The apples are ready….

I don't want to say it but I think we are apple farmers.  I mean we have a lot of apple trees.  63 to be exact.  Okay, actually that number is down this year.  We lost a couple to a bad storm and then we lost a couple more simply due to the actual weight of the apples on the trees.  So I'm thinking we are in the 50's somewhere, but I've not counted lately.  What difference does it make when you look out to sea of red apples.

Our harvest is phenomenal this year.  It's crazy.  When I mow in the orchard and just barely bump a branch all you hear is thump, thump, thump, thump with the tons of apples hitting the ground.  Of course they end up all over the mower and me and everything else.  Funny….but not.

We never sprayed the apples this year and I have to admit, we have been lucky.  The only thing that they have are some black soot spots which scrubs off with a cloth under the water.  Not too bad for two people who have no idea how to raise apple trees.  This year I just let God take over and I'm thinkin' he did a pretty good job.

Today, I have peeled apples almost all day long.  Applesauce had my name written all over it.  Yep.  It did.  Lots and lots of applesauce was canned.  But not nearly enough to even make a tiny dent in the amount of apples left on the trees.

So I got to thinkin'….

And finally, I took the plunge.

I put a sign out at the end of our driveway, and I thought I'd sell me some apples.  Scary, I know.  But guess what???  Our farm is now officially open for business.

….I probably ought to let my husband know.

Yesterday, I got all excited….

The grater guy was here smoothing out our yard.  Now, I cannot tell you how long we have been waiting for our "yard" to be put in.  Yard meaning the area just around our house, not the entire farm.

Nope.  Been mowing that for like forever now.

Anyhow, been waiting a long time for this guy to finally show up.  And he did.  Worked all day moving and spreading and smoothing everything out so pretty.  And wouldn't ya know it.

Today it rained.

Now, I'm not talking a tiny bit of it.  Nope.  It poured and poured and poured.  And I watched that pretty, smooth yard go slipping and sliding all the way down our driveway.  Grrrrrrr…..

Seriously?!?….

Now, I've got myself a mud patch you would not believe.  It's like a mud moat around my house.  No way in.  And no way out.  Wanna come in?  Ya gotta come through the mud people.  Wanna take the dog out.  Ya gotta go out through the mud moat.  Ugh….

All I wanted was some grass in the yard.  Is that too much to ask?

God showed up at our farm today….

In a mighty big way.

One pumpkin down….only 7 more to go.

I've been canning pumpkin lately.  A lot of pumpkin.  A serious amount of pumpkin.  This is what happens when you plant your pumpkin seeds a tad bit too early in the garden.  Lesson learned.

We are not going to be hard pressed for pumpkin this winter at all.  Nope, no way.  

Now I just have to find recipes that my family will enjoy all winter.  Any suggestions?

Pretty cool, huh?

To go from this….

To this…

All from a patch of grapes that we found on our farm.  Never give up on a neglected farm, people.

Pretty cool, huh?

The flood gates have opened….

This week we brought on the first of many animals to our farm.  Meet our newest additions.

Fred and George.

Yes, I know.  The kids named them.  Not my fault.  But I have to admit, they are hilarious to watch.  They are suppose to be there to do a "job".  You know, the whole catch mice kind of thing.  But lately the only thing they are doing is adding a kind of comic relief to the farm.

They scurry around, fall in a hole, pounce on a leaf only to have it frighten the fire out of them and then run halfway up a tree.  Then that repeats about ninety million times in a day.  Hilarious.

One thing is for certain.  They are the most loved on farm cats around.

Sixteen….

My oldest daughter turned sixteen today.  Seriously?!…  I don't think I'm ready yet.  These kids are growing up soooo fast.  I mean really, really fast.  Is it just my kids or are you guys having these issues too?

Our oldest daughter and her best friend

This little stinker is a Junior this year and is such a joy to have around.  Absolute joy.  Cannot say that enough.

For her birthday we decided to do a little something different.  We took her and a few of her friends horse back riding.  And she loved it.  We've been begging Dad to let us get a horse.  I mean really…what's a farm without a horse, right?

Well….we're working on that one.

Anyway, our daughter loved her birthday "weekend".  Since we had just moved in just a few days prior to us celebrating all our birthday decorations were packed away in boxes.  Didn't bother our sweet girl one bit.  I love that about her.  We had a delicious birthday cake decorated on a Christmas plate…because well, that's all we could find out of the moment…..and dinner and presents and all the chaos that goes with it.

