Starting another great spring day

Had another great breakfast at the Powderhorn this morning, what a great way to start the day.

The big greenhouse is all inflated and dad has tilled the soil so we're just about ready to plant tomatoes in there, fully a month early. It's so warm in there we're also planning to put in some okra which should do really well. Might have to get some mason or bumble bees in there to pollinate though.

Hope you have a great day.

Lost another sweet one

Just found out that one of our truly great customers, the delightful Florence Hopper has passed away. That's a downer.

Sudden spring deep freeze!

Dammit, Al Gore! where's my global warming? Froze so hard last night we lost 6 trays of plants even inside the greenhouse. Probably also will be no early summer cherries now. That's just shy of 450 plants.

Fortunately I put the tomatoes in the heated chamber just around dark or we would have lost them too. Keeping my fingers crossed for the rhubarb plants. The pepper plants and all the rest of the tomatoes were still in the basement sprout room.

Got the big greenhouse up yesterday afternoon, thank goodness we didn't move any plants out there already.

Hope the day brings us all better turns of events, lovely vistas and smooth sailing.

Sprouts and errands

Had a good day today mostly. Dad transplanted a bunch of sprouts. I filled trays and then ran some errands in Rogue River. Got some books at the library. It was nice this morning so we got some walks in & I moved some plants down to the greenhouse before the rains set in. Hope it clears out soon enough that our cherry blossoms set.

Y'all have a great day or night.

bad news on Easter

Just found out that we lost aunt Edna today. Bummer. She once went for a long walk in the woods with me near our home when I was 8. I still can clearly picture this hesitant Mennonite lady having to jump over streams and brooks to follow my winding trail amidst tree, flower and moss. It was just about this time of year. About 10 years ago she sent me a book of sermonettes and I always meant to write her to say thanks but one thing lead to another and I never did.

Happy Easter

Bring on the candy!

Just kidding, hope your all able to spend this day with friends and/or family and that all your reflections are peacefully, easy and kind.

Spring procrastinations

Been slacking off a lot because of the storms blowing through. Wanted to have the big greenhouse inflated by now but fear of the big winds and snow held us back. No snow but the wind has been pretty fierce.

Dad's on another round of chemo so he's sleeping in his chair right now. I'm heading off shortly to water all the sprouts we've got in the plant room and maybe look into doing the last few steps to make the greenhouse ready. That way we just have to plug in the fan. Got a bunch of already seeded pony paks just waiting their turn in the sprout room.

It's really nice outside right at the moment, can definitely tell it's Easter weekend. I could almost smell the jelly beans when I took Sparky out for a walk.

Happiness to all.

Equinox

Happy first day of spring/fall (depending on your hemisphere)

Cooke's Frontier

My niece has started blogging! She's pretty good, funnier than me & getting better. Check it out

WimpyCare

Global wandering

Here's a great article by Michael Crichton about the science behind current climate change ideas.

good weather blues

Been so busy this week, this darn good weather is keeping me out in the orchard.

There's a lovely fog bank covering our whole farm right now.

Mom's birds are enjoying the bird feeder we got from Bill Imel (Robin's dad) yesterday. We were helping him, spraying his fruit trees and got a tour of his wonderful bird house & feeder shop. Now planning on stocking some of his great woodwork at our stand this summer.

We had blueberry pancakes & bacon for breakfast. So delightful.

Wishing you each and all a relaxing, rewarding Sunday.

sunny winter Sunday

being soooo lazy. Might go spray peach tree sometimes this afternoon.

showers moving in.

got a little more apple tree pruning done before the showers moved in.

Finally a little winter comes back

Been sunny and warm with night time freezing for about a week now, so we've been working like crazy.

Showers came in around noon, very fine mist at first but real rain now.

I got some more pruning done and dad did some tractor work before it actually turned into something you could feel.

Gotta go get some equipment from farm#2, be well!

Bright sunshiney winter day

Had a slow start to the day but once it warmed up we really got going good.

I pruned on the apples, sprayed copper on the peaches and cherries and burned some debris while dad pulled up drip tape. Our good friend Ed Gramc came over and pruned in the vineyard for a while too.

The sun was bright and warm with a light breeze to keep winter in mind.

Dad and I had plenty of appetite this evening I'll tell ya. Work makes food taste good!

Hope life is filling your day with vigor and joy.

