Busy, busy, busy........

Made it to DC and back. What a wonderful, whirlwind of a trip! Tim and I had a great time. Saw LOTS of history, learned a lot, walked a lot and decided that there's no place like the Pacific Northwest to call home! I don't know how the people live there with that humidity. You could be dripping just standing still.

Rich and Tim survived Football camp in Spokane. John and I held down the farm while they were gone. John moved irrigation and I fed steers. It's nice to have them back home. They had a great time too. Tim was the only Freshman that went to camp this year. He said they all made him feel like part of the team. It was a good experience for him. Both of them said the food was the best part!

This week is back to some what "normal". Back into the hay business. First cutting got off to a rough start. Plugged up swathers and balers, broken baler, rain storm.... Finally got it finished and stacked. Ready to be hauled out. 4 hay trucks coming in this week. One today, one tomorrow, and 2 on Friday! It's good to see it going out. Makes room for 2nd cutting.

This week is also the start Football weight lifting for Tim as well as the beginning of Babe Ruth All-Star team practice. There is another boy from here that made the team so we get to carpool this year! Practice is in The Dalles at least 3 days a week if not every day from 7-8:30 pm.

Next week Tim is attending an Offense - Defense Football Camp at Reed College in Portland. They actually have Pro-Football players in attendance and it is led by Pro coaches. It should be fun and very beneficial for him. I will miss him again. We take him down on Sunday and pick him up on Thursday.

It will be back to baseball practice when he gets back. By then Rich will probably be ready to cut hay again.

John has a full time job this summer working for the county Public Works/Road Dept. He's supposed to be saving the money to pay rent for his apartment when he goes to college this fall.

Babe Ruth All Star State Tournament is in Pendleton, OR this year! Hopefully John will have his apartment by then and we can stay there! I can also be getting it ready for John to move in when school starts in September! That tournament starts July 20 and runs through the 25th.

I know there's more to look forward to this summer. More football stuff as well as the county fair. I'll save that for another post. Have a great week!

Here we go!

Rich started laying down the alfalfa today. The weather has be absolutely beautiful the last couple of weeks. He's had the irrigation on that whole time. Shut it off on Wednesday and the hay is ready to cut. Temps have been in the 80's the last few days and is supposed to stay there for a few more. Things are going to get very busy around here now.

Next week is the last week of school for both boys. John is graduating from High School and Tim is graduating from the 8th grade. Tim's grad ceremony is on Wednesday with his last day on Friday and John's graduation is on Friday with his last day on Wednesday. We're having a BBQ get together on Friday afternoon before John's graduation. Family and friends will be here to congratulate both boys.

On Monday June 15th Tim and I leave for Washington DC with a group of kids from Tim's school. It will be a whirlwind trip. Lots to see in 6 days! It will be fun though. Something we will remember for the rest of our lives. Rich and John get to stay home and take care of the farm. John will hopefully have a job somewhere this summer too.

Tim has a busy summer ahead of him all on his own. The day after we get back from DC (Monday June 22nd) he leaves for a week of football camp with the high school team (he will be a freshman next year) in Spokane, WA. When he gets back from that he is going to a football camp in Portland, Or for 5 days. The first week of July will be Babe Ruth All-Stars practice then the tournaments for that starts on July20th in Pendleton, OR. The end of August is fall football practice/camp for High School and our County Fair. Tim will be showing a steer again this year. Whew! What a busy kid!

So anyway, here we go............ Our busy season is just starting. Hope you have a wonderful summer!

Spring is here?

Looks like it today anyway. Sunshine, blue skies, fluffy clouds, slight breeze. I even went for a walk on my lunch break. Wore my coat... shouldn't have. It's that nice! Hard to believe yesterday was 25° in the morning then rain/snow in the afternoon. Spring officially arrives about noon on Friday. I'm hoping the "in like a lion, out like a lamb" thing rings true this year. First high school baseball game is tomorrow. We have sat through games in the snow... that's not fun... but it would be really nice if tomorrow could be like today. As for the farming........ we're all calved out....... well, except one cow that insists on being the VERY LAST. Not sure what satisfaction she gets. I think Rich is getting the itch to get outside and do something. He's even helping the neighbor feed his cows! Tim, our 14 year old, is also helping the neighbor feed. He made a deal with him for a beat up pickup truck. They towed it home a couple of weeks ago. It actually runs now. Tim is sooooooo excited! Cracks me up. It's the ugliest thing you've ever seen. Well, I guess that opinion could have something to do with my gender. It's Dukes of Hazzard - General Lee orange, missing one tail light, no tail gate, one of the doors won't stay shut, numerous dents, rust spots..... But, in Tim's 14 year old eyes........ IT'S BEAUTIFUL! He can't wait to drive it to high school in a couple of years. I'm sure all the girls will be soooo impressed. Things are starting to green up around here. Haven't seen any of my bulbs sprouting yet though. Still too cold at night. Still have some water standing in the Swale too. Hopefully the grass hay crop will be good this year. The low land in the Swale flooded at least twice this year! Before we know it, we'll be complaining about how hot it is and when is winter coming.............. Yeah right!

Winter Blahs..........

