Wheat Harvest Begins

The wheat harvest is about two weeks later than usual this year. We had some cooler than usual weather earlier and some rains that slowed the ripening of the wheat heads. Even now, there are spots in many fields where the wheat is too green to harvest yet.

Thursday, July 23, Sam was combining the field east of here closest to the house, so it was a good opportunity for me to get some pictures of the harvest. In fact, I rode in the combine in the passenger seat for a few rounds and got some photos looking outside from within the cab.

Sam combining wheat. The wheat in the
foreground has already been harvested with
a stripper head leaving the stubble
longer than when harvested with a
platform head.


The stripper head is 32 feet wide
and cuts a fairly large swath. It strips the
heads from the wheat stalk. After the combine
threshes and separates the wheat, the grain
accumulates in the combine bin.


This particular variety of wheat is more
rust colored than some other varieties
we will be harvesting this year.


A view of the stripper head on the right side.


Looking to the left side.

Computerized monitors inside the combine
keep changing data available showing
how many bushels per acre are coming in
and the current moisture content -
all useful information.


Once the bin in the combine is full of
wheat kernels, it is dumped into the
waiting grain cart.


The cut stubble is at the left, and the
wheat still to be harvested is on the right.


Sam leaving the grain harvest temporarily
to relieve our grandson, Seth, so he can
come in from the hay field for lunch.


Sam will be going to the hay field in his
pickup, which he recently purchased.

The wheat harvest is expected to continue for another couple of weeks.

We Enjoy the Rosebud Branch

Since returning home from our mission in Russia, we have been attending church in Rosebud, about 45 miles from our home. Although it was probably less than ten miles to our branch in Moscow, it took us longer to get to church there by walking and riding the metro than it takes to travel to Rosebud in our car.

We have enjoyed the people and the spirit in both branches, and we have felt "at home" in both congregations. The smiles, hugs, and handshakes are similar; the lessons are taught from the same manuals; and the same feelings are experienced. However, although the hymns are the same, it is nice to now sing in English instead of our attempts at singing in Russian.

We got a little better singing the words in Russian as the months advanced, but it was still a struggle trying to keep up with all but the slower tempos. The first Christmas we were in Moscow after being there only one month, our then six-year-old grandson, Weston, had a solution for us when I said how I was missing singing the Christmas carols. He said, "Grandma, just get a book that has the songs in Russian in it and then you can sing them." I wish that was all it took. We found the Russian language very challenging to read or speak.

Although we knew the music well, we usually didn't sing very loudly in Russian because of our uncertainty of the correct pronunciation of words. One Sunday while singing "I Stand All Amazed" in sacrament meeting, we both sang out with confidence when we came to the "Nyet, nyet" (following "Such mercy, such love and devotion shall I forget? No, no . . .") ; and then we had to struggle to keep from laughing at what we both had done.

Today, Scott & Angela Olsen from Pierre visited the Rosebud branch, and we enjoyed their talks. Scott is first counselor to Tim Olsen in the district presidency. Brent taught an excellent lesson in Priesthood/Relief Society on "Charity, the Pure Love of Christ."

After church, we had a potluck lunch, which the branch has when there are visitors or there is a special occasion. Today it was both; because today our grandson, Sam, was ordained a deacon. It was a very nice Sunday.

Sam - 12 years old

Grandchild #30 - Isaac Sam

We are so happy to know that Doug & Shannon's little son arrived safely, and mother and baby are doing well. Isaac Sam Ireland was born July 6 at 7:21 p.m. He weighed 7 lb. 7 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long at birth. He is our 30th grandchild.

Thanks to Doug and Shannon for these pictures of Isaac.

Happy family - Dad & Mom, Isaac,
Brynlee and Jacob.


We're grateful everything went well.
Look at his plump little legs!


I wish I could give him a hug right now!
Can you tell, we are proud grandparents?

Our 50th Anniversary Open House

We may have felt some reservations initially about having an open house to celebrate our 50th anniversary, but it was a very special event our family planned for us; and we appreciate all the love and effort that went into making it so nice.

We were married 50 years ago on
June 5, 1959, in the Salt Lake Temple.
Our 50th anniversary open house was
held on May 31, 2009.

Jared looking at the slide show of photos
from our life through our married years.

In addition to the slide show, the display table in the foyer of the activity center held a magnetic family tree with faces of family members attached, and a matching box contained the faces of our ancestors that could be used instead of the immediate family faces. These were made by Shannon.

Also featured on the table was a family photo, a cross-stitched picture of the Salt Lake Temple made by Tani, and two copies of a hard-cover book organized by Beth for publishing with a collection of photographs and a personal letter from each of our children.

Anniversary Book

To the left of the display table was a framed picture with wedding photos of our seven children.

Kristine sitting at the table with the guest book
and basket for congratulation cards.