A lovely winter day

Got some good sun out today. Managed to get a few chores done. Sprayed the peach trees for peach leaf curl. Placed 2 of the 3 big seed orders. Gotta finish & place the E&R order tomorrow.

Mom & dad went to town for dad's chemo drip. He's doing about as well as can be expected.

Gotta love these days getting longer.

China has a lot of money

Upon reading this article, I was taken back to my childhood when I would listen to Alan Stang. I can almost hear him saying something about China defeating America not through warfare but through financial means.

waiting for rain

Got our first 288 tray planted with lots of different greens/ cole crops.

Will be placing our winter seed order today too.

Big storm front headed our way out of mid-pacific should bring higher temps & lots of water to southern Oregon. If snow level doesn't raise too much should pack away some good water in the hills.

Hope your having fun.

morning delights

Coming home from breakfast with my good friend Del I saw the most beautiful hawk sitting on my neighbor's fence. It had red shoulders and head with black and white barred body and tail. I'm having a heck of a time identifying it. It was so majestic & bold, quite a thrill seeing him so close. Seems like I often have a special encounter after one of our breakfast outings, last time it was a white raven.

Update: found the variety. It is, simply enough, a red shouldered hawk. They're usually found closer to the coast. Here's a pic I borrowed:

Farming season 2010

Bought my first couple packs of seed yesterday. Sooo much hard work ahead. Got to repair the clutch on the brown truck, brakes and 3rd point pump on the Massey-Ferguson tractor. Put the ends on the sprouting greenhouse, pull tomato stakes and plastic mulch, repair fences and fertilize the winter onions. Oh the list goes on and on.

This week we'll start filling 288 trays with soil for the early greens, lettuce, cabbage, etc. sprouts which can start in the basement plant room.

Mom & dad are frying some hash for breakfast in the kitchen. Sounds like they're feeling ok this morning.

Hope your day is full of promise and answered hope.

Happy 2010!

Just want to wish my friends, family & the whole world a Happy New Year.

2009 was a tough year here but we got through it ok and had a lot of laughs, lots of tears and many enriching experiences. I also noticed that there were many rainbows in southern Oregon during 2009 which is never a bad thing.

It's raining like crazy right now, about your typical Oregon day.

Have fun & take care. See ya in 2010.

not good news

Ah, what a bummer. The CT scan says dad's tumor got bigger. Up to about 3.4 cm now. Their gonna speak with his doctor next week & maybe drop the Xeloda and begin the Eloxatin drip again.

Personally I think the new swelling is from all the holiday sweets & sugar we've been eating for the last 3-4 weeks. It is his pancreas, after all.

Of course as dad always says, if it weren't for the what the doctors tell him and the chemo he'd feel great.

snow

about 1 inch on the ground & still coming down. Looks freakin' awesome, oh so glad I don't have to work in it. My toes are cold! from getting firewood.

Day after Christmas

Had a terrible lazy morning eating bad food, way too many cookies & too much fudge & peanut butter balls.

Spent the afternoon pruning grapes, helped dad work on his tool center then brought in firewood. Nose, toes & feet tingling cold makes me feel alive!

Fire's goin' great. Warming up the basement. Smell bacon cooking upstairs. Gonna do a little reading before dinner.

Have a great evening.

Hooray! Christmas Eve

Happy Yuletide greetings to everybody! Just back from a delightful trip with dad to do our last minute shopping. Breakfast at Burger King then off to Wal-Mart. Bought mom a nice sunbeam mixer to replace the one that burned out. Dad got her a snuggie at Rite-Aid to top it all off. Now I just gotta wrap a bunch of stuff. Be well!

Well Winter Wishing

Took some calms forte last night and had a good 8+ hours of sleep.

Got to visit with my niece Cass yesterday so the weekend was good. Today's a little bit heavy, dad's going in for a CT scan.

I've got to start wrapping gifts! Enjoying smooth jazz & warm tea now.

Today is winter solstice. Just about 40 minutes from now actually.

Merry Christmas each and all.

Happy holiday season morning

Decent night's sleep, foggy morning. No rain at the moment. Enjoying a warm cup of coffee, some smooth jazz and the Xmas tree again. Sparky's making little sleeping puppy noises in his bed under the heat lamp. It is a bit chilly. Hope you have a great day.

another frosty morning

16° ! Covered in frost but at least I got the defroster in the bird's water yesterday. There's a 6 inch opening where the birds can get a drink. Monday is here & now we gotta work again. Rock on.

