Welcome to Our Website!
Here are a few pictures of things going on around the farm as well as some of the animals..We'll try to add some pictures from time to time...so pop by to see what all is going on at Pate Farms.
Happy 2011...
Wow... Another year had gone by already. We are still waiting on little Nugget to arrive. January has brought the Coyote back to the farm. Keeping and ear and an eye out on his visits. Hope everyone is well.... we are just waiting for spring!
Christmas was great... the best part was spending some time with all of our kids around! Familytime is the best time.
...........need to do a little updating and archiving...but too lazy today...
Wow... Time is flying... It's nearly Thanksgiving time again!
We are getting ready to cook Thanksgiving dinner. I'm excited that Carole and Clay will both be able to join us this year... Can't wait til our little "Nugget...Anna" gets here in January...having a little one around again will certainly spice up the holidays. (Yes, Carole is having a little one :) . Anyone... family and friends who want to join us for Thanksgiving... you are welcome to...just bring a covered dish.... You are welcome to join us! We'll have the main fixings... or at least something good out of the freezer. Just visiting and seeing each other for a little while in this fast paced world will be the treat!
The goats have been making it a weekly chore of getting them back into the pen. We've put up more electric fencing along with the wire fence... but we still have a jumper... one of old Ned's offspring clearing the fence no matter how high we put it... Yes, she finally found my one little plum tree that was actually surviving...
Then the pigs followed suit and escaped as well... the dug up my turnip (greens) bed... and I had to replant... We BBQed 2 for Gran's 70th birthday... but the others got out a week or so later... I'm glad I didn't end up on utube with a video of me chasing them in the dark...boy was I ever glad that Richie came home and helped me get them all back into the pen...(greens saved at least until the next time they break the compound!) Hope they will be big enough for Thanksgiving....(the greens).
We are planning on keeping Christmas simple this year... we want to get together with family dinners and celebrate through our worship at church of our Savior's birth... but forgo most of the gifting season this year... Maybe we can just have a fun game night...or something to spend time together. Isn't time with one another one of the nicest gifts anyway!
Hope all is well for everyone.... take a little time to slow down in this hustle bustle... we call life... take care everyone!
July 4th ---- 3rd Annual Ice Cream Social and BBQ @ Pate Farms ..... Everybody get out your ice cream churn and make up a batch of home made ice cream (0r your other favorite summer dessert) and come join us on July 4th. Bring your lawn chair and be ready for some old fashioned farm family fun.... horse shoes, lawn games, BBQ---Hamburgers and Hot Dogs...Porch sitting... community visiting...friends, family... Kids are welcome to swim as long as parents watch...bring your own towels... 3:30-8:30....we'll eat around 6:00
June 22, 2010 ... Wow, time flies when you are having fun. This past year has flown by. Here's a few updates on the farm. The fox and coyotes really cleaned out the birdies during the winter. I really miss my turkeys following me around the farm...GP and the Three Amigos all were fox dinner during the cooler months. We have some new babies I ordered and one Blue Slate hen sitting on some eggs in a pen (all the others who made their nest out around the farm were eaten..;( ) We still have two peacocks who are roaming around the farm. They've just lost their long tail feathers and the one pea hen (Belle) is still here, although she didn't hatch her nest she tried to put on top of the shop to keep safe. It's just been a bad year for the birdies.
The two new calfs, Taco and Fajita, are eating grub now and have moved over to their own pasture, next to the piggies. The piggies are getting huge! They really love a good bucket of slop too. They are quite the escape artists and it seems we are always working on their pen.
We trimmed the goat herd down. We've just got to work on fences and pastures. There is never enough time or money it seems. The youngest goat is "Little Billy". He is growing fast and is so fun to watch as he taunts the little lambs. Yes, we had two little lamb rams this spring. They are now ready to sell too. Any one interested in lambchops?
The horses want me to work on the fence so they can get out and graze...It's on the list horsey friends.