A closer look at the guest book which was
prepared by Kristine.


Tauna was in charge of the delicious food
offered to those attending the open house.
(Joshua, Doug, Shannon, Sam, Jeff, Sarah,
Jared, Kristine, and Ethan in photo.)


The anniversary cake was
decorated with real daisies.


Shannon made and decorated the beautiful cake.
Here she is with us before the cake is cut.


Following tradition, Sam & I
cut the first piece of the cake and
each had a taste.


Joshua enjoying the cake.

Jacob obviously likes the cake, too.


Brynlee likes the punch.
I am pleased to mention that
Brynlee's middle name is Narene!


Grandma with our youngest
granddaughter, Kate, who was
born while we were in Russia.


Here are some more darling granddaughters -
Megan, (Kennedy, Roy & Barbie's granddaughter),
Amanda, Rachel, Maren, and Shannon;
they all are nine years old.


Marisa, Seth, Maggie and Haley enjoying
the food and visiting.


We love our grandsons, too. Here are five
of them: Jared, Carson, Sam, Seth, and Brady.


The afternoon was spent eating and visiting
with friends and family.


There were movies available for the
young people to watch during the afternoon.


Jeff playing basketball with Jacob, Ethan,
Jamon, Joshua, and Zack.


Weston watching his cousins play
basketball with Jeff.


We appreciate the friends and family who
came to help us celebrate.
In the photo are Barbie (sister-in-law),
Arliss & Bob Moreland,
and Phyllis (Sam's sister from California).


Bill & Karen (Sam's sister) and their family
came from Nebraska, and we enjoyed
sharing this time together with them.


Galen Busch and Roy (Sam's brother)


Patti Busch and I have been friends since we
moved back to South Dakota in 1975.


Barbie, Ryan, Phyllis, and Narene


I was busy visiting with people who came to
the open house and finally had an
opportunity to eat.
(Michelle Allen, Patti Busch, Marla, Narene,
Sam, and Debbie Tehrani shown.)


Maren, Rachel, Shannon, and Jenna


Trent, Jenna, Shannon, Megan, Rachel, Amanda
and Kennedy


Having fun putting chrysanthemum
petals in Sarah's pretty hair.


Sarah is always good with the young cousins.

Our family reunion continued after the open house to include activities at the farm and a visit to the Black Hills. All family members helped with assignments to make things memorable, and we appreciate all that was done. We extend an extra "thank you" to Beth for being our official photographer for the event.

What a difference 50 years makes!


Fifty years later: 7 married children and
29 grandchildren.
(You will meet #30 in the
next blog entry: Isaac Sam Ireland!)
Brittney, Judd, Kyle, and Trevor are currently
serving missions for our church; therefore,
they are not in the photo.

It is always fun to be together with our family, and this was a great reunion. More pictures and details about the rest of the reunion are in a previous blog posted June 23rd.

More from the Farm

We had a nice gentle rain last night that makes the farmers happy. Millet was the last crop to be planted, and Sam finished with that on Monday; so this rain came at a good time.

The planter is attached to the tractor.
Seeds are held in the yellow containers
with the drills folded inward for traveling.
The red cart holds the fertilizer.

With the planting done, Sam took on a project that will make it nicer to water my garden. Instead of having to hook up hoses to the faucet in the yellow shed or drag hoses across the road from the house, I now have a source of water handy to the garden. It turned out to be a bigger project than expected. For one thing, it was a guess to know exactly where the water line was, so the initial digging was not on the right spot. The hole ended up deep and long.

Sam used the backhoe to dig deeper after
starting with the Bobcat. There was quite
a bit of shoveling involved, too.

When the water line was finally
found, the next step was to
get the faucet attached.


Here is the final result.

When the children were still at home, we raised a large garden and did quite a lot of canning. In recent years, it has become more of a salsa garden even though the space available is still the same. We do enjoy having vegetables fresh from the garden, though.

Last year Tauna transplanted nice strawberry plants to our garden which are doing well. Yesterday I weeded the garden, and Sam made smoothies last evening using the strawberries I picked. This variety produce larger fruit than the plants I had before.

We have beautiful sunsets here.
This is looking beyond the corrals.
We frequently walk out our back door to
enjoy the sunsets.


Another nice spot on the farm is Bad Hare Dam.
This is where Sam (right) and his friend
Chandler Bakley caught their fish on July 1.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Tomorrow is the Fourth of July. Here is an excerpt from an article printed in our local newspaper about what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence:

"Five signers were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary army; another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor."

The article goes on to tell more of their stories with details and names and ends with this:

"They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. . . . They gave you and me a free and independent America. . . . So, let's take a few moments while enjoying our 4th of July holiday and silently appreciate these patriots and thank the God who moved them. It's not much to ask for the price they paid."