The way things stand

It's that time of year. The time when all of the crops are in the ground...and they look good. Really good! We've had a year full of rain and just enough sun to dry things out afterwards so that the crops don't rot where they stand. Now were are basically just waiting for things to die.

See this bean field? Those beans are actually chest high on an average sized man. That's pretty darn tall and they are loaded with beans. They are now starting to turn just a bit yellow. That means that they are starting to die. Corn will actually be harvested first, because it will be ready sooner. But when the beans are ready, we will switch the header on the combine and harvest them instead. (They are more valuable than corn and if you don't get them soon enough, the pods will shatter and you'll end up with all of your profit sitting on the ground with no way to pick it up.)

The grain bins are sitting empty just waiting to be filled. This picture was taken in February which is why the grass is brown. It's now green, lush, and in need of mowing.


This picture was also taken in February, but the sweet corn that grew here this summer has already been picked long ago and mowed off. It is now a field of weeds. Very soon, we will be busier than the bees on the sunflowers. We hope!

Where were you?

We will never forget.

How quickly they fade

It's always amazing to me that a field can look like this one week:

Like this the next week:

And like this the next:

Poor babies!

Best Damn Blueberry Muffins

Because these never, ever fail me...because they always come out perfect...

because I want some right now...

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries (or frozen, it's all good!)
1/4 cup white sugar
1/6 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 cup butter, cubed

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F . Grease muffin cups or line with papers.
Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Fold the blueberries into this flour mixture. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Now this next step is very important: Mix this with flour/blueberry mixture UNTIL JUST COMBINED. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/4 cup sugar, 1/6 cup flour, and 1/2 cup butter. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into muffin comes out clean.
This will make 8 (regular sized) muffins.

Make some today! You wont be sorry.

How sad is this?

Behold! Our glorious sunflower field.

Pretty darn...well, not pretty!
No problem-o! In a month or so, the birds will love it.

Let this be a life lesson to all you youngins out there:

Looks fade! It's what's on the inside that matters!

Smile and the world smiles with you!

Ted had an interview with our local news station this morning.

He actually changed his shirt and shoes for the interview...but not his filthy jeans. (Hope they filmed him from the waist up.)

See the combine in the background? It's lonely. It wants some attention. With all of the rain we've had, it's going to have to wait a bit longer...but then...then it's really going to get some attention. Crops this year are looking gooooood!

Every day, the sunflowers are getting heavier with seed. They look sad with their heads drooping, but if you look closely...

You may see a few smiling faces!

We Bow Our Heads

The sunflowers have definitely seen better days. I really can't believe they've held on this long, but they are finally crying: "Enough!"

The heads are all starting to droop.

The petals are wilting and falling off.

The seed development starts from the outside of the flower head and works it's way in...finally filling in the middle. The bees that were once circling the outside are now enjoying the center.

This flower has not quite reached maturity. See how the head is not filled in in the center?

The field has entered the dog days of summer.