After rain

It rained! A nice, thirst quenching rain, no hail or super-strong winds (thank you God!). The wheat is happy, the corn is happy, the farmers are happy and the children are happy.

The boys put their water shoes on and we walked through the corn field next to the yard to find the pipe that drains water from my parents' sump pumps. We've been checking it each time it rains to see if there's water. Last spring was the last time any water came out of the pipe, but it's a signal to the boys and I of how high (or low) the water table is. Water was coming out of the pipe, so the water table must be coming back up!

 So far, Levi can jump over the corn...I wonder if he'll be able to in a week?

 Off to the "poop pit". Technically is was a manure pit for the cows back when we had cows. But in our house it might be forever known as the poop pit. Anyway, now it doesn't have poop but it does fill with water when it rains.
Levi's cautiously checking out the water.

 If you squint and use your imagination it could feel like our very own zero-entry swimming pool....right?  No?  Ya, no....never mind.

 Coolest looking nearly dead weeds I've seen in a long time.

 As is usually the case, I was the only one freaked out by mother nature. I jumped when a cotton tail bunny ran away from us, mistakenly identified a lump of mud as a toad and jumped again when an actual toad jumped into the water in front of me. Sigh.

 These two had a blast in the water!

 And then as we walked back to the house, I noticed the mulberries are popping out all over our mulberry trees! I'm guessing the chickens will gobble up all they can find once the mulberries start falling to the ground.

2 wheels...only

Levi has been stubborn about keeping training wheels on his bike. We decided not to fight him on it because we knew that eventually he'd get tired of the complications that training wheels add to bike riding. He couldn't keep up with Noah like he wanted to and his back tire would spin uselessly on uneven surfaces because his training wheels kept it elevated. Plus, what little brother doesn't want to be able to do everything his older brother can do?!

 So last weekend, Levi was out at the shed with Ben and Noah's bike was out there. It was time to come back to the house and Levi didn't want to walk so Ben suggested he hop on Noah's bike. That sounded like a great plan to Levi, as long as Ben would hold on to him while he pedaled so he wouldn't fall. Levi took off and after a little bit Ben let go, but stayed right by his side. After a while, Ben told him that he wasn't holding on and that Levi was riding all by himself.

 Levi shrieked with pride and excitement! He made sure everyone on the farm knew what he'd just done. Quickly the training wheels were removed from his bike and he was pedaling all over the farm. He had trouble keeping upright when he'd forget to keep pedaling, but he always stood right up and kept working at it! By the end of the evening he was pedaling standing up and going down hills and looking like a kid who'd been training wheel free for weeks!

Levi's realizing the freedom of having just two wheels on a bike and enjoying it.
No more training wheels for this family, we can check that one off the list. Now on to family bike rides in the country!

Garden fresh

We've been enjoying lettuce from the garden all week. The boys are even eating it this year! If I buy lettuce at the store just like this they won't eat it, but since this is from our garden they're excited to eat it. 

It's just so much work to clean and bag and then rush to eat before it goes bad! Goodness! I'm glad I only planted one short row of it.

Birds and Haircuts

Birds and haircuts have nothing to do with each other. But that doesn't really matter, does it?!

The chickens seem to be enjoying their new freedom. I was worried about them eating my zinnia and giant sunflower sprouts in the flower bed just outside the chicken barn. The birds and my flowers were doing fine....until Levi got really mad at me on Thursday and pulled out all the sprouts. Aggghhhh. Bad choices, Levi....bad choices.

The summer haircuts happened over the weekend! Levi got his clipped a bit shorter than Noah - but the best part is that they both participated with zero crying!

Drama-free, zero-dollar haircuts are the best kind!

Wedding Shower

Late in winter, my cousin Krista asked me if I'd be up for helping her host a wedding shower for our cousin Austin and his fiancee Lindsey at the farm. Sure! I'd love to do that. So we got my mom involved and the three of us started planning. 

