How bad was it this summer?

When farm work piles up outside, the first thing to get ousted from the to-do list is housework.

I was going through the photos on my computer to pick out snapshots for our annual family photo book when I came across these two pictures. Upon seeing them, I immediately remembered taking them with the intention of blogging about them, but never got around to it — for the same reasons that the dishes got so out of hand. Between field work and special projects, we were swamped!

Dish mountain!

I asked our neighbor to watch Dan and Monika one scorching afternoon so Glen and I could haul some soon-to-calve heifers and dry cows home from pasture. I told her to ignore the condition of the house. She said she understood, since she was once a farming mom with young children. I came home to find she had washed every single dish that had been piled on the counter. Needless to say, we have wonderful neighbors!

Oops! That was supposed to be part of supper.

I have no idea how long this dish of vegetables sat in the microwave! They were supposed to be part of a quick supper after a long day of chores. Apparently, I was so deliriously tired I didn't remember to take them out. When I found them, I had a hard time deciding whether to laugh or cry.

The other sign that this summer was truly grueling? I forced myself to drink coffee one afternoon in a desperate attempt to find the energy to complete evening chores. It didn't take long for me to remember why I don't drink coffee; even when mixed 50:50 with chocolate milk, it still made me sick to my stomach.

I'm happy to say that farm chores take a much more reasonable amount of time now. We're still busy, but I'm managing to keep up with the dishes. (I can't say the same for the laundry, but that's a whole different post.)