Memphis Democrat Column from June 08, 2008

Rain, rain go away. Come again in late August when we need you! My goodness, it's a squishy world out there. It has been a challenge to get everything done that we need to do in between the showers. I am sure lots of our neighbors are having the same problem. Hope everyone hasn't had too much damage from the heavy storms the past few weeks. Michael turned in a report to the weather bureau in Burlington of more than 60 mph wind gusts during one one of them. We had some good-sized trees come down, including one in the chicken yard, and lots of branches. The large cherry tree in the backyard that Stan planted many years ago split in half. We're not sure at this point if the fruit on the downed half will mature even though it is still attached at the bottom.There was also some damage to the artificial pond we use for growing out sorghum transplants. The second round of transplants that were in it came through all the uproar in good shape. Fortunately, we have been able to get some work accomplished. Our first round of sorghum transplants are in the fields and we have been in a push to get the transplanting done in the gardens, too. Tomatoes, tomatilloes, cucumbers, squash, lettuce hot peppers and sweet peppers have been put in recently. Our crew has also been busy thinning the abundant fruit set on our orchard trees. It is looking like it is going to be a good fruit year. Speaking of fruit, we have been awash in strawberries this week. We have picked, picked and picked some more, eaten our fill (heavenly!) and put lots away in the freezer. We have been busy with other activities the past few weeks, too. Gigi is a member of the board at Red Earth Farms and attended their meetings May 27th through the 30th. Jacob, Kevin and Ann also sat in on some of the sessions. The rain has put something of a damper on the regular ultimate frisbee games at Dancing Rabbit, but Apple, Kevin and Jacob have gone over to play when it has dried out enough for a game to be scheduled. Several of our folks paid an all-day visit on May 31st to the The Sanctuary, a forming community at La Plata. It is located on a former Amish farm and the members prefer to have a very simple lifestyle. Our group helped out with some of their work that day and stayed through supper. People from Dancing Rabbit have also spent time at the Sanctuary and they have visited both of our communities.

Renay left for a week at a Girl Scout summer camp in Kansas Saturday. She and Gigi also visited with Betsy and Sue at their house in Holden on the way. The focus of the camp Renay is attending is horsemanship and she will be learning how to care for horses and ride them. A couple of familiar faces are back on the farm again. Oliver, who spent part of last winter at Sandhill, is here for another stay. Our friend Doug, who is in the Merchant Marine, is spending a few weeks with us before he has to go to sea again. He has just finished up his required schooling and now has his electrician's rating. This is the fifth of his yearly visits to Sandhill. Jacob has been down in the Ozarks the past week on a short trip. Before he left, we accepted him as our newest member. Thea decided not to pursure membership for the time being since she wants to do an internship at a herb farm in Oregon this fall. She is visting friends on the East Coast at the moment and will be back next week to spend two more months with us. Sarah finished her internship here at the end of May and went home to Vermont to spend some time with her family and attend her brother's wedding. Michael and I did our first fair of the year on May 24th and 25th. We were at Riverfest in Hannibal. In spite of high winds on Saturday which almost blew our tent away and rain on Sunday, it was a very successful fair. The weather's shenanigans didn't scare away the crowds, which we were grateful for. I am on "granny standby" at the moment since a new granddaughter is expected to make her appearance very soon. I will be going down to Columbia for a week to help out after the baby is born. My daughter Melina's due date is June 21st, but the family tradition is for the little darlings to show up early. I have my bag packed and ready to go.