Bethlehem Hill Farms

08/27/2026

08/19/2026

Great Advice

08/10/2026

To make not at Pioneer’s Day, first Sat of October 2026

As you all know, it's Whitney's 150th Birthday! What a better way to celebrate Pioneer Days, than decorating your float with birthday wishes! Heck, we can even sing "Happy Birthday" 🎶🎼🎵🎤

08/09/2026

Almost time to prepare

First day of deer season is coming, so apparently the cows have to wear name tags. 😂 “Just so we’re clear, fellas… C-O-W.”

It looks ridiculous, but there’s a legitimate safety idea behind markings like this: making livestock more conspicuous during hunting season so there’s less chance of a hunter mistaking an animal for game. Whether people literally spray-paint “COW” varies and plenty of examples are more joke/folklore than standard ranch practice, but the underlying concern is real. Texas hunter education specifically teaches hunters to positively identify the animal before ever taking a shot and to know what’s in front of and beyond the target.

Basically, the paint shouldn’t be necessary… but Bessie appreciates the extra clarification. 😂

08/09/2026

Good information

Every August someone meets a wolf spider in the grass and swears it came for them. It didn't. Wolf spiders are the only spiders that gave up webs entirely.

She hunts on foot, at night, running down cutworms, crickets and beetle grubs that were headed for your seedlings. She has no reason to come indoors and no interest in you at all.

And that gray fuzz on her back is not fuzz. It's her children. A wolf spider mother carries her egg sac wherever she goes, and when the spiderlings hatch, dozens of them climb up and ride her back for two weeks while they grow. No other spider in the world does that.

So if you meet her on the path tonight, let her pass. She's working your night shift, and she's carrying the whole family with her. 🕷️

08/09/2026

Good information

Most people look at a corn ear and see hundreds of kernels. Experienced gardeners see hundreds of individual pollination events.
That's what makes corn so different from almost every other vegetable in the garden.
Every single kernel begins with its own silk.
Each silk is connected to one tiny ovule inside the ear, and every one of those silks needs its own pollen grain to produce a kernel. Miss just one silk, and that spot stays empty. Miss hundreds of them, and you end up with an ear full of gaps.
That's why a perfectly filled ear of corn is actually a small miracle of timing.
The tassels have to be shedding pollen while fresh silks are still emerging. The wind has to carry enough pollen through the patch. Rain can wash pollen away. Extreme heat can shorten the pollination window. Even planting only a short row instead of a block can leave many silks waiting for pollen that never arrives.
It's also why veteran corn growers almost always plant in blocks instead of one long row. Corn depends on the wind—not bees—to move pollen from plant to plant. The more pollen floating through the patch during tasseling, the better the odds that every silk gets the one pollen grain it's waiting for.
The next time you peel back the husk on a beautifully filled ear, remember what you're really looking at. Not just rows of kernels... but hundreds of tiny pollination successes that all had to happen at exactly the right time.

08/06/2026

Good information - what to expect from a standard goat 🐐

08/02/2026

When to deworm goats

07/29/2026

Good information

The right feeder does more than hold feed—it improves efficiency, reduces waste, supports natural feeding behavior, and helps animals grow healthier. Choosing the right feeder for each species is a simple way to boost farm productivity.🐷🐔🐮🐑