You will be missed Terry...

Yesterday, we attended the memorial service for Terry Gompert.  If you've been involved with sustainable ag, MIG or holistic management you knew about this guy.  He was one of those people who you feel so blessed to know.

We came to know him after starting our Farm Beginnings Class.  He spoke the first couple sessions and he knew about the piece of land that we were about to start farming.  As two newbie farmers, he never once made us feel like we were asking dumb questions.  He was so passionate about Management Intensive Grazing that you couldn't help but get caught up in his excitement.  He was also doing really interesting research about using raw milk as a fertilizer for your fields.  Dave Wetzel, an area farmer and him had teamed up to research raw milk fertilizer and it is exciting stuff.  Terry was the one who actually hooked us up with Dave, which is were we purchased our cattle. 

Jon and I actually got to spend a day with Terry about 6 weeks ago.  He patiently showed us around his farm, pointing out different aspects of his cattle and explaining why he does what he does.  He even helped Jon figure out a paddock design for the land.  That day was priceless to us because we both came away feeling so knowledgeable.  We had a great lunch made by his wife Connie and just really enjoyed the whole day getting to know both of them.

Most of all, he was just one of the greatest man that I've had the privilege to know.  He was a deeply committed Christian who wasn't afraid to share his beliefs.  We only got to know him for a short time, but both Jon and I feel so blessed to know him.  His memorial service was packed yesterday, which was a testament to how much he was loved.  You will be missed Terry...

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Poking around the farm...

There is so much cool stuff around this farm.  Farms definately accumulate stuff, especially when you are 100 years old.  So, I decided to take a few pics for everyone to see.

Now this is not 100 years old, but it's definately something that we needed!  A farm truck!  It needs a few repairs but the price was right.



Here's the machine shed.  As you can see there is an old totem pole, just hanging out...

Here is the owner's restored John Deere tractor.

Here is an old pull behind combine...pretty cool stuff.

An old planter.  We had troubles identifying some of the machinery.  But some of our (ahem) more experienced members of our family knew what most of it was.

Jon told me he installed indoor plumbing in the machine shed...

The next two are my favorites.  Here is an old woodstove.  I just love it, the coloring is still shining through.  I would have been very proud to cook on that if I received it new.

This one I'm not as sure what it is...maybe a boiler or just an ornate wood stove.  Either way, it's sooo cool.  Both of these things would look so neat if they were restored.  Things just aren't made like they used to.

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What is this business?

I don't think I ordered any of this...

Oh Nebraska, from this..

to this in four days....only in Nebraska...

Hopefully this stuff melts fast!

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Spring storms

Yesterday, I got caught in the first spring rainstorm of the season.  I knew it was going to rain, because when you live out in the country the sky goes on for miles.  And the sky was quickly turning darker and more ominous.  I grabbed my camera before I went, because I love pictures of storms.  As does my husband.  He has fantasies about being a tornado chaser.

This was the view that made me turn around and grab my camera.  And I'm so glad that I did.  It's an awesome feeling to look up and see those clouds.  At one point, I was jogging along trying to beat the storm and I was down right giddy.  I swear I almost start skipping.  That's pure joy, just like a little kid.

And here come the rain clouds.

The view to the east.

And along with spring showers, comes spring hail!

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Things to do when the wind is blowing...

1.  Take a long hot shower.

2.  Leave the blow dryer on for just a little bit longer, enjoying the hot air.

3.  Wash clothes

4.  Dry clothes

5.  Run the microwave simultaneously with the toaster....just because you can.

6.  Play with your new Samsung Galaxy

7.  Curse the blasted internet for not working on your desktop... some people need to download some pictures.

8.  Enjoy the the beauty of excess wind, because the weather is always changing and tomorrow you could be in conservation mode.

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Commuting, wind energy humor and old iPods

It actually hasn't been that bad commuting.  I forgot how much I enjoy driving in a car listening to good music.  I found my iPod which survived the move.  I honestly don't know how this thing is still ticking.  It's an original 4G iPod.  Which means it's all black and white baby....  But it keeps working and it has a TON of songs on there.  I've had it for almost 8 years, is that a record for iPods?

Every time I head to Lincoln, I curse myself silently for forgetting my camera.  The view on the drive there is so awesome.  Just open sky and fields.  I pinch myself every day because I'm so lucky to be able to live where we do.  I will try and remember my camera so I can capture the view.

As you can tell, Internet is still slow going.  We have our new broadband key on its way on Monday, which should help the situation.  I'm dying to post more pictures, but our upload speed is so slow it will take me forever.

I shared a little bit of wind energy humor today on Twitter.  The wind has stopped blowing for a couple days and we were sucking battery power.  We were down to about 75% before I left for work on Wednesday.  And then the wind came!  I know people here in Nebraska always complain about the wind, but I have never been more grateful for that wind.  Our batteries went back to full and I actually got to use a few appliances that we hadn't been using.  Namely, a toaster.  I did a little happy dance yesterday morning while I was making my toast, because I was so excited.  And I used my blow dryer without feeling guilty.  It's great to have excess power!  My contribution for wind energy humor was changing the old saying of  "Make hay while the sun still shines" into "Make toast while the wind still blows". 

We are slowing getting into a routine around here, which is great.  Our lives have been a little chaotic since the move and we've been struggling to get back on track.  Cows are all great, no calves yet.  Chickens and turkeys will be coming next month.  Jon is trying to talk me into adding some more animals, but I'm not so sure.  Bear with me people and I promise more pictures of the farm will be coming next week!

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Sunset

Sometimes it's good to stop and remember why you're doing what you're doing...for us that was sitting down to enjoy the sunset.  One of the major reasons I wanted to move to the country was because I couldn't see the sky in town and I missed it. 

And guess who the happiest dog in the world is right now?  Max!  He always has to find the biggest sticks to drag around and he's so happy when he's doing it, his tail is curled all the way around.

Still slow going with the internet.  Our mobile broadband is not working out as we had planned.  It's hard to make that transition from Turbo speed internet to slooooowwww internet.

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