Traub Mini Farm
Documenting our journey raising kids, crops, & animals in rural IA.
15/07/2024
Summertime Farm View
13/07/2024
Beautiful morning for an On The Farm Market! Great vendors with awesome products 🥰 So many flowers & veggies to pick from the garden too!
20/02/2024
Can one really have too many egg baskets?? I stumbled upon this and just had to have it! 🥚🐓
17/02/2024
Gorgeous Girl out free ranging ❤️
21/01/2024
I did it! 🎉 🍞I finally took the time to make my own sandwich bread. I probably should have let it rise a little more after punching it down & splitting into the 2 loaves. But you don’t know until you try, right?
What is something you are making from scratch now?
I’m discovering that it’s okay to learn certain skills later in life. This fall I learned how to drive our Ford 8N tractor. You would think someone who grew up in agriculture would know how to do this, right? Wrong. I had no clue.
I was determined to learn so I could show my boys that their momma can do the farming too! The mini but mighty tractor & I took off around the yard eventually! I only killed it a “couple” of times. I even was able to help till up part of the sweet corn field.
It was a great reminder that you are never truly done learning. If you didn’t continue to learn, life would get boring real fast! What is a skill you learned later in life?
19/01/2024
With another extreme cold snap & a couple more inches of snow, Dan was able to capture these light pillars tonight while doing chores. Pretty amazing to see these!
Light pillars are an optical phenomenon caused when light is refracted by ice crystals. They will look like beams shooting up from the light source.
18/01/2024
There is beauty in the still moments out here on the farm. 📸
13/01/2024
Blizzards Beauty
❄️📸
Winter is officially here! With being inside more, we are more prone to colds & other sickness. One way that you can help stay ahead or help treat the symptoms is to have Fermented Garlic Honey on hand! 🍯🧄
When garlic and honey are combined they become a powerhouse full of antioxidant & anti-inflammatory benefits! Help boost your immune system by taking a spoonful of the garlic honey at the first sign of sickness. You can also eat a clove of the garlic for even more of a boost!
Here’s how to create your own:
-1 sterilized glass jar
-Raw honey (local honey is best)
-2 to 3 heads of garlic
Peel, cut base of each garlic clove, and lightly crush the whole clove to allow the honey to infiltrate in. Put the whole cloves in the sterilized jar. Pour in the raw honey, making sure to fully cover the garlic. Every few days, open the lid to burp the fermentation gases. You will notice some bubbles on the top, this means the fermentation process is working! After about a month you will be able to begin using. Store in a cool dark place. Here’s to staying healthy this cold & flu season!
10/01/2024
Here’s some Highlights from our Snow Day ❄️ Even Scout & Angel got in on the fun. 🐾 The last 2 pictures just make me laugh. Finn took his big brother down and started wrestling him 😆 Clearly I think wrestling will be a family sport.
29/10/2023
As you can see, even our pumpkins were not ready for the snow today! 🎃❄️
24/10/2023
Can you really top a beautiful Fall evening spent carving homegrown pumpkins? 🎃 We think not! The boys had fun with the pumpkins. They drew on their faces and we cut them. Finn however was not as excited to clean out the guts. 😆
17/10/2023
Can you really call yourself a Crazy Chicken lady, if you don’t own at least one chicken themed piece of clothing!?!
I am proud to be a Crazy Chicken Lady 😊🐓❤️
08/10/2023
Harvest is in full swing in our neck of the woods. Thankful that we have family that the boys can experience harvest with.
Auggie rode 4 hours with Uncle Les in the combine. He almost made it to the elevator closing for the night. He told me that he is determined to make it 7 hours today! 😆
05/10/2023
Doesn’t everyone have professional pictures taken of their chickens??!! 😆
We had our family pictures taken recently and of course the girls had to get in on the action.
Photo Credit 📸: Paige Baade Photography
30/09/2023
Well at least there is a little popcorn out there! We were worried after the major hail that happened in August that the whole crop would be done for. Hoping for a couple 5 gallon buckets full 🤞🏼
18/09/2023
The best view on the farm ❤️
16/09/2023
We are staying busy over here with after school activities starting. Auggie is in flag football this year. So far he is loving it! 🏈
More farm content will be coming. With school starting back up and full time jobs, the farm stuff has been slacking slightly. This is just the current season we are in right now for life.
