The Orchard

We're anticipating our first harvest. We're well aware of the dust it will bring, but still it seems fun to think of the equipment that will be in and out of the orchard harvesting our crop.

The boys - walking out to the orchard in their Sunday best!

Here comes the water!

More fun with Irrigation!

The weather is warming up this week. Sunday and Monday were very spring like and we enjoyed the change. Tuesday morning we woke up to our neighbor surveying the orchard on his quad! That means we're getting water!! Bret, Lilly, and Garret disappeared after breakfast. Lilly appeared 1/2 hour later with her light blue pants caked in mud - ughh!! Apparently, I didn't see her before she headed out the door. The pants are still sitting in oxyclean - we'll see what happens when I wash them today! In the late afternoon I started some freezer cooking for friends coming over this evening. This really made the house hot, so after dinner the girls and I took a walk to the levy. Have you ever been near an orchard that's just been irrigated? I can't describe how wonderful it felt. The air was cool, the smell of the earth penetrated our noses! Wow! We enjoyed a leisurely walk with Frisbee and Eyore! Yes, Eyore walked with us all the way to the levy! This is the second time she's done that. And the second time we had to pick her up and walk her part of the way home. She is obviously unaware of the danger that nightfall will bring, and had no interest in returning with us.

About 3/4's of the way back, Rachel decided to take her flip flops off and walk in the muddy water! She said it felt so good! I wouldn't let Lilly do it and I think I had a good enough idea of what walking in the mud felt like - so Rachel was on her own. Once she got past the water she was forced to walk on dry dirt, then dead weeds, next gravel. Finally, she hit the grass and we handed her the hose! She said she felt like she was wearing shoes by the time she got to the yard!

Well, it will be even hotter today! That's ok! We're enjoying the last part of our summer!

P.S. Happy late birthday to my mom and Aunt Ellen! I love you both very much!

What's Irrigation?

Easter Sunday was very quiet here. Garret's ear infections and Lilly's cold kept most everyone away. After a relaxing afternoon, I noticed the orchard slowly filling up with water! Excitedly, I ran to report this to Wade. He was doing some irrigating of his own in our new vegetable garden. After a brief explanation of the irrigation I was speaking of, Wade called for the kids to put on their mud boots and come outside.
Wade explained to our city kids exactly what irrigation was and why it was needed, then we turned them loose! What a perfect ending to a very peaceful day!