Frantic on the Farm

My bed did not want to give me up this morning. It wanted me to stay and keep it warm all morning long. I'm glad I didn't give in to the temptation. It would have been nice though...

At the exact moment that my feet were swinging out from under the blankets - early - My Sweetheart, who had been up since before 5am,  called me on the radio. He briefly shared his plans for the day and the first item on the agenda was for me to wake up Dear Son. Oh, how I hated to do that. I knew how late he had stayed out seeding last night, I knew he was tired, I knew he was sleeping, but I knew I had to head to the basement and try to rouse him. So, down I went and up he got!   And knowing that I had a limited amount of time to try and get a maximum amount of stuff done I had to get cracking.

So after a quick shower, very quick shower, and a hurried breakfast I threw lunches in the big lunch boxes for the guys, cleaned out the dishwasher, loaded it, threw a load of laundry in, ran the vacuum over the  floor and opened the door  to let Ross, the census guy into the house. And this was all before 8:30. Why do we have to fill out 2 census forms??? The small, easy one, and the huge 10000 page agriculture one? Ok, that might be a tad exaggerated, but couldn't they combine the 2 for those of us in the agriculture industry?  And why, during the busiest time of the year for farmers, do they send out those forms anyway?  Oh dear, I guess I just ranted.

Shortly after Ross, the census guy left, and Dear Son was on his way to the south farm to take over the seeding from My Sweetheart, My Sweetheart pulled into the yard with the semi. It needed to have the last few bushels of 1 kind of lentil seed cleaned out, put into a different truck, and then filled up again with a different lentil seed and more fertilizer. I quickly gathered up everything that was needed - the broom, and the shovel, and took a few other things out, and started helping. And, no, I didn't crawl into the back of the semi.  But I was the "hand me this and hand me that" assistant. After about an hour My Sweetheart was good to go, and so was I. Well, I really wasn't, but I went anyway. My hair was all askew and my face was without the necessary makeup.  But My Sweetheart needed me down south to help move the trucks et al from 1 field to another field.  And after that, I had to run into town to pick up the mail, a prescription, and a few groceries.

I arrived back in the house just before lunch time.  Darling Daughter was busy baking home-made banana-nut muffins! What a treat to walk into a kitchen with a lovely daughter baking!! After lunch I quickly set some buns, then my brother came out for a little while, and then I caught my breath! I've been catching it for about an hour.  An hour of doing mostly nothing.  Just sitting.  And walking the dogs.  And preparing supper.

Ah, time to sit still. It really is good to be able to take the time to do that.  Sit still, I mean. I'm going to be busy after supper panning the buns and baking, but when that's done, DD and I will be sitting down for a movie. Her choice! I'll make the popcorn while she picks out the movie.

It has been, and looks like it will continue to be, a very good day.

Busyness is Underway!

"Dad woke me up at 6." That simple statement, spoken by my Dear Son, were the first words he spoke to me after I went down south to give a hand. And so begins the start of the very busy season on the farm.
Early mornings, busy days and  late nights will be the norm now until the seeding is completed.  But before the seeding gets underway the boys are busy putting  Edge out. I asked My Sweetheart what, exactly, "edge" is, and the best he could tell me was that it was a chemical granular substance. It is spread on the ground, where the lentils will be seeded, and then will kill the weeds. It needs heat or moisture to activate. And judging by the clouds out there today, it looks like it will be moisture activated before heat activation takes place.

We don't spread Edge everywhere - just on our south land. The weeds tend to be the worst there. The main weed that we are fighting is kochia - that particular weed can look something like a mini Christmas tree. So the Edge, which is something like "pea-coloured baby food color" with the texture of sugar or salt goes into the Valmar spreader and is distributed on the land.

The backhoe is "holding" for lack of better word, a bag of Edge. This bag weighs approximately 1200 pounds.

The tractor is pulling the Valmar spreader.

My Sweetheart is backing up the unit to the backhoe, which is being operated by DS.

Dear Son at the helm!

Getting the "edge" into position!

Releasing the "edge" into the Valmar.  You can kind of see it trickling out of the bag. Baby food pea colour - blech!

The "edge" comes out and spreads out through all those hoses...

and comes out where you see those yellow things that are spread out evenly.

