Goodnight June

June is about an hour away from being over.  I'm torn between being glad and worrying that my summer is going by too fast.  June was un-seasonally cold and rainy for the first two weeks and then it warmed up.   Not to mention the one thing you can always count on around here, that the wind will blow!!  What follows is my first attempt at night photography.   The wind was blowing so hard that the tripod was moving.  Kind of defeats the purpose of using one, doesn't it? 

Goodnight June!   

Let's hope July is a happier month for me.  Does it bode well that I have a dentist appointment first thing in the morning?

Blowin' in the Wind

Have I mentioned the wind never stops blowing, ever???????  It destroyed my summer home, shredded it.  Maybe I will recover from the disaster enough to post a picture.   Boyd got some good shots of the wind blowing my dog's ears up.  At least it was good for a laugh.

Summer Storm

Canoe Ride

All the way from Virginia just for a canoe ride?

Thanks for coming to Utah!!!!

This is what my shoes looked like after trying to help launch the canoe.  The river has just receded and the bank hasn't dried out yet.  I ended up taking them off and sinking up to my knees in the river mud.  It felt great!  Who knew?  

Summer Heat

Seems like I was just complaining about the wind, rain and cold.  Now, I just complain about the wind and leave the complaining about the heat to Boyd.   I don't mind the heat yet, it was so cold for so long.  However, the heat is getting to the corn and the hay needs water also.  I  would welcome a little rain on occasion for the crops.   It seems like the months just fly by.

The corn planter and drill parked back to back and covered until next planting season.

And a winter shot, just for old times sake.

Robin

A Family of Four

I was right after all!  There are four different foxes that I have seen at various times on the farm.  I questioned whether I was seeing one or two adults. I finally saw all of them at once. The one I see the most often is the male.  He comes right to the front field by the road hunting for mice now that the hay is off.  I scared him off today hoping it would discourage his stupidity.  There are plenty of things to eat around here, he doesn't need to hunt in the open in the daylight.  I didn't get any pictures of the whole family together, but I had a good time watching them play in the safflower field.

Quite a Haul

The hay is stacked.  What a relief!  It took a good portion of Wednesday night and most of Thursday to get it accomplished, but we are finished.   Since one tractor is in the shop, we had to drive back and forth from the south farm to home with both the 2-ton and the tractor. This totally slows down the process.  The worst part was squeezing between the canal and the endless line of semi-trucks hauling material to the construction site at the Bird Refuge.  I hated it!  I am so nervous driving the tractor, but it was the lesser evil.  I certainly didn't want to be driving the truck loaded with hay, besides the tractor has air-conditioning.   Our truck is old, but faithful.  It even caught on fire years ago and has been rebuilt. 
Here's hoping we get the tractor back before the next cutting. 

Summer

It is officially summer now, so why is it I needed a sweatshirt on to do the chores this morning?

Mary must have planted this rose bush, a big thanks to her.

Sunset over the Adams' place.

Mission Accomplished

Boyd finally got the hay cut.  The swather worked just like new, right honey?  Now, let's cross our fingers that it stays dry and warm until the bales are hauled and stacked!

Jasmine loves to search for mice after the hay is cut.  Yesterday morning she out doing just that when she suddenly started whining and holding her head in a weird position.  She turned one ear to the ground and had the other ear aimed at the sky.   She would shake her head and cry some more.   I looked in her ears, but couldn't see anything.  I am guessing she got stung by a bee.  My husband suggested giving her some Benadryl.  It worked.  She took a nice snooze and after she woke up, she acted much better.  Thank Goodness!   I didn't want to have to make a trip to the vets.

Ready and Waiting

And waiting and waiting and waiting.

 It is beyond time to cut hay.  Someone needs to tell the weather it is time to cooperate.  Boyd once again serviced the swather for yet another season of hay cutting.  The swather is 30 years old and Boyd would love to replace it.  Too bad we are dirt poor as they say.  It is also too bad for him that he is such a great mechanic and has kept this piece of equipment functioning for so many years. 

The poor old thing has certainly seen better days.

Boyd is even talented enough to weld it back together.

The hay needs to be cut sooner than later.  It is starting to lay down.

All hitched up and no place to go.

Gardening

Just in case I haven't mentioned it enough,  the weather has been so cold, rainy, windy all spring and summer.  The crops are behind schedule and so are my plants.  It is beyond ridiculous.
I have had a goal of having a ripe tomato by July 4th.  Some years I make it, others I don't.  This year will be a definite don't!

At least the cherry tomatoes are surviving.

My new lawn is coming in little by little.

The safflower is coming up now.

And we are growing a nice crop of foxtails.

I have had the peas planted since April.  I planted two rows from the seed I bought last year and one row from dad's mystery seed (I don't know when he bought it).  The only row that is doing well at all is the one I planted using dad's pea seeds.

And the roses that came from Grandma Blanche's actually survived my transplanting and the winter and are going to bloom!