The Hay is in the Barn(s)!!

The wet, warm spring made the grass grow tall and fast, in the fields, lawn, everywhere. Suddenly, in June, the weather turned roasting hot and the rain quit. We were faced with head high grass around the buildings and in the fields. So we had to cut, rake, and bale hay pronto, then get it all into the various barns/sheds/whatever before the rains returned, as promised... tonight, 6/25. We have been busting our butts until today... Johnny mostly since he's the tractor equipment guy. I'm merely the support and animal person... until it's time to load the hay onto wagons and unload it into the barns. Then it's all hands on deck, including a hired neighbor teenager... who, I think, is much bigger and stronger than either of us ever thought about being. He's also young. We are old.

We've been so busy I took very few photos. Our equipment is old and last century, like us. Our baler refused to bale so our neighbor, who is also old and has ancient equipment that Johnny helps keep running, baled for us... with Johnny's help. It takes a village... and a tractor with a chain around the bucket holding the equipment up so Johnny can work on it.

  Father's Day brought the Seattle area family men down, but somehow they managed to miss hay pickup time.

  

Son Kevin did, however help grease and marvel at the antique equipment. Although it is pretty much the same equipment we used when he was a kid helping... forty plus years ago. 

Here he stands with his dad in a field of cut but unraked (or baled) hay.  

 

Look closely at this assemblage of tractors/etc. and you will see Johnny and Kevin working on the baler... closer view in top photo

Not sure of when I took what photos, but here is one of Johnny raking one of the fields, out of order in time as the "kids" were not here then.

 

Back to Kevin marveling at the unique fixes Johnny has come up with. This mower has one of its discs that broke replaced by a cast iron frying pan. I am not kidding. And it works.

So far, I have taken no photos of baled hay, all now safely lodged in goat barn, former-llama/sheep-area-turned horse area behind the shop, with overflows in former-horse-barn-when-we-had-more horses, down the buck aisle of the goat barn, and on the flatbed in a roped off covered area behind the shop. We finished getting it all in last night (June 24) since rain was predicted for the next 6 days. Today has been a catch-up on sleep day for Johnny and a catch-up on the computer day for me plus throw some more seeds into the garden. 

 

Maybe I'll still get some photos of the baled hay. I should have plenty of time... It will take a very long time to use up all this hay... thank goodness... and thanks to the weather gods who allowed us to get all this hay in without rain.

 

 

Too Much Excitement

 So far, the Year of the Fire Horse has been...um...exciting. I could no with a little less excitement. February had Johnny's heart attack; in March he had back spasms that sent him to the emergency room. Then came April with Linda's eye surgery to try and slow down the glaucoma that has taken away some of her (my) sight. Whew. So let's leave all that behind and celebrate May... which has started with a spectacular blooming of one of the fragrant epiphyllums in the greenhouse. (At least, that's what I call them. I don't know what they are, really. I'll research one of these days...)

 I opened the door into the greenhouse early morning on May 2nd to this sight and a wonderful fragrance. In the past, these fragrant epis (or whatever they are) last only one day. But this one is different... More and more flowers have opened and the original ones have not wilted nor lost their perfume... three days later. This evening, May 4, we counted a dozen of these huge blooms. It is not easy to get photos since they are all facing the windows to the front yard. But here they are...

 

This plant of many flowers starts from that wooden hanging basket at the top of the photo. It is invading the orchid basket lower left, with a very weird orchid that has only bloomed once in many years. Maybe the orchid will get inspired by its ambitious neighbor

As of tonight, 7 p.m. on May 4, there are twelve blossoms in various stages of bloom... none have given up entirely and at least four have yet to open. The greenhouse smells wonderful.

 

The year of the Fire Horse is starting out spectacularly on the Fink Family Farm. 

 

Drama in the Sky... and Spring in the Forest

 We have had dramatic skies the last several nights. Photos from April 10, 2026:

   

And April 11...

 

A walk through our woodland on April 12 found spring emerging... later than usual 

Oregon Grape

One of at least three fawns born here, seen often

The Big  Leaf Maples are just flowering, the new buds very sweet

The first trillium blooming

Pacific Sideband snail on a big doug fir trunk

Bleeding Hearts

Agency Creek is lower than I've ever seen it this time of year

 Heard but not seen: a Ruffed Grouse, booming his courtship "song" seven times as I walked near his territory. ...Hurray for spring!