So, after I watched My Sweetheart and Dear Son load up the Valmar, we moved the backhoe to a different field.

and on the way there My Sweetheart took a couple minutes to smooth out some ruts.

There will be lots of sloughs to go around this year!

The trail will need to be bypassed!

And even this is something to watch out for. If you look closely you can see where the land is a darker color. That is a wet spot and likely very muddy. There are many such "spots" on the land too, that will need to be driven around.

The clouds are building up. And yes, there was rain in that cloud.  So after tarping everything up, the boys came home today. It actually got too windy to be spreading out Edge.  Maybe this evening it will be calmer!

So, because he can't be down south helping with the Edge, My Sweetheart is now on the road with the semi.  He is hauling a load of lentils to the buyer. I wouldn't be surprised if DS is having a little nap so that he's wide awake for the start of the Predators-Canucks series which gets under-way tonight!

I'm soon going to start baking scones for DD's and my "Royal Wedding" festivities! Starting early this evening we'll kick off the "Big Day" with a movie marathon which will include "The Young Victoria", "The King's Speech" and "The Queen!"  We might even have to find some fastenators to stick in our hair!

Easter on the Farm

The weekend was glorious - in more ways than 1! How could Easter be anything but glorious when we celebrate the resurrection of the Living Lord? And it was glorious too, because we were able to celebrate with family at home, and with our church family.

It seemed like all the kids were home when we were at church. Mind you, all the kids that were home are now all grown up - married, with their own children and some of them even with their own grandchildren.  Part of the beauty of attending the same church where I grew up, is seeing the families grow up and get married, and having them "come home" for special long weekends!  I love that aspect!  Plus we always have potluck lunch after church, so that is a great time to "catch up!"

We were on "usher duty" this weekend at church, so that meant, not only did we get the church ready, we also served the coffee, tea, juice etc. and cleaned up afterwards. Well, that's what it meant, but in a small church it seems that everybody pitches in. As I'm the organist, it seems that every time we're on usher duty, some of the ladies hurry back to set lunch out while I'm finishing up with the organ. I truly love my church family.

Dear Son and I skipped out early though and left the cleaning up to My Sweetheart and Darling Daughter.  I was having family for supper and had to get home to get the roasts on the barby! And I had to wash the floor.  So while I was washing the floor at home, My Sweetheart and DD were washing dishes at church.  Hey, DS got off easy!!

My Sweetheart's sister and her husband,  and My Sweetheart's Dad joined us for Easter Dinner along with my Mom and Brother. We enjoyed a meal of barbecued roast beef, lemon Greek roasted pototoes, salads, raw veggies and Strawberry Cream pie.  (dessert was 1 of the delicious weight watcher recipes that I had gotten a few years ago-  mmmhmmm!)

Waiting for coffee and dessert is My Sweetheart, Dear Son, Brother in-law and sister-in-law.

My sister-in-law, father-in-law and brother...

Here's Mom!

DD!

DS is trying to get the socks out of Bentley's mouth. This was our mid-dinner entertainment!

After supper and dishes (thanks sis-in-law and Mom) we had a couple games of chase the ace! That is a very fun simple brainless game that anyone can play. We can visit while playing it too!  Bonus! And before we knew it, the day was over. Our company had went home.  And it was just the 4 of us.

Easter truly was a glorious day on the farm!

My Extraordinary Ordinary Day

Yesterday began on the farm, just like any other typical spring day. I looked out the window before I started scrambling eggs and saw Lady on the deck- with the cats snuggled around her. That is very normal for Lady and the Cats.

Then I saw Mama Cat walking, or rather waddling, towards the door...

Less than a minute later Darling Daughter went to the door to peek at the animals and she started yelling.  She was very excited, but not in a happy excited way.  She sounded rather alarmed. Apparently, Mama Cat, in the minute since I snapped the rather unflattering picture of her, had had her first kitten - on the deck, with an animal audience, and Lady, the Golden Retriever, had picked it up gently in her mouth to carry it off and mother it. I ran to the basement, after turning the burner off, grabbed a box and an old towel, and ran outside to put our precious cargo in the box...

Here is Mama Cat and her first kitten of the year - before transporting her to the safety of the shop.

A few hours later Mama Cat and her 5 little babies were resting comfortably.

