Well, there's lots of rain out there, it just keeps missing us. Son-in-law got his haying done last evening, had more orders than he could fill. The last load is sitting out in our driveway waiting to be delivered this morning to one Amish neighbor at another Amish neighbor's barn.

Stan is going up on the rented property today to mow the second cutting. He's hoping for more there than was here. Between the worms and the lack of rain, it doesn't look likely.

Another scorcher here today too.

Here is a teaser for you since Wed. is the 4th. From the fireworks display last night.

NO FIreworks here this year, they have all been canceled due to how dry everything is, no rain in 4 weeks and none in sight, just more of the 100s temps.

Our town will have them. The park department has been watering the area. Where they were last night the fire department wet the whole area down and they even had 2 other departments OUT of the park in case something got started away from the area. Good thinking. There was a cornfield right beside where they were shooting, so they weren't worried about it starting a fire in there. All was well.

Our fireworks are all over lakes, so not too much of a problem.

The heat here is hideous, and SU and I have a milking job starting today thru the 14th. Gads...........can't say I've missed all that in the heat. Plus the guy now has sick calves I have to deal with. I felt atrocious this morning when I got up........didn't sleep much at all last night and I know it was just from the heat. I sure don't want a repeat of my episode of 2 years ago; I think I am more susceptable to it now since that happened. We need rain, bad. Neighbor that works at the local JD dealership said there are guys that are going to chop their heat-stressed corn before it dries out and is lost.

We aren't that dry, but it's dry enough that the grass isn't growing. Stan got the big silo full, but it took every scrap of second cutting that he could find. Today is supposed to be the hottest day here, tomorrow still hot with a slight chance of thunder storms. we got two, one the night before the 4th and another on the 4th. I was on my way to pick up my mother in the worst of it - what fun. Got about 1/2 an inch total, but it evaporated by lunch time, so it didn't really help much.

take lots of water with you, Anna. Don't envy you at all!

I picked a bowl full of red raspberries. The clump was planted in the '50s and some years are better than others. this seems to be a good year. Good thing, 'cause the birds are getting all my blueberries.

All fireworks private and public were banned, it is so bad that now farmers are plowing under the corn crops, it is 99 now forcast is for 101 with a heat index of 110
everything is burning up.

It sound like you are having the drought that we had last year - good luck!

Monroe's fireworks went on as planned. They are held in the town's largest park. The park department started watering down the site a week ago, and watered it again just before the display. Wish I could email you the video I took of the show. Pyro-kid said I did good. LOL


I'll have to download the pix I took while we were helping set up the display. Even that looks pretty awesome.

Hotter, dry. There's a 30% chance of spotty thunderstorms Saturday, Sunday and Monday. I don't know anyone who is holding their breath. I feel kind of guilty complaining after what some of you have been through, but this sure isn't normal. Even the lake seems to be letting us down, it is up to 76F - not about to stir up any lake effect at that temperature.

Stan fixed the plows today, made a rope swing to put on the swingset that he and Tom and Josh made for the little kids. He mowed some pasture and talked to the gas well tender, checked the heifers and took the old barn fan out of his dad's barn before it succumbed to the whole falling in.

I've been watering gardens. I need to remember to set a timer. The one today got a couple hours of sprinkler time rather than the hour I had intended.

Our summer is turning out to be almost as wet as last year's was dry - well not quite. However the pastures have recovered amazingly well. I thought more of the grass was gone for good. The weeds are doing best, of course and I broke the drive shaft on the shredder last month and just got it back together last week so I am way behind on pasture maintenance. But everything is green, the stock tanks are full, the frogs are singing, life is good!

A neighbor's barn burned this morning.........he's got about 90 cows, but.............they had just finished milking so good that someone was there. Real kicker is the owner is in Missouri.............some vacation, eh? Wonder how long it will take him to get back here. I guess no animals were lost. We went by there about an hour ago, fire depts. still there. Hay in that barn will smolder forever. No cause as of yet. Another neighbor close to us is building (or perhaps it is finished; haven't asked) anothe big free-stall barn and I know he doesn't have enough animals to fill it. Guess those cows will be living there for now. They were being hauled up there by other neighbors and trailers.

