July 21 - Herding Chickens with the Kubota

Early afternoon entertainment: Imagine two free range chickens had just eaten 4 cucumbers yesterday and you decided to give them a second chance, the next morning they ate six more! Well that happened to Tom, so after church today he had a “roundup” and let me tell you chickens don’t round up easily during the day! Tom was on the 4x4 Kubota weaving this way and that, forward and back! I only wish I had video taped it! But you will just have to imagine, as I was inside and headed outside to help but did not get a video! Tom won! Chickens were finally rounded up to their coupe! No more free ranging for them for a while!

Morning worship with Tom and Joni at the Covenant church, meeting a few more people each time. So fun to make connections and meet more and more people. In a small town everyone knows everyone so if you are new or visiting they want to know your story! And…I tell them…I’m an Aronson! And they smile….

This afternoon Joni and I worked on using the looper chain saw to cut low branches so when mowing one didn’t have to worry about getting hit in the head or worse! We filled a flat rack pretty high (see pic) which was harder to unload at the burn pile than to stack!

Tonight we went to Truesdale Bar for Build Your Own Pizza Night! When we got there Tom called Dick and Sandy to invite them, we were surprised they weren’t already there, well they were on their way! Then called Jeff and Sandy they said they were on their way as well. Well they were indeed as they were in the car with Dick and Sandy! Then called Gary and Julie but Gary just got home from golfing all day so they didn’t think they would be coming. Fun evening! Then home to put the Kubota tractor and 4x4 away and tools used in the afternoon. 

Note: This is “playing” not working!

July 20 - Memorial Service to Birthday Party!

Today was a full day with the morning weeding flower beds and raking up piles in the grove to later pick up.

Another day for Joni to be down and out with something that seems like a migraine yesterday and today. I feel bad that she feels bad. Hopefully tomorrow as a new day and she will feel much better!

Memorial Service for Eldora Schultze today at the Lutheran church. I got to know Eldora the last 15-20 years. She was sister to one of dad’s classmates Eldon Erlandson. Eldora  helped outside the cafe at Threshermans making sure the condiments and plasticware were well supplied up until about 3-4 years ago! She was 99, she let me know early on that she shared a birthday with my dad on September 17! I only saw her 3 days a year at Threshermans and then we would only chat about 15 minutes each day! I learned at her service she was known for being spunky, loved to mow and loved to use of her burn pile! No wonder I liked her so much! Her picture in her program was of Eldora riding her mower!  All of my favorite hymns too! Great is Thy Faithfulness, In the Garden and Children of the Heavenly Father! Songs that I heard dad sing so many times! I don’t tend to be emotional but anytime those to songs are played or sung brings back happy memories!

Home for a couple hours, Joni was still having headaches so she wasn’t able to join us but Tom and I went to a 70th birthday party for our second cousin Margo Forbes, daughter of dad’s cousin Vivian Wilbur. I only knew two people at the party: the birthday girl Margo and cousin Julie! But I did meet a couple that would come out to Everett yearly to Boeing for work related trip, always an opportunity to meet someone new!

We didn’t get any rain from those clouds!

My helpers when I was gardening!

Really need a little rain. Tom decided he had to do a little watering.

Aug 19 - Auntie Mavis Day

This morning was a cool and pleasant day on the farm, before 8, only 58 degrees. First offer to Tom to help with chores didn’t score but then he found me in house and he had come up with a plan. If I would walk and sprinkle fertilizer between 8 rows of new corn coming up that he would follow me and till it into the ground. Works for me! It did take me longer to walk and fertilize the length of both sides of 4 rows then it would for Tom to be able to work the fertilizer in 4 rows with the tractor but he was patient and waited for me. Took no time at all! 

Left the farm about 10:30 to drive the 35 minutes to pick up Aunty Mavis for lunch, a little grocery shopping and best of all a lovely visit! She is amazing at age 97! 