Frozen foggy autumn morning

27° !
Gotta get the defroster put in the bird bath.

We've been pretty busy in this dry weather. Days are short & it's hard to get out in the cold mornings but we've got plenty to do pressing on us.

We brought the 3" aluminum pipes home yesterday & I pulled a muscle in my back doing it, argh! We did that as part of moving our operation back to the old farm. Decided we just don't make enough money to justify running the extra land & moving the outlet back here will dramatically diminish the labor overhead on our sales outlet. Will have to advertise more but we'll also drop a bunch of those troublesome customers who just pull off the road. Still not what I'd prefer to do but change is inevitable & better to go with it than to fight it.

The fog & frosty landscape is quite lovely this morning. Haven't got the curtains pulled yet but can see out through the gaps. Brrrr!

Wishing you warmth & comfort.

Happy Thanksgiving

So many things to be thankful for I can't even keep track of it all.

Hope you are all having a fine & comfy day.

bare trees in the rain

Lovely rainy day. The first blush of snow on top Mt. Fielder. The birds are enjoying our feeders, gonna take them a block of fresh suet shortly. Mom & dad are running errands in GP. Sparky is sleeping next to me & Samcat is purring on my lap. Smooth jazz. Have a great day.

cloud, sun and mountain

Sun's starting to burn through the cloud, lighting patches of Mt. Fielder. Been just tinkering around the place today. Getting stuff moved, cleaned up, plans fomenting in the back of my mind about what tasks to pursue next.

Hope your weekend is joyful and satisfying.

Cloudy with a few showers

Another chilly, foggy morning. Gotta run errands in Rogue River this morning. Drop off library books, get mail, etc. Kinda bummed this morning, missing my summer energy. Hope you're all feeling good & happy.

work under rainy skies.

It's all rainy here today, inside clean-up I suppose or maybe a little software work. Plenty of work in barn, garage and greenhouse.

A special thanks to our veterans for making life safe so we can get on with our work.

And a good day to you too.

strange rainy fall day.

Ran mom & dad around Medford on errands today. We had lunch at Hometown buffet. Not as much to my liking as TinTin but still really good.

Spent the afternoon reading, fiction mostly.

Hope everyone is finding happiness in life's little escapades.

autumn roundabout

Back from farm#2, left dad disking the fields to bring a bunch of equipment home to refurbish for next year. The sun is warm & bright now, a lovely and enlightening change to the day. Gotta get back to work, have fun.

autumn sadness

quiet day at our house. Helped mom run errands in GP this morning. Now mom & dad are listening to the singing at uncle Milton's funeral over the phone. I'm listening too while catching up on a chore. It's a lovely fall Sunday, hope you're all enjoying it with friends & family or alone :)

pleasant Sunday

did a few minor chores today, shoulda picked apples. Only 6 days left in our sales season! then tear down & field prep for a couple weeks but no more set schedule. Will be nice to have a little time to enjoy the season. Good luck with your week.

foggy relaxed Sunday morning.

Tiny bit of sun is burning through up on Mt. Fielder's rugged slope. Mom's running errands in town, dad's canning beef, Todd just dropped by to borrow some acetominophen for Robin & I'm being a major slacker general. Still in my pajamas, sipping tea, listening to smooth jazz. Have a super Sunday.

Cool Sunday

Having a cool Sunday morning. Dad's snoozin' in his chair under a blanket after doing the dishes & sweeping up. Mom is running grocery errands in GP. I'm gonna go pick some 'maters in a bit.

Sorry I've been off the blog so long, just real busy with pumpkins etc.

Hope you've all soaked up lots of relaxation, sports, entertainment, family fun, etc. this weekend.

Autumn music

Crickets, crickets, a cacophonous orchestration of crickets. Tuning the autumn night into impromptu harmony. One plays beyond his purpose, seeking perfect harmony. He strives and strives. Somewhere a star rejoins the sky.

Autumnal Equinox

47F this morning. Reached 99 yesterday, supposed to go over 100 today, bummer. And of course no water in the ditch. Equinox today! Fall tomorrow. Smoke from the Ashland fire is turning the rising sun into a rosy glow caressing Mt. Fielder. Hope Tuesday treats you well.

Summer's end

Brrr... 45F here this morning. Cold as a February morning but they say it'll be in the upper 90s later so gotta really jam the work this morning. Last day of summer! Cherish those rays & have a great day.

