Rain at Nap Time
Right after our Sunday dinner, it started raining--serious rain that obscured the Harvestore silo a half mile away--that ran down the window panes and made everything outside look blurry and wavy--that roared on the metal garage roof outside our bedroom window--that smelled like rain, and announced its approach with thunder. Praise be to God.
I watched it for a bit, then went to take the nap I was anticipating, because, as everyone knows, going to sleep with the sound of rain is a beautiful thing--unless you're already getting too much rain, I suppose. I couldn't sleep right away though. I was afraid I'd miss out on the rain. It came to a grand total of .25 inch--clearly not a drought breaker, but a source of relief just the same--allowing the leaves in the milo field across the road to uncurl at least briefly, and washing down the pollens and dust that have been circulating exuberantly all summer.
Joel and Hilda, who live three miles away, got no rain when we did. Tonight they got rain that missed us. Capriciousness is apparently the name of this rain game.
********************
Twila and I talked after church about the winds we've had this summer. They've been a blessing for the most part, we agreed. We've had mostly ideal wind speeds at 10-15 miles per hour--enough to provide some circulation at night and evaporate some perspiration during the day, but not scorching, driving winds that withered and wasted everything in their path. Even setting up and running sprinklers is less frustrating when the winds are cooperative.
I've noticed too that many of the winds are from the southeast rather than the southwest, which is more typical. It's a blessing for us since southeast winds send every bit of PS wafting out over the fields of this farm rather than toward the house and gardens. The only disconcerting part of this pattern is that usually SE winds indicate approaching moisture, but this summer that hasn't materialized as rainfall on our farm.
Tomorrow's predicted temperature is only 99 degrees. If the reality matches the billing, it will be the only day below 100 degrees in a multi-week stretch.
********************
On chorus tour, Shane heard from someone in an eastern state that "It's getting pretty dry here. We haven't had rain for about a week and a half."
Shane resisted the urge to say Let me tell you something about dry . . .
********************
Tomorrow is our 30th wedding anniversary. It's been a short 30 years, but long enough to go from newly-wed to empty nest (almost--by Aug. 20, when Grant gets married).
Hiromi is busily gathering information and making a plan to go to a Japanese restaurant in Wichita tomorrow evening. Sushi, tempura, or hibachi-style steak? It's a tough decision, and I'm proud of him for tackling it. I love this kind of food as much as he does, and I'm really happy about the chance to celebrate together. The drive down there and back is part of the anticipated together time.
******************
Thinking about all this wonderful food reminds me that this is the best time of year to make tempura at home too, so maybe we'll eat chef-prepared sushi and hibachi steak in Wichita and gear up to do our own tempura at home. That would be a fun thing to do for our next Iwashige family meal. Tempura is basically batter-dipped, deep fried vegetables which are then dipped in a flavorful "soup" and eaten with rice. We like to do green beans, zucchini and other summer squash, onions, peppers, eggplant, sweet potato, and corn (cut off the cob and clumped with batter). Chicken or shrimp are our favorite tempura meats. The batter is very light, and makes a crackly thin fried coating.
******************
Shane and I manned our market stand yesterday. It was a good market crowd, but, as has been the case the past several weeks, the heat seems to have the effect of people sort of keeping their head down, and grimly fixing their attention on finding the things they have on their mental list, and then bolting for home as quickly as possible. That's not a good environment for selling lots of product if you're offering a "luxury" item or a food item relatively new to the market--like meat and flowers.
Jared S., Arlyn M., and Andrew M. provided the music, and did a great job. Each of them did some singing and they all played an instrument--keyboard, bass, and guitar.
One lady used $3.00 of her Senior Farmer's Market Nutrition Program money to buy chard. She was apparently used to eating greens, and was delighted to find this food offered.
No one gets more than $30.00 in ten coupons of $3.00 each. The money can only be used for fruits, vegetables, and honey, and vendors who sell those things and are registered with the program can take the coupons and cash them at any bank, but not give back any change to the customer. Since the chard purchaser got all our remaining chard and it was worth only $2.57, I gave her a bunch of free flowers to compensate. "Keep the change," she had said, but giving her flowers made us both happy.
This program is funded through the Department of Agriculture, and has been available at our market for three years or so. I think it's a good use of government food assistance money. In our area, the coupons are mostly distributed through the Department of Aging.
*********************
Our baby guinea numbers dropped from nine to three by their second day. It's probably best that I don't know what creature to blame for eating them. If it was a dog or cat, I don't want to know about it, and if it was a wild animal, I don't want to kill it anyway.
