Random shots of Fall 2011

I don't know what all of the great bloggers out there do to make sure they have time to blog, but for whatever reason, I struggle. I decided it was because I only have time for one hobby, and I've been reading a lot lately...Excuses, excuses, so, I'll do some quick and random updates so I don't forget what was going on in our lives in the Fall of 2011. I am going to quite "old" this year you know....

This llama has nothing to do with anything, other than I thought he was cool and he was at a pumpkin patch that the kids and I and our old neighbors went to this year...

I didn't get near the opportunities to photograph fall farming this year that I wanted. There was always something else that I needed to be doing. On this particular day I took a half an hour and just shot pictures the whole time while Emily was sitting in the van saying, "Come on Mom. We have to go sell magazines. I'm bored. I'm hungry. Mom!!" You get the picture. Anyway, I just think that the beeswings are sorta magical.

Emily is in Middle school and they have a Fall concert. This year they dressed in the time period of the songs they were singing. Emily's group was Ragtime Era, so we made a Flapper girl costume!! It was a hit!

Not to be left out, Casey wanted to be a "Flapper Guy"!

I don't know what Carter was portraying, but he was willing to pose, so I got a picutre!

Last weekend, a good friend of mine came to visit and we of course went to the field for some fun rides in the semi and combine! What else would you do if you came to visit us in Fall??? I actually got to ride along for a little while too, cuz Casey begged Mommy to come along.

One evening Carter was outside on our deck doing his homework noticed these clouds. He thought they looked blue and asked me to take a picture.

Here are my friends and family from the visit. Casey and his corn phone?!

Here's a leaf on our front porch....

We came home one night and Emily said, "Look Mom! We have a leaf on our porch!! Our own leaf!!" It was a memorable moment I must say...

It is just soo sweet to see our dog and kitties cuddling up together. I hope they keep each other warm this winter. I managed this shot through the window in the door because the minute I open  anything to take a picture they all get up!

There's always more to tell...and I'll try to catch up better. Life is full and life is good!

A Favorite Picture and some questions...

This is one of my favorite farming pictures that I've taken. The light was just glowing and the beans were looking all golden. You can even see the litte hairs on the pods. Cool. I remember the evening well. Emily, Carter and Casey were playing house along the edge of the field and up in a little tree. It was cold enought to have jackets and small gloves on. We had brought Al something to eat and decided to hang around a while. I was just taking all kinds of pictures. I was trying to capture a sunset and a combine at night with the lights on.  I was freezing my fingers off taking pictures and loving it!!

I haven't had much chance yet this fall, it's been too wet. Next week is looking up...Perhaps I can get some then.

I haven't been posting in a while...seem to have lost any creative flow I had going....oh and Carter and I got strep throat...sorry about that...

I do write 1 to 2 times a week on a blog for the library, if you are interested...http://waverlypubliclibrary.blogspot.com/ Check it out!

Anyhows, I dropped in to a blog I read the other day and she had put some questions out there. They were kind of fun and I thought I'd try a few here...

What is your least favorite thing about laundry??? Mine is putting away. I have no problem getting them clean, can usually fold in front of tv and then they sit in the laundry baskets like a dresser!!! Our house would seem so much less cluttered if I could just get those darn clothes put away!!!

What are you reading right now? I am reading a book called Veil of Night by Linda Howard...Not my typical book, but I am taking a reader's advisory class on mysteries and am supposed to read and review a mystery before class in October! This one happens to be mystery romance. I am not sure I could do it if it was just straight mystery!! *smile*

Name something you love about your "honey". I love the effort he puts forth in everything he does. He works so hard at everything, loving me, possible plans for moving, farming, his work at the city, he always goes that extra mile!!

What's your favorite part of your job? Mine is helping people find a good book!!

One more before it gets to be too much! This is a question Carter keeps asking me....

What's your favorite animal?

I am not sure that I know...I have always loved horses so that's what I am saying today, but being out west this summer I realize I really like a lot of wildlife. It was such fun seeing bears, wolves, coyotes, fox, buffalo!!

So there are a few thoughts to get us started this week!!

One More

I wanted to just add this last picture because Al and I both liked the barn in the foreground. And I forgot it yesterday.

Happy Tuesday all!

Beans

We've FINALLY started to make a dent in the bean harvest!! All the rain hasn't really been helping much, I must say...

For whatever reason, I haven't felt much like taking pictures....I think the rain has had an affect on that too...Anyway, with harvest getting going more now, the kids and I went to the field to take Daddy some supper and visit. Of course, I took my camera.
The sun setting was just making everything glow an nice golden color and it sparked my photography.(It doesn't hurt that next year's theme for the Iowa State Fair is The Iowa Family Farm...)

This picture is the start of practice for a picture Al would like to see me take...



This one's because the two times I visited the field this weekend something went wrong and Al told me I jinxed him!! Ha! Really it was a minor fix...

I Didn't Bring My Camera...

I didn't bring my camera to the field last night to pick up rocks...

But, if I had...

I would have taken a picture of:

**Emily and Carter "surfing" on the rock bucket of the skid loader as we drove across the field.

**The big, I mean Huge, smile on Emily's face as she drove the skid loader for the very first time.

**The beautiful sunset we watched out in the wide open field. Living in town, you sometimes forget the beauty in the openness.

**My daughter and me doing cartwheels in the cultivated field while the guy helping us dug a really big rock.

**Emily making "poop" out of the mud and showing everyone.

**Carter drawing on the big rocks nobody could lift instead of picking any up.

**Al and the boys in the tractor coming toward us at the end of the evening framed by the setting sun.

**The dirt clod fight Emily and Carter had.

**Emily rubbing dirt on her shirt because she thought it made it look like she did some work.

**The guy who was helping us, a friend of Al's from work, when he took his sunglasses off and had raccoon eyes from all of the dirt!!


I didn't bring my camera, but if I had that's what I would have done.

Spring is Springing

After we made cookies with great grandma, we took the ones for the party out to Grandma Lucille and Grandpa Paul's house because we just got a whole hog and have no freezer room!! I had left work, picked the kids up, made cookies, and now stopped out to the farm all without changing clothes or being home yet.

So does that make me more of a farmer because I go with the flow and jump on the 4-wheeler no matter what or just crazy???

The kids were amazed by the "ginormous" wrench needed to work on the new field cultivator.

Dumping on the go...

Proof that my husband really can multitask. Maybe, better than I can.....*smile*