June 30 - Sunday in Milford

Today will be a full day…seeing if I can get out the door and to church with 4 kiddos! We did and got to church 10 minutes before start time, sitting in 2nd row BY MYSELF! Kids are out visiting with friends! Hopefully they do not prank me and leave me sitting by myself! They did come back and participated in blessing of worship at Hillcrest E Free in Seward Nebraska.

After worship headed home for lunch and hear some more about Joanna’s mission trip stories with YWAM and how God is working in her life. Then serenaded with karaoke by the kids, kitty time, followed by another round of croquet…and then mom and dad returned from two nights away bringing home a new family member Great Pyrenees, which soon received his name of “Honcho” (king of the farm). Such a sweet temperament as he graciously received love from 4 excited kiddos! Lovely evening for eating outside at which time Honcho napped from being exhausted from all the excitement of trip to his new home and the reception received! Not only did Honcho do good with the kiddos but also the mama cat and 24 chickens! But then it was time to be put in the kennel in the garage! And the barking started, it is quiet now, not sure what happened! Oh but now I hear a train coming from on the distance, and now just 200 feet away! Last time I was somewhere with a train running that close to where I was staying was in Kopparberg Sweden.

Great day! Karol’s perfect day temperature wise with a high of a pleasant 78 degrees! 

Big day! I’m beginning to learn Snapchat!

Making friends!

So much fun!

Chillin’

Great night for grilling!

June 29 - The Kids and I

It has been a very full day! Jenni age 9 made us barely hot cereal for breakfast, pretty tasty when you add sugar and maple syrup!

Last night we had talked about what they wanted to do today (Andron 4, Jenni 8, Asher 12) all agreed they wanted to go to Hobby Lobby to look around (Aunt Karol knew better, that there was a hope Aunt Karol might get them something, which of course I did!), it was a 30 minute drive into Lincoln. Then home for spaghetti and Caesar salad cooked by chef Asher. Then a bit of down time spend playing with their special HL purchases, and then a 20 minute drive to Seward for fun in the sun and the community pool! Back home to collect chicken eggs with the egg scooper provided by Aunt Karol and let the chickens out. And then time for Aunt Karol to make some Swedish pancakes with the able assistance of sous chef Jenni. Favorite toppings? No surprise…fresh strawberries and spray on whip cream! After supper Asher set up a great croquet layout in the front yard and we had fun laughing and trying our best at whacking the ball!

Tonight Joanna comes home from being on a week long mission trip with a group from church going to Kentucky. Had hoped I might know more details by now but still waiting for Joanna to get home! Return time was supposed to be between 8-9pm, it is now 10:50, but expect her to arrive shortly. Having worked in youth ministry so many years I know those return times can get hard to predict especially driving all day from Kentucky! Arrived home safely about 11! I’m heading to bed!

That scooper works pretty well!

June 28 - Evening fun!

Just a fun night playing outside! 

Jenni being silly on her rollerblades!

Crazy man Andron.

Asher even crazier!

Movie night with actors Abi and Anna Rehm (above) and Paul and David Rehm (below).

June 27 - 28 Cambridge / Milford

Mystery picture below!

June 27 - My last day on the Banzhaf Farm in Cambridge Nebraska. A day of morning chores, doing my laundry, gathering my things together, hauling garbage accumulated on the porch this last week out to the front loader on the tractor, then rode with Bekah in the tractor to The Pit of Death (or garbage hole). Felt bad that Krayton had a couple of long days of drilling came and repairing pivots, I know he would much rather be harvesting wheat. Last night Bekah grilled burgers and for dessert homemade peach ice cream, already look forward to that next year! Good day! Eleven egg day! Karol - 11, Dally - 0, zippo!

June 28 - Up early to do chores, shower, breakfast and just hangout and chat with Bekah. Gave a good bye kiss to precious Raylee while she took her morning nap. Then it was time for goodbye to Bekah, but if you know me it is just “see you soon”! 

It has been a very special 10 days! Great stimulating conversations! So fun to see the changes in Raylee in just a short time! Learning to do my farm chores well! Surviving a single attack by Rukus the Rooster! Even Bekah is asking about chicken behavior and the dogs!!!

Then 3 1/2 hour drive to Abi and Josiah’s in Milford plus a stop at Walmart and for gas. Quite a bit of backtracking since I rearranged my trip to stop at Suzannah’s as first stop to take in the Swedish Festival. Upon my arrival I was greeted by 3 excited kiddos, the 4th was on a mission trip! Everyone wanted a piece of Aunt Karol! But early in the visit was reserved for mom and dad who would be leaving shortly for a couple of nights! Yep! You and I are both wondering what did I sign up for! We had a fun evening together with play time outside, a movie and kettle corn, rousing game of Uno which Jenni won! Finally time for bed  which went pretty smoothly! I’m tired! Thankful for a great night of sleep! 

Mystery Picture: on the last morning at Bekah’s I opened the door to go out and do morning chores letting the chickens out, feeding and watering them and found this egg next to the dog water dish! It wasn’t there the night before, I was the first one out, dogs hadn’t been out and I counted the chickens before I put them in  the night before and all were accounted for! I have absolutely no clue! I love a good mystery but couldn’t figure this one out! BTW the egg was intact, no cracks!

