Going, and Growing...

This is a part of our almond ranch, in February when the almond blossoms were in bloom. Levi just loves being outside, and he so loves the blossoms! He tries to grab them off the trees, but I have to remind him that we need the flowers for later...that seems to be a good enough reason for him at this point; but there's no telling what he is thinking, most of the time...wish I could get a little peek inside his thoughts!!

He loves his grandma, and she loves him, without a doubt. I think that they are good for eachother, and he is ABSOLUTELY the apple of my mom's eye. (She keeps telling me that when I transfer down to college to finish my degree, that "I can leave whenever I want, but boy, he sure is going to miss me!")

My precious son...and my wonderful momma! This really is one of my favorite pictures, of two of my most favorite people. We go for walks through the orchards alot, but especially when the trees are in bloom. They always used to remind me of snow when I was little, and it's my favorite time of year (except for Christmas, for different reasons) except for my allergies.

When we are in blossom like this, it gives us a better idea of what we can expect, come harvest time of course, and what kind of crop we will have, but also it just reminds us of how everything has it's own time, and that there are new mercies every morning.

I'm thinking we should have a better year this year than we did last year, but the hard part (one of them, any ways...) is never knowing what your end product is going to output, until the very end. It's not easy being a farmer, and it never has been. But it's certainly not easy today. We have so much technology to help us in different areas, from soils, to water testing, various chemicals to help the crop or the trees themselves, and even the soil, to irrigation sysytems and management, but as time goes on, there are more laws, and more regulations to comply with, permits you must have to do various things...or even other types of farmers (Dairymen, beef, chicken, etc.). You have so many inputs and costs throughout the year, and there isn't a single guarantee that you will get a return, let alone break even for the year.

My entire family is a family of farmers, from the first generation back in Corvo, Azores. We work so hard to keep our farm going, and growing, and we are proud to be farmers...It's in the blood. We are needing to replant some acres very soon...so we do what farmers do best...we wait. Wait and see how harvest goes, and once we finish harvest, we can get a better idea of what we can get done the next year...

Isn't he a born-farmer? We have a few tractors, that help with different operations on the farm, and this is the one we use when we spray chemicals. It's an oldie, but a goodie! This little guy is already in love with tractors, the noise scares him still, but he loves to be on it, especially with Grandpa, and if he's the one drivin'...LOOK OUT! Levi, once on the tractor, lets out these ear-piercing shrieks of sheer happiness, like he just can't contain himself, any longer, starts spinning that big wheel around...the same as I did, when I was a little girl , outside with my grandpa. I remember pretending it was a school bus, and it was a pretty old tractor, even back then, and the lever for the gas was on the right, and it was a long thin metal stick to me...That used to be the handle that would open the doors of the school bus. I would pretend I was loading and unloading kids, probably because I rode the school bus for most of my years in school...but how many hours I spent out there on those tractors, playing and pretending while grandpa worked on other things close by. And the days that I would ride the bus home to my grandparents' house instead of my own, grandpa was there to meet me half way down the road on the tractor, and I would hop on, and I got to drive that baby all the way home!! I miss those days, but look forward to the ones where Levi can have his own pretend times on the tractor, and spend time with grandpa.

There he is, my little workin' man...wearing grandpa's work hat...He wears that, and puts on my dad's work boots...too cute! He gets so upset when he can't go out with grandpa to go work...oh the drama! So we look outside the kitchen window, and watch as grandpa pulls the tractor and whatever he's pulling behind it, lately it's been the sprayer, and talk to him and laugh and giggle as he comes up to the house in the morning for a late breakfast...what fun we have in the mornings!!

On a side note to that, it's so funny, how my only child, is SUCH a morning person...and I am so NOT one. I have my own personal alarm clock now...only the buzzer doesn't seem to turn off when I hit snooze...God should really start installing those snooze buttons more efficiently...the only thing that makes this one "snooze" is a cup of juice, and some breakfast!

The way things are going, this cycle of growing just never seems to stop...and it's so great, to see new things every day...in the orchards, and my family, my son...it's amazing to see his face light up when he learns something new, or a new word or phrase, which is almost every day now...I guess this is why they call it "the good life"...when life is going, and he is growing, it really is good.