We are still getting thundershowers, but we finally got the hay cut and raked. Wayne should be here Monday or Tuesday to bale it. It sure has taken longer than we would like to get this first cutting up. Hopefully the second cutting will go better.

Shawn drove to Boise all week so I did all the chores and a lot of the irrigating. I at least got the water turned off so when he got home he only had to move the wheel line and start it up again without waiting for it to drain. A couple of days I did all the irrigating. It is kind of a nice way cool off on the hot days. We try to run two outlets in the pasture where we flood, and most days I do that. It's a nice walk and I take the dogs with me. They love to play in the ditch.

I try to walk through the cows and calves while I am out there to make sure they are all OK. Duke says that he doesn't worry about the ones at our house -- he knows that they are being taken care of. We haven't had the gated pipe on yet this year. It rained enough before the hay was ready that we never had to irrigate it. We got lucky -- neither one of us likes to use the gated pipe.

Shawn had Monday off so we drove to Baker City to buy a nanny goat and her two kids. Annie, Abbey and Andy are eating along the ditches and anywhere else that the horses or cattle can't go. I stake Annie out and the kids stay pretty close to her. I have been putting them in at night just to be safe. So far it is working great. I wouldn't mind getting a few more!

We got some of the fence taken down around the yard and the bushes pulled out, so I have been working on landscaping. I finally got it figured out and can start putting it together. Shawn is working on getting a pump set up so that I can water the yard out of the irrigation ditch. Then I could water more and maybe have a greener yard.

We have a field that we are renting getting sprayed this week and the horseshoer is coming out. I get my building for my store this next weekend. We will also be irrigating both the pasture and the hay fields. Looks like we will busy as usual.

Location: Lostine, Wallowa County, Oregon

Business: Cattle, crops

Secret weapon: An ag-friendly community with great mentors

Open a tack and feed store

Start a cattle herd

Repair and rejuvenate newly purchased ranch

Adopt a child (Not necessarily in that order)

We are still getting thundershowers, but we finally got the hay cut and raked. Wayne should be here Monday or Tuesday to bale it. It sure has taken longer than we would like to get this first cutting up. Hopefully the second cutting will go better.