Saturday, May 29, 2010

James' Advancement and Spring Storms

This was an exciting week for our son James, he was commissioned an Air Force Captain. This is his fourth year in the Air Force. He first commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant when he graduated from the University of Utah. He is not sure how much longer he will stay with the Air Force though as his greatest desire is to fly and he has an interview with Cathay Pacific Airlines in July. Ashley was the first to make the announcement on her Facebook page. She is proud too.


As I laid in bed this morning, thunder rolled outside my window. There was blue sky to the south but gray west and north like yesterday. We had another 1.85 inches of rain yesterday. The fields have much water standing. The soybean field south of the farm site which hubby so quickly seeded and packed will definitely struggle to come to life now. Those little seeds must be so water logged and well ready to pop but when they many will probably die quickly due to all the rain that keeps coming.

I just hope the wheat can stand the assault we've had, it has never looked so good. Fungus is sure to be a problem though and spraying with Tilt more than just a yearly thing to do, it is will be a necessity. I have seen wheat that is not treated with a fungicide and if I put both the treated and the untreated side by side there is no doubt which one I want to eat, the one that was treated! The kernels are so shriveled and often have dark spots on them or a peach fungus when untreated.

The mother Killdeer sat over her eggs throughout the storm yesterday, even when it was hailing. The hail was only pea size but for a bird that must seem like golf ball size. I checked the nest when the rain was over and there were the four little eggs, still in the shell. She usually does not go off her next when I approach now, but I must have been too close to her as she did the broken wing act when I came about three feet from the nest. I see she is sitting on it this morning.


The internet is out now so I will finish later and just copy it to my journal.


I spent some time working on a quilt for Breanne this morning. It is going to be a long process but I believe it will be quite nice when completed.


I have been reading Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods; his memoir about a hike he and a friend took on the Appalachian Trail during the 1990s. His humor throughout the books is fun, plus he does a good job covering the flora and fauna, small towns along the way that cater to hikers and tourists, and the trail's birds and animals. It is an easy read, can be picked up and put down at will.


I need to write an article for next week's paper so better get started.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Thunder Storm!

Starting at about 12:30 am last night, thunder storms hit our area and left us with one and three-quarter inches of rain. When we left for church at 7:30 am water stood all over in the yard and the fields had many flooded areas. By the time we got home at 1:30 the yard had no puddles and the much of the water in the fields had either headed for the ditch with the rest sinking deep into the ground to nourish our wheat, soybeans and canola. It may have been more than what we wanted but it disappeared in a remarkable fashion at home and on our south land. I wish I could say that for some of the other fields in our area. Some had too much water standing and ditches that did not drain to the river fast enough. Tomorrow morning will give a clearer picture of how quickly things can move down the ditches and into the Roseau Lake bottom or into the Roseau River.

Our Killdeer decided to adjust to us these past couple of days and today on my way to the house she continued to sit on her nest while I walked within six feet of the her sitting on the nest. Later I came out to take a photo and she sat there, which a close and cautious eye on what I was doing and where I was.I was able to take this photo which shows how easily she can camouflage herself among the grasses and rocks on the driveway.

We have been watching a Robin dash from her nest every time she hears the front door open. The nest is under our deck in what she considers a secluded place by a corner post. We have had Robins place nests on each corner of the deck some years ago and alternate using them. Then a couple of years ago I decided it was time to clean away the nests so they could rebuild new ones. No Robins returned to rebuild until this year. Hurray, I thought, now we will have the joy of seeing little Robins take their first flight again.

Here are those beautiful blue eggs just waiting to hatch.


Saturday, May 22, 2010

It is seed time on the farm

Today hubby begin the finishing acts for this years seeding, he rolled the soybeans with the packer. This will sure help when we start taking of the beans off. They are such a short crop and to get all the beans one must cut right on the ground. He also started spraying some of the crop. So far the crops look lush and are coming up beautifully. We will need rain on the soybeans though to see how they will do.
We have a Killdeer that has decided to have her nest right on our driveway. Hubby moved the pickup with hopes we won't forget the camouflaged bird will not get run over or stepped on. One has to really look hard to see her four eggs in the nest. Yesterday I had a meeting in Bemidji and after the long drive home was unloading the car which is parked right behind her nest. Needless to say I forgot it was there and walk right in the general direction one time. Thankfully the little eggs were not stepped on.

