.

Perhaps I grew up a little bit.  Maybe the taste buds changed some.  But, both Tammy and I are pretty certain that a big part of it had to do with the fact that we started growing our own produce.  The quality and freshness have much to do with flavor and texture quality.  And, of course, if you put some of your own effort into growing it, you might be more willing to try it - even if you do find yourself still not liking it.

But there is more to it than that.

Can't Beet This

We have learned that different cultivars of a vegetable can have very different tastes and textures.  It is true that some people might not be able to detect a difference.  It is also true that some people who do not initially find a difference in different veggie varieties begin to develop an ability to tell the difference over time.  In my case, I can often detect a big difference in taste between different varieties right away.

I had always found the earthy taste and slippery texture of the standard red beet to be - shall we say - choke worthy.  Please, if you like red beets prepared in the traditional boiling water, do not take offense.  This is why we have red beets in our CSA as well - so you can enjoy them the way you enjoy them!

In this case, I am speaking to that large group of people who think of beets as an 'evil' veggie, just as I did.  We tried the striped beet (Chioggia) and a golden beet (Touchstone Gold) several years ago.  And, since I take my job seriously, I have to taste what we grow.  I don't have to like each thing, as long as others do.  But, I feel like I have to be able to say that I tried it.

In any event, we roasted some Chioggia's and found them to be less earthy and to have a pleasing texture when roasted.  The two keys here were vegetable variety AND preparation method.  I have learned not to give up on a vegetable until we have explored a range of cultivars and a series of ways to prepare it for eating.

The result?  Now I very much like Golden and Chioggia beets either steamed, grilled or roasted.  I will tolerate standard red beets presented the same ways.  I can even eat boiled red beets with only some complaints.  Who knew?

White Wing Onions

 Opinions About Onions

If I recall correctly, my father has always liked onions, but they don't always like him.  At least, that's how he put it.  I have not always liked onions and I think I inherited the part about raw onions not liking me so much either.

However, we've learned that the shorter season white onions tend to agree with me more.  They sautee up nicely and have a pleasant taste.  On the other hand, storage onions (such as Sedona or Copra) tend to have a bit more bite to them - and thus tend to disagree with me more.  Happily, if they are sauteed longer, they "sweeten up" and give me less troubles.

Onions are a bit of an oddity for me because I've always liked the smell of them (raw or cooked).  In this case, it was probably more of a texture thing.  But, again, it isn't so much that MY tastes have changed, but my willingness to figure out how to make things work for my preferences has improved. 
 

Goodman Cauliflower

It's Not CauliFLOUR

Tammy and I were given the impression when we first started gardening that cauliflower was a near impossible veggie to grow.  And, sadly, when we would try cauliflower from the store, my first impression was that it tasted a bit like 'flour.'  Yick.

Tammy got me to try more broccoli and cauliflower by adding cheese to the mix.  That was great, but probably not the best long-term solution if you want your spouse to eat healthier.

We still tend to prepare our cauliflower steamed or raw.  It will occasionally appear in soup as well.  Once again, we've explored different varieties and found some range of taste.  It is our belief that soil and growing conditions can change the taste of this vegetable since we can still appreciate a head of cauliflower from our farm and not really be impressed with the same variety from other sources.  But, this is one of those cases where perhaps my taste buds have been trained to taste the vegetable.  I tend to prefer cauliflower and romanesco to broccoli and I no longer have trouble with spelling the last syllable.

Chervena Chushka sweet peppers

Sometimes it has nothing to do with taste

Tammy likes to eat peppers raw in the field.  I like the smell of peppers in the field and I am quite happy to pick her a pepper and toss it to her if she wants to snack on one.  In fact, I will toss snack tomatoes or peppers to our workers if they indicate they might like one.  But, you will rarely, if ever, see me crunch into one of these during a work break.

This has nothing to do with liking or not liking how they taste and everything to do with how they sit in my stomach.  Remember, I do a good deal of stooping, getting up and down and moving around during the work day.  The last thing I want is to feel like I've got a rock in my stomach.  Sadly, that's what happens when I eat most raw peppers without something to accompany it.

