Moving!

Do I have your attention?  Do not panic.  WE are not moving, but the BLOG is. The developers no longer support the Blogger app, and it has become increasing cumbersome to blog from my phone, where all my pictures are stored.  Therefore, we are making the move to Facebook.  We can be found at Stoll Farms KS or this link 

https://www.facebook.com/Stoll-Farms-KS-639715246416769/?ref=bookmarks

Many of you are on Facebook so this will be an easy transition for you.  For those of you who are not, the page is public. You do not need to have a Facebook account to view it.  However, you will probably get pop-ups asking you to join. If you have problems, let me know, and we can try some other methods to let you view.

We hope you make the "move" with us!!

Looking to bean harvest

We had a total of 1.7" last week.  Now we wait to see whether the beans or ground dries out first. The beans may be getting close, but there is another chance of rain in the forecast along with some cool temperatures starting tonight. Quentin has been working hard getting the combine, header, tractor and grain cart all ready for the next wave of harvest.

Finished!

Corn harvest is over! Just in time, too. The rain moved in this morning. We were happy to be able to finish despite several minor mechanical issues that seem to plague us the last few days. The soybeans are quickly dropping their leaves. The men might have just enough time to fix all the equipment before it is time to harvest again!

Full trucks, empty fields

Just what I like to see...a full truck and an empty field! We finished all of Rose Marie's corn by late afternoon and moved on to the LAST fields of corn. Quentin was able to get a start on them this evening.  If all goes well, we will finish corn harvest tomorrow. There is a good chance of rain starting tomorrow night so we will be glad to finish before that moves in!

Where is that truck??

The red truck had ANOTHER flat tire...well, the same one actually.  We were down to one truck for a while last night, which meant some wait time.  Luckily, not too much!

Waiting on a truck...

Stalker(ish)

I felt a bit stalker-ish today in the corn field. We finished up on Steeby's and started the outside rounds on Rose Marie's last corn field. It is a large one, and I had to follow the combine around and around and around...

Back in the field!

It was dry enough to get back to corn harvest this afternoon.  The men started on Steeby's.  We had a small hiccup with a flat tire on the red truck, but hopefully, we can find someone to fix it in the morning.  Paul was able to keep up pretty well with the other truck so we could get at least a good start on that field.

Cover crops

The rains have been good for the cover crops.  The first field of rye by Paul's house looks great!  

Wet weather

We had a couple days of wet, cloudy weather. Monday night we had 0.5" of rain and then another 0.1" of light rain yesterday.  We are out of the fields for at least another day, but will wait to see how much sunshine we get today.

Long day

It was a long day of farming!  Quentin planted rye this morning while Paul hauled the grain trucks from last night to the COOP.  Around 11am they started cutting corn and finished the field at Leisure's around 7:30pm.  Whew!  There is rain on the radar making its way this way so it is nice to be finished with the whole field.

Dry enough!



The corn was dry enough to start combining down at Rose by mid-afternoon yesterday.  We were able to finish that corn today.  On to the next field tomorrow!  There is a good chance of rain beginning tomorrow night so we will see how much we can get done before that.

Wet corn

Quentin tried a test cut on the corn yesterday, and it was still a little wet.  We have had some good drying days with sun and wind so it may be ready to try again by tomorrow.  In the meantime, he is back to planting more rye cover crop on the corn ground that has been harvested.

Air seeder

Quentin has a couple fields enrolled in a cover cropping program through the NRCS.  To meet the planting deadline, the cover needed seeded before the corn was ready to harvest.  As a result, we got to watch a little airshow this morning as an airplane seeded the cover crops for us!

Stormy weather

There has been a lot of rain in the area, but we have only racked up about 1.4".  We are very thankful for it!

The front rolling through

Rain!

We spent a little time dancing in the rain this afternoon! It was just a small start (0.25"), but we are hoping for more accumulation as the full system moves through tonight and tomorrow.  It was good to see the dust settle and smell the rain! I have not counted myself, but another local said we had been 26 days without rain.

Turning beans

There is a little rain on the radar and an even better chance in the forecast!!! We are certainly ready for the moisture. It might be a little too late for some of the soybeans as they are drying up and turning yellow in many spots, but it may help some of the greener fields finish filling out pods.  I am afraid the dry weather the last month was bad for yields. The corn looks as though it may be time to get back in the field with the combine, but the rain may delay us a bit there.  Eyes on the skies!

