Unscathed...

We are thankful to report that we are on the back side of Sandy, and most in our immediate area have come through relatively unscathed!

The rain began on Sunday evening, and it rained throughout the day yesterday, with winds picking up as the day progressed.

We had one hiccup yesterday afternoon, when our lights began flickering, and we lost power in parts of the house and barn, but not others.  We were a bit puzzled by this, and decided to use the generator for evening milking.  We couldn't milk without consistent power...not good for the cows or the equipment!  So, Jim hooked up the tractor to the generator and when he started it up, all the lights and equipment worked just fine!

We milked a little early last night, just to get finished and out of the barn as soon as possible, as the winds were really picking up.  As we milked down the first two rows, a PPL (electric company) truck showed up at the pole out front.  Jim went and talked to them, to explain our problem.  They checked the transformer...it was fine...they  checked the meter, and discovered that we weren't getting good voltage.  (this explains the intermittent outages we were having)  The problem was where the wires attach to the house above the meter...

A relatively simple (minus the weather) fix, and we were good to go!

The worst of the winds were from around 5pm Monday until early this morning here.  I don't know how high they got, but not nearly as high as were predicted, for which we are very thankful!   The rainfall total this morning around 5am was about 3.75".

As we milked this morning, we noticed the weather calming.  I looked at the weather reports, and saw that the eye of the weakening storm was almost overhead.

The worst damage here?

This limb came down on the driveway...

...and some ruts in the yard where the PPL truck got stuck when fixing the wires last evening...

I'd say that's nothing to complain about right here!!

We are to have windy conditions the rest of today into tomorrow, along with more rain, but we are very, very thankful that we didn't feel the effects of Sandy here, that were predicted.

There are many others, especially along the coast, who were hit very hard by this storm.  I can only imagine how they must be feeling, and the damage they are left to deal with!  

Her Name Is Sandy...

Her name is Sandy...

In case you haven't heard...she's in the Atlantic, heading our way.  I'd really rather not meet her, but it looks like we'll be seeing  a lot of her the beginning of next week.  Hurricane Sandy is expected to wreak havoc in the Mid Atlantic.  As of now, she is expected to hit land in southern to mid New Jersey sometime on Monday.  That puts us right in her path, and we are expected to have a substantial amount of rain, and potentially damaging winds.

I tend to worry...yes, I know I shouldn't, but it's something I struggle with.  And yes...I'm worried about this one.  Not so much the rain, but the wind.  We're as ready as we can be...the generator is ready to go...we have plenty of diesel fuel...so now we get to wait and see what happens.

We are so very, very thankful that all the harvest is now finished...as of yesterday!  The combine was here on Wednesday and did the corn and beans, and Jim finished baling hay (6th cutting) last night.

Here the combine is full, sitting in the field waiting for the grain cart to come back from emptying it's load into the grain truck...

Just starting to fill up the grain truck for what I think was the last time...

After they finished with our corn, they put on the bean header and combined our soybeans as well.  Are we ever glad that's finished!  Any corn and beans that are still standing will look a little different after next week's storm.

I don't have all the final numbers, but we're happy with the harvest.  We had corn on three different farms, and the corn here at home yielded the best...an average of 190 bushels per acre.  We don't have bpa on the beans, but Jim was very pleased.

So for now, we'll batten down the hatches and hang onto our hats!

"C" Day...

"C" Day...

Combining day...Corn day...call it what you want.

This cow is ready...she says..."Get that corn off and send it away to be toasted.  My mouth is watering!"

The farmer says "Yes, it's time!  The corn is definitely dry enough...let's get it off before it goes down with any more rain or wind!"

I like the way it looks along the edge of the field with all of those ears hanging down...a neighbor pointed it out to me the other day...how unique it looked from the road.  (This one's for you, Glenn!)

They started last night, but had a breakdown before they were finished at the other farm.  Hopefully it will be an easy fix this morning and they'll be able to finish in good time.  We're anxious to see what the yield will be!

God's Paintbrush...

The leaves have been changing here, just like they do every year...but all of a sudden this weekend we realized that they're at their peak!  These pictures don't begin to do them justice, but I hope you enjoy some of the beauty.

I started out close to home...across the road at the golf course...looking out one of the upstairs bedroom windows...

More of the golf course.  The wild geese were having a pow wow at the pond...

The deep reds are my favorite, and are also the most elusive colors to find.  This tree is just starting to turn, and the picture doesn't do it justice...

Next, I headed west...we saw these beauties on our way to Church this morning...

And then I headed south...

Along the way, I found evidence of a small tornado that was part of an unpredicted and swift moving storm that caused damage on Friday evening a few miles south of us.  This Amish farm sustained damage to the house roof, and the storm flattened one of their barns.  I saw another barn about 1/2 mile away that was also destroyed, but the debris had already been cleaned up and burned yesterday.  My guess is that it will be rebuilt by the end of the week!  You could easily see the path the storm traveled by the trees that were snapped in half, and the debris scatted through the fields.  Thankfully there were no reports of fatalities...

...and just around a few corners later, another unspoiled patch of beauty...

I've always said that Spring is my favorite season, but now I'm not so sure.  This has been a beautiful fall!

What is your favorite season?

Leaves for Leontien...

These leaves are for our blogger friend and fellow dairy farmer, Leontien, who has been battling an aggressive form of Melanoma on and off for several years.   Leontien is a fighter, but is currently very sick.  She and her hubby, Bastiaan, could really use our encouragement!

