8.27.20 Faith, Failures, & Farming

Two Sundays ago Mark came roaring into the yard telling me there was a major problem with one of our pivots. I told him to talk to grandpa and tried to get Greg to come home. Mark was instructed to just wait there was nothing that could be done. Later that night after solving another problem Greg and Mark went to take a look. This picture shows the tipped over tower. They found a big problem. The pivot twist and torked until one section was tipped over and another had walked itself about 90 degrees from where it should be to form a right angel to the twisted section. 

Where the final two towers bent the structure to take a right angle to where it was suppose to be. 

An aerial view very faintly under that word you can see where the pivot bends at a 90 angle and is intersecting the pivot line. Not good. 

We had planned on hiring a company to repair the pivot and we did not want to loose any more corn than necessary along with needing the ground and pivot line to be accessible we asked our neighbor to come silage chop a path in. The good news was as he chopped it became apparent there was good moisture in the ground. They got slightly stuck. 

The chopped corn went to some other cows, the very green feed has to be fed quickly but not too much or the cows will get sick. 

I was so happy to see the ears this full. I was worried sick we would get nothing from this 30 acre spot. 

A very good view of the bend and the twist and the field. Dry dirt here is white, this is a nice black all good signs. 

We were both in awe of how close the chopped got to the pivot and hte nice path he made. 

Big events like this are family affairs we all headed down to watch the chopper and truck. The girls enjoyed some extra time with dad. 

Merle was not left out, it was hot standing there in the humid bubble of growing corn. 

I put the kids up on a hay bale to get a better view. Last night Greg couldn't find Reed after working on the combine late, they eventually found him on top of hay bale asleep. 

So that was problem number one the twisted bent pivot. Later in the week maybe the next day the younger kids had presumably moved the wheel line out of the path of another pivot. A month or so ago it was in the pivot track and got pushed back until it snapped the riser. That was repaired and this time the younger hands thought 3 feet away from the monster pivots was enough. Apparently not. Pivots are gigantic machines that do not stop moving unless they are stuck or very broken. In the meantime they just run over and demolish what is in their path. 

 So we continue to learn and try again. The best part of this story though is after ten days of waiting and hand wringing over how to fix the pivot the repair company finally came. After the wait Lloyd decided that it had been too long and we would spend more time researching repair options. Thus the company left and no repair was made. That evening as Anna and I returned from taking the baby to the chiropractor she noted the cloudy sky. I dismissed her observation retorting it was just smoke. An hour later thunder was heard and the kids exclaimed it's raining! I was surprised but even more so when the boys came home from working at the shop where they witnessed the miracle. The clouds opened up and poured rain on that field. Our neighbor 100 yards away even the hay field across the road did not get as much rain as the field with the mangled pivot. Between the smoke clouded sky and tempered weather and that rain I have hope the corn will be ok. I'm humbled that God blesses us so individually and often just when we so hope for help. So even though life doesn't work as planned always there is still good and still ways to be good. We are blessed and life is good even though it is hard. 

8.26.20 Feeding the masses

Family gatherings are never small and never sparse on food. The kids took a few pictures to document the weekend. We enjoyed tri-tip for three meals in a row! And lots of vegetables and funeral potatoes. No funerals just an easy side dish. We are blessed to live in such a land of plenty. This was taken right after church for the day. 

Plates prepared for all the little kids. 

We are hillbillies here we don't wash our shucked corn, but in a spirit of increased safety John and cousin Cobe washed all the corn available. This summer treat was the reward for finishing everything else on the plate. 

 Buffet style for the adults. There was lots of conversation, munching and filling of both body, mind, and heart. We are fortunate to have large family gatherings on both sides of the family, we are grateful for generous cooks and many willing hands. Life is good. 

8.24.20 A weekend runaway/family reunion

The family is of God. It is my primary focus and daily work. This weekend we took a rare opportunity to run to Twin Falls to visit with family and celebrate our 99th member a new bride for grandchild #4 Corey. Isn't that awesome 99 people in a family. These two are number 64 and 66. Newel and Merle. 

Breakfast the first morning. I love all the action and all the visiting. We love to chat. 

Anna got the flower arranging job. Addie helped by harvesting some greenery outside to help add some distinction to the bouquets. 

