Third, Fourth, and Fifth plus chickens

I’ve been trying to remember to bring my camera out with me when I haul the kids out to the field to deliver Knut’s meals.  There are so many different points of view to be seen out there.  Last night I missed an amazing shot of a field with bright colorful trees at the end.  I’ll try not to miss such an opportunity again!

Yesterday I had the luxury of taking pictures from my front lawn. 

As they gave that pretty field a buzz cut, the kids rotated taking rides.  David went out in the tractor with Knut first.  Knut ran the grain cart, and my father-in-law was running one of the combines.

When I took this picture of David sitting with Knut, and my father-in-law in the combine just behind, I thought this is generation 3, 4, and 5 of our family to farm together in the picture.  It was my father-in-law’s grandfather who started this family farm (although not on the exact piece of land they are farming here).  I often wonder if Knut’s great-grandpa could see the farm now…what would he think?  Farming is so different now than it was then.  I know there is a trend now returning to some old ways, and that’s good I think.  Technology in all things needs to be handled judiciously.  Still, I think he would be amazed.

Here’s the combine dumping it’s load into the grain cart at the edge of the field.  I always like watching this part for the thrill of the speed of seeing so many beans flow so fast!  I remember back to when I first came up to this part of the country when I was in high school.  The year before I met Knut, I was talking with a classmate of mine who was from a farm family.  Someone told me to ask him what a combine was, since I had never heard of one before. 

Here my friend, Doug, tried to explain to this city girl what on earth a combine was.  He started out by saying, “Well, it’s got this header on it that…” and I interrupted him and said “What’s a header?”  At that point he dropped his head to the cafeteria table.  There was no point of reference that he could explain this farm machinery to me.  Doug should be proud how far I’ve come.

Silje and Elias both got a turn riding as well.  Near the end Solveig and I went out and just sat on the lawn and watched them all.  It was such a warm day.

I haven’t missed all the photo opportunities as we’re running around the farm.  I took this one a few days ago as I was walking out to close the chickens in for the night. 

Knut says he’s beginning to believe that we’ve been duped, and chickens don’t actually ever lay eggs.  The chickens were hatched near the beginning of May.  They’re supposed to start laying between 4-6 months.  We’re in the second half of that estimation now and these days waiting are so long.  Every time I go to the grocery store and we need eggs, I get so disgusted that I still have to buy them.  I buy less of them thinking that surely, this week will be the week we’re flooded with eggs.  Then we run out because I don’t buy enough.

I put little plastic Easter eggs in the nesting boxes because I heard that’s a good way to get it in their brain that’s where the eggs go.  My heart always leaps when I see the pastel eggs laying there, and then I remember, “O yeah, those are the fakes.”  One of the ladies at our homeschool group who also keeps chickens told me that if I add paprika to their food I’ll see eggs sooner.  I’m nearly at the point of trying that.

I told the kids that whoever finds the first egg will be paid a dollar.  I want them searching the dog house, and in nooks of trees everyday to be sure the chickens aren’t laying out and about and I don’t know about it.  David especially is putting some time into the egg hunt each day and is always the first one to run to the coop to look it over.  He wants that dollar bad.

Believe me, that when that first egg is found…the blogging world will hear about it.