I am harboring some disappointment with the adult guineas for not being more attentive. I really think they probably do OK most of the time, but the other night when we were working in the corn patch, the whole guinea family joined us, and then the adults crossed the fence and browsed through the veggie garden, leaving their chicks stranded alone in the middle of the corn patch. The dogs were there too--not a great combination. The adults seemed to remember their duties eventually and tardily returned to the corn patch to collect the family.
******************
Shane stopped in on Tuesday to take the dogs home after their stay here while Shane and Dorcas were on chorus tour. He couldn't bear it though--taking them home to while away their time in a small kennel in this brutal weather. So he asked if they could stay here until it cools down some more. We're fine with their seeking out shade wherever they can find it, and rolling in the grass where we've watered, or hiding under the porch.
Brandi, who is the more rambunctious of the two, had started out at Joseph's place, but her barking at night prompted Joseph several times too many to take his gun out to shoot whatever predator she had cornered--only there was no predator there. Joseph's dog's barking is apparently strictly reserved for the necessities, and Joseph knows that when he barks, there's an invader present.
While Brandi was there, Joseph's dog, George, looked on with great embarrassment every time Joseph showed up with a gun in response to Brandi's barking. Silly female.
I keep wanting to call Joseph's dog Charles, but that would be disastrous. That's their toddler--not their dog. I think my ADD brain is conflating those English Monarch names--Charles and George--and has trouble sorting them out properly.
******************
Joel and Hilda had the singing tonight for the young people. Hosting a crowd of 30-40 people for these gatherings is more challenging when the weather doesn't invite overflowing into the outdoors at mealtime and for socializing. The singing always goes better inside though.
******************
Today in church, during sharetime, Vera suggested we sing "All the Way My Savior Leads Me" in connection with our need for rain. It was an interesting lens through which to view the words of this song:
All the way my Savior leads me
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my Guide?
Heav'nly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know, whate'er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well;
For I know, whate'er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.
All the way my Savior leads me
Cheers each winding path I tread,
Gives me grace for every trial,
Feeds me with the living Bread.
Though my weary steps may falter
And my soul athirst may be,
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see;
Lyrics www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/gospel/
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see.
All the way my Savior leads me
O the fullness of His love!
Perfect rest to me is promised
In my Father's house above.
When my spirit, clothed immortal,
Wings its flight to realms of day
This my song through endless ages:
Jesus led me all the way;
This my song through endless ages:
Jesus led me all the way.
I watched it for a bit, then went to take the nap I was anticipating, because, as everyone knows, going to sleep with the sound of rain is a beautiful thing--unless you're already getting too much rain, I suppose. I couldn't sleep right away though. I was afraid I'd miss out on the rain. It came to a grand total of .25 inch--clearly not a drought breaker, but a source of relief just the same--allowing the leaves in the milo field across the road to uncurl at least briefly, and washing down the pollens and dust that have been circulating exuberantly all summer.
Joel and Hilda, who live three miles away, got no rain when we did. Tonight they got rain that missed us. Capriciousness is apparently the name of this rain game.
********************
Twila and I talked after church about the winds we've had this summer. They've been a blessing for the most part, we agreed. We've had mostly ideal wind speeds at 10-15 miles per hour--enough to provide some circulation at night and evaporate some perspiration during the day, but not scorching, driving winds that withered and wasted everything in their path. Even setting up and running sprinklers is less frustrating when the winds are cooperative.
I've noticed too that many of the winds are from the southeast rather than the southwest, which is more typical. It's a blessing for us since southeast winds send every bit of PS wafting out over the fields of this farm rather than toward the house and gardens. The only disconcerting part of this pattern is that usually SE winds indicate approaching moisture, but this summer that hasn't materialized as rainfall on our farm.
Tomorrow's predicted temperature is only 99 degrees. If the reality matches the billing, it will be the only day below 100 degrees in a multi-week stretch.
********************
On chorus tour, Shane heard from someone in an eastern state that "It's getting pretty dry here. We haven't had rain for about a week and a half."
Shane resisted the urge to say Let me tell you something about dry . . .
********************
Tomorrow is our 30th wedding anniversary. It's been a short 30 years, but long enough to go from newly-wed to empty nest (almost--by Aug. 20, when Grant gets married).
Hiromi is busily gathering information and making a plan to go to a Japanese restaurant in Wichita tomorrow evening. Sushi, tempura, or hibachi-style steak? It's a tough decision, and I'm proud of him for tackling it. I love this kind of food as much as he does, and I'm really happy about the chance to celebrate together. The drive down there and back is part of the anticipated together time.