Yellowing beans

Nose to the grindstone

We were not playing around today...we were just checking fields from the air!  After some morning rides from our favorite uncle, the men actually did buckle down and get a little work done today.  Paul was busy spraying corn stalks, and Quentin got the drill ready to plant a rye cover crop on those acres.  It is very dry now, but he will dust it in and hope for a good rain to get a stand.

Kenneth's plane

Wet corn

Quentin did a test cut on the later planted corn this morning.  As expected, it was still too wet.  They will put harvest on hold for a few days and work on some other jobs around the farm that need attention.

Short day

My co-pilot and I had a short day in the tractor and grain cart today. Quentin finished combining the remaining early-planted corn by early afternoon. Then, he brought the combine home for some servicing before harvest hits with full force. He will have to check fields to see if anything else is near ready to cut. There are a few slight chances of rain popping in and out of the forecast. We will hope some of that reaches us!

Say cheese!

Still dry

The dry weather continues in Kansas. Good for corn harvest, bad for soybeans. The beans have lots of pods, but need a good rain to fill them out. There are not even any good chances for rain in the forecast, unfortunately.  Meanwhile, corn harvest continues.  Quentin has been cutting on Chambers' ground and finished a few smaller fields there.  So far, he has only cut the earlier planted fields, but the later planted may not be too far behind with this hot and dry weather.

Podding beans

Birthday boy

Harvest continues!  Quentin finished at Rose yesterday and moved on to Osterloh's.  He will finish that today and then begin on some of the earlier-planted fields on Chambers'.  Busy, busy, but I have him talked in to knocking off in time for supper tonight.  We have a birthday party!!

Noah is 3!!

Harvest

Quentin was able to keep the combine rolling today.  He finished both Kenneth's and the field by Paul's house.  Then, he cut the majority of a field down at Rose.  It was a good day for harvest!

Dry corn!

The men found dry corn in the field by Paul and Helen's house.  They were able to cut most of the field this afternoon.  The remaining may still be a little too wet to harvest for now, but it was a great start.

Missed

We had some rain chances in the forecast last night, but sadly they missed us.  The soybeans really need a good rain to fill pods.  In the meantime, the men will probably try the corn again this afternoon and see if they can get rolling on harvest.

Moisture too high

We tried to cut again on Kenneth's yesterday, but the grain was still too wet.  It has been fairly humid with not much wind so drying is slow. 

Too wet

A test cut on Kenneth's corn was 16.3 moisture.  The cutoff for dockage is 15.5 so the combine is parked for a couple more days.  It is getting dry and dusty here.  The soybeans could use a good rain, but we do not have a good chance in the forecast right now.

It's a go!

The moisture was good on the test sample so harvest officially began today!  We were able to finish one field of Marilyn's easily this afternoon.  It was slow at first, with lots of stopping and adjusting the combine, but picked up as we moved through the field.  Noah and I ran the grain cart for awhile so we liked the easy pace to get back in the groove.  As some of you may remember, Quentin's Valentine's Day present to me was a new(ish) tractor.  As it turns out, it really WAS for me.  I have two words for you...no clutch.  That's right.  There is a clutch, but you do not have to use it.  At all.  Best. Present. Ever.  We will continue the hunt for dry corn tomorrow on another field!

 

Unloading

Today?

Could today be the day?  Snouts down, headed for the field to cut a test sample.

Snouts down

Waiting for harvest

Now that the equipment is ready for harvest, we come to the hard part...waiting. We have heard whispers of neighbors trying the corn or hand-harvesting to check the moisture, but no moistures below 18% or so have been reported. We had another 0.4" of rain on Tuesday. The men are keeping busy with general equipment repairs and other miscellaneous tasks around the farm.  The red grain truck got a little extra cleaning when accidentally Quentin set off a fire extinguisher in the cab that evidently was missing its pin. (As luck would have it, I won a fire extinguisher to replace it at the Farm Bureau meeting the other night!) The sprayer was also overdue for a new tank, which will probably result in other repairs before it is all said and done!  

 

Trying to get the tank off the sprayer

Spraying beans

With the ground still a bit wet, the planes and helicopters have been out spraying fungicide and insecticide on the beans in the area.  Quentin did some scouting and decided to have a few fields done with a helicopter.  We watched from the safety of our house!

Helicopter spraying west of our house

Hot and humid

The days have been very warm and humid.  The men are getting ready for harvest.  The combine, trucks and tractor-grain cart have all been checked over and are waiting for the corn to dry down.  It is starting to look very brown in spots, but most fields still have a lot of green left in them.  I expect someone in the neighborhood to try it this week, and we will get an idea of the moisture then.

