Wordless Wednesday: Rest in Peace, Winnies

The Winnies at their prime - before Rooster and other varmints got them.

So apparently I am able-bodied enough to care for three horses, two dogs and a large human child but I'm unable to care for and protect five birds. Rest in peace, Winnies. You are the last bunch of chickens I will attempt to raise at the Frobuzz ranchero. Hopefully, at our next abode, I can build you a proper coop to keep varmints out and your innards in.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Backyard Chickens Round 2 - Welcome Home Winnie(s)

As you may have seen on my Instagram feed earlier this week (@brandibuzzard), we have some new guests at the Frobuzz ranch. I would like to introduce the Winnies!

You may remember last year I attempted backyard chickens with some Barred Rock chicks, which I affectionately called the Stellas. Unfortunately, they met an untimely fate with some sort of rodent or weasel. So after mourning 10 innocent lives, I vowed to do better this year and keep them protected.

Instead of Barred Rock chicks, I bought basic pullets this year and thus far, things are going well. They are locked and barricaded in the coop with their heat lamp, clean food and fresh water.



Red waterer (because chickens are attracted to red) and a
Frisbee for a feed pan because Rooster chewed up the other one

No way in hell that anything is getting into that impenetrable coop.


Two hay bales, some tin and cinder blocks. No way there are any varmints getting in this thing!

They've been on the farm for five days and are DOING AWESOME.



Sleepy little Winnies

As with last year, I will document their growth and how I care for and feed them. The goal is to get eggs for our household and occasionally have a fryer if we hatch out some of the eggs.

Wish us luck - I'm hoping and praying (literally) for success and livelihood for the Winnies!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

p.s. The winners for the Sierra Shea giveaway have been picked! Congrats Katelyn V and Jessie W!



Wordless Wednesday: [Corn] Blowin in the Wind

A wet cornfield on a windy day in Ohio - harvest is upon us!

Ranching Awesome - Thriftshop Parody

I love Kansas and I won't list all the reasons why but contributing to that long list is that all the best farm song parodies come from Kansas.

First there were the Peterson Farm Bros and their two big hits: I'm Farming and I Grow It & Working Farmer Style.

Then, the kids at Wallace County High School in western Kansas came up with this little diddy about the school lunch program and gained a ton of national attention - We Are Hungry.

And the next installment of Kansan farmer prides comes to us from Klingenberg Farms. Say hello to Ranching Awesome - a play on Thriftshop by Macklemore.

You guys have got to check this out - it's hilarious but oh so informative. The video shows a lot of cattle, pasture burning in the spring, K-State (holla!) and some cute little dancing farm girls! They talk about the different cuts of beef, Omega-3's, fixing farm equipment - seriously, you will die laughing but will also probably learn something too! And then you'll have it stuck in your head.

Enjoy!


Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Dodge/Ram Silences Audience with God Made a Farmer During Super Bowl

I just watched the best two Super Bowl commercials in history. I'm sure you've heard about them and that is why you are here.

My absolute favorite was the Dodge commercial that featured the classic Paul Harvey monologue "So God Made A Farmer". Here it is if you missed it.



Coming from a farm/ranch family and marrying into another, this commercial touched my heart. I'm also a Dodge owner and love their support of the National FFA Organization and rodeo. Overall awesomesauce. This isn't the first time I've blogged about Paul Harvey and this piece - I loved it then and love it now!

Second favorite commercial was the Budweiser Clydesdales - horse owners and lovers everywhere were brought to tears. It was just amazing - it is hard to describe the bond between a good horse and its owner.



What was your favorite commercial? I thought the milk one with The Rock was great too!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Kings of the Farm

Great - now I have this song stuck in my head. Substitute 'farm' for 'road'. Capice?

If you don't already know, this week is NFR week. National Finals Rodeo. The Big Show. Super Bowl of rodeo.  You get the point. The NFR is shown exclusively on Great American Country (thank God, I was so tired of waiting up till midnight for it to start when ESPN had the rights to it) and on Saturday night, the guest hosts were two boys from the show Farm Kings.

Basically, the show follows a family (The Kings, get it?) as they do their daily farm chores. The Kings own and operate Freedom Farms where they strive to provide Pittsburgh with the freshest produce around. There are TEN KIDS and the mom who do all the work - I haven't seen an episode but I would be willing to bet that Mom is one tough cookie (seriously, ten kids).

I only found out about the series because I upped my DIRECTV subscription for 10 days so I could watch the NFR. After December 15th, it's sayonara GAC and Farm Kings, too. I'll have to DVR a few episodes so I can get the lo-down. For those of you who, like me, are cheap and have the bare bones cable package, here is a clip of Farm Kings you can watch. Maybe it will entice you to upgrade!



Has anyone out there seen a whole episode? What did you think?

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

p.s. My rodeo man crush, Trevor, is pursuing his 10th all-around title. For more info on his awesomeness, check out previous posts. I'm also a big fan of first time NFR qualifier Jared Keylon. Jared was my boyfriend's roommate when we were at Fort Scott Community College and lived next door. You'll never meet a more hard working, determined bareback rider than Jared. He's making a solid showing at this year's NFR and you can bet he'll be back for more in future years.

Other faves I am loving right now:
Cory Solomon - calf roping
Kelli Tolbert - barrel racing (that horse can eat up a third barrel)
Trevor Brazile and Patrick Smith - team roping
Chad Masters and Clay O'Brien Cooper - team roping
Tuf Cooper - calf roping 

Working Farmer Style!

and do the horse dance while you hum that song in your head.

They are at it again! The Peterson Farm Brothers, who became wildly famous overnight for their parody I'm Farming and I Grow It have recently released their new song Farmer Style, a play on the popular hit Gangnam Style.

Check it out - K-State is very proud to claim these boys. They are wonderful agriculture representatives and have helped put farm life on the front page.




I think my favorite part is the "haaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, for my cattle." I'll have that stuck in my head all day!

What do you think of the video - do you like it better than Farming and I Grow It? What song do you think they should do next? This parody already has 107,000 views on YouTube!

You can check out the Peterson Farm Brothers and their videos on their YouTube page and you can follow Greg on Twitter (@gregpeterson33).

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~