WWIII - Battle of Frog Pond

Early this morning we got up and Caleb headed out to get the tractors ready to start planting wheat again. After getting Chester up and dressed we went out to tell Caleb something and I found a pitiful looking group of dogs.
 

Jasper

 

Hank

Kit

I have no idea what happened, but my from the looks of them I am guessing they took on a big ol' battle down by the pond, cause they are a disastrous mess! Jasper was beat up and pouting so my guess was it was a raccoon, cause if skunks, possums, armadillos, and turtles don't fight back like coons do.

Hank was a little beat-up too, which kind of surprised me cause I didn't think he ever helped much, but I guess I was wrong.

And as for Kit, she was just fine. She has been running around like a crazy dog and chasing birds, just like nothing happened.

Did they kill the raccoon?? I don't know. I haven't been down to the pond to check. All I will say is it was an epic battle. 

 

Birthday Boy

So like I said, my little boy just turned one...um, that's just crazy. 

We aren't having his big family birthday party till this next weekend, but he did get a little one with Caleb and I one his big day,

 

which involved eating a chocolate cupcake....

 

cause all kids should have chocolate cake on their birthday...

 

Cause that's what I had when I was one...

That was only 28+ years ago.

I will post more pictures of the little man after we have his big party this weekend. 

Happy Anniversary to Us

It's amazing how time flies. A good example of this is, yesterday my little boy turned one...Crazy I know, but I'm not here to talk about him today. A little over a week ago Caleb and I celebrated our 4th anniversary. I really just can't believe it. It's just flown by and has been wonderful and amazing. He's my bestfriend, and I can't imagine life without him.

Ok, that's enough of the ushy gushy stuff, lest get the good stuff, the real reason I am talking with you about our anniversary. 

Well, out of all four anniversary's that we have had we never really planned anything special. Usually it has been me cooking a nice meal and us hangin' out at the house, or last year since I was about to pop, we went out to eat cause I really didn't want to do any cooking!

So about a month ago I found out that the "Lion King" off Broadway was preforming in Wichita. I have always wanted to see it. I really wanted to go to New York City, but I'm not sure that will actually ever happen, so I did some begging and finally got Caleb talked into going out to see it on our actual anniversary. 

It's about a 2 hour trip out there and we were gonna eat out before going and we were going to the 7:30 showing.  My plan was to leave between 1 and 2.  That way I could do a little shopping. Well here's the problem, I had a plan. You might think I would have learned, after almost 30 years of being on a farm, not to make a plan cause everything goes wrong when I do.

Side note - yes I said almost 30 years...I have less than two months, but I'm not there yet. lol

Anyways back to my story.

Well after running some errands in the morning and then dropping Chester of and Grandma's house, we were heading back to the house to get ready to go we noticed a cow out in one of our pastures that looked like she was dead...

First we are thinking "oh crap" cause a) we hate loosing an animal's and b) because we didn't want to mess with it right now.

Don't these cows know that I have a tickets to the "Lion King"? I don't have time to mess with a dead cow.....grrr!


Well good news after headin' out to check on her we found that she was just laying funny and was up and doin' fine by the time we got out to her.

While we were out there I had Caleb go look at the neighbor's cow that was out in our pasture, cause Caleb thought it was a bull and I said it was a cow and I wanted to prove I was right...

And just so you know, I was! ;)

While looking at her we discovered we didn't have just one of the neighbors cows in the pasture but we had two cows and a calf. We thought it would be a good idea to try and push the cows and calf back towards their pasture in hopes they would go back in where they got out, that's when we discovered the hole. 

Now we aren't just talking about a couple of wires between two post on the ground, we are talking about a 50 foot stretch of fence where all 5 strands of wire are on the ground. How we didn't have both herds mixed together is amazing. 

Well after discovering this we decide to run back to the house and get the 4-wheeler (cause the calf was kinda crazy acting and didn't want to go in with just the truck) as well as all the fencing supplies.

So we get things loaded up and head back over there and push the critters in without any problems.

At this point my belly is in knots, because.....

-I'm hungry, it's past 1 pm and I haven't eaten.
-I'm anxious about getting this fence fixed and getting to Wichita in time to eat and go to the show.
-I keep thinking I still need to shower and shave my legs so I can wear this cute dress I have.

We have two choices when it come to fixing this fence we can do a quick fix - patch it up fast and then come back later and fix it right...and by later I mean come back when the cows get out again, or we can re-stretch the wire and fix it right. 