There is always endless work on the farm. I often dream of a weekend in the summer when I didn't have to mow the lawn. It takes about 3 to 4 hours to mow and then there is the dead grass to pickup with lawn sweep.

Started a new quilt project today. It turned out to be easier than I thought it would be. It will take me a long time to make a full quilt though as it has points and I am having a bugger of a time matching them and then starting the machine sewing them without puckering. The patterned turned out nice though. I will have to take it to the quilt shop and get some critiquing on it though. Tomorrow is another day!

Monday, May 10, 2010

Taking down Between Fences

Today we started taken down the Between Fences exhibit. What a lot of work! Britt called in sick and then I ended up sick in the afternoon but stayed to work on the exhibit anyway. We did the intro down and the Border section down and some of the other areas started. Once we found out which tools were missing and replaced those, the job went much easier. Mickie came over to led a hand! Good friends are a blessing. We all felt like we had really accomplished a lot in the three hours we worked. We have already filled and rolled two cases out to the bay for placing on the truck. It is so wonderful to have great help! I hope it is nice when the fellow comes to pick it up so we can ask Polaris to come and help us load it on the truck.

Had a quiet Mother's Day. Went to church, came home and took a nap, read some and generally just relaxed. Felt wonderful. Everyone called to wish me a Happy Mother's Day. I do wish I was in LA with Brian though. He went up to Santa Barbara. The last time I was there was with my brother and wife when James was about 5. Wow, that is over 25 years ago! Next time I go to LA I am taking the rental car up the coast and staying at a couple of places and eating out, walking the beach and eating out, antique shopping and eating out, quilt material shopping and eating out, general window shopping and eating out. Gosh that sounds like I plan to find a lot of cool places to snack, doesn't it?

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Robins in our yard

We had a migration of Robins in our yard about a month ago when the weather started to turn nice. Over a 100 birds flew in to gobble worms as they rose to the top to escape the cold dirt underneath. It was such an uncommon sight I had to take photos to put on the web. Can you count how many there are in the two photos? Share your numbers on the comment page.




We finally have a beautiful day which means I will be mowing our very tall grass. I will have to wear a winter coat and gloves to stay warm though as it is only 45 out. This is quite a contrast compared to what April was like with its 60s and 70s. I have worn gloves to work most mornings this past week.
Time for Six for Saturday
Six things I am thankful for

  1. My new Janome sewing machine.
  2. Figuring out how to operate the many features on the new sewing machine.
  3. A sunny day!
  4. The green leaves on the trees.
  5. Rain on our wheat and canola fields
  6. Having the Minnesota History Contest test almost completed!

And now it is time to mow!


Friday, May 7, 2010

My Janome 3160

About three weeks ago I stepped into Quilt S'More in Roseau to check out the fabric and visit with Leanne who works there on Wednesdays. She and Judy, the owner, were busy setting up the new Janome 3160 machines that had come in. My machine was purchased following our home fire back in 1988 and sure didn't have the digital qualities this machine had! The machine was $200 off to boot, so at $598 was something to consider. It really didn't take me more than 5 minutes of watching them set up the machine to convince me that this was the machine for me at this time.

Some of the qualities I appreciated were the ability to set the stitch width and length so easily and precisely, the needle threader (I love this!), the ease of filling a bobbin and the thread cutter. It has several design stitches which I probably will not ever use but then who knows what one decides to do in the future.

My new daughter-in-law will receive my other machine now. In fact, hubby just took it out to the car and I will mail this today. Another thing for your home, Ashley, I hope you enjoy it.

Quilting is an enjoyable pastime and over the years I have purchased different fabrics with the intent of quilting but have only made three quilts. Leanne and I went through the fabrics about a year ago and picked out the following, which are now cut and ready to quilt.

I think these colors will make a quilt that will brighten a bedroom in either one of my children or grandchildren's home!