to market, to market!

We are bringing more of our delicious and wonderful Maple Valley Farms Grass Fed Beef to market on Monday. Antibiotic, corn and hormone free! Grown on the pesticide free greenest grass and hay around! We have a whole, 3/4, 1/2 or 1/4 of the most delicious beef available for you as well! Give us a call ~616-566-8481

Cherries! SWEET CHEERIES!

a glimpse from Maple Valley off-grid farm...
Tuesday June 29, 2010, while supplies last, Maple Valley off-grid Farms will offer local-low spray sweet cherries for sale! Only $15- for about a 5-gallon bucket, unsorted! Please call the farm to place your order and for all yummy the details! 616-566-8481

Look who came to visit my garden this morning!

these last few days on the farm...

one of m-a-n-y- stacks on the wagon!

we would love to come and have you for a visit! You can read some of our reviews here...

I wouldn't be honest if during hayin' I did not show some of this...

team work!

and more team work! breakdowns happen on 60+ year old equipment!

we usually can fix the baler and Wisconsin engine and have been blessed with some helpful friends many times too!

this mission could NEVER be completed without some of the safest horses! These horses must be able to stand by themselves with a very loud engine blaring, spuing and spitting right behind them... and be left "alone" while the Gentle Giant must leave to adjust things etc... see for yourselves below!

in the words of the Gentle Giant, "The best and safest and ONLY horses to ever purchase are the horses that are not for sale..."

more hayin'!

This is one of our prairies! I almost hated to see it go...
but it will grow back

and we will have more to cut!

the smell is something I will remember forever!

It may seem overboard with all the hayin' videos BUT, this is what we are up to all week! Looks like we have clear skies for the rest of the week! Yes!

hayin' and more hayin'!

Thanks to a neighbor we have one field now completed!

This announcement is especially for the "SUNSHINE PICKLE FAMILY": Please call the farm IMMEDIATELY! Its getting a tad on the "apey" side around here and I cannot get a hold of you! xoxox Homemakerang

balin' last night

its been tricky trying to dodge all of this rain!

Before a busy week of haying we took a trip to the beach with one of our family picnics!

Lake Michigan at its finest! The children were thrilled to find Petoskey stones in our "secret spot"... Nothing beats a day in Leelanau! I still have hopes of a cottage there!

going back to his roots!
but until then, a visit does the trick to satisfy the longing... somewhat...

It's haying season again!

look at this! Gentlemen, start your engines! aka "Gentle Giant, MAN your horses!"
Don't mess with Belgian teams! One of these might not be around to long. SHE is very marish... If you know what I mean?

These feet were made for walkin' and they will walk all over you! WE STILL are so cautious and nervous when we work with all 8,000 lbs of these animals and have great respect for them!

at 39 years - giving a pep talk to the team! 2 years ago hubby had HIGH blood pressure, overweight by 65 lbs and wore a CPAP! Worked inside all day! TODAY: by the GRACE of God - blood pressure is completely normal, lost 65 lbs, NO CPAP now and with 5 eggs a day and pure grass fed red meat, heart and cholestrol are PERFECT! He is happy, happy to have this junk behind him!

our son LOVES farmin' with His dad! Don't let his seriousness fool you either! To think we could have missed all this! To think!!!! Thank you LORD! Even with the hard times, THANK YOU LORD!

our barn... some new images...

I never take for granted our old barn! I love the old beams with the carvings and love to think of all the things that went on here in the 1800's...
we have 11 out buildings, some in need of much repair, others are just right...

the windmill pumps the water to the top of the barn and gravity feeds it to the house with a hand pump or gasoline engine. I love the wisteria growing up the windmill...

a view from our dirt road. I hope they never pave it!

Go figure...

Here is an heirloom German tomato planted from seed the end of April right in the Michigan ground by the Gentle Giant. Then we have mine planted in the greenhouse the beginning of April (no picture yet). The GG's tomatoes are larger than mine planted in the greenhouse! We have told many people that we do this and it seems unbelievable. Here is the proof! I still can't believe it myself...

it is hayin' season...

and these boots are seldom seen on this porch but rather on this brother...
he can't get enough of Smoke...

I am not so sure I can get enough of watchin' him ride!

Maple Valley Farms on television!

Here is a short video about having your "Hay-Cation" at Maple Valley Farms!