I am not alone in this phenomenon.  Many people prefer red peppers because some of the things that cause this discomfort are less prevalent in the more mature fruits.  I also prefer peppers that are not bells as they also give me fewer issues.  And, of course, if they are cooked, they seem to be easier to deal with.  In the end, I'm just happy to have a couple of smaller slices on a sandwich and a nibble or two here or there.  But, since I won't eat too many peppers, I tend to be much pickier about the taste.  Dagnabbit!  If only get a little bit of a pepper, it had better be good!

Pride of Wisconsin melon

And - It needs to be ripe!

Then, there is the issue of ripeness.  I could tolerate certain kinds of melons, but I was never all that impressed with them.  In fact, this is something I have heard from many people.

I try to remind myself of how I USED to feel until we started growing our own melons and it has gotten harder and harder for me to do.  Why?  Well, it has been many years now since I have been forced to eat a melon that was NOT RIPE when it was harvested.  Most melon varieties will taste like a lot of nothing if they are harvested early so they won't split in transit to the grocery store.  And, sadly, that is how most people are introduced to melons.

So, we sympathize with your opinion about melons.  In fact, we understand why you feel the way you do.  Some of you may not like the texture - so that may rule out many melons regardless of ripeness.  We can respect that.  But, for those of you that thought: "Melons.... meh."   You need to try some of the heirloom varieties that we grow when they are truly ripe!  You might be so shocked by the taste initially that you might be tempted to decide you don't like it.  But, give yourself a second taste and you'll realize that your initial reaction was because your brain was telling your tastebuds that they shouldn't detect that much taste in a melon.  After all, they've never experienced it before!

Are You Ready to Discover Tastes You've Been Missing?
If you are, then consider joining us this year for our Summer CSA Farm Share program.  We grow a wide range of veggies and a number of varieties for each type.  We understand where you are coming from and we can help you get to where you want to be going.

Besides, I need someone to eat all of the carrots we're going to grow.... Tammy can't eat them all, and I still won't.  Go figure.

New Month, New Blog Post

And, the calendar just keeps on turning - even though there are days when you don't want it to.  With the event of a new month, we felt we should do our duty to keep all interested in the Genuine Faux Farm up to date with the doings, events and musings of the farmers!

Hydrating and UV Protection

Well, the days are getting longer and the number of hours we spend out in the sun have increased.  We are sure that most of you have not even started THINKING about sunblock, nor have you gotten too concerned about keeping up with the fluids when you are outside.  But, if you do what we do, you must keep these things in mind.

We like toting around our nifty thermos with either water or iced (decaf) tea for the necessary fluids, but the suntan lotion isn't usually all that convenient to carry around as well.  This can be a problem early in the season because we're a bit out of practice with remembering to apply sunblock.

Happily, we are testing out a new product that can be added to the beverage of our choice.  This product works as a systemic sunblock.  Just add it to the correct ratio of fluids and consume regularly.  Viola!  Sun protection and hydration all at the same time!

We are noticing a few side effects, but we're able to tolerate them thus far.  After all, there is something to be said for being 'regular.'

Early Spring Issues

The garlic suppression campaign.

The early warm weather is something we've talked about in recent blog posts.  But, we don't always spend much blogging time giving specific examples of problems an early Spring can cause for us at the farm.

If you will recall, we had a very early Spring in 2012 that resulted in some difficult losses with our garlic (see #4 on this post).   Garlic was weeks ahead and their early emergence made them fair game for Aster Yellows.

Determined to avoid having the same problem in 2016, we decided to do something about it this year.  Tammy and I went out and pushed all of those anxious little garlic plants BACK into the ground.  We also made certain to give them a verbal admonition to wait "just a little bit longer - for your own good."  Unfortunately, garlic does not have ears, so they must not have heard us and they popped back up the next day.  It is also possible that a few of them will not be garlic plants anymore since they gave us the 'raspberry' when they popped back out of the ground.

Moving Away from Free-Range

If you've paid any attention to our farm, you will know that we are dedicated to practices that work with nature.  We grow certified organic produce and day-range poultry.  However, our days of free-range workers on the farm are coming to an end.

