There and back again

It was great to get out to Ohio. Shauna drove out with her parents and I followed later in the week with Delta as my chauffeur. It was originally thought that Jessi's service would be a small affair but it seems that you can't live the kind of life she lived and have a small service.
I felt a little bit more properly initiated to Ohio this time around. The first time I was there it was more or less because Ohio was where Shauna was at the time. Then there was the ripping trip to pick up the girls for the wedding. This time I got to spend time around the campfire with the neighbors, watch lightning bugs, listen to the frogs, soak up the muggy air, meet Billy Bob (a true Ohioan- sometimes a feller needs a translator to know what the dickens he's a tryin to say), and play cornhole. That there's a game liken to horse shoes 'cept with bean bags and boards with holes in them. Ain't like y'all filthy minded critters were thinkin.

Then there was the trip home. Dave and Sandra and Shauna and I left Sunday after lunch.
We dropped down to somewhere that I suppose wasn't too far off of sea level when we crossed the Mississippi, and hit 7000 feet in WY with nary a hill in between. The only sign that you're on a steadily rising slope is that the scenery slowly takes on a more arid appearance.
Ohio to Indiana to Illinois to Iowa to Nebraska to Wyoming to Utah to Idaho. Had a nice overnighter in Rock Island, Illinois and again in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Here are some scenic shots from our trip.

West of Ray, OH.


Betwixt OH and IN.


Doing the morning do in the canopy reflection in Rock Island.


Somewhere in the middle of America.


Lunchtime in Iowa.


Nebraska- I think.


On the road after a night in Cheyenne.


Further along in Wyoming.

So, there you have it. Our trip across the beautiful U.S.

too young to lose a sister

That is what it seems like anyway....but we never know what life is going to hand us. Most of you would have heard by now that Jessi passed away on Monday morning. We were expecting it...knew it would happen....but....I still sit in bewilderment over here a bit. How did this happen? Jessi said to me a few weeks ago, with her signature little smile..."this is so weird." I said, "that you are dying of cancer?" "yep." It is hard to imagine life without her, truly. But, like others have said, there is so much comfort knowing she is somewhere better, and taken care of....and out of pain. We hated to see her in pain. And now we all have shared something on our blogs (more info on mom Sandra's blog). I suppose it helps all of us to give a tribute, to share the love we have for her. And that is what I want to say. I love her. I will miss her.

Bachelorhood take four, five?

Things have been pretty quiet around here lately. Here being this blog- not our life. Shauna came home from Ohio last Wednesday. We thought we might have a few weeks or even a month together but, unfortunately, Jessi's failing and Shauna's on her way back to Ohio. This time it's a road trip with her parents. I'll fly out when it comes time for a memorial service and maybe drive back with her and Dave. Sandra plans to stay out there a while.
That's news in a nutshell. I might have driven out to Ohio with them but life has been busy on the farm. Big push to get all of the potatoes in the ground and now a big rush to get them all cultivated before they pop up. (Have to fluff their beds, tuck them in, get rid of the weeds while they're small...) It's not usually such a big rush but the weather has been throwing wrenches in our gears this spring. Rained like it was Eugene the other day. Minus the interesting counter-culture of course. After meeting this morning, the folks were commenting about how muggy it is. I think the humidity is around 10 percent or something.
ps: one thing I learned in the rain: remember that film of Oreo goo we have on our windows? Well, you can't tell it's there anymore until it rains. Turns out Oreo centers are made of the same stuff Rain X is made of.
Here are a few ho-hum pictures.

We haul in potato seed from up north (Arco) and dump it into a big huge bin. They meter it out of the bin and through the cutting machine.

Then four people watch them as they go by and cut the ones that are still too big by hand. The cut seed goes through a drum that coats them with a fungicide. Then they hang out in another great big bin until it's their turn to climb into a truck and head to the field. Every time potatoes move it involves a small army of people. They sure seem labor intensive and temperamental but America has a love affair with fries!

Bored (the bin was too full I think) and looking for random shots. This is the view potatoes get when they exit the rear of the trailer on their way to the bin.

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And a few not so ho-hum pictures. Our vintage store couch has gotten the first stage in its make-over!

Reversible for your seating pleasure.

Thanks Sarah!

News Flash

Not much happening here. Finally getting the last of the potatoes and such in the ground. The weather had set us back some.
There is some really good news though: SHAUNA'S COMING HOME TOMORROW! I managed to get the day off to run down to SLC to pick her up.
And here are some more pictures of the wedding weekend.

Found some time for the yard!

The neighbors seemed extra friendly today. "Look honey, the Wilsons are finally logging their yard." It was about that bad. After a fair bit of tinkering and kicking of tires, I finally stumbled upon the solution for the lawn mower that has been parked in the middle of our front yard for a week because it wouldn't run: a good dose of starting fluid. Nothing like a snort of highly flammable spray to get one moving.

Some of them red and yellow and pinkish flower thingys.


And some white flowers on a little tree we have. There are about six blooming on one branch. Very exciting! And the bush things by the ditch are about to burst forth. What do you call those things again Shauna? Lilac I think...


Roobarb! Rubarb? Rhubarb. There we go. Got rid of the red underline that means "You don't know how to spell, do you?"
And strawberries by the house.
Let's see.
You have a pie pan don't you dear?
(That's the lawn growing front of the rhubarb. A bit over due for a haircut.)


We have been very kindly loaned a riding mower. Quite nice! Yes, if you were wondering earlier why I didn't just push the mower out of the front yard when it wouldn't start, here's your answer. Ok, so I probably could have had Shauna push it to the side but she was busy. Besides, pushing the mower because you can't get it to run is just embarrassing.
Anyway, apparently the last owners didn't have a riding mower. Or they had two: one stored in the front yard, the other in the back. But then, there would still be one in the back yard.


Looks like we'll need to build a wider gate to fit the new hole.


Not sure if this is up to Ohio standards. But this is just little old south Idaho after all. I did get the mower going after I saw the neighbor had his lawn freshly mowed- but that was just coincidence. Either mow it today or harvest it next weekend. We're going full tilt on planting. The weather set us back six days so the planting crews are working seven days a week. Hooray for not being on a planting crew!


Even has its own place in the garage. Now that's something to be proud of.