Workin' Five-to-Nine in the Summer of Fun

So here we are in June already. I think I only blogged about three or four times in May. Maybe June will be better... maybe it won't. The truth is, now that summer has set on, it seems like we are busy All. The. Time. 

Living as far north as we do, this time of year days are extremely long. As in, there are a LOT of hours of daylight. More daylight hours = longer workdays for farmers, in general.  According to www.sunrisesunset.com, today's sunrise was around 5:20, and sunset will be around 9:20.  Of course, it is always light enough to work before the sun actually rises, and after it technically has set. Also, those times were for Rudyard, MT and we are almost 25 miles north of Rudyard, so I suppose the numbers could be adjusted slightly for minute differences.  All the same, Jeff has been waking up at 5am semi-regularly to go spray crop, and many times our last chore of the day, feeding nutrient-rich range cake to the cows out at pasture, isn't done until 9pm or later.

Dolly Parton should re-write her song Nine To Five especially for farmers, I think. Just reverse it. Can't you hear her now wailing away? "Workin' Five-To-Nine... What a way to make a living!" Seriously, that is a sixteen hour work day. 

Despite the fact that we ourselves are busy, everything around here has been good. The crops look really good. It seems like Tom and Jeff are both pleased with how the wheat, barley, and peas are coming on-- better than expected in a lot of cases. A few well-timed rain storms over the past few weeks have certainly helped allay fears of draught the long, dry spring planted in all our minds. Now we just need to keep dodging the hail storms (there were two this past week alone! luckily, not really affecting us!!) and hope for the best!

Jeff and I have also been really busy continuing with a few minor home remodeling projects, mainly consisting of painting in a few rooms.  The last rainy weekend we got a lot of that accomplished, thanks also to Carol's help. She has a meticulous nature when it comes to painting trim that I think I can safely say Jeff and I both lack. 

And of course, we have spent a lot of time gardening.  The radishes have really come on in just the past few days.  We have been trying to stay on top of picking them before they get too big and too spicy and woody in flavor.  They have been delicious.  I am thinking about trying out a recipe I found for radish refrigerator pickle if the number of radishes becomes too overwhelming.  So far, we have been able to use them in salads and eating them raw and it has been great.   I think we will be able to begin cutting some of our lettuces any time too.  I have had fun incorporating garden veggies into meal prep.

The other thing about summer is all the activities.  Thinking ahead through the next three months, I don't think there is a single weekend in which we do not already have a scheduled activity.  Last weekend was the Jerry Fraser benefit.  This weekend we have another BIG auction scheduled for tomorrow that we are helping with. The weekend after that, my parents are coming for a vist (yay!), the next weekend Jeff and I are travelling to Missoula... and on and on it goes until hay cutting and harvest begin. Then it will be football season...and the cycle continues.
!
Nevertheless, Jeff and I have dubbed this summer the Summer of Fun, inspired by visiting some dear friends while on our trip to Iowa a few weeks ago who have done the same thing.  (In case anyone was wondering, the official adult beverage of the Summer of Fun is Leinenkugels Summer Shandy.  Find it at your local grocery store or wherever you buy beer TODAY!)  We are young and though we work hard, I think we deserve to have some fun, too.  So, lets all raise a glass to the Summer of Fun!