Apparently, the good people that work on our farm are quality individuals who are in high demand in so many other places.  Some of them graduate and then go on to further schooling or to a 'real job,'  leaving us behind with ne'er a backward glance.  Others, for some reason, find themselves taking things called 'internships' in their field of study.  Still others do things like 'get married' or take 'full-time employment' or whatever sad little reasons they come up with.

Well, we've had enough of this.  We are planning on moving to the confinement model for farm workers this year.  As long as we keep them fed and watered, they should be happy.  We may even throw them some excess produce now and again so they can chase it around the pasture like the turkeys do.

We still need to work out how we can keep them under control when we let them out of the pasture to do actual work on the farm.  We have considered the ankle bracelet monitoring systems used for some law enforcement purposes, but that seems cost-prohibitive.  Instead, it seems more likely that we'll just tie a bright red balloon onto a string and tie that string to the worker.  Then, we just need to look for the balloon so we can locate the worker.  I suspect there are some problems with that plan as well, but we have to start somewhere.

These are outside of the building... a stake out?

Responding to De-Flangification

We use electric posts/stakes for a number of things on the farm.  One of their primary purposes is to help hold up the tomato cages.   They work great, for the most part - except for the tendency of the 'flanges' to break off of the bottom of the posts.

Since we cannot help ourselves when it comes to word play on the farm, stakes that have more than a single weld to hold flange onto the stake are both RARE and WELL-DONE.  Seriously.  Yes, that was your attempt at a pun for this post.  If you were hoping for more than that, then you need to go read last year's posts about peas.

Litter Harvest at Record Levels this Winter

Apparently word has gotten out that our farm actually resides on one of the richest deposits of scoopable cat litter in the state.  As a result, the demand has gone through the roof since its discovery last November.

In an effort to keep costs low, we've been re-using old litter buckets to harvest the pure, unrefined scoopable litter from the deposits deep in the earth.

Thus far, we have been only selling the litter 'ore' to larger refining companies, but we are considering working on setting up our own refinery so we can sell local scoopable cat litter direct to the consumer.  The hardest part has been coming up with a name for the new product.  We were sort of thinking about "True Grit" but are a little nervous that there might be some legal fall-out from John Wayne's estate.

Sadly, we had to move to a new vein last week after Sandman, Mrranda and SuperCali (our outdoor cat farm managers) discovered the initial lode. 

Inspiration to Create UnderGround Light Rail Foiled

We're always looking for ways to improve how we do things on the farm.  This past year, we started work on our own mini-subway project in an effort to allow us all-season access to our high tunnel buildings.

Our land does not have much for rocks, which makes it a bit easier for the excavation process.  However, heavy rains illustrated for us that our high water table was going to make it unpleasant to traverse unless we learned to scuba dive in caves.

Instead of a subway type system we are now considering renaming it the 'Grand Canyon' of Iowa and see if we can turn a profit selling post cards that show off this modern marvel.  After all, our confined workers need something to write on so they can send cards home in an effort to arrange a 'farm break out' from our worker confinement system.  The great news about all of this is that we have all of the unrefined cat litter that will clump right up so we can remove the water as a solid rather than a liquid if we feel it is necessary.

We certainly know how to cover our bases at the farm, don't we?


Is it REALLY APRIL FIRST?!?

Wow!  Imagine that. 
If you'd like to see prior year installments, here they are!

2015 April Fool Post
2014 April Fool Post
2013 April Fool Post
2012 April Fool Post

Vocabulary Shortcomings, Skritches and Other Stuff

There are a number of words that I know how to use and use well.  Words like pollinator, inconclusive, allelopathic (even spell check is lost on that one), obfuscation and algorithm are among those I consider to be good words that I can use given the right situation.  Apparently, there are some simple words I am unable to figure out.  Words like.... "no."

Failure to say "no" may lead to photos that look like this one.

Ok, it's not all that bad.  I do my best to balance what I can do.  But, when you see situations where something really HAS to be done and no one else is stepping up to do it, my vocabulary (especially the word "no") often fails me.  Perhaps at some point in the future I will elaborate on what has caused me to discuss the merits of the word "no," but until then, I will refer you to Mrranda in the picture below.

