Sunday night my plane from Dallas got delayed and delayed and, just for good measure, delayed again. The wheels finally touched down in Huntsville at 1:30 in the morning. After talking to Billy and snuggling with various and sundry sleepy children I finally fell into bed.
That alarm clock Monday rang early! It was totally worth it, though, because I had the pleasure of going on a tour of Miller Farms in Snead, Alabama with some other bloggers. Sweet Tea in the South, Southern Plate, Cosmopolitan Cornbread and Southern Kissed all came. It was so beautiful and awesomely informational! As a side note Stephanie, the farmer’s wife, has a terrific blog. You should read it.
Absolute coolest part of the tour…
Ladies and Gentleman, I’d like to introduce you to…drum roll please…peanuts! Yeah, apparently they don’t grow in galvanized buckets at Logan’s Restaurant. Apparently, they grow in the ground. Here is Lance, the farmer, holding some he pulled up for us.
We learned all about these little suckers. How the nodules produce nitrogen and how…alright I’m getting ahead of myself…Let’s take a step back.
Miller Farms is a family farm that has been operating for over one hundred years. They grow cotton, soybeans, corn, peanuts, chickens, and on and on and on.
This guy was there.
The life of a farm dog is chock full of responsibilities. At least I assume it is because this guy slept a lot. He was plumb wore out.
What hit me on the farm tour over and over again was how much dang work being a farmer is. I mean, everyone has heard about how hard life on a farm is but it was different hearing the stories first hand.
For instance, when they first got married they’d be up at six harvesting cotton and only stop to eat lunch and dinner. Then, around eight pm, they’d go back out and harvest the peanuts until one or two in the morning. Whew! No wonder that dog is tired.
Peanuts need really sandy soil. That’s why they grow so well in South Alabama. But, even though we are in North Alabama, we just happen to have a big hill we call Sand Mountain close by and that’s where the farm is. Hence the great peanuts being grown. These particular peanuts sometimes get sold to Mars Inc.
Yep, these peanuts become Snicker bars. So, really it’s healthy to eat candy bars because they come from local ingredients. Yeah, I’m just doing my part to eat local when I have a Fun Size party.
The cotton was looking good too. I love cotton flowers. I love it even more in the Fall when the cotton bolls pop out and it turns the whole world white and makes me think we are living in the snowiest part of Minnesota.
But for now the flowers will suffice.
Along with being in awe of how hard the farmers work I was in shock by how much technology is integrated into every single aspect of farming. They actually use a GPS to harvest the peanuts. It’s true – if they get off by as little as 3/4 of an inch they can lose a lot of money.
Now wait just a cotton pickin’ minute! How did Cosmopolitan Cornbread get to climb up in the John Deere? I like to pretend I’m a farmer as much as the next girl.
Okay, I just can’t wait any longer…
BABY CHICKENS!!!
Aren’t they the cutest little things ever? I can’t even about these things. They use radiator air conditioning in the houses just like in The Land at Epcot in Walt Disney World. It was amazing how much cooler it was in the chicken houses!
After we ate a delicious meal that looked like it was straight out of Pinterest…
The farmer’s wife led us in playing Corno – yeah, you see what she did there. Corno instead of Bingo. Look at all the crazy things corn is used in.
We picked corn and got to take a lot home which I promptly put up in the freezer. Where’s my medal?
Hanging out on a farm felt good. Remember Henry Fussy, yes, the character I named my second son after, from Charlotte’s Web? He’s all uptight and worried all the time and then he goes and spend the summer at a farm and comes back a new kid. That’s what farms do to a person!
We live in Alabama. Farms are everywhere! It was so cool to get to go see what actually happens on a family farm. So, thanks to Miller Farms for letting us have an inside look.