Update

No rain yet this week. The fruit trees so far have escaped damage from two cold nights but the weather is supposed to be exceptionally warm for the next few days so we don't need to be concerned about that. Bridgers came yesterday and limed all 14+ acres with 1.5 tons per acre and D began last night and continued again tonight discing it in. He got stuck in the "soft" area again so not only did I get to drive the tractor but took my first drive on the backhoe, too. Maybe I'll turn into a farmer after all :) !
EO and I finished reading his "Farming with Father" book today as part of his school and it has been a delight to read it to him and let him read some of the words, too. I think it's great that some of the first words he reads on his own are "farm, cow, tractor, hen, hay, help, rain...." What a blessing to be where we can see God's hand in everything and it makes it so much easier to realize the temporary nature of what man creates compared to God. Oh, to have my children understand first hand that they should be grateful for every ray of sunshine, every drop of rain, every stalk of wheat, every refreshing breeze, every buzzing bee and blooming flower, every breath and beat of our heart, every morsel of food to eat and sip of water to drink. we are truly blessed.

Placing "the" order

Tomorrow I will confirm with both of our suppliers the exact quantity, variety and size of each tree that we plan to plant next winter. We have "finalized" our layout (again!) but of course we will revise it if we cannot get the exact number of each variety that we want because we really feel like it is more important to get the good quality of trees as long as we can get almost all of the varieties in the quantities we want. The local farm supply place is scheduled to come and lime (1.5 tons per acre) tomorrow and then D will begin discing it in before we plant ground cover. I am still researching exactly what type of cover we need to plant at this time of year (usually you would plant it in the fall).

Tonight it is supposed to be down to about 30* so I spent a little time this evening covering the fruit trees with sheets. It looks so funny to look out and see two rows of sheets swaying in the cold north wind!! We will see tomorrow how much damage has been done. I didn't cover the blueberry bushes because they are still so small that I was considering plucking the blooms off for one more year anyway, to help advance the growth of the branches.

There is a possibility of some slight showers overnight but no further rain in sight for the rest of the week. Once the fields are limed it really would be good for it not to rain until we get them disced and sowed with some cover.

Back on the roller coaster

Well, here it is. Another "loop" on the ride. Just as I posted a little over a week ago that we were going ahead another few things went awry. We had rain - lots of it- at the end of the week and so of course the land graders weren't able to come as planned. In addition, since we had not made a firm order and paid our supplier in Texas (not knowing when or if we would be ready), he has now sold out of all but one of the varieties that we wanted during a big conference last weekend. The graders are supposed to come this weekend but the weather forecast is calling for rain again (which we do need but why can't it rain during the week?!) and the farm supply for our lime is now into spring farming season and will be backed up for days or weeks. So again we reverse our reversal of our reversal .... whatever, we are not going to plant this year. It's just too far into the "iffy" window of spring and we really want to do it the right way, not necessarily the fast way, so (for today) it is (almost) sure that we will not have any trees in the ground before next winter.
In the meantime I am looking into the possibility of some specialized crop farming this spring/summer and will keep you updated with that. Also, we will be placing a "very firm" order including down payment on our trees that we want to be sure to get late next fall/early winter, both from Texas and locally. In the meantime, it is nice to get rain to relieve this drought and refill ponds and lakes and I cannot be sad about almost anything in the beautiful springtime!
(Photos by Russ and Matt Creech)

RAIN!!!

Over 1.2 inches last night. Unfortunately some very strong winds, lightning, etc. but thankfully we did not have the trees in the ground yet to be uprooted or damaged so we are just very, very thankful for another rain. We are now nearing "normal" range for rainfall for the past month and are praying that we have seen the worst of the drought over.

Birthday present

D got the best birthday present ever 6 years ago - another son! But this week he got his next birthday wish - no, unfortunately not another child - pecan trees! We confirmed with our Texas supplier and land grading company and liming farm supplier and hole digger (me!) and disc-er (me & D) that if the Lord is willing we will get the trees in about a week and a half and spend the remainder of the month of March planting, pruning, staking, berming and tending to 400 trees. What a great gift!

How things look today...

Don't think I'd mentioned that we bought the water tank last week. 1000 gals worth. We will be using it for both the farm and for an opportunity that we have to rent it during this severe drought in Raleigh. In a way we have been blessed from this drought because it caused an opportunity for us that will actually help us on the farm!

Prayer. I'm ashamed that I do not pray like I should when it always gives me a way to be used by God and learn more about him. The 3 days of prayer we committed to have been amazing. Doors that had been closed for months suddenly opened. We got some rain last week but no one expected the burn ban to be lifted. It was (effective Sat., March 1st). If the Lord wills it according to the weather and other factors the final removal of the left-over burnt piles will be removed next weekend at half the rate we expected to pay (isn't HE good?!!), the following week we will lay off the rows and begin digging holes and the next week (third week of March) we will go to Texas to get 2/3 of our trees. The other 1/3 will be bought locally (varieties that are not available from Mr. Berdoll). This is just inside the planting window and with the addition of the water tank to our family we should be able to go forward. I know you think we are building a roller coaster ride but that's the ride called "farming". Weather, wind, rain, equipment breakdowns, supplier problems, money, labor, time, weather, money, well.... each and every one causes another twist and turn on the ride. I've always liked roller coasters myself. Good thing, I guess!