West Lampeter Fair 2012

Fair week is always busy, and almost always fun.  This year was no exception.

Tuesday...entries were accepted for judging...flowers, veggies, baked goods, quilts and other sewing items, photography, crafts, canned goods, and of course...animals.  Various food stands prepared for the crowds...milk shakes, french fries, funnel cakes, sausage sandwiches, hamburgers and hot dogs, pizza, baked potatoes, and more.

Wednesday...entries were judged and awarded ribbons and prize money, and the fair officially opened to the public at noon.  

Throughout the rest of the week, lots more took place...auctioning of the baked goods, the Fair Queen contest, animal judging, antique tractor parade and pulling contest, horse show, FFA contests, and I'm sure I'm missing a lot.

Our focus was on the goat show yesterday aftenoon.  Jenna's goats were lightweights this year, weighing in at (Dilly) 70 lbs and (Pickles) 77 lbs.  Her goals had to be adjusted a little bit in the last few weeks, because Dilly had a recurrence of the Urinary Calculi that he had in June.  As a result, we had to cut way back on the grain again, so both goats lost a little weight.  However, Dilly once again made a surprising recovery, and was able to participate in the show!  

Jenna had a cheering section...my aunt and uncle from NY, and my aunt and a friend from Colorado were visiting, so they came with my parents to watch the show and eat some good fair food!  I have to point out the lady second from the left.  Her name is Eileen, and she is a friend and co-worker of my aunt.  She has a blog called Little House Quilting.  We've been reading each others' blogs for a while now, and what fun it was to meet her in person! Check out her blog when you get a chance.  My sister and my niece were there too, along with some other friends.  It's nice...the kids who show always seem to have such support from family and friends...

Jenna and Dilly waiting to enter the ring...

The judge, checking out Pickles...

Pickles did well, and placed second in his class.  Dilly didn't do as well, and placed fourth in his class, but we  are thrilled that she was able to bring him alive and healthy to the fair.  He's energetic and has a great appetite, which indicates he's feeling much better!

I've collected a variety of other pictures from the week.  Enjoy!

Finishing touches before the judging begins...

The two girls in the blue FFA jackets are sisters, and friends of ours.  They placed first and second in their respective classes with their dairy beef...

Antique trucks, tractors and farm equipment...

Whoopie pies...

French fries waiting for the fryer...

A duct tape dress, from the youth division...

Tug of war...

I was over to feed the goats this morning, and squished through the mud.  It rained last night, but now the sun is shining and the birds are singing outside the window.  Hopefully it will be beautiful for the last day of the fair.  We'll head over again tonight for the livestock sale...Jenna will have to say good bye to Dilly and Pickles, and that will be sad.  But it's been a good week.

If you're in the area, and haven't been there yet, you still have a little time to enjoy the fair!

Refill 2012...

It's been busy this week...

On Monday, we refilled the two silos here at home.   Jim had been trying to decide when the corn was at the right moisture level for chopping.  It's very difficult to know just when that is...he looks at the milk line on the kernels...he twists the stalk above the ear to see how much moisture is in the stalk...and sometimes takes a whole plant moisture sample by running it through the chopper and testing it.  Even so, it's not easy.

This is the field we chopped...

First, we put the silo unloaders up to the top of the silos.  We used this drill to wind it up...it takes much less time and muscle than doing it by hand!  That's the cable holding the unloader up, in the top right of this picture...

I hitched a ride in the chopper again.  I walked out while the first truck was unloading at the silo.  You can easily see the first round that the chopper has made...

For the first round in the field, the silage truck drives directly behind the chopper.  After that, he drives along side until he's full.  Then he goes to unload and another truck takes his place...

The view out the front of the chopper...

Looking down at the corn being pulled into the chopper.  You wouldn't want to be anywhere near those blades.  This chopper has a Kemper head on it...it's different than a conventional head, which has the snouts that go between the rows.  With this type of head, he can go any direction that he wants or needs to...

This load of silage, with preservative spread on top, is being uloaded into the silo...

Meanwhile, back at the barn, Jim is talking to Jeff (the guy running the chopper) about how many more loads he needs to fill the silos...

He is also deciding whether or not to refill the silo at the other farm at the same time, or to wait.

The silage we chopped ended up still being a little wetter than he wanted, so Jeff's planning to come back in a few days to finish up. He'll be back in the area anyway, and will catch us at the same time.


