Guess...?

Something BIG (for the farm) came on a delivery truck yesterday.

Want to guess what it was?

Here's a little clue: It's mostly red, but has some black on it too.


~Also:

Do you love animals--especially goats?
Do you like pictures of animals?
Do you appreciate homeschooling?
And...
Do you also like blond haired young people?

Well, then you'll want to visit our neighbor girl, Olivia's new blog:
http://livsfarm-olivia.blogspot.com!
Please skip on over there and leave her a comment to say "HI". I know she'd love hearing from you. :)

Are you a "Real" woman?

I read this on a friend's blog a while back and would like to share it with you today...

One of the parts of being a "Real" woman is in allowing gentleman, such as this, to help you...


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the farm yesterday, the boys made and stacked straw bales, then picked rocks.

My dad started discing up the wheat stubble, so as to be able to plant a cover crop.

Mother and I worked on apples, apples, and more apples.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now, it's time to get to work! This post may have been longer if it weren't for the fact that the computer wouldn't let me get on my blog when I had time to write, and now I don't have much time.... :(

May God be with you all today~

What a lovely day~

What a wonderful day we had yesterday, getting caught up on friends' lives and worshipping the Lord together!

I took my camera along and got a few pictures before the batteries went dead.... :(

Here's Jacob and his friend, Micah--out for a walk...
After the morning service, everyone enjoyed a large potluck meal--and more visiting.

Then around 2:00 in the afternoon, there was a time for anyone to share a song, poem, reading, etc...

This was the Sabbath school class, singing an action song...

There was a play about Queen Esther (with 2 girls taking turns acting as Esther, as they both wanted to play the part. :) )

The S. children, Christopher, Ciarra, Ceyonna, and Cephuria...

"Singing with daddy..."

Mother and I played a couple piano duets...

There were many more special numbers, but at this point, my batteries died!

After the program was over, we visited for a few hours........ Toward the end of the time, it was just the S. family, the K. family, and some of the other S. family and us there, and while my dad visited with the guys and Mother visited with the ladies and the boys played with the other boys, I "Babysat" the younger S. children--playing with balloons; "Hide and Seeking"; and visiting the donkey, goat and goose that are in a pen behind the church.

Here Mom and Jacob were admiring Shirley K.'s new car and hearing about how fast it can go.....

We left the church around 5:30 and then had to decide if we should head for home, so as to arrive home at a decent hour, or if we should head over to the other K. family's house, as Kimberly had invited us over... It was nearly supper time, but we still had some leftover food from the potluck to contribute to supper, so we headed over to the K's farm.

We had a delightful time there, visiting and--visiting some more. It was actually Daniel's birthday party, so there were other church friends there too. There were lots of tasty things to eat (freshly made salsa, lime punch, a special cheese ball, long hot dogs that filled up your bun all the way, chips, watermelon, and ice cream cake for dessert!)

(Thank you so much for your hospitality, K. family!!!) Oh yes, and we got to see their new puppy too, although she was feeling very hyper, so she ended up going in her pen...

And now............... I'm looking forward to next month's Harvest of Thanks celebration in Alfred, when we can be together with friends once again!

We're going to Alfred...

...for church and fellowship this morning! It's been so long since we've been there... It will be great to see friends again. :)

I'd best get the last minute ironing done now..........

Have a peaceful day everyone~

Another addition...

...to our poultry collection!

The Clothes Line...

The Clothes Line

A clothes line was a news forecast
To neighbors passing by.
There were no secrets you could keep
When clothes were hung to dry.

It also was a friendly link
For neighbors always knew
If company had stopped on by
To spend a night or two.

For then you'd see the 'fancy sheets'
And towels upon the line;
You'd see the 'company table cloths'
With intricate design.

The line announced a baby's birth
To folks who lived inside
As brand new infant clothes were hung
So carefully with pride.

The ages of the children could
So readily be known
By watching how the sizes changed
You'd know how much they'd grown.

It also told when illness struck,
As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,
Haphazardly were strung.

It said, 'Gone on vacation now'
When lines hung limp and bare.
It told, 'We're back!' when full lines sagged
With not an inch to spare.

New folks in town were scorned upon
If wash was dingy gray,
As neighbors carefully raised their brows,
And looked the other way.

But clotheslines now are of the past
For dryers make work less.
Now what goes on inside a home
Is anybody's guess.

I really miss that way of life.
It was a friendly sign
When neighbors knew each other best
By what hung on the line!

~ Author Unknown~

Clothes lines don't have to be a thing of the past, do they? :)

Life--an adventure...

One never knows what they'll be doing or learning from day to day on a farm, or elsewhere!

