I forget that I share all this exciting news and then fail to update you!  So sorry about that.  Of course you may not have thought it was exciting news but you still get an update.

You will recall these little guys. 

You can update yourself on the story of the ducks here.

Close to 6 weeks later the ducks are still alive and well.  Well, 6 out of 8 are alive and well.  Here they are a few weeks ago. 

Loren let them out to get some fresh grass and sun.  The plan was good but it didn’t work out so well.  Because they were out I decided to venture out with the camera and capture the moment of sorts.  As I was trying to get the shot I realized that the Mama Cluck and the Baby Ducks were going in different directions most of the time and the ducks were always in the lead.  The Mama would voice something like “hey this way little ones” and the ducks would respond with something like “ummm … how about this way?”.  Generally when a Mama Cluck has little baby chicks they listen to the Mama, no questions asked.  It isn’t that the little ducks were being disobedient on purpose … we only raise respectful fowl around here folks, it was just that they didn’t understand their Mama shaped like a chicken.  They were both trying really hard but it was painfully obvious that nobody was in charge of the situation and they were speaking a different language.  I watched as the Mama ventured through long grass where the ducks had a hard time walking, lots of walking in circles, and finally they were much too far from where they should be and someone bigger and human had to step in and save them both from themselves.

So what was a new farmgirl to do?  Oh, by the way how long do you suppose I can claim “new” in that title?  Anyway, I did what any smart lady would do and went to find Farmer Neal.  I started calling Loren farmer Neal when it comes to farm stuff.  I don’t know why, but I just like the sound of it.  It is his middle name so it isn’t like I just picked Neal out of nowhere.  Anyway, Farmer Neal was way back in the garden and so I made my way to him.  Upon seeing him I said “Ummm … that Mama Duck Cluck you have is pretty dumb”.  He laughed and asked for details cause I was maybe just making it up for his laugh.  But no, he took me seriously and we trekked back to find them.  By this time they were even farther away but we found them.

Farmer Neal walked them back to the garage and put them in.  Two short days later the Mama Cluck abandoned ship and left the baby ducks to fend for themselves.  Sad really because they liked her, even if they couldn’t understand her.  I think that the Mama Cluck just couldn’t bear being ignored any longer and she went back with the big chickens.  We would have liked to thank her for her efforts, for coming in to save the baby ducks but it turns out that they all pretty much look alike.  Sorry Ms. Duck Cluck no gold metal for you.  But we thank you anyway, whichever one you are.

The ducks haven’t been out since and thankfully they are becoming a little less skittish as time goes by.   Poor ducks, they lost their security when their Mama left.  Before she left they were quite calm and content, now they are scared.  They only see Farmer Neal or I since they are separate from the chickens but they can hear them which might be a bit intimidating.  Good thing they don’t know that they are outnumbered about 1 duck to 20 chickens!  The plan is to build a fenced in area for them soon so that they can be outside safely and get some grass and sun once in awhile.

Who would have thought that saving ducks would be so exciting huh?   Anything else that I should be updating you on?  All this exciting farm stuff is a lot for one girl to keep track of.

Last year you may recall that I had lots and lots of pictures of flowers to share with you.  Here is a refresher if you are new or you just plain old forgot about them. 

I planted these beautiful flowers from seed much later then I should have but I patiently waited for them to grow … and grow they did.  I know very little about flowers except for the fact that I appreciate their beauty and wonder at their intricacy. 

Well this year you may recall that I went ahead with the bedding plant way of things since patience wasn’t on the agenda.  My mom bought me lots and lots of them for my birthday in April and I got them planted and waited for them to grow. 

They did pretty well but they were mostly low bedding plants and I forgot that we don’t really mow around here and they were soon hiding behind long grass.  The plants I put into some pots did very well though.  Sadly however, this is the state of my little flower bed today.  There are two sides of the front step with the flower beds but I will only torture you with one shot.  Believe me when I say the side you don’t see is equally as disappointing.