Peaceful Sunday happiness

A peaceful, cool Sunday morning. Sparky curled up next to me, a blue-jay screeching & scriching in the distance. The sky a tapestry of thin cloud & pale blue, Mt. Fielder a solid mass of tree & rock beyond the big oak in the front yard.

Dad's reading the "Messenger of Truth" & mom is napping.

A relaxing & inspiring day to you.

Summer wonder Sunday

Had such a wonderful nap! with Sparky asleep, his head on my leg. We felt so safe. Then I went out and perched on the ladder to pick a case of pears & plums. Todd's gonna BBQ some London broil, I've got squash ready to steam & mom made peach pies w/ ice cream to top it off. Happy Sunday.

21 days to Fall

beat & tired. Busy day at the stand. Only takes a few unpleasant customers to make for a real tough day. Anger is exhausting. Glad to be home & filling my belly with some of Todd's mighty fine BBQ chicken. Actually had a great day at the stand, sold lots.

Hope you're relaxing & having fun.

Height of summer

Had a good day at the stand, sold lots of corn & melons. Mom & dad went into town running errands for tomorrow, it's dad's 72nd birthday!

Getting ready to crash, did the dishes & cleaned up the backyard a bit this evening. About all I can take.

Aching joints & muscles tell me a story of many hills climbed, the time I spent the night in an iron mine, wind & spray at the coast on top the big rock at Harris Beach.

Hope your day has filled you with happy stories.

Cool summer morning

having a lovely cool morning. Dallying around before knuckling under & going out to the field to work. Listening to Ken Navarro on the smooth jazz channel. Dreamt about strange cities last night. Take a few minutes to reflect & have a happy Saturday. Off to work I go.

busy summer day

finally got water back in the ditch this morning. Furious last night as the water wasn't in the ditch at mid-night. Half a day lost to the greedy bastards in the 6500-6800 blocks.

Business has been pretty good. Lots of melons coming in.

Anyways, hoping for a good day, it's a bit cooler this morning.

Wishing you all a great day.

Cold summer morning

Brrrr.... a wonderful cold morning, 48F. Only 1.5 buckets of melons though, to cold to ripen. Which is fine, need to clean out yesterday's pickings. The blue jays are complaining, must need to set out some seed. Sparky's curled up one the rocking chair. Hope you all have a comfortable, fun day.

Temperate Thursday

and a moderate morning. Just lovely here today, we've all been working well & getting lots done despite our casual approach today. Clouds are still blanketing the top of Mt. Fielder and it is sooo comfortable after last weeks extreme heat & humidity.

Lots of melons, corn etc. have been coming in from the fields. Randi and Kevin have both been here helping out today.

I am exceedingly grateful for such a fine day spent in profitable pursuits with my family and friends. Wishing you each and all the same and more.

Civil Sunday

Hoping your all having some fun & relaxation today.

It's much cooler here today, 85.3 but very muggy, downright sticky. Lots of thunderclouds blowing around, a few sprinkles every half-hour or so. Sparky is very pensive with the distant rumbles, so am I. Fortunately the storm damage from last night was bad but not as bad as I feared.

We just sampled one of our cantaloupes, oh-my-hod it was awesome! Sweet, juicy, cold and oh so delicious. I am renewed.

A fine & civil day to you too.

Savage weather

Storm giants just came blundering through our neighborhood. Shaking hail & rain from their hair while bumbling into each other with thund'rous crash & boom. They took a terrible toll 'pon my now sad garden. I would estimate at least 25% of our year's income shredded from existence. Great big chunks of hail about the size of 50 cent pieces. Not a full carpeting but enough to perforate a sizable number of plants. Woe!

Oh well, in the scheme of things I'm sure it's no big deal, just another messed up day on spaceship earth. Geez, at least I'm not living under islamic rule too. We'll buckle up, start mopping and push through another big challenge.

Y'all be happy with me to spite circumstance & the merciless universe.

106°F

Hot! Here today. No water in the ditch, Mr Beyers is the big piggy upstream, he's got 12 sprinklers running in a big weed field. No grass, no cattle, just wasting water. And Albert at High Tech Service Inc isn't much better, he's got about dozen sprinklers running in empty pastures below his house. I suppose it makes the bull pines grow well but after a full day of running the water just escapes anyways. Thank goodness we got the corn and melon fields relatively well watered before the water went out.

