August 3 - 4, 2013 Elevated Tee Box Under Construction

Golfers rejoice! Jeff is constructing a new and improved elevated tee box for the upper and lower greens. The initial stage includes building  the treated lumber framing, planting the "feet" in concrete and filling the trapezoidal shape with dirt.

 

July 27 - 28, 2013 Jeff and Dan's Excellent Adventure

While Lloyd was becoming acclimated to the farm, Jeff and Dan were off digging in the dirt. Hard work, but somebody has to do it! They were digging the foundation for what will eventually become the covered bridge and a Covo Hills landmark.

Covered Bridge positioned in the center down by the creek

Scenes of summer

Watermelon

Pumpkin Flower

Corn 

Queen Anne's Lace

Black-eyed Susan's

Prairie Grasses 

Covo and Beyond

LLoyd's excellent adventure

At home in Golf View Hills

Sometime between the hours of noon and 2 p.m. Friday, July 26, a large 8-year-old Merriam's turkey was rescued from the vicinity of Golf View Hills.

Eyewitnesses report seeing three unidentified individuals humanely trapping said turkey with a volleyball net, then putting the bird into what appeared to be a large covered dog kennel and driving off in an indistinguishable white van.

A group of humane hunters found Lloyd on their doorstep and transported him out to Mt. Carroll where he came rest at Covo Hills Farm. They gently cut away the remaining netting and released Lloyd back into the natural environment, where he will live out his life in peace, far from cars, kids and dogs.

Lloyd may be one of the few Merriam's in Illinois. This breed is primarily found in the ponderosa pine, western mountain regions of the United States, mainly Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. How he came this far east remains a mystery. 

Initially, Lloyd sightings were few and far between, but he was seen traversing the hillside paths and nutrient rich prairie grasses the morning after Operation Relocation, giving everyone hope that he will survive in the wild, far from his domesticated upbringing.  

Lloyd survived his first night in the wild

July 20 - 21, 2013 Forests in the making

We're not farmers. We're good stewards of the land under our care.  It's exciting to see the changing landscape, as the once barren hills are populated with evergreens and hardwoods. Every budding leaf and new shoot is a source of pride, especially for Dan and Jeff, who have worked tirelessly to plan, coordinate, plant and maintain our corner of Mt. Carroll. 

CRP planted trees 

Neatly planted in rows

 Arbor Day trees covered by white tubes for protection

Older evergreens reach above the grasses

Expanded upper tee box

Uncle Palmers' Grove 

Lilies looking good 

Lodge garden 

Fingers crossed we'll have pumpkins

Garlic harvest

July 13 - 14, 2013 As good a place as any to spend the weekend

Aunt Rita and Uncle Palmer joined us for a farm weekend. The ladies explored downtown Mt. Carroll, while the men mowed the trails and open areas. Uncle Palmer always looks at home on the farm. He even took a turn traversing the hills on the ATV, while Jeff took Aunt Rita for a tour in the gator.

Saturday night dinner at Bella's

Thanks to all the rain this year, Covo is resplendent with wildflowers and the corn is a towering seas of green with some Queen Anne's Lace tucked in for good looks. 

June 28 - 29, 2013 Baby, the rain must fall

The last weekend in June and the pumpkin patch was calling, "weed me, weed me!".  I dove into the grasses and weeds and found six hidden plants, well-saturated by rain but shrouded from the sun.  Fortunately, my three-hour weed fest was preceded by a late afternoon downpour so the soil was soft and moist. After I did the hard work, Jeff went back the next morning with the weed wacker and finished the job. I'm a little cautious after zero pumpkins last year, but I'll chalk it up to the drought and remain optimistic. 

Dinner on the deck - watching the clouds roll in. Quiet and peaceful between rains. 

We woke up to rain Saturday, making it the perfect morning to cozy up on the couch with a second cup of coffee and finish my book, while Jeff painted the ceiling in the mud room.  This what I saw when I finally ventured out about noon. Fresh, verdant fields and shimmery rain washed corn fields. 

During the time I walked down to the gardens and started back up the hill, the clouds returned with a vengeance and I could actually see a wall of rain moving toward me. I quickened my step but took the wrong path and had to wade through tall grasses to get to the lodge. Jeff was out in the worst of it, weed wacking around the trees and only came in when he was muddy and soaked to the bone.