I love that girl.  That sweet, marvelous daughter of ours.  She has the kindest heart and such a gentle spirit…well, except if you are in the water with her.  And then, watch out.

Happy birthday our sweet sixteen.  I love you to the moon and back….

First day of school….

This morning I watched my kids go to school….for the first time.  And that was hard.

Okay, technically my smallest one had gone to half day preschool before but my youngest daughter had never been to an actual school before.  I have been homeschooling children for the past 13 years.  And now, I watched as the kids waved goodbye and I handed over that baton to someone else.

Weird?  Yes.

But it was time.

I know that they are going to love it.  I know that they are going to make a boatload of friends.  And I know that this is what is best for them.

What I didn't know is that I'd feel so lost without them.

So what do you do with your first "alone" time in 13 years?  You mow.  And mow.  And mow so more.  And then you realize that your day has flown past.

And then you get to hear all about their day.

It's nice to step out of the role of teacher and back into the role of just momma.  It's what I love best.

Moving…part two.

We are done.  With a big ol' sigh of relief.

All of the furniture, boxes everything is finally at our new house.  But it was not without it's challenges and sore muscles.  We packed the truck until late one night and then we were moving the first load as the sun got up.  The next load took a little longer to load up and by dinner we were done.

Then it was a matter of finding the things we needed….beds, sheets, shower curtains.  And that was not easy.  You'd think I would have been smarter this last time….but no.

But that's okay.  We are at our new home and there is one thing I can assure you of.

We are never moving again.

Nuff said.

College visits….

In the middle of our crazy life right now, my oldest son and I fit in visiting a few state colleges.  I mean who doesn't do that right after they've been robbed, packing up a rental house, high school swimming practices in full swing, back to school shopping…oh, and finish building a farmhouse.  Everyone does that, right?

Um…no.

Well, my son and I did.  I literally had two days in a row on one week that worked so we packed up each day and left.  Each college was about two hours away (in different directions), so we had to leave very early just to get to there for the events starting at eight.

The first college was a smaller college and immediately I just loved it.  The people, the location, the students.  I would have plopped down my application right then and there.  But this was not my decision.  It was my oldest's and at this one he was bored.  Really?!…  Ugh.

The second college was huge and he couldn't contain himself.  He bounced off the walls with excitement.  About where he was going to live, where he was going to eat, what he was going to do.  Seriously?!…

And then I thought about it.

This is classic.  My son and I don't see eye to eye.  At all.  We are very different.  Why would I think he would choose the one I liked.  But for the moment I am glad he has decided to go.  To be honest, he has not been an easy child to raise these past few years.  Okay, that's the understatement of the year.  But now….I have a carrot.

A carrot to dangle.

One that I hope he will want to grab onto to pursue and get a great degree.  There is hope.  He might just be finding his way after all.

Moving….part one

Yesterday we moved boxes.  A lot of boxes.  A boatload, mountainous, extremely large amount of boxes.  Or at least it felt that way around seven that evening.  We were all so hungry, tired and thirsty that we were dragging at the end.

My oldest son was a trooper though.  He pulled his weight and then some.  You see, my husband had to work that morning and could only take off work at lunchtime.  So that left he and I the "official movers" for the day.  We started at eight picking up the truck and did I mention that I drove that bad boy home.  Oh yeah, I did.  All. By. Myself.

I felt pretty stinking cool in that thing….well, except for the fact I had to actually go forward.  But sitting there in the parking lot, I was the bomb, baby.  Wait, do kids still say that nowadays?

Ahem…

Well anyway, after my slight panic episode of getting the truck home, I realized the fact I had to back that bad boy up when I finally got there.  ….another moment of panic…..  And then, on a wing and a prayer and a hallelujah chorus I turned that monster of a truck off and kissed the ground.

Never again.  Truck driving is definitely NOT in my future.

After that epiphany, my son and I loaded the entire truck for the next 4 hours.  Four very long hours.  My husband was then home for lunch and we rallied all the troops we could find.  In our case, every child with two arms in our house had to carry a box.  Then we broke the news that we had to go and unload everything.

There was much sadness.

Finally, after five more hours we unloaded everything at our new house.  This move was just boxes and it was a monster of a move.  The next move in a few days is the furniture.  I hate to think about the look on the kids faces when we tell them that fact.

Moving….no good thing about it.  Just gotta live through it.

