8-16-11 Lake Progress…

…is great, and very fun to watch!!!!!

These six machines were going strong all day, nearest I could tell (I wasn’t down there all day, but they made major changes between times we were there). The three earthmovers and the Quad-track with the scraper went in circles, scraping up topsoil from where the Quad-track is and dumping it onto the growing hill at the far north (highest) end of the pasture.

They started a second pass right next to the first pass, widening the hill of topsoil.

Circling around to do it again…except for the Quad-track which had a different job here. He was picking up clay from off the hill and putting it in the trench…

…so the diggers could dig it up and use it on the dam.

In the trench.

It was kind of a circus, and hard to figure out what they were doing. I think we got it though (thanks to Dave’s patient explanations later). Since clay is needed to make the dam and seal the bottom of the lake (so water won’t seep out), and the entire hill (under the topsoil) is clay, all the hill clay has to be moved to where the diggers can use it for the dam and the lake bed. At the same time, the earthmovers were still taking off topsoil and piling it on the topsoil hill; and, at the same time, the diggers would sometimes hit topsoil too…

which they would load onto the Stuber Land Design truck which took it back to wherever Stuber Land Design wanted it (off-site).  At least that’s my understanding of the whole process!

And here’s a better pic of the growing mountain of topsoil. I think the difference between the topsoil and the clay is amazing. In the pic above, you can see the mountain of dark black topsoil which is responsible for growing the massive amounts of grain in the Midwest. To the left of the topsoil mountain, our old sledding hill, the light-colored soil, is clay – vastly different from the rich black topsoil. That’s pretty neat. To Stuber Land Design and other companies interested in growing things, this topsoil is very valuable, and their purchase of it will help to pay for the construction of the lake itself. Is that a good deal, or what?!

Lots and lots and lots of topsoil to be sold and hauled away.

TIME OUT FOR WATERMELON REPORT

So we had to get back home and get some things done, like picking watermelon and washing tomatoes (yes, tomorrow is tomato day).

Bulls-eye!

YUMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!

I’ve had a number of folks ask me how to tell when watermelons are ripe, and although we’ve only done this for two years, we have had enough successes that I’ll share what we’ve learned.

It’s actually quite simple, really, especially once you’ve wandered through a patch and turned over a few watermelons.

Cue #1 – yellow bottom. I went through the patch and carefully flipped over each watermelon (the bigger ones anyway)(remember the south end of the patch that started so slowly – well it’s going, but the melons are very small yet. If it stays warm long enough though, I hope they’ll finish out, thus extending our watermelon season. Not a bad deal at all, if it works that way…). And, don’t overlook that word carefully. Because if the melon is separated from its vine, accidentally or not, it stops ripening. Unlike apples, peaches, and bananas, which continue to ripen after they’re picked, watermelons do not. So this must be done carefully so the unripe melons can continue to ripen.

 

Cue #2 – the curlicue on the vine that is closest to the melon has turned brown. It’s pretty close to the middle of this pic. This isn’t the decision point for me, though, because I’ve seen melons with brown curlicues that are also not yellow on the bottom yet.

So what does an unripe melon look like? Well, this is the bottom of another melon, and it’s pretty easy to see that while it’s a lighter green than the rest of the melon, it’s definitely not yellow. Not yellow = not ripe. I’ll check it again in 3 or 4 days.

Ready or not?

Ready. I picked it.

How about these two?

Clearly both ready.

This one?

Clearly not. Barely a speck of yellow, a far cry from the two before it.  I flipped it back over (carefully) and will check it again in a few days. See also the curlicue in the top left corner – very green, very much alive.

That’s it. I’ve been trying the thumping thing, and sometimes I think I can hear it, and other times I miss. Guess I’ll have to keep practicing that one! But the yellow bottom and brown curlicue seem to work for us, at least for this variety (All-Sweet). We look forward to many delicious watermelons!!!

Today’s crop – I left them as my helpers delivered them, with some yellow bottoms showing.

Still not sized, but oh well – this will have to do!!

Many hands make light (and wet!!!) work!!!

Back to the lake report -

We watched the diggers again for awhile before supper, but I took these px when we walked down after supper with Dad (boys milked, got home after dark).

Dave & Beth were checking things out too. I like the design of the tracks/treads on the hill.

I walked to the top of the topsoil mountain to take these next few px – and caught a dirt clod fight in action!!

Looking south towards Allentown Road…it’s beginning to look like a LAKE!!!!!!!!!

The kids had a ball climbing up and sliding down this mountain. And running down it… except when Kate tripped at the bottom and landed flat on her face!!! OUCH! It was really high up, higher than it looked from the ground, and steep. But, the kids told me, the dirt is soft! Sure. Well, I guess compared to the hard-packed clay below, it was soft! And dirty – oh yes, clothes were filthy! But God made dirt not to hurt, so they had a great time. Far be it from me to stop them – I’m 42 and have never seen a lake built, and it’s highly possible that they will never see one built again. So we’re going to enjoy every bit of it, filthy clothes and all!

Thanks, Dave & Beth, for sharing your dream with us. I think we’re enjoying it almost as much as you are!!