In late winter is sounded like a dream to prepare pots of flowers to use as decoration at the shower. Our spring was so slow that my dreamy vision didn't become reality, although meager flowers in pots did happen.

The pots have been in those two red wagons for over a month now, being pulled into the sunlight and out of the wind on a daily basis.

We worked hard to get the yard ready, the barn ready and everything in tip top shape for the shower.

My cousin is crafty and good with a sewing machine - she created two sets of cute bunting (the one below says Austin & Lindsey).

The food was simple but delicious - zwieback, meats, cheeses, veggie and fruit trays and bar cookies for dessert.

We had all the guests participate in one game and then it was time to eat!

Noah and Levi couldn't get enough of Austin and Braden.

Time for gifts!

It was fun to have family and friends at the farm, spending time visiting and catching up. And then, it was over and the clean up began.

We're looking forward to hosting the wedding reception at the farm in August!

Cattle Auction

Last week we said good-bye to Bucky and Train Wreck, the steers we've had for about a year. Ben loaded the cows on the trailer and then was off for Salina. 

 The boys and I followed in the car - this cow thing started as a family adventure and would end as one too. None of us had ever been to the cattle auction in Salina before. It was fascinating and pretty fun!

 Ben got to the auction before us and had already unloaded the cows. So of course the first order of business was to find Bucky and Train Wreck. There they are, in pen 55! It was a bit sad to see them there - mooing and staring at us from behind the gate. We said "goodbye" again and then headed off to find some breakfast.

 I had no idea there was a cafe at the cattle auction - that was a fun surprise. The boys each ordered cinnamon rolls and chocolate milk.

 The rolls each arrived with a little tub of butter. The boys had never seen cinnamon rolls served with butter before, so Levi insisted on spreading butter all over his roll.

 Soon after we finished eating it was time for the auction to start.

 We sat near the top so we could see everything going on around us. The arena and auction were fascinating. For most of it I could have benefited from a translator, but at least I was able to follow what was going on.

 And then, after about 30 minutes or so, there were Bucky and Train Wreck!

 And then they were gone! Sold. The guy opened the gate, off they ran (happy to be able to get out of that strange room, I'm sure) and on to their next adventure.

 We left the arena and let the boys do some further exploring outside the auction. They wanted to see Bucky and Train Wreck loaded up, but that wasn't possible. Instead we watched a bull get loaded and decided to call it a day. Our cattle auction adventure was over.

Freedom

 The chickens got their first taste of freedom tonight. It took them a long time to venture out the little door, but eventually they hopped out.

 Our adolescent cat Football, kept an eye on the chickens. She made one attempt at an attack, but the chickens squawked and flapped their wings and that was the end of it.

 Axle didn't care about the chickens. He was interested in licking up the chicken feed Ben scattered on the ground. Hopefully, that good behavior continues.

 Before dark, we got all the chickens back in the barn for the night. Likely, we'll open the door again in the morning and see how they do on their own for a day.

Sprinkler

Oh the humidity! Today the air was thick, from start to finish, it felt heavy outside. Thankfully, a decent breeze kept things feeling comfortable. Regardless, Levi was hot. He begged me to let him run through the sprinkler. I knew he'd be cold once the water touch him, so I told him if he got it all set up that it was fine. So he ran into the house, got changed, got his new water shoes on, towel and even his goggles. Lookin' good kid!

He set up the sprinkler, turned it on and then stood around like this for a while:

 But finally worked up the courage to run right through the water. I love the look on his face - so determined.

 Then Noah got in on the action - although he was just as timid about getting wet as Levi had been. They had a great time kicking the soccer ball through the sprinkler,

 until the ball stopped right under the sprinkler! Noah worked up his courage and went for it.

 And just when I though they were done playing in the water, they made a discovery. Noah thought it would be fun to get his bottom wet, and then realized that the sprinkler made it look like he was doing something else. Boy, oh boy they thought that was hilarious!