8.2.22 Fair prep days

Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it’s a day you’ve had everything to do and you’ve done it.- Margaret Thatcher Quote.

 

Fair started a bit early this year. I got a text at the end or primary saying the FFA needed help as the blacktop was being sealed and there would be no access to the school until after the fair was well underway. This is the younger kids setting semi-still while I thought and figured out how to help. Important note Greg and kids had literally been up all night fixing pivot and fighting moss. Greg had went home to continue keeping the water going in this 107 degree heat. 

The younger ones went home the rest of us went to help get all the decorations and fair stuff loaded up and ready for the week.

After some rest the kids ate dinner and began assembling wheat sheaves from wheat we had growing on our farm. I love when we can work together. 

I told them it had to be as big as they could hold. One to hold one to select and stuff. 

Merle enjoyed cutting and tearing with his scissors on the floor. He and Andrea are so good at just rolling with whatever is going on. 

After staying up late with Mark taking the hour by hour cleaning of the moss we were up early to do it again and start on fair prep. The animal people went to decorate, Aliza drove and went to work. Mark and Reed continued the moss battle made worse by the ditch company dredging the ditch. That will eventually help but we went from hour by hour to every ten to twenty minutes of complete plugging of our headgates. 

Afton and I made zucchini bread. The one on one time is very rare like maybe only yearly. But we had a good time and she made very beautiful bread. 

Bruce woke up next and we made browned butter cookies. They are so good!! 

Millie and grandma Saunders had been conversing about cupcakes they had plan be at grandmas at 7am with softened butter. Millie forgot the softening part but it worked out. 2.5 hours later I called asking where they were at. They were frosting and boy did they go all out.  They had a great time using a variety of methods and designs. 

They tasted as good as they looked. Unfortunately the effort was spoiled a bit by the heat. Buttercream melts easily in 100 plus degrees. Oh well the experience was delightful! Afton got to help decorate as well. 

Here at home I did laundry and dishes and pondered what else we could enter. Merle loves our extra water supply. He loves to fill containers and dump them. Lovely boy. 

The kids reminded me we have a sunflower patch. I cant see it from my house I asked for a ride. This is what I saw. I wish I could share the sound of so many happy bees. Truly sunflowers are a haven for those mighty insects. 

Although these aren't a giant variety towering over 12 feet these are only 3-6 feet tall. Yet the leaves are enormous. 

We love to spend time with Mark. 

Unusual 4 head cluster. 

Not sure what we are going to do with these. If the scientist doesn't take them I was thinking about selling them per head to people for wild bird feed, home chicken flocks, squirrels? That's in a few months. 

We headed to town with photos, paintings, jams, canned fruits and vegetables, wheat sheaves, and food. I took 3 kids and met up with 2. Addie was already in process of getting us numbers and registered. I traded her great help with a lunch from home. We worked for over and hour getting the first load entered. Then we went and gathered two more items and some picture mats to enter the next round. After a few errands we got home a mere 6 hours later. UGH! I was so tired and hot and sore. I so hope that the forecast predicting a slight cool down is true. I do not like melting away in sweat pools. In between all the running and gathering we drank water texted, tried to talk with Anna and endured. 

Fair is a good experience showcasing a the agricultural life we fully live. I hope it's worth the efforts. I hope I can hold up. I hope it goes well and the farm is not lost in this week. We shall see. We are blessed. 
 

8.1.22 Learning to work

Everyday the kids have been pulling weeds in the corn fields. They are not too hard to pull but it does take effort. Remember the part about having meaningful work to do this is what it looks like. A big pile of weeds that goes to the cows for breakfast every morning. 

Cleaning the neighbors bubbler. They were so excited to get paid to do this chore for him. 

Learning to mow the lawn. Yes its a huge lawn and that's a little mower. We literally mow the tires right off of them. But there's a lot of energy needing a place to be burned. Afton is learning, Bruce is learning. 

Livy has learned and is now supervising... or resting. 

First shared tomatoes a week ago. 

Setting up the handlines a few weeks ago. Love them all working together. We live in a beautiful place. 