Tom and I had talked in the morning about doing a dual push on mowing Auntie Mavis’ farm before the rains coming the next couple of days. So we headed over my driving the Kubota tractor with its mower (high speed of about 5mph to drive 2 miles!) Tom drove a tractor over to pick up his truck, which he had left there in the morning when picking up a tractor to come back, and hook up the trailer with the zero turn Zipper loaded. While all that was happening I started mowing a large area, he returned and mowed a couple of section and then the last area we did at the same time as he trimmed around the edge, I followed his path with my mower. We weee able to complete the process in under 2 hours! AND it was perfect weather with clouds keeping the temperatures to the high 70s! My kind of weather!

Unfortunately for Joni she was laying low all day with severe headaches that are still an issue yet this evening. Poor dear!

I ventured out with Tom for a new experience for supper! We ate at the one restaurant in town, Allison’s Kitchen, which is located at the local town nursing home! Yep, it closed a couple years ago and this spring Allison moved from her previous location to the spacious nursing home using their entry way (with various gifts), previous activity room (now a bar), dining room (restaurant seating), and of course the well equipped kitchen. It really was nice and much needed in this small town! My grilled spicy chicken sandwich was delicious!

Getting rid of the weeds!

Driving the 2 miles at 5mph for mowing! 

Kubota tractor mower I have spent 7 hours on the last two days at two different farms! I love mowing! Specifically when it is NOT hot!

Entrance to Allison’s Kitchen

July 18 - Albert City at Sunset

 

July 18 Farmers Market Day is Here!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR SWEET KARLEE!

I’m excited for my first Farmers Market today! Both for the people I will see AND the new venue a refurbished food snack bar from the former Albert City football field!  Refurbished and moved specifically to be used for Tom’s weekly summer Farmers Markets! (Side note: Tom was awarded the 2024 Albert City Citizen of the Year just a few weeks ago at the towns centennial celebration! An award well deserved!)

My early morning chores included weighing one pound bags of beans, peas, radishes.  Well I always aim to be flexible and this morning that was the case as Tom woke early and did what I “thought” were my chores! Instead I did a couple hours of mowing with the Kubota tractor mower. Could be I get fired from that if my mowing rows aren’t straight enough! Haha! Several more    hours of mowing to perfect my mowing skills! Hope to continue after market today. (Which I did an hour before supper and another couple after supper up until sunset! Tom joined me with the Zipper mower!)

11:15a - First load taken to the new market site: potatoes, garlic, onions (red, white, yellow), zucchini, 

2:40p - Final run of produce and setup for Market: cucumbers, radishes, beets, kale, 

First item to sell out 40 beets! 35 sold to one individual! Apparently they have a really good recipe for pickled beets! 

I’m tired but it was a great day! Not enough sweet corn for the market today but there was enough for Tom,Joni and I to enjoy last night and again tonight! Young sweet corn!

July 17 - Story of the Pitch Fork

While Tom was harvesting beets, he asked if I would go to the shed and bring back a pitch fork with wide tongs. I accepted the challenge! First stop, the garage I had swept out earlier in the day as I remembered seeing several pitch forks! Found one with wide tongs but the handle was missing! But I grabbed it anyway! Saw another in much better shape but it didn’t have “wide” tongs. Thought “better grab that one too just in case!” Then as I was driving the Kubota by the “market prep shed” I saw a “wide tong pitch fork with a good handle”! I thought “never can have too many pitch forks!” I’ll take that one too! When I got to Tom he picked the last one I had picked up! Guess I was right you can never have too many pitch forks! Then we proceeded to dig up leeks.

Only later did I find out that really none of those were the right pitch forks! He had actually wanted the one he left in the potato patch!

Below is pictured what I brought to Tom for his choices!

Albert City Iowa Grain Elevators

July 16, 2024

July 17 - Part 3 Farmers Market Prep

Harvesting beets, 30 for market.

Harvesting leeks!

Onions to be cured for future sales…

Tom and Joni picking 19 pounds of beans!

Standing in a field of oats…Tom was asked to give his expertise on whether it was ready for harvest. Conclusion: Not quite yet!