"Behind RKO"

Clark is unloading rolls of net wrap.

Kyle rakes the mowed hay into windrows.

Mother-son tractor time.

Miles checking to see if all is well with the baler.

Children who grow up guided by the loving hands of a whole great big family never lack for attention.  Quinton relishes the doting as much as Clay and Trent enjoy doling it out.

Stormy Evening

I grabbed a picture of the rapidly moving storm front the other night.

After the storm there was a rainbow.  We have many trees obstructing our eastern view, so it was hard to get a good shot of that.  The northwestern sky did not disappoint and was a dazzle of color.

Start of 2020 Haymaking Season

I am taking a moment to blow out the cobwebs of this almost forgotten blog.  My life tends to run on a timer that redirects me to the next task every 57 seconds. This, of course, poses some focusing problems for me.  If I stay the course, I will be updating periodically.  My success will be measured by comparing the current date with whatever the date of my top-most post.

In some ways, you could say our family has grown up and moved on to their adult lives.  This is true for the oldest nine. I am extremely happy to say we still have our four youngest at home with us, adding rich dimension to what might otherwise be dull and boring middle age.  

But that sounds so incredibly joyless.  It isn't.  The older ones do come back to visit us with some frequency. (Plus 8 out of 9 of them live within 15 miles of the farm here....) Those that have them bring their children.  It is one of my life's greatest delights to see one of my adult children pull in and witness their children explode out the car doors with squeals and shouts as they utterly integrate with "the uncles" on "the farm".  ("The Uncles" are the four youngest of my children.  The youngest two are close enough in age to their nieces and nephews to have more of a "cousins" type of relationship. Good times!)  More on that in another post.

For now, enjoy a couple pictures of the start of the 2020 haymaking season.  Our morning huddle sessions are, as always, a rapid fire of doling out assignments of who goes where and with what vehicle and to do what task. Flexibility is key as everything is contingent on whether or not there is a breakdown or some other unforeseen thing comes up. The advent of the cell phone has been a boon to the American farmer for sure!   Earlier today I found myself running sheer bolts to Miles so he could keep the baler moving.  I couldn't help but enjoy being part of our larger farm community on my way there as I saw many, many other farm families doing the same things we are doing.

Meanwhile Paul and our dog Hunter were down the road at a farm we have rented for years and years.  (Hunter likes to be wherever Paul is whenever possible!)  Hunter mostly hung out in the shade, I think, but he was on the tractor in spirit.  lol.

Our helper Kyle and the smaller boys (Trevor and Clay) went to pick up our first batch of broilers from a family who starts them for us.  Clay, my 9 year old who is mostly always barefooted, exclaimed with some indignance that the little Amish girl at that farm was helping catch chickens in her stocking feet!  Kids these days....

Clark, I think, was tinkering on some lawn mower engine or something pretty much all day (though I cannot be quite sure without asking). 

Everyone breezed through the kitchen for a bite to eat en route to their next task.  Paul got the cows milked tonight and is now off on one of the old tractors to rake the hay that Miles mowed yesterday.

~Colleen