The deer ate the peas, and bean plants, along with the okra as soon as it sprouted up good this year. However, (knock on wood) they haven't found the corn as of yet. I saw a great big fat deer in the garden yesterday when I picked a small bucket of really small tomatoes....hum... maybe no peas this winter...but a nice big fat deer roast??? She just stood and looked at me as I lectured her about eating up my garden....then walked serenly over to the woods and out of sight... and I picked the maters.
The back porch is ready! Yay! and Richie made the steps last night. We still need to add the railing and do some clean up work.... and a couple of ceiling fans... But It's so nice to have another porch!
Well....that should get you a little updated on the goings on here... I really do need to work on the website some in July...(lol)..
August 22....Summer has been hot and humid. We had a call to go remove a bee hive this week. It was an easy removal and we were glad to get a new hive of bees. They had taken residence in a screech owl box...so Richie carefully removed it and brought it home...take a look on the bee page or the blog for pics.
Spot the piggie got to visit kindergarten. He enjoyed back scratches from the children and a good story that had a lot of good information on how to thwart wolf attacks...now if he could just talk the farmers into a house made of bricks!...
Richie is working on our addition to the kitchen...we are looking forward to having a nice warm den/kitchen for the winter months...
The morning glories are taking over the garden once again now that school has started...and it's time to clear them and plant some fall greens...time flies so fast these days. One more week until September...and then Fall... never a dull moment on the farm though....Horses got out this a.m. after the rain...luckily we spotted them before our feed store run...
It's a beautiful day...hope you are enjoying it as much as we are!
5th of July Ice Cream Social and Picnic....well another year has come and gone..we had a good time with family, friend, and church at the farm Sunday evening. We were even blessed with a mid-day shower to help the corn come along in the garden. It cooled the weather down for a nice evening of games, food, and socializing..We hope every one had fun...we certainly did. Check out the pictures from this year...and last...on the events page....Ice Cream Social Pictures...2009
6/10 The Harris County 4-H summer activity group came to visit the farm this morning...pictures are posted on the events page...They include a walk through the garden...to see what all is growing.
6/5 Wow time is flying by...we've been updating the blog from time to time...added some pics to the school friends page...from our class picnic..and a couple of other kid visits to the farm...
The Garden is keeping us busy...picked the first little squash today...planted a lot of tomatoes so hopefully we will see a red ripe one soon...lots of new baby goats this spring...still a few little billies to sell...
We now have four kittens...along with Mr. Boots to work as mousers...but they seem to want to play all the time...Bear, Mama Cat, Sher Kaun, and el Gato...
Baby peachicks hatched this week...5 new ones...the moms are taking care of them in the big pen...
we need to get old big blue back to work for some more mulch....
.....and so go the happenings at the farm... posted some more pics on the blog....
2/16 Big Blue is busy at work moving mulch into the big garden. Friends have decided to partner with us for some summer veggies...so we worked on the small garden, and planted early peas and potatoes for some spring treats. The kids have all been riding horses and we've been enjoying a break from the winter weather. Honestly...we can't wait until spring. As things pick up, there'll be less time to blog and update the website...but take a peak now and then to find out what we're up to here on the farm!
1/10 Added some pictures to Lindi's page...check it out for pics of Lindi and some with her dad..."Chef Richie"...Nothing like some good old homecooked pancakes...
12/29/08 Wow! This year has flown by and it's been fun! I look around the farm and see a million things I need to do...I survey the aches in my aging bones...and I just laugh! How can I still enjoy this all so much. But I do. I enjoy seeing the critters grow and change as well as the battle of the weeds for a few precious vegetables in the spring. It's the renewal and sharing of God's blessings for us all. I am thankful for a loving family and good friends. I'm like a kid on Christmas morning year round with all the little suprises the farm brings. It's just like living at Grandpa's year round...except that sometime shortly in the future maybe...I'm the Grandma figure...until then, We're Aunt Ginger...and Uncle Richie...and just enjoying the simple life...