For example:

Yesterday morning, I learned how to put a battery charger on a vehicle and how you know when it's finished charging. Then, my family and I cleaned out a grain bin really well for the wheat, which Andrew finished combining last night. For our lunch, I picked my first Patty Pan squash and searched on-line for what to do with it, then made a tasty dish. Later in the day, while at work in town, I was asked to get a residents' computer working, as it was "Stuck"...

Life is so interesting, isn't it? :) I wonder what today will hold?

We are soooo blessed!

Yesterday, my dad and brother Andrew combined wheat all day. They said it's running really well, so everyone is so happy and grateful... Our hope is to be able to direct market this year's wheat to the public--a dream we've had for many years, but that can now be made possible with Andrew's grain cleaner, as it will clean grain to food grade standards. Need some Certified Organic hard red spring wheat anybody?

Jacob swathed down oats for the first time yesterday and has that activity on his to-do list again today. He sure is growing up nowadays!

Mother and I spent the day working on apples; canning peaches; and doing laundry. Today will probably be similar to yesterday, except that I work in town this afternoon/evening....

Speaking of work, there's much of it to do, so I'd best get to it.

Happy today~
Cora

Jamming...

Yesterday morning, I made peach jam, so I was "Jamming", right?

Last night at work in town, one of the kitchen ladies asked me where my brothers were the night before, because she thought they'd be "Jamming" at Reuben's restaurant again--meaning, playing instruments together with the others there. I told her the boys were busy helping my dad fix up the combines, but maybe next time they can go? Life on the farm is so very busy right now.

Well, today is a new day and maybe I'll try my hand at "Jellying" with some of the abundant apples we have currently......

Have a wonderful day~

A couple of giveaways!

Our neighbor and friend, Tamera is having her first giveaway, so you may wish to go see what that is--especially if you enjoy quilting! :)

Also, another friend is having a giveaway (a sewing pattern) and you can read about it here.


On the home front:

My dad and brothers got the combines ready to roll yesterday and hope to be able to combine today, if it doesn't rain....

Mom and Jacob picked up all the apples that fell off the tree in the recent wind-storm and we now have boxes, buckets, and baskets full...

I worked in town yesterday and do so again tonight. Since school has started, the high school and college girls aren't able to work anymore, so the nursing home is running short on CNAs. Want to come help? :)

I'd best get to work! Have a great day, serving the Lord in whatever things He has for you~

Rest...

My family and I had a restful day yesterday, sleeping in and then spending the day together at home. We read an interesting pamphlet for church that lasted a couple hours; Mother and I played a piano duet on my piano for the first time; and last night we watched one of our favorite movies, "The Gift of Love" (based on the story of the Gift of the Magi).

How wonderful it is to rest! And now we're ready for another busy week. :)

~Little David's baby shower~

Mother and I had a wonderful time preparing for and participating in the baby shower yesterday! :) It was supposed to be a surprise party, but somehow it leaked out to James and Amanda what was in the makings, so they had a general idea of what was going on. They still had a few surprises in store for them though..........

I know some of you are wishing to see pictures, so I've added a BUNCH below. Happy viewing...

Mom and I were the first ones at the Center park, so we tidied things up a bit in the picnic area and, pretty soon, others began to arrive...


Mrs. Dagley (and that's me by our van)...

"Oh boy", doesn't that cake look tempting?

Then it was time for decorating... The Balyeat and Maerten girls had made this banner and then several of us signed it before hanging it up on the edge of the picnic shelter:

The balloon blowing department:

The balloon chewing department:

David Dagley and Mr. Balyeat moving another table under the shelter...

...so we ladies could cover the tables with tableclothes:

Mrs. J. with the adorable diaper cake she made:

The playground was popular with the children...

Mother and Mrs. Balyeat, shortly after a greeting hug. :)

The cake and I... :)

A little after 2:00, James, Amanda, and baby David arrived in their ambulance:

Everyone got your cameras ready?...

Mother had hers!

Mother and child...

Mrs. B. with John and Carrie's baby, Joy...

Showing J & A the banner...

A lovely Rose...

Charis and baby David Timothy...

There were actually 3 babies to enjoy!

Below is Carrie with Joy; Liz with Sadie; and Amanda with David:

Any day now, there will be a 4th baby to add to the family. :)
(Left to right: Susanna, Carrie, Liz and Amanda. Carrie and Amanda are sisters and Susanna and Liz married into the Dagley family.)

The guys went to play horseshoes...

...while we girls played some baby games... (Pictionary, Baby-Name-Dictionary, and a poem game.)

"Hmmmmm, what could that picture be?"

Fun times!

Mother and Joy...

Cora and David...

