Fire! Fire! Fire!

Last Thursday, my neighbor's dairy barn burnt to the ground!

What a sad sight....

This barn has been in use, milking cows, for at least two generations. Now it's all gone.

Alright, men, lets get everything cleaned up!

D. Martin (center), the owner, gives instructions to the many, many friends and neighbors who dropped everything to come and help clean up the destruction. It was such a blessing to see the Christian community pull together and help someone in need!

Someone, who owns an excavating company, brought his big equipment in and made the job so much easier.

To help clean up, they started bonfire to finish burning all the timbers.

Scoop that junk out of there!

There was a lot of work to be done!

Charles, the oldest son on the farm, uses their skid loader, which they usually scrap up manure with, to scoop up the ruins of their barn.

What a sight!

Before...

I used to milk occasionally for the Martins when they would go on vacation. It was a nice parlor to milk in, and I enjoyed it. There milk, right out of the tank, was probably the best tasting milk I've ever had.

...and after.

But those days are over now. It's hard to even recognize the place.

The Martins are a wonderful family, with ten children, that I've really enjoyed getting to know. Their sprite through all this has amazed me. They've been joyful, in spite of their circumstances and very thankful that no people nor cows were hurt.

So, where do we go from here?

The Martins are considering growing produce for me next year to send to you all with the CSA!

~ Jonathan

Heat, Drought, Rain, Independence Day, Etc.

So what should we tell everyone about, Elise? So much has been going on here since I've last posted, part of the reason why it's been a long time. Well, one thing that's been taking our time has been you, little girl, but we like giving you time. Other things we've been doing are harvesting garlic, making up our seed order for fall lettuce, broccoli, etc., and all the day-to-day work of running a farm - picking, weeding, mowing, irrigating.... So, Elise, let's give everyone a few photos to look at, so they can see a little what it's like around here.

For a period of 3 or 4 weeks, we didn't get any rain, except for 1.5 inches that mostly ran off. (We've been bless a lot more, though, than some other farmers who haven't had a measurable rain for a month.) Last week (7th & 8th), I got my irrigation system up and running. The dryness didn't effect all the crops, like potatoes, much because they're almost full grown, but other crops, like cucumbers, are greatly effected by lack of water. Things were really dry here, but...

...the Lord decided to give us rain, and He did so in abundance! Since Thursday, we've gotten close to 4 inches!

Patriotic red, white, and blue potatoes to celebrate July 4th with

We went to a gathering, some friends in Shippensburg hosted, on Monday, July 5th. Part of the event was a pie contest that I was selected a judge for, not a job I minded!

It was hard though selecting which one was the best; they were all good! It was an interesting experience. 

Life's been busy here! And the big question is: Who tired who out?

The Jonathan Einwechter Family

Thanks again for supporting our family by being part of our CSA! More than we can put into words, we appreciate it because it's giving us the ability to experience our dream - farming full-time for the glory of God.