It's been eons ago since I last posted. Sorry. Yeah, yeah. I know. Just 'cause it's winter doesn't mean life on the farm comes to a screeching halt. There's still cows to be fed, snow to be shoveled..... er... pushed, hay trucks to be pulled (out of the mud post loading). That actually only happened once this winter. My oldest son, the all knowing 17 year old, spent most of his winter pulling his friends out of snowy, muddy ditches. Seems he's the only one for miles around with a 4-wheel drive truck. Or maybe it's because they don't want to call their parents. ??? Not that he minded at all. Nothing like giving the teenage ego a boost! His shiny bright red truck however, has been in a perpetual state of mud covered-ness. Teenage boys, what are ya gonna do? Today we're finally getting some sunshine. After 2 1/2 months of temperatures in the teens to mid 20's, 40° feels like a heatwave! Sure looks pretty out there. Calving started at the first of February too. Out of 17 cows, we have 3 left to calve. I'm such a horrible farm wife! I've only been out to the pasture once and that was right after the first baby was born! Shame on me! I might get out there today..... since it's nice and sunny. Ok, so I'm a fair weather farmer's wife. Shoot me. I did finally get a new pair of barn boots though!! My first pair of my VERY OWN!!! But, alas........ they've still got that "new boot" smell. Barely out of the box. Someday.......... (sigh.......) Ok. So the boys basketball season's have ended.. albeit badly. High school won one game and my younger son's middle school team won 4 out of 8. Thank goodness that's over. On to baseball!!! We'll see how that works out. Baseball season means spring is right around the corner........ after sitting through the first half of the season all bundled up like we're Nanook of the North. The second half of the season we break out the sunscreen! Watch out for those metal bleachers!!!

Who says Happy Cows only come from California?

Well, 2008 hay crop is FINALLY done! Irrigation is off. Equipment is stored away. The cows are free to roam! Talk about spoiled pets! Good grief. You would've thought they were starved to death the way they kept busting through the fences and gates, not that they were the best fences and gates to begin with......... Chasing them around bales, through wind rows and back through gates into their holding pasture in the dark is not my idea of fun. God should've given cows some patience. OR Ma Nature could've cooperated a bit more and given us some great late haying weather! Oh well, now they can eat to their little hearts content. All the fresh alfalfa they could ever want. At least until the snow flies......... and with the weather we've been having lately, that could be tomorrow!!! Oh I hope not! Gotta get that wheat seed in the ground...............

Fall is in the air!

Good grief. Here it is, September already. The boys are back in school, football games have started, and we're STILL doing hay! Yes, 3rd cutting is slowly becoming a reality. This time of year it's slow going. Waiting for enough "warm" days in a row to guarantee a "no rain" window of cutting time. THEN, making sure the hay is actually dry enough to bale so that it won't mold or burn the barn down after being stacked inside. THEN, waiting for the proper amount of DEW to be on the wind rows to that we can actually bale! Oh my. It's a painful waiting game sometimes.

Oh, then you have to factor in FOOTBALL. Yes, we only have 2 boys, but they both play. We have a nephew that plays on the PeeWee team that my Brother In Law coaches and Rich is an assistant. Plus College and Pro Football on TV. So, we have.......... Tim's games on Thursday afternoons, John on Friday nights, Jesse (nephew) on Saturday mornings (sometimes we get to watch his sister's soccer games then too), College ball on Saturday afternoons, Pro on Sundays - all day, JV High school games on Monday afternoons (home games only), Pro on Monday nights. So, that leaves Tuesdays and Wednesdays to "get stuff done". Except for the fact that since Rich helps with the PeeWees, he is at practice Tue, Wed, & Thurs. from 5-7. Soooooooo........... you get the picture.

Fall is just as busy as Spring and Summer. Oh, heck. Winter is busy too. Maybe that's just for me. Rich seems to have more down time during the winter. All we have then is Basketball.

So, yes, we are STILL in Farming mode. For another month or so. Then we can put the tractors, mower, rakes, and balers to bed for the winter. Except for that Fall Wheat that needs to be planted............

See ya next time! Hopefully sooner than later!

Go Timberwolves!

Time Flies..............

Wow! Has it been a long time or what? Well, let's see last I left you, we (I say "we" figuratively) were having baling problems, or I should say tractor problems. All has been taken care of. First cutting is baled, stacked, and sent on it's way to Tillamook! Second cutting is done, baled, stacked, and about 1/4 of it has been trucked out and on it's way to Tillamook. Still have about 6 more semi-truck loads to go. That's not to say 2nd cutting went without it's share of problems. Ended up purchasing a new baler. After breaking more bales than tying, the old baler just had to go! Sad to say good bye to an old friend, but............ The new one is sooooooo cool!!! LOL! Currently watering for 3rd cutting. The ooooollllllld combine was taken out of the barn last night. Unbelievably, it started right up!!! Rich was shocked, as was I. We have 6 whole acres of wheat to cut this year! Prices are still up for the little golden nuggets. Hopefully they will stay that way or even go up more! At least enough to pay for the fuel to run the dang combine!! Oh, yeah, I forgot......... gas prices are falling! Yeah, right. I won't be celebrating until I see $2 something gas again. Aaahhhhhhh........ the good old days. Well, I must leave you now. I'll try to get on here soon to update how the big harvest went.