It seems that the summer has just started, but it's already the last day of July... Life here as been a whirlwind. Making hay, running for parts, fixing equipment, moving animals to fresh pasture on a regular basis, milking cows/doing chores, taking care of our 3 large gardens, and playing some music.
These pictures of Nate's cows and calves are from May, when we rounded them up to move them from the calving pasture to summer pasture. I know this was a long time ago, but I don't often post pictures of his cattle, so I wanted to share these.
I got to pull a big stock trailer for the first time.
Nate borrowed his boss's truck and trailer so we had less trips to make.
We hauled the cows and calves in separate trailers so the calves didn't get injured.
The first batch of mamas and babies reunited and enjoying the fresh grass!
June and early July were mostly spend making hay and fixing equipment. We made a lot of hay, and had plenty of breakdowns- nearly every piece of equipment needed fixed at some point. Mom and Dad both made multiple, and sometimes daily, trips to get parts. The guys spent hours & hours fixing things... Laura was a big help with the bale hauling and wrapping processes.
We got a new (to us) tractor to run the discbine- it had an issue right away, so it went back to the dealership and came back a few days later working properly.
Making Hay
BALE! Ha!
We butchered a batch of broiler's: 90 birds in 6 hrs start to finish- a record time for us... But I promise you there are no pictures of that day, no one wants pictures of that!! Currently there is another batch growing...
Rodeo!
One of the highlights of our summer is attending the local rodeo. It's a 3 night event and we go for the whole thing. I think most people attend the rodeo for the social aspect. However that's not the case with us- once the broncs start bucking, we pretty much don't talk to each other. We're dedicated rodeo fans... The first night, the parking guy asked Nate if he was riding! :) Not too many other groups of 7 (a family friend was with us) showed up in boots, jeans, plaid shirts and cowboy hats. Our folks joined us for the first night, and then finished chores for us the next 2 night so we could enjoy it.
Campfires: I love campfires. Around here, if we light one after chores, it becomes a family gathering place and everyone hangs out around it as long as possible, making it a good family conversation time.
Music: we held jams for our town hall music night, and played for Music in the Park in a nearby town. You consider 30 miles away a nearby town, don't you? However, we didn't end up playing at the park due to a rainstorm. It poured! We played in a building at the fairgrounds instead, but then the power flashed twice, both times in the middle of a song. The first time Nate was singing Ghost Riders, and it happened just after he sang the part about "a bolt of fear shot through me". The nice thing about acoustic instruments is that we kept right on going- but our sound system made quite a "pop" when it came back to life, a sound that made most our audience and a few of us jump. Also, it poured so hard the the DQ was flooded and we had to order our ice cream in the parking lot in the light rain as they won't let us walk through the drive though to order. Oh the adventures we have!
Camp: Last week, Grace and I had the privilege of serving along side 30 other ladies for a week at a girl's Bible camp in northern Illinois. My main responsibility was to be a counselor for a group four 1st and 2nd grade girls. Grace was initially going to be on support staff (the crew that does behind the scenes things), but just prior to camp she was asked to switch to be an assistant counselor, and she served in a cabin of 3rd and 4th graders. We each led an activity, and helped with another one. (Campers get to chose the activities they want to do for the week.) Camp is exhausting but also rewarding. Overall, I enjoyed the week, but it's good to be home. We're grateful to Laura who cared for our critters while we were gone.
I was unpacking my camp things tonight and took a quick snapshot of some of them:
*My campers and I made tie dye t-shirts during our cabin night.
*Flowerpots props for a campfire message when I talked about the kind of seeds you plant now determine the kind of person you will become (The Gal 6 principle of reaping what you sow).
* Everyone at camp has a bird nickname that they consider their name for the week- and it's on the back of staff shirts. This nickname is what we are called by campers and staff... It's not as hard to adjust to as I thought it would be.
*The two little characters were for one of my Bible lessons- We studied the Daniel's character traits throughout the week and learned about how he reflected God's character.
*The theme for the week was Reflect, and the Bible lessons encouraged campers to reflect God in their lives.
Hope you all enjoy the last month of summer and have a lovely August!
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