Lady, very desperately, wanted to be inside the shop to see her beloved kittens.  No such  luck though!

The day was getting off with a glorious start!

After making sure Mama Cat was fed and watered, and then after making sure that Dear Son and Darling Daughter were fed and watered and ready for school, I took Lady, Bentley and Chico for a long walk.  The day was beautiful. The meadowlarks were singing, I saw a robin, there were geese in the slough of a field near the road where we walk, the sun was shining, and the sky was blue.

After lunch I went to town, grabbed the mail, and went to pick up Mom to take her to Swift Current for an afternoon of shopping. In the mailbox there was a letter addressed to me; one I wasn't expecting at all, and it brought me very exciting news. I have been invited to sing at the Gala evening for the 100th anniversary of the high school I attended. I was very humbled and very honoured. Great news!

Mom and I enjoyed the afternoon running around the city. At 4:30 we went to the Band Room and picked up DD. I had 1 last quick stop to make in the city before heading home. I should have remembered that it was the day before Good Friday and the store might be a little busy.  What started as a quick jaunt to grab 3 items became a 45 minute wait at the check-out counter. A little busy?

After a later supper I took the dogs out for 1 more walk.

It was a lovely evening for a sunset stroll...

The expanse of the sky was breathtaking..

Lady enjoyed herself...

As did Bentley...

After the long walk it was time for a snuggle with DD before the movie.  I made Darling Daughter and myself a cup of tea and we had lots of laughs watching "New in Town" - quite possibly my favorite movie. Dear Son was downstairs watching hockey on the big screen and My Sweetheart was hauling durum to the terminal all day long - until 10:30.

The day was extraordinay. It was a good day. I woke up this morning and it's Good Friday. I'm puzzled as to why it's called "Good" Friday, when the whole crucifixion of Jesus is anything but good. 6 hours of excruciating agony. The Bible tells me, in Hebrews, that He went through it, or endured it, for "the joy set before Him." The joy...are we, the people who embrace Him, the "joy" that is set before Him? Is that why it's called "good"  Friday?

We had a sad morning here. My tenderhearted daughter discovered that 2 of the kittens had died in the night. So, while I was making waffles, My Sweetheart was digging a little grave under an evergreen, and DD was cutting out fabric to line a little box for the beloved kittens.  I watched My Sweetheart, full of compassion for our daughter, helping her bury, what yesterday, brought her so much joy. And my heart swelled. Not only for her tender heart, but for My Sweetheart's tender heart to his daughter.

The little grave is marked by a simple bouquet of artificial flowers.
It seems rather fitting that a grave, although very tiny, was dug here, on the farm on Good Friday. I was remembering, with gratitude, what My Saviour willingly did for me on Good Friday.  He was laid in a tomb. His friends, followers , and family mourned.  But it didn't end there. He rose. Unlike the 2 little kittens. He is alive and offers hope. It IS a "good" Friday after all! Today is extraordinary.



Getting Ready to Fish

We headed to the city today. The ice is off the dug-out, so it was time to go and pick up the rainbow trout! And since Costco was so close to the fish farm we made a detour and stopped there first. I wasn't overly enthusiastic about the Christmas-rush sized crowd of people that was shopping, but surprisingly, we were in and out of there in about an hour and a half.  Quite a feat for us!  After a quick lunch we headed out to the fish farm. Two lovely, very clean Golden Retrievers met us! I was wondering how they could manage to stay out of the mud and muck. I guess that's why they were allowed to meet and greet us.

After loading up the 800 little rainbow trout for the dug-out we headed home. 800 weren't for us. We picked up some for our neighbor right across the road and some for our neighbor straight south of us.

There sure was a lot of water in the fields on the way.  And halfway between the city and home we saw 1 field with thousands and thousands and thousands of geese. And there were thousands more flying overhead. I really wish I would have taken my camera along for THAT sight. I wonder if the geese were wishing that they would have waited a week or so before leaving the south and warmth to come north and to the cold.

When we got home and unpacked the Costco stuff, My Sweetheart and I headed out to the dug-out.

My Sweetheart is putting a screen in front of the culvert to prevent wayward fish from escaping.

Securing the screen...

If you look close enough you might see a fish in the industrial strength bag that was it's home for the past few hours..

Putting 1 of the bags in the dug-out to acclimatize the trout...