10/09/2023
The Traubs go to the fair! Today we headed to the Clay County Fair to watch our niece & nephew show. Plus it was the annual Cy-Hawk football game. Clearly our house is divided 😆 We enjoyed food, fun, and most importantly family today!
Even though the football game didn’t go my teams way I still say “Loyal forever true, for ISU!”
29/08/2023
“Sunflowers always turn in the direction of light because they instinctively know it’s a source strength and renewal. Take a lesson from the sunflower. Look for the light in your world.” -Eleanor Brown
15/08/2023
This past weekend, we made our yearly trip down to the Iowa State Fair!
We all had a blast! From meeting Fairfield to eating our favorite foods. I had to get my favorite lemonade from the Iowa Honey Producers and Dan got his bucket of cookies! It was a great day and clearly Finn was worn out from all the fun!
I know that fairs aren’t everyone’s thing but it’s nostalgic for me because I’ve grown up here. From watching my siblings show sheep all the way to getting to be an FFA Usher myself.
Fun Facts:
#1: Dan was going to propose to me here but my engagement ring hadn’t come in yet. 💍
#2: Auggie went to his 1st Iowa State Fair at only 6 days old! 🎡
14/08/2023
How can he be 6 already…time has flown these past years. Thank you for making me a momma.
You are the best big brother and buddy we could have ever asked for. Keep on loving all things farm, fair, and of course “your” blue truck.
Happy 6th Birthday buddy! We love you more than you know ❤️
06/08/2023
Don’t ever say that farmers don’t care about their animals! Dan proved that he truly cares about our animals last night. 🐓
Story-time: I was gone watching my nephews for the night and Dan was home with our boys. The boys were sleeping. Dan was relaxing in his chair. He decided to take a look at the camera feed in the chicken coop. Thank the lord he did! A weasel had gotten into the coop! He ran out there in the pouring down rain to save the rest of our girls. Dan carried them one by one from the coop to his shop. Unfortunately we have lost 4 girls so far from this dang weasel. 😭
I’m so glad Dan went out and saved the 24 alive chickens. I would have been completely devastated if we had lost our whole flock. There were a couple that had small bites so I will be cleaning those & bandaging those up as much as possible.
We will going over the coop with a fine tooth comb to reinforce all security.
I know that predators are a part of living on a farm but it still sucks when they succeed.
If you have any advice on deterring weasels from the coop, please comment below!! I’ll try anything to keep the girls safe!
05/08/2023
Well another year has passed for me here on the farm. Here’s to year 33 being the best it can be! 🎉
Also August birthdays are just the best!
#33
04/08/2023
The shop fridge has been restocked with the best there is! Wouldn’t you agree?
Iowa Sweet Corn and Busch Light Corn cans are beautiful sight! 🌽
31/07/2023
Tonight’s side on the grill is fresh sweet corn with zucchini! Added butter and a little Crazy Mixed Up Salt.
Nothing beats fresh produce from your own field & garden!
What’s your favorite thing to eat from the garden?
30/07/2023
UPDATE: SOLD OUT! Thank you to everyone who purchased sweet corn & popcorn from us today 😊
Hey Locals! We just got done picking sweet corn this morning. We will be parked at the Algona Bomgaars parking lot starting around 9:45am today 7/30/23.
Come buy fresh sweet corn plus we have what’s left of our homegrown popcorn available too!
19/07/2023
The Zinnia patch is in full bloom!
Zinnias are a very hardy flower that continue to bloom well into the end of summer. They are usually associated with friendship 🥰
I will definitely be plant more of these next year!
What is your favorite flower to grow & why?
18/07/2023
I took the first leap out of my comfort zone today. I’m jumping head first into my 1st canning experience with Bread & Butter pickles.
Many people are surprised to find out I have actually NEVER canned anything before!
Any helpful tips for canning? Drop them in the comments please! 😁
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