This summer has just about done me in! It is almost unheard of for me to make three major trips in a year much less in three months. It has certainly taken its toll on my schedule, my routine and my health. I am just plain old tired!
Added to my travel schedule, Adam had baseball season and then made the All Star Team. He finished up with the state tournament yesterday. We had to drive about 35 miles to the games on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday..... I am just grateful that it wasn't further away.
On Sunday morning, Neil and drove about 65 miles over to the Four States Farm Show. By lunch time, I nearly had a heat stroke and had seen all that I needed. We headed for home and there just in time for a short recovery nap before heading back out for a baseball game. The boys did not win but they played hard.
Now---- I just need to hold everything together long enough to get through 4-H Mom Hell Week.... also known as the county fair.
It is always a scorching hot event because somebody decided that county fairs in Kansas need to be in JULY-- the absolute hottest month of the year and usually the driest. I would really like to smack that person........
All in all, this is going to be a rather calm fair for us. We are not showing any horses or doing any crafts. Adam and I ran into Walmart right after lunch and got all ten of his photographs printed off. Seth has started clipping the milk goats. We are only taking 2 milkers and two dairy weanlings. The boys also have two weanling Boer cross does kids to show. Since this is Seth's last year at the fair, he is taking Holly, the milk cow. This will also be her last fair. It is just too hot and she is old.
Adam has seven chickens to exhibit and we managed to get them all properly blood tested in time to make the entry deadline.
We are seriously debating on just doing crafts, food and photography next year and skipping the livestock part of it all together.
My garden has almost completely burned up in the heat and drought. My happy place is not so happy these days. I do still have a few tomatoes on those wilting vines and I have a few other things in mind. The boys were faithful to pick and freeze the tomatoes while I was gone. Later in the year, I will go back and make sauce, and salsa when it is cooler and time is not so constrained.
The fruit trees are pitiful and I am afraid that most of my strawberry plants are dead. I am trying to keep the trees, blueberries, figs and grapes from dying.
Our best chance for rain is on Thursday. If it doesn't come, the situation will be very serious. I did not think that it could happen this quickly, but it appears to me that this years dry spell is much worse than last years..... I really did not think that was possible.
In the morning, we will call up all the cows and sort off the biggest calves to haul to the stockyards. We really have no other choice. Grass is getting short and hay is unspeakably scarce and expensive. Our soybeans are still green but they have stopped growing and are just waiting for rain. They can only do that for a few more days before they will give up and begin to die off.
On a happier note, there has been another surpirse baby goat born. It is also a doe.
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