Farming in the shade

Another one graduated. Still recovering from a busier-than-usual weekend. So proud of all our kids...

But here is my best shot at it. We planted beans. No new varieties this year, unfortunately, and it looks like the Marrow and the Green Flageolet have have not sprouted well. I visited Chicago with our two oldest daughters. Daughter #1 had a conference for work, and so the hotel (the biggest expense in Chicago) was covered. We used the GO Card for Chicago to see several different attractions, like the River Architectural Cruise (above) and the view from the Hancock building (below). While we were gone, The Farmer mowed and put up part of the first cutting of hay. He hasn't mowed any more hay, as we've had a veritable monsoon since this hay was put up. It's either feast or famine with the rain here lately. We also celebrated the marriage of daughter #2, and son #1 moved back in to our home. Big changes; no pictures. We kept moving the sheep and cattle around on their rotational grazing plan. We continued to work on the barn, by installing a new s...

The clouds this morning were interesting enough to snap a picture of. Apologies for the lack of quality of the picture--it was quite early, and still rather dark.  We are receiving regular rains, now, which is so much better than too wet or too dry. The beans are coming along nicely, but we had to till under the vast majority of our single corn field. This spring's relentless rains didn't allow us to adequately prepare the field for planting. The weeds took over, and some of the corn didn't even take root due to the extreme wetness. So instead of 3 fields of corn, we have 1/5th of a field. Corn is a cash crop for us, as we feed very little to our animals. So things might be a little tighter for us next year, when there is no corn to sell. Farming is an exercise in trusting God. We have never had a perfect year. Good years? Yes. But they are sprinkled in among the not-so-good years. There are no guarantees in farming, or in life. I guess the trusting that comes w...

Seasons change, and life goes on. It's been nearly a week since we watched them bury our brother in law, and the strangeness has not worn off. So much is the same. And yet we know for our sister and her family, things will never be the same.  Somewhere in this blur of the recent past, we celebrated a birthday, planted some corn, and moved sheep and cows to new pasture several times. The llamas stand guard over the sheep. The cattle, in another pasture entirely, are on their own. We have 3 cows that have given birth, with 3 to go. Somehow, I don't think a stray dog or coyote will mess with those black and white mamas. Speaking of mamas, can you believe how old this lamb is, and still nursing? He has to kneel down to reach the bar. This is actually quite common. Eventually, the ewes will wean the lambs themselves, if we don't do it for them first by separating them. We are predicted to get some heat soon, after a too-wet, slightly cool spring. Happy first-day-...

I am extremely proud of all four of our kids. They are all surprisingly different, despite my feeble attempts to use cookie cutter techniques while parenting. I have not blogged a lot about our kids, out of a desire for privacy, and because that's not what this blog is about. But every once in a while it's right to blog about family things. A week ago, we celebrated the last one's graduation. No, there is no diploma, and we had no ceremony. Like the rest of the educational process, this, too, is up to the family. And we decided that a transcript (in case of future education) and a celebration were what we'd do. We held the celebration at our church, and displayed some of the things that our son was proud of. The kayaks that he and The Farmer have finished and are currently working on were displayed and admired. The robot that the local public school's robotics team built for competition came to the open house, and some of the team members were happy to de...

It's the time of year when we sell a few of our lambs to young people who want to show them at local county fairs. They're called "club lambs" because the kids are in 4H clubs.  Here are two that have been chosen, and are just waiting for transport. These lambs had only a short ride home, so the utility trailer works fine. A few times we've shipped club lambs home in the back of an SUV. We always sort of wonder how that turns out. =) Some of our kids have benefitted greatly from being in 4H and showing animals. The leaders of our kids' club are just the most wonderful people. It's a huge commitment, to be a 4H leader. Hats off to you, Pat, Linda and Arlan, for your years of hard work and dedication.