 

Marilyn's corn

 

Always something

There is always something that needs done to the combine before harvest.  This morning, it was a kitten removal operation.  Our mama cat decided to climb down in one of the augers and have her kittens last night.  It would be a great, safe place....if it was not almost harvest season.  Quentin had the combine out yesterday to begin prepping it for corn harvest, but he graciously put the work on hold this morning so we could locate and then relocate the kittens.

Plenty of moisture

We had two more inches of rain late last week.  The grass is green again, and the beans are happily flowering and even putting on pods!



Flowering beans

Growing beans

Time on the farm marches on.  The soybeans sure loved that rain we got over the weekend!  They are getting tall and flowering well now.  The corn is already drying up and marching towards harvest.  It will not be long until it is time to get the combine out again!

Getting tall!

When it rains, it pours!

We took a family vacation this week and came home to find 5.75" in the rain gauge!  I guess we should leave home more often...

Finished!

The men finished up haying this week.  Yeah!  We had about 0.2" of rain Wednesday night, but overall we are very dry here.  The next chance of rain in the forecast is on Thursday so we will look forward to that.

Showers

We had about 0.5" of rain last night.  It provides only a slight reprieve for the beans corn, but it was very welcome!

Haying weather

The hot and dry spell continues.  We need rain!!  It is good haying weather, however.  The men are getting closer to finishing up haying.  Today, they are raking and baling on Chambers'.  We are praying for rain over the weekend for the corn and beans!  

Baling south of Leonard's trailer house

When the hay trailer gets too full...

Filling up!

Mow, rake, bale.  Mow, rake, bale.  The guys have been haying hard, and the hay barn is filling up!  Hot and dry weather continues, but there are a few chances of rain in the forecast starting Sunday.  We will be looking forward to that!

Rain!

We had an inch of much needed rain yesterday!  It put the haying on hold temporarily, but we have another dry week expected this week so the moisture was very welcome.

Hot and dry

The weather has turned hot and dry with a vengeance!  The next chance for rain is Thursday night in to Friday, and the crops will be overdue for some moisture by then.  Hopefully, we will get a good soaking.  In the meantime, the men have turned their attention to haying in full force.  With this hot and dry stretch, they should be able to cover quite a few acres before Friday.

Reading the signals

They say that 90 percent of communication is non-verbal.  Mountains of books are written on this kind of communication.  There are books on how to read signals from that special someone.  There are books on how to read your boss or coworkers.  There are books on how to know what your baby is trying to tell you.  And on and on and on...  But I ask you this, have you ever seen a book on reading hand signals?  I have not.

You must know what I am talking about.  Its those signals someone gives you when you are backing up to something.  A little to the left, a little to the right, a little closer...STOP.  Or possibly when you are pulling in to get your oil changed and the attendant is giving you the "a little more, a little more and stop" signs with his hands.  Those I can maybe handle, but living on the farm takes hand signals to a whole new level.

The first problem is when you are reading signals in the rear or side-view mirror.  Everything is instantly backwards and therefore completely confusing.  So if your farmer is twirling his finger in a clockwise manner in the mirror, does that mean to turn counterclockwise?  Add in backing a trailer, where you may need to turn the wheel the opposite way from the direction you want it to go for awhile, but then switch in the middle and maybe back again a little the other way.  The finger twirling is now reaching a fever pitch and...well, I am totally lost just thinking about it.  (This is typically the point where I throw open the door and vacate the driver's seat so the aforementioned farmer can do it himself.  Being completely honest...I cannot back a trailer.  Period.)  Then, there are those obscure hand-waving signals when filling a truck that could mean either slow it down, level it off or lie down.  I never quite figured that one out.

So if anyone ever locates a book on reading hand signals on the farm, please let me know.  I imagine it will be a large volume with lots of caveats since every farmer tends to have his own repertoire of signals, but it should make for interesting reading!

Rains

We had more rains move through last night.  We received about an inch here at the house, and more chances are in the forecast for this week.  Wonderful!  The haying has been slow due to the showers or threats of showers, but I have heard very few complaints about that.  We will take the rains when we can get them!

Tasseling corn

We had 0.1" of rain this morning and another 0.55" this afternoon here at the house.  The afternoon storm was very spotty so I imagine some fields got more and some got less.  We were out checking fields and watched the rain roll in.  Driving a couple miles down the road we went from dry windshield to blowing rain to hail to rain to dry windshield again.