((HUGS)) for you, Leontien!

You can either link up by clicking here, or read her latest post about her battle with cancer here and leave her a comment.

Please keep Leontien, Bastiaan and their family in your prayers!

Weekend Frost...

Ok, it feels really strange to be posting about our weekend frost, when the temps are currently in the high 60's.  Oh well...it really did happen.

I took these pictures the middle of last week, of what was still growing around here.

When I dug my potatoes a while back, there were a few sunburned ones that I left lay in the garden.  They rooted and began growing again, so I left them, just to see what would happen...

Serrano peppers galore...(anyone have any good uses for these in excess?)...

A few lonely tomatoes...

And my favorite...ripening raspberries...

Then on early Saturday morning we had a frost.  The tips of the leaves were just a little wilted, but on Sunday morning we had another frost, this one much harder.

The potatoes bit the dust, so I dug them this morning, and found only a few bite sized ones, barely an inch in diameter.  We'll see how they taste...

I think the peppers are finished...

...as are the tomatoes.  But then again, they never really got started for me...I can't grow tomatoes!!

The raspberries are fine...and I'm so glad.  I'm just learning about them, and this is the first year they've produced.  They survived being dug out by the dogs (!) early in the summer, and have been growing like weeds, producing large, juicy berries.

Last but not least, the frost certainly didn't affect these cuties.  Peanut's kitties are alive and well in the fodder mow.  Here are the boys...

...and the girls...

Anyone need a good barn cat (or two) to keep the mice at bay?  They're really sweet...honest!

Contentment...

Remember this field?

That picture was taken on September 22nd.

Here's what it looks like today...

Jim seeded this rye grass with the intention of baling it next spring for the cows. Considering how fast it's grown in the past few weeks, however, he decided to graze the cows on it some this fall, to keep it from getting so high that it lodges (falls over and gets damaged) this winter. The grazing will keep it a bit shorter for now, but will still allow for good regrowth in the spring.

It's a twelve acre field, so it took lots of fence posts to create sections for the cows to graze. The field in the left half of the picture is the old Sudan grass field that the cows grazed on this summer.  Jim mowed it off one final time earlier this week.  The brighter green field to the right is the rye grass...

This morning we left the cows out to graze in the first section. We fed them some dry hay before we put them out, because Jim didn't want them to fill up on that rich grass alone.

They had to walk around behind the barn to find their way into this field. They're still trying to figure it out here...some of them got sidetracked and are eating on the barn hill...

Once they found the grass, however, all heads were down...

If you look closely, you can see Jim sitting on a dirt bike next to the corn crib.  He's ready to do damage control if  "someone" gets a little rowdy and breaks through a wire.  I was supposed to be on a dirt bike too, but couldn't manage to keep it running.  Oh well...luckily they behaved themselves...

After a little while, they had spread out the length of the field and got down to business...

Pure contentment.

Leisurely Breakfast...

It's dreary out there again today, and a good day to have a leisurely breakfast!  Let me bore you with what we ate this morning...

Puffy Breakfast Omelet

Saute (in butter, of course) several tablespoons of onion and green pepper, or veggies of choice.  I found more peppers in my garden yesterday, so I used lots...

Separate the yolks and whites of four eggs (homegrown are best!)...

Beat egg whites until stiff.  Add 2 tbsp mayonnaise, 3 tbsp water, 1/2 tsp salt to the egg yolks and mix well.  Fold the egg white and yolk mixture together.  Pour over sauteed veggies in pan and cook over low heat, uncovered, for five minutes.

Cover the pan and cook for five minutes longer, or until set.  Sprinkle with 3/4 cup shredded cheese, and seasonings of choice.  I used some of the oregano and basil that I grew and dried this summer...

Score the omelet in the middle, fold in half and serve...

Enjoy!

Hopefully you weren't too bored, but your mouth is watering instead!  We don't always take the time to have  a leisurely breakfast, but it sure tasted good this morning.

Now it's time to get back to work.  The kids are back in school after a long holiday weekend, and there's lots of catching up to do.

It's An Applesauce Kind of Day...

Today was what I call and applesauce kind of day...rainy and chilly.

Last year I tried two kinds of sauce...a combination of Cortland /Macintosh, and a combination of Ida Red / Crispin.  Both kinds were sweet enough for our taste buds that I added very little or no sugar to the sauce.  The consensus here was that the Ida Red / Crispin combo was the best.

Both of these varieties ripen in late September or early October, which is great for my schedule.  I can wait until after the fair is over, and the kitchen is much cooler this time of year.  So, yesterday I headed to the fruit farm and picked up four bags of apples.

I cut them into small chunks, mixing both varieties in my kettles.  No need to peel or core them, because I use a handy Victorio strainer.  These are the Ida Red, with white flesh and dark red skins.  They make a pretty pink colored sauce...

The Crispin were gigantic this year.   Each apple was at least twice the size of the Ida Red...

Cooked, and in the Victorio strainer...

Applesauce!

I got a total of twenty four quart jars from these four bags of apples...

Last year, I must have had a higher ratio of Ida Red to Crispin, because the sauce was much more pink, but it tastes good all the same.  No extra sugar added.

Now I think I can officially put away my canning supplies until next year!

What kind of apples do you use for sauce?