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It is with a heavy heart that we annouce the passing of our dad, friend, and greatest farm supporter. He died unexpectedly while helping us on the farm as he did every week. Even though the farm was in Kristin's family, Darrin's dad has touched every building, machine, fence, and field. Any time there was a project to do Dad always brought enthusiastic, positive energy towards getting it done. When he was at the farm it was an 8-10 hour day, typically including a fair amount of physical labor. He could keep up with anyone half his age working on the farm.
The following are a few of the projects that could not have been accomplished without the help of Dad.
The last couple of years had a fence building theme. It's too bad Dad won't see it fully completed but he definitely contributed to the bulk of the work.
Dad loved working with the tractors. I think it reminded him of his youth.
Here he is helping put bales in a grid pattern in the field for winter bale grazing. All the carbon from "wasted" hay along with the nitrogen rich manure really awakens the biology in the soil. Forage in areas that have been bale grazed in the winter are some of the best on the farm.
Dad helped put a new radiator on the old Allis Chalmers and the old Minneapolis Moline tractors.
Above are the beginning stages of building a chicken plucker. First picture is drilling holes for the plucker "fingers". Second picture is machining the shaft on the Bridgeport mill. Dad's tool and die machining expertise came in handy on this one.
This is a DIY "spinning jenny" that Dad and I put together with parts found around the farm. It started with a little trailer that Kristin's grandpa pulled around with a riding lawn mower. A geared spinning device, from who knows what deconstructed machinery, was mounted in the trailer. This allows for easy unwinding of fence wire or, as in this picture, for unwinding pasture water line.
Our first chicken processing day and of course, Dad wouldn't miss it for the world.
Don't worry, we have a better setup for chickens being sold.
Above shows the beginning stages of a new brooder coop in the barn. Step one, removing some of the broken up concrete in preparation for a new concrete floor. Step two, pouring the new floor. As always, Dad was in the middle of all of it.
Maintaining the legacy of this multi-generation farm is important to us. It strengthens our connection with our ancestors and the land we now steward for the short time we are here. This picture shows Dad and Grandson working on the barn foundation repair.
Here is Dad standing next to the Case tractor split in half. We replaced the worn out clutch and other clutch system components. This was a little intimidating to me and a project I may not have tackled without the confidence boost of having Dad there every step of the way.
Here's Dad digging a trench to bury a cable under a gate for the electric fence. You never saw him standing around watching someone work. He was always the one with the shovel, hammer, or wrench in his hands.
The above pictures show the most difficult corner post put in for our new perimeter electric fence. It is next to the creek bank with very limited access. The manual two person auger was the only thing we could get to the location. This one required a little extra muscle from the brother-in-law.
Dad helped build our first chicken tractor and a pig shelter using materials from the farm.
The barn silo deteriorated and needed to come down. The concrete staves were stacked individually in the dumpster. Dad enjoyed a good day of hard work.
Barn stone repair were needed projects to maintain the old barn. I think we did ok for not being stone masons.
This was a rare day on the farm that Dad wasn't there to work. It was a party for his 80th birthday. He liked a party especially if there were sweets or maybe cocktails. It was a great day that included a contest to find all the projects he worked on at the farm.
Not a good picture but that is a young bald eagle sitting next to the window in the barn. It somehow came down through the silo and got trapped in the lower portion of the barn. My dad and I walked into the barn for something with me in the lead. I caught a glimpse of a large animal in the back and almost ran over Dad as I turned around to get out of there. He had a good laugh over that one. Dad liked to laugh.
(The eagle was released unharmed by opening the doors.)
This is the last picture of Dad on the farm. It is about a week before his passing. For some reason I thought to myself that I haven't taken a picture of him in awhile so I took this after we cut down a birch tree next to the house. He loved working with a chainsaw.
We will miss him always. ❤️
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