State of Our Union 2026

 Every year I send out a State of Our Union message around the time of our wedding anniversary, February 13. This year I was late. I have recently written up my excuse to send to friends and family, but have no doubt missed some so here it is... written, actually, mostly by Johnny. After all, it was mostly his fault that I was so late...

 

STATE OF OUR UNION 2026

I meant to write and send this closer to our 59^th February 13^th anniversary. Surely I would get it done before the end of February. But life intervened. I'll let Johnny give his version of the events of February 24^th that changed our lives. (With additions from Linda in parentheses).

Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026

6:57 p.m. We were sitting in our reclining chairs watching an episode of “Young Sheldon” on our ROKU television screen at home. Suddenly my head and face felt unusually hot. After 5-10 seconds my chest also felt hot. I sat forward with my hand on my chest. Linda asked what was wrong. I told her I felt hot and the heat was going down my left shoulder and arm now. I stood up and headed for the bathroom. Linda dialed 911 and described what was happening. The operator asked for our address. Then said see if he will chew an aspirin, a full strength aspirin (to thin his blood.) As the operator was talking, we heard sirens and vehicles driving in. The 911 operator apparently had called them immediately and knew when they arrived. She told Linda to unlock the doors and turn on outside lights. Linda went to do as told and met the EMTs as they arrived at the back door. She led them to me in the bathroom. I told them what happened and then went back to my chair in the living room. The main EMT person said you have had a cardiac event and they would be taking me to Salem Hospital. Meanwhile one of the EMTS was taking medicine information from the bottles Linda had given them when asked. At some point they gave me an aspirin. They checked my blood pressure, etc.

By 7:20 I was in the ambulance and on the way to Salem. ...Arrived at Salem Hospital Emergency Entrance at 8:00. I was in the Emergency receiving room for 20 minutes answering questions and being prepped.

Meanwhile Linda had called Kevin... Jessica answered and told Kevin and he called Steve and Ian and Autumn (friend and farm sitter nearby). Kevin and Ian drove from north of Seattle to Salem and the hospital. Linda arrived at emergency receiving room and talked to Johnny who seemed fine. Shortly after, she was directed to waiting room outside the cardiac area and Johnny was taken to surgery.

8:00 Johnny in Emergency receiving room for 20 minutes answering questions and being prepped.

8:20 Heart surgeon Dr. Thompson came into receiving room to say he would be operating. In through vein in my right wrist and installing two stents.

8:30 Pushed down hall to operating room At some point while on the gurney I felt one huge blow to my chest. Next day was told my heart stopped and was “restarted”.

OPERATION

When I woke up I asked when they were going to operate. Dr. said “all done”.

About 10 p.m. I was taken to ICU room to bed. Shortly after, Autumn and Linda came into room. Autumn had arrived at waiting room and found Linda and then led her to the window where she had to give the number she had been handed.

11:40 Autumn left

11:45 Kevin and Ian arrived (from north of Seattle... for them to rendezvous and drive to Salem should take much longer than it took them.)

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 25

about 2:30 a.m. visitors were all sent away. Linda, Kevin and Ian to Grand Ronde.  Ian back to Salem in morning and worked in Salem office...(a rented cubicle...) all that day. Came to hospital about 6 pm. Later drove back to Redmond.

(Friends) Lin and Gina came to hospital (with an orchid, still beautiful!)

Kevin and Linda came to hospital

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 26

Released from hospital late afternoon.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 27

Kevin cooked, did computer work, organized pills. Steve (son) arrived (by plane from San Francisco to Portland, then rented car to Grand Ronde) late afternoon.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 28

Steve and I (Johnny) took Kevin to Amtrak in Salem (for his return to Seattle)

Brad and Steve Werth visited (They were in the area to visit their dad who was just out of McMinnville hospital with another life-threatening ailment. Like Johnny, he survived and is back to doing more than he should, no doubt.)

SUNDAY MARCH 1

Autumn and Tim (husband) came for Steve and Autumn's birthday party. (Their birthdays are two days apart.)

MONDAY MARCH 2

Steve cooked, split and brought in firewood. He left for airport at 1:30 p.m.

