Busy Busy Bee

Pre-snow, thanks hubs

A darkened dawn, birds still asleep, greeted me this Monday morning. Air so crisp exhaled delicate, lacy frost patterns across glass. Remote start saved me the short-walk-but-you-run-because-it’s-cold. Coffee in hand, hubs and I trekked south.

This harvest, especially this last week and weekend, has shown me that life is constantly busy with always something ‘important’ happening. Over the course of four days I had returned to Canuckland, traveled for a wedding, came back to SoDak and then went to Nebraska. The days had been highlighted with mile marker events for friends and family.

If you want to put miles on and properly break in your vehicle you:

1)      Drive 7 hours in one day

2)      Drive another 1.5 hours each way the next day

3)      Take a chill day and only drive an hour round trip

4)      Now ‘rested up’ drive 7 hours in one day

5)      For kicks and giggles (but mostly for family) drive another 3 hours each way the following day

It’s really as simple as that. Don’t forget the snacks and the dog though. And the coffee, that’s important.

Annnnnd now we have snow in MB

The long days of harvest coalesced into one big, long weekend. Every farmer knows the sacrifice of personal time, family time and sleep. Somehow my calendar had filled with busyness and sacrificed personal time, time with hubs and sleep.

In the moment I might momentarily regret making the time for ‘x’ when I could have been doing something busy. But was I productive? Was I going to regret not making time when I looked back on the highlight’s reel of memories? Some say time is money. Some say time is love. I dare to say time is family and friends.

One short hour of work left in the day! Clearly a long day

I try to keep in mind that the work will always be there and it won’t miss you in return. However, family and friends will remember you being there for them. And no one knows the days or years they’ll be blessed to live. It’s the achievements, laughter, jokes, etc. that make a moment memorable. They say love your work but I think it should be said in conjunction with love your family and friends. Be passionate about what you do, be bold in life but share that bold passion with time with family and friends.

May your week be productive, have a good visit with a friend, and hopefully no snow.

Late for a cause (or two)

Hubs part of human grain truck pull, raising $ for mental health awareness

We all know it’s Tuesday, right? Kind of hard to miss, since yesterday was Monday and I definitely had a case of sleepy Monday-itis. Yup, I’m a day late (sorry!) but I promise it’s lateness for a cause.(No be-cause and not an excuse.) 

Normally, I try to write my post on the tail end of a long sigh of zzzz’s before Sunday goes to sleep for the week. However, a neighbor was celebrating a milestone birthday and it was a party, of course. You know, with cake, coffee (and iced coffee!!) and a variety of other little munchies. Then there’s the mingling which apparently strikes terror into the heart of many; it was so bad everyone brought their lawn chairs, plunked ‘em down and didn’t move. Did not move. Okay, they may have vacated for a brief wink of time to claim another munchie or refill the coffee (to fuel all that talking, don’tcha know).

If you wanted to talk to another group of people you had to keep a sharp eye on your target group and then, just as one vacates for that brief wink, hop into that chair and settle in like you’re catching some rays at the beach. And begin more word sharing, of course. This leaves the loser of the sudden, inspired game of musical lawn chairs to stare while that fact sinks in and then wander off to join another group. This new group was apparently waiting for some new flavor in the conversation, judging by the laughs and jovially-raised voices as they settled in the newcomer.

All in all, a good time was had. And I raced off into the twinkling slumber of the evening with my arms wrapped tight around my hubs as he revved the atv. He might’ve had a few crunchy bugs for an encore dessert on the ride back. 

That’s my Sunday evening cause, now for the Monday cause. 

The day dawned way too early, especially considering the event at 2am. A storm rolled in, rolled by and waved ‘ciao baby’ as it dumped rain just a few MILES south of us. The gall of that storm, I tell ya. Well, it came with a barreling train of wind that battered my garden and made me pop up out of a sound sleep. It sounded all too-like the last time I’d heard that train sound of wind, which then they had called it a ‘straight-line wind’ but really was a small tornado that shredded the dense wind break and toppled an antique windmill (back in SoDak now). So I’m wide awake remembering all that and wondering how many trees I’ll have to pick up later that morning. Hubs’ deep sleep sensor alarms must’ve gone off because he pops up and startles me. 

