Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
There have been a lot of trips to Glasgow this past week. The Florida grandsons as well as our daughter had to take in the county fair. Those boys were thrilled with the bouncy house attractions after initially being told there wouldn’t be a carnival. “What’s a fair without rides?,” they asked. They’re still young enough to be excited about being very active. So I give kudos to whoever managed to find and bring in the person(s) running those attractions. (I still miss cotton candy on the midway, though. It’s one of my guilty fair pleasures.)
So, spending most of the week on the road to town and taking in some golf, the rodeo, the motorcycle extravaganza (like, WOW!), and the concert, means there isn’t much gardening to report. Dennis and I eschewed attending the demolition derby as we lived through all three daughters’ car crashes (and the resulting expenses). We don’t need to spend more money watching driveable vehicles being wrecked on purpose. But the boys loved the spectacle, of course.
I’m writing this Saturday morning, so the concert is still in my future. Tomorrow morning (Sunday) our company starts their return to Florida by flying out of Glasgow at roughly 8 a.m. I’ll say my goodbyes from home since I need to be in Opheim to play piano for our community church’s 11 a.m. service. I don’t want to feel rushed, plus I need to at least play through my selected hymns once. I plan to work hard on catch-up chores to alleviate my sadness at their absence. The boys start school on the 10th which will keep them from being too sad about leaving us. (Hah! It will take them a while to get back to the Eastern timezone. Waking up at 6 their time is 4 our time. They can claim jet lag.)
I have had to spend some time in the garden. The raspberries are still producing a lot. (I did have a friend come pick them for her own use a couple times. I didn’t want them to rot on the canes and draw in flies.) The beans have been picked once. They’re coming on strong which means I see canning happening soon. All four broccoli are ready. I’ll blanch and freeze those. Then those plants will start making side shoots, which I’ll try to just consume. The remaining three cabbages will also need to be dealt with. (The tarragon butter was indeed wonderful on the one I did steam and eat. It was also great on the bit of steak I brought home in a doggie bag from the Durum and zapped in the microwave.)
I’ve done a bit of thinning from the carrot rows. Future thinnings will go with me for bucket lunches in the tractor as I run the grain cart. That work is looming as the grain is rapidly ripening. The recent heat and dry conditions has brought the prospect of harvest sooner (remember we who are beyond the Middle of Nowhere are at least a week behind the actual Middle of Nowhere). The fire danger is also heightened. I’m sure we’ll have a tank of water on a truck nearby as we start harvesting the wheat.
The grasshoppers have finally arrived on our farm. We’ve watched the invasion nearing by noting the bodies on the highway. They really stand out against the blackness of the recent resurfacing of the road just south of us. I’ve spent some time using Bug-B-Gone and my pressure washer to get their slime (and stink) off the front of our going-to-town vehicles. Our grandson Jace hates them, and does an exaggerated flinch/grimace/body wriggle when they fly at him or land on him. Jace complained bitterly about them being called “hoppers.” He says, “They should be called grassfliers!” He’s glad they don’t have them in the Tampa area.
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