The corn can use the moisture.  It is tasseling in most fields and overall looks good.  If we can keep the rain coming, we may have another great crop!

Watching the rain roll in

Finishing up

Quentin is out finishing up soybean planting.  He will get all the after-wheat soybeans planted today, if all goes well.  The weather is hot, and we are already hoping for another good rain with the next front coming through this weekend.

The beans are growing well, even the ones planted directly in to the hay meadow or CRP ground.  They will have to try and keep the grass controlled, but so far things look good!

Beans on CRP ground

Rain!

We finally received a good rain.  We had about 1.4" over night.  The corn is happy!  Quentin finished planting most of the beans yesterday morning.  All that remains are the after-wheat soybeans, which do not account for very many acres.  Now that we have some good moisture, I imagine he will plant those this week.

A little rain

Despite three hours of thunderstorms and a radar that LOOKED like we should be getting a good rain, we only ended up with 0.3" last night.  We had hoped for more, but we still have a couple more chances tonight and tomorrow night before the next system moves out of the area.  The corn is growing fast and could use a good "drink" in this hot weather.  Quentin is getting anxious to plant the rest of the beans and may try to put some in the ground today.  Hopefully, there is enough moisture to get them up and growing.

Short harvest

Wheat harvest was short and sweet.  Quentin finished easily on Tuesday.  Early Wednesday morning, we had a rain shower.  We had 0.2" in the rain gauge.  It was enough to settle the dust, but not enough to get the planter back out.  There are a few chances of rain today through the weekend so we will hope that we get something measurable in the near future.  It has been very hot and windy so the fields are getting very dry.

Wheat harvest

Busy!

The farm was humming with activity this morning!  I spotted both the rake and grain truck out early so I knew it would be a busy day.  Paul had mowed down the first hay over the weekend, and it was ready to rake and bale today.  The first of many bales!

Quentin headed out with the combine after lunch and cut the wheat on Marilyn's.  He plans to do Chambers' wheat tomorrow and that is all the wheat we have this year.  Short harvest!

Getting ready

 

Waiting for rain

Quentin has one more soybean field that has enough moisture left to plant, which he will finish today.  The remaining fields will need some rain before they can be planted.  There is a chance of storms late next week so we will have to wait and see.  The hot and dry weather is drying up the wheat.  It will be harvest time before we know it!

In the meantime, Paul is busying spraying and respraying.  We had several corn fields where the herbicide failed so the men have been dealing with chemical reps to try to work out the problem and get replacement herbicides.  Unfortunately, that means a lot more time in the sprayer for Paul.

Hot and dry

The weather has turned hot and dry!  Our little shower this weekend did not keep the men out of the field for long and did not provide much moisture for the corn or beans.  Quentin has been planting away.  Yesterday, he planted down at Rose, and today he is on Steeby's.  Then, he will have to decide whether to finish up or wait for rain.  Meanwhile, the corn is busy growing.  I am sure it would like a little rain, too!

Growing corn

Goodbye runway

Kenneth's unofficial landing strip is officially gone.  Quentin planted Paul's hay meadow to soybeans yesterday.  Today, he planted part of our ground that came out of CRP.  It will be interesting to see how both fields of beans do the first year out of grass.  Late this afternoon, they were rained out of the field...or at least sprinkled out of the field.  Nothing too measurable yet!

   

 

 

Dry weather

Storms have been dodging us for the last few days.  We had rain north, south, east and west of us, but nothing to speak of here.  A couple of the fields are getting too dry to plant without a little rain, but the ones with cover crops seem to be holding their moisture for now.  There are even a few wet spots left on a couple fields!  Quentin is out planting a few small fields today, and Paul is catching up on the spraying.

Avoiding the hard rains does have its benefits at times.  The first planted soybeans are starting to pop out of the ground, and we have not had to worry about the soils crusting.  In the field directly west of our house, you can see the rows lining up! 

Soybean planting

We did not have any rain Saturday so Quentin and Paul started back in the fields yesterday afternoon.  Quentin planted a couple small fields near our house and then moved over east and did Osterloh's beans.  Today, he will be planting on Rose Marie's fields all day.  We will be keeping an eye on the forecast for tomorrow, particularly tomorrow night, to see what storms may threaten the area.  We could use a nice shower since it is becoming dry and dusty quickly, but any heavy or hard rains would not be welcome!

