A Slam-Bang Week on the Farm

 When our children were small one of their favorite books was a little Golden book called "The Train to Timbuctoo".  It was the perfect book for reading aloud with it's train-like rhythm, words to capture the imagination, sounds and repetitions.  One of our favorite lines from the book was "Slam-bang, grease the engine, throw out the throttle and give 'er the gun!"  We always read that line with great gusto. It became a family saying and anytime something had to be done in a hurry we'd just say, "Slam-bang, grease the engine...!" and everyone knew it was time to "throw out the throttle and give 'er the gun."  

The past seven days have been real "Throw out the throttle and give 'er the gun" kind of days.  Joel, Tee and the boys arrived from California a week ago.  It's been inexpressibly wonderful having them here with us and seeing the boys explore and discover the joys of life on the farm.  Joel and Tee grabbed weed-eater, chainsaw and shovels and have accomplished about 6 months of work (for me and Pete) in 6 days.  It's been so amazing to see the changes they've wrought.  The boys were given work gloves and major lessons in the art and joy of hard work.  They've had plenty of time to ride bikes, play in the creek, explore buildings and play with all the baby animals and have become great egg gatherers for Oma.  They've also enjoyed getting reacquainted with Auntie Mei-Mei (Anne) and Uncle Kenji.

On Thursday evening I was out in the garage roasting coffee beans (to avoid setting off all the smoke alarms in the house).  A car pulled in and parked like the driver knew where he was going, which was a little strange because I didn't recognize the car.  The door opened and out stepped Becca who had flown in from LA as a birthday surprise (thanks to donated miles from a dear friend).  I was so surprised I was speechless!  Everyone but Stephen (who couldn't get time off work) was here with us for my birthday - what an incredible blessing.  My dad always used to say, "Oh, it's wonderful to have all the feet under the table again!"  Stephen sent us a picture of his feet so we put it under the table and he was "virtually" here, although we missed him greatly.   

In addition to having 9 people in the house, we had a small family reunion here on Sunday with 17 of us for dinner - so wonderful to be together again here on the farm after many, many years.

Becca left to fly back to LA today, Joel and Tee and the boys fly back to LA tomorrow.  I'm already experiencing the pain of their leaving but am soooo thankful for what we've been sharing through these visits.  Things will certainly seem quiet here after such a "slam-bang" week of fun.

Reunion picnic - time to reconnect

Micah and Auntie Becca getting a little quality time

Micah and Lucas worked on a retaining pond for the baby duckies by the creek bridge

Joel and Tee joined us for our training sessions with Kenji

Jumping rope - the longest three minutes of the day!

Memorial service at the cemetery on Sunday

Farms collect critters

This week, in addition to about 24,000 bees that came to the farm, we also collected nine young chicks.  These were classroom projects for elementary schools sponsored by the U of IL extension service.  Probably the eggs were hatched in an incubator and the school children took care of them for a week or two, a great project to do with kids of any age.  Then at some point, the teacher is eager to find a permanent home for the chicks, preferably on a farm.  Kenji's friend had inherited 30 of them and I said we'd take 5 or 6 off his hands so of course we got 9.  That's just the way it works.  Half are probably cockerels so we may end up with 4 or 5 hens if we're lucky. They are all healthy chicks and I suspect it's because these are the ones that survived being loved by small children.  Some of them have unusual marks and colors on them - I think the children might have used markers to claim certain ones as their own.  At any rate, it's fun to have chicks on the farm again.  I dug around in one of the buildings and found our sheep watering tank which is a perfect habitat for little chicks, set it up on saw horses in the barn near a bright window and hung a heat lamp over it.  I go out to the barn several times a day to check on them.  They are feathering out and we'll discover what breed and gender these mystery chicks are.  If you're going to collect critters, at least chickens are a useful thing to collect.  

First week of May on the farm

The tulips are nearly done so now it's lilacs and viburnum for the table.

Yes, it's FLAT!

Janine and I drove up to Wisconsin to pick up our packages of bees.  That's a total of 12 pounds of bees riding in the back of the car with a few loose ones, too!

 

Fern fiddleheads unfurling by the barn.  

The days are packed with adventures and chores.  Everywhere I look, I see ten projects that need to be tackled but there's time to enjoy the beauty around us.  Kenji has become my bee helper and Anne is worth two or three of me when it comes to working in the yard and garden.  Today she and I planted a bunch of lilac bushes that Mark and Janine had gifted us.  Pete and I also went to Ottawa to the DMV and proceeded to take up a huge chunk of their time with getting our licenses and registrations.  There was a steady trickle of people in and out of the DMV office but everything was calm and friendly, not more than four or five people there at a time.  As we were leaving we met another lady who had just moved to the area from LA.  Then a quick stop at Farm and Fleet (ag store) to look at mowers and a peep at the baby chicks and ducks they had in stock.  I'd just ordered my new poultry this morning so although I was tempted, we didn't come home with any new critters.   

It was a stunningly beautiful day and we meandered across country roads.  We can drive for miles and not meet another vehicle.  Later this afternoon Janine stopped over with a tub of herb plants, thinnings from her garden that will be so welcome as a start to our herb garden.  She also brought a big bag of fresh rhubarb that will be transformed into strawberry rhubarb pie, rhubarb custard pie and rhubarb coffee cake.  

The lilacs are in bloom everywhere and the fragrance is heavenly.  I can't get enough of it - it smells like home and spring.

Under the dome of heaven

When we moved to California it took me a long time to get used to seeing the mountains out the window.  There's something about looking up and seeing their majesty and beauty that is soul-stirring and I knew when we left California that there would be times I would miss seeing them.  However, while we don't have mountains in Illinois (heck, we don't even have hills) we do have something just as soul-stirring: the sky.  And we have the sky in a way many parts of the country don't experience it.

Out here on the prairie (or what used to be prairie), the sky is not just an abstract concept as in "that space not occupied by mountains, land, ocean or city".  When you are crowded in populated areas, the sky is just a backdrop against which the "real things" are showcased.  Out here in the open, with the horizon visible every direction you look, the sky has an identity in and of itself.  The sky is something you live with, something you are in contact with, something you watch and are aware of, almost like another person.  What's happening with the sky plays an active role in your life, your plans, your perceptions.  The sky has Presence.  It isn't a backdrop, it's a starring actor.

Right now, at the end of the day, the sky which had been heavy and leaden all day suddenly woke up.  There was a far off rumble which came closer and closer until suddenly it was booming like it meant it, shaking the entire house.  Thunder like that isn't "out there" - it's right here in the living room with me.  The lightning flashed between the house and the barn, the lights flickered and in a few moments, as the thunder was already rumbling off to the east the rain started pounding down.  It pelted hard for a few minutes and then it was done as quickly as it started.  The world is wet and washed and once again domed by a silent but looming presence.