We're hunkered down in the cool house. I've got plenty to read.

Hope life is keeping you cool & happy.

Obamanation

Man! doesn't Obama ever shut up? Turning past his steaming pile of bull just about ruined my lunch. Reminds me of that old adage, "How can you tell when a politician is lying?"

Hooray! Grants Pass Irrigation District

Just found out GPID will be delaying their work on the pumps until after this weekend's near record hot spell. Whew! that is a huge weight off our shoulders.

Resonance

Had water come in around lunch. Left dad here to irrigate while I sent mom home from the stand for the afternoon. Later, as I was packing to close, I was struck by the impression that I was where I wanted to be, doing what I wanted to do & that it was good with the world too. A very pleasant sensation.

Hope you are in harmony & tuned in to life's music.

minor miracle

Had water in the ditch for about 6 hours today! We were able to get quite a bit of water down which is particularly helpful in light of this weekend's outage. We really leveraged the water with some 3 inch pipe we hadn't yet got back to farm#2. Flood irrigated a couple rows of tomatoes. Also managed to pull 2 extra rows of drip tape over to the green beans and really soaked them.

Not a total salvage of the situation but sure to help.

Going off to dreamland soon. Hope to see you there amongst the orchard trees & balmy breeze.

Sunday pursuits

Back from a trip to Medford getting supplies for opening tomorrow. Also stopped & cleaned up the stand. Green beans won't quite be ready yet but will have summer squash, slicing cukes, lemon cukes, transparent apples, red potatoes, sweet onions, baking onions & garlic.

The wind is picking up a little making it look nice outside but I know better. It is Hot! out there.

Gonna take a nap I think.

Happy Sunday to you.

Moved the water at farm#2, got my library books & bag ice for mom from the lovely little city of Rogue River. Now it's afternoon break time.

Sparky is stretched out on the hardwood floor in front of the tv & I'm chilling in the fanstream.

I'm kinda moody again today probably because summer planting is almost done. Forces me to face how fleeting time is.

Hope your day is slow paced and peaceful.

hot & busy

Gearing up to open around the 20th. Many squash, cukes, and green beans rapidly developing towards ripeness. Corn should also be ready by the end of the month.

It's getting to be real hot, supposed to reach 100s by Thursday. Hope water stays in good through the weekend. Going to be getting up early the next couple days.

Y'all have a great day.

Sunday contentment

What a delightful Sunday it has been. Cool weather and plenty of relaxation.

We're just back from another delightful visit to TinTin buffet in Medford. Oh! so stuffed. Lotsa shrimp & General Tso's chicken. The spicy chicken was Really spicy! and the sushi was really nice too, probably because I found the wasabi paste this time.

Hope this summer Sunday has blessed you each and all as well as it has me or better.

moving water

picked cukes this morning. Then moved water, moved water, moved water, moved water. Heading back to farm#2 to ... move water.

Then a quick trip into the delightful little town of Rogue River to drop off my library books.

A lovely day to you all.

Milder summer day.

Done with the work day. Dad and I Fertilized & planted corn at farm#2 before lunch. Then went back over to control weeds while dad did a bunch of clean-up with the tractor.

Spaghetti for dinner then more work cleaning out my room in the barn. Melancholy memories in that task. Thank god (or whoever/whatever you prefer) that it was cool today.

Hope you all have a great evening, a good night's sleep and many enlightening dreams.

5th of July

Got sprinklers moved, took a short walk with mom, dad and Sparky. Now enjoying the aroma of frying sausage and pancakes. A lovely Sunday to you all.

4th of July work day

Had a fun brief visit from Lenny, Jenny & family.

Moved irrigation a couple more times, added a few more sprinklers & shut off the lower drip system to provide a little extra pressure. Really hot out there but the breeze sort of saved my life.

Todd's not gonna make it for steaks, he's not feeling good.

Sending you each a little extra piece of my left-over fun.

Happy Independence day

A great day to reflect on liberty & all the good it brings us. Also a fun day to just enjoy that same freedom without too much reflection or thought. Pursuit of happiness.

Hoping you all find that happiness in abundance.

No Water!

After today's power outage Grants Pass Irrigation District's new 40 million dollar pumps have failed us. Aren't we all glad that the federal government spent this money here rather than providing for education to our children? What a wonderful turn of events those oh-so intelligent environmentalists have brought us. Fortunately we can go back to burning coal to pump water as soon as they get this fixed.

back to corn

planting that is. Kyle mowed the walkways while dad & I planted the 2nd to the last field. Set the water & came home to work around here some more. Got the last drip system almost finished too. Would've got the corn planted yesterday but there was a huge wreck on Rogue River Hwy. that kept us from heading to farm#2.