Rolling

The planter was rolling all day yesterday.  Quentin planted Kenneth's, Marilyn's and two fields of Paul's.  Paul kept the sprayer going right along behind him.  Today, the forecast called for possible strong storms so they did not try to plant.  (There is always a high risk of the ground crusting over and preventing the soybeans from emerging with heavy rains.)  It is also Yates Center Days and the men both have class reunions so the timing was good for a short break.  So far, the storms have missed us.  If we stay dry, the planter will be going full force next week.

A little wet

Quentin tried planting some soybeans yesterday.  He did a couple rounds on Kenneth's south of the creek before he decided it was a little wet still.  He is heading back out late this morning to try it again.  Hopefully, the sun and wind yesterday were enough to dry out a few fields.

Switching gears

It is time to switch to soybeans around here!  The corn stands have been deemed "as good as they are going to get".  The corn stands look good overall, except for the wet spots, and those areas are not big enough areas to warrant a replant, especially this late in the season.  Quentin switched the planter over for soybeans and is anxious to get started as soon as the fields dry out again.  We had 1.5" of rain the end of last week so everything was saturated again.  We have had some chilly weather this week so it has been slow to dry out.

Lots of good help

Caught up on spraying

The men were able to finish prepping (spraying and fertilizing) all the soybean fields today.  More rain is coming in tonight so it may be awhile before they actually get any seed in the ground.  In the meantime, they are happy to be caught up on spraying.  I took this picture of a neighbor's corn field that had not yet been sprayed.  It is pretty ugly what can happen when you cannot get your fields sprayed on time!

Yes, there is corn planted here

Done!

Quentin was able to plant the last few acres of corn yesterday afternoon.  It is good to be done!  The corn planted last week is just starting to emerge so we will soon see how good of stands we have.  Hopefully, there will be no need to replant since it is already late in the spring for planting corn.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all!  I was very excited this week. We were able to celebrate both our anniversary (15 years!) and Mother's Day since the fields were wet.  Quentin was not quite as excited.  He would like to get in the field and get those last few acres of corn planted.  The weather has been good for drying this weekend, and he may be able to get in there before the next rain.  Paul will be anxious to finish spraying that last field, as well.  It will be time to plant soybeans before we know it!

It's a...

Tie?  Quentin is finishing up the last field of corn in the rain.  He's been dodging showers all day, but is almost done with corn planting!  He came home for a few hours sleep last night, and then had to do a minor repair on the planter.  Unfortunately, the small delay allowed the next storm system close in.  As he finished the first of two fields left to plant early this afternoon, we had a shower of about 0.1".  With a little sunshine and wind, the top dried out enough that he started on the last field, but the rain is coming in fast now.  We hope he can finish before it gets too wet!!

Update:  Rained out with 3-4 acres left.  I think we'll still chalk this one up in the "win" column considering it's better than the 400 acres he had left a few days ago!!

Planting marathon

The planting marathon continues!  Quentin has been planting over 24 hours straight and is making great progress.  He finished on Chambers' and Street's, and he stopped by to fuel up and grab some snacks early this morning before heading over to do Steeby's.  If all goes well, he should finish that up easily today.  Then, he only has a couple fields of Paul's remaining.  We'll see how far he gets before he falls asleep or gets rained out.  There is a chance of storms tonight and a bigger chance starting tomorrow afternoon.

Paul has been spraying bean ground and is now doing corn ground after the planter.  If the wind stays down, he'll be able to cover quite a few acres today.  Between the morning dews and the midday winds, sometimes spraying days get short.  Luckily, he can go a lot faster than the planter!

Better than bags!  Some of the corn can be brought in bulk to the planter.  It beats hauling bags up and down the ladder.

Planting again!



After a long hiatus, the planter is back in the field!  Quentin found one mostly dry field to start on this morning, and the sunshine and wind continue to help dry everything out.  There may be some low spots to avoid, but hopefully he can get a lot more corn in the ground!  Paul was out catching up on spraying before the wind came up and hopes to get another good day in tomorrow.  They are racing the next storm system, which is due here on Wednesday.  It may be a long couple days on the farm!

 

Meanwhile, the corn is growing well in the fields already planted.  It is struggling in the low areas, where water stood after the rains, but the rest of the field looks good.

Corn trying to come up in the low areas

Crazy kids!

This "kid" just had to squeeze out of the pasture fence, but when he realized mama was still on the other side, he was not too happy.  Mama is trying to convince him to squeeze back through!