One good reason why kids shouldn't be movers….

While packing they end up finding a game they haven't played in forever and stop to play it...right then and there.

I'm pretty sure I should have gone with the professionals.  Moving boxes tomorrow and furniture in a just a few days.

We are going home, people.

Let's talk about something else….

How about tomatoes.

I am overrun with tomatoes at this moment.  Anybody else have this issue?  Looking back at the amount of plants that went into the ground, I might have gone a wee bit overboard.  And now, I'm paying the piper.

Just about everyday I am picking about two 5 gallon buckets full of tomatoes.  I'm canning as fast as I can, but I'm not keeping up as I should be.  If it weren't for the fact that my kids didn't get the memo that we are moving this weekend and next…which translates to the fact that I've got to still pick them up from practices, camps and oh, apparently they need to be fed….I might get a bit more done.

But….I…..am….not.  Ugh.

I picked a beautiful new tomato this year to grow called "Gold Medal".  It is a whopper of a tomato.  They are bigger than my hand.  We're talking huge.  They are beautiful yellow with streaks of red and taste a little sweeter than normal.  My husband isn't quite sure what he thinks about them.  They are harder to pick (because of being yellow) and he says he doesn't quite know when they are ripe.

We also grew an Italian heirloom tomato that it's taste is to die for.  It cans up real nicely and come this winter we will love all the sauces and soups it will make.  Some other tomatoes we grew were Martino's roma, cherry roma and I believe I threw in some Brandywine ones as well.

For now, being knee-deep in tomatoes is crazy.  I haven't had to water them once since we've had a wonderful supply of rain.  And they are prolific.  I'm just not sure how many more meals I can create with tomatoes.  My husband says it's time to start giving some away.  But all the contractors on the farm are on to me and run away when I come toting the 5 gallon buckets.

That's fine.  Come winter everybody will be singing a different tune.  They'll be wishin' they had that tomato.  That beautiful tasty big ol' honkin' tomato.

Having perspective….it's just stuff

Well….been trying to have a little bit of perspective.  And remember that stuff is well, just stuff.  Not what's really important.

True conversation.

Us:  Yes, Detective so and so, when do we get the rest of our stuff back?

Detective:  Well, there was a problem.  When the officer pulled the man who robbed you over he only took a few things off his trailer, took a picture of the stuff in the trailer and of the man and then let him go?

Us:  (Dumbfounded)  Let him go?  With our stuff?

Detective:  Yes.  We apologize.  He should have confiscated everything on the truck but instead they only took what looked like a construction robbery.  Not all your items.

Us:  (Still dumbfounded)  So when you asked us to describe our items you were just looking at the photo that was taken?  You didn't even have all our stuff in your possession?

Detective:  Correct.  But we do have in our possession your 3 saws.

Us:  (Utterly dumbfounded)


Stuff.  It's just stuff.

We met this man the night we were robbed.  He approached us on the farm.  Long story short, he asked us some weird questions and then went on his merry way.

Big picture.

Things could have gone really bad.  He is a very bad individual and God protected us that night.  The odds that an officer would have pulled over that same man that same night we were robbed are incredibly tiny.  But it happened.  Because of that, we were able to identify him and now hopefully (if they can catch him again) put him away for a long time.

Frustrating?  You bet it is….

But it's just stuff.  What's really important sits around my dinner table every night.  Argues about the last two scooters.  And looks like angels sleeping in their beds at night.

I am thankful.  For protection.  My family.

I don't need all the stuff.

The scooter….

These past 72 hours have beaten me down.  Emotionally and physically.  They have been awful.

I am not a cryer but I have lost it a few times with everything that has been going on.  I told my husband, I have reached the limit on what I can take.

Done.

But let me tell you a little story as to what has happened.

We have a scooter.  Nothing fancy.  Just a silver and black scooter.  But it has been the issue of more arguments than you can imagine.  No one likes to ride it.  It has a flat part on one wheel and when you ride it quickly it goes like this……thump, thump, thump, thump, thump (but a thousand times faster).  We have three scooters in all but the "loser" of any argument has to end up riding the bumpy scooter, because of course we don't have enough to go around.

On Saturday the kids were riding this scooter at the farm.  Quite comically to hear the vibrating voices racing down the new driveway, if you ask me.  Anyway.  Because the kids didn't want to take the "bad scooter" back to the rental we left it in the storage garage.