******************
Thinking about all this wonderful food reminds me that this is the best time of year to make tempura at home too, so maybe we'll eat chef-prepared sushi and hibachi steak in Wichita and gear up to do our own tempura at home. That would be a fun thing to do for our next Iwashige family meal. Tempura is basically batter-dipped, deep fried vegetables which are then dipped in a flavorful "soup" and eaten with rice. We like to do green beans, zucchini and other summer squash, onions, peppers, eggplant, sweet potato, and corn (cut off the cob and clumped with batter). Chicken or shrimp are our favorite tempura meats. The batter is very light, and makes a crackly thin fried coating.
******************
Shane and I manned our market stand yesterday. It was a good market crowd, but, as has been the case the past several weeks, the heat seems to have the effect of people sort of keeping their head down, and grimly fixing their attention on finding the things they have on their mental list, and then bolting for home as quickly as possible. That's not a good environment for selling lots of product if you're offering a "luxury" item or a food item relatively new to the market--like meat and flowers.
Jared S., Arlyn M., and Andrew M. provided the music, and did a great job. Each of them did some singing and they all played an instrument--keyboard, bass, and guitar.
One lady used $3.00 of her Senior Farmer's Market Nutrition Program money to buy chard. She was apparently used to eating greens, and was delighted to find this food offered.
No one gets more than $30.00 in ten coupons of $3.00 each. The money can only be used for fruits, vegetables, and honey, and vendors who sell those things and are registered with the program can take the coupons and cash them at any bank, but not give back any change to the customer. Since the chard purchaser got all our remaining chard and it was worth only $2.57, I gave her a bunch of free flowers to compensate. "Keep the change," she had said, but giving her flowers made us both happy.
This program is funded through the Department of Agriculture, and has been available at our market for three years or so. I think it's a good use of government food assistance money. In our area, the coupons are mostly distributed through the Department of Aging.
*********************
Our baby guinea numbers dropped from nine to three by their second day. It's probably best that I don't know what creature to blame for eating them. If it was a dog or cat, I don't want to know about it, and if it was a wild animal, I don't want to kill it anyway.
I am harboring some disappointment with the adult guineas for not being more attentive. I really think they probably do OK most of the time, but the other night when we were working in the corn patch, the whole guinea family joined us, and then the adults crossed the fence and browsed through the veggie garden, leaving their chicks stranded alone in the middle of the corn patch. The dogs were there too--not a great combination. The adults seemed to remember their duties eventually and tardily returned to the corn patch to collect the family.
******************
Shane stopped in on Tuesday to take the dogs home after their stay here while Shane and Dorcas were on chorus tour. He couldn't bear it though--taking them home to while away their time in a small kennel in this brutal weather. So he asked if they could stay here until it cools down some more. We're fine with their seeking out shade wherever they can find it, and rolling in the grass where we've watered, or hiding under the porch.
Brandi, who is the more rambunctious of the two, had started out at Joseph's place, but her barking at night prompted Joseph several times too many to take his gun out to shoot whatever predator she had cornered--only there was no predator there. Joseph's dog's barking is apparently strictly reserved for the necessities, and Joseph knows that when he barks, there's an invader present.
While Brandi was there, Joseph's dog, George, looked on with great embarrassment every time Joseph showed up with a gun in response to Brandi's barking. Silly female.
I keep wanting to call Joseph's dog Charles, but that would be disastrous. That's their toddler--not their dog. I think my ADD brain is conflating those English Monarch names--Charles and George--and has trouble sorting them out properly.
******************
Joel and Hilda had the singing tonight for the young people. Hosting a crowd of 30-40 people for these gatherings is more challenging when the weather doesn't invite overflowing into the outdoors at mealtime and for socializing. The singing always goes better inside though.
******************
Today in church, during sharetime, Vera suggested we sing "All the Way My Savior Leads Me" in connection with our need for rain. It was an interesting lens through which to view the words of this song:
All the way my Savior leads me
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my Guide?
Heav'nly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know, whate'er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well;
For I know, whate'er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.
All the way my Savior leads me
Cheers each winding path I tread,
Gives me grace for every trial,
Feeds me with the living Bread.
Though my weary steps may falter
And my soul athirst may be,
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see;
Lyrics www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/gospel/
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see.
All the way my Savior leads me
O the fullness of His love!
Perfect rest to me is promised
In my Father's house above.
When my spirit, clothed immortal,
Wings its flight to realms of day
This my song through endless ages:
Jesus led me all the way;
This my song through endless ages:
Jesus led me all the way.
posted by Mrs. I at
9:22 PM
1 Comments:
When I was in Iowa recently, people were bemoaning that it hadn't rained for two weeks. I think it was Rosemary that reminded me that since they had such a wet spring, the roots did not have to go very deep. Now that it hadn't rained for two weeks, the roots are not deep enough to draw moisture. --Linda Rose
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Anonymous, at 7/25/2011
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