Ya, ya.  Now get to some blogging that interests me.  Talk about skritches or mice.

For example, when one of our cats approaches me and asks for attention, I tend to give it some.  This is especially true this time of year.  The indoor cats are starting to see us leave the house more often to work outdoors.  They know the human who tends to tolerate their presence on his lap while he works at the computer will not be offering this service nearly as frequently as he did in January.  So, they are getting a little more demanding. In order to keep the peace, I try to pay for a little tolerance with a skritch or two whenever Bree or Hobnob are within reach.

The outdoor cats, who see much less of us during the Winter, are anxious to be shown that they are still valuable members of the community (as you can see by the picture above).  It is not unusual for Sandman or Mrranda to hop up on a car, picnic table or trailer for attention.  In fact, both of them will give Rob a 'hug' when he stands still long enough so they can get their skritches.

A satisfied cat customer.

When the demands of life (or the cats) seem to be too much, I contemplate other things.  Things that I can look forward to in the months ahead.  Green beans, flowers and bumblebees.  I am very much looking forward to the appearance of the bumblers.

Bumblebee on a gazinia. Only green beans missing from this picture.

But, my mind keeps coming back to a number of things that are in need of attention.  Perhaps our wonderful readers can help us out with some of these.

1. We are looking for more CSA members for 2016.  We have many slots open.  Spread the word!
2. We need at least one more worker for this summer.  We have one interested person who is currently following through and we could use more.

Ok, two is enough for now.

Oh, and my shoelaces are untied.  How could that have happened?

And, we've already had our first thunder and lightning show for the year at the farm.  This picture is from a different event, but it gives you a taste of it.  You know it is early in the season when every flash of lightning gets your attention.

My night time photography needs some help.

Actually, most flashes of lightning get my attention when I'm at the farm - regardless of the time of year.  If we have workers in the field and there is lightning, it typically means I have to consider getting everyone to shelter.  If there is lightning in the middle of the night, I tend to wake up in order to determine if we have some nasty weather heading our way.  The difference is probably in the 'startle' factor.  If it is July and you see lightning, it isn't entirely an unexpected event.  If it is early March...that's another matter.

Interested in sum sum Summertime?

Sitting at a picnic table.  Holding a wedge of watermelon in your hand.  Taking a bite and savoring it.  Then spitting the seed as far as you can - all the while trying to look cool as you do it.  And, if you're like me, that first seed just kind of dribbles onto your chin - so the looking cool part doesn't happen.  It's a picture of Summer in many people's minds.  So, we thought we might give you a post about watermelons at the Genuine Faux Farm.

We are in search of a year that gives us the "right" amount of watermelons for a given year.  Granted, we don't really know what that number might be.  All we know is that everyone in our CSA might like at least one during a given season.  And, we'd like to have some for ourselves and maybe some for events we hold at the end of Summer/beginning of Fall. 

Sweet Siberian (dark green), Ali Baba (light green), Mountain Yellow Sweet (dark green with light green stripes)

We've asked for feedback on what we grow numerous times over the years and were surprised a couple of years back when the watermelon was given more love than cantaloupe or other melons by our CSA members.  Since that time, we've figured out some of the reasons for this.  First, our CSA hadn't seen much for melons in the two years prior to when the question was asked, so they didn't have recent memories of some of the melons we grow.  In fact, most people who do not like melons are reacting to the unripe melon that is usually foisted off on consumers in many groceries.  Well, if that had been my only exposure to them, I might agree.  But, as we've gotten better at melon growing we've been able to convince a number of people that melons are a very good thing.  Maybe not everyone, but we recognize everyone has their taste preferences.

Sweet Siberian

That doesn't mean we aren't also trying to grow enough watermelons for everyone.  The first post referenced in the last paragraph (this one) gives most of the reasons why watermelons don't usually get a high priority on our farm.  Overall, the issue is more of a logistical problem than anything else.  Watermelons get ripe when we have a wide variety of produce available for our CSA.  The truck is already very full - and we have to get a batch of watermelons in there as well?  If you haven't noticed, they're rounded, so they don't pack all that well either.