It scares me that I think so many people have forgotten about where our food comes from...Big Business has pushed many small farmers out of business and there are fewer and fewer folks who can raise a few animals even for their own family's use. What happens if the big farms fail us America? Can we pull it together...
What can you do? Teach some youngsters about planting a few back yard vegetables...even if it's a tomato plant or two. You'd be suprised at the enjoyment from a squash plant or bell pepper plant...as you fix an early summer meal grown from the soil... (and if you are feeling really adventurous...try a couple of backyard chickens for some fresh eggs!)
As for myself, I can't wait for the spring. I'm counting the months and making plans for a big garden this year. I'm super excited about "Big Blue" our dump trailer to help me battle the weeds with some good mulch...
Pick out a spot in your back yard that will be in the bright summer sun and make a bed to plant in early spring. Start planning now...A small raised bed could give you much pleasure for only a little work...smell the earth...feel the richness...share the joy with our children.
We've seen what has happened with the big industry, the big banks, the big auto makers, ....doing a little backyard gardening could help preserve a lost art for our children!
The Home Page has been getting a little lengthy so we are archiving it...so if you feel like browsing...you can do so under Fall Archive2008, or Summer Postings 2008. Also, please remember to check the blog. We'll do most of our writing there on the happenings at the farm.
12/2 We put the Thanksgiving photos and the Land Christmas 12/7 photos on the events page.
11/25 We're adding a recipe page to the website to start recording some of our family recipes....
11/24 We are getting ready for the Thanksgiving get together. Here is the initial list.
10/10 We finally got a little rain...Hammie has gone to the butcher...
9/30 We've got the fall greens planted and they are sprouting up. 9/16 We had a beeusy weekend...check out the bee page for pictures. 9/10... Tilling the fall garden... a few pictures to share...
9/06... added a slide show of flowers and pea fowl...along with a few other pics on the Pea Fowl link (bottom left of this page)
9/04 ...Added some more mushroom pictures...
8/30 ... Mushrooms are everywhere...new guinea keets have hatched.. We've got two new bunny rabbits on the farm..
8/23 We've been doing most of our postings on the blog.
7/29 The rain sure is making the grass grow...no complaints here...but how are you mowing your grass...check out our four-horse mower system on the blog...
7/22/08 Lauren came over for a visit today. She wanted to learn how to make homemade biscuits. Click here to see more pictures about her biscuit making adventure.
7/18/08 It's been pea pickin' and shelling time
7/12/08 The baby goats got thier bells today...
Check out my new wheels...I even have a basket
We are working to add to our Pate Farms Blog on most days....little happenings around the farm....check it out and feel free to comment back...
Pea Shelling Time....Lindi and Leah try a hand at shelling peas... Don't ever say you are bored on the farm!
July 2... Sugar delivers a pretty little doe...Independence ..Indi for short..
July 1 was a busy day here at Pate Farms... peas and beans, okra, squash, tomatoes all needed picking.... and then we had three new baby kids arrive too...
Honey delivers two boar/kiko billies... Patriot and Flag
Rainy delivers a single...Miss Betsy Ross
We had a fun day at the Ice Cream Social to celebrate the 4th of July...just a little early on June 29th... Click here to view the album of pictures from the day...
Midnight delivers two strong little billies...Claybo and Buster June 26 about 10:30.
Lindi is learning how to sew!
We have been hard at work building the peafowl pen.
We put ginger hard at work painting the pen..... Hey where is Richie?
This is General on his new perch.
April had her baby on May 16, 2008. Welcom to the farm Mr. Socks!
Clay takes a moment out to relax in the swing by the pool and garden and read a book.
Ginger has collected and cleaned this pile of eggs. It is about three days worth of eggs!!!! Those ladies sure have been busy.
Ginger heading off on a nice ride.... Gotta get that saddle ready!