On Saturday night it was one of many, many, many things stolen from us.  That scooter.  That 3 dollar garage sale scooter.  Gone.  No one blinked an eye about it.  The kids could really have cared less.

On Sunday night a man was pulled over with a trailer full of items.  That scooter.  That gosh awful scooter stood out amongst the tools and other items and made the police take notice.  For some reason, that scooter screamed out to them.  Take me back to my family!!!!!

And so, because of one item looking out of place (and given the fact that we reported what this man looked like and all the other stuff he took) we have been told that they believe they have the right man and that this is our stuff.  How much of it is there?  We don't know.

But when they saw the scooter they knew it was ours.  Well of course they did.  I guess it will be with us forever and ever amen.

Mamma bear….

Today we drove out to the farm to see one of our garages open and our brand spankin' new tools stolen.  It was NOT a banner day for us.

There is nothing like that feeling.  That sick to your gut feeling you know someone sneaky and knifing, someone cowardly….someone who is not in their right mind has rifled through your stuff.

It unnerves you something fierce.

But that does not last for long.  And then you just get down right M. A. D.  I mean scream out loud at the sky kind of mad.  It's just not right, people.  Not right.

And then, you get smart.

To the man who decided to be a coward and take what was not his to begin with…watch out.  I know what you look like.  I can pick you out of a crowd.  I will, and I repeat will, protect my family.

You have unleashed this mamma bear.

23 years and counting...

Spent the day with my favorite date in the whole wide world today.  Actually he's been my only date for longer than these past 23 years.

We were putting on our front porch deck all day today in the scorching heat.  Sweaty and hot, he still makes me laugh and catches me when I fall.  Okay, that's not technically correct.  I fell through the deck boards in front of him and he just looked at me and about laughed.

I. Did. Not. Laugh.

Ahem.  Any-hoo.  I am crazy about this man.  Ya wanna know why?  Because at the end of the day I remember why I married him 23 years ago today.  Why I agreed to say yes for ever and ever amen.  Why I got so lucky to have my best friend and greatest cheerleader….even though he knows I am highly accident-prone and a bonehead and failing as a farmer right now.  He loves me.  For me.

And that's why 23 years seems like a blink of an eye.  I can't wait to see what else is in store for us.  Bandaids and all.

I love ya, babe.

So very, very true….

New poured driveway + a boatload of rain = disaster

Yesterday, the kids and I went by the house to check on things.  We've had a few issues that we've been dealing with (ahem….like the painters leaving the front door wide open and windows open on the night we had a major rain storm.  Not cool, man).  Anyway, coming off of that glorious moment I thought it would be best to check on the state of things at the house.

They were pouring our driveway and the kids and I watched for a little while.  Then we climbed in our van and headed off.  Not 15 seconds from the house my husband called to say those 6 dreaded words…."you are about to get pounded."

Rain.

I'm talking a mountain of rain, people.  We probably got 3 + inches of rain yesterday.  Ugh.  Love it for the farm and garden.  Hate it because the driveway was ruined.

Seriously?!

They were saying a 15% chance of rain yesterday.  15%.  And that amount equalled disaster for our driveway.

Oh heavens, just get me through these next 24 days….

Well, I'm not gonna lie to ya….

Farming is hard.  I mean H.A.R.D. people.  Farmers are either passionate or crazy.  And I'm going with a little bit of both.

It takes a passionate person to drag themselves out day after day to be covered in dirt and sweat to fight what seems to be a losing battle against the weeds this year.  But it also takes a crazy person to go home at night with muscles sore and so tired you really don't want to climb the stairs to bed, and then go searching on craigslist for chickens because you don't have enough to deal with right now.

Passionate or crazy?

It takes a passionate person to love the land so much to work it and nourish it instead of fighting it with pesticides and chemicals.  And sometimes that working with it, means pulling by hand weed after weed after weed.  And with those cramped up hands, it also takes a crazy person to ask her husband if we should purchase 214 bales of hay to help cover those weeds.  And yes, she would have to carry each one to the garden.

Passionate or crazy?

It takes a passionate person to almost weep after she has clipped one of her pepper plants with the trimmer.  A plant that she grew in February from a seed.  And then it takes a crazy person, to turn and yell at all of the weeds in the garden at the top of her lungs.  "Ahhhhh……..blasted weeds."

It's most definitely a little bit of both.

