. . . visited the farm

It was my Uncle Albert's 85th birthday. In our family, the birthday years that end in 0 or 5 are the biggies, at least for the oldest generation. So Albert's daughter Pam and her family came from California and invited the families and neighbors to celebrate. The farm is a great place to take pictures, especially when it's not getting dark and your camera batteries aren't dying (again.) The picture above is of a huge pile of pipes, taller than me by a ways, behind the shed. Don't know what they are used for, or if they will ever be used. They've been there a while.





For everyone who wonders what a small family farm in Kansas may look like: this is an old silo, pretty sure it's not used any more. If you will look past the silo, to the horizon, you will see what I have been told is Rattlesnake Hill. Probably because there are rattlesnakes there. But it's also where the old farmhouse used to be before the new house was built. Uncle Albert sold that piece of land in the last year or so. I think it's the extension of his neighbor's cattle feeding operation now.






I love this old Ford truck. Only the front end survives, in a manner of speaking. I guess we can assume that chrome lasts a lot longer than metal.





I think these are the neighbor's cattle. Betsy took this picture. The cows were coming in to eat, and stayed back until we all left them alone. As long as there was a fence between them, the cows and the kids were comfortable.


Even though I grew up and lived around farms and farming communities, I know nothing about the details of making a living in this manner, and even less about Albert's particular farm. I don't know if he still raises any cattle, or if he actually farms any land, or what he might be growing on the land. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Albert, at 85, is cutting back on some of his physical labors. But I believe he does go out into his fields every day, still. It's a way of life.