Summer.

It certainly has been a crazy summer around Burgess Farms.

But then it usually is pretty chaotic

We have been seeing a lot of these clouds this summer.  Though, this was taken last week.

That is the famous barn to the West of our house.  

I think I take lots of pictures of it, because you can see it right out of my back door!

The River has remained high all summer. . .since the beginning of June.

We spent most of June and part of July holding our breaths, wondering if the River would get out.

Collie and Gary moved all of the equipment out of the bottoms twice.  And packed up the shop and outside builidings and stuff. 

I had a trailer parked at the house most of the Summer as well.  

Luckily, we never had to fill it.

I guess the bright side is, Spring (or Summer) cleaning is always needed!

We did have a busy cantaloupe season.  Though, we didn't actually sell as many as normal, what we did have was good.  We spent a lot of time throwing cantaloupe away.  Basically because of all the rain.

It seems like we have fought lots of things this summer.  Rain, Wind, Lightening, Cold, Heat.

But then who would expect perfect farming conditions?

Collie and Gary have been getting all of the equipment ready for Harvest.  It will be here soon!

An Update. . .

Harvest 2009. . .Collie on the combine

Gary waiting by the truck

The barn west of our house.  I love taking pictures of this barn for some reason!

Much to my excitement, I received a new camera for Christmas. . . so now I just need to learn how to use it properly!  The above picture was taken on Christmas Day through the kitchen window at Nancy and Gary's house.  The Cardinals looked like little Christmas ornaments.

This was taken Christmas Night from our back door.  The wind and snow were blowing so hard.  I'm not sure I have ever experienced anything quite like it!

And this was taken this winter. . .we had freezing fog.   Something else I don't remember ever experiencing.  It looked like everything was dipped in snow.  It was actually very pretty.  

The Anhydrous is being applied as I type. . . and is probably just about finished.  On to planting time!  

Nancy and I planted Cantaloupe in the greenhouse today.  It was such a beautiful day! 

Not another record. . .

But Nancy's Pumpkin was the largest grown in Missouri this year!! It was 1,012 pounds. . . she was tickled to death to have her pumpkin over 1,000 pounds. . . BUT she received second place at the Pumpkin weigh-off in Republic, MO last weekend. A guy brought his 1,060 pound pumpkin in from the Chicago area to beat Nancy. She can still lay claim to the largest pumpkin in Missouri though!!! Can't set a record every year. . . but she is happy to have grown a pumpkin over 1,000 pounds. . .a definite feat in itself!!!

As for Harvest. . . hopefully I will post some pictures soon. It has been going pretty well. We have been harvesting both corn and beans. The combine did break down last week and took a few days before we were back in the field. We brought in a second combine to help us along while our combine was being fixed.

Diplodia

Here are some pictures of a problem we are experiencing with our corn. It is called Diplodia Ear rot. It is caused by excessive moisture. Japanese Beetles make it worse by eating the silks off of the corn. So, we had a lot of the perfect elements for the ear rot this year. Lots of moisture and lots of Japanese beetles. If you look at the pictures you will notice a white film on the corn. This is the diplodia. Collie will have to give me the percents again. . .how much we are experiencing in our corn. And what this means at the elevator. I can't remember all of the facts. These pictures were taken west of our house on the south side of the road.

Cantaloupe, cantaloupe, and more cantaloupe

This picture was taken towards the end of July after the mornings picking. This was at the height of the Cantaloupe season and we picked quite a few cantaloupe. . . just about one thousand in the picture!!!

Cantaloupe still going strong!

We are still in the midst of Cantaloupe season. . .and now Watermelon too! Here are a couple of pictures I snapped the other day. . . One is of Nancy throwing Collie a Cantaloupe. Collie then throws it out to whoever is loading the wagons. This is how we pick the cantaloupe! And the second picture is of a load of cantaloupe.

Cantaloupe Season is underway. . .

Our life is pretty hectic right now with melon season in full-swing! It has been a little too cool and wet for our melon crop to be producing as much as normal, but the cantaloupe are still very good! We haven't picked any watermelon yet, but we will be very soon! I don't have my camera with me much while we are picking. . . .but I did manage a few pictures from the other day!

Brady sure does love cantaloupe!


Brady enjoying some Cantaloupe. . .



Collie and Brady bringing wagons of Cantaloupe out of the field with the Kubota. . . I am surprised Brady didn't talk his Dad into letting him drive!




Here are some cantaloupe loaded onto our truck. . .ready for market!