Fall Has Begun

Today it is official! Not according to the calendar, that would be too easy, but for a farmer, fall is finally here. Farmers are a different breed altogether and basically have their own timetable of the seasons and today it just happens to coincide with the actual first day of fall.

Fall begins for a farmer on the first day of harvest. Today was the day. My guys began harvesting a field of beans just east of our house and are still at it (farmers don't quit early during this time either.) The beans are yielding very well and they have dried down to a very acceptable level, much to our amazement. After the 10 inches of rain last week we weren't sure that would ever happen.

But the big green machine has been filling wagons for most of the day. The guys have smiles on their faces and they go about their day feeling satisfied and purposeful. It must be a wonderful feeling to literally reap the harvest of their hard work. Would that we should all be so satisfied with our occupations!

Book Club Evening

Last night was book club. Four friends who have gotten together to "discuss" books for over 4 years now. What a wonderful evening we always have. We watched our 4 daughters grow up together, go to church together, and graduate from high school and college together. To tell the truth, much of our book club discussion centers more on our children's lives than the lives of those in our books. But what a good excuse to get together.

It seems like we are able to solve most of the world's problems if anyone would just ever ask us. We have the perfect solution to the type of discipline today's children need. We've been there, done that. And we can move a child out of school, across country, have them settled, and be on our merry way within a week's time. We are very efficient.

Four very good friends who have cried together, laughed and celebrated together, danced and sang together. Always there for each other in good times and bad. Reading a good book is just an undercover reason to share more memorable times!

Eventually It Will Happen

Another grey, dreary day. The sun tried to peek through the clouds this morning but got tired of fighting and decided to sleep in a while longer. By the time I left school, once again the rain was pouring down. How long will this last?

But then this evening I am feeling better about tomorrow. The sunset showed an evident passing of the clouds, although far in the west, and the setting sun trying to hold its own. We'll see what tomorrow brings. Total rain, over 5.5" and a total for the month of September so far: 10.6". That's what you call a wet month!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

There's a song that was popular when I was growing up with the same title as this entry. It had to do with someone who was mourning the demise of their "perfect relationship" with a girlfriend, but nonetheless, that's how I feel right now. (No, my husband didn't leave me!)

Friday we started having drizzly rains here, a total of .6", and throughout the night Friday I would hear it still raining. Things didn't improve on Saturday and I watched the rain glide out the gutters at an even pace all day. By 6:00 PM we had had 4.7" of rain. Our rain gauge only holds 4" so there was an outpouring, and might I add abundance, of rain. We attended an outdoor event last evening and managed to get that in, thinking maybe the rains had abated.

As I was heading up to bed last night, again I could hear the rain hitting the window. Looking at the radar this morning, it appears another rainy day is in store. Mushrooms literally appeared in my yard overnight. We are thinking our investment in new gutters was a pretty smart move on our part.

My Annual "I Can't Get Any Sleep Because It's So Noisy" Week!

It begins tonight. Just as the truck and trailer are leaving the driveway for the second load, there's already so much noise that I have to close the windows. Leaves falling? Nope. Stearmen fly-in? Nope. Combines beginning to roll? Nope.

It's calf weaning day!

The guys just returned from Henderson with their first load of 52 six month old calves that are being weaned from their mothers. And boy are they sad! They will be bawling all night, morning, day, and evening for the next week. Not to say that I wouldn't too, but the noise tends to make me close the windows at night. I miss hearing the birds singing, the wind whispering through the leaves, and the hoot owls at night. Truthfully, all I can hear is the cacophony of moos and cries of anguish. I may be writing blogs very late at night for the next week. Yawn!

A Teacher's Dream

I happened to be down at the office today when the phone rang. Our secretary picked it up, I got ready to leave, and she motioned me back to her desk. She said there was a young man on the phone, Zach K., who was an ex student of mine. He was wondering if he could stop by school and see me some time as he happened to be visiting from out of town.

My face lit up. Zach K. How well I remembered him. I said that 1:30 would be just fine and looked forward to the time when we could visit. I tried to recall how many years ago he had been in my room, tried to imagine what he might look like now, and memories of him as an 8 year old in my room kept me busy all morning.

About 1:30, a tall, distinguished, handsome young man appeared at my classroom door. There was Zach! I never would have recognized him. I introduced him to the class, took them to the Learning Center, and Zach and I sat down for a very long overdue conversation. Zach had moved out of town and I had lost track of him. He filled me in. Much to my surprise he is 18. I had him 10 years ago!

He moved from here to Kewanee, Champaign, and then South Carolina. His life was not always easy but he has done great things with it. He is currently a freshman in college and wants to be a teacher!!!! He thought about elementary but finds his interest in drama and public speaking, so will pursue that dream. We took out pictures of the students in his class in 1998 and we recalled some of the good times that year. He asked about many of the students and I was able to fill him in.

Much too quickly it was time for him to go. I hated to see it end. My little friend Zach, grown up, with wonderful goals, a pleasant personality, and a keen insight into life. I felt honored that he had come to visit. As a matter of fact, he is going to college HERE and offered to come into the classroom and help whenever I needed. Turn around is fair play. I look forward to his upcoming visits!

Lost and Found: Childhood Treasures

Have you ever lost something and wondered what in the world could have happened to it? Well, that mystery was solved, not so much for me this week, as for my children, although they don't know it yet.

While working on the foundation this week, it was necessary to remove some rather large concrete steps from the east side of our house. They were under a door that our children must have slammed at least 100 times every day during nice weather, and some not so nice, but they went out nonetheless. My! What treasures awaited my eyes when the steps were fully removed.

My son was enthralled to find the little earth mover that he had lost more than 20 years ago. And the blue frisbee! He said none had flown better. There was a yellow drumstick lying there (I must admit that might have been me who threw it under those steps ONCE AND FOR ALL). A small Tupperware container had taken up residence which had been home to someone's Cheerios or treasured grapes and.....well they just fell. There were sand shovels, a thong (like you wear on your feet, those others hadn't been "invented" yet), a golf ball sized bouncy ball, plastic bottles, a barrette, and many more treasures too numerous to name.

All of those items made me smile and remember those days of doors slamming and children laughing and running outside. I'd take them back most days!