With the surge in popularity of homesteading and TV shows like Yellowstone, cattle farming and ranching have experienced a renewed interest. Does your teenagers love the idea of working outside, as a farm or ranch hand? A great outdoor job for teenager is working as a farmhand! Whatever your teenager’s future plans, a farmhand job will help your teen gain valuable work experience and begin to learn the ins and outs of working on a farm. We have hired a fair amount of farm help, trained three of our own kids, and I’ve (almost) completed my transformation from city girl to farm girl. So there are definitely things you need to know to stay safe and be a successful farmhand. Here are 15 tips to survive your outdoor job as a teenager and thrive as a summer farmhand. [Read more…]
Tucked into bed for the night, I was just trying to wind my mind down when the phone rang. I grabbed the phone next to my bed worried something was wrong only to find my next door neighbor at the other end. Tammy, also a good friend, who is normally calm and serene, quickly told me in no uncertain terms that I had better get back up and tell her what happened. I thought I would have a night to think on my blind date adventure, but she was having none of it. Still not certain if it was a blind date success or blind date horror story, I knew I had better dish on the details. 
I am not exactly known for my accuracy when it comes to animals. There have been a few…or more…incidents where I thought an animal was a boy and the animal was really a girl or vice versus. We always tried to adjust and make any name changes…Leo became Leona…and all is well. But the latest is about the chicken who wasn’t. 
Winter is fast approaching here in the Midwest! This past week, we (and I do mean we this time) have all been busting our tails to get our livestock moved together and prepped for winter. Thankfully, I did have time to take plenty of pics to share with my lovely readers. And Country Boy loves when I talk country so in order to keep him happy we are going to talk cows this week;) Here are the behind the scene workings of preparing cattle for winter at Hickory Hollow Farm! 
Calving season 2018 at Hickory Hollow began this week. We already have 4 new calves on the ground (delivered)! So we wanted to update and show you all some of the cute new faces around Hickory Hollow. 
If you want to look poised and graceful at all times don’t try anything new, right? This year has had its share of funny moments. OK some didn’t seem so hilarious at the time. Like why in the world is the update/save button on WordPress so near the PUBLISH button! Eeekk. That was awkward accidentally sending out half a post to my readers. But we have to laugh at ourselves sometimes. So I’m sharing bloopers and mishaps in the first year of blogging for your enjoyment:) 
When I was growing up I loved to read everything about the American Frontier. I loved to imagine what life was like being a frontier settler living off the land and providing for most of your own basic needs. Actually, I haven’t really outgrown my fascination with that time period! Most opportunities I get to experience a little bit of what that life was like I think it is the best fun! So today I want to share with you the process of home milling wheat flour from field to table. We just finished harvesting our wheat crop and milling some of it into wheat flour for our family so I have plenty of pictures to share of this exciting process! 
Marriage is hard. Parenting is challenging. So in celebration of all our hard work lately let’s have a little fun with this post, because we all need to be able to step back and enjoy the hilarity of life! Country Boy and I are blessed to have families with very similar values. But when it comes to where we grew up, life was very different. It is definitely a case of city girl meets a country boy! So here are some signs you married a country boy that I have learned. 
I love gifts! I love receiving and giving them. Now my husband is slightly more low-key about gifts than I am. But Country Boy does recognize quality. When he purchases an item or puts it on his wish list he only wants the best. After years of watching him I have come to trust his judgement. So I’m pulling together 12 hard-working gifts for the outdoor man in your life, that we have tested, to make gift giving just a little easier this season. Whether you are married to a country boy, a hunter, an outdoors man or a construction worker, your man is sure to love these durable and practical gifts! 