Summer seems to be officially over. Kind of.
We just started swathing {mowing} our fourth crop of hay which means a very busy time for the next two to three weeks. The weather is definitely beginning to change. The evenings cool down so by morning it is downright chilly outside. In the heat of summer we could start swathing around 8 in the morning. Now we have to wait until about 11am when all the dew has burned off. If you swath the hay while it’s too wet it takes too long to dry. The longer it is on the ground drying the more nutrients the hay loses.
So we wait. Good things come when we wait.
We spent the hottest days in our redneck swimming pool, an old oil tank that never saw its original purpose.
Our bookmobile summer reading program ended with the usual tie-dye session. It’s always a surprise the next morning to see what designs emerge. A lesson I need to remember – patience in waiting for the beautiful designs of life to shine.
Bright splashes of color in stripes and swirls and bull’s-eyes. Days full of giggles and messes, piano practice and silent reading, order and chaos.
Ginny, our ever faithful bookmobile librarian, loves to cuddle on the babies while we talk books, ranching, motherhood, and everything in between.
We love her to pieces and are so glad she fought breast cancer into remission several years ago.
Amidst all the hustle and bustle the routines of home keep us grounded. Family, food, and feasting on the word of God. These tie us together, tie us to Him.
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| Chopping onions |
And if we can do that with some humor thrown in, why not?
I am new to your blog but love it! Your daughter chopping onions is fabulous! I wear ski goggles , open window. turn on fans, bribe the kids to help, but next time I am trying the swim goggles! Your ranch is gorgeous, we live close to my in-laws ranch in Northern Utah so I identify with many of your ranchisms!
Ha! Smart girl chopping onions with goggles on! My oldest girl does the same thing!
Love the goggles, I will have to share that tip with my 13 year old!
Beautiful post! Love the photo of Ginny! The goggles crack me up! =)
Teenagers are so creative : ) I love the tie-dye-inspired thought of “patience in waiting for the beautiful designs of life to shine.”
…and best wishes in this busy swathing season.
I love the goggles, that’s awesome!!
A very fun post.My father farmed; so I know about the growing and cutting of hay. Loved the pictures and the tie dye shirts. The goggles were the best of all.
Blessings!
In a recent homily, our pastor ended with the statement that, “if you truly believe God is watching, at least be entertaining!” I think she’s got that one down 🙂
So fun! It looks like you are having a blast with the end of summer. Love the pool! And the tie-died shirts (haven’t done that since I was a kid!). What a great idea and I am going to have to do this soon. We end our summer with the reading challenge from Barnes and Noble – Thanks for the ideas! Have a lovely weekend~
Oh Sara, what would we do with out you?! I bet she doesn’t know that picture is on here, does she? 😉
She knows! Of course when I was taking the picture she said, “You better not put this on the blog!”