Whew! It’s been a crazy couple of weeks lately. My Peanut was sick a lot for the two weeks prior to my writing of this post, so I spent a lot of time nursing her back to health.

And then I spent a lot of time nursing myself back to health. Sickness really diminishes the creative process.

We’ve also been traveling a lot lately. However, I find blessing in that. One of the farmer’s sisters milks for us when we have to be away and I love her dearly for that. Not that my husband ever stops thinking about the farm or worrying about it, but at least we’re all together as a family. That’s one thing I can say about my husband. With the help he’s got, he’s very good at balancing going places with me and being a dairy farmer. Peanut and I would have to travel by ourselves all the time if it weren’t for Tanna (the farmer’s sister) or a group of boys that milk for us on Sunday evenings. I’m very thankful we have them and don’t take it for granted.

The main priority last week on the farm was getting the second cutting from the forage sorghum we grew in the spring. Usually, we get help from a local Amish family. They bring a big wrapper out and help the farmer cut and bale the hay. I didn’t take pictures of this process in the spring because I wasn’t sure if they would be ok with having their pictures taken. And I felt silly walking out there and asking when everyone was so obviously very busy.

Anyway, the hay–or silage–as I believe it’s technically called, got wrapped in plastic and now resides in the pasture, looking like a big, long, white tube. And the cows absolutely love it. It’s cow candy.

And it’s very clear if you get within 5 feet of the farmer that’s he’s been feeding it because he positively REEKS. It’s a smell that I can only define as calf manure (which is the worst, trust me) and rotten, musty, fermented grass juices.

It’ll scar your senses for life.

So, anyway, we had a second stand of forage sorghum come up due to a lovely amount of rain and nice weather this year. And after 2012, the farmer was going to cut every last bit he could, so that was his priority last week. And the great thing was that a friend of ours was generous enough to bring his tractor and wrapper to the farm so we could use it.

Long story short, I wanted to come down and take a few pictures and this is what I saw.

HUGE MARSHMALLOWS!!!

This wrapper is an individual one that doesn’t do the long tubes. It’s really neat to watch it at work, even for this girl. Four arms go around and around in a circle and wrap ‘er up tight. I’ve never been able to observe the “tube wrapper doohickey” so I’ll have to save that for another post. I know you’ll hardly be able to contain yourself with the anticipation.

It’s definitely better than the alternative, which is me, my husband, and our 3 year old daughter out in the field dancing like little garden nymphs wrapping plastic around the maypole hay bale. That’s not a method I care to visualize at all.

So, we’re very grateful to Kevin for his generosity.

And, of course, I can’t ever resist taking a picture of Peanut. And you’ll just never guess where she was…

Finding her 1) without Daddy 2) outside of a tractor or 3) sitting prim and proper without a stitch of dirt, manure, or other various grime you can find on a dairy farm is a rarity.

I was delusional when I thought I was going to raise a prissy, girly girl. I found her motto on a boy’s hoodie the other day. “God made dirt and dirt don’t hurt.” Sums Peanut up perfectly.

I need proof, you say?

Allow me to enlighten you.

‘Nuff said.