Catching up crop version

As usual, so busy I haven't written. This week the guys have been putting the drip lines in the corn fields, and I have been making them field lunches, after a mix up on Tuesday, when they didn't get lunch. Garry bought them some snacks at the store when he brought them ice tea in the afternoon though. Today they are connecting the lay flat (think firehose sized lines) to the little drip lines (like little soaker hoses just underground), so I made them lunch again, while trying to get our expense paperwork done. Here's some photos of the two Sashas working on the drip line yesterday with Max on the tractor. Young Vlad wasn't around that day to drive.

The hay is almost ready to cut, it won't be long, although the forecast has varied amounts of rain in again, mostly like last week, so more clouds than water. I think last weeks total was less than half an inch, if that. Sunday is supposed to be the best chance for real rain. The winter wheat is almost coming out in head, rain would be nice for it too. 

The canola fields along the highway are looking less yellow in person now, not sure you can tell in the photo, although a few that started blooming later are still brilliant yellow. 

We've had a couple cool mornings this week, but no frost on our tomato and pepper plants in the garden. I managed to give away about 20 pepper plants to Yana after our staff meeting on Tuesday, so we have less to plant now.

Wednesday afternoon Garry had two cows to breed in villages on the way to Zaporosia, the first one was hard to find the right house and right street to find the cow. Power was out for maintenance work that day in our village, and when Garry tried to call to get directions (standard operating procedure for not sure which place he was at last year) after getting to Novapetrovoka (across the highway) phone service was emergency only, then just as we were going to wait until we came back, the call worked but not well. It was cutting in and out as the guy tried to give him directions to his house (apparently he talked fast and slurred to add to the problem).  Eventually we drove up and down main street and he walked out to find us. He had a lot of baby ducks inside his gate, wish I had a photo of them, Garry said there were even more by the barn where the cow was tied.

Where oh where do we go?

The second village, Nadiya, Garry knew which place it was, so it was easy to find. The old people there both put masks on when we arrived.

That evening we were trying to do a skype call with the Crawfords at seven pm when the cows came home in the village and Garry had more cows to breed. It seems like he inseminates a couple every day in Nikolaipolia or another village, plus one or two in our barn now.  It's iris blooming time in the villages and cities now. So many shades of purple and yellow.

This week we were waiting at a stoplight in Dnepro when we noticed two farmer themed vans in front of us. Seeds and feed I think.