I'm not gonna lie to ya.  It is hard.  Today was not a banner day for me.  The weeds seem to be winning.  But let me tell ya something.  I am just crazy enough, to get up tomorrow and fight again.

Game on, weeds.

War room….

Can't wait for this to come out.  The power of prayer, people.  When God is on your side….well, you just better get out of the way.

I believe in it.  Prayer.  With all my heart.

38 days away….

We have rounded the last bend.  I see the finish line.  We are 38 days away from getting into our house.  Maybe sooner.

Let me hear ya say….Yay!

This farmhouse has been a REALLY long time coming.  We looked for more than probably 2 years for a piece of land with a house that could meet our needs.  With nothing coming up.  Nope.  Nada.

Then, taking a chance on a small farm with a run down farmhouse already on it, we dove right in.

The farm was a mess.  Trees so overgrown you couldn't see the base of them.  Apple trees with dead branches that were oh, so neglected.  A barn….well, let's just not go there shall we.  Okay, because I love and hate that thing.  Let's talk about it.  It's leaning….a little.  Alright, the floor inside leans A LOT.  We have a fox that lives in it. It desperately needs a new roof.  It smells funny.  And not like funny ha, ha.  But funny weird.  Ah….but it's a barn with history.  It dates back to the early 1900's.  They just don't make them like that anymore.  And if they did I just couldn't afford to have it built.

So the barn is staying.  Of course, it's surrounded by the evil plant poison ivy but I'm working on eradicating that one.

Anyway…

This farm pulled at my heart.  This overgrown, mountain amount of work, crazy idea of a farm became ours.  And now.

We are almost done.  Building our dream home.

The painters have been there for the past couple of weeks.  And when you hold your breath you can go through the house and see all of the beautiful staining they have done.  I've tried a couple of times to take pictures of the inside but everything now has a thin plastic sheet on it.  So it's hard to tell anything.  The ceilings are getting painted now.  And I guess the last thing is the wall color.

The flooring people will soon follow, alongside the tilers and about every other person who has to come in at the last minute.

Today I had to decide on the driveway and how it was to come into the property.  I'm sure the blank look on my face said it all to my contractor.  And then to add fuel to the fire, he asked me about my walkway from the front porch to the driveway.

Bang, bang, bang….head hitting the wall.  I'm beginning to feel myself slowly start to shut down.  My brain cells can no longer function at this magnitude.  There is a limit to my decision-making.

And….I….am….reaching…..it.

38 days….5 hours…..42 minutes…...36, 35, 34….seconds.  Of not ever having to make a decision where a light plug, toilet, door frame, driveway or anything else goes.

Oh, wait.  I have to unpack all of the boxes we move into the house.  Ugh….

If anybody needs me….I'll be up in my room in a fetal position.

Freak of nature….

We are back now from a lovely vacation.  Never long enough, of course.  And never enough rest time.  But rest is overrated for farmers.  And farm work was screaming our name when we got home.

We got back into the swing of things rather quickly.  My husband went to work mowing, and mowing and more mowing.  Things can get away from you quickly on six acres if you are away for a week.

And then….he broke the mower blade.  Again.

The guys at the John Deere dealership know our farm by heart I believe.  To his defense though, it is incredibly hard to mow around a construction site.  I have hit so many things I've lost count.

I was trimming around the farm and got myself into some poison ivy.  Again.  We are quite the pair aren't we?  I've already had it once this year so I've been quite diligent on watching out for it, but this stuff must have been pretty well hidden.  Because I am right back where I started again.

But that's not the worst part.  Nope.

This time I have a line of it across my forehead.  If I wasn't a freak of nature before, then let's just put a tiara on it that screams….yes, I have no clue what I'm doing farming.

A time to refresh….

Presently, we are in Florida.  We needed a break.  A vacation.  A time to get away from the farm.  From our swim practices.  From our daily grind.

A time to refresh.

Now I am the first to admit that you probably shouldn't leave while building a home when you're less than 50 days from getting in.  Truth be told, I was on the phone with one of the tile installers while we waited to get onto a Minions ride in Orlando.  I'm sure the Gru in the background was quite annoying to hear over and over to them.  But decisions had to be made.  And our house waits on no Minion.

So we threw caution to the wind and headed south.  Okay, technically we had this vacation planned for a couple of months but we worked hard at the farm right up until the night before we were to leave to be able to go.  Still, storms came and the grass was too wet to mow in some places on time and my corn got flattened.  Weeds didn't get all well,….weeded.  The apples needed to be tended.  But we left.

