Fall HARVEST 2010!

FALL HARVEST IS in FULL SWING around here! The Captain should be finished cutting our soybeans today. Then there is wheat to plant and he should be close to being DONE!

My friend Vic from Oklahoma came for a visit last weekend. She pulled in the driveway just in time to take Baby BAKERS on her first combine ride!

The weather has been SO BEAUTIFUL!

While on my daily walk last week I noticed 30 caterpillars.

I decided to take the middle 5 out on a walk while the oldest was at football and baby was napping.

Aren't they sweet? All actually LIKING EACH OTHER for at least 5 seconds.

WE found 15 or so "WORMY SQUIRMY'S". We made them a little temporary home and just watched them for a while. We looked them all up on-line and they all turn into REAL UGLY moths. Perfect for our catch and release program!  It was a fun educational afternoon!

 SEEMS CRAZY that Fall harvest is almost over already. I will MISS THIS when winter hits!

I WILL NOT MISS the Fall Harvest DUST that hangs in the air and the HOUSE day after day.

Farm Wife Duties

Living on a working farm has been a huge blessing to me. I feel so needed ALL THE TIME! I have MANY duties as a farm wife other than my normal motherly duties like homeschooling, cooking, cleaning and breaking up fights.

I'm not the most mechanically inclined gal out there so I know when The Captain calls for my help, its serious OR he's desperate. The Captain called & I could hear tension in his voice. The grain truck had stopped running on the side of the road a few miles from the house. I shoved 6 popsicles at the 6 littles and had them play outside and OFF I WENT.... There the grain truck was OUT STANDING IN THE FIELD.I parked the 4 wheeler next to the grain truck and remained silent (that's what I knew I had to do-ANY EQUIPMENT BREAK DOWNS during harvest are sure to get any farmers blood boiling.)Being the dweeb that I am, I couldn't resist bringing my camera and taking a picture of this Milo as it clicked in the breeze. Isn't it lovely?

Then I got in the truck and turned it over and tried to start it while The Captain worked with some starter fluid and trying to unplug the gas line.

DANG I'M GOOD! Next thing I knew he was OFF to the elevator with his load of beans.

Living on the farm-I've learned how to drive lots of stuff. Today we "MOVED FARMS." We are all done cutting soybeans and planting wheat on our home place so it was time to move all our equipment to our other farm 9.1 miles away. I loaded the littles & a Dora video in the DVD player in the bus & started the big kids off on their homeschool math and headed out.

We moved the grain truck first. I follow The Captain while he takes each piece of equipment to our new farm all the while the 2 boys are SCREAMING their brains out that they want to be with him-OH JOY!Next was the tractor and grain cart which takes a while following at 20mph. The last thing to go was the combine & since it's last, I dont have to follow. I peeled the boys off The Captains legs gave him his carefully packed lunch with a LOVE NOTE INSIDE and came in to get started with the rest of my day. I won't see him until late but I do love harvest time and all the buzz around the community.I put the kids initials in their pot pies last night-they thought that was just the most awesome thing-another farm wife duty-THINKING UP BIZARRE STUFF TO DO WITH the 6 littles food so they will eat!I'm hoping and praying that as the 6 littles see The Captain and I working together as a team on the farm-they will learn how important it is to help when needed. I already have one little sweet one "in training" that always volunteers her help.

Thank you Lord for trusting us with these sweet ones & helping us "HARVEST THESE SWEET LITTLE HEARTS!"

HARVEST TIME! Homeschool Challenge..

See this picture? This means its HARVEST TIME!! The soybeans are READY!

I'm just amazed by the gorgeous beans inside the pods & they taste good too! Truly God's handiwork.
There's The Captain off in the distance-bean dust rolling!

Here go the beans into our new old truck & then OFF to the elevator.Of course The Captain has his usual "appendage" WyWy.This boy prays for tractors & combines & anything John Deere daily.The only thing to break down "so far" this harvest is WyWy's 4 wheeler.

He actually rode it from our house out to the field to find The Captain about a mile away. Farming is in his blood!The only thing I find challenging this year is keeping my 4 preschoolers busy during the homeschool day. It is tiring to say the least. We try several different ways of doing things. They are very distracting to the older kids & I haven't quite found the perfect schedule or balance to keep things running smoothly. Any advice/ideas would be appreciated! AND YES-we do school in leotards & underwear at times! Whatever works right?