It was so disappointing that we didn’t get any rain out that storm. I mean, we were glad that the serious, vibrant reds on the radar missed us but we need rain. We could use at least two inches of rain. But that’s not as serious as my home state is, with a large percentage of the state in severe drought mode. 

My Grams called today (Tuesday) and was telling me how one of my cousins and her family had to sell off all their cows because everything was dried to a crisp. I feel really bad for my family and my fellow agriculture producers. There’s rain in the forecast for home for later this week, I’m hoping and praying they get the rain they need. It’s hard to look at your work and livelihood and see the thirsty plants shrink, fighting to stay in the game. 

I was out running errands and I saw more wind damage, a field of wheat had been blown flat and just looked terrible like a herd of cattle on a stampede. The outer rows on a field of corn were blown back into their fellows. Uff da. 

Anyways, back to Monday. I’d promised the mother in-law that I’d take her for coffee aka girls morning out. We had fun, chatting and catching up. We may also had taken a run at the local lawn/garden/feed/livestock/auto/misc store to check out sales. I popped through the tool selection and sadly nothing leapt out and said ‘buy me!’ It’s a truly sad day when you can’t ‘find’ a good tool for your collection. 

Then a text came. I was popular, someone texted me! It’s about as exciting as seeing ‘x’ number of people liked a photo on Insta/Facebook (Twitter, not so much, maybe I’m not good at condensed characters?). Anywho. A friend who I had run into at the party the previous night invited me for lunch. 

It turns out that we were also building her cold storage shelving (for all that canning she’ll be doing). Imagine a deep-set bookcase but with offset supports and varying heights between shelves. It looked pretty sweet when I left and then I remembered I wanted to take a photo as proof for you but… Looking back, I wondered, for the space of a giggle, if lunch was bribery to work on the shelving. 

Mind you, we built this in the garage. And it’s been one of those week’s were it’s epically warm with the power of the sun and the humidity. So much so, that we have quite the hazy days occurring. At first glance, it looks like fog except that it’s clearly not moving with the breezy gusts of wind.

She had all the tools ready (saw, pen, tape measure, building notes) and her hubs had left us the case of drill bits. Win! Well, I did ask for the square and she gives me this look. What?! I like things perfectly measured (okay, minimum of twice) and cut once. We ran through safety protocols and devised a system that got the most measuring and cutting done in the shortest amount of time available. I will admit (and I did to her) that it was an experience for me that day; trying to build in the undetermined time of baby napping and keeping the other kids occupied and more than a safe distance away. 

It was an enjoyable way to spend the afternoon time building, chatting with the kids and, best part, coffee time. We got the shelf installed in the basement room and half put together. It required a bit more brain power putting it together. Remember the shelves are at varying heights. A drill with a screw to sink in doesn’t fit in a 9” space to secure the base of the offset supports. But we figured it out with a lot of good-natured teasing. 

A quick crop update: the canola is quickly losing its bloom, the fall rye is ripening and the wheat is moving along nicely. Our corn by the yard is tasseling (neighboring fields of corn aren’t quite at the tasseling stage yet). Edibles are looking good and the soy beans are canopying nicely (at 30in rows, they take a bit longer than at 20in). The flax fields (not ours) are finally starting to flower. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get up in the air this week for a few aerial photos of the flax bloom. And hopefully it rains here soon, as well.

Creating tissue paper peonies for a reception

May it rain, the grass stay green and the shade cool you!

Ramblings on the first day of summer

Going in for the landing

So it was Father’s Day yesterday. It’s one of those holidays that rank right up there with my dad’s birthday. It’s a cool day because, duh, dads are awesome! But really though, peer into that coffee cup with honesty and admit that dads are hard to shop for or find a gift. This year must have been inspired (and I was fortunate to have a good friend in the mix too!) because it was a breeze. 

