Spring!!

We went to the north side of the farm to see about moving the cow, Gladis, and Stanley, the horse, into a new pasture with tall green grass!  Can't believe how quickly the grass is growing already.  Things weren't terribly chaotic, although Gladis did attempt to run away again.  She didn't get very far because she didn't have a sidekick to go with her.  You should have heard her bellowing around the yard and you should have seen her jumping around and swinging her head around in her disappointment!  She finally submitted, however, and joined Stanley, who wasted no time going to work on the yummy green grass!

On our way home we happened by Joe's place.  I was there to talk to him about my chickens, who are in need of a new home now that we are back and forth between here and Nebraska.  When I pulled into the yard he told me he had something to show us.  He brought us through the barn where one of his giant work horses was eating a snack, and into a back pasture where he had three mama sheep who all lambed this morning.  There were eight little babies to ooh and aaah over!  A set of twins and a set of triplets, to be precise!

This evening we will be loading up our hens and taking them over to Joe's.  We'll be buying eggs from them this year.

Twenty Days of Rain in June

We've had a whole lot of rain this summer.  One thunderstorm comes through just as loud as it can be.  And as soon it waters everything it makes a quick exit, we find Mister Sunshine riding in its wake!

Of course when you combine the two - rain and summer sun - you can't help but get heat and humidity!

There is a little gas station in operation just a few miles east of us.  The guy that runs it is called Oz by the locals.  No swipe and pump at this gas station!  The pumps were alive and well clear back in the 70's!  Its a full service station.  You tell Oz how many gallons you want and he pumps it for you and washes your windows too.  Impressive - if you aren't in a hurry!  Because there isn't anything in a hurry about Oz either!  You will also get to chat a little about the weather, hear a few good wives' tales or take a walk down memory lane.  Back in June, the Apple Farmer stopped to fill up some jugs for the tractors and enjoyed such a visit.  During the exchange, they both talked about the weather being so wet when Oz said, "You know what they all say about twenty days of rain in June."  The Apple Farmer was very curious as he replied, "No, actually I don't.  What does it mean?"  Oz paused, and then continued all slow and drawn out, "Well, I don't know.  I guess you get wet." 

The mystery of this wives' tale was solved a few weeks ago.  Dan, one of our Amish neighbors mentioned the same tale and I pounced right on it!  Dan explained that if it rains on June 1st, you will have 20 days of rain in June.  He's kept track and only once has he ever known the tale to be incorrect.  It certainly wasn't this year!!!  We experienced 90 degrees after the sun went down with 85% humidity.  The heat index was 111.  Suffocating!!

Trade

Today, my neighbor Emma, traded me this beautiful produce from her garden for a bunch of pie cherries from my garden!  Yummmmmmy!

Looks Like Snow in the Near Future...

Earlier this afternoon, one of our young and newly wed Amish neighbors came over to ask if there was a chance that I could drive him and his wife to the midwife. He was quite concerned and wondered if we could leave as soon as possible. They are not very far along, but she has had a rough time of morning sickness (which I learned when she threw up while I was driving her to the midwife last time), and so I became pretty concerned as well. We had gotten the majority of what we wanted done today, and the Apple Farmer was home, so I told my neighbor I'd be down in 30 minutes to pick them up. Of course, this time I put his sweet wife in the front seat and kept the cabin temperature much cooler than last time... poor girl - she isn't used to riding in a car, and top that off with riding in the back seat on windy roads and the joy of morning sickness, she didn't have a chance last time!

All went well today as far as the trip went, and she was very relieved that her abdominal pain was related to a bladder infection and not a threat to miscarry. I was very relieved for her! I'm sure the sad tragedy is as fresh in her memory as it is mine. It was only a few months ago, almost at the end of apple season that I drove her sister-in-law and her new groom to a midwife up north of us because her pregnancy took an unexpected twist. What everyone had expected as twins crumbled as we learned from the ultrasound that, in fact, the baby had died due to birth defects. We all anticipated talking about the miracle on the way home, and of course I intended to tease her husband that they would need so many diapers that he would have to set up a treadle sewing machine for himself to help sew all of the diapers. I still remember feeling the joy melt away to grief. How full my heart was for these two newly weds, as I drove them home with their sweet little angel wrapped carefully in a blanket. They buried her the next morning in the family's cemetery.

After much relief of the simple diagnosis we picked up the needed items that the midwife recommended to remedy her infection and headed home. As we visited, my neighbor mentioned that it looked like more snow in the near future. Of course my ears perked up because I was really curious to know what he saw! He explained that there was a bright reflection through the clouds on each side of the sun as well as one right below it. I had a hard time seeing what he was describing on the sides, and everyone thought it was quite humerous as I described the polka-dots before my eyes that resulted from looking at the sun.... But I did defintely see what he was talking about below the sun. He further explained that it is not always a reliable predictor, but that it is accurate enough that it is worth mentioning. He explained also, that snow wasn't immediate either, but that it was probably a couple or few days out when you see this type of pattern. So there we have it! Sun predicted through the weekend by the professionals. A chance of snow predicted by my neighbor. It will be very interesting if the forcast changes!

