To Uncle Lon's Farm

Ron's aunt Ruthie and uncle Lon have a giant garden on their hobby farm about 45 minutes from Minneapolis. Last year I posted about our trip there, though we've been visiting during the harvest season for many years. The trip to Uncle Lon's farm is always a highlight of our summer... up there on the list of favorites with the MN State Fair and trips to our local frozen custard joint.
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Yesterday we spent the afternoon in kid and mom heaven-- picking corn, beans, cucumbers and a few tomatoes. Ron let me just pick while he took photos and herded the kids. The weather was perfect, low 70s and sunny. We munched on fresh picked corn while the milky goodness dripped down our chins. Our dog Molly is finally well enough to go on adventures post-ACL surgery six weeks ago, so she enjoyed roaming through the corn rows too.

Every year the boys are more and more able to participate on the annual tractor ride. This year Carl got to "drive" it on Lon's lap. He's ready for us to buy one for our farm so he can drive around. Some day... perhaps. This beauty of a John Deere is a vintage one, lovingly coaxed into service by Lon's mechanical skills. I think it was built the year Lon was built, er born. A true classic. I'm spending the morning "putting up" the fruits of our labor: shucking, blanching, and cutting the corn from the cobs to freeze. I'm also working on figuring out the best use for some wild plums we picked there. I'm considering this one. I'll tell you how it goes.