Here are the 3 bags with 350 trout.  They are wiggling with excitement before being released to their new home.

Ready, set,

Go....or ready to go anyway.  This little guy should be about 10 inches in length by next summer.

The new home for the rainbow trout.

When the trout are bigger and jumping, they just might catch a glimpse of my hometown - if they jump high enough..

I'm glad I took the time to accompany My Sweetheart to the fish farm today. I'm glad I went with him to the dug-out and saw the whole fish-releasing process. I was able to help by handing him stuff- not that there was a lot of stuff to hand him, just twine, a knife, hammer, that kind of stuff.  Hmmm, I just might need some help in the house...



Teenagers!

It was my turn to drive for band today. I wouldn't have minded quite so much if it would have been a lovely, warm spring day, but it was kind of wintery.  Again.  It started to snow just before I left home to dash into the school to pick up the 4 band students. Today there were only 3 band students.  And they all sat in the back seat, squished together, the teenagers, like sardines. I felt like a chauffer. Well, I guess I was a chauffer.

It's hard to believe that it's been 30 some years already since I've been a teenager. My mom used to say, and still does, that she doesn't feel any older now (at whatever age she was at the time of saying that) than she did when she was 16.

So, now I'm reminiscing and trying to remember that stage of my life. I can't really believe that it's been 31 years since I was 16. OK, the memories are starting to come back to me...

I loved being 16. 15 was great too, but not until I arrived at LCBI -the boarding school where I had desperately wanted to attend since I was 12.  Life, well school life, was not enjoyable up until then. Although I did well at school, I hated going to school.  I was a misfit.  I felt like 1 anyway. I was left out of almost everything.  I wasn't popular. Junior High was the worst. I was not good at sports, so was always the last picked.  Nobody wanted me on their team. And friends?  Well, with the exception of Elaine, friends were sparse. I was musical, and where I went to school, at that time, music was not cool.

But - LCBI was a totally different ball game!  Music was cool!  I fit in!  I had lots of friends. Very good friends. Friends that prayed together, and through the years, and with the help of facebook, have reconnected and stayed together.

Oh, back to 16.  I did not get my driver's license on my first try.  I thought I aced the test. I thought I did everything perfect.  But I lost 32 points for not shoulder checking 16 times. I remembered to shoulder check the next time I did the test, and I passed with flying colors!

I sang in the choir that I wanted to! I have such great memories of school, and most of them are related to music or drama.  Even phys ed.  I have Cliff to thank for that!  He was the best phys ed teacher ever! He didn't grade us according to how good we were, but he graded us on exams, and how hard we worked. He was very much of an encourager.  All my high school teachers were like cheerleaders.

My friends were, and still are, good friends. Not the stab-in-your-back kind of friends, but the kind of friends that cried with me and laughed with me and rejoiced with me in the times of rejoicing. The Proverb 17 kind of friend.

I remember in grade 10, we all planned the grade 10 sneak-out.  It was a tradition. Everyone had to sneak out of their dorms and meet, I don't remember where, but it was in the middle of the night. I lived on the top floor of Old Main.  My best friend, Heather, lived right across from me.  Dooder and Leanne were on the same floor too, as were others.  We had to sneak out the fire escape,I think. And not giggle, or make a peep.  But we did it, and met up with the rest of our class, and had a great time! I do think we all got caught at some point and had to do work duties.  But we did it together, and had a blast.

I giggled and laughed a lot as a teenager.  My daughter and her friend and I went out for supper after band tonight, and they were giggling and laughing a lot too!  Just how it should be for teenagers!

If I Knew

If I knew I had one day left
to live here on God's earth-
a day that I could do most anything-
would I bake a cake? or read a book?
or lift my voice and sing?

If I knew I had one day left
to live here on God's earth-
would I choose to live that one day all alone?
Or would I gather those around-
the ones I've loved so long?

If I knew I had one day left
to live here on God's earth-
would I have a nap?  or take a walk with you?
or would I choose to thank the Lord
for seeing me this far through?

If I knew I had one day left
to live here on God's earth-
I wonder what my Lord would have me do-
would He give me joy to share his love
and faithfulness with you?

If I knew I had one day left
to live here on God's earth-
a day that I could do most anything-
I'd share  Christ's love with you, my friend,
I'd hope you'd meet the King.