What better way to show dad we love and appreciate him by gifting him the heavy duty screwdriver set that features the mid-size to tiny size. Why? Well, it was so frustrating to need those mid to smaller screwdrivers and not find it or, find them broken. Sigh. Insert emoji with the eyes looking heavenward and an imaginary ‘tsk, tsk.’ 

Then inspiration struck when I clapped eyes on the rubber mallets. Dad was always saying he needed one, could never find it, yada yada yada. They’re perfect for tapping bearings in place. Say goodbye to the serious sledgehammer and block of wood (and you still get dings in those bearings). So I left for Canuckland with the gifts in my sister’s possession who would present them with a card on the day. Win for planning ahead!

I had thought they (mom and sis) would move the gifts from where I had left them. I’d left them leaning against an old barn trunk (looks like a like classic red barn, paint and everything) with the screwdriver set facing the trunk. This was located next to the foot of the staircase that Dad would trudge about twice a day.

Turns out that Dad had thought we’d gotten some funky hair curlers or something! Oh my goodness, I about fell off the couch laughing so hard my ribcage hurt when Mom was relating the story to me.

Then it hit me. What to get my father in-law? I was stumped. Books are always good but that’s a pretty hit and miss title. I was with a friend out and about helping her with her summer bash party prep and she mentioned that “you catch a Dutchman with cheese.” 

Her father in-law is also Dutch and she was stopping by this small town cheese store. Small town it may have been but it was premium quality cheese. A gift trio and two additional small blocks of cheese (this is stuff you wouldn’t find in the grocery store) and I was set. Don’t worry, I had a card too. Turns out her advice was so true. You really can ‘catch’ a Dutchman with cheese. Score one for the daughter in-law. 

So I’m two days behind posting for this week (posted on the 21^st but I back dated, obviously) because 1) still recovering from being sick  2) Father’s Day  3) I procrastinated and 4) when the hubs asks if you want to go for a flight you say YES! And resign yourself to being another day late with your post. But it was worth it. 

First flight of the year was a win! It was a gorgeous evening, no wind or ground thermals and so much fun. I can’t wait to go up again when the canola and flax fields are blooming. It really is quite the sight. Imagine a quilt that has very square fields in it with brilliant fields of yellow beaming up at you, the occasional dusky blue flax moodily waves and lush, emerald green glints and rolls with the wind. Here and there a circle (potatoes) surprises you with its perfect shape, dark green and a trim border of black dirt. As far as the eye can see and clouds may drift, this is the view you’ve been blessed to see. 

Fellow flier

And for a light laugh or chuckle… I met a friend for coffee and to catch up. It was a lovely, sunny day with a teasing wind, coffee (iced, of course) and so we chose to sit outside on the coffee shop’s patio. About an hour into our chat I felt a little warm on my legs so I recrossed my legs and settled back into the conversation. I did this a couple of times over the next two, three hours and didn’t think too much of it. 

The breeze was cool as it toyed with my hair; the sun was a warm hand as it stroked my face. Then as we got uncomfortably warm, I really looked at my friend and noticed she was gaining quite the sunburn. It hit me then, I was wearing shorts and a light t-shirt, I was wearing shorts. Me, the person who has been wearing jeans and combat boots for planting work, was wearing shorts i.e. the Scandinavian with the winter tan yet on my legs. Uff da.

Only I could get a sunburn on my legs (really painful on the knees, let me tell you) while drinking coffee. I mean, really? I’m a little afraid to ask ‘what next?’ but then a little adventure never stopped me. 

Potato field in the circle

For the love of nature

Farmers love nature or the great outdoors playing in the dirt (soil, c’mon people) and having the time of their lives. You would naturally think that they love the weather too. Although that relationship would better be described under the heading of ‘love/hate.’ Everyone loves the good weather i.e. sunshine and timely rains but the downside is that doesn’t always happen according to one’s excel spreadsheet of timed events.

I roll in to the prairies of my childhood home ready to get down and dirty, maybe a little greasy too and get this planting year started. Well, in the last leg of my scenic yet repetitive drive (miles of road, wahoo) I encounter a little rain shower. Little turned into steady and fell like a lead balloon into the sobbing of the heavens of a downpour. Don’t forget the side of grumbling thunder and glimpses of lightning. 