We try to cover most of the production need with Sweet Siberian, which is a smaller (5-7 pound average) watermelon.  It is a light yellow watermelon with a slightly grainy texture.  The taste reminds me a little bit of a watermelon dipped in honey.  As long as you aren't expecting the standard texture and taste and keep your mind open to it, this is one fantastic watermelon.  Yes, it has seeds.  It has lots of seeds.  It's an open-pollinated watermelon.  Seeds are natural.  They kind of need them to reproduce, don'tcha know?  After all, that's why you eat them outside - so you can have a seed spitting contest!  Just avoid dribbling seeds on your chin.  All of the cute girls (Tammy) will point and laugh at you... until she tries to spit a seed and the same thing happens to her! HA!

Orangeglo - light green with dark green stripes

Sadly, watermelon is one of those crops that has a few strikes against it.  First, it is a longer season crop. The longer the season a crop needs, the more opportunities there are for things to go wrong.  With some of the weather we've dealt with over that past X years, there have been seasons that simply did not give the watermelons a chance to do anything.  Second, watermelons take up space since they are a vine crop.  In fact, they take up more space that cantaloupe.  They just don't produce super high numbers of fruit per square foot of growing space.  That's a problem when you run a CSA program and have limited field space - we're all about the numbers.  If you have 120 members,  you want/need at least 120 fruit.

It was sitting in the field, just minding its own business.

Then, there is a matter of education.  Yes, I said "education."  I've said it before and I'll say it again - we firmly believe that there are all sorts of taste options out there that provide opportunities for people, such as myself, to learn to like new things.  That is why "We Can't Grow Anything Normal."  But, when you can't grow anything normal, you end up having to spend time explaining what you have and why it is a good thing.  Since we grow many different things, we have to pick and choose some of our battles.  And, even when we give it our best shot, someone will still inform us that they threw a watermelon out because it looked like this:

Yes, it really IS orange inside.  It is called Orangeglo, you know.

But, the main reason we grow Sweet Siberian (light yellow), Ali Baba (pink), Orangeglo (orange) and Mountain Yellow Sweet (yellow) is because we think they give us a nice range of fantastic tasting watermelons.  And... they are all open pollinated varieties.

Well, at least someone is happy to have an Orangeglo watermelon!

Last year was a great melon year, but we had a watermelon catastrophe.  The small watermelon harvest had some really tasty Orangelo watermelons, but not enough for everyone.  We're hoping to meet our goals for both in 2016!

Join our CSA and reserve your chance to taste some of these delicious treats!

Winter, We Hardly Knew Ye (Careful What You Wish For)

I started to type the title of this blog post and realized that we are still well within range for some very Wintry weather.  There is no denying that this El Nino year has resulted in an abbreviated (thus far) snow and cold season.  But, before you get too excited about this let me remind you of a few things.

Is It Spring Already?
If things stay significantly warmer, some of our annual crops - including fruit trees - will start to bud out.  This is actually a VERY BAD thing if you want a good crop.  It is highly likely we will have freezing weather yet this month and the next.  And, I don't mean something like an hour or two at 30 or 31 degrees.  I mean, below freezing and staying there for days.  If these things get started now, they're likely going to have bud freeze-off and we won't have some of those crops this coming year.  So, while I'm just like anyone else - I enjoy mild temperatures and weather because I really LIKE being out in it - I also consider the best interests of some of the plants we care for.  Farmers... can't make them happy with any kind of weather I guess.

I've also started hearing the standard comments along the lines of "you must be anxious to get things planted" and "I am sure you're already putting things in."  Well, yes and no.  Frankly, I'm not as pleased about the approach of Spring as maybe I once was.  Spring is simply an indicator to me that I must work harder and continuously to do the things I do.  While I certainly do plenty in the Winter, there is no denying that it is a more relaxed pace than the growing season.  Spring is my equivalent to the end of August for those who still run on a school calendar.  On the other hand, I do still like growing things and I do still like Spring.  I just wish I'd gotten more of the things done that I said I'd do during my "off-season."  And the time for that is running out - just like it does every year.