10-13-10 Another Driver

Nothing exciting today except that Jesse passed his behind-the-wheel test this morning, and we now have another driver in residence here. Funny, I thought I’d be able to retire from the grocery shopping with another driver or two around, but it didn’t happen with one; somehow I don’t think it’ll happen with two either. Even with a 7 minute Aldi stop, we got home a little after 9:00; I jumped right into teaching and that was the morning. Kids studied, Levi was at Precision, and we all did the same things we did yesterday and most other days. I wanted to get pictures of the kids tearing apart the tomato cages, but they did it too fast and I didn’t make it out. Even though we have enjoyed every minute of it (well, almost every minute), the end of the garden is near which is a good thing for this time of the year. We all went to church tonight; several TakeAways were discussed on the way home from church. We read in Esther 6, where Haman built the gallows for Mordecai; his pride, and consequent hatred for Mordecai, led to his eventual destruction. We need to strive for humility: God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble (James 4:6). Also we were reminded that we need to ask God for understanding; John read James 1:5 - If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.  Since we are currently memorizing James 1, all the kids (well, all the ones I could see, which were the girls and Jacob) had to look at each other (and me) with big grins. Even Jewel shared a smile – she doesn’t know that verse yet, but she’s not far from it. So that was kind of neat too; those little ears might not understand everything that’s said off the pulpit, but I think they pick up a lot more than we might think…and yes, they certainly can and do listen, that I know. Visited some, then home to beds, as always thankful and rejoicing in another absolutely beautiful day in the now-bare corn- and beanfields of central IL. Oh how I love the state I’m in!

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These were picked off of dead vines; they’re not very big but they have creamy bottoms so we’ll have to see how they are - they may not be sweet at all. There are still some green vines out there, with melons on, that were left. Ummm - - that’s a lot of watermelon for one year – more than we ever anticipated, that’s for sure.

More kitten fun.

(Sarah’s lap)

THIS little guy was pleased as punch when he could catch a kitten, although for some reason they never stayed with him for very long (imagine that).

Some fun with our few leaves in the yard.

That’s it; good night.

10-6-10 Happy Birthday Jesse

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Jovial

Enthusiastic

Smart

Special

Excellent big brother

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Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him… (Ephesians 1:15-17)

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Jesse, your humor, wit, and laughter are such a blessing to us. You’re such a fine fun young adult to be around, and we’re so thankful God put you in our family. We pray that you’ll continue to look to Him to lead you in life choices as you grow in your Christian walk. We love you very  much. God bless you always!

Another beautiful day – sunny, mild, cool. Routine school, with Jesse finishing around noon and then hauling manure for Uncle Randy. Levi did school early before going to Precision for the day. The rest of us did school and baking jobs; Tori made bread as well as caramel rolls to go with Jesse’s birthday chili for supper. Yummmm.  After lunch and meetings, I played with Joshua and Jewel outside – I do that far too seldom and enjoyed it oh so much. When Joshua napped, I took a walk, did emails and ordered photo prints online, and then read to kids for awhile after chores. Jacob, Kate, and Ben were on bikes a lot, and I think I saw them working on a bike jump in the shop; evidently they didn’t get it done before chores because it hasn’t made its debut yet. Which is fine with me. Seems like every time one of these things appears, somebody crashes… “Oh, but it’s fun, Mom.” Whatever. It was good to have everyone here for Jesse’s birthday supper of chili, caramel rolls, and apple salad; after all that, he (and we) was too full for his birthday apple pie. Dad and I walked afterwards. Home for Bibletime (Proverbs 20) and some free time; Jesse was still too full for his pie. So we sang Happy Birthday to him anyway, he opened his card/gift, and that’s about it for his birthday celebration. Beds soon because the boys milk in the morning, and I was wiped out tired too. A good day, but busy.

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Remember these pictures?

Well…

What can I say but “blessed be the Lord who hath daily loadeth us with benefits”?  (Psalm 68:19) We serve an awesome God! A note on the grape juice – it’s from Aunt Marcia. Our grapes didn’t do anything; birds found the 2 bunches that were out there. Maybe next year they’ll do better.

This is the very last of the honey straining and the final harvest for the year.

We think this is a 6 gallon bucket because it’s some taller than a 5 gallon, but we’re not entirely sure.

Total yield: 17 or 18 gallons, depending on the size of the bucket. We’re very pleased and thankful for that; it’ll last us for 2 years. Ideally we like to have 2 years on hand in case next year’s hives die, which is a very real possibility; with all the chemicals sprayed on fields bees have a rough go of it. Every year since we’ve started this project (4?), we’ve lost at least one hive due to one thing or other.

These cappings will be taken to the hives so the bees can clean them up good before I melt the wax.

 

More watermelon! And there are about 4 more this size out there still growing – not huge like earlier in the season, but seeing that it’s October and they’re still really sweet, that’s ok. There are still LOTS of tomatoes and peppers coming too for which I’m very thankful.