Ugh. Uff da. Sigh. Then I happen to notice that the temperature is steadily dropping. My thoughts became a mantra of ‘stay above freezing.’ Driving on sodden interstate that would quickly turn to icy slush was not exactly my idea of a nice drive. The pup and I arrived before that slush fest could officially start but we did get soaked in the gear unload. Yep, wet dog smell. Love. It.

Well, this much rain (1.3inches) means a coffee run in the a.m. is most assuredly on the docket for the morning agenda. Scoots being a twitchy pup, or that’s his excuse according to him, was up bright and early and demanding the opportunity to commune with nature. Imagine my surprise when I open the door and see SNOW on the ground. On the first day of May. Huh. Guess planting is on hold for a while.

A couple days later the sun came out, spring resumed and the soil very slowly (like watching paint dry that kind of painfully slow) dried out. It’s still drying out. Now we have the dilemma of the co-op being behind in their applications of fertilizer or burn down sprays.  What do you do when it appears nature is conspiring against you? Well, you tinker and change that oil you could never quite decide if it was a change now or later kind of thing. Later being ‘time to plant, let’s roll’ and now ‘it rained might as well.’ Then you get bored so you check your battery/power assembly cables and decide, sure why not? It will be fun they said. The fun really kicks in when you realize that the long tail end of the cable attaches to the alternator and the whole kit runs through loops on the inside of the main frame of the tractor. Yes, fun will be had. Do a quick survey of your hired help and determine in two seconds flat who has the smallest hands to get in the tight places. Huh, there’s me and you. You. And me. Since the options appear to be somewhat limited I drew that short stick. Can we say I was ‘dirty’ was an understatement?

 

In the end I got the fun and oddly satisfying job of greasing the trac, the payloader and planter. Nothing says ready to roll than that final greasing and knowing the equipment is taken care of. We have the time, might as well take complete advantage of it and be detailed in the minor repairs.

Happy planting 2017!

Adventure day

Hubby rolls into the middle of my bookkeeping moment (that had dragged on far too long) and wants to know if I’d like to go on an adventure with him. Hmm… bookwork or adventure of unknown qualities? Yup, definitely the door with adventure behind it. Bonus, the pup gets to come along with us. 

So, what’s the adventure? You guessed it, a trip to the wonderful, balmy and lush Miami! No, no, NOT the beachy Miami of Florida in the good ol’ US but Miami in Canuckland. Huh.

But first a trip to the city for a sweet, nice chiropractor adjustment… for both of us. Then onward and bumping across the lovely, somewhat sketchily maintained roads. Besides the road conditions it wasn’t a bad way to spend the morning together. Numerous errands and a stop at the atv doctor (bonus new tires) and the morning was about gone.

A quick stop at the home base, aka the farm, for a nice bowl of chili and then we were off. To where, well that part was a little unclear. I had my two travel mugs of coffee with a shot of the cinnamon dulce coffee syrup from one of my fav little coffee joints. Scoots was busy mumbling and whining about being stuck in the back seat (versus the front seat, where I sat). Hubs was happily cruising down the road. And I was enjoying the sun and the scenic hills.

So it turns out that we were going to pick up an auger. I use the words ‘pick up’ loosely, very loosely. Seeing as how it was an eighty-two foot long auger and wide as the entire road.

Scoots went shopping

It was a nice drive and I got to tease the hubby by pointing out the some of the bigger field rocks that we could ‘stop real quick and pick up.’ Those rocks were more of the four-man-pick-up-and-a-loader-to-assist bigger field rocks. 

Somehow we made it around the numerous corners and ducked under low wires, driving granny style in hopes of not bouncing the auger to the heavens. Back up, park and ready to clean. The previous owner apparently decided to not clean out the now nasty, stinking grain once he decided to sell it. I did the wave, blow a kiss, love ya hun, and sprinted into the house. I've ventured into the muck and been covered in the smell of well-aged and wet grain. Yeah... you know what I'm talking about. Ahh, bookwork… who knew it could be such fun, eh?