Another harvest complete

Each wheat harvest, I get an adrenaline rush when I see the combines out in the fields. I have a seemingly endless patience for grain trucks on the roads. I see the beauty in the farming cycle and I feel the stress of time ticking away, sunlight fading, rain clouds looming. I also feel the weariness from long days, children staying up too late at the farm and waking up at sunrise the next morning.

My dad, uncle, cousin and husband are the main players in harvest for our farm. Although, there is a supporting cast of many that actually enable everything to get done during the week or so that is "harvest". They all work very hard, longer hours than usual, and by the end, you can see the wear in their eyes.

The 2009 wheat harvest has wrapped-up for us, but Noah is still going strong at home. He harvests wheat, then milo, then corn and busily narrates who is driving which piece of equipment the entire time he plays in our living room.

This year, Noah's attention span is much longer then in previous years which enabled him to spend more time on the combine and truck. Poor little Levi, though, didn't always understand why Noah got to ride off in the big truck while he had to stay at the farm. But, Levi had his turns on the combine and truck too - he just doesn't last very long on either before he gets too squirmy.

Here are photos from one evening of harvest:

After seeing wheat harvests for 28 years you'd think I wouldn't be so amazed by the wheat dumping into the auger, but I could watch it for a long time. So many little grains - boggles my mind.




Unloading wheat at the farm. This tractor, the 4030 (right, dad?), is a part of many of my fondest memories from growing up on the farm. I think it's the oldest functioning tractor on the farm and it has many worn out spots, but it has a special place in my heart.




Noah with my cousin Austin. Austin drives the tractor that pulls the grain cart during harvest. His brother Kyle did this before him and maybe Braden will be next?? This has earned Austin a special place in Noah's world. The tractor that Noah uses to pull his toy grain cart is "Austin's tractor" never just a "tractor".




Tall wheat stubble + short Levi = Lots of falling down


On the combine with mom and Grandpa.








Check out the "strippers" on that stripper header - looks dangerous to me.


My friend Tonya, her husband Mark and their kids Cole and Izzy came out for a combine ride. It was great to share the evening with them!


My dad and uncle purchased a new truck for the farm this year, it seems so big compared to the truck Ben drives during harvest.






Levi and Izzy became fast friends


The relationship progressed very quickly...




My favorite part-time farmer.




A beautiful sunset to finish out a wonderful evening.

Golf, Swimming, Food and Family

My uncle Myron and aunt Patricia (although most people call her Pat) hosted our Epp family at their house on Sunday evening for dessert. Their yard is one of the most beautiful places in the area, seriously. A 9-hole golf course, a swimming pool, and lots of neat landscaping design and lush plants.

Levi was very intrigued by the fountain - you can see the bottom part of it behind Levi.


A peak through the trees at the golf course (that Myron built).




Noah's favorite place in the pool, the steps.


Levi and Aunt Erica


Caiden loves to be thrown up into the air.


Addison explaining something to Rylee and Grandma.


My aunt had these fascinating grape cluster lights woven into the vine growing up her deck. They looked great, like they belonged. At first, when the sun was shining on them, I had to check if they were real.


The kids loved playing in the sand.


Grandpa and Rylee - she's 4 months old already!


Penny walking along the patio wall with the golf course off in the background.


The makings for frozen fruit slushies, yummmeeey!


The photo is a bit dark, but the sun is shining on the food, an important part of any birthday party.


Waiting for his food...


Cambry is a fearless fish, now she just needs to learn how to swim.


Levi and his pacifier, they're such good friends.

Water and Wheat

The boys LOVE to play with water. I guess all kids do, right? It often feels like we're wasting a lot of water, but at the same time, the boys just love it and they beg to play in it.









Wheat harvest is underway! We got to ride in the combine tonight and Ben helped haul a few loads for my dad. Both of the boys were excited to be out on the farm with the "big trucks" and "combines". Plus, as a big bonus today, mom had a fresh mulberry-rhubarb crisp, oh my, it was so very, very good. More harvest pictures in the coming days.

New York, NY

Ben and I took a leap and went to New York City last week. We were in the city for about 3 days total and we packed as much into those three days as our feet could handle. Our college friend Jason, hosted us in his studio apartment. We had a terrific time! We missed our boys, but I don't think they missed us. They had a great time with grandma and grandpa - thanks mom and dad!

The photos are in just about the exact order I took them. This reminds me of slide shows. Remember those? I LOVE slide shows, always have. The old fashioned kind, with actual slides, a screen and projector. Just pretend this is a slide show.

Here we go...