Just read an article (the second this week) about being faithful to the task at hand. I'd love to, but I've got what feels like 47,000 tasks at hand.  When The Farmer started with the beans, and indicated to me that this would mean going to farmers markets, I begged off. "This will be your thing, okay? I don't really want to take on any more." Fast forward to now, when we regularly attend two farmers markets, and are looking to add in a third. They're all on Saturday, and all in different cities. Guess who is going to market? We're winding down with homeschooling, but I want to finish well, and not sputter out like a lantern with a worn wick.  About four years ago, I started a part-time job. It has released some of the financial pressure that used to threaten to crush us. But at what cost? Even when I'm not AT work, I am thinking about it.  There is more, but I won't bore you with details. The truth is that the juggling of many...

Each Mythbusters show includes a "Please don't try this at home" disclaimer. This post also includes that same disclaimer. No persons or animals were harmed during this activity. The tubes, however, did not fare so well. They are probably over 7 years old, and are starting to show their age. Once they go flat, it's not nearly as much fun.

My, how time flies. It seems like just yesterday that we put the booths up and started our annual Christmas Market. Yet here we are, approaching the last weekend already! We often have shoppers ask why we end the Kerstmarkt so soon. We pleasantly remind them that we have Christmas shopping and baking to do, too. And that we are always open 4 weekends--starting right before Thanksgiving. This year is an early ending, because of an early Thanksgiving. But the truth is, we are anxious to return to our regular markets, as well. (And here's a gentle reminder to treat retail workers kindly during the holidays and always. We are people, with joys and worries and feelings, too.) We didn't get as much done for this weekend's market as we might have liked. Well problems and equipment failures on the farm have distracted us. And (my, how time flies) we took a little day drive away from the farm to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. No cruises or tropical vacations...

Horses, hay rake and bean field almost ready for harvest. Today many are talking and thinking about the terrorist attacks 11 years ago. That is as it should be, for it was a day that changed many things. Since that day, we have a new "normal". It seems each time I turn around there is a new normal. I spent today waiting with a family member in the hospital's surgical waiting room as they were cutting the last of the cancer out of her husband's body. You'd better believe they've had a summer of new "normal". Our family now includes a married daughter and a son in law. Just about the time the ink was dry on their marriage license, we had another young man asking for another daughter's hand in marriage. So next summer we will rejoice with them as they are married. New normal. The last of our children is a senior in high school, and I am facing the very real fact that an era in which I've defined myself as a "homeschool mom" is rapidly ...

Recently, our oldest daughter was married to a wonderful young man. We've been busy preparing for and recovering from the big event. The picnic reception was held outdoors, and here The Farmer is drilling holes in golf balls for a ladderball game. This is part of a cornhole game--we had to make a new set, as our old one was a bit tired. The s'mores bar station that The Farmer built was a very popular place to hang out during the reception. Here is a glimpse of the decor--months were spent combing garage sales and thrift stores for doilies and tablecloths. This is what our entryway looks like right now. I've finished washing tablecloths and putting away mason jars. But I still have a bit more stuff to sort through and put away. There were a few more things that we were involved in, but mostly our daughter spent her time wisely and planned carefully. She had help from many, many people, and I'm glad to say that things came together at the last and they are now officially ...

In our spare time (cue laugh track here), we've been getting ready for a wedding. The Farmer made a wedding gift for our daughter and soon to be son-in-law, at her request. It's based on the Ana White Farmhouse Bed, and the plans can be found here. BRAG ALERT: Of course, all The Farmer needs is a picture, and he's on his way. The end result might not be exactly as planned--likely it's a bit better. He's amazing. The recipients wanted to finish the bed. They chose distressed white, which distresses me somewhat. It has to do with repressed memories of stripping paint off of perfectly good wood. It's my humble opinion that wood should be appreciated for its beauty, not covered up. But it's their bed, and I'm happy that it turned out so beautifully, just the way they wanted. Our son made them coordinating night stands (plans are also available on the Ana White site, I believe). He was a little slower with his execution, delaying the staining process. The to...

