The Challenge

Challenger #1 steps forward...

The initial force defeated many, but the apples stubbornly refuse to surrender. Time to crank up the pressure...

Finally they yield their golden treasures.

Utterly broken and dispirited, the remains of the once proud apples are carted from the field in defeat.

Bring on the next batch.

After quick stop for repairs...

... the war continues.

Will the apples never end?

There isn't going to be much left of those apples when he is done!

A multi-tool anyone? (Leathermans are better.) ;-)

The Phero family joins us and Josiah decides it is time for Aaron to have his first photography lesson.

"Lesson 1: This is a camera. No, you don't eat it."

The pressing must go on...

What would an apple cider making event be without some good, down home music?

The moon climbs in the sky illuminating the shadowy figures below. Yes, he is related to us.

Meanwhile, Ben and Aaron face off in one of the most primitive of games... The Stare Down.

Bye, bye!

The last apples disappear into the grinder.

Concentration

The fruits of our labor.

Ahh! All that work was worth it!

The Picture of the Week.
Josiah took this picture by putting the camera on a tripod and then opening the camera's shutter for 15 seconds. While the shutter was open, he took a flashlight and traced the outline of the cider press. Pretty cool, uh?

~~~

Well, it's now past 11 PM and Josiah and Ben's creativity is wearing really thin. Uh, yeah... So have a nice week everyone.... Uh, g'night.

(See we, told you. Creativity ends now.)

It's that time again...

Hi everyone!
So you decided to come back, eh? Looks like Dale's admonishment last week did some good. :-) We also were warned by the Local Guardian of Justice not to ever do a post as good as last week's again. Being the good citizens we are, we took his warning seriously....

Farm Visit

Recently, I (Ben) drove Abigail and Josiah down to our grandparent's farm so they, along with Isaac and Jon could take care of the farm while our grandparents were in CA. I had to get home right away and couldn't stay long, but before I left Abigail and I went on a walk around our grandfather's farm. Near the back of the farm is a old cemetery from the 1800's which we stopped at for a little while.

This gravestone caught my attention because the young woman, Ann Lawton, was only slightly younger then I am right now when she died. It makes you stop and think, doesn't it? Life is fleeting and uncertain. Are we making every day count for our Lord Jesus Christ?

During our walk, Abigail and I had some excellent conversations. Yes, I am very thankful for my wonderful sisters.

Mount Doom!

Help! The manure pile is on fire!

Never fear, the brave firefighters are here!

It's time to harvest the fields and the combine isn't working. Welcome to Planet Earth.

Mechanics

Looking good... but doesn't something seem to be missing?

I know! The custom, straight pipe exhaust system.

You know what happens next...

Do you think he has everything under control??

The cows now have their breakfast, so let's go home and get some ourselves!

Church Visit

On Sunday, Abigail, Isaac, and I (Josiah), visited a church that meets in Shippensburg, which is only 45 minutes from the farm. We had a wonderful time with the brethren in Christ there, many of whom we knew from other churches, and look forward to visiting again sometime.

Dale officially zones out...

"So what was your opinion on today's message?"

The food line.

"You drink homogenized milk!?!?"
.
"Well, it isn't that bad is it?"
.
"Bad? If only you knew!"

The end of a great visit.

Look at him go!

Cleaning up a collapsed hog barn.

Down it goes!

Dragging it off to the junk pile.

The end of a good day's work.

Who has just arrived?

Farmer Isaac!

Every boy's dream - to drive a combine...

Sometimes, dreams come true.

This is America!
This is the all American boy!

Phillip, like his brothers before him, starts to put in his time at the local hay farm - character building at it's finest!

Phillip's Art

"Who are you looking at?"

All Alone

Timothy's Art

A look at life through the eyes of a nine year old boy. Do we have a future Farm & Ranch magazine photographer in the making?

"Ol' White"

Due to some recent comments on all the corn pictures (1, 2, 3) Ben has been taking of late, we decided to post this picture so no one gets the idea Ben is not an equal opportunity photographer. All vegetables deserve their time on the blog.

~~~

That's all for this week. We hope you enjoyed your visit. Come back next week to see pictures of our family making apple cider (and who knows what else)!

Have a good week everyone. Take care and God bless,
Benjamin & Josiah E.

Another week...

Hello everyone,
Just a quick update this time... only 28 pictures! Just think, back in the days of film cameras that would have been almost a whole roll of film. It is something to think about.

Also, as most of you know, our family "bluegrass band" regularly performs the song: "The Balled of Jed Clampett". Well, this week a disturbing video came to our attention... Could we have been wrong about those so called "Beverly Hillbillies"??



Note: This video was posted simply for entertainment and should not be construed as an endorsement for either Geico or YouTube.com. :-)