Oh Anna, that is horrible. I'm thankful they got all the animals out.

We had a shed fire in the neighborhood yesterday. It was full of big round bales and went up like tinder. Apparently they were burning trash and the wind took it right into the shed. They used to call this barn burning season, but back then it had more to do with wet hay. There isn't any of that this year. Good that they got the cattle out, Anna. That's why we never go very far away from home, just in case you need to be back in a day.

the little DGD sprained her ankle badly last night and is in a hard splint. Grandma is going to have to come up with lots of crafts for this one! We're having lots of using crutches practice. She'll be in it for a week, then a check up. No swimming or gymnastics for a week - Yikes! We're making a fabric band to go around it so she can write and draw on it.

I'm getting the grands tomorrow.............will pick them up at noon after their summer school. Then go somewhere for lunch. Probably McD's, since dad will NOT take them there. What are Grammys for, eh??? We'll do some fun stuff, then I'll take them back to their place, as their mother will pick them up at 5 pm. Her weekend. Then it will be off to the milking job after DS gets home from work. He'll be there with them till their mother comes.

SU thought that Austin and he could put together some more Lego train stuff........well, the guy we're milking for was back (leaving again this afternoon; we knew he was going to be here a bit today). He asked SU if he could haul oats today, tomorrow, and Sat. Well, he sposed he could do that. No Legos, tho, he guessed. He had mentioned while milking this morning that we could go to the neighboring county's fair for a couple hours. That would work, since he wouldn't have to be back to haul oats till about 4. So, we get home, he feeds our beasts, and neighbor we raise the beasts for rolled in and said "I'd like to make a bag of hay silage". Arghhhhhhhhh................no fair, he can't be here when they're running the bagger (he HATES leaving it for some cowboys to run), and he's hauling oats. I was kinda looking forward to the fair, tho. LOL

I told him I'd bring the kids so he could see them, at least. Maybe we can bring him lunch too.

Well, the sprain is a growth plate fracture, but it is not a bad one and the treatment is still splint for 1 week and crutches. The novelty has worn off and she is very very grumpy. I have the big kid coming to help me out - she doesn't take grumpy and will be most useful!

More hot, a very slight chance of rain. Stan is wishing he hadn't spread the fertilizer when he did - no rain and it's not getting down into the ground. He plowed some more pasture yesterday and baled up 35 bales of hay - not a big haul, but it helps.

We had some lovely rain and the lawns and fields have greened up nicely. There is still a deficit of moisture, but it sure helped. I know I am not cut out for prolonged drought - that's for sure.

I have been picking little yellow pear tomatoes and I noticed one of the Sweet 100s is red. The pumpkins have completely taken over the new raised bed, hiding the beans I planted between the hills. there are some little squash plants at the end of the bed - I hope they are able to set some fruit! Next year, the pumpkins go in a separate bed! I had forgotten how big the vines get.

I am amazed at how the pastures here have recovered from last year's drought. I have been shredding almost non-stop to keep the weeds down, and the grass is really thick in places where I thought it was completely dead! In addition I have fewer cows as I did not breed for a calf crop this year because the extension service predicted further drought and an extended recovery period - fat lot they know! At least I didn't sell out as many people did.

Meanwhile the vegetable garden has been neglected and my little yellow pear tomatoes have spread out in all directions so that the garden is an impenetrable jungle. Something like this happens almost every year that we have regular rainfall, you'd think I'd learn! I also have rampant pumpkins but they are growing among my roses thanks to the pigs. In the past they have planted watermelons for me which also get out of control in no time.

I need to get out and finish spraying fence lines before the wind comes up - if it does. Yesterday the mosquitoes drove me in so I need to be better prepared.

lol, lucky pigs - watermelon! We can't grow melons here without a greenhouse and all kinds of trouble. There was a minister downtown who grew up in Minnesota and didn't believe the natives when we told him, that in spite of the fact that they grow in MN, they don't grow here. I think we don't, in what used to be a normal year, get enough sun.