Getting ready to head out.  The sides of the chopper fold up for running on the road...

Never a dull moment around here.

Now for the rest of the week, it's off to the Lampeter Fair.  The baked goods were judged this morning, so there's a load off my plate.  Jenna shows her goats tomorrow, and the livestock sale is on Friday, so the fun is far from over.

Check back later for adventures at the fair!

A Long Week...

It's been a long, stressful week in a lot of ways, and to be honest, I haven't felt much like blogging.

I feel like I've kinda just gone through the motions here at home...did lots of laundry...sat at a couple of the kids' sporting events...mowed the yard...helped get goats ready for next week's fair...milked cows...fed cows...repeat.  Our friend Glenda's memorial services were also held this week.  All that to say...it'll be a short post tonight.

In all the stress and weariness however, good things have happened.  First of all, the weather has changed.  Yeah!  Beautiful fall-like days with temps in the low 70's and low humidity...we couldn't ask for nicer weather. (We'll choose to forget the 2" rain fall we had on Tuesday).

And this field...(that little spot almost dead center is Jim, seeding rye in the old cornfield two weeks ago).  The picture was taken out the barn window, looking west...

...and that's Jenna riding on the back of the grain drill, watching to let him know if the seed runs out...

...this field now looks like this...

...a light green blanket of rye.  The rye will grow over winter as a cover crop, and Jim will then bale it for the cows in the spring.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to regroup a little tomorrow, because the coming week promises to be just as crazy...it's fair time!

Stay tuned for adventures at the West Lampeter Fair!

Dear Glenda...

I still can't quite believe you're gone.

Maybe it's because you've been so far away all this time...out  in Oregon...and we haven't been able to visit.  Maybe it's because this isn't "supposed to" happen to someone so young and vibrant.  Maybe ...


In mid July, while vacationing with her family in Cannon Beach, Oregon, Glenda was in a bike accident and suffered a severe brain stem injury.  She never woke from her coma, and now her journey here is complete.

This isn't about me...it's about Glenda!   I will miss her, but  I believe that now she is, without a doubt, in Heaven.  I imagine her in the presence of Jesus.   Her healing is complete.

This is her family's Christmas picture from two years ago.  Where is it taken?  In their favorite place...Cannon Beach, Oregon of course, with Haystack Rock in the background...

I'll share some of the memories...

Growing up, we lived only a few miles from each other, and rode the school bus together during our high school years.  It was a long boring bus ride, believe me, so we found all sorts of ways to amuse ourselves.  I think Glenda was the only one of us that the grumpy bus driver really liked.  Really!  :)

We worked at a summer camp together in 1984, and kept in touch after high school. Glenda is the one who encouraged me to attend Ecola Hall Bible School, in Cannon Beach.

After coming home from Ecola, Glenda invited me to join a Bible study group.  We traveled together each week, and our friendship grew.  There is a group of close friends that stemmed from that group who still get together on a regular basis.

Here are most of us at Glenda and Bill's wedding in December, 1991...all of us looking a bit younger...

...and two years later at our wedding...October 1993...that's Glenda in the blue dress...she was one of my bridesmaids...

In 1996, we welcomed our babies together.  Here is my sister-in-law with my nephew (5 weeks old), Glenda with Emily (10 weeks old) and me with Eric (5 days old)...

The year most of the gang turned 40, we went away for a weekend together to celebrate.  I was a year behind them in school, and I'm behind the camera, as I was only 39.  But they included me anyway  :)   Glenda is holding the cake...

There are more...but I can't think of or begin to share them all.  I expect that they will pop into my head at different times, and I'll smile, thinking of Glenda's laughter and zest for life!

Please continue to pray for her husband, daughter, parents and extended family and friends.

Glenda, thank you for all the wonderful memories, and for being an example of what being a Godly woman really means!   It is an honor to have called you friend!

R.I.P. Belle...

June 6, 1999 - September 5, 2012

7 heifer calves...5 bull calves...and who knows how many thousands of pounds of milk produced...


Not many milking cows live to the ripe old age of 13, all the while looking and acting like they're perhaps 5 or 6 years old.  Cows come and go, but it was still hard to think of  Belle going on the truck this morning. I was glad when the guy who came for her sent me off to do something else so I didn't have to watch.

This was just a few days ago, leading the pack to greener pastures for the evening...

Belle was a tremendous cow...the last Belltone daughter we had.  I wonder who will become the new leader of the pack?