The past weeks have been...IMHO...horribly uncomfortable. The humidity has been so thick you could just about cut it, and the temps just couldn't come down.
Yesterday we spent the day at Eric's final home cross country meet. How did he become a college senior so quickly?! It was a beautiful day for running...overcast and in the mid 70's. First day we've had weather like that in a very. long. time.
He had a great race...
...and the team had a great finish, winning the invitational. He's 3rd from the right...
Afterwards, as tradition has it, the team and families held a tailgate potluck. My fingers were freezing by the time we were finished, but I'm not complaining! As long as there's a blanket to throw over me or a sweatshirt to put on, I'm good.
This week we finished our silage harvest. With all the rain we've been having, the guys have been burning the candle at both ends. They've been putting in really long days, trying to keep up with all the farms that they need to get to before the corn gets too dry. The equipment arrived at 1:30 am, and sat waiting until they arrived around 8 am...
For some reason, the silage pipe kept getting plugged up. Jim is up at the top, and Mark is sitting on top of the blower, working at getting it open...
The last load of silage...
The guys moved on to the next farm quickly, and took the blower with them. Silo gas, which can be deadly, forms when fresh silage is put into a silo. To deliver fresh air into the silo, farmers usually run the blower when working inside the silo for the first day or so. The gas doesn't form right away, so Jim quickly leveled the silage and we set up the unloader after lunch. I was at the bottom of the silo inside the silage room, lowering the unloader at his instruction. I found our kids' handprints in the concrete, where we had reinforced with shotcrete years ago.
Eric...
...and Jenna...
Things change so quickly!
For now, we hope to enjoy fall! The West Lampeter Fair is this coming week, and I'm sure we'll be spending a lot of time there. It might be a muddy mess (it's raining, again!) but it will happen regardless! It's one of the highlights of the year for us. Goat, sheep, pig and dairy beef shows, baked goods, contests, fair food, and much more bring the community together for a great time.
