The Family Farm

As long as there is a son in the family who has farming in his heart, I will always have this place to come home to.

It looked totally different back in the 60's and 70's.

As I was growing up we raised wheat, rye, millet, oats, barley, corn, and later a few sunflowers. Oh, and flax, my favorite because it felt good to the feet and hands when you climbed in the truck bed to 'play' as it was getting augured in. Smooth and slippery like satin. Now it's just 2 crops, corn and soybeans. Yes, I'm sure they are both GMO and some day in the future that landscape will again look a bit different.

Dad retired from farming many years ago but my brother and his son are still there and are techno geeks when it comes to the latest and greatest methods. (GPS)

I sometime wonder what my grandfather would think about all of it. He farmed this land first. Well actually someone else did for a few years before him so we can almost say it was always in the family. 

There is still one original building standing. The barn where we milked cows. Not your typical barn, half as tall as most around the country.

 New reflected in the old.

I remember the pasture behind it and the cow trails and how you'd have to dodge the piles. That's where I first learned about grub worms.

There would always be a few foxtails growing there.

On the north edge of the pasture was a grove of trees. I only remember the Russian Olive trees, my favorite. They are long gone as is the pasture and fence. An extremely large metal building stands there where the guys do their inventing and building of specialized equipment. My nephew actually holds several patents and is the genius behind most of it. 

The east side of the pasture was bordered by the river. Technically called the Maple Creek. We fished there in the summer and skated in the winter. Swimming wasn't a good idea unless you wanted to come out with a few leeches attached. My sister-in-law paddles down it in her kayak these days.

Have you ever tried choke cherry jelly? To get the real flavor out one must grind the berries in a sausage grinder so the seeds will crack. The incredibly dark juice will stain everything in site and of course it must be strained through cheese cloth. A process of love for sure and a bit of a lost art in that area now. I was so tempted to pick some but I've cut way back on sugar and don't need this temptation.

And of course the milkweed. Ready to spread itself into the future.

How about your summer? Did you revisit some wonderful childhood places?

Sunflower Fields Forever

Every year I embark on a quest to find a sea of yellow.

Since finding this beauty in 2013, a heart shape is always on my list. 

This was the closest I could find. Still, it didn't quite compare.

Row upon billowy row of yellow petals.

So thankful to God for such beauty, such a breath-taking splendor, to stand among these.

To touch and gaze into their beautiful faces.

To imagine what they might feel like.

To see the beasts of the air play their role in this season's presentation.

I will always be in search of sunflower fields.

Flowers of the Sun

Better known as sunflowers….
I have volunteers in my veggie garden and flower garden every year. This year they nearly took over the veggies. The finches visit every day and now the dove are gleaning from the ground.
Very few farmers plant sunflowers here. There are usually a few fields along a 7 mile stretch of FM 1585, but this year only one. This field held two varieties. Part was planted with the large heads and short stalks. Another part of the field was smaller flowers, taller plants.
I was hoping to photograph them this week as it appeared they were at peak when we drove by Saturday night. We had been out 'cloud watching'. Storms were brewing to the East and the sun was about to go down. I have a great iPhone shot and edit of these clouds with the sunflowers in the foreground, but you'll have to come back tomorrow for App Happy Wednesday.

This morning I woke up around 5:30 which is highly unusual. Since sleep didn't return it was the perfect chance to grab coffee and camera, leave hubby a note, and look for the light.
The large sunflowers were actually past their peak but I like these types of photos too. I will have to revisit when they turn brown.

Textured as shown with 2 of Kim's textures.

The smaller flowers were like those I'd photographed last year. They were the type that I found the sunflower with the heart. So I was on a mission to find another. A few came close. But not as perfect as last year's flower. This was the closest….

Then I found an eaten leaf. Perfect…..

A butterfly showed up…..

A sun flare...

And the farmer cultivated his cotton nearby...

I had almost forgotten to make use of the polarizing filter that was on my lens. This is SOOC. (straight out of camera) I should have bumped up my exposure a bit...

I was on my knees shooting up when another strange bug showed up. At first I thought it was a dragonfly. It was buzzing around rather high, nearly over head. It was too large for a dragonfly and it was making me nervous. I took a couple shots of it and it flew off. Vain imaginations ran through my head about it being a drone. (Seen too many movies lately.) Hubby said if it was a drone it, it would hover. Well it did hover… But hopefully it was a bug. If you recognize it let me know.

On the way home I got to photograph the horses that are never close to the road anytime I drive by. I caught them with a little rim light. kk_touchof-1 texture.

I should get up this early everyday… I had the freezer defrosted, some laundry done and a peach pie baked by noon! Thanks for coming along on my early morning adventure. 

All edits done in Lightroom.

Linking up with Kim for Texture Tuesday.