Monday Dose of Farm Color: Double Delight

Double rainbow over the hayfield (it was brighter in real life, but you can just make out the second one above the first).

Did you have a good weekend? We were thrilled to get over two inches of much needed rain in the past 48 hours, with a chance for more in the next few days. Woohoo!

I'm loving the break from my daily sweat-drenched watering sessions in the kitchen garden, though they're much more enjoyable since I bought some of these awesome, ultra light (made in the USA!) Water Right hoses two years ago. What a difference. I used to dread watering.

We're slowly getting back into the swing of things after a whirlwind 10 days of plane travel and cross-country road tripping (Joe), stocking up on a ton of groceries in the big city and getting 10 inches of hair lopped off (me), enjoying the company of a hard working houseguest (Joe's older brother, who hasn't been here in 6 years and who managed to squeeze in two fun bread baking lessons in between helping Joe with the enormous job of cleaning out the spring boxes), and stuffing ourselves with lots of wonderful homemade food (everybody). It's been crazy hot and humid, but that's sum, sum, summertime.

Wishing you a wonderful start to your week!

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Farm landscape photos 2011

Farm landscape photos 2012

Farm landscape photos 2013

© FarmgirlFare.com, the eyes to the sky foodie farm blog where we're hoping that tonight's supermoon won't be obscured by cloud cover like June's was, but if the clouds mean we're getting more rain, then so be it. We'll just raise a champagne toast to the ceiling and use our imaginations.

Farm Photo: 7/2/07

Holding on for dear life or just hanging out? (click on photo to enlarge)

So it finally rained. A lot. Like three inches in twenty-four hours. Thank goodness.

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© 2007 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares photos & stories of her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres.

Farm Photo 6/30/07: Stormy Weather on My Mind

But Not On My Farm

Because of the way our farm is tucked into this little valley, we never get much in the way of sunsets. Most evenings the sun simply dips below the ridgetop without so much as a wave goodbye. Sunrises can be very nice, though, and once in a while at dusk the entire sky will turn some gorgeous shade of pink or orange. On a clear night there are more stars twinkling above than many people have probably ever seen. It wasn't until I'd moved to the middle of nowhere that I finally realized why they call it The Milky Way. Out here it's one big swath of white across the sky.

We may not be on the wide open prairie where the horizon stretches on forever, but we do get some pretty big glimpses of the weather as it heads this way. The spectacular displays will often stop me in my tracks, but it isn't easy watching storm clouds blow right by, knowing they're off to shower water on someone else when we so desperately need it.

You know it's dry when a cat kicks up a cloud of dust as it trots down the driveway. The storm in this photo passed overhead without leaving a drop, but thankfully we've had a little rain lately--enough to at least settle the dust. It's probably due to the fact that despite overcast skies, humidity at 80% or higher, and not a breeze to speak of, I've been dutifully hanging laundry out on the line. This trick has worked before, and it seems to be sort of working now. By the time I hung up the last sock other day, there were raindrops tapping on my big straw hat.

Three days later, I'm afraid to break the spell by bringing all that still-slightly-damp laundry in, especially since there's an awful lot of sunshine outside considering the 60% chance of rain in the forecast. Because we have no neighbors, I don't have to worry about word getting around town that I leave my laundry hanging on the line for days at a time because I'm either lazy or crazy or both. But reputations aside, I may have to give in anyway. I'm just about out of clean socks.

Want to see more?
--Farm Photo 7/6/05: Misty Morning Sunrise
--Farm Photo 7/24/05: Quite A Sunrise
--Farm Photo 8/5/05: At Sunrise, The Possibilities Are Endless
--Farm Photo 8/6/05: A Gorgeous End To A Lovely Day
--Farm Photo 8/15/05: Sunrise On A New Week
--Farm Photo 9/13/05: You Can't Fence Out A Sunrise
--Farm Photo 11/19/05: Good Morning Sun & Goodnight Moon
--Farm Photo 12/31/05: Final Sunrise Of The Year
--Farm Photo 2/8/06: There's Something About A Sunrise
--Farm Photo 4/15/06: I Haven't Shared A Sunrise In A While
--Farm Photo 9/12/06: A Peach Of A Sunrise
--Farm Photo 9/19/05: Morning Moonset
--Farm Photo 1/11/06: I'm Constantly Distracted By The Sky
--Farm Photo 9/5/06: Another Beautifully Distracting Sky
--Farm Photo 9/23/06: Last Night Of Summer Spectacular Show
--Farm Photo 10/24/06: There's That Distracting Sky Again
--Farm Photo 11/9/06: Big Sky

© 2007 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares photos & stories of her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres.

Farm Photo: 1/15/07

Our Wet Weather Creek Started Running This Morning

Shhhqwit! Shhhqwit! Shhhqwit!
From what I've heard, we've been very lucky so far. That predicted freezing rain and other nasty stuff ended up coming down as regular old rain instead, but boy did we get plenty of it. The creek is running. The overflow from the spring box--which is often not more than a trickle--looks like a baby Niagra Falls. And there's mud. Lots and lots of mud. The barnyard turned into a mushy, yucky mess.

Shhhqwit! Shhhqwit! Shhhqwit!
In my beloved rubber boots and thick woolen socks, I can slog through the barnyard just fine--even with my hay cart in tow (no sense in feeding those bales that are safely in the barn just yet). I cannot believe I survived the first 26 years of my life without rubber boots. They are so liberating! Today I marched right through a puddle that came halfway up to my knees.

As for the sheep. . . well, they avoid puddles whenever possible. And I can't think of anything they despise more than having to walk in the mud. You don't know what pure disgust is until you've seen it staring back at you on 56 faces at once.

By choice, the sheep and their guard donkey spent the day plodding around in the wet and nibbling on low hanging branches of cedar trees rather than munching on hay in the muck. It is obvious they blame me not only for the mud, but all of the bad weather as well. So when I tucked them in for the night, I consoled them with their favorite treats and the comforting news that this would all be frozen solid by morning. Which is good--because I hate to think how much it would cost to buy 112 pairs of little rubber boots.

As for us, we are hunkered down and awaiting zero degrees. The fire in the woodstove is crackling, there is freshly baked bread in the kitchen, and the two raised beds of my special high dollar garlic have been mulched with a thick layer of manure hay from the barn. I even managed to install a makeshift plastic tarp drop ceiling in the greenhouse to help hold in the heat from the space heater. There is nothing more to do but curl up, get some sleep, and hope there's running water in the morning.

A year of photos ago:
1/14/06: Patience Is Not One Of Their Virtues
And WCB #32: Posted Patchy Cat
1/15/06: Nice Green Hay On A Very Cold Day
And WDB #17: Robin & Leopold