Everyone doing a little colored pencil art!

Last week I was with Krayton when we drilled this field and already the cane is popping out of the ground! Krayton and Bekah’s farm place in the background.

Different angle of the cane field planted last week.

A bit stormy this morning!

June 26 - More Farm Adventures

After morning chores there was a planned trip for me to pick up thyroid medicine for Cinch. This morning we noticed Cinch really favoring his left front leg, same one that had a “hot spot” on. So…Cinch joined me for my adventure to the vet. It was an adventure because it wasn’t just a 5-10 minute drive to the vet but rather 35 minutes to the nearby town of Curtis, first there was about 5 miles on a windy gravel road before hitting black top, then two bridges being worked on so only one lane at a time and a timed light. Frustrating if you miss the green light and have to sit at a red light for five minutes without anyone else in front or behind you OR coming your direction. After 2 minutes I just drove across!!!! Cinch reluctantly joined me on my adventure as the vet is not his favorite place to go. The vet shaved a portion of his leg and applied a spray. I brought home an antibiotic to give him 2x/day as well as a topical spray. Filled the car with gas and headed back to the farm. 

Todays farm chores included the run to the vet, mending a fence and spreading mulch. And yes of course collecting eggs! Today: 10 eggs

Comfortable 93 degree. After supper we walked a mile 88 degrees it was hot! No wind.

Mending the fence: the fence around the flower bed that the chickens had invaded yesterday where some of the wire fence was sagging. Hoping this will deter them.

   

This is how a city slicker collects eggs without getting pecked by the hen! Only a city slicker would come up with this! A Chuckit, dog ball thrower! 

Most people scoop ice cream! I scoop fresh eggs!

See Dally in the middle of the wheat field? I didn’t get a video but try to picture her bounding through the field, only saw her head bobbing up and down as she ran through the field!

Night time chores! Don’t forget to round up the chickens and make sure they are secure in the coup before I go to bed! Almost forgot last night! 

If I wait long enough there are 5-6 lined up across the doorway and usually 1-2 that think they do not want to stick around and roost overnight which forces me to use my handy dandy rake to give some extra encouragement, then quickly close the door! OK NOW I can go to bed! Good night!

June 25 - Spa Day

 Today we took a trip into McCook for errands and bit of a Spa Day! For sure Raylee thought it was a grand idea, she slept during the 45 minute drive to McCook, our pedicure, stop at Verizon store, stop for gas, and return ride home. She only woke for our stop at The Scoop for a bowl of incredible ice cream Bekah had huckleberry her favorite and I had butter brickle (which I can only get back here) and black cherry. So good! Unexpectedly Bekah’s friends Haley and Devon and Devon’s sister Riley stopped by and we had a nice visit. It was so fun to see them again, had lunch with them on Sunday too. Very special to connect with Haley as she is currently Communications Coordinator as we identified with each other on the uniqueness of being in ministry full time in a church setting. Then it was time to head home. A full day slightly cooler at 102 degrees! OK the word cooler and 102 degrees definitely do not go together in the same sentence!

Egg collecting report for today: I do think the chickens were feeling the heat as they #1 were panting around the yard and only produced 7 eggs. Well below their average.

Rukus the Rooster

 A page just for Rukus the rooster!

Trying to sneak up behind me as I was leaving from just feeding them!

Here he is trying again!

He is so persistent!

My defender of choice: a broken rake!

Morning Chores on the Farm

So what do morning chores look like for me on the Banzhof Farm in Cambridge Nebraska? Usually getting up about 7:30, pulling on dirty clothes from the day before (learned early on not to put on fresh clothes first thing) and  shower AFTER chores are done. If the dogs aren’t outside already invite them to join me outside, they don’t need a second invite they love going outside with Auntie Karol. Stop to put on my farm/chicken coup shoes (they stay in the Midwest!) Not bringing chicken poop shoes home with me! Grab the dual purpose dog ball flinger (just looked it up it is called Chuckit!) and head to the chicken coup, just a small shed behind the house. Using the Chuckit Dog Sport Launcher I fling the ball for Cinch to fetch, while he is fetching, open the door of the coup to be greeted by 19 hens and 1 mean rooster! They are excited to escape to the yard in search of bugs and grub. There are always a few that stay behind as they await me to fill the food dispenser with about 3 number 10 cans, then sprinkle around a couple tablespoons of crushed All Natural Oyster Shell in their feeding tray. I can hear some of you saying what??!! Yes the oyster shell is a great source of calcium, builds strong egg shells, and aids in their digestion! This city slicker is learning all kinds of things! Next I take the water dispenser to be filled with hose water, always watching my back that Rukus doesn’t sneak up behind me! Sometimes I carry a shovel or rake to defend myself! 

Every 3 days I check the cat dish out in the barn to make sure they have food. This is not an easy task as it involves climbing a ladder, bringing the cat dish down, fill it, climb back up the ladder and leave it in the loft. The ladder is straight up, built up the side of the loft.