I do not know the future
I cannot see "that" day,
but I know who holds my future in His hands.
He guides the path He leads me on,
He holds my future plans.

So if I knew this was the day
that God would call me home-
I'd rejoice in Him and gladly go,
I would not be alone.



Those are the words I scribbled down on a scrap piece of paper on April 13, 1997 just before midnight. It took less than 10 minutes for me to compose that poem - I was thinking and writing at the same time. Less than 12 hours prior to that my dear Dad breathed his last breath here on earth. At that same time he was being welcomed into Heaven by his Abba - Daddy.  I love how Jesus called His Father "Abba" - Daddy - such an intimate, endearing title.  I'm so grateful to have been with my Dad as he made the transition from here to eternity. It was a peaceful, heart-wrenching, glorious, terribly sad, joy-filled, beautiful day.

On that day, at 6:30 am, my aunt phoned me. She woke me up. I couldn't think of why she would be phoning at that time of day. "Heather," she gently spoke, "I think it's time for you to come up to the hospital."
I couldn't for the life of me figure out what for. My mind was quite fuzzy at that time of day. I, being 5 months pregnant and the mother of a toddler, needed my sleep after all. "Why?"  I remember asking her. And that strikes me now as odd because I knew why.  I knew my dad was dying.  But I knew he was also very much alive.  I couldn't figure out why I should come to the hospital. And then it hit me. He was REALLY dying. And the family was called. I remember crying in the shower and trying to hurry myself up. I remember not wanting to go, but not wanting to be anywhere else. I hurried in.  Danny tended to Braden and took him up to his dad's before coming up to the hospital.  And then we waited.  Every breath Dad took, I watched.  Would this be the last one?  What about this one? The nurse came periodically and checked his pulse. So there we were - Mom, my brother, my aunt, uncle, cousin, husband, and me.  Waiting for the inevitable. The pastor came after church. Shortly after that my Dad took his last laboured breath. And he was gone. Just like that.

We all cried. And hugged.  And cried some more.  And then I had to leave.  I had to leave my Dad's body in his hospital bed and go. That was hard.  Very hard. I  stepped outside into the sunshine. I needed that sunshine. I needed the warmth from the sun. I needed to hear the birds sing.  And they did. It was a beautiful day.  The sun was shining.  The birds were singing.  The sky was blue.  The air was warm.  My dad just died.  It was surreal.

Just as soon as I stepped into Mom's house - it was now Mom's house, not Mom's and Dad's house, the phone rang.  My cousin wanted to know how Uncle Billy was. She was chipper and happy sounding on the phone. I remember saying, matter of factly, that he had just died. And so she was the first of the relatives to find out. And so the tears came again.

My Dad was a good man.  He was very humble.  Very quiet.  Friendly. He loved to tease. He was peaceable. He was thoughtful. He never spoke a bad word about anybody.  Never.

We found out that Dad had cancer the day before his 70th birthday. About a week after that he prayed and asked Jesus into his heart , and to be His Lord and Savior.  I am so glad. I know for sure that my Dad is in Heaven.  He arrived in Heaven a few short hours before his daughter in law. Yes, my brother lost his wife less than 36 hours after we lost Dad. I wonder if he was surprised to see her so quickly. I imagine he was in her welcoming committee with Jesus!

I'm going to share a few pictures of my Dad with you. You just might catch a glimpse of the wonderful man I am honoured to have been able to call "Dad".

This is Dad on his 70th birthday - the day after the cancer diagnosis. My Dear Son is on his lap.

This is an earlier picture of Dad in typical hot summer day garb. He always wore work boots or cowboy boots. Almost always anyway..

My first Christmas with My Sweetheart, and thus his first Christmas with my Dad and Mom. Dad always seemed to have trouble with a silly rooster tale. It's noticeable on the picture above this one too!

Here is my Dad, cowboy boots and all, with his first grandchild and first child! This is the brother whose wife died hours after Dad died.

This was our last Christmas with Dad, the last time he was in my house, and the last picture taken of Dad while he was still alive. I'm glad we get new bodies in Heaven. No more sickness... or tears.... or darkness...

Here I am holding the last gift I ever got from my Dad. That picture frame holds the following picture...

The daughter and the Dad she misses so much.