Oddly enough I weeded more then once.  It’s been dry here though and we all know how much weeds love dry and hot weather.  By this time of year I am done taking the time to water them.  It isn’t something that I am proud of but there is no longer the thrill of making sure that they are properly growing.  Minnesota girls know that by August your days of summer are limited and I for one just can’t bear to haul water to the flowers anymore … call me lazy, but it becomes a much bigger chore and the flowers seem to be less of a attraction.   So in a lack of rain summer as this one the plants only last so long and sadly they slowly peter out. 

But this August I received a gift of sorts.  I noticed a couple of weeks ago a bunch of new “weeds” that looked vaguely familiar.  I realized as they grew bigger that they were my beautiful painted daisy’s from last year.  I didn’t know how well they would do but before long I had a pretty good patch there.  One of the perks of that no mowing thing that we do around here I guess.   Amid all the long grass here is a patch of the daisy’s in front of the horrible looking flower bed.

In the early weeks little tiny flowers would blossom and shrivel up right away.   I didn’t anticipate getting any that would be big enough to enjoy but this past week I noticed them.  There were only about 4 but just look at how pretty they were. 

Even with a little imperfection this one is still beautiful I think. 

Next year I am going back to my painted daisy’s.  Do you blame me?

A new niece to love!  Yea!  :)

Here she is … the newest kid on the block … or at least my immediate family block.  

Her proud and excited Daddy has more pictures at his place if you would like to visit his blog.  

She lives far away but we couldn’t love her any more.  Welcome to the big world Emily Joy, it’s wonderful to see your face!

First of all I don’t know that “overfloweth” is a real word, but I have heard it lots of times in reference to a cup so I am going to steal that idea and throw in bucket.  I use bucket because look …

These are some beans that I picked tonight.  Apparently they are ready to pick and since there is still quite a bit of city girl in me I went out to the garden less then prepared with a small ice cream bucket.  I managed to pick one long row … have I mentioned that my rows are 100 feet before?  Yeah well, they are still 100 feet long and I still think that is really long.   But I picked and picked until my bucket was too full and I will get the rest tomorrow.  

There are lots of beans this year and those plants popped right on up after the hail storm, which is really amazing to me.  I am glad that Loren was right about that one.   Here are some shots of the plants that I took last week. 

 

The flowers are so pretty I think.  

Here you can see my 100 foot rows.  In between the rows you can see the many weeds that were pulled and dried.  The ones on the right were done the evening before I took these pictures. 

Here are the bean plants a bit closer.  You can’t see the beans as they are safely protected underneath those big leaves.  I hope to get out with the camera again and see if I can get a shot of them before they are all picked. 

Thanks for joining me on a little trip down our bean lane.

Will you forgive me for being such a lousy blogger of late?  More importantly, will you accept my poor “It has just been so busy!” excuse? 

Since I can’t hear your response I will take your silence as a “oh of course!”.  :)

When did August get to be such a stinkin’ busy month?  Good grief.  To top off my busy August or to start it off I suppose would make more sense, we have Vacation Bible School this week and well, for any of you that have some experience with that, it is draining.  It is fun, but even a short few hours in the morning throws my entire day off. 

So for now, I leave you with these few words and some pictures of my holly hocks.  Mom has been saving her little “baby holly hocks” the past two summers for me.  She has some pretty amazing ones …

See?  Those are hers from last year. 

And so last year I planted a bunch and the steers ate them!  Ate them all!  So this year one came back up out of the several that I planted and that they devoured.  I waited patiently to see if it would make it and when Loren moved Bessie and Corrine in the yard he protected with a big wire fence for me to prevent another holly hock horror moment.  It is even prettier now but this is a shot or three from last week. 

Have a great day everyone and I promise to be back with some fun posts … ummm … maybe I should say I will be back with some posts.  I should never set myself up with that much pressure … it is bound to backfire on me if I strive for something like “fun” and end up with much less.   So stay tuned for some ordinary posts.

Yesterday we received a thank you note from a neighbor that graduated from high school this past spring.   We gave him a little cash to help with his up coming college experience.  Here is what it said …

“Dear Loren and Stephanie …

Thank you for supporting the Alexander Nelson Escape fund.

Your donation was greatly appreciate.

Alex Nelson”

I laughed out loud!  I never laugh out loud … or at least I should say it is very infrequent.  It seriously made my day cause well, it is just a very clever and witty note. 