Lynette and Mark...

Charis and her poem...

*Can you spy the cheese balls?*

Rose, holding her 9-day-old nephew, David...

Ben and Hannah came over later in the day...

Clementine, heading for the car-seat, so as to put her baby-doll inside:

Then it was present time!

Cute booties...

Rose made a baby aphgan!

Mr. and Mrs. Balyeat gave James and Amanda the original painting Mrs. Balyeat did of James when he was a little tyke... :)

We visited for a while more and then, around 6:00, Mom and I decided we'd best head for home. We stopped at Sams to get something for supper and then drove home, arriving about 1 minute before our guys got in from the hayfield! My brothers and I did chores quick, then we ate a nice meal; had family prayer time; and headed for bed. What a splendid day it was~

What a lovely day for a baby shower!

This will be a quick post as Mom and I have things to do this morning to prepare for the baby shower this afternoon. (Yes, Molly, I'm packing my camera and hope to get lots of pictures today. :) )

Before I go though, I wanted to share two things that I learned at work last night....

#1. I wasn't off too far that night when I said I almost expected to go over the hill in the road and find a mountain lion, as the lady I worked with last night (from Kintyre) informed me that 2 nights ago, a gentleman, down the road from our farm a mile, went into his barn that morning... He had left his barn door open the night before and now saw that a pail of grain that had been sitting high on a shelf was tipped off and spilled all over the barn floor. In the grain and surrounding areas were HUGE paw prints. He doesn't have a dog or cats or anything. I mean, he didn't have a cat, now maybe he does--a great big one! Yikes!

#2. I took my pedometer to the nursing home to see approximately how far I walk there each day. By the end of the day, I'd taken: 10,594 steps which amounted to: 5.35 miles! That of course doesn't count the bending, squatting, pushing, pulling, etc... that's done during that time... No wonder I'm tired at the end of the day there. :)

And now, I'd best do some fancy stepping to get everything ready before we go.
Have a lovely day~

I have decided...

...to follow Jesus (Yeshua, as we call Him).

But that's old news! Let me tell you some new....

From this day forward, I'm going to attempt to write my posts in the mornings, so as to get to bed earlier every night.

What brought about this change, you say? Well, Mother asked me to read a chapter in the book she's reading now, "The New Me Diet" (which, by the way, is about a way of eating and not just a short lived, eat nothing but this for a few weeks type of thing) and, after reading the chapter which was about the importance of getting to bed early and getting a good night's sleep, I decided to attemp doing that very thing. We'll see how it goes. :)

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo,

I have a picture post nearly ready, but it will have to wait to get posted--yep--until MORNING.

Sweet dreams everyone~

A menagerie of pictures!

Good morning!

I just uploaded several more pictures, so have quite a collection to share with you now....

I spent yesterday evening working with this stuff: (Marshmallow Fondant, in the making)


...So as to be able to make this stuff: Mom and I are helping to put on a baby shower in Center, ND tomorrow afternoon, so one of my contributions is a cake. :)

Yesterday afternoon, (*the pictures are in order of newness to oldness*) my dad called and said he needed me to bring several tools over to the field he was baling in, as one of the wheel-bearings had gone out on the big baler. He gave me good directions and I was able to find everything he needed, plus I learned how to fill a portable air-tank--something my brothers have always been around to do for me before this.... Dad was stacking bales while he was waiting for me to come:

I stayed until he had the wheel and bearing off, then drove the truck down the field for him so he could haul bales in also. He and Mother just left for Bismarck now to get a new bearing and supplies at Sams' for home and the party tomorrow...

This is what I saw when I went outside to the garden recently:

...and the turkeys and the dog shall sleep side by side--or at least, under the same trampoline....

Mother and I've been picking chokecherries for juice:

We've also been making juice from the ton of apples that have gotten blown off our trees. We use this steam juicer that we bought a couple years ago:

When the 90 minutes of steaming time is up, we have apples in the top portion, ready to be ground into sauce:

...and we have juice in the second portion, pure and delicious!

Our moss roses are finally blooming in front of the house:

This picture was taken last Sabbath evening, when the guys went out for some target practice on the black birds that were swarming above our corn field:

My dad with a few corn cobs he collected from the field:

The corn is doing so well this year and is soooooo tall, you could almost get lost in it!

Oh yes, and Jacob said I could tell you about his package! It contained:

...his very own camera--just like the one the guy who taught the farming class in Georgia had. :)

Well, it's been fun writing while I'm awake :), but now I need to hurry and scurry to get the cheese-balls made for tomorrow; get my fish aquarium cleaned; make lunch; and get ready for work in town this afternoon......

Have a great day everyone!

~Cora