Caleb goes for the "fix it right" choice which I know is the best thing to do, but my mind keeps going back to me getting to wear my cute dress and that I still need to shower and shave and then I will have blow dry and fix my hair and maybe I should just wear jeans and a tank-top, throw my hair in a wet messy bun, and not worry about shaving, so we can make it out there in time to eat, get parked and see the show....

Just so you know, most decisions I make revolve around my stomach.

So to work, we must go....and by we I mean mostly Caleb. I did a little bit, but mostly waited till he got the wire all stretched and then started hooking it back to the fence post's

 

While we were working the ladies we had just gotten in came back with a friend to show her the the hole, only to find the wires stretched up so they couldn't get through.

 

A little later the rest of the heard came to see what was going on and inspect the fence to see if they can get through it.

 

Finally we got it all up and finished. Before we started all the wires were about as high as the bottom wire.

 

When it was all said and done we did get to make it to "The Lion King", and it was wonderful! I LOVE it, and Caleb really enjoyed it too....and that's sayin' something. :)

Also I got to eat, but not after having to send my steak back because my medium-rare steak came out medium-well, and that's not ok with me, especially when I am payin' almost $20 for it! 

 

Oh, and I got to shower, fix my hair, and

 

Even shave so I could wear my cute little dress.

Peace, Love, Crazy Cows,

JP

Corn Harvest 2012

So Originally this post was gonna be called... "Catching Up - Corn Harvest, Chester, Life...A little Bit of it All," but then I started looking at corn pictures and decided to just make this a big ol' corn post, cause I had oodles of corn pics I wanted to share.

So here ya go...here's my corn post...

 

First I have to say that Corn Harvest has came a went here on our farms....Well actually it came and went about a month and half ago...but seriously who keeps track of those things....they are still harvesting corn somewhere out there so I am good....right?!?!

Over the past few years my role in corn harvest has changed dramatically. I went from being a full time truck driver to not driving a truck at all to now driving the truck some. I really do miss driving and being out there all the time, cause I love being out there and now I don't get to take near as many pictures, but I still get out there a little about every day, cause I have to take meals to the field and run errands for the guys as well.

If you have seen the news at all this summer you would have heard that we were in a drought all over the country and that the corn crop had been hurt really bad. We were no exception to this. The corn on our farm averaged anywhere from 45-80 bushels / acre in all but one field. We did have one field that averaged 107 bushels / acre. We use to think that wasn't such a great yield for our farms, but for us farmers down here in Southeast Kansas (I am sure OK and TX farmers could relate too) after last year having an average of 7-15 bushels / acre we were more than pleased! 

Usually in this part of the country we will average between 100-120 bushels / acre so there was a huge difference the past few years, but even thought it has been as great as we would have liked it to be, God has still supplied all our needs and fully taken care of us and for that we are more than thankful!

Corn harvest this year started on July 23rd. Most years it doesn't start till closer to August 23rd....or so I'm told...

2008 - harvest took place around September 27 (that's when Caleb and I got married and we picked the date cause it was suppose to be between corn harvest and wheat planting...hmm)

2009 - Harvest started September 18th and went all the way through October 29th....that was a long wet fall!

2010 - We started August 12 (about a week early) and finished on August 31st

2011 - We started on August 8th (I think it was a few days before that, but that's the first picture I had) and we finished on August 25th

So like I said I'm not really sure what normal is around here cause in 5 corn harvest's that I have been around for we haven't ever started on the August 20-25th dates that I have been told was normal...

But that's how things go on a farm...lol
 

Even though I wasn't in the field as much as I use to be I still got out there and took advantage of the time I was there and got as many pictures as I could...

Just so you know I taking pictures like this can be a dangerous job...not because I am worried about getting ran over....the combine is already past me, so I am safe....

but because you can get whacked in the head by the corn cobs flying out the back end and they hurt!   

Now this picture, on the other hand can be dangerous and you have to be careful cause there is more of a chance of getting ran over. Especially when Pop is running the combine (and he was) cause he doesn't always slow down at the end he can drive like a wild man...and he was on this day...lol

 

This is why I am sure my camera and lens hate me....cause they have to work in dust like this.

FYI: I was really nasty after taking this photo! 

When the guys are moving the combines from field to field the are hoping and praying not to meat anyone, cause there really isn't much road space left when they are coming.

