5 signs of Spring!

• Birds singing!

• Ads on the radio have changed their tune.  Apparently it's 'Time to get a lawnmower!'  'Best time to buy a fireplace - end of season sale!'  And all the seed companies vying for best-seed-for-some-reason-or-other award.  (It's pretty funny actually because they spend almost as much time convincing us that despite what it looks/feels like spring really is nearly here, as they do promoting the product!)

• Sunshine

• Farmers are remembering they have fields

• Only a month and a half left till school is out!  (Let me tell you, the kids are itching already!)

I'm still waiting to see the first green leaf or new blade of grass... and waiting for a sighting of the one other sure sign of spring - the first tractor in the field!

Three weeks ago out our front window - it was a HUGE icicle!

And today (our front yard)... the drippy, slushy, wet and yucky of the very beginning of spring!

Now if the temperature would just warm up...

Sorry all the pictures are white... it's kind of a blizzard

Well, we are in a full blown honest-to-goodness BLIZZARD! Like the Little House on the Prairie kind - up until now my only picture of what it is even like. It is very white. And blowing.  Even in the more sheltered area of the yard, you can't look into the wind and even so, all of us girls' makeup was smeared all over our faces from the flying wet snow. Out on the road the wind is CRAZY blowing snow everywhere! You have to walk backwards into the wind, and oh how it howls through the pines!  We all looked ridiculous too, but when it's so cold (and windy), you start to not care what you are wrapped up in just so long as every possible inch of skin is covered!

AND, I just got a weather alert over my pager: All the highways are closed, so we are officially SNOWED IN!!!! Strange to think we can't even go 2 miles home if we wanted to.

Church was cancelled earlier so we had home church over with the Sahlstrom family and that's where we're snowed in!  Just hanging out in the cozy indoors!

This picture was when the wind was just starting to pick up, the visibility is worse now!  From Sahlstrom's we can still see the shop, but not the mailbox!

If you want to see more pictures you can go to my FB album here.  I miss you Josiah, Caleb, Anna, Noah, Grace, Isaiah, Lydia and Hope!  It would be so much fun to see your reaction to a blizzard and enjoy it with you!

Playing with Rocks and Dirt

You know that song, Big House, by Audio Adrenaline?  It has new lyrics now.

Come and go with me / To the Engen's field
Come and go with me / To the Eng-ens field!


It's a big, big field / With lots and lots of rocks 
A big, big wagon / And lots and lots of stalks
A big, big quad / That we can all ride on...


[courtesy of Charisma and Tricia - I guess 9 hours was a long time on the 4-wheeler together!]

Look at that expanse of sky!

So, here's the educational bit about rock picking in the country (yup!  another post about life in the country!):
Every year, in late spring, comes rock picking season.  Basically the only manual part of crop farming (that I know of) remaining in America!  Each year when the farmers till the fields, rocks surface.  Don't ask me where they come from; I just know that no matter how many you hauled out before, the next year more appear!  So farmers hire teams of people to go through the fields, usually with a tractor or 4-wheeler (ATV) pulling a wagon, and pick up the rocks so that they don't damage the expensive equipment during harvest...

The fields we had to do weren't too bad.  That means, there weren't SO many rocks.  We could even ride the 4-wheeler some (one picker on each side and one driving and we would trade off) jumping off every time we saw a rock.  We had to spot, pick up or dig out anything the size of a fist or bigger.  Most are about half the size of a soccer ball with the occasional big one that requires a shovel and we need two people to lift it!  Bailing out while it's still moving reminds me of lifeboat MOB drills where sometimes I would get to be the victim and (with the officer's permission beforehand) I would just randomly ditch the vessel.  It's exhilarating to bail and the forward motion of the quad sort of 'launches' you like jumping off a diving board give you that extra spring.  And then of course when you hit the dirt, it's like after you've bounced on a trampoline and then jump off onto ungiving ground.  I half felt like trying that thing they're always doing in movies, how they jump out of a moving vehicle and roll out of it... but I was too scared (and it probably wouldn't have been smart)!  No worries Mom!  We weren't going all that fast, just 3-10mph!  We could see about 10-15 rows over on each side; so that is how wide a swath we could make.  Up and down, up and down the rows... for 300 acres!



I quickly caught on to the things that can make rock picking DELUXE rock picking!  Gloves definitely help save the skin on your fingers, though keep in mind it will add to your unique 'field tan' with wrist lines!  Sunglasses are nice for the sun and especially helpful in keeping the dirt out of your eyes (it's windy!).  Once again, they will add raccoon eyes to your tan.  Bringing an iPod or similar device to listen to upbeat music adds to the experience; drawback:  it does hamper conversations with coworkers.  Bring LOTS of food!!!  Sunscreen, and long pants and a sweatshirt will get you through any kind of weather, from cool mornings to rainy to the blazing sun!  Water is a necessity and is the only item - besides bringing yourself - on the basic list!  