Great Minds
While I normally am the one to grab the camera and try to catch things around the farm to share with people on our blog, Tammy will sometimes get a wild hair and do the same.  We didn't communicate about the pictures you see below and they came on two different mornings.  But, we did select similar subject material.  Can you guess which of us took each picture?

The Burning Bush is Frozen?
We have a nice little Burning Bush just to the southeast of our house.  I managed to grab a chance to take a picture of it when it was covered in hoarfrost.  I couldn't really capture how cool it looked, but I could not pass up the chance for the wordplay. (actually, when have I passed up a chance for wordplay?)
 

Bad Timing
One of our trials this past year was to get some clover growing in the paths between the cucumber rows.  I apparently missed the time frame for getting the clover established so it would do us any good while the cucumbers were growing.  But, guess what I found in early December?  Why yes.... a nice, 200 foot long clover patch in between where 2 cucumber rows had been. 

look carefully just to the left of center for the clover row

Part of the idea here was to help reduce weeds during the harvest period for cucumbers.  Clearly, I failed in that endeavor.  Another part was to help keep the cucumbers cleaner on rainy day harvests.  Again, we didn't see that either.

Just to prove it really is clover, here is a "close up"

But, one of the principle ideas of cover crops is to keep soil covered to prevent erosion and to promote healthy microbiology in the soil itself.  Clover has an added benefit that it fixes nitrogen into the soil as well.  So, I may have missed my timing on this one, but I still get some benefits.  I'll take it.  And, no, I didn't notice any four-leaf clovers in this batch.  But, there was one in the path just to the West of these.

Back At It

It is a tradition for Tammy and I to spend the date of our anniversary together as much as is allowed by life schedules and this year was no exception.  She will likely pay for this since she has all kinds of things going on at school right now.  But, Thursday was an extremely nice day and Tammy requested some outdoor, farm time.  So, we made that happen.  (ok, ok.  There was going to be some outdoor farm time because we need to get things done anyway, but the order of things might have changed slightly to meet her request!)

Hauling the broadfork out to Valhalla

One of our tasks was unpacking and checking all of the seed orders that have arrived.  But, that didn't get us outside.  So, we gathered tools and moved on out to one of our high tunnels.  For those who may be new to what we do, we have two plastic covered hoop buildings that are commonly known in horticulture circles as "high tunnels."  We have named the older high tunnel "Eden."  Eden is the smaller of the two buildings (30'x72') and the Valhalla is the newer and larger building (30'x96').

Hiking turned out to be good preparation for broadfork work

We need to prepare the ground in the high tunnels for our early plantings and the first step is to use the two-handled broadfork.  This tool has sturdy 8 (or so) inch tines.  You step on the cross bar, push the tines into the ground and then rock the whole tool to loosen the soil.  The words do not adequately describe the workout you can get with this tool.  Our soil is dense enough that simply 'stepping' on the bar will not push the tines all the way in - so it ends up being more of a step on, march in place while balancing, step off procedure. 

I managed to get about a third of Valhalla worked up in a reasonable amount of time. I'm still a little bit off the pace I'd like to work at, but not far off.  On the other hand, I began to realize that I actually have the length of rows in Eden imprinted on my brain.  Every time I'd get to about 70 feet in a pass, I'd start looking around to see if I was by the end wall.  I don't know whether to consider this a good or bad thing at this point.

Barty got a chance to play today too!

We do have a propensity for naming things.  Oh, you noticed?  Good.  Get used to it.

Barty is our walk behind tractor with a nice tiller attachment.  After using the broadfork I brought Barty out to start making the seed beds.  We should be able to finish the project and get things in the ground by the end of the weekend!

While Rob was doing the bed prep, Tammy was pulling a little plant residue out of the North beds.  Then she spent time bringing materials out to Valhalla so she could start planting onions into our nice new red trays.

Step one, add drain holes.

We've used some white plastic trays the past couple of years and have found that they break up very quickly.  They're just not able to handle what we put them through.  So, Tammy did a little research and found these.  At the very least, we aren't going to lose track of them easily.