After Addie had her hair done for the day I couldn't pass up the chance to capture these two looking so similar. Aunt Denise and Addie. 

A random shot of the kids just playing and enjoying the beautiful summer day. 

I hope we have a lot more of these get togethers. It is so refreshing and important to strengthen each other, to relax, and to celebrate covenants made and families starting. Family is good. 

Bruce enjoying the balloons removed and shared from inside the groom's cool car. 

I love that kids rotate holding babies, playing, talking, helping. I love that Greg's Aunts are always available. This time I was consumed with babies of my own and soaking up conversations. It was so relaxing to be together and away from our troubles on the farm. 

It was also uncle Matt's birthday the horde around was super happy to help with that leftover wedding/birthday cake. 

The two hosts Kevin's house and cooking Kristi's party. 

A friendly football game. Notice even Bruce got to play. I so appreciate that the uncles are willing to play. The hard working dads rested for a change letting their tired bodies recouperate and recharge inside. 

Of course the day was rounded out by some target practice. Again facilitated by fun Uncles. 

Some weer tuckered out and some just didn't want them to miss out. This is Brenda's beautiful little Viv trying to wake sleepy Lia. 

Almost all the little boys waiting for dinner. Oldest is Reed at 10 youngest here is Jeddy Flake age 2. Bruce has been begging all day to go back and play with his cousins. 

 A normal weekend, traditions upheld bonds strengthened and renewed. Lessons learned, heads lifted and hands lightened. It's always good to get away and it's great to come home. All had a good time and were encouraged to keep on keeping on. It is far more important to be a family than hide alone. Even with the possibility of getting sick the love and unity that we felt is more important. Life is good and we are blessed. 

8.19.20 More rodents

The kids found this near their garden a while back. Yuck! But I do much prefer dead rodents to alive ones. A juvenile pack rat we think. 

The garden has produced a lot of vegetables. Tomatoes and beets, carrots today, corn, zuchinni, green peppers, and green beans. Yum Yum! These kiddos have been persistent and working on weeding and cultivating almost everyday this extended summer break. 

We went to visit a dear gardening friend and her daughters shared their pet guinea pigs. More rodents. The kids love them I stay back and try to ignore they are petting giant gopher like animals. 

And my two big helpers. Love these two. They have grown so much this year emotionally and mentally along with physically they are becoming reliable skilled helpers. 

 As we work through the year we are now at canning season we are also attempting home school. These two plus Afton are my main focus this week, they are doing well and we are adatping to learning together. The toddlers are much more difficult to manage than the baby on top of the school requirements. I'm happy with the curriculum and happy with their progress and abilities.

 I got word today that after months of waiting and testing I am just lumpy in my throat I have no signs of cancer. I am beyond relieved. This has been an very physically challenging four months for me but now with the all clear we will proceed on free from worry and fear and tackle the next task at hand. Life is good. 

8.13.20 Angel cake

We scored and got some eggs for about  65 cents a dozen. Therefore we have a lot of eggs and the plain old scrambled preparation gets old. Looking for a new eating style and looking to challenge the cook she tried making angel food cake from scratch. First cake she did alone almond flavor it was great! I mixed the second cake thinking i knew better with coconut flavor. Her cake consistency was better mine was more to our taste preference. 

Nice consistency if a bit heavy for angel food cake it was sill delirious and devoured! She is not happy to have her picture taken.

Lia loved getting to scrape the remains those tasty overdone parts that are just right! I was struck by the simple joy of it all. 

 

This summer has been an roller coaster ride waiting to know the future. From political events to personal health concerns it's been quickly up and down and then settle in to wait. I'm thankful beyond relieved that so far in all the tests and waiting, life looks to be pretty normal for the foreseeable future. The word cancer was a big question mark. I'm pretty hopefull and so far all signs indicated that is not the case. There is something to be gained from pondering if life is radically changing. 2 years ago when I had a similar experience while pregnant with Lia and was told she or I might not make it. It was similarly frightening and surreal. This time it was less panic and more worry. Today I see these small moments, bits of success, and general life as blessings we can be so normal. Boring is good! And we will thank God and all the angels that attend us, that for now we can just do our routine and enjoy some fresh homemade angel cake.