Did everyone enjoy their Valentine's Day as much as Leila did?

Here she is "working on" the marshmallow lollipop Daddy gave her. It took at least five minutes for her to finish it, but she loved every bite.

The kids had Friday off from school. Michael and Emma spent most of the day in their pajamas, lounging around the house.

Jon joined the family late Saturday night. He's still working in Iowa, and they've been working six days a week since January. So he's getting pretty tired. But he still manages to make it home to us at least one day on the weekends.

Below, Leila and Emma show off a page of hearts they drew with crayons.

Jon's "day off" was spent working around the house and at the neighbor's farm. Johnne had hay delivered, and Jon used his Bobcat to help stack the large round bales.

There was some excitement during one of the hay deliveries. The truck hauling the hay had


trouble making it up the slippery hill, and the trailer tipped over... spilling it's load of hay onto the road by our house.

But Jon saved the day! He's very good with his Bobcat, and in just a few minutes had the road cleared. He even used his Bobcat to lift the trailer up out of the ditch, and with a nudge got the truck and trailer started back up the hill.

He stacked the hay into a big pile at the top of the hill; I think their were five trailer loads in all, during the course of the day. Besides feeding Johnne's cows, the hay will provide food and bedding for our horse, two cows and chickens.

Cuz we're farmers, ya know!

At right, Emma demonstrates the size of the round bales, by hamming it up for my camera.


While at the farm, Emma showed me what she calls a "Kids' Paradise"... a shed with an attic full of smaller, square bales (that she and the other neighborhood kids climb up like steps).

At her insistence I climbed up the hay bales and sat down beside her. I know they look pretty tippy in the photo at left, but I made it up and down okay.

It was quiet and warm up there. You could see a couple of curious cows through a window nearby. I immediately thought: a good thinking spot.

And of course I was reminded of childhood visits to my aunt and uncle's farm in Ladysmith. It was always a special treat to go up into their barn's loft and climb on the hay bales. There was a rope to swing on, and sometimes there was even a litter of kittens to pet and fuss over.

We visited Macy. She has a thick, shaggy winter coat now, and seems to be enjoying her new spot nearer the cows. She has her own shed and is separated from the cows by a fence, but manages to interact with them a little... especially the calves, who are more prone to outbursts of energy and a little frolicking.

Some of the icicles along our roof's eaves are about five feet long. They're really something.

I took this picture of the snow piled up on our back deck and patio furniture... before our most recent snowfall (an additional four inches). A very snowy winter this year!

Well, to close... a shot of Jon snuggling with his littlest girls in the "big bed." As you can see, he did manage to get a little bit of rest in this weekend (poor guy).

We love him and appreciate how hard he works for all of us.

Happy Valentine's!