Well, that's a little less than half of them.

One the holes were drilled, Tammy got the water connected up in the high tunnel and she mixed some starting medium up for the onions.  She got five trays planted with the medium she brought out to the tunnel and then ran out.  Since the sun was starting to go down and we had chores and dinner to attend to, we figured it was enough for the time being.

What's this?  An "On Farm Farmer Selfie?"

Apparently, Tammy and I think we're pretty clever since we came up with our 'Farmer Selfie" thing on our recent trip.  I'm sure once the novelty of these things...or the novelty of this year's growing season catches up to us, this will die down.  But, for now, we prefer to think we are still rather clever and we will share a farmer selfie when the mood and opportunity meet up.

Walking Picture Tour Part II

And, our final installment for the Kauai trip is now here.  We will return you to your regularly scheduled farm blog after this.  I suppose we may be inspired to do more on this in the future - never say never.  But,  it feels like this is a good stopping point for the moment.  After all, we realize that the pictures will mean more to us than to you because we were there and it includes our 'adventures.'  There is fun in the sharing - as long as you don't wear out your welcome!

Kalalau Sunset
We were lucky to see another sunset from the Kalalau Lookout.  There is a neat phenomenon where the trees on the hills to the West of the lookout turn gold as the sun sets.  I haven't taken the time to identify the very best picture of this, so you'll just have to settle for this one.

Sunset to the West (imagine that!) of the Kalalau Lookout

During Winter months, things aren't always clear enough to experience a good sunset from this spot.  And, in fact, there may have been only one evening that was clear enough while we were there during this trip and we made sure we caught it.  What amazes me most about the Kalalau Lookout is how calm the wind has been each time we've been up there.  I'm sure there must be days or nights when the wind howls, but we sure haven't experienced it.

The Return to the Edge of the World (Waipo'o Falls)
One of the goals I held for myself was to hike the trail to Waipo'o Falls again.  Last time was quite the traumatic experience for me in particular.  Why?  Well, I am not particularly fond of heights and I can say that once you get on top of this ridge, it sure seems like you could very easily take a tumble for a LONG way down.  With Tammy's help, I managed it last time - there's something about conquering one's fear that makes you want to show that it wasn't a fluke.  So, we did it again.  And, it was easier this time around.  Although I did stay further from the edge than many people.

Tammy surveys the Edge of the World

And, once again, we went to the top of the first drop of the 800 foot Waipo'o Falls.  This time around, there was a good deal more water in the stream, so we did not cross it.  I suppose it could have been done, but we weren't in the mood for walking a couple miles in wet boots on the return trip.

The top of Waipo'o Falls

Makaha Ridge Road
Each time we would drive by the intersection for this road, Tammy would say that we should drive down it sometime.  So, on our last day at Koke'e State Park, we did just that.

And, we were rewarded.

There are a significant number of hunters on Kauai that work to control the wild pig populations.  Not only are these piggies used for food, but controlling them is necessary in order to prevent them from tearing up the ground and significantly increasing the erosion and harming native plant populations.  The pigs were introduced by humans (of course).  The reason I tell you this is because this road (and most others) have trails that are primarily used by hunters and are also hiked by people like us once in a while.  We found a short trail at the end of the road that took us to this viewpoint.  Makaha Ridge juts out towards the ocean.  I'd share one of the pictures that had the ocean in it, but it just doesn't show up as well as I'd like, so we'll go with this one.

Power Line Trail
Once we moved to the North side of the island, we worked to explore new things (to us).  One of our hikes was on the Power Line Trail (so called because it was created for maintenance/construction of the power lines from the North to the South side of the island through the interior).

Not a bad looking waterfall!

The hike was a bit less strenuous than some of the ones we'd taken thus far.  But, we'll admit we stopped a bit earlier than we thought we would because the trail was covered by water.  I suppose we could have slogged through it, but it would only remind me of days I have to work in mud on the farm.  So, maybe not.

The Christmas Tree of the Powerline Trail

We found this little tree next to the trail that had been decorated for Christmas.  It looks like a Norfolk Pine and is surely related to them.  We found it amusing enough to take a picture of it.