Aunt Ann & uncle Vince made one final stop yesterday morning & we had 1 final fun visit. Kinda blah today but we'll tough it through.

Went to the library in the heat of the day then went back to farm#2 to move the water. Big power outage interrupted the process but Charley said he would turn it off later for us.

Hope everybody is having fun & finding well being on this lovely summer day.

partings

Such sweet sorrow. Uncle Stan is probably about half-way home by now.

We had a lot of fun at the creamery yesterday sampling cheese & at the chocolate shop next door. Uncle Stan took home some Oregon cheese & mom sent him a couple pieces of the chocolate she got. Dad topped it all off with a little bag of Bing cherries. Hope it all stays cool enough to get home in good shape.

Just finished having lunch with Ann & Vince. They'll be here for dinner & then we'll face the let-down tomorrow.

Dad & I got fertilizer put down this morning on the yellow corn here on the old farm. Sprinklers set too.

Hope y'all are having a great day.

Monday solicitudes

Had a really fun Sunday yesterday. Mom. dad, Todd, uncle Stan, aunt Ann, uncle Vince & I went out to the Galice Cafe for breakfast buffet. It was a really pleasant meal besides the Rogue River.

Took mom & aunt Ann shopping at Walmart while the others took a different route home.

When evening rolled around we had a hot dog roast. Shelly, Rodger & Randie, Amber & her girls showed up but Robin came down with a migraine just as we got the fire going. Homemade ice cream topped off the meal with some birthday cake for Todd.

Have had a cool morning. Visiting with uncle Stan, waiting for aunt Ann & uncle Vince to show up. Gonna go to Rogue Creamery for some cheese tasting later. Hope everyone's Monday works out well.

involved Sunday

had breakfast at Galice with my aunt & uncles, mom, dad & bro. The Galice cafe has a good Sunday buffet. Mostly it's about the atmosphere though. Took mom & aunt Ann to Walmart while Todd, dad & the uncles went home a different route. Finished setting water while mom, dad, aunt & the uncles took a nap. Just now helped mom start the homemade ice cream, low-sugar so uncle Stan can enjoy it too. Everybody have a Funday Sunday!

busy fun day

Had such a fun day visiting with uncle Stan from Mississippi. He went with dad & I to farm#2 and they set out the big sprinkler gun while I finished spraying the most recent corn planting. Dad was tired after that so when Stan & I had a little snack we went into town with Bro while dad took a nap.

Then this afternoon aunt Ann & uncle Vince from New Mexico stopped by & we had even more fun.

Wishing that you're all having as great a weekend or better.

brief entry

Ahhh... another decent day. Hula-hoed the melons this morning, ran mom&dad into town, got the tire fixed @ Les Schwabs, saw my nephew Kevin there. Then home & ran errands in Rogue River, got a hair cut, & pushed the Scorpion around the corn field while dad prepped about 2/3rds of the 2nd to the last corn field. Enchiladas & ice cream cake for dinner with golden summer sunlight on the mountains rounds it out nicely.

43rd trip around the sun

It's my 43rd birthday today, woo-hoo!

Had a great day. Started out planting corn with dad at farm#2. Then while mom & dad went in for dad's blood panel I did the dishes, watered a bunch of stuff and took a delightful nap in the cool, cool house. Thank God & Grant Gustafson there's water back in the ditch, it was out from Saturday night through Monday morning.

Yesterday we had a visit from dad's friends Roland Unruh, his wife Jo & her sister Wilma. We took them out to Shari's restaurant in Medford. It was a delightful meal and visit.

For dinner today we had enchiladas made by Mrs. Tracy Kessell; it was so sweet of her to save mom the trouble of making a meal. For dessert we had ice cream cake from the Dairy Queen sent home by my sister.

Just now finished a little nap, gonna go out and do a little hoeing maybe. Or maybe not.

Wishing you all this same fine contentment and more.

being busy

Dad's feeling lots better & we are very busy. Weeding, watering, fertilizing, planting and all the other details of good farming all happening at the same time now. Thank goodness we didn't plant a lot of early crops or we'd be harvesting too!

