July 2, 2011

Good morning!

This morning, I'm sitting out at the Farmers' Market waiting for things to get started. it's wonderfully cool. . . if only it would stay like this all day. Unfortunately, the forecast is for another 100 degree day. Our weather report hasn't changed much since last month. The heat, winds and grasshoppers are taking their toll on pastures, crops, gardens, livestock and spirits. Kurt has started to destock some and has a plan for the rest of the summer if we don't get significant rainfall soon. There are a couple of verses from Habakkuk that have been floating around the county lately:

Though the fig tree does not blossom,
and no fruit is on the vines;
though the produce of the olive falls
and the fields yield no food;
though the flock is cut off from the fold
and there is no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will exult in the God of my salvation.
GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
and makes me tread upon the heights.

Habakkuk 3:17-19

The desperateness of the drought has forced us to look for the levity in all things:

1. Our feed bill for the laying hens has been cut in half this past month. The girls are getting fat off the grasshoppers.

2. We've mowed once all summer. This is truly a blessing since our mower is currently out of commission.

3. My laundry dries incredibly fast on the line. One day I had a load of Kurt's work clothes and a few of the light weight work shirts were almost dry before I got the jeans all hung up! Yes, 100 degree temps and no humidly can be good for something.

4. Kurt hasn't had to fix any water gaps in the creek this summer.

5. I haven't had to weed in the garden - it's mostly gone except for the tomatoes and the zucchini. Any other weeds that survive I've left alone - it's nice to see green out there and you gotta give them credit for trying to grow. Not much else will.

It WILL rain again - but until then, we're learning patience and resourcefulness . . .

June has been a very full month and I'm looking forward to a little slower July. Camps, both local and sleepover, and ball are over for the year and "all" we have in July is the fair and a vacation.

We have quite a few whole chickens and chicken pieces in the freezer right now. We also have one more summer processing date (July 12) and then won't have fresh chicken until September and October. Reserve yours now if you'd like some. After October, the price will go to $3.50/pound to help cover our storage expenses.

On Friday, we got 25 baby chicks at the post office - surprise! We're going to give a different breed a try. The heat, which we tried to avoid, has been very hard on the Cornish Crosses, our current meat birds. These Freedom Rangers are supposed to be pretty hardy and good foragers - watch out grasshoppers! They also take just a little longer to grow out than the Cornish Cross and may not have quite as much breast meat but will be more like the chicken your grandparents ate. We're anxious to see how they do and may be asking a few of you to taste test one for us.

Our laying hens like the heat about as much as I do and have rebelled by not laying near as many eggs. However, the eggs they are laying have awesomely orange yolks. Pretty sure they'd make a beautiful yellow cake!

I'm proud to say I and the animals survived Kurt's two absences in June. In the last newsletter, I think I shared some of my misadventures while Kurt was in Colorado. At the end of this month, Kurt went with the South Central football team to Northwest Missouri State for a camp. He had a good time, enjoyed the cooler weather and was reminded what rain looked like. The only downer was the highly processed cafeteria food.

Meanwhile back at the farm, the girls and I sweltered and I earned my pliers. Last time Kurt was gone, I was blessed to have a friend come and provide back-up. This time I was on my own. That's not totally true. I had a very helpful neighbor, two amazing in-laws and several friends who were only a phone call away and promised to come if we needed help. The weekend was a blur of ballgames and choring.

Kurt left on Thursday and returned on Sunday. In that short time, the girls played in 10 ball games and only two of them were home games! Natalie had their last regular season t-ball game on Friday night and an end-of-the-season tourney on Saturday morning - the only two games all weekend where the temperature was under 95 degrees. Allison played in a league softball double elimination tournament. I won't go through all the gut wrenching details but after an early loss to a tough team, Spearville, they played their way back up through the losers' bracket, only to meet Spearville again in the championship game. Because it was a double elimination tourney, they had to beat Spearville twice in order to win the tourney - and they did it! Those little girls (12 and under) toughed it out through the heat and 3 mentally rough games. This from a team who started the season 0-4, 8 of the 12 players had never played softball before, and whom Kurt thought, after their first practice, may not win any games. Oh my! I don't know that I have the fortitude to watch my girls from the stands for the next 15 years. It killed Kurt to miss all the excitement. I suggested that he talk to the coach at NWMS about changing the date of the camp next year because the tournaments will be the same weekend. Apparently, that wasn't a good idea. Somehow, my text updates at the end of every 1/2 inning just weren't enough, especially when read out of order.

When I wasn't cheering at a game or driving to and from a game or packing the car for the next game, I was babysitting chickens and pigs. I lost track of how many gallons of water Jerry, our very helpful neighbor, and I hauled, but it had to be over 100 each day. We had 100+ temperatures all weekend with the high on Sunday topping out at 115 degrees. We lost two meat birds in the heat but given the miserable conditions, I was thankful the losses weren't higher.

I was soooo glad to see Kurt walk into the pizza place on Sunday night! He was pretty lucky too - our sow did NOT have her piglets while he was gone. I told him if she farrowed while he was gone, he could sleep with the pigs. She's due any day now!

We do have ground beef and a few steaks back in stock and are starting to take reservations for fall beef. Even with the dry conditions, Kurt is working hard to keep good groceries in front of the steers and we're thankful for the forage under the irrigation circle. You can also reserve your bulk pork now which will be ready in September and November.

The "little girls" and I will be making a delivery run on Tuesday, July 5th through Wichita, Medicine Lodge, Pratt and Greensburg. If there's something you need, let me know by Monday.

Allison wanted to make sure I included details about the softball championship. Natalie wanted to make sure I let people know she has jumped off the diving board at the pool. In fact, she loves to do it! She can't swim well yet so one of us has to go out with her and hold a pool noodle for her to land on. I wish I could get a good picture of her jumping - it's a crack-up. Instead of jumping, she free falls.

About two weeks until the fair which will be another full week. It's been fun to watch the 4-H kids choose a project, learn something and then produce a finished product.

The day after the fair we are headed south for some much needed time away. We have been planning this trip for almost two years. We told the girls that when we were debt-free (except the house), we would celebrate with a trip. After much discussion, we settled on the beach and have been diligently saving our change to splurge on something fun. Our intention was to go last summer but had some unexpected expenses that extended our debt payment plan and had to put off the celebration for a year. We'll spend some time with one of Kurt's sisters, be on the beach for 2 1/2 days (suggestions welcome here), and make a stop at the Johnson Space Center (a highlight for the astronaut wanna-be in our family). The car ride will be grueling but the time together (and away from our beloved farm) will be be good.

Hoping you have a relaxing, rainy 4th!