Thankful Thursday – North Dakota

Posted on November 3, 2011 by wagfarms

What? I’m thankful for the state I live in? Really? You betcha!

Yesterday North Dakota (and to be fair, South Dakota) celebrated their “birthdays,” or the day that they were signed into the union. And although I complain about the 40 below temps, 100 inches plus of snow and other wonderful issues that come with winter, I truly love my state.

First of all, we have a budget surplus. For those that don’t understand what that means, it means that we take in more money than we spend. Shocking. I know.

Second, we have more jobs than we have people to work. No, this doesn’t mean we have NO unemployed people, but there are definitely employment opportunities that are open, for many, many people. The key would be work ethic, responsibility and eagerness to actually work. It’s part of the reason that while much of the country is slipping backwards, we’re actually looking to the future and planning ahead. Another shocker. I know.

Third, I feel safe where I live. Now, that’s not to say that there aren’t dangerous areas in ND, but right now, we’ve got it pretty good. And if you come in my yard, let me warn you that my two black labs will lick you to death if you’re friendly, but harass us, and they’re on their guard. And I hunt…if you get what I mean.

Our new puppy, Maggie, and our old foster-dog, Junior.

Fourth, I know my neighbors. Sometimes that’s not such a good thing, but for the most part, I feel blessed to know that if my kids are doing something they shouldn’t be, someone will tell me. It used to drive me nuts as a child, now I dig it.

Speaking of digging. Did I mention snow?

Now THAT's a snow bank!

Once upon a time, I tried to escape ND. I thought it was a mind-suck and a place that people came to die. I despised it, and everything it stood for. Thanks be to God that those times came and went quickly! I love my rural life, I love my prairie-dwelling companions and I wouldn’t trade it for the world…well, except for maybe a week or two.

Love sundogs and sunsets on the prairie!

Wordless Wednesday – Weather…nothing new

Posted on July 27, 2011 by wagfarms

The storms keep coming, the sky keeps turning sickening shades of green…and I keep shooting pics.

Here’s the latest batch from July 26, 2011:

Is it a blizzard? No, just rain. As in 1.75 inches in 25-30 minutes.

Starting to clear up, right?

The sun is there...somewhere.

As my 4-year-old says (EJ), "These clouds creep me out!"

Tired of the storms...

Even when they bring beauty.

Wordless Wednesday – The Beauty Behind the Storm

Posted on July 20, 2011 by wagfarms

This storm passed by our farm on Sunday.

If you remember, we were hit by 125+ mph winds just a week before.

Thankfully, we sustained no damage this week...

although communities just to the north of us sustained tremendous amounts of damage.

My attempt at a full-rainbow picture. Mother Nature can be difficult, but there's beauty in it all.

Something for the future

Posted on July 16, 2011 by wagfarms

I was reflecting on the past week, and something came to mind that I wanted to put down in my blog, so that someday Big Bro can look back and remember the impact that one little statement had on me.

As we were preparing for the Buy’N Show at the county fair (remember, the Reserve Champion ribbon that he didn’t want to compete for?), Big Bro had to fill out a form for the emcee to use to make a narrative for the Style Show part of the competition.

One question was: “Where would you like to go someday? Or where would you like to visit or vacation?”

His response caught me a bit off guard.

Big Bro asked if he could write, “Nowhere.” I asked, “Why?”

He replied, “I have everything I want right here…why would I need to go anywhere?”

Yeah, I had to wipe tears from my eyes, too.

The best gift that my son could give me...reminding me that everything I could ever want is still right here.

Wordless Wednesday – Storm Damage

Posted on July 13, 2011 by wagfarms

My last few posts have been just about our yard and things that are damaged pretty close to the house. Let me give you a little tour of the rest of the farm…we were truly blessed with no injuries throughout the area that was hit by Sunday’s storm.

I found EJ's tractor...but it didn't make it.

Yep, no fixing this. Anyone know where I can purchase another? EJ promised not to leave it outside anymore…after shedding a few tears over losing it.

These horse trailers were moved a few feet...and their jacks are buried.

At first I just thought this sheet metal was laying on the seeder.

...but it was impaled.

Our corn choppers can also slice sheet metal!

Cattle trailer injuries.

Something hit the trailer with force!

I found this rock that landed on a corn leaf. Strange!

Yes, that's a hay rack. And yes, that's a shelterbelt. Not sure how we'll get it out of there. It's impaled on a tree.

Our barn is missing three doors and a few windows.

The loading and working area is pretty well shot. Mark's been meaning to update for years...now he doesn't get a choice!

We were indeed blessed…indeed.

Clean-up – Day One

Posted on July 12, 2011 by wagfarms

Well, we have a good start on clean-up from Sunday’s storm. But it’ll take awhile.

We spent most of yesterday cleaning up the major stuff…downed trees, clearing out George’s soaked room, picking up fence chunks, etc. Today we’ll start coming through the yard, piling up debris, deciding what’s salvageable and what’s beyond repair. Measuring windows, figuring out which doors will need to be replaced, making plans.

It’s actually a great way to take stock of what you need, what you don’t and where you want to go from here. It’s a tough way to do it, but it gets the job done in a hurry, that’s for sure!

Two of my nieces are here to help watch the boys at my Mom and Dad’s while I’m out here getting things settled down. The girls have been such a help! I would rather the boys not see things the way they are, and have things look a little cleaned up by the time they come out here. (Plus, it’s so much easier to do things without the “help” of a 2- and 4-year-old.) I have pictures to show them when they want to see what it looked like, but sometimes this is a little much for me, I can’t imagine involving them right now.

Thank you to everyone who has given us encouraging words, stopped and talked, helped out and pitched in. We live in a wonderful community, and with so many having so much destroyed, it’s just amazing to see it all come together.

Mark hooked up the generator first thing Monday morning.

The Dakota Valley Electric crew was AMAZING and worked hard and fast to restore our power. THANK YOU!!!

My Dad can't use a regular chainsaw, thanks to his pacemaker, but he did what he could with his electric chainsaw. It worked wonders!

The roots on the cottonwood were amazing. Not the easiest job to get out!

This was the pile from day one...let's see what today brings!

The Aftermath

Posted on July 11, 2011 by wagfarms

Today will be a pretty wordless post. I have updates from the fair, but it all seems a bit off for me. Our farm was hit by a tornado last night. (***I’m going to have to re-word as “possible” tornado. I guess they are assessing this today and believe they may have been “just” straight-line winds in excess of 100 mph. How about this…the weather blew stuff all over the yard and caused a bunch of damage. It doesn’t really matter what you want to call it.)

We were blessed that no one was injured. My husband rode the storm out in the shop. (Crazy man.) The boys and I were in town at my Mom and Dad’s, just finished up from the fair and were waiting for supper to finish on the grill when the sirens went off and we spent an hour in the basement.

I knew it was bad when Mark called and said, “Well, we have damage.” You see, he’s notorious for shrugging things off and downplaying what’s going on. For him to admit there were problems meant that things weren’t good. But material things can be replaced, and it makes you count your blessings even more.