Rainy Saturday evening

Falling far behind in corn planting due to the weather. The ground is just too wet to push in seed and more storms to come today and tomorrow. My apprentice did good work with the hula-hoe today, cleaned up the white corn and pulled all the weeds in the early melons.

Headed over to the stand for a spot of work on tables with dad. Got back ahead of the storm. Mom made (frozen)pizzas for dinner. Rain's been coming down for a bit on and off.

Hope everyone is finding happiness amidst life's challenges.

Busy, busy

and some showers to slow things down.

Fertilizing and planting corn today. If dad feels up to it he'll be helping a bit today. Nice to see some improvement in his condition but he's mending slowly.

Hope you're having a great day.

Daylight

Mom & dad are snoozing after supper. Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes & corn: yummy. I'm summoning courage with a cup of coffee before doing the dishes. A pleasant, homey scene with spring sunlight gilding the oak tree.

Appointments

Complex day ahead. I'm taking mom to get X-rays of her hand, Todd is taking dad to see the oncologist. Neither health org wanted to schedule a different time. Mom gets her cast off today & we'll find out if she gets a pin or half-cast.

Mt. Fielder is covered in fog, looks like something from Peru.

Be Happy!

So busy

I'm completely overwhelmed. More work than I could possibly hope to do and no help in sight. It has also been unseasonably warm for the last week. Makes it really hard to keep water on everything although I am really happy with GPID, they've delivered water very well for over 2 weeks now. Only 1 day where the upstream neighbors used it down and that wasn't our water day anyways. This next week is supposed to cool off but fear of thunderstorms damps my enthusiasm.

Gotta go back out under Ra's blazing eye and struggle with just a few more things before taking an afternoon siesta.

Wishing you a fine and felicitous day.

Hame again, home again

Mom & dad are home. Dad is feeling much better, temp at 99.3, keeping down food.

We're 99% sure it was the higher xeloda dosage not an infection. He's off that now & we're gonna tell the oncologist he's going back to the lower dose or none at all.

Just glad everything is trending better but feel bad for them and Rodger & Shelly. At least they had fun on the drive.

Y'all have fun too.

hard night

Had a bad night.

Mom called around 11pm from Boise to get the oncologist's number. Dad got pretty sick a couple times on the way there and was running 101 fever. This morning the fever is down to 100.2 but they're still coming back home.

What a bummer, no Yellowstone for them and it'll be tough to get all the schedules, timing etc. lined up to make another trip any time soon.

Shelly says "everything happens for a reason"

Lonely day on the farm

Got the sprayer repaired this morning, put on the 2 tires dad & Todd welded up and tightened a lose worm-gear fitting. Then sprayed the latest corn field. Got home around 11, had lunch and mowed the orchard.

The place is mighty empty without mom & dad around. Sparky has been pensive all day. Right now it's a bit too hot for him & me to be out working. Set a couple sprinklers about an hour ago will have to move them in another hour. Then when it cools a bit more I'll drive stakes, stretch wire and push in at least a couple more rows of watermelons, cantaloupes, winter squash and pumpkins. However many time allows; will get the rest in the next couple days.

Been reading "Care of the Soul" by Thomas Moore. A very fine book, has helped me regain an equilibrium which I have been struggling without. Hope it persists.

Really missing my complementary opposite. That's a delightfully analytical term for someone who could share such wonder with me. I'm sure she's out there somewhere, my struggles a reflection of her's. I wish we could be together to share family, friends and challenges but for some reason fate has other designs. I really wish she could meet my dad before that damned disease takes him away. But that isn't for us mortals to determine and I am grateful despite it all for every day under the open sky.

Wishing you challenges touched by wonder and gratitude.

Cool morning

Just sent mom, dad, Rodger & Shelly off on a 4 day trip to Yellowstone. Blessings upon their journey.

It's a bit early and cold but I'm gonna pack out to the field and start my work. Thousands of hungry people waiting in the future for the yield of my pain and efforts.

Hoping the day blesses you with comfort and smooth travel.

Great family Sunday

Had breakfast with the whole family at North's buffet. Then bought 160 more tomato plants at Greenleaf. Got home and gave Kyle a bunch of my old computers and robot parts; met his friend Shawn and shot the breeze with them for a while. Worked with Todd & Robin cleaning up the barn. This evening we roasted hot dogs in the orchard. A full, lovely day. Hope you were similarly blessed.