Wheat headed out

The wheat is soaking up the moisture and sunshine!

A reminder...

Because sometimes we need a little reminder...

Genesis 9:15b  Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.

Another 1.3", but dry weather in the forecast for the rest of the week!

Sunshine at last

We saw another 3" of rain over the weekend.  While we are happy not to be completely flooded, it would be nice to be able to walk across the lawn without stepping in puddles!  The sunshine and wind came out today, and the weather is great.  If only we could get a couple weeks with weather like this, we might be able to get some work done in the field!

Blue skies

You guessed it...

You guessed it...it's still wet here.  Not much more to report.  We have had enough rain to stay saturated, but thankfully have not been flooded, which is good for the corn already in the ground.  With more chances of rain in the forecast, we may have less corn this year than we expected.  Time will tell!

Making an appearance

The corn Quentin planted last week is just starting to emerge.

Enjoying the sunshine

The calves do not seem to mind the rain much and are out enjoying the sunshine.  At least something is growing well with all these storms!

So wet!

It was almost dry enough to plant yesterday, but...

Our expected 0.25" of rain last night turned in to 1.6".  We went back to being wet in a hurry!  More rain is expected tomorrow, and they have already issued a flood watch for the area.  Thankfully, the sun is shining today.  We hope that the corn already planted can survive with wet "feet" for a few days.

More rain!

We had more rain over the weekend, almost an inch in total.  Everything is pretty soggy out there.  The planter will remained parked for now.

A little wet

We had about 0.5" of rain Thursday evening, which was enough to keep the men out of the fields.  More storms are expected to roll through tonight so we will wait and see when we can get back in the fields.

Onward!

Quentin has been able to keep the planter rolling.  The fields continue to dry out, but he has had to avoid a few wet spots.  Yesterday, he planted at Paul and Helen's house, and then moved over east to Osterloh's and Rose Marie's.  I expect him to stay over there today unless he runs in to wet fields.

Paul has been spraying whenever the wind will let him, mostly on the corn ground that has been planted, although there is also more bean ground to cover as soon as he can get to it.

Rain is expected tonight through tomorrow morning.  I do not think the men would mind a short break from planting and spraying, but we hope that any rain coming is light and gentle.

Dry enough to leave a nice planted row!

Planting!

The planter started rolling this morning!  Quentin planted on Kenneth's, Marilyn's and is now down at Rose on one of Street's fields.  So far things are going pretty well.

The wind was down today so Paul was busy spraying.  He started on bean ground and switched late in the day to spray the corn ground that Quentin had planted.  When things get busy around here, they get very, very busy!

We will have to keep an eye on the skies, but tomorrow should still be a good planting day, at least.  Rain chances start tomorrow night, but the greatest chance right now is not until Thursday night.

Ready to plant??

Bags of corn seed have begun to appear!  We had wind and sunshine through the weekend and today so Quentin thinks a few fields may be dry enough to plant by tomorrow.  We were lucky to miss the rains last night, and the next chance is not until Wednesday evening.  Quentin is spending today getting everything ready, including loading the planter with corn seed.  Hopefully, he will find enough dry ground to get at least a couple good days of planting in before the next front rolls through.

Loading the planter

Wet, wet, wet

It's wet.  There's really not much more to report than that.  We had about another inch a couple nights ago bringing us close to 5" in the last two weeks.  We did see the sun yesterday, and the wind has been blowing some, which is helping to dry out the roads and yard.  I no longer have to put on my rubber boots to walk out to the asparagus patch or mailbox, at least!  Last night, we had a light frost, but temperatures should warm up in the next few days.  We are happy that we did not try to plant before the rains.  I expect any corn in the ground around here is wet and shivering!

Still wet

We received 1.3" of rain over the weekend, and it is still rainy!  Perhaps we should start growing rice...

Wet

Always feast or famine around here, the rains keep coming.  We had 1.6" last night, and it continues to rain.  No corn planting this week!

Rain!

We had a dreary weekend and managed to pick up about 0.75" of rain.  Now, Quentin would love to get the planter going, but there are many chances of rain this week so it might get too wet.  Gotta love farming!

Picking up rocks

Over on Chambers' ground, their are a few fields with large rocks in them.  (Perhaps old houses or barns?)  When the kids decided they wanted to earn some money, Quentin suggested they pick up rocks.  They worked hard and found some big ones!  Not to waste the rock, we were instructed to put them over on Austin Frank's where there is a spot washing in to the ditch.  Maybe it will at least slow the erosion.