Top of the world ...

A view off the top of the grain bin on Saturday night after a small thunderstorm passed through ... those are star trails at the top.

Family Farm Day - Father's Day 2008

One of the many kittens we found hiding in the barn.

Some don't even get Sundays off!

Another view of pollen down at my mom's rainforest south of Harmon.

Always a friend ... always waiting ...

Farley pickle ... watching as I get into the car.

Planting at the Home Farm - May 21

My dad checking out the "new" planter as he closed in on finishing up planting beans at his farm.

The weather vane on the old barn.

Sunset on a beautiful spring day!

Finally, the fields were dry enough to finish up planting. New to us, but probably still in the 80's, we used a John Deere planter to sew the crop. Giving credit where credit is due, and so I don't hear anything more about it, my brother and dad did most of the planting. I was only able to help with the changing of planter boxes (from corn to beans) and loading the seed. Although, if you ask me later on, I opened and closed the fields!

Catch up ....

Simple HDR image of lightning looking south toward Princeton where the storms hit the hardest.

More Lightning.

My mom on Mother's Day at my sister's house, working at the kitchen sink.

Finally, a smile!.The enemy, the elusive pest known as the Japanese Beetle. Notice his snapper as he devours my pin oak tree.

A full view of his backside. If you ask me, he looks chubby and needs to be squashed.

More of the damage he causes when he eats my trees.

Two Japanese beetles in a different life stage. Did you know that these creatures can eat and mate at the same time?
The devestation to one of my dwarf apple trees, known as skeletonizing. This happened only in a matter of hours. This is why the Japanese Beetles have been classified as enemy number 1 and must be destroyed.

Happy Birthday!!!! -- Farley's 1st!

March 7 was Farley's very 1st Birthday! Jake was very good about persuading Farley to go to Dairy Queen to celebrate, where, by mere coincidence, they both had a vanilla cone. Needless to say, it was a hit. No ice cream headaches and they simply cannot wait until next year .... or at least until they get to celebrate someone else's birthday!

Another snow storm .... another ice headache ....

Another winter storm is set to hit tomorrow, 90% chance, and will likely stretch into Tuesday: rain, snow, sleet, and ice. This comes on the heels of one of the best days we've experienced in a long time as it was almost 40 degrees and sunny!

The dogs loved it, too! In fact, Farley and Jake went and played with my mom's dogs (Scruffy, Regis, and Laddie). And by played, I mean, ate their food. At the end of the day, Farley kept frolicking in the snow and decided to eat a little bit a little too fast, giving him what looked like an ice cream headache. Don't worry, it didn't last long, and for those of you that are going to ask, no it wasn't yellow snow!

Happy Happy Birthday!!!!

Today began Jake's birthday week! Only eleven short years ago, "Jake the Snake" (AKC registry name) was whelped on a small farm in Iowa. Since then, he has been a little angel in our lives. Throughout that time, Jake has been a trooper, surviving a near fatal car versus dog (I don't think anyone really won that fight), (2) operations for urinary bladder stones, an operation for a fatty tumor removal, castration (yes, that was a tough one), and (23) stitches received from a foster dog who wanted to prove herself (Jake decided not to fight back on that one). Last but not least, his biggest challenge has been as a mentor to the young rising jedi (aka Wild Spirit) known as Farley. He has snarled his way into our family and many other lives along the way. He got his annual favorite treat of Dairy Queen today, but expects more to come throughout the week!

Dog Days of Winter ....

Forty Degrees today and time for a brisk walk, or rather run. Jake and Farley are enjoying their time outdoors! When it was all said and done, we found an angel laying on the ground.

Cabin Fever ....

So it's only been a few days since I was out in the New Mexico forest cutting trees, but this weather has been suffocating! Wind chills fell as low as 20 below zero (Fahrenheit for my international watchers), and the snow drifts in the yard were easily three feet high. Today, the weather was a balmy 20 degrees. This meant that at least the dogs could go outside for at least more than a minute. Also, it meant that I could actually spend a couple minutes photographing outdoors.

As soon as I stepped outside, I saw this huge bird sitting on top of one of the branches; I'm thinking that Farley and Jake looked like a tasty meal after the brief cold spell. This bird was fast. It hovered just over the field at about 40 MPH (paced it later in the day with the car). I think it's called a red-tipped hawk, but I'm not certain (feel free to correct me if you know). Also, as I headed into the office, I noticed this other bird of prey watching the cars go by on the side of the road. Amazingly, it's an immature bald eagle. I found this to be pretty amazing because I haven't seen an eagle this far away from the river (about three miles). It makes sense, though, because a good portion of the river is jammed with ice and there are very few open spots left to fish.

Finally, since it was such a nice day. we all took a quick road trip to the Palisades Park near Savanna. Jake and Farley got to get out and stretch their legs. Farley, a little more than Jake.

The last image you see here, courtesy of Rochelle, is what my week was like after work. Jet lag finally set in, and Farley, my little furnace, made it difficult not to fall asleep.

Happy Holidays!!!

May God bless us all, each and everyone!

Festivus Photo Time!

Tonight was definitely a challenge. Jake and Farley were not cooperating for their holiday photo session ... just a preface of what's to come, attached you see the image of Farley as he was "startled" by, well, who really knows what!

Preparing for Winter ...

Jake has been attempting to prepare Farley for this year's first winter storm. As you can see, it requires a great deal of resting while the anticipations builds.

Harvest Season is Upon Us ...

The great part about the end of summer has always beens the fact that harvest season is just around the bend. It is truly an experience to help farm during this time of the year -- there's so much anticipation as to how the crops are yielding, if the weather will cooperate, or even what part of the machinery is going to break down. It's exhilarating, and at the end of the day, one is exhausted ... but it feels goods, and you can actually see what progress has been made.

The above images were taken on Saturday while my dad harvested the soybeans; the dust created by the beans just hovered above the fields until it finally settled, created a magnificent sunset. The other two show my dad combining.

He's learning ...

Farley now understands "no." Most importantly, though, he's taken lessons from Jake on how to ignore that command and be stubborn.

It's good to be home ...

It definitely is great to spend the night in your own bed. After almost a week and two different hotels, I made it home. The conferences were informational and I was glad that I attended them. Now, to spend some quality time with the family ...

Winds of change ...

Okay, according to many, there is no climate change taking place. Today, the sand from two hills on our farm blew so hard that you couldn't see through them. I walked outside and my shoes were completely dusty; Rochelle had to change her white socks because they turned brown where they weren't covered by her shoes (good thing I wear black socks). Amazingly, this storm finally rolled through right at sunset. It was amazing as the freezing rain just pummeled the ground and a fog instantly formed; even more amazing was this sunset that sheared through all of that percussion. It only lasted a few moments, but it was stunning.