There goes my life

This morning was a big day, I guess.  Our oldest, Laura Lee, headed off to college.  Kinda tough.  There's a Kenny Chesney song in which the last verse says:

"She had that Honda loaded down
With Abercrombie clothes and fifteen pairs of shoes and his American express
He checked the oil and slammed the hood, said your good to go
She hugged them both and headed off to the west coast" 



The Honda was loaded down all right

And I did check the oil.  But she wasn't headed to the west coast.  She was headed east on I-10 through Lafayette, Breaux Bridge and over the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge and the Mississippi River Bridge on into Baton Rouge.  As a sidebar, when you get on the eastern side of the Atchafalaya Swamp there is an exit for a town named Maringouin.  Hmmm.  In Cajun French, the name Maringouin means "mosquito."  I'm sure it is a nice place and all, but I'd be a little hesitant about living in a town in the middle of the swamp named Mosquito.

But I digress.  We got her unpacked sort of.  It was kind of funny.  When we were in front of the dorm unloading 2 cars full of everything you can imagine, a gentleman that works for LSU walked up and said, "Goodness, ya'll got anything left at home?"  We helped her get most things set up in her dorm, get a parking pass, rent a mailbox, and walked many miles on campus showing her where her classes would be. 

We dropped by the LSU Dairy Store, a shop operated by the Dairy Science Department and got ice cream cones (English Toffee and Chocolate).  It is made by students.  In a big coincidence, the person serving us was a girl from our town that Russ showed dairy cows with in the Jeff Davis Parish Dairy Club.  It was great to see her and she was very helpful.
 

I'm thinking to myself, "She's in Honors College.  I felt honored just to make it to college."

So after a full day, we hugged, prayed, said our goodbyes, and Tricia and I headed back home.  She was probably glad to see us go so she could start unpacking, but for us, it is one of those times where you think, "Man, I hope we gave her what she needs to be successful.  I hope the parenting we provided gave her direction, confidence, tools, skills, values, moral mooring and instruction that she needs.  I hope she is safe in a big scary world."  In the end, it is all in His Hands.

And the chorus of the Kenny Chesney song says,

He cried
There goes my life
There goes my future, my everything
I love you
Baby good-bye 

Whew!  Let's change subjects back to the farm.

We got home and discovered that it had rained 8 tenths of an inch, refreshing the pasture and the garden.  It gave me an opportunity to quickly race the sun going down in the western sky and plant some fall tomato seedlings before nightfall.  I planted these from seed that I had saved from last year's crop and it was high time to get them in the ground.  One day soon I'll go over seed saving for tomatoes.  It's kind of interesting how it's done. 

Anyway, I planted several varieties we like.  They are all indeterminate, which mean they vine instead of grow in a bush (determinate varieties).  They are also heirloom, open-pollinated seeds, which mean that you can save the seeds from year to year with good results as opposed to hybrid seeds which are unpredictable after a year. 



Ready to sink their roots in some good soil


I have one Money Maker tomato, 2 Arkansas Travelers, 1 Valenciano Yellow, and 4 Black Krim.  The Black Krims are our favorite.  They are a Russian heirloom that are a purple black color with green shoulders.  When you slice them, they are beefy and look like a rare steak.  They are the best.



A happy Black Krim just planted

 We'll sit back and pray that both Oldest Daughter and our tomatoes will bloom where they are planted.