 My heart swells with love and gratitude for the assurance that comes from being wanted and part of the team. We are a family team. We yell at each other and call names, scratch and hit and yet there is common understanding we are all doing a part. It's not fun or easy to do any of these jobs alone. We're are working to be nicer, more patient, more charitable. We are also growing and becoming more like we would want to work with, trying to exercise the golden rule more often. Life is good together! I hope with all my heart my children choose to someday have families and can work together and depend on each other. I truly believe these are eternal lessons. 

7.31.22 Happy Place

This is Mark's happy place working for Uncle Kevin driving the big green tractors with a buddy by his side for the cherry on top. Merle loves Mark he adores going with him on the four wheeler is good but tractors are the best. This tractor is new enough to have a buddy seat!! Or as Merle says "My seat!" We had Bruce with us a few days later we offered to have them both go Merle was adamant only he could sit in his seat. 

This day I even got to drive. Not the semi, Andrea and I were just waiting for a ride in the shade. No I got to drive my Grandma Corn's red truck. Ahh the memories of being in the passenger seat, and the ahh I felt for my grandma being so knowledgeable to drive a truck. 

 My grandmas would knit, crochet, read books and magazines. Another truck driver pieced very difficult quilts or cut quilt squares. Of course these ingenious women were before the mind numbing time wasting cell phone age. Yes I am guilty of wasting a lot of time while my hands are full oy babies.

This day it was nice to feel that jolt of importantness that I was helping, I was part of the team. It's hard to feel that just in the background at home doing dishes or always nursing.  It's a feeling I get everytime I get in a truck. There's a lot of talk and quandary why there is such a mental health crisis. To me people don't have real stuff to do. They aren't challenged on enough levels, there is too much isolation and aloneness. Natural connections to family, nature, and being needed are gone in our modern age. We can just buy it, hire it, or ignore it all together. Anyway enough philosophy. I'm thankful my kids get to taste that need to grow in their abilities and be part of the team. Life is good. 

7.31.22 Sleepy

Growing takes a lot of energy. Living farm life takes even more. Thankfully there is time to snooze. 

One major gift we have is togetherness. The you matter, you are important is personified in our home. 

In those tryign to be encouraging sign the what and who is missing.

There is a lot to be said to know to whom you belong, who you are part of, who cares about you, who knows your name and truly needs you. There is a lot to being wanted and loved. In this family in our particular situation of choosing to be self-employed with the repair shop and the farm we depend on our kids a lot. We are striving to make a life. We are hoping to teach integrity, dependability, responsibility which turn to self-worth, confidence, and courage. This is hard. This is good. This looks crazy, dirty, and maybe reckless. I have confidence in the process, I have to remind myself we can do this. We are blessed to live the life we chose. We are blessed with health and strength. We are blessed with energy and faith. We are blessed with smiles and abundance. We turn to God and know Him. We are loved. Life is good. 
 

7.30.22 Big projects

Oh what do you do in the summertime? Well we work. We get so muddy.

They stayed up - John, Addie, Reed, Livy, Millie and Greg - until 2 one night replacing 3 gearboxes and 3 drivelines. The next morning a mere 4 hours later another driveline gearbox combo when out. When that was finished a controller was bad. It was a long day but the pivot has worked so much better in the last 24 hours so that's a relief!

Livy painted a picture for Aliza who loves giraffes. 

Entries for the summer reading program sadly we didn't win any. But we read and were edified so that is a win too. 

She's growing into a chubby baby. I'm so thankful! I'm taking enzymes to better use my food I think it's helping her too. 

After the hard stretch of repairs and the all the time fighting moss I made handpies/turnovers. I usually reserve this for Christmas but believe me success feels pretty good when such a hug problem is solved. 

I've been cleaning like really deep cleanings. Just notice the books. Greg bought me a new bookshelf as he's lived 16 years in worry the old one would fall on him in his sleep. 

 It did in fact look tidy and adult. Jobs like these make my head spin but it was so refreshing when done. 

Another constant battle a clean floor. Spills, drips, mud, life this floor holds it all. I hand mopped on my knees to get the deep tracks off but it does clean up reliably well time after time year after year.

Taking assessment of what we need and what we have in preparation for back to school. Out came the totes and a sorting we did go. We found what we needed. This too makes my head scream!

 Slowly but surely we are making progress and getting some deep cleaning, organizing, and order to our home. It's a lot to keep all this going and to do so with a tight budget. However it does work out and we always have what we need. Life is good!