Autumn Bliss

It seems we have smoothly rolled into autumn but it seems hard to believe summer is just another memory. We enjoyed having Doug home for a little vacation. It seems a shame that people have to leave their farms to work because family and farms both thrive when everyone is available to lend a hand.

With the cooler and shorter days, I have found a chance to read a little more. I have been reading a fantastic book that has been out for quite some time now. Even when I worked in the bookstore in Yakima I never read it but just recently I was inspired to pick up a copy. Lance Armstrong's powerful story called It's Not About the Bike follows his battle (and victory) with cancer and the bikes races and love stories along the way. You can pick up a used copy for next to nothing at half.com which is where I buy the majority of my books. My cousin, Ryan, and I share a very similar taste in books so she always gives me good suggestions of things to read. I have 3 more books on the way that I will have to share with you after I start reading.


It seems like I have been having some really fun little outings with the girls. This weekend was the annual Sausage Festival at Doug's Alma mater DeSales. I usually end up having such a nice time at events they sponsor. They are always have a very small town, safe, feel to them. Hadley and Kate, along with a few friends, indulged in face painting and bouncing on the huge blow up slides and toys along with various carnival type games. After Kate and I decided to call it a day Hadley stayed on with our very good friends, the O'Conners and even partied on into the night with them. They always have so much fun together. And then today we met up with the O'Conner's again at Home Depot to take advantage of a building project they host for kids every Monday. At no cost to the families, they supply the wooden projects and all the supplies. Today Hadley built a bird house and Kate built a tool box. Having the opportunity to take advantage of fun projects like these makes saying good bye to summer easier.


Along with the fall weather comes wet weather and wind. We had a big storm blow through on Friday that knocked down another section of our locust tree. A blessing for our need for wood to use in the wood stove but another thing to clean up. Another tree blew down out along the creek that we will also be able to use. And just a couple weeks ago I was regretting not having enough wood stock piled for heating. Guess God heard my concerns.


There is always a little sense of urgency in the fall to get things done before the freezing weather sets in. Doug stays on top of a long list of winter preparations like checking antifreeze levels in trucks and tractors and draining fluids that might freeze. He winterized my horse trailer so none of the pipes will freeze. We also would like to get some more fencing improvements done around the horses and goats and plant some trees. So many things and so little time. Just like ourselves, the farm is a work in progress.


My dad is scheduled to have knee surgery this Friday to repair a torn meniscus. The surgery sounds like it will be relatively run of the mill and should only have him down for a few weeks. He is the Washington state wheat commissioner in addition to farming full time. He travels some for his commissioner duties and has a trip scheduled at the end of October in Denver. He should be healed up enough to make the trip. He is also a very active letter writer to many of the large newspapers like Seattle Times and is often quoted on articles involving farming issues. Being on the mend for his bum knee shouldn't slow down that at all. My dad is pictured in Washington DC with Senator Patty Murray. He is just to her left along with fellow friend/farmer/neighbor Harold Cochran.


In addition to everything else I was able to get a couple of rides in this week. They seeded my hills across the road so now I need to ride about a mile down the creek and cross the equipment bridge at our neighbors to access the Gradwahl's hills. I have to thank Allan Gradwahl for mending his bridge in a few places. While it was safe for equipment, a few broken boards made cross on 4 legs a little scary. It is a pretty good drop on each side with no rails so I always sweat a little on the way over. The last time we were riding, Todd (who farms our ground) was burning off the stubble so we got a birds eye view of the fires from the hill tops. The wind was blowing perfectly to keep it from choking us out. Everyone, myself included, got a good work out from that ride. Okie flushed out a deer directly into our path, the scared doe ran blindly up a bank and ended up about 10 feet in front of the horses at a dead run. Elvis didn't even flinch while Cruiser thought he should head for the hills.

So that, my friends, is a slice of what we did out here this week. Hope everyone is enjoying their autumn as well.