Bradley and Erin

So, there always seems to be a whirlwind of activity happening in my life from farm work to family stuff and a whole wide range in between but, at present, most exciting is that sister has met a guy from FL! They met in Feb down there and Bradley just drove up here the end of May for a few weeks to visit again and meet the rest of the family.

Due to rain keeping them out of the fields in Davidson, they came over to my place for a few days. My yard/farm received several improvements thanks to the both of them. I always have a "To Do" list about a mile long so picked what I really wanted done and a few ones that would be difficult to accomplish myself.

 Staining my deck

 Before

 After

 They replaced the bench boards so they look really nice now.  I'm going to let them weather for a while before staining.

 Love the stain colour! 

 I had just gotten a chainsaw so they went along the edge of the yard and cleaned it up so it looks much nicer and is easier to mow around too now. 

 I must have taken at least 10 loads of branches away with the tractor!

Shelves in my barn garage. Yay! 

 Erin and Bradley =D

They did more work as well but also managed to get a few relaxing moments in. :) A couple evenings I started a campfire and we had a hot dog and marshmallow roast. Weather was nice, no mosquitoes, and a full pitcher of sweet tea (a staple for southerners :))...what more could you ask for, right?! ;) Here's to hoping they come back again! :D

Adding some colour to my yard...

 A few days ago I picked up a variety of flowers to plant in the flower beds in my yard and around my trailer. I love how much of a bright, cheerful feeling they add to the yard. I finally finished barn cleanout early this afternoon so decided to try and get the flowers in before it rained. Guess I started just in time as the rain started falling as I put the last one in. :)

 Impatiens, begonias, petunias, and a few others.

 In front of my office.

 Went with more pinks in this flower bed.

 Brighter, vivid colours in this one with white impatiens for a nice contrast.

 Decided to buy a flower basket and see how it survives. Had forgotten about these deck planters but I had enough flowers to fill them as well.

One of the tire planters

Daniel and Hannah's Wedding Cake

Around the middle of April my friend, Hannah, asked if I could make a cake for her upcoming June wedding. I was excited to be able to have the opportunity to help her out with this task. We got together discussed what type of cake and theme she wanted, leafed through cake decorating magazines, and drew pictures and took notes so I could refer back to them during the whole process. I've decorated a few cakes over the years but never a wedding cake so I was up to the challenge. :) I pulled out cake pans, decorating gadgets, tips, icing colours, etc. and hoped my creative juices would flow freely.

For the cake I used butter pecan mixes. Years back I took the first Wilton Decorating Course and the instructor recommended a handy tip for when using cake mixes for decorating: omit the oil and 1 egg. The taste is still great but gives a firmer cake base to decorate. I like the 3" Wilton cake pans and use the Bake-Even Cake Strips which makes a huge difference in how level the cake bakes. I used a buttercream icing recipe. The first cake I did half shortening and half butter but it gave the cake a bit of a yellow tinge so for the real cake I used straight shortening and substituted half of the clear vanilla with butter flavoured vanilla so there would still be a butter taste. Icing with just shortening also tends to hold up a little better in the heat and humidity compared to the butter/shortening recipe.

 The practice cake. The orange was supposed to be lemon yellow but I didn't have the right shade on hand when decorating this one.

My sister picked up this tilt-and-turn cake decorating turntable which made the cake decorating about 10 times easier. You can tilt it several different angles and also spin it around while decorating or lock it in place.

Top tier of the practice cake. 

Decorating the real cake. Yes, I was a bit nervous! Had a few issues along the way but I was pretty happy with the end result. 

Top cake

Naomi (Hannah's sister) making the groom's cake: chocolate cake with a raspberry jam filling and fast fudge frosting. :)

Done just in time to deliver Friday evening. 

The finished result! :)

Happy Birthday, Naomi!

 Today marks the birthday of a very special friend - Naomi. I'm sitting here trying to describe our friendship which is difficult as it would take about 5 blog posts just to get started. Our friendship began 15 years ago when we met at a church down in MT and our first conversation took place while walking through an old cemetery. Despite the dark sounding beginning, our friendship has blossomed through the years to where it feels she isn't just a friend but a sister as well. :)

We've been through a lot together. We've exchanged countless letters and phone calls. Despite long stretches between visits sometimes, we've always been able to take right up where we've left off the next visit. We are almost always on the same page on any discussion (exception for "Alice in Wonderland" - lol!).