I will have to save it for awhile because it still makes me chuckle.

My nephew is here for the week … he is great … almost 17 and loves to come and hang out at the farm and help us out.  Hopefully this week I will get some photos of work being accomplished.  Loren is home for a few days on vacation and the past two days they have worked very hard … so hard infact that showers with soap in the evenings have been mandatory.  Ha.  It has been terribly hot but it doesn’t seem to slow them down.  

This morning Loren was teaching Devan how to drive the tractor because they are heading to the neighbors to drop off the bobcat which Loren will need to drive over and then they need to pick up a wagon and bring it back here.  So Devan will drive the tractor.  I gotta say that it makes me a little nervous.  Apparently those Mom genes work with or without a child of your own.  I saw him cruise out down the driveway and instantly a little prayer went up.   The tractor pretty much putts along but still, there is some danger and I love to worry. 

So anyway, as Loren was teaching him to drive the tractor up and down the driveway I was watching while muching on some breakfast and kept thinking “those would be fun pictures” … and that was about as far as I got to actually leaving my chair until they were back up in the yard.  I finally went out to take some pictures only to have them show up blurry when I put them on my computer.  Huge bummer.  I went out and said “look at me” and so they did … for about .07 seconds and then went back to not looking at me.  So I said “look at me and smile!” and Devan said in his best 3 year old voice “WHY?” … he is a really funny kid … and I said “cause it is cute and you will thank me later”.  Well, it was cute and he would thank me later IF it was more clear.  It goes against most everything I believe in, but I will post a blurry picture.  Sigh.  I am so disappointed in myself but really, I gotta show you something. 

So it has been a busy week … I have been in the kitchen lots and though I don’t mind it most times, today I am ready to resign from my position as head farm cook.  I just can’t seem to get motivated to cook yet another big farm meal for hungry farm workers.  I will find the motivation somewhere though … and it will taste great and there will be compliments all around but really, isn’t toast and cereal ok for a farm lunch?

Have you heard of Roasted Spaghetti Sauce?  I swear that I have.  I actually made some yesterday.  Wanna know the secret to a great thick homemade spaghetti sauce that needs little attention? 

Just leave it cooking on the stove for 3 hours unattended while you are in the garden tackling weeds. 

Roasted spaghetti sauce sounds better then it actually is unfortunately.  I asked Loren if it was good and he replied “well, it is pretty good … but it definitely has a roasted flavor”.   Good thing I didn’t stir in all the burnt stuff of the bottom of the pan huh?

Have you been looking for me?  Oh, well I have been in the garden.  It’s been a long time actually since I have been out there.  After that whole “hail” issue awhile back I was too depressed to go out there.  Sad but true.  I just couldn’t bring myself to go back out there and see all those terribly flat and broken plants that the day before were thriving little veggies ready to grow big and strong and fill my freezer.  But I had to finally go out there.  It was sisters fault actually.  She was here a couple weeks ago and wanted to see the damage.  I went to show her and she started to weed some, I don’t know why since it was just so overwhelming.  We uncovered a couple of squash that looked like they were going to make it and then we surveyed the rest and actually, it didn’t look half bad.  She spent a few hours out there after I finished up my rows of carrots and decided that was enough for me and I headed back to the house. 

I am sure it won’t shock anyone too terrible to know that I don’t really like to weed.  The only person that I know that I believe when they say “I like to weed” is my husband and well, he is just sorta strange sometimes.  I believe him though … he really would love to be out in the dirt picking one weed at a time.  But, he is at work making money while I am cursing the weeds in hopes of some veggies in my freezer.  I kid about the cursing, I don’t really curse at them because it isn’t so bad once I get going … it’s just the “get going” that is tough.  I can be in the garden standing in the row knowing that all I have to do is start and I will just stand there … cause it really seems like a horrible job …  but once I get down on my trusty knees I gotta admit, it isn’t horrible after all. 

