The...This, That and Craziness of it All!

I don't know about you, but I just can't seem to slow summer down any!

It has flown by with record speed!

There is so much going on and it seems I am just moving from one thing or project to the next!

It is no secret that summer is the busiest time of the year for me at work.

And with all of the budget cuts that have taken place, it just seems that things have gotten even crazier for me in the area of work!

Many of my colleagues from around the state were cute to half time on July 1.

I'm still full time and those of us that are, are now picking up the slack in programming at the State level!

Usually by the time August rolls around, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but not this year!

August will continue with a very crazy work schedule!

Once fair wraps up at the end of the month, I will move on to the next project and it will be a big one!

But for now, I will put that aside and catch you up on what has taken place around here in the past month.

July brought record temps to our area!

It was SERIOUSLY HOT here!

It was so hot that it only took 7 days to complete the second cutting of hay!

We had 114 at the farm for several days in a row!

The heat took its toll on everything!

We lost a couple of our holder chickens due to the heat.

The oldest was Pearl, she had just turned 10!

She was an original to our flock and is missed very much!

The old girls still manage to grace us with a few eggs a week and we sure do enjoy them.

Lots of activities took place in July.

Meg's competed in her last 4-H dog show around the middle of the month.

She has discovered that working full time and having a full slate of extra activities is a lot to take on, but she has managed her schedule pretty well and completed her goals.

She showed Millie and Cypress again and did very well with them.

She received over-all "high point" with Cypress. 

There were a few car break downs in July!

Both my car and Meg's were out of commission for a while!

Our son did a complete front-end rebuild on Meg's truck, which took about a week.

Hayman had to replace the power-steering return line on my car. Between ordering parts and his busy schedule, I was without my car for a week and had to drive the "man cave" as I like to call it!

Good thing we have handy men in this family! 

I had to have mouth surgery towards the end of the month to remove a large tissue mass inside my mouth.

I had been putting it off and finally just decided to get it done!

It has healed nicely and the biopsy came back fine!

Whew!

The end of the month brought Meg's last 4-H Horse Show.

This year was a bit of a challenge as she had to use a different horse.

But once again, she stuck to her guns and completed her goals!

Here she is below with Cadillac Jack.

August has started out busy and will remain so!

We had company come for a visit this past week.

It was great to see our old friends and have some time to catch up and relax a little.

I just realized that neither my friend or I took any pictures while they were here.

I guess we were too busy having fun!

Hayman managed to sneak off for a few days to Oregon for a little camping and fishing.

Third cutting of hay has officially started as of today!

The days are still hot, but our evenings and nights are starting to cool down a bit.

I noticed last night while out doing chores that there is a feeling of fall in the air, but I know that there are many busy, dog days of summer still before us.

I took this shot coming home from work last week.

The sun was setting, but what caught my attention were the different patterns in the clouds and the light.

It's moments like this one that remind me to slow down and enjoy the little things and moments, because after all, they are what really count!