And, we were able to get a decent picture of the mountains to the West of the Powerline Trail.  It was always interesting to watch clouds gather on the North face. 

Kalalau Trail and the Napali Coast
We got up early to avoid the normal crowds that hike the first segment of the Kalalau trail to Hanakapi'ai Beach.  We succeeded in avoiding most of the other hikers by doing this, but we also dealt with more overcast/cloudy conditions than we've seen at other times. 

Sun hitting the top of a ridge on the Napali Coast

The brilliance of the colors really shows when the sun comes out.  They are muted somewhat when it is cloudy/foggy.  But, the whole thing is beautiful regardless of the amount of sun.

The different colors in the water always amaze us.

This trail is rated as being appropriate for a "Hardy Family," which is a notch less difficult than the "Strenuous" trails like Nu'alolo, which we hiked earlier.  But, frankly, I find this trail to be more difficult because of all of the rocks on the trail that like to try to roll my ankles. 

Well, not THESE rocks specifically

And, like most trails on Kauai, there were ups and downs to it.

How about rocks AND ups and downs?

Kilauea Lighthouse
The lighthouse itself was closed for work to shore up the paths to the lighthouse.  Erosion is doing its work on Kauai.  It's just the way things are. 

So, we went to an overlook that let us look towards the lighthouse instead

The point of visiting was the hope that we would see some whales.  No whales this time around (though others reported seeing them earlier in the day).  So, that was a small disappointment.  But, it was still a beautiful viewpoint and we got to see the Red Footed Boobys that were nesting in the area around the lighthouse.  If you look carefully at this picture, you'll notice the different colors of blue in the water AND the sky. 

Inini Beach
We alternated hiking with trips to various beaches on Kauai.  We did enjoy Kekeha Beach on the Southwest side.  There were big waves and lots of sun and sand there with mostly locals enjoying the surf.  Salt Ponds was a decent place to visit on the South side as well, we could explore some of the little fishy creatures that were in the rocks there.  But, we really enjoyed Inini.

Another farmer selfie?!?

Technically, the water near the beach is a lagoon that is protected by a reef further out.  It was strange how calm the water was near the beach.  Yet, we could still see huge waves breaking on the reef that was about 1500 feet out.  And Rob took great pleasure in disturbing a poor little crab that could rapidly cover itself in the sand.  Ok, he didn't disturb it THAT much.  Just a little.  All in the interest of science.  Or, something.

A Last Hike: Kuilau/Moalepe Trails
On our last full day on the island, we took one more hike.  I'm not sure how to describe the decision making process for us to go on this hike.  Suffice it to say that we started this trip by making sure to space out our hiking trips to allow time for recovery.  After all, this was a vacation, not a boot camp.  Most of our hikes were 4 to 5 hour hikes and some were fairly strenuous.  Since it is Winter, our conditioning isn't what it might be in the Summer.  That, and we don't do so much of the up and down stuff in Iowa for some reason.

Viewpoint towards the Makaleha Mountain range

We'd hiked on Kalalau Trail the day before and Powerline the day prior to that.  So, mentally, we were thinking there wouldn't be a long hike on this day.  But, we looked at the map in a region of Kauai we really hadn't explored much and decided the rating for this trail made it sound pretty easy.

The trees on Kuilau were friendly.

And, for the most part, it was easy, compared to most of the other trails.  There was still a climb (maybe 500 feet or so?).  But, the trail was wider than many and it wasn't covered in rocks.  There were even places we could walk without watching our feet.  That's actually the biggest danger for most of the Kauai hikes.  There is so much cool stuff to look at, you want to keep your head up.  If you keep your head up, you end up tripping on things.  So, it's much safer to walk with your head down and stop as often as you wish to get a good look around.  That does not mean that each of us didn't fall prey to the rubbernecking and then tripping issue on this trail at least once.

We both had a great time on this trip.  Of course, part of it was the location.  But, the biggest thing was the fact that Tammy and I could relax a little and spend quality time together.  Thanks for a great 25th Anniversary trip T!

Aloha Kauai! and Mahalo.