"How do you like rock picking?"  People ask me, seeming to expect that I would say it's not all it's cracked up to be or something like that.  Actually, I quite enjoyed myself, even though it is a bit monotonous.  You get to work in a team, work outside, it's seasonal (I enjoy monotonous work short-term), and it makes decent money (especially a good way for kids to earn)!  It's not particularly 'skilled' labor, so you have time to think or listen to sermons/podcasts... in fact, I had so many hours to think I wrote this blog post five times over in my head! :)

Annika and her heart-shaped rock! <3

P.S.  One of the affects of rock picking was that I seemed to have developed ROCD - Rock Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - you know, when I see a rock half-buried anywhere I have a sudden urge to dig it up and throw it far away!

P.P.S.  You know how when you've been to the (ocean) beach the whole day and played in the waves and when you lay down at night drifting off to sleep you still feel the waves crashing over you?  After rock picking I laid in bed and as I was falling asleep my eyes seemed to be sailing over fields and fields never ending and I saw rock after rock, oh so many round humps just barely showing on the ground that I needed to get out!  Blah! :P

The Dreaded Question

I encounter it at church.  At work.  Neighbors.  My friends.  EVERYONE!!!


"So, how is your house coming?"


It's not that I don't want people to ask (on the contrary, it shows they care!)... BUT it is hard in the stage where progress is less visible to know what to say!  Only the last 5% is really noticeable headway like painting, kitchen cabinets, floors, etc.  Somehow I always (mistakenly) think that behind these words what they're really saying is, "Is it done yet?"

"NO!  I'TS NOT DONE YET!!!  Don't you know A HOUSE TAKES A LONG TIME TO BUILD!!!  And with only ONE man doing it ALL...!!!"

Ok, I apologize.  Rant over.  That is what I feel like shouting!  But I don't.  Because you people really mean well!  (So don't stop asking!)  :)

And now I finally have a good answer!  (Cue Grandpa voice)  Courtesy of Grandpa Berge I pleasantly and calmly say, with a twinkle in my eye, "Rome wasn't built in a day, you know!"


So, that is how the house is coming!

Here is part of last week's project (for me) - mowing the yard!  The grass was growing like crazy!  It just looks so much better now!  And I realized I absolutely LOVE working outside when it's warm and the sun is shining!  One of the happiest things about living in the country is the outdoors - lots of it!  At this point, I even prefer working outside! :)
 

Home Alone 2

Dad and Mom are gone to Hawaii to visit sister Annika, so we have 10 days home alone!  Not alone per se, with six kids, two big sisters, a Ben and Naomi, Grandma and Aunt B!  This is just the right conditions for...

...PARTY TIME!!!!

actually NOT.  

The youth thought they were coming over for TrueU (Bible study), but had an April Fool's surprise instead - scrubbing floors!  Haha, well, we didn't make them work TOO hard and Ben was the hardest worker of all! ;)

Reuben and Simeon cleaned the boy's room

First asparagus of the year!

BEFORE

AFTER

Tracy's newest hobo  No, I mean, he is being well cared for, well fed and well clothed... ok, maybe not the last one?  Honest!  He's doing great! :D

and the littlest dinner-bell-ringer!

It must be Spring!

Last Sunday we were riding snowmobiles and sleds (our 'one day of winter' as it seemed for this year); today we were riding the 4-wheeler and bikes, jumping on hay bales and flying kites!  We even found the first green grass!   Some family members absolutely went berserk when they spotted a robin at lunch - a robin means spring, I learned.  And SOMEONE shyly admitted they were even wearing their swimsuit under their clothes!  Maybe that's a little optimistic there, Erina!

This was last Sunday afternoon, and pretty much all the winter we got!

...and a parting shot of the cutest couple this winter:

And with that, winter is officially OVER!!!!!!!  Sunshine and warm weather, you are invited every day, so just keep on coming!  On the farm is the best place to be in the springtime! <3

Our first Christmas tree!

I have a lot to post on.  It's all backing up in my mind; quite a line, really.  But alas!  I haven't much time... because I HAVE A LIFE, people!  And I've been doing a lot of living lately!  So one of these days I will maybe (finally) post about Thanksgiving, a friend coming to visit, thoughts on Traditions, my Christmases the past few years, and other stuff that's been happening!

