Wordless Wednesday

 

Growing Celery

The area I grew up in was farm country.  My Dad was a dairy farmer and there were a lot of them around.  The area was also home to lots of farmers growing onions and celery.  You have to have the right kind of dirt for that.  I don't know the official name, but we called it muck.  It's heavy black soil that holds moisture well.  
When I was in high school, I worked on one of those celery farms.  We worked starting in the green house in the Spring, lots of hours in the summer and then through October.

Last week I drove past the farm and they were out planting celery.  The celery is first planted as a tiny seedling in the greenhouse, then when the threat of freezing is past, they are transplanted to the fields.

Here's what I saw as I drove past.

I put in many hours on a celery planter, but they've improved them since then.  When I was working, there were just 2 people on the planter and we each had a tray of little seedlings in front of us.  There were usually a few on the back that we would get if we used the first tray, but nothing like you see here. There is a little wheel with pockets that goes into the ground and each pocket gets a seedling put in it and as it goes around the seedling is planted.
I was working with people I enjoyed, and once you learned how to do it, you could talk as you worked.  They even had a clear plastic covered box that could go over the people so you could work in the rain.

Here's a picture that shows what the celery looks like once the field is planted.  Isn't it pretty?

Around July they start harvesting. A picker fills a wagon with celery and it's brought to the packing barn where we would trim and sort it into like sizes and then crate it.

Good memories for me!  And, as I live near this, I get to enjoy this sight often.

Happy Birthday and Fathers Day!

Bob's birthday was this past week so Laura and Heathers families came over Saturday night to have a birthday/Fathers day party.
Unfortunately, Alaina had a bad cold and had to miss not only this party but also a pool party with friends earlier in the day.

When Heather and Andrew arrived, I tried to get a picture of Cassie and Connor on the porch.  They don't sit still for long, so this was the best I got!

We had pizza, then went outside for a while.

Cassie ran for the swing set and Ruby went along to push her.

Laura has a green thumb like her dad, so they wandered around and checked out plants.

Ruby and Cassie went exploring in the back.

Ruby saw me point my camera in her direction and posed nicely.  :)

Bob got this t-shirt with all the kids on it.

Ruby was great with Connor.

Then we enjoyed some yummy ice cream dessert before everyone went home.

I sent some along for Alaina and soon got this picture with the message that it was making her feel much better!

It was a fun night with family celebrating our wonderful Dad and Grandpa!