Dusty Roads and Other Adventures

Those who get a weekly CSA email might find the opening line and paragraph familiar...but from there it's ALL NEW(ish).

A funny thing happened on the way to wherever it was we were going...

We're not entirely sure what the punch line is supposed to be here, but the last week has been an odd one.  The weather kicks it off with some pretty cold nights and a very VERY windy day bracketed by some breezy days.  Then, we have a couple of gorgeous days.  Nature's way of saying "I'm sorry?"  We'll think about accepting the apology - maybe another three or four days like the last couple?

We started last week with cool, rainy weather.  He spent about 90 minutes out in that stuff and decided there would be better days to work outside.  It gave Rob an excuse to finally download a whole bunch of pictures from the camera and share them with others via the blog. 

Tuesday was cool, but pretty nice.  We pulled in 23 lbs of lettuce, 16-17 lbs of other greens and finished off the last of the summer squash and zucchini.  The red onions made their first CSA appearance.  You know, those Red Wing onions are pretty tasty.  We're planning on growing a bunch more of them next season.  Dad Faux arrived to do some more work on the truck barn.  We're very pleased with how that building is taking shape.  Within range of getting the roll up door on before the....  um... white stuff appears.

Wednesday was a bit breezy, but not too bad in the grand scheme.  We were already hearing about Thursday.  But, what can you do?  Unfortunately for Tammy, she received a phone message from me that went something like this... "Where is the gauze?"   Interesting how quickly I got a return call on that one.  I don't intend on using it often to get attention, however.  It is safe to say that Wednesday took a different path than was planned.

Then we get to Thursday.  It started out breezy and got progressively windier.  I'm a fairly stocky person and was nearly knocked off my feet more than once.  For those of you who have met or seen Andrea, you know she is *much* smaller.  For Andrea's final day of work on the farm, she was treated to a chance to learn how it feels to be a kite.  Ok, maybe not quite that, but it was a brutal day for outdoor work.  Rob lost an hour of time trying to repair one of the poultry shelters.  The building actually moved in the wind and injured a couple of birds (happily that was all).  The temporary solution was to remove the roof (canvas) - no small feat in 50 mph winds.  This, of course, meant we had to put the roof back on when we got back from the CSA.  It's a surreal experience putting a canvas roof back on a portable building by the light of the pickup headlights!

One of our young apple trees was a casualty, snapping off a foot above the ground.  We were also finding all kinds of things in different spots that night and the next day.  Rob's hat left his head several times.  But, the most spectacular such occurrence found the hat nearly as high as the peak of the barn and landing right on the edge of our neighbor's corn field.  Happily, Rob and the hat were reunited.  A relief for all, I am sure.  Oh, yes, we also picked stuff and delivered them to our Cedar Falls customers on Thursday.  Did I forget to mention that?

Happily, Friday was calmer weather-wise.  But, Rob spent alot of time trying to free up the wheels on the new hay rack.  He got one of them to turn (left and right, they roll just fine) but the other defied him (and still does).  So, he gave up on that and tried to work on the tractor that wasn't running.  It also defied him (and still is).  Ah, mekanikle ineptitude once again.

Saturday was cool but nice.  We got a good deal done in the AM and decided to take a trek to McIntire, Iowa.  There was an auction there with equipment listed that would be perfect for our farm.  But, we know how this kind of stuff tends to sell and we did NOT want to get our hopes up.  So, we drove the car.  You can guess what happened, can't you?

Short story, we purchased a disk harrow, a 2-bottom plow, a rotary cutter, a slip-scraper and running gear (oh no! not again?!?).  That won't fit in the car, I think.  But, it wouldn't have fit in the truck either.  A quick call to the superhero known as BAND SAW MAN and we have a truck and trailer on its way (a pretty long drive...Band Saw Man is pretty darned cool).  Everything was loaded (everything on one trailer - that was a feat in itself) and it was then noticed that the hitch to the trailer was a little cock-eyed.  As in, "probably won't make it home broken"... uh oh.

So, we all return home defeated, with the trailer and purchases left behind.

But, wait, there's more!  Our day was NOT over!  We still had to go pick up some laying chickens another poultry grower was looking to get rid of.  We got home in time to put our birds away and then we went and collected the new hens.  Dropped some off at Band Saw Man's place and then took the rest to dinner.  (hey, it was about 9pm and we hadn't had dinner yet)  The birds were safe in cages and sound asleep - but in their honor, Rob had....you guessed it... chicken for dinner.  We did manage to get home eventually and got the new birds situated.

Sunday was our GF7 festival day.  Our thanks to the fine people who attended.  Those who did not attend - you missed a near perfect day to be on the farm.  The weather has rarely been nicer.  Guess you should plan to come next time!

And, today (Monday)?  Band Saw Man arrived with repaired trailer and a load of goodies for the farm.  We managed to get it all unloaded *without* a front end loader - pretty cool.  Now, we have to get that darned tractor running so I can use this stuff.  Otherwise, they are just really heavy lawn ornaments!

And, there it is... a week.  Spills, chills and whatever other adjectives you might like to use...

Here's to a nice and slightly less adventure-laden week.