We landed at LaGuardia at noon, hopped on a bus, then got on a train and then walked to Jason's office in the Empire State Building. We left our bags in his office and then set out to find some lunch. We grabbed some pizza and ate it in Bryant Park.


Times Square - the city has blocked off some of the streets and put out lawn chairs so people can sit, relax, enjoy, etc. It's an interesting idea that they're trying to copy from Europe, but I'm not sure how well it translates in this case.


The Hershey store in Times Square.




Jason, our friend who graciously let us sleep in his bed and overtake his apartment for 3 nights, is brilliant, funny and always on the go. This is what his bag looks like - it's a true snapshot of what Jason's brain must look like. It makes me smile. There is a little something of everything in this bag and something is always lost.


Grand Central Station chandelier


The United Nations was a fascinating place.


Amen.


The Brooklyn Bridge on a drizzly afternoon.


Ben read every piece of information about the bridge he could find. I didn't read anything and took pictures. That, in so many ways, explains how we each function.


Looking out from the Statue of Liberty at the boats transporting people to and from the island.


Again looking down from the Statue, the dots you can see are people.


There she is. I was surprised, or maybe naive is a better word, about how big she really is and about how thick the security is around her.


We just couldn't resist snapping this photo.


Coney Island was beautifully interesting, lots to see, the only true sunshine we experienced while in New York and a nice break from concrete and tall buildings.


The Wonder Wheel, I convinced Ben to take me on it. :-)




This clown made me laugh. There were lots of these clowns (none of them real) around, but this sad-faced clown was funny to me. So much of Coney Island is in a bit of disrepair and somehow, I think this clown knows it.


Looking down at the kid rides from the Wonder Wheel.


Ben and Chase (Jason's dog) waiting for Jason.


This yarn shop was just down the street from Jason's aparment and the display was just fascinating to me. The shop was closed each time we walked by, so I finally just settled on a picture of the display from outside. It's NYC - do you see the Empire State Building witih Godzilla hanging off the side? The guy in the middle is Mayor Michael Bloomberg, several other distinguishable buildings and then the ocean at the bottom! Way back when I was a 4-H kid, I knew how to crochette and a part of me is still fascinated at what is possible with yarn and needles/hooks.


The Union Square Farmer's Market was quite possibly the best part of the trip. It was an amazing amount of freshness in the middle of Manhattan. I'd never seen so many root vegetables available at one time.


Or, so many strawberries, fresh, not packaged in plastic. I bought a pint (for $4.00) for breakfast.


Ben had a cinnamon roll.




Beautiful flowers, of all kinds, were available.


Chelsea Market was also a visual highlight for me. We THINK the Food Network studios are in the upper part of this building, but could never quite figure it out. But, on the first floor are a bunch of little boutiques in this very industrial space. These lights made my heart go pitter-patter. Ben and Jason made fun of me photographing lights, but they were such a nice contrast to the rest of the building, I just couldn't resist.


This is a bench in Chelsea Market, love it.


One of the boutiques in Chelsea Market was a Tea Salon. I loved their chairs (although very hard to see in this photo). This was the first of MANY attempts to get a photo of Jason and Ben. Sometimes, Ben is such a terd. :-)


I'm not a tea drinker, but this Tea Salon was pure eye candy to me.


Another attempt...not too bad.


This is Jason's street.


Just past Ben's left shoulder is the door to Jason's apartment building. 4 steps down to the front door, through two locked doors and Jason's apartment was the first door on the left.


One photo of myself. Can you see me? :-)


The office, bedroom, dining room and living room of the apartment. It was tight for three people, but it was wonderful to get to spend time with Jason and to get a feel for what REAL NYC life is.


I pretty much turned around to photograph the kitchen and the front door is just out of this picture to the right. There is a small bathroom in the aparment as well, but I didn't bother to take a picture of it.


Chase and Jason - it was really sweet to see how excited Chase got when Jason was around.


The Donut Pub, the coffee/donut shop that Jason goes to daily.




Besides using our own feet for transportation, we took the subway. Ben is skilled at figuring out maps and public transit systems, thankgoodness! I just followed him around, which really allowed me to simply enjoy everything.






One evening we went to dinner with Ben's brother Andy and his girlfriend Hannah. Somehow, I failed to photograph any of that, which is truly a bummer. We had a wonderful time with them - it was great to meet Hannah!

Another evening, Ben, Jason and I met up with Jason's sister Jess and her boyfriend Javier for dinner. Then we ventured in Javier convertible to Central Park for a free concert that ended before we got through the gates. But, Javier took us for a ride through the city and then for some to-die-for icecream. It was a lovely evening.

We had a great time, and there are so many things we didn't see that we'll simply have to go back sometime. Thanks Jason for hosting us!