Get Togethers

Do you remember get togethers as a kid? I remember my dad's brothers and sisters surprising my parents with a visit one evening to celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary. The reason I recalled that get together as such a little kid was because my mom already had us kids ready for bed and I was embarrassed that all those people saw me in my pajamas. Today the cabin gets used by many folks for all kinds of get togethers.

Since schools out Jan has twice as many grand kids come on Mondays. They enjoy getting together as cousins and especially playing together when Grandma takes them swimming. They know Grandma requires life jackets even to play in the sand.

Last Sunday afternoon several families got together to ride Rangers and 4-wheelers on timber trails on a farm near Lovilla that Gary owns and Kurt and Brad rent. This is Natalie in her car seat as she rides between her parents, BJ and Cassia. Of course big brother John likes to ride in the back.

It ended up being a big haying week. Since it's so dry and the second cutting hay crop was so short everything that's grass is ending up getting baled for cow feed including road ditches, pastures, and waterways. This is Karl and I working together mowing oats at his farm.

One evening this week Kurt and Emily, BJ and Cassia, and Mike and Sylvia  came with pizza and ice cream after a ball game. Dry summers always have such beautiful evenings.

No sooner did Ethan get his cast off when John got one on. He broke his elbow. He carried a marker and made sure everyone signed it.

Friday morning we took and hour to get together and talk to our seed rep and agronomist about our corn and soybean crop. We visited about what worked and what didn't and how to best move forward. If current heat units continue and the Lord provides the needed rain, harvest is just ten to twelve weeks away. 

This is a picture you don't see every day. The Cat mechanic and the John Deere mechanic were together at our place at the same time and both were working on sprayers. Needless to say we got a late start on that particular morning. 

Both of these pictures were taken at the same time in the same field. The corn plants on the better soil are still doing great while the plants on the tougher soils are complaining about no water on hot afternoons. A corn plant will curl up during stress times of the day to conserve moisture. The heavy, rich soils that can hold moisture for up to thirty days while the lighter, poorer soils can only hold moisture for five days. This is just a reminder of how much we as farmers are dependant on the weather. It also reminds us that we need to get together by prayer with our Provider and Savior to not just ask for help when things look tough but also to thank Him when things look good. 

Finally a big hello to Karl and Kristin, the Osky 1 young peoples, and the rest of the adults, that took time from their busy schedules to go on a work trip in North Dakota. I stopped at the church yesterday morning to tell them good bye and totally forgot to take a picture. Remember folks to give generously, receive gratefully, and let Christ's love shine through your work and your serving. I promise to be praying for you.