 Fact: Caleb rarely remembers to turn his blinker off, so it is on in most of the pictures I take of the semi.

So one very hot day I decide to take Chester to grandma's house so I can hang out with Caleb all day and ride with him in the truck. That's how I was able to get this picture of him un-loading at the grain elevator.

 
On that very same day we return to the field and the grain cart starts dumping on the semi and I see this coming out the bottom of the trailer and I'm sure I said some not nice word on the same lines as poop....and then proceeded to yell at Caleb to have the tractor shut off. 

But by the time the message went through everyone we had a huge pile of corn there on the ground....grrr

What do you do with that corn now...

You do this...

 And this....

It's worth way too much to leave there for the critters.

So Caleb and Jeff took turns scooping it into the combine header, while I took pictures.

I think I had the better end of the deal! ;)

When it was all said and done this is all that was left. I think they did a pretty good job...

Now if I could only get Caleb to clean up his messes at home that good we would be in business. ;)

 

Now don't think that little man wasn't part of the action, cause he was there with me all the time.  Most of the time he was setting in his car seat in the air conditioned truck but he also got to drive the grain cart tractor some.

He also talked on the radio and told the guys what to do.

But his favorite thing to do was drive the combine...

That's everyone's favorite thing.
 

Boy did he have fun doing that...

Well for a while and then we would get bored and want to push buttons...

That would be are cue that it was time to go. lol

Don't mind the white legs or the part of the grain cart hanging above my head, I was to lazy to crop either one of them out. :)

Not only did we get pictures with Chester man, but we took some of just ourselves while on our date, when I rode all day with him in the semi. 

Caleb thought I was crazy for wanting to ride with him, cause not only was it hot outside, but the semi didn't have any a/c so it was a long hot ride all day. But I had fun and I think he did too.

 When it was all said and done all that was left was corn trash and blue skies.

I saved these for last, cause these are my favorite pictures...

I don't know what it is, but I love a close up of grain falling out of the auger and into the truck or grain cart....they just make me smile! 

Well that's all for now. I hope you enjoy my corn harvest pictures. If you have any questions shoot them my way and I will do my best to answer them. 

Lots of Love,

Janet

Taking a Brake

So I know it's been a while, but don't worry, I'm not taking a brake from blogging.....that's not what this post is about. So here's what it's about...

Do you ever have a day when you just wish you could get out/away and take a break from life and what is going on? If you are a mother then I know you do. lol

Well the other day I needed a break by the end of the day. Chester was terribly bad in any way, but he didn't take his afternoon nap and on that day I soo needed it. 

Well later that evening Caleb came home dragging the mower behind...

1st - We use Caleb's folks mower to mow our yard. It sucks having to drag (by drag I mean load on a trailer and haul it) down here and then drag it back, but the mower is awesome. Some day I hope to get Caleb talked into getting me my own, but summers like the past two don't really help my cause...2 months without mowing the yard...who needs a mower...

2nd - We really didn't need to mow the yard, cause it's still short and brown. We just needed to knock down the tall stuff along the road ditch where it caught all the run-off from the random rains we have gotten over the summer. As well as some weeds that we weren't able to get the last time we mowed back at the beginning of June....yeah, it's be well over 2 months since we last mowed our yard.

Anyways, back to what I was saying...

Caleb came home dragging the mower behind him and when he walked in the house I quickly said...

"I'll go mow if you will watch a cranky little boy!"

He happily replied "Sure, that would be fine."

I quickly change my shoes and grab my gloves and glasses and run outside before he changes his mind.  

I hop on the mower and go to town on the yard. 

Things to know....since I am just knocking down the high spots it is really dusty around here and the wind is blowing that means when you engage the mower then you get a nasty dust storm. I'm not sure how long I was out there....maybe an hour and it was wonderful. There is nothing like chopping the crap out of the grass for a good ol' stress release! Mowing the yard calms and relaxes me and gives me that much needed break from my little man. Even though he is a very good child everyone needs a break.

Well when I came back inside I'm pretty sure Caleb thought he had the better end of the deal cause this is what I looked like before I had a chance to shower...

 

Yeah, I was kind NASTY! But boy did I have fun getting there.

If I had know I would get this dirty , would I do it again?

In a word...

YES...cause I needed it! 

 

Nothing a little a lot of soap and water can't fix.

Mowing is one of my stress-releases, what are yours?

JP