August Memories

The doe and her two fawns frequent the orchard and share in the ripening apples

August rains of several inches kept the farm and woods ponds filled

My trail to the pond through the prickly ash and young green ash trees is still dangerous with mosquitoes lurking in the brush

The corn ears are long, the stalks tall, and likely a record yield for October. 

The squash vines are dropping showing buttercup squash here and there.  Now if we don't watch out is the time the deer move in and start eating them

Box elder seeds are soon ready to wing their way around the farm yard, seeding everything in sight.  They are not a pretty tree, nor really a nice tree for the yard, but they do make OK firewood

Soon the black walnuts will attract squirrels to pack them away for the winter.  I plan to pack some myself for winter.  They are hard nuts to crack and any meat you get is earned by hard labor.

A few early apples for sale; a few squash and a few tomatoes parked at the end of the driveway -- self service.

Margo is slowly recovering from her back surgery.  She felt pretty good a few weeks ago, and went out and did a little gardening and disturbed something that put her back in the chair again in pain that is only gradually fading.  A year of recovery is 4 months complete, and her patience is fading, but if she behaves, we expect things will keep improving.  

She wants to get good enough to stand the 6-hour drive to West Bend to visit her 90 year old father -- who after a series of small strokes is in a nursing home for the past few weeks and likely to stay.  His second wife of a few years passed away a few months ago.  He seems to be making the best of things, with Margo's brother there to take on the responsibility of getting him through the problems.  Margo worries a lot, but her brother Larry does a good job with his dad.  Merlin is a social type of person who makes friends with the folks around him, in his condo, then in assisted care and now in the nursing home.  His sense of humor helps. 

The Hanson family 22 rifle competition--reunion is next weekend at sister-in-law Connie's farm.  That is always fun.  Then the St Croix High School Class of '65 50th reunion (Russ) is on the 12th and then on September 26th the 10th annual River Road Ramble where we plan to have a garden, orchard sale as well as a garage sale to clear out some of the outbuildings on the farm.