The Archives - November 2009
We're just a family following Christ, living in a ~90 year-old house out on the prairie (and yes, we do have peach trees), rearing a couple of Godly sons and all the while trying to not make the locals laugh too much at our attempts at farming. Poke around all you want and feel free to drop us a line anytime.
FaceBook Stole My Updates
My apologies for not updating here for quite a while. Like many of you, we signed up for FaceBook earlier in the year, and I've found it easier to post quick updates there than to do all the hand-coding (yes, I still do it the "old-fashioned way") to update here. Will try to keep this more up-to-date, and when I can rub two spare minutes together, I plan to eventually convert this over to a true blog format, which will be much easier to keep current.
The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry
It looks like after a six-week run in Peoria, The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry will be ending this week (still playing in other theaters around the country, though). It was a real blessing to be a part of bringing the film to the Peoria area, and I got to do several interviews on our local Christian radio station (using up my 15 minutes of fame, to be sure). If you have a chance to see it, please go soon! Check out the trailer and more info at www.sperrymovie.com.
UPDATE - The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry ended up showing for eight weeks in Peoria, praise the Lord!
Fall Harvest Continues…
Beth's garden is about done for the year, and we did finally get a third cutting of hay up, but only after it getting rained on twice again. It has been super-wet all year, and in fact, we got over 4" of rain over the past two weeks, leaving us with a damp cellar again - we never get this in the fall!
Farmers have had a time getting their harvests started due to wet field conditions and both corn and beans still having too high moisture content to store without molding. They are starting to joke that they'll be eating Thanksgiving dinner in the cab of their combines.
Our peaches didn't do anything this year - nary a blossom. The apples, however are in abundance. We usually don't spray the trees, so over half go in the compost or to the animals for treats, but that still leaves way more than Beth can cope with. She's been making lots of apple goodies, which we will enjoy for months!
I still have our field corn to harvest, but will probably end up picking by hand (about a half acre) and storing until we have time to shell it.
UPDATE - I decided to take another try at using my old corn picker (the one that nearly ate my hand a couple years ago), and it worked great!
Here's the field after picking, mowing and discing the stubble and plowing all the trash back into the soil:
Chad's First Wedding
As Best Man, lest you think otherwise! He and Tyler played some of the prelude music, and Chad wore his first tuxedo (if you don't count the cute onesey he had as an infant).
Granny's 100th
In October, my grandmother turned 100 for the first time... she's doing really well, all things considered, and had a great party, plus we gave an hour+ long concert in her honor at the retirement center where she and Mom live.
We also had good visits with a number of friends and family, including a stop at my brother Dave's and a trip up to The Smith House in Dahlonega with my Mom.
Submarine Veterans Memorial Service
We returned again this year to the Naval Base at Kings Bay, Georgia to honor the men who have served in the submarine service over the years, including my Dad, who was on the USS Burrfish (SSR-312). It was great hearing these men talk about their experiences during WWII and the Cold War.
WWII submariner Ed Stone, telling us about how a Japanese bomb missed the ship he was on in Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941) by twelve feet.
We also had time to go out to Fort Clinch:
Me and Dad.
It was an 18-1/2 hour drive for me and Tyler:
Tyler got this great shot near Milledgeville, Georgia the morning we left my Dad's house:
Ya'll drop us a line when you can, now!