Our family has been recycle-minded from way back. I was recently telling an acquaintance that my mom dragged us kids and our family's recyclables down to the city back in the 70s WAY before recycling was mainstream. People on both sides of our families were known for "making do or doing without." Part of that stems from them living through the Great Depression (or having parents who did). Some comes from our extremely frugal ethnic heritage. And some comes from the reality that it costs a lot of money to farm. Making do with older equipment and do-it-yourself repair jobs helps keep the expense side of the ledger a little more in balance with the income side. A side effect of frugality is that it keeps stuff out of the landfills. These are two shovels that have seen better days. One shovel head was worn out with much use in the composting process on our farm. The other shovel--the one with a broken handle--was rescued from a dumpster. There is no time right now for little ...

To our youngest... (a photo from a few years back--just for fun)

What do farmers do in the wintertime, anyway? Pay taxes. Fill out organic paperwork. Order seed and nutrients for the spring planting. Attend commodity and board meetings. Rest a little. Take a vacation (unless you're an animal farmer). Milk cows for other farmers while they take a vacation. Knit socks. Weave rugs. Go to year-round, indoor farmers markets to sell food and fiber. Fix and rebuild broken things. This morning, as we left a breakfast meeting on social media (yes, really), The Farmer got a phone call. He tossed me the keys, and I drove home so that he could talk without distraction. You see, The Farmer is a mini-expert on composting. And people get to know that, and call him. And all the things that he's learned over the years, he gives freely to others. This morning, as I drove, listening quietly to him tell an Amish farmer why windrow composting would probably be his best option (it was because of the straw bedding), I was grateful. All those people who poured know...

Soaking some yarn to make it "bloom" so that The Farmer can knit socks with it. Unwashed (as in straight off the cone) yarn is too crunchy to knit socks with. The past couple of weeks have been filled with doctors appointments, claim forms, and prescriptions. Man, are there a lot of people sick in my family. Honestly, The Farmer hasn't been truly well since before Thanksgiving. He finally succumbed to a sinus infection about two weeks ago. He still isn't well, even after a round of antibiotics. One of our daughters is dealing with a mild medical condition and another daughter is dealing with a slightly less mild medical condition. This leads me to wonder aloud why it is okay to take antibiotics when you have an infection, but not okay to give antibiotics to an animal when it gets an infection. Organic standards do not all make sense to me--especially those regarding animal care. Which is why our crops are organic and our animals are not. Would you or your family membe...

Not a lot of time to blog, but I am very concerned about the proposed changes to the child labor laws having to do with farms. As I understand it, if these changes are made, we would not be able to employ our own children on our farm, much less any other teens. Younger kids will not be able to help run the sheep into the chute for sorting, worming or shearing. Nor will they even be allowed to be involved with 4H, as it puts them in contact with animals. Too dangerous, I guess, to show a lamb at the county fair. Here's a link to another blog post on the topic. And here you can read about and comment on these proposed changes. The comment deadline has been extended to December 1. Back to the sweatshop (where we regularly ask our kids to use dangerous tools like felting needles and sewing machines)...

She's still giving me heart failure, even after all these years. Love you, honey. Happy birthday!

With our youngest now old enough to drive, there isn't much use for a swingset. Over the years, it's gotten a bit loose in the joints. So we've gifted it to someone who will reconfigure it and give it new life. Saturday it was taken apart and hauled off. The Farmer made this with his brain and his hands. No plans, other than those sketched out on the back of an envelope. The kids had many hours of enjoyment on this so-much-more-than-just-a-swingset. Someone with small children will get good use from it. I will no longer worry about stray kids getting hurt during our shearing days and other events on the farm. We won't have to mow around it any more. Goodbye, old friend. Where has the time gone?

He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure. Isaiah 33:6 In honor of our oldest daughter's college graduation tonight.