We missed our family vacation last year and by golly, we weren't gonna miss it this year.  We love vacations.  Love traveling, love seeing new places and love fighting…ahem, I mean spending time together.

So here we are in Florida.  The first few days we went to Universal Studios in Orlando.  That, my friends, is a world all unto itself.  Unless you have read the Harry Potter books or seen the movie you will be clueless there.  Like me.  I thought they were speaking in English but…..maybe not.  There were wizards and wands and a man with no nose.  Poor thing.  But the kids have had a blast.

We are now on the back half of our vacation.  We rented a house on Anna Maria Island in Florida.  It's just a smaller island near St. Petersburg.  We lucked out and got a house about a 2 minute walk from the beach.

Now, it's time for Momma and Daddy to relaaaaxxxxxx……….ahhhh.  Plus down here, I know what people are saying.

And that was very helpful at the doughnut shop this morning.

Catching up….

Things are rockin' and rolling at our farm lately.  We bought a new cart (well….new to us) and might I say.  Best investment EVER!  We are using the fire out of that thing.  And it gives the "young-uns" some mighty fun rides.

We left for a weekend visit to see family and came home to these two cutie-pies.  Twins.  Just born.  We happened upon them and got just within a few feet of them before we noticed them.  They. Did. Not. Move.  Of course one of them had planted itself right in front of our door to our garden.  So needless to say, I didn't garden in that one that evening.  But boy, they were so cool to see.  They stayed around for a few days and as far as we know they have left.  At least for now.  Wait until the apples are ready.  They'll be back….

The weeds have come in our gardens with a vengeance.  But the flip side of that, is that we are getting plenty of rain right now.  So that is a good thing….

…until I turn around and see this.  

We have worked almost everyday gaining control of this again.  It looks a million times better.  I just haven't taken a picture of it yet.  I will.  But right now, my hands are just too sore.

Our farm is also just filled with animals that we've spotted everywhere.  And I'll be honest, it's quite fun.  Well, except for that whole snake thing. And I was too scared to take that pic.  

Okay, technically this isn't our fox.  But it looks like this one.  We are trying to take a picture of him.  But he is FAST….

We are less than 60 days into getting in our home.  The woodworking crew has been in for the past several weeks putting in all the cabinets and building all our built-ins.  The stairs are done and trim is getting up.  These are the finishing touches that really make it cool.  The well has been run out to the gardens and the water is now being connected.  We are so excited.  This has been a really long process, but we are nearing the finish line.  I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

And it's coming like a freight train.  

Brush piles, mowing and apple trees….

This is a poor man's version of a cart.  A cheap blue tarp and two strong arms pulling at the corners.

This is also my version of a gym membership.

My husband and I have been working around the farm lately cutting back trees and brush piles.  We are trying to make our mowing around the trees easier.  Plus, many of the brush piles contain tomato cages which I can use in the garden.  Last night I was working in the brush pile in the picture above when I probably counted over a hundred cages in just that one pile alone.  There are a lot of cages on our farm.  Everywhere.

I'm not complaining.  Just sayin'.

I've been looking at getting a dump cart to go on the back of our lawn tractor to help us pull some of the big branches and stumps around the farm.  One of these days I'd love to get a gator, but for now our lawn tractor is pulling double duty and it works just fine.

For Mother's day I asked for a chipper/shedder.  What?  Doesn't every Mother want a chipper for her special day.

No?

Well, I guess I'm just weird.  Or practical.  No matter.  We plan on chipping up our burn pile and using all that mulch around the farm.  I love me some free mulch.  Plus, our burn pile is so big that I'm sure you would see it from the moon if we lit that sucker on fire.

I've also been researching a lot about our apple trees.  And oh yes, do we have apples growing.  Thousands upon thousands of them.  I'm in need of thinning the fruit on the trees….by hand, the article says.  63 trees, people.  I'll be doing this until, umm…like forever.

It's overwhelming at the moment.  The vast amount of work that needs to be done.  But the only thing I keep thinking about is this.  For about 10 or more years our farm has been so neglected.  So really, anything…and I do mean anything….is an upward motion.  It's better than nothing.  Our apple trees, no matter how much I flub them up, are better off than doing nothing at all.

Well, I'm off to work.  Brush piles, mowing and apple trees are calling my name.  More like screaming….but I can tune out a lot of stuff being a Mom.