Memphis Democrat Column from August 06, 2007

Well, now that we have two dogs, I guess we qualify for double dog days. All of us here on the farm are having to stop and wring ourselves out periodically the last few days. I definitely feel on the waterlogged and limp side myself. We got a brief shower this morning (Monday), but really got a corker of a rain on July 29th. The sky opened up suddenly over us and kept on pouring for a while. The rain gauge showed that we got 1.35 inches in about an hour and a half. French said that he got 2.5 inches during the same time at his house three miles west of us. When Michael called his report into the weather bureau in Burlington, they said the storm parked over us and a small one in southern Knox County were the only ones for hundreds of miles. The rain came at the right time for our field crops, but we could use some more to bring in a good harvest this fall. Work is continuing at a good pace on the new greenhouse. Greg has been focusing on the roof with help from Steph. Apple hosted a cobbing party Saturday morning. Ali and Liat from Dancing Rabbit joined her and Thea in finishing up first round of the work that needs to be done on this part of the project. Our tomato harvest is picking up in earnest and Apple is staying on top of all the picking. Emmet, Michael and I processed a big batch of canned pulp and juice last week. I also put up some carrots and Thea did a good-sized batch of broccoli and greens for the freezer. We have also harvested the first round of onions and have them drying on racks in the Karma shed and our garlic harvest is hung up in bunches and drying in the barn. Emmet harvested the last of our early green beans and picked edamame (green soy beans). Apple has also been harvesting tomatillos which Laird turns into a really yummy hot sauce. Greg, Apple and Michael having been keeping up with the mowing around our buildings. Greg also has been busy discing and mowing in our fields. The sound of the mower and the tractor are hallmarks of our summer here. We have had a nice social scene lately with French and some of the folks from Dancing Rabbit and Red Earth joining us for meals and summertime visiting on the front porch There have also been some recreational trips to Kirksville and Memphis. Some of our folks have been travelling the past couple of weeks. Thea went down to the Ozarks with a friend for a few days on July 23rd. They spent the time in Oregon County near Thayer. Emmet left for Chicago on Saturday to visit a friend and will back on Thursday. Stan, Gigi and Renay left on a trip to the East Coast and Europe on July 26th and will return on August 18th. They visited with Gigi's family in New York for a few days and then flew to London. They will be visiting some of Gigi's relatives in England as well as seeing the sights. The three of them will also visit friends in the Netherlands, including Arjen who used to live at Dancing Rabbit. Greg's son Dakota was here last week for a visit. He returned to Colorado on Saturday in time to start classes today. He will be attending a school this year that offers the Outward Bound program. Laird returned from his trip to California late Saturday night. He will be home until he leaves early next week to attend a memorial service for Ann's mother in Michigan and the Twin Oaks Communities Conference in Virginia. He felt that things went well while he was in the Bay Area and it is encouraging to hear from him that our friend Geoph is doing better than was initially expected.