I’ve wanted to get this picture for several weeks now – it’s so neat with the kids silhouetted against the sunset while Dad and I walk. My camera just couldn’t get any better than this, and I didn’t want to take the time to adjust settings and improve it. I think it’s neat nonetheless. l-r is Tori, Jacob, Ben, Kate. I think my shutter speed was too slow, hence the fuzzy, but it had to be slow to allow more light in. So I maybe should have set the speed manually a bit faster and the aperture would have adjusted better (?). Not sure. I haven’t had time lately to practice much; hopefully when garden is done I’ll pick it up again.

That’s all.

9-1-10 September

Hard to believe but it’s true: another August is GONE, never to be again.

Kind of a short night as Sarah was up a few times with diarrhea again; Dad and I were both still a bit tired by morning. Another very non-routine day. I started off with taking Kate, Jewel, and Joshua with me to do a bunch of chase in Morton. It went well, and we were home right at noon, which was much later than I’d intended. Everyone else (except Jesse who was helping Uncle Randy) worked on school, projects, and packing while we were gone, so right after lunch I started right in on tutoring. Got everyone done, grabbed a catnap, and then worked on packing. Tori worked on food prep most of the morning; I have no idea how we would get this trip all pulled together without her! Her cheerful countenance and very capable abilities are such a blessing. Chores, smorgasbord (empty the frig) supper, more packing/preparing, also some house cleaning, errands in Morton (Levi), Bibletime, baths, and now beds. THANKFULLY, Sarah was back to normal all day, and no one else has exhibited any similar symptoms either. Thank You, Lord.

Jewel was so cute hauling her folded laundry in this basket – it’s so big for her!

More watermelon! All the ones from the first picking are gone now, and we thought there would be another dozen or so out there. Well, here are 9, and we had already cut one up for supper, and there are still another dozen or so out there! I guess as long as the weather is nice, they’ll keep growing! (?) We’re planning to take a few with us, and according to Uncle Mark the rest will keep fine in the basement for several weeks, so we’ll have those when we return. Grandpa is going to check the ones in the patch for us and pick them as needed. Now if we could only figure these muskmelons too. Monday I picked one I thought was ready, and it was hard and not very sweet. Into the freezer for smoothees it went. Yesterday Tori checked and found 3 that had detached from the vine because they were so ripe. One we had to throw to the pheasants, and the other 2 were ok; I sure wish I knew how to judge them better. Anyway, the good ones were really good, I’ll say that much; they are delicious!!

That’s it.

8-24-10 Watermelon Mania

Even though we went to Restmor today, watermelon was the overwhelming thought. More on that later. First off, boys milked twice, with Levi going to CIT in between and Jesse again home studying and working. Hmm. Seems like I’ve written that before – maybe yesterday? Anyway, that’s how it is, and that’s how I like it…routine, no surprises, humdrum, bring it on. The rest of us did a few errands in Morton before singing solo (as in, no other families were able to come), which is only the second time we’ve had to do that in the 8 years we’ve been going. We survived with nothing traumatic occurring, but we definitely appreciate the other singers who usually help us out. Next month I’ll be much more mindful to send out a reminder ahead of time. We did a first – picked up McDonald’s and ate it on the way home. It was kind of a dual purpose – first a thanks to the kids for being good sports about singing solo with me, and second a practical decision as we had very little school done and I wanted to start in as soon as we got home. Which we did, and as I’m still doing foundational instruction plus the usual interruptions and delays, I wasn’t done meeting with everyone until around 4:30. My voice and mind were in great need of a rest, so I got my shoes on and was ready to take a walk… but needed to quick check a watermelon that Tori thought was ripe but wasn’t sure. Well, checking that one led to the next one right beside it, and it appeared to be as ripe as the first one. As did the third one I checked…at that point I decided I’d better forego the walk and check all 35 watermelons, as we don’t cotton to overripe melons. We picked 24 melons! We broke one open right away – bulls-eye! – and the boys finished it at supper and wanted more, so we opened another one for them – another bulls-eye! We’re learning…as with anything, the more you look at ripe ones the more obvious it is when one is not ripe. There are still a dozen or so out there, in various stages of ripening, so we’ll see how we do on those too. After supper, we did another potato digging session which again we all enjoyed. Joshua hadn’t napped well, so I brought him in early, bathed and rocked him, and he was sleeping before the others came in later. Baths for all, Bibletime, and then beds. Wow, we are so blessed – harvest is so fun!

Now pictures.

Joshua was not cooperating very well because he LOVES watermelon and couldn’t understand why we slow people wouldn’t give him any.

Finally a smile!

Wonder how we can eat a 35# watermelon in a day? LOTS of eaters!

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(Did I mention the watermelon is EXTREMELY tasty, juicy, and the sweetest ever?!)

Helping Mommy move them up to the house before supper.

Watermelonmobile.

Dad got home in time to help line them up by size. This is very important work, you know, with many discussions and comparisons before the final decision. The biggest one was guessed at 40# but I’ve not yet heard what the basement scale said.

Done.

Another evening in the potato patch – 6 bushels of reds was the harvest today, bringing the total to 24 bushels if I’ve heard right.

These littles didn’t do much helping with potatoes this time – they had to work on the road they are building.

And EVERYONE took showers or baths, too…it was very needful!

That’s it.

Supper with the Kaisers - thankfully this is not a typical meal.