Bloom Where You're Planted Farm

Another Cass County Fair has come to a close.  As a kid, this was a sad event because it meant that the start of the school year was near.  As an adult with a seasonal fall business, it means its time to kick it into high (higher?) gear!  Our opening day, September 19, is now less than six weeks away.  Wasn't it just yesterday that I was blogging (and panicking) about it being TEN weeks away??

Before I get to work on all the painting, cleaning, ordering and advertising I need to be doing, here are some final images from the fair...

This is our niece Grace greeting a Jersey calf.

One of the most popular events at the fair is the Mutton Bustin' competition, where kids see how long they can hang onto a running sheep.  The folks from McClain's Mutton Busters do a great job!  (Is it me, or does the next kid in line look a little nervous?)

Our friends from the Conestoga FFA (Future Farmers of America) had a float in Saturday night's parade.  This is the group that helped with our Ag Day in 2008 -- we're planning another one this year!  Driving the tractor is FFA Advisor Jon Anderson.

And finally, here is my dad, Mick Jacobson, competing in the antique tractor pull with his 1938 John Deere G.  He got second place -- my brother, pulling with the same tractor, beat him by two inches!

I don't think there's anything that says "America" quite like a parade.  The community spirit, the families, the anticipation and excitement of the children...you just can't beat it!  Our small hometown of Weeping Water held its annual Limestone/Independence Day celebration this past Saturday, so we loaded up our antique high-wheel wagon and headed to town. 

We've had a major heat wave here which broke just in time for the celebration.  It was a little cloudy and breezy, but it felt great after the heat and humidity of the past week.  Terry and I rode in the wagon and tossed out candy while our brother-in-law, Greg, drove.  I didn't get any photos of our float this time, but here's a photo from our county fair parade last summer.  My dad is driving one of the antique John Deere tractors he restored.

 I had a unique perspective from my perch in the front of the wagon and was able to get some nice crowd pictures.   

Our next trip will be to Murdock, NE for their parade July 4th.  We wish you and your families a safe and happy Independence Day!

We had a productive weekend and are looking at a busy week ahead of us.  Things are really happening fast around the farm these days!

The health inspector stopped by Friday morning to look at the Schoolhouse Cafe kitchen and help us make sure we're heading in the right direction.  We learned of a few code requirements we didn't already know about, but overall there were no big surprises and it went well.  After a visit to three different home improvement stores in Lincoln on Saturday evening, we now have most of what we need to really get rollin' on the kitchen project now!

On Saturday morning we painted most of the barn loft floor a nice, bright shade of tan.  This really lightened up the place and will hopefully show less dust.  It is all finished except for the corner of the room where we stacked all the furniture.  We probably won't get up there to finish for a few days, as the temperatures are forecast to be in the high 90s with heat advisories issued by the National Weather Service.  A stuffy hay loft is nowhere to be in those conditions!  After lunch Saturday we got all the flowers planted/transplanted into our new butterfly garden.

Sunday we celebrated my aunt & uncle's 40th wedding anniversary in the early afternoon and had my family over in the evening for a Father's Day supper.  It was a fun day.

As for this week, we really need to tend to the weeds in the pumpkin patches, heat or no heat.  When that's done we'll spend some time getting ready for a field trip group that's coming on Thursday afternoon.  They're from Papillion-LaVista schools and we're planning on 45-50 elementary-aged students.  A summer field trip should be fun -- we'll focus on the growing pumpkins, field crops, and livestock.  Temperatures will still be hot and humid, but the really bad stuff from earlier in the week should move out just in time (we hope!)

I'm planning to post some photos soon of our farm-improvement projects, the field trip, and maybe even our first parade of the season, Limestone Day June 27 in Weeping Water.  Until then, stay cool!!!