First Newspaper Ads of the Season

Its time to get serious about selling apples! So this morning I'm working on my ads for the paper. I have a 12:00 deadline and I've just submitted my ad for review!

To rally up the apple crew was not exactly an easy task. First, I told them what they had to wear. Of course there was much negotiating on the part of the Attorney on why a plain white T-shirt just won't work. However, I took courage and told him it was the way it was going to have to be! He may start faxing out his resume to other corporations, however, I think it won't take long for him to realize that no other employer will offer a sweet benefit package like ours! Free living expenses, Free meals, Free education, and an abundance of Free time! Second, they were required to smile on demand, as if they were truly happy. I'm sure that the crew will file a complaint with their union reps for having to complete tasks that aren't listed in their job descriptions. I can deal with that, since I think I got what I wanted, and I got it with in a realistic amount of time!

After getting the crew ready for the photo shoot I realized that I was short of fall harvest paraphernalia. After a quick jaunt to the neighbors in the golf cart, not only did I manage to come back home with some fabulous ears of indian corn, but I made it just in time to go home with a handful of half-moon pies. Zook's have Sunday Church at their home on Sunday, which means that they have been cleaning every last little corner and window pane of their home. It also means cooking for a congregation. A big soup is on the menu, along with other homemade yummies like cookies, and half-moon pies. Fannie and her daughters Anna, Susan, Verna and daughter in law Ada, will all be baking today over their wood burning stove. The married daughters have brought a long their little broods and so Grandma and Grandpa's home will be full of the sound of sweet children!

The Apple Farmer sees the half-moon pies!

Photo shoot snipets!

Now, as I wait for a phone call from the paper, I need to clean up half-moon pie crumbs and try to figure out a way to get the Apple Farmer to fire me from the orchard so I can do whatever I want this weekend!

Red Skies and Cooing Turtle Doves

Did you know that if you watch a sunrise and notice that the sunrise is red, it means rain? Did you also know that if you happen to hear the doves cooing in a pattern that sounds like they are saying, "Two, four, six, eight." it means rain?

Tuesday morning I helped my Amish neighbor Ely get his cucumbers to the produce auction (72 boxes of beautiful cukes!) and he told me that it looked like rain. Since the apple farmer had checked the weather forcast and it was nothing but sun for the rest of the week, I found his statement very interesting. He gave me the reasoning above and you will never guess what happened. It rained that very afternoon!

Using Our Noodle!

My neighbor Lizzy taught me how to make noodles! I was amazed at how easy and fun noodle making is!

It was a beautiful morning last Tuesday! The work crew grabbed their math books and did math on the front porch while her Royal Highness insisted on wearing her apron and helping! She sure helped!

After spreading floured foot prints all over Lizzy's kitchen floor while Lizzy and I kneaded dough and talked about her brand new granddaughter, her Royal Highness insisted on rolling out the dough!While her Royal Highness and I rolled out dough, Lizzy made marshmallow cream out of the left over egg whites and a sugar syrup which she cooked to the hard ball stage. Wow! I thought that stuff could only come from the marshmallow cream factory! Yum!When we were done making noodles and there was nothing left to do, her Royal Highness started to cry, so Lizzy gave her one of her homemade oatmeal cookes and everything was all better!

So you are probably wondering where the picture of the completed noodles is? We cooked them up in chicken noodle soup, chicken and gravy and other yummy dishes already! They sure didn't last for very long! Time to make more!!!!

Autumn Bounty!

Went to the produce auction today. The apples didn't do great but they did a lot better. This is some beautiful Indian corn that I won at auction, and I also won a bunch of great pumpkins! It was loads of fun decorating!

Here are some of our apples on display. I'm still working on filling up the produce tables. Can you see some of the great pumpkins and gourds up above the tables?


This is a beautiful chest of drawers made by one of our Amish neighbors. It is an amazing piece of furniture, standing maybe 18 inches tall. The chest on the left of the bench is also his. I'm hoping we can sell a bunch of these for him.

It's the Attorney and he is sitting next to his favorite pumpkin!! He is growing so fast!

Once Upon an Apple

Here is a fun apple story that one of the neighbors copied down from their Amish newsletter and gave to me. Its really cute!

Granny Smith had a son Jonathan who was a Northern Spy. Down on Wolf River lived McIntosh whose maiden Blush was a Cortland Jonathan. She thought of him as a Jonalicious with pockets full of Jon-a-Gold. An early Transparent wedding was performed with him wearing a Mutsa. She was a Rome Beauty, wearing a Winesap, eating a Banana and he thought she was Honey Crisp. They had three appleys name Gala, Paula Red and Fuji.

After 25 Red and Yellow Delicious years they put em all in a jar and had apple butter and bean soup. And lived Apple-y ever after.

Friday's Produce Auction

Friday morning I took some crabapples to the produce auction, along with a neighbor and his sweetcorn. He had 100 dozen ears of sweet corn and got between $2.00 to $2.25 per dozen. Our crabapples did better this time. We got $10.00 per half bushel box and $5.00 per peck box. We are going to try another load Monday morning.