Happy Anniversary mom & dad

Today, Saturday May 23rd is mom and dad's 52nd anniversary. They're heading in to town to run errands while Kyle and I will be planting melons this morning.

Hope y'all have a mighty fine day.

Good day's work

Sixteen 300 foot rows of corn in today. About 120 melon plants transplanted: Crenshaw, Collective Farm Woman & Juan Canary. Hope to get the Jumbo Hale's Best Muskmelon & other melons planted tomorrow.

Strawberries & Logan berries are flowering. Dill is sprouting & the green beans are starting to swell.

The frogs are a horse chorus in the pond and I am quite sleepy. Hope you sleep well and dream better.

Busy, busy, busy

Tired, tired, tired

Water in the ditch

Water in the ditch, water in the ditch. Praise the Lord there's water in the ditch!

We're way busy today, had to run into Medford to buy some stuff for planting corn. Now gonna go till the seed bed and then seed corn if we have time.

Hope you're having a great day.

Friday morning status

8 hours of decent sleep. No distressing dreams & not too much discomfort in my right hand (an injury or a bit of arthritis has sored it up pretty bad.)

Dad & I will be pulling more plastic mulch rows today. Weather looking good.

Dad's doing good despite his chemo. He got lots of sleep yesterday and last night so that helps.

Wishing you a mellow, easy day.

Happy noon before the rain starts

A few showers just starting to sprinkle down.

Just back from feeding the nursery greenhouse with peter's plant food. All the little plants are so happy, now I'm happy too. Passing some plant happiness on to you.

troubled waters of the mind

Facing another melancholy morning. Mom & dad are going in for his blood panel/doctor's visit so that makes it a lonely, worried time at home. I'll put on some smooth jazz and wash dishes and it'll be alright. Sparky & Sam are keeping me company. Sure wish I could call my lady this morning. Sending her, and the rest of you, a lovely day of life's little wonders.

Spring progress

Ran errands with mom this morning then spent the afternoon working on the sprayer with dad. We got the corn field spraying done by about 6:00. Was a lovely day in the field. Getting pretty tired now.

Hope you are all finding happiness and satisfaction amongst life's challenges.

05,09,2009 family weenie roast

I have other pics but they need more processing before I can put them up. Too tired today. Click to enlarge. We had loads of fun yesterday afternoon and today too.

Happy Mother's Day

And a lovely spring Sunday to you too.

We had a great time yesterday with the aunts and uncles who are out visiting. My brother's and sister's families all showed up except for Cassie who had other plans. We roasted weenies and made smores and spent a lot of time talking, telling stories and laughing. The little girls and babies were especially a joy.

Today Todd, Robin and Cass stopped by for lunch and we had more fun. They just left a while ago to go to a barbecue at Robin's parents. We're some barbecuin' fools around here.

Wishing you all a happy Mother's day and lots of fun and ice cream besides.

Spring weekend with family

Loading the 35 gallon tank to go water tomatoes in the greenhouse.

Aunts & uncles should be along shortly. We had such a nice visit last night. We're gonna do a weenie roast this evening with some dry apple wood if everything works out.

Wishing you all a super fine Saturday.

Spring melancholy

Had a good run into town with mom getting supplies for the weekend visit. Met Shelly's assistant manager Stephanie, what a sweety. Her husband is a lucky man; gotta wonder if she has a sister about my age.

I've been in a melancholy mood all morning. Lots of weird, heavy dreams last night always leaves me feeling a bit spent and concerned.

Dad's feeling pretty good, if he and I have the ambition we will be planting corn later today. Lots of chores to do here first. Mom is having a bit of a tough time with her arm in a cast. It just really tires here out to do stuff like today's run into town. So awkward and it makes it hard for her to sleep too.

But all things considered it is a lovely day and we really don't have a good reason to feel sorry for our selves. Life in this land of the free can be sweet indeed.

Wishing you a day of sweet freedom and productive liberty.

Peaceful Sunday after the rain

Had a great day yesterday working with the apprentice. Got wires tied and tomatoes planted in the greenhouse. Will have to discuss a small matter with Kyle about his work but am moderately satisfied with his progress. The tomatoes are looking pretty good, it got a little hot this morning before we put the sides up but they should be fine now.

This morning's breakfast was excellent: pancakes, eggs and bacon.

Todd & Robin stopped by about an hour ago and we had a great visit.

Hope y'all are having a fine and peaceful day of rest too.