Naomi is a friend that is always been there; ready to listen, give advice, pray, and encourage. I've been so blessed by her friendship and look forward to many more years of being best friends. Love you, girl!!

 At Naomi's wedding Sept 2011. I was thrilled to be her maid of honour.

Back in 2008. Fun memories!

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Excavation work

Last week I was able to get an excavator in to dig out and properly slope the west side of my barn. Now the water should run south past the back of my barn and keep water from coming in when the snow melts and when it rains. It looks like a mess right now but hopefully I can get grass seeded this coming week if the weather cooperates.

Before when I had to keep pumping out.

Life is short...

Springtime in Saskatchewan

Springtime...there is many signs of its arrival on the prairies.

The almost immediate transformation from the brown, bare landscape to trees budding out, perennials popping up, and dandelions showing their bright, sunshine yellow heads. 

 The smell of freshly mown grass.

Rototilled garden soil

 Farm equipment working up clouds of dust in the fields.

 Passing more farm equipment than regular vehicles on gravel roads.

Learning to take those red warning diamond signs on the sign of the road seriously.

 Trucks end up having two colours: top half colour remains the same but turns into half dirt/dried on mud on the lower part. If you wash it off, it will probably look like this again the next day. Wait for July.

 The beginning of yard maintenance season: mowing, whippersnipping, and hedge trimming.

This past week I got a new JD mower which is awesome. I can now cut all the grass in my yard and around my barn in about 1 1/2 hrs. Before with my small mower it used to take me about 3 1/2 hrs.

 

Happy Spring!  

Friends

I've been blessed with some amazing friends. However, due to living way up north in what could be called the middle of nowhere, not very often do I have friends' travels taking them right by my door. Just recently though, Anne Jisca and her family were able to stop by for a quick visit. It had been three years since we had seen each other last and it was good to talk and catch up with each other. Josiah, Anne Jisca, and their two boys, Korban and Jedidiah, are preparing to move to Africa with mission work. You can find out more about them and the work they'll be doing on their blog: http://meyersonmission.wordpress.com/ . Thanks guys for stopping by! :)

Anne Jisca (on the right) and I.

 

 Jedidiah

Blimey Cow!! =D

Blimey Cow! I look forward to Mondays to see what creative, relevant, and humorous video they've come up with next and posted.

An afternoon in the life of a chicken farmer

Yesterday afternoon:

At my barn to do chores and see water coming in the barn. I had built part of a gravel dam at the front of the barn after I first placed because water was starting to seep in. Things dried up and it seemed okay. So, I decide it would be best to finish building a gravel dam in the barn so I can pump out the water.

Use my Ford farm truck to get gravel and it keeps quitting on me. Like KEEPS quitting on me. It usually quits on me at least once every time I drive it but not this often. And, yes, the tank had fuel in it. =P And, no, I don't like my Ford; we've had a disagreeable relationship from the first time we met. =P

Start up the pumps - all three of them. Pump 1 pumps into the same hole where Pump 2 is placed. Pump 2 pumps out Pump 1's water and also water that is seeping in from underneath the barn shop floor. Pump 3 is outside and pumps water away from the W side of the barn, across the road, and away...hopefully. Sound confusing enough?? Pump 2  gets plugged but I catch it before it over heats too much.

As I'm walking out the door to get more gravel, the red battery light starts flashing on my alarm system. It is almost 4:00 PM...Friday afternoon, need I add. =P I call my neighbour who went to Saskatoon but he has already left. I call Yorkton and the place closes at 5 and isn't open on weekends. I call my brother who thankfully has time and lives closer to Yorkton and he is able to get the battery before closing. While on the phone I hear my truck quit again and remember that I still have Pump 3 running outside and that it probably should be unplugged by now.

After getting things sort of under control and doing chores, I have to go to Yorkton, which is about an hour away, to pick up the battery. Enjoy a quick meal with my brother and his family, grab a few groceries, get a Tim's and head back home again just in time to pump more water and do evening chores.

 I believe that the F in Farming stands for Flexibility. =D Thus ends my exciting day and I get ready for another one to begin bright and early tomorrow.