Next stop is to fill the outside water bowl used by the dogs, cats, hens and yes, the rooster too!

Finally time to invite the dogs in the house and feed them. Both are on different food with a different serving size and supplements morning and night. Morning feeding for Dally is 2 cups of dry food. Cinch a different dry food 3 scoops, a little blue pill, 2 squirts of Wild Alaska Salmon Oil, 4 squirts of Liquid Glucosamine.  And now my farm chores are done before 8, sometimes 8:30.

Now time to quick shower and make breakfast for Bekah and I. Several mornings it has been 2 egg cheese omelet with farm fresh eggs! Mmm good!

Now time to support a new mama and give some love to Raylee Joy!

Hope you enjoyed the narrative of my morning farm chores!

Walk out to the chicken coup and Cinch is all ready to play fetch!

Good morning chickens!

Chickens: It’s about time! What took you so long!

“We’re hungry! Can you hurry up!”

Grain feeder full and crushed oyster shells in the lower feeder.

This watering hole is open to all!

June 24 - 106 Degrees Today

You know it is going to be hot when at 10am it is already 91 degrees! Finished my morning chores before 8! We left the house about 9:50 for a 35 minute drive to the chiropractor for Bekah. Little princess Raylee slept the whole way and for the first five minutes of her appointment, then it was time to wake up and Auntie Karol was in charge of soothing her for the next 30 minutes. Only problem was I couldn’t give her what she wanted! Well we survived without coming to all out hard crying but she was getting close!

A few errands after the appointment, picked up a To Go lunch and headed back to the farm. Once at the farm unloaded, collected eggs and headed indoors… it was up to 103!

Day ended with an all time high of 13 eggs! Good day! But Rukus the Rooster is always waiting and sneaking up behind me ready to attack. You would laugh if you saw me! Sometimes I am carrying a shovel other times a broken rake to protect myself! One minute I hear him in the distance by the barn the next he is right behind me ready to attack!

Late afternoon the skies darkened and weather alerts started on our phones of high winds, rain and maybe hail. That meant moving two cars and a truck to cover just in case we were hit by hail. No hail but did have some lightening, rain and wild winds! After a couple of hours at sunset the system had passed I headed out with dogs Cinch and Bally for a walk with temps having dropped from 106 to 91, can’t believe I’m admitting 91 was pretty comfortable! Discovered on our walk a rainbow and then blessed with an incredible sunset that just kept getting better and better! Oh Lord how majestic is your name and your creation!

June 23 - Church and Cabin Near Curtiss

First a shout out to brother Paul! Happy Birthday! Love you as a brother and as a friend! Blessings on your day!!

Great attending worship with the E Free McCook family of faith! A time of blessing!

After worship we joined up with 7 of Krayton and Bekah’s friends that met for a weekly Life Group. Great time of laughter and fellowship! For lunch I had a burnt ends burger with blackberry bbq sauce! Mmm good!

After lunch we drove 30 minutes to where Krayton and Bekah have a cabin to spend a relaxing afternoon and early evening. Only sad part is it was over 100 degrees today so kind of hard to enjoy being outside. We did sit out a bit in the shade with the wind blowing…which equals very warm, no not hot air!

Inside the air conditioning wasn’t working but the stand up fan did its job! The house must be fairly well insulated because we were pretty comfortable inside.

Dogs were inside at the farm all day so when we got back fed them, eggs gathered and chickens bedded down. What does it mean to bed down chickens? Just see if you can get them all convinced to go into the coup including my dear friend Rukus the Rooster, then. Quickly close the door! Sometimes it is more of a challenge than other times!

Good day for eggs! Collected 10 and one broken by the chickens that then made for a lot of messy eggs!!

At 8pm it is still 92 degrees!

Precious Raylee is all ready for her second Sunday at church in her pretty dress!

Enjoying outside in 100+ degrees in the shade and hot wind!

June 22 - Big Day Hunting Eggs!

After morning chores I washed eggs! Eight dozen eggs! Taking them to church tomorrow for orders placed Bekah. Did you know it takes 5 minutes to wash and dry a dozen eggs, times 8 equals about 40 minutes washing eggs. After that it was time to take the dogs out to play AND check for eggs! Count so far today is Karol 2, Dally 0! Then time to catch up on blogging, texts, emails, make a couple of calls…all while baby Raylee takes a nice nap!

Final count for eggs collected today: Karol 11, Dally 0! That is the most so far since I’ve been here! But I have also gone out 4-5 times today to check on eggs, always checking before Dally can get to them!

Our walk today was at 4pm prime heat of the day 99 degrees! Not the smartest decision! Two dogs, one cat, one month old, one mom and one aunt!!! All but the baby were panting!  Future walks in the morning or early evening!

We kicked back and relaxed as we enjoyed a great movie Ford vs Ferrari. And yes, a special treat of homemade peach ice cream compliments of Bekah! Oh so good!

Farm fresh eggs!

Got some messy eggs in that batch!

Buddies on a walk!

Have been much in prayer for the people of Spencer Iowa who got 13” of rain and have encountered much flooding, and for all those in NW Iowa experiencing flooding!