Four Things

• No one coddles our youngest like his big sister.  Derek and I tell him to settle down, or shake it off, or any of the other things you say when your child is crying more for attention's sake than anything else, then along comes Adelaide, who picks him up and gives him the sympathy his cruel parents insist on depriving him of.  Never mind that it's blatantly clear he is getting too big for such things.

• Common Household Mom recently wondered how the Iowa corn crop is doing this year.

From what many native Iowans have insisted upon telling me every year since we moved here, corn should be "knee-high by the fourth of July."  (Note:  Never have I met a people group who enjoy talking about corn as much Iowans.  After writing the following, I must accept that I am now one of them.)  As you can see above- where I pulled the car over on the way to the library to get this picture as photo evidence for CHM- it is significantly above knee-high.  As of about a week ago, the conversations I overheard from area farmers were positive; they were pleased with their corn and soybean crops this year, although they did mention how dry it had been.  It's rained several inches in the past week, so hopefully that has helped.  We've also had a pretty cool summer thus far- Atticus has his arms wrapped around him in the photo above, as sixty degrees was a little chilly for his t-shirt-and-shorts attire.  From a cranky gardener's standpoint (that would be mine, always), my vegetable garden is not producing this year.  My tomato plants are tiny, my pumpkin plants are tiny, my pepper plants are tiny.  The lettuce has done really really well, no doubt due to the cool weather, and I got more strawberries than ever in early June, but that's about it.  

• This is our library's Overdue Fines chair.  

Kidding.  A representative from a local science center gave a presentation at our library, and at the end anyone who had always dreamed of sitting on a chair whose seat is made up of sharp nails- pointy side up, of course- could give it a go.  The point of the whole thing (pun INTENDED) was... um... something about pressure per cubic whatever... or something- and look, I was busy helping other people during the presentation and couldn't really listen, so lay off, okay?  Anyway, it was not the most comfortable chair I've ever rested upon, but it was still better than those restaurant booths that have a weird piece of trim that protrudes from the back and hits you right at the neck (or mid-back for Derek).  

• And now, a gratuitous photo of one of my nieces.

Farms and Ranches, Ranches and Farms

While at my mom's house last week, we were graciously invited to a friend's ranch to pick strawberries and see the horses and get really dirty.


This was what Adelaide looked like pretty much the whole time we were there:

You should really click to embiggen, otherwise you won't get the full feel of just how happy and how hot she was.  It was around 60 degrees when we left Iowa that morning, and 98 by the time we rolled into my hometown.  Holy hotness.

At one point soon after we had arrived at the ranch, Caedmon was startled by a dog.  The doggie quickly went on his way, but Cade wouldn't let go of me.  He kept pointing and saying, "There's another doggie over there!"

Oh, my poor, sheltered city boy.  That "doggie" was a cow.  Well, a calf.  But still.

Adelaide loved the Lola the calf/dog.

The incomparable Liza let Atticus and Adelaide bottle feed sweet Lola.  She also helped all three kids on and off of tractors, drove us out to the horses, and answered what felt like millions of questions from the kiddos. 

Oh, and the strawberries.  So, so good.  They have a very large strawberry patch, and we certainly enjoyed picking and eating our way through it.

[Click to embiggen and see Atticus stuffing his face.]

A few days after that, the kids and I made the trek out to where my brother-in-law and his dad were farming.  They very kindly took time out of their busy day to take all four of us for numerous tractor rides.  We "helped" drill beans and something else that I don't remember.

Caedmon being carried out to one of the tractors by Mark, my two sisters' father-in-law.  Mark carries small children with an ease no doubt borne from having eight kids of his own.

Adelaide in the super fancy new tractor with Clinton.  She was a little upset with me when I wouldn't let her back on for a third go-round.

Atticus and I in the new tractor.  Atticus was impressed by all the buttons and pedals.  I was impressed by the whole thing.  I don't even want to know how much that thing cost.  

I just included this one because I think Atticus looks so much like photos of Derek when he was little.  I carried him for nine months and he doesn't have the good grace to look even a little bit like me.  The nerve of children.

It was all so fun.  And hot.  And fun.