Postscript from Linda: What we did during the year prior, I have no idea. I'm sure we worked here on the farm and did bird surveys as usual... for several organizations. Looking through my 2025 engagement calendar, I see we started going to weekly protests in May (and still are when able) plus the No Kings rallies, did Ren Yuan on Sundays with friends including Mary... who gallantly carried on as she could until she died of cancer on March 16^th, not long after Johnny's heart attack. Jessica's mother died in August after a long and heart-breaking downhill slide. It has not been a great year. Our friends are growing older, like we are. The government nuttiness and cruelty has not helped. But the flowers still bloom and our animals remind us of what's important: their food and attention. Birds still sing every morning. Our kids and their families are wonderful, caring human beings. And so onward we go into our 60^th year of marriage.

May you and we all have much to be thankful for in the coming year... and little to regret.

 

Post post script: 

The photo at top is of Johnny on Easter Sunday a month after his heart attack. All seemed to be going well until April 7, when he was back in an emergency room (Lincoln City this time) with severe back pain. That turned out to be muscle spasms... thankfully not heart or kidney problems... just over exertion from an 83 year old man going on 18, at least in his mind.   

 

It's Spring on the Fink Family Farm!

 

It has been a long time since I wrote a blog post. And this one should have appeared days ago, but life intervened. I posted these photos on facebook, March 18, but think those blog followers who are not on facebook also deserve to see them. If you want to, highlight the URL below and click on it. You should see my post with all the photos and the comments, too. 

I will try to update this blog more often... if life allows. 

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1L7CAJYzcv/

  

 

  May your spring be filled with sunshine and flowers...

 

    

     

 

HOLIDAY WREATH SEASON

Holiday wreath season starts before Thanksgiving, when I gather the ingredients from around the farm. This year it was holly from the front yard, pine from the rose bed, and, from the arboretum: Modoc cypress, Arizona cypress, and lots of Eucalyptus because it was leaning over a path and invading "China". As always, I wind grapevines (from our grapes) into circles for the wreath framework, then stick the greenery into them to create the wreath. My workshop is the stock trailer, repurposed. When the wreaths that get mailed to friends and family are ready, Johnny packs them into boxes that he creates. This year we mailed eight. 

Here is the workshop with wreaths waiting to be given away: 

  After Johnny packages the wreaths, we take them to the post office and get a long list of tracking numbers. I follow their progress on the computer... We call it the wreath race. Some years a wreath gets delayed for days or even weeks... usually the one going to Colorado and one to California. This year, though, all arrived on their estimated delivery dates... a miracle for sure. Some recipients send me photos of their wreaths after they are displayed. I love getting those photos. The first one to arrive this year was from friend Hazel in Washington:

The one below came from son Steve. His poor dog did not look happy wearing the wreath...

 

Nephew Rob always uses their wreath as a table centerpiece...

 Local friends often add a red ribbon to their wreath. Here is Carol's...

 And Linnet and Gina's...

Along with the wreath comes a Holiday Wreath letter with a description of the ingredients and suggestions on how to keep them from falling out... which doesn't always work... 

Grandson Ian hangs his on their apartment door... and describes the process...

After 15 minutes of wrangling the fishing line and failing to tie a knot, and dropping the whole thing twice, which led to needing to do some repair work ...

                                                             The apartment is now festive!

Every year some greenery is left over after the wreaths have been distributed. I can't stand to waste any of it so I make the leftovers into more wreaths and hang them here... on doors, barn walls, arena mirrors, wherever. This year I salvaged enough greenery, mostly eucalyptus and holly,  for five wreaths.

This one has been through a wind storm already. The Resist Frog was made by a friend.

On the side of the woodshed, facing Johnny's shop

This one is on one of the arena mirrors and is pure eucalyptus and holly.

The goat barn doors are wreathed now, too.

The holiday wreath season will last through Christmas,  New Year's Day, and beyond... depending on wind storms... 

                                              HAPPY HOLLY DAYS!!!
 

  

Wandering Spirit Has Fledged!

 The Big Baby Barn Owl spent a day on the prow of the barn, south end, and then disappeared. However, it (or something) managed to find the 3 dead rats we put on the ledge by the owl box. Owl pellets and splats under the limb, mostly at the south end of the barn, let us know Wandering Spirit has been eating. 

I hope she survives the winter, reappears someday and nests here. You can be sure I'll blog about her, if she does.