You may recall that I already boasted about having all my rows of veggies weeded.  That is true, I did and thankfully I am not contending with all the weeds that could be out there.  See, these weeds that I am now pulling are the “middle of the row” weeds.  The ones that are not supposed to be weeded by hand, but rather getting rid of them with a hoe or even the tiller.  The story goes that I begged and pleaded from the beginning to have the man behind the hoe and/or tiller to get it done before they were too big for either option.  Well, life got in the way … in the way of 2 high maintenance cows and their equally high maintenance baby calves and so the man behind the hoe and/or tiller became the man behind the cow milking her by hand at 3am every night after work as she fought the process every step of the way.  So it isn’t his fault, just the way it is.  Oh and in addition to the added chores my poor husband has been working Saturdays, which well … completely stinks!  That is our one day to get ahead of things and when the hoeing and/or tilling would have taken place.  It’s been a busy busy summer and the weeds have been left to grow.  

Why didn’t I just hoe or till?  Well, that is a good question.  Apparently our hoe is extra rusty and extra dull as I was told … and I was advised not to even try it because I would be irritated and frustrated and way overworked.  I headed the advice.  And the tiller is really big and heavy … I didn’t even get any advice on that one, I was just told “no”, you can’t till.  I don’t argue when I am told not to work.  What silly person would? 

So I have been weeding the dreaded “middle of the rows” for the past 3 days.  I should have known it would be the end result and I should have known to just get out there when they were smaller but I kept thinking “oh man, that tiller will get rid of them so fast!” and so I waited … as they grew bigger and bigger. 

We have been saying for weeks now that we gotta get started out there.  Of course the “we” in this case is mostly “me” which is why it has been put off for weeks.  :)  Well, Monday came and Loren went to start the process of the weeding.  It is great that he did, even if it were only a portion of the peas and a few tomatoes because once it was started it seemed less big to me and the garden has once again become mine and that is where my time is being spent. 

The biggest area of concern were the tomatoes … after the hail, the plants were no longer shading the little weeds preventing them from growing since they were flat to the ground and so they grew and grew.   The tomatoes were my last two rows to complete before the hail.  Turns out that beneath all those big weeds there were lots of beautiful tomato plants!  That was great.  They are flowering and a few have tiny tomatoes in process.  I spent 8 hours on two 100 foot rows of tomatoes.  But, they are done!  And they look fantastic.  We do need some rain though.  If it doesn’t rain then I get to start watering the garden and that is a whole other post.  Ha.  :) 

Did I mention how big these weeds are?, Oh well, … they are about to my waist! … yeah … really big.  There are lots of them that resemble a small tree and let me just say that the roots … good golly, you gotta be tough to weed in our garden. 

There is some real progress out there and amazingly, it looks like most everything has popped back up and grown really well despite the hail. For that I am very grateful.  I would say that I have about a fourth of the garden “done”, as in ready for a photo shoot and so when it is all done (my goal is next week) then I will take some pictures for you … it is really turning out to be a beautiful place out there after all.  So if you are looking for me head to garden I am the one hiding in all those big weeds.

I FINALLY have a few pictures from Ms. Martha and Isaac’s wedding … you know that one that happened MONTHS ago?  Ok, so it wasn’t months but it was June 14th which is getting pretty darn close to months.  I just borrowed a couple … just enough to say “hey, it really happened and it was fun!”.  It really was such a great wedding.  We had a fantastic time and it was an honor to be a part of the process. 

The happy couple … ahhhh … how cute huh? 

And here we are … the pretty bride and the lone bridesmaid … or rather Matron of Honor.  Matron almost sounds worse than maid to me … but whatever, since I am married I am a matron.  I honestly didn’t know that until I saw the program.  Ha. 

I don’t know what we were “discussing” here, but I love the shot even though it is a bit fuzzy and far away.  Looks like a conversation you want to be a part of huh?  I really wonder what we were chatting about … must have been fun! 

And here is my favorite one … how cute are we?  I love Loren in a suit and even though he is obviously not looking in the camera he sure is handsome.  When he saw the picture he said “what the heck was I looking at you think?” and I said “oh, your not looking?”.  See, apparently I was really only concerned that I looked ok.  Ha. 

So there you have it … a small glimpse into Ms. or I mean Mrs. - Martha’s wedding.