Family Pictures

This was a wonderful week for visiting the kids. I started in Omaha to see Laura's White Coat ceremony, the official beginning of medical school. Alex drove down with me. We celebrated at a Persian restaurant...yum!

The next day I flew to Eugene to help Rachel celebrate her 26th birthday. We had a lovely three day visit.

While I was gone, the farmer finished the wheat harvest. It was good to get it safe in the grain elevator. There is still corn but it won't be ready until fall.

Now I am back at work. The quilt shop was busy with packing for a weekend retreat in Dupree, South Dakota. The clinic may have a new family practice doctor soon. Hooray! Tonight is the first football game of the school year. Time to get ready.

Back to School

Its that time of year. New books. New beginnings. I had so much fun taking my "school pictures" today. Does it bring back memories? It seems like yesterday. Now two are in college, another beginning medical school and my firstborn is finishing graduate school. The last in line is a high school senior.

Sometimes I wonder "Did I do a good job?" Was my best effort good enough to set the next generation on the right path? Time will tell. I have a good feeling about each one. Study hard, eat your vegetables and have a good year.

Prairie Sky

Six a.m. on the prairie. I love the sweep of the clouds and the colors of the sunrise. I love the prairie with its wildlife and sea of grain. The storms are exciting and scary at the same time.

All the work and expense of the year can be lost in fifteen minutes of wind and hail. There is great satisfaction in watching the grain harvest. It reminds me of tucking the children into bed at night, safe and sound.

Another week of school physicals is over. Football practice has started and the two-a-day volleyball practice starts on Monday. This summer seems shorter than most for some reason. No one is ready for fall.

I told Wes that there should be pictures of the quilt shop in the store blog. He chuckled. I think it is a beautiful, productive place, so here are my favorite pictures.

Harvest

One of my favorite things this time of year is walking in the corn field when it is taller than I am. Can you see the farmer? We do "crop tours" to visit each field and see how things are growing.

The wheat harvest began on Monday. It is a good feeling to get the grain to the elevator, where is is no longer in danger from hail or insects. So far, the yield is good and the protein is over 14. The crop is worth more if the protein is higher. I like riding in the combine, enjoying the golden field and the expanse of blue sky. Beautiful.

Today's Mission

Today is a garden day. (I am on call as well, but lately I find myself doing two things at once all the time.) The mission in the garden is to pull out the pigweed before it goes to seed. Yesterday I spent the afternoon establishing a perimeter around the squash. The squash is spreading into the row of blueberries. The strawberries are sending runners. The pigweed fills in everywhere. Its amazing what rain will do.

I love pulling weeds. I can see accomplishment right away. I get to hang out with the farmer. He grows way more than we can eat, so the produce is given away, making others happy as well. It is a nice time of year.

Garden Harvest

Sorry for the long gap in blogging. I haven't been quilting much lately either. Lance has been busy in the garden. This is the very end of the lettuce season. Romaine, iceburg and various leaf lettuces all taste great.

The past few weeks, we have been eating berries every day. The yellow raspberries are sweeter than the red ones. The blueberries are from our garden as well. Lance has netting over them to keep the birds away.

Lots of athletic physicals this week and next. Lots of immunizations. School starts the 23rd or 24th, and then clinic will slow down again. The quilt shop has not been as busy on line but there are more walk-in customers in the summer.

I occasionally wonder how to get all the things done that I want to do, without neglecting the things I ought to do. No answer. Ideas?