Good Intentions

We have an apple tree. Every summer it is completely full of small, green apples. You can barely see the tree for the apples.

Every year, I think to myself, "Self, we are going to do something with those apples this summer."

This year was no exception. The kids and I grabbed bowls, buckets, and wagons and started picking apples.

(And just so you know, I don't usually dress the kids in the same shirts. This was the last day of VBS.)

We picked gobs of small, knobby apples.

I had visions of apple pies, apple crisp, apple tarts, and applesauce.

And yet, three weeks later, what have I made?



Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

The apples still sit. Some in the house refrigerator. Some in the garage refrigerator. And even though I am still holding on to the fantasy of actually using them, I know they will soon end up tossed out into the field to rot.

I wish someone would just peel, cook, and prepare those delicious apple treats for me.

I think I need a farm wife.

The post in which I pretend I know what I am talking about

10 years ago, I didn't realize what all happened on a farm at different times of the year.

10 years later, I still don't.

But I like to pretend that I do.

Summer in the midwest usually means it is time to harvest wheat. Sounds simple enough, but apparently it's a very complicated process, necessitating nearly every piece of equipment on the farm.

It starts out with this beautiful, golden wheat. You know those "amber waves of grain" we sing about?

This is it.


Shortly after it looks like this, it's time for the combine to harvest the top part, the actual wheat.


Once harvested, you are left with this


and this.



The straw then needs to be mowed


and raked.


Once the straw has been raked, it will be left in tidy little rows, perfect for baling.



Then the fun really begins. It's time to bale.

You definitely need a Dodge pickup.


Well, I guess you need 2 Dodge pickups.


Or, um, well, 3 Dodge pickups?


Okay, 4. You need 4 Dodge pickups.


And you'll definitely need a few of these.


The straw can either be baled into big round bales with this guy


or square bales with this. And to be honest, I don't understand why they are called square bales, when they are actually rectangular. But that's just my inner dork coming out.


The "square" baler stacks the bales into a neat little pile and dumps the entire pile into the field.


Then a skid loader comes along to pick up the pile (one layer at a time) stacking it on the wagons.




Once the wagons are full, a gaggle of sweaty guys start loading them into the barn.


And just when you think the job is done, when the last bale is out of the field, out comes the tractor and seed drill to double crop beans in the same field.


Which is about the time I head back into the air conditioning for a cold drink. Taking pictures of all this work is exhausting.

Feeding Time

When supper, baths, homework, and swim lessons don't get in the way, the kids and I love to help the guys feed.


And by help, I mean Cole helps.

This is his "can't you see I am too busy farming to take a picture?!" face.

When the Little Miss and I aren't driving around in the Gator, petting the barn cat, or posing on top of straw bales, we like to pull weeds to feed to the cattle.


All eyes are on us as we move toward them.


Drop the weeds and nobody gets hurt.


Number 9 is the Little Miss's favorite. He thinks he is a big pet. Little does he know his middle name is Hamburger.

To all my vegetarian readers, I am very sorry about the hamburger remark.

My favorite cow at the moment is number 44. He has a big ol' head and loves to be scratched right between the eyes. Who can resist such a face?


Even Cole will take a break from the "real work" to play with us girls.


You have to watch when you are feeding the cattle. They don't always use their manners. Just look at that shameless number 40. See that sneaky tongue making its way over to steal that weed?

Such bull.

Faces Only a Mother Could Love

While some people are busy doing things like this

and this,

some of us are simply taking pictures of these.

I do love a good cow face.

Weekend of Wheat

It was a busy weekend around here. Remember this?

Well now it looks like this.

And this.

A lot goes into harvesting wheat.

You need to clean out the grain truck.

Fire up the combine.

After doing that for awhile, you'll need one of these.

And these.

For this.

Please keep in mind that while I sound rather involved, running the occasional farmer here and there on the Gator is pretty much the extent of my responsibilities. Well, that and making this.

And at the end of a long day, you might just get one of these.


And that makes for a pretty wonderful weekend.