Growing

Despite the fact that we've received zip, zero, zilch rain for like a month or more (except that it's actually raining right now!!!!) our garden and our two newest boys are growing and growing.  Ok, so we've watered the garden quite a bit....and the calves have been here less than a week....whatever, growing is happening.

 Bucky (above) and Train Wreck (below) are doing quite well.  They still eagerly greet us each time we show up at their pen.  Last night I disappointed them by visiting without any snacks for them, but they let me pet them and scratch behind their ears.  Speaking of - aren't their ears enormous?  I guess they'll grow into them eventually.

 Our garden is growing - which feels amazing since we have no idea what we're doing.  I love the color of the cucumber and canteloupe blossoms.  It's such a cheery yellow.

 The few green tomatoes hanging on our plants have issues - brown spots - from watering them by sprinkling?  That's what I'm told.  I guess we'll have to change our watering tactics.

 Our potatoes seem to be coming to sputtering halt, as do our onions.  Our green beans have lots of little blooms on them and will hopefully produce lots of beans for us to can. Fingers crossed.

Harvest Time

 It's go time!  The wheat is ready and doesn't seem to care one bit that it's still May and nobody can remember ever cutting wheat in May.  The wheat has a mind of its own this year.

 The boys are having fun with harvest and I'm doing my best to keep up with their energy and desire to be on one machine or another.  I simply cannot let my imagination work on how dangerous harvest is.

 Noah's learned one way to be helpful when the guys unload trucks at the farm.  He's learned how to turn the 4030 on - which takes two hands because it's so old and turns hard.

 Then he waits....because of his excitement to help he always starts the tractor before the truck and auger are ready.

 He waits for the auger bottom (I'm sure it has a more official name than that!) to be wheeled into position....

 Then he turns the PTO on (so the auger starts) with the yellow lever....

 then uses the red lever to speed up the throttle which makes the PTO go faster.

 After one last final adjustment on the speed of the throttle, his job is done - until the truck is empty.  Then he shuts it all off and PROUDLY gets off the tractor.

Also, I don't know if my description of what those levers do is accurate....but it's something like that.  As usual, Noah could tell you in accurate detail and he's not here at the moment to explain it to me.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day was one busy day around here.  Three of my college friends and their kids came over in the morning and stayed for lunch.  Check out all the kids! 

 It was also the first day of wheat harvest!  The boys were up before 6 to start getting in on the action.

 After lunch our friends left,

 but then the wheat was too wet and there was some trouble with the grain cart - something about the PTO...

 Levi explained to me that he didn't need to rest, but I asked him if he'd just sit on the couch and watch a DVD for a while and before I knew it, he was fast asleep.

Thankfully, they started cutting another field that was ready and the guys spent hours harvesting.  It's wonderful to actually live on the farm again during harvest!

Getting ready

The wheat looks like it's ready, and by tomorrow it might be dry enough....so, we spent some time yesterday getting ready for harvest.

 It was fun to climb to the top of the combine and see the grain bin from the top.  I hadn't done that for years.  I always just see it from inside the cab.

The boys and I had fun looking around the farm from up so high.

 These boys are ready for harvest.

New to the family

Train Wreck and Bucky!   Yes, we finally made good on our promise for a bucket calf - or, two bucket calves.  Thanks to Maynard Knepp we brought these two guys home with us on Wednesday.

 Train Wreck has the white splotch on his face.  Bucky is all brown, or red.  I have no idea what's going on with these calves.  I don't even know if the term bucket calf is correct since they eat grain and hay and drink water.  But, regardless they have been enthusiastically welcomed into the family.

 The boys feed them each morning and check on them in the evenings.  Train Wreck and Bucky come running to us when they see us and that makes the boys feel like they really like them - although I think they always expect us to be bringing them a snack.

 Having beef cows on the yard is a brand new adventure, but one that seems to be off to a good start.

Around the house last week

This past week was our first week of summer - it doesn't seem like it's time for summer but here it is - and it's hot already.  

 Outside is where we seem to spend most of our time - no matter how hot or windy it is.

 I spray painted this little metal table sun yellow.  It had been rusty and worn out, but after I got the rust off, primed and painted it that old table is a fun splash of color outside.

 Dry and dusty

 The mulberry trees are just about done producing berries for the season.

 I picked enough to make mulberry-rhubarb croustades. In the event that you find yourself without tapioca to add to your pie filling, just know that it works to sift the tapioca out of a regular box of tapioca pudding to thicken the filling.  I'm happy to have tested that out for you.....

 They were delicious with vanilla ice cream.

Trip finale

A few of my favorite photos from the trip:

 For our last dinner, we were hosted by Daryl and Cindy to a meal in their home.  They cooked us a delicious and filling meal.  We laughed together until tears were rolling down our cheeks.  A bit later we left for the airport and started saying our goodbyes.

 Jordan and Palestine are beautiful and complicated places filled with gracious and beautiful people.  A human stamp has been placed on those countries for me now.  I have faces to see in my  mind and voices to hear when I read news from that part of the world.  I have images of the geography when I read or hear Bible stories.  I'm thankful for the opportunity to travel and see the work MCC is doing and gain life-changing perspectives on how life is for other people in our world.