Watchin' my corn pop up in rows.

For the past two weeks, baby corn has been popping up out of the ground. It's so cute. So let's all give a collective thumbs up / fingers crossed / hands clasped that it grows up to be BIG corn!

In the middle picture you can see the corn in rows...in farm speak, this is called being able to "row it." It's like a noun, verb and adjective all rolled in to one ball of fun. For example, Farmer Tim will say, "The corn's big enough I can row it." Or, "Hey Katherine, see the corn? You can row it." Or, "Can you row the corn?" It's usage is endless, really. So the next time you drive by a field, see if you can "row it."

And finally...Cinco de MARRIAGE!

Although a bit humid for my hair's taste, the day was beautiful and sunny- perfect for a wedding! Details came together, any blunders went unnoticed, the bride, radiant and at the end of the day, Kate and Kyle GOT MARRIED! And when all is said and done, isn't that all that matters. 

A girl's gotta eat.

1. sweet card from Kyle

2. bridesmaid bouquets

3. Kate's flowers

4. sweet silver shoes- mine are cute evil

It was a beautiful Cinco de Wedding weekend!

Lots of little gifts.

A wedding weekend would not be complete without a Bachelorette Partaaaaay. We whooped it up and celebrated this girl the only way we knew how: lots of little gifts, if you know what I'm saying...

My camera was misbehaving (read: operator error) and the light was terrible, so good pictures are few and far between. But isn't Kate smokin'?

And the next morning was a brunch, hosted by my Mom and me. I helped a little, but Mom saw the vision through and orchestrated the flowers, food and all other things pretty.

And...

Hopefully this satiated your appetite for pictures. I'm spent.

The slide and chocolate milk...and fries.

My first night in the Ta was spent with a dear friend, who also happened to be my freshman college roommate, Hillary...and her husband and sweet daughter. The weather was so pretty we decided on a place with a patio and landed at Stearman's. When I asked two year old Harper's thoughts on our choice of venue she replied with, "Slide, chocolate milk and fries." That only seems fair. 

Good Times, good friends and good slide, chocolate milk and fries.

Big Ed's

Friday was my birthday. No, not my 21st- but thanks for the guess. And to celebrate we went to Big Ed's. It's nothing fancy. It's just a really, really good steak. 

You'd think that if the steak was as good as I say it was, I'd have taken a picture. But I didn't, so you'll just have to take my word for it. OR go visit my friend, Victoria, who I've mentioned before. She's really good at taking pictures of the yummy things she eats.

I'm off to Wichita this week. Yes, I'm getting my hair cut; but I'm also going to attend the wedding of a very dear friend, Kate. Cinco de Mayo Marriage won't even know what hit it, after I bust a move. Marriage power.

Land(mark), ho!

Most people know Kansas is (relatively) flat. And you don't have to drive much further west than Salina to see that, by comparison, everything east looks hilly. My in-laws live in the country. And on a clear, starry night, they can see from their front window the lights of our neighboring towns. That are 30-40 miles away. Flat, flat, flat, flat, flat. So now that I've imparted all this wonderful knowledge and background, it's time for the application.

I get lost, I am directionally challenged and the lack of terrain and trees makes navigating the gravel roads I drive a near impossibility (I went for the dramatic flare). Let's just say that when Farmer Tim and I explore or are going to new places, I am NOT in the passenger seat with a map. Now that I've been here a year, I'm not as desperate as I once was, but nothing makes me happier than when I see an obvious landmark I can use to get me where I need to go. Ergo my appreciation for the lone tree along Road 24, which the Franklin's long ago dubbed the "pheasant tree". Granted, they use it as a unit of measure, telling them how far they are from home. For instance, when there is a snow storm and you don't know where you are in the blizzard-like conditions (because it's flat and most likely windy- it's Kansas), a sighting of that pheasant tree lets you know you are within a mile from home. Phew.

I can make my way to the usual spots, no problem. But I'm still driving to new fields, and Tim telling me to, "go 2 miles south, 1 mile east, then turn on a trail road," can bring on the tears. Which way is north? How bad is this trail road? So if I have something like the pheasant tree, in the midst of all this flatness, I feel a lot better. Besides, who doesn't want to be a pirate and yell out things like, "landmark, ho"?

The End.

Corn on my mind.

It's that time of year again. For what, you ask? To plant corn. Obviously. And to commemorate the occasion I have some pictures to share. I think what really makes this year's corn planting so momentous is that it marks the time we moved back to Kansas...which means I survived our first year in Small Town USA. Or it survived me (?)- because between you and me, I've not always been a peach. Tim says I've been a trooper, but probably that's his secret way of saying, "you think she looks normal and pleasant, but you don't have to live with her." I jest...And now for a farm wife's perspective of what happens right before you plant the corn (I say that because I've been known to miss a few things around here).

1. Check the temperature of the soil. If it's not an optimal reading, the corn won't take very well.

2. Add seed to the planter and do a test run.

3. After the test run, check that the depth of the planted seed is where you want it.

4. Go. Then go some more- as in, like, 10 days to 2 weeks.

So wish us luck and say a prayer- that the crops grow and thrive, that Farmer Tim et al. stays safe and that I don't make too many imaginary friends, as things will be busy for the next six-ish months.