The month of September began with one of the slowest Labor Day weekends in years but the intensity gradually increased to rocket propulsion.  Despite the drought, the tomato harvest kept us busy canning whole tomatoes, tomato sauce, salsa, and spaghetti sauce.

Ashley was interested entering a race.  A friend mentioned a 1/2 marathon to be held nearby on September 10th. She knew the schedule would be tight.  The race was held at 7:30 am 45 minutes from the farm and our annual family reunion was scheduled for 12 noon.  The family reunion is held on the farm so we prepared food the days before so that Ashley could run and still contribute to the family feast.

Ashley completing her first race and finishing second in her age category.

The race day-reunion day was also the day we welcomed the inaugural juncture workshop. We served the participants a turkey dinner at 6:30 pm September 10. Twelve women and two men  some from Pennsylvania, many different states, and Amsterdam  converged to learn and grow under the fine tutelage of Beth Kephart, author, teacher, mentor, and workshop creator, presenter and organizer along with Bill Sulit, organizer and photographer.  Just before their arrival, the farm ran out of water due to the drought.  Isaac and I worked on the water system and were able to maintain water flow and recharge the reservoir.  Despite combined efforts the reservoir level kept dropping during their stay but we had enough to get through the week.  All left inspired. If you would like to participate in a writing workshop, check out junctureworkshops.com

Juncture participants plus Beth and Sally on the last day.

The Hillel students from various colleges in central Pennsylvania converged after the workshop and once again the water held. The weekend ended and it was “off to the fair” September 18-24.

The annual Beaver Community Fair is a highlight of the year and the entire Hassinger family is involved in one way or another.  Ashley is secretary of the fair and is rarely seen those days.  Isaac too is involved and absent.  During this time Ken’s mother, Grace Hassinger, was admitted to the hospital so we were busy visiting her and participating in the fair.  Finally, the fair ended and Grace came to stay on the farm with us after her hospital stay.  During that time the rain came and refreshed the plants, and replenished the water supply enough that it no longer required three times a day monitoring.

Isaac began a fencing project which will total about 5 miles of fence when complete.  It will be a relief to not think so much about cattle getting onto the road when the electric fence fails.

The post that took our phones out of service.

But during the process of fence making the One Call system failed.  Several times posts driven into the ground perforated our underground phone cable. The phone company gave us a temporary fix and the cable runs along our tree lined lane from one end to the other and crosses overhead wound through trees to keep it above trucks, tractors and other farm equipment.

Phone cable going up the tree to cross over the steer shed road.

Cable to cross over the lane and lots of “perforation” posts in the distance

Ken’s mother Grace took a turn for the worse and we had to send her back to the hospital.  Currently she is doing well and looks forward to coming home in a day or so.  The fence is still not complete but that should be done in a few days.  There is always change taking place at Mountain Dale but the month of September was fast paced, excitement filled, soul enriching as God so graciously sustained us and especially provided the water we need.

New fencing and gate at the last turn in the lane coming into the farm.

So far the month of October has been quieter.

Like to square dance?  Check back soon the annual square dance is coming the end of the month. Details to follow another day.

Yesterday, we loaded barley into bags to sell to a local farmer.  We worked hard to load because the truck bed the barley was housed on failed to lift.  So, the Toms family, Bryan, Sandy, Seth and Brynna pitched in and filled some bags while Isaac and Yost Speicher worked on the truck to get it to lift.  Brynna has helped her mother measure flour in smaller units but has never used a bushel measure before.  We appreciated their help and the truck problem did not defeat our team it just gave us a late night.

130 bushels of barley ready for delivery.  See the bushel measure in the foreground.

There is routine in farming but it is often not routine.  The other day during the evening feeding,  we discovered two piglets with quills in their snout and one momma pig with quills in her leg.  I forgot my phone but Brad Schlegel came to the rescue and loaned his phone to call  Isaac and Ken, our field medics.  Pigs use their noses to find their food so it was a serious problem for the piglets.  Isaac scooped them up, one at a time, in his strong arms and held him firmly to his chest then leaned them on the hood of the pick-up.  Ken used a needle nose pliers and removed the quills.  The piglets never like being held so they squealed loudly even when the quills were not being removed.  The Kline family was a big help. The kids stepped into action. Cameron retrieved a barrel that we thought we might use and Kani threw corn to the momma Pig to keep her distracted while Isaac pulled the quills from her leg.  Carly  did not like the pig squeals but she was much happier when the pigs were released to their pasture with noses that did not hurt.

Once the piglets were relieved of their quills, we fed the momma pig who did not seem bothered by the quills. While she was eating, Isaac deftly removed all the quills from her leg.  We are hoping the porcupine did not feel welcome in the pasture and has moved on to a new location.

Quill-nosed-teary-eyed piglet

What a gorgeous day and what a beautiful Mother’s Day gift-a lovely walk on top of the ridge with my two delightful adult children.  On the way back, as we crossed the hay field, Ashley’s sharp eyes spotted a four-leaf clover.  Till the walk across the field was complete we had six four-leaf clovers and one five-leaf clover.

Isaac with a fist full of four-leaf clovers

Five Leaf Clover

If you need some good luck, just come and take a stroll through the hay field.

The evening before Father’s Day one of Isaac’s cows had some trouble birthing.  He called Ken and I to help.  She must have been in labor awhile and the calf was breach.  They usually dive out front hooves and head first but this one was jumping out hind legs first.  The hips were stuck.  We pulled the calf out and found one tuckered out bull calf.  His Mom was tired and sore too.  They had a tough beginning and we have been extra cautious about their care but five days later he is still alive and well and drinking milk from his mother.

Mom checking out her five minute old calf.

During the evening feeding, one of the young ducklings that we are keeping in a pen because they lost their mother, was found with its tongue entangled in a frayed fiber from the curtain that separates their enclosed box from the enclosed “porch” part of their pen.  This is the first time we encountered this problem. But fortunately, there was a nurse in the barnyard and the trauma team went into action under nurse Tara’s direction.

Spellman-Bilotta Trauma Team

The ducklings tongue was so entangled that the front half of the tongue was black, swollen and dry.  Sally held the duck on it’s side with the bill open while nurse Tara tried to used a dull pocket knife to cut the string, Bob Spellman was sent for the trauma shears that Tara keeps in her vehicle, while the boys went to the house to summon Levi to bring a sharp knife.  The team succeeded.  Levi worked to cut the string while Tara held it away from the duck’s tongue and they  accomplished the task before the trauma shears arrived.  Kudos to the team for quick work.

The Calm after the Trauma

Till the next morning the tongue was returned to normal and a week later the duckling is growing and happy.