Until then this (pathetic, sorry - it's from my phone) picture of our first tree will have to do!  It's a real tree and it smells so good!  We picked it out ourselves and brought it all the way home from... Menards!   It is a very cute tree and very picture-perfect-ish! :)

For all those of you reading this who might be going through pre-marital counseling or will be soon, a little word of advice.  Picking out the tree is easy, however, what's not usually covered in the books is choosing lights.  Colorful vs. white.  Discuss and come to an agreement NOW.  It will save you from an eye-opening surprise when standing in the Christmas decoration aisle together...  Haha, it wasn't that bad, but our different preferences and why was certainly entertaining! ;)   

In case you're dying to know, I love my hubby so much - there are WHITE lights on the tree!  

...but I have two boxes of colored ones to decorate a room with! :D

For the other married couples, what have you had to learn to agree or compromise on?

~ Merry-almost-Christmas from snowLESS Minnesota! ~

~ Officially Winter ~

Maybe the Weatherman will be right!

Because look what's on the forecast for tomorrow!!! 

Disclaimer:  I'm sorry other angry-Minnesotans, if you dislike me because I am excited about alternate forms of precipitation; at least I am thinking positively about the new seasons in this frigid polar region in the north - in which you CHOOSE to live!  And if you can't think of anything happy (white Christmas anyone?) about six months of many-feet of white fluffy freeziness, then you should... um....  

...move to Florida.  Or Hawaii.

Fall

This is the combine by our house!  (See the 'Ben and Naomi' pines?)

This is what it looks like all around us these days!

Everything has changed to fall colors (i.e. brown)!

It is so beautiful outside these days!  There is a warm wind from the south teasing us with Indian Summer... the constant hum of the combines harvesting day and night (mostly beans and soon the corn)... the leaves changing color, rustling in the wind and falling, and the sun glinting off the leaves and sparkling between the trees in our forest grove!  I have the windows open today for the wonderful refreshing air, and I feel very European! :)

Dinner!

Actually, that was yesterday's dinner!  Tonight we are having something special that Ben will really love! :D  (Hint: he likes seafood!)  I've got to go make it now, so this is me signing off! ~NSS

Fettuccine Shrimp Alfredo  Shhhh...!  Don't tell him! ;) 

When the combines don't cooperate...

Ben called to tell me the farmers were combining the field by our (new) house.  (This goes to show that the driveways are SOOOO long - and anyway the grove of trees blocks the view - that you can't even see it from the house!)  This was important because I wanted to get pictures of them combining, our house in the background, etc.  I'm getting into photography a bit lately and I need things to take pictures of.  On empty gravel roads running between lonely fields there's usually not much to take pictures of.  That is, until harvest!  Now there was activity... and I didn't want to miss it!  (I was later informed by one of the farmers that it will continue for one to two months - I didn't need to hurry.)  However, I didn't want to miss this picture; the combine by OUR house!

So I went out, middle of the day (interrupting my normal schedule for the day - isn't that how it goes when you're a photographer?), direct sunlight of course being the worst type of lighting (as a general rule for photography), to capture a documentary photo.  Because under these conditions it wasn't going to be photographically amazing, but it would give a glimpse of life in the country!

Just my luck.  The combine was NOT cooperating.  Apparently harvesting the beans was of higher priority than being the perfect subject for my Nikon D90.  He was at the far end of the field doing a great job of just that - gathering those beans.  And totally ignoring me.

*sigh*

Which leads me to a great rule of photography I learned today:  

When combines aren't cooperating, become your own model!

Or, find something else.

Direct sunlight is not the best, but this one (below) turned out kind of cool!

Later in the day I happened to be driving by on my way somewhere, and (like every good photographer) had the camera with me, and all the combines were out for the perfect photographs!  So in five minutes I got shots I'd been waiting for for over an hour! :P

Pictures of the harvest to come in the next post!  

New Blog

So! I have a new blog! Each chapter of my life I feel like starting fresh, so here it is: 

Introducing the blog of... Naomi SAHLSTROM!  Follow my new life as a young wife in [frigid] Minnesota; the story of a city girl, a traveling nomad, adjusting to having a home - and one in the country at that! - along with pictures and insights into random thoughts and issues.  

It's my happy place where I can write, because I like writing! 

I am in the wee stages of setting it up, so don't expect too much just yet! However, I did figure out how to blog by texting from my phone (aka, expect updates more often)!  It's working, cause this is from my phone! :)

Don't forget to read about my life up until this point at

http://www.dockhopper.blogspot.com and

http://www.xanga.com/hk_nut