Usually by the middle of July (and usually on Rally weekend) we stop getting rain until toward the end of August. We might get a noisy thunderstorm or two during that time, but generally it's hot and dry for five or six weeks. Not this year.
It has rained at least twice a week, and been the coolest July and August on record. The pastures are so green, it's almost hard to look outside. The summer legumes - clover and lespedeza - are so tall and lush that it's difficult to mow. It's been so much cooler than normal - rarely getting above 90F (32C) - that the warm season grasses have hardly grown, but our cool season grasses keep getting taller.
Add to that: because of our government programs in place this year, all of our pastures were limed, fertilized and overseeded. The animals are fat! This weekend, Sarah (goat doe) had such a full belly that she grunted and struggled to stand back up after she layed down to rest on top of the bush hog. But they still all want to eat their sweet feed mix as often as possible.
The weeds in my garden are getting a little out of control. Ashley keeps trying but I think the bush beans may be lost. The pole beans are making the best of it, climbing up the tall weeds to find sunlight. Tomatoes are growing, but since they weren't planted out until the end of May, they're behind. I'm sure they'll catch up - as long as the weeds don't take them, too!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Little Sturgis Rally for Charity
Every year, Sturgis, Kentucky, hosts the Little Sturgis Rally and Races for Charity (http://www.littlesturgisrally.net/). It's a motorcycle rally - not to be confused with the Sturgis, South Dakota, rally - that has given over $2million to local charitable organizations that work at the Rally. People come from far and wide to show off their motorcycles, have fun, and maybe drink a little alcohol. Since Charles and I returned to America in 2005, we've been volunteering, gradually working up to full time volunteers.
The Rally happened on Thursday, July 16, to Saturday, July 19. This year was different for me, because I was asked to be in charge of all the volunteers. In previous years, all I did was train them for gate sales and look after them so they didn't overheat. This year in addition to the training and looking after, I was also responsible for signing them in and out, selling volunteer bracelets, calculating how much money each volunteer organization earned, and generally dealing with problems that came up. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I had been sick with a stomach virus from the Sunday before, and was still recuperating on the first day of the Rally (Thursday), but I had a lot of great helpers so I made it. By mid-morning on Friday I was firing on all cylinders.
The weather was also beautiful, mild, breezy and sunny. There was a little rain storm early on Friday morning, but nothing as strong as we tend to get during the Rally. The photo is scanned out of our local newspaper the Union County Advocate. I'm the person with her back to the camera, wearing the Gate Committee t-shirt.
The Rally happened on Thursday, July 16, to Saturday, July 19. This year was different for me, because I was asked to be in charge of all the volunteers. In previous years, all I did was train them for gate sales and look after them so they didn't overheat. This year in addition to the training and looking after, I was also responsible for signing them in and out, selling volunteer bracelets, calculating how much money each volunteer organization earned, and generally dealing with problems that came up. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I had been sick with a stomach virus from the Sunday before, and was still recuperating on the first day of the Rally (Thursday), but I had a lot of great helpers so I made it. By mid-morning on Friday I was firing on all cylinders.
The weather was also beautiful, mild, breezy and sunny. There was a little rain storm early on Friday morning, but nothing as strong as we tend to get during the Rally. The photo is scanned out of our local newspaper the Union County Advocate. I'm the person with her back to the camera, wearing the Gate Committee t-shirt.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Northern Visitor
This week my cousin Joe Kramer from Minneapolis, Minnesota, came to visit and help out on the farm. Joe is 12 years old, and is into lots of sports - ice hockey, football and baseball. We like Joe to visit, because he's a hard worker and keeps Charles on task (when I'm not there to do it!).
Joe helped hang gates, build the first wall of our house, milk goats, feed animals, chase chickens, move the chicken run, collect eggs, weed tomatoes and squash, check beehives, house repairs for our Uncle Paul, put up our little soaking pool, and cleaned off Paul's deck. He learned how to drive an automatic and even got a little practice with our stick-shift pick up truck.
Then he would play on the wii until we sent him to Paul's to sleep. And he ate all the bread I could buy or bake. After Independence Day fireworks at the Sturgis Airport, which is not nearly as lame as it sounds, we drove back to Bolckow, Missouri, to drop Joe off for a week with Aunt Sallie and Uncle David. They are also farmers, but on a whole different scale than we are. They have thousands of acres of corn and soybeans, and all the gigantic equipment to go with it.
Joe helped hang gates, build the first wall of our house, milk goats, feed animals, chase chickens, move the chicken run, collect eggs, weed tomatoes and squash, check beehives, house repairs for our Uncle Paul, put up our little soaking pool, and cleaned off Paul's deck. He learned how to drive an automatic and even got a little practice with our stick-shift pick up truck.
Then he would play on the wii until we sent him to Paul's to sleep. And he ate all the bread I could buy or bake. After Independence Day fireworks at the Sturgis Airport, which is not nearly as lame as it sounds, we drove back to Bolckow, Missouri, to drop Joe off for a week with Aunt Sallie and Uncle David. They are also farmers, but on a whole different scale than we are. They have thousands of acres of corn and soybeans, and all the gigantic equipment to go with it.
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