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Happy Father's Day to the Dads and Grandpas on our site. And to the rest of us, who acknowledge and share time with our Dads today, if we are lucky, or remember them now that they are gone. I fall into the later category. My Dad passed away July 4, 2009. He was in the hospital, following a long illness, holding the hand of myself and my husband when he drew his last breaths. As long as I can remember Dad was my most favorite human being. He just 'got' me and I understood him, sometimes no words were needed. He had a special grin that he'd flash when I walked into a room. I miss all of that. I do not miss seeing him sick, or consoling him trying to convince him that better days are ahead. Dad was a farmer. The homeplace is on hard clay. Farming on hard clay is not an easy man's job and not for the faint of heart. But my family has been working that land since the 1830's, and still are today. When he took over the farm and bought out my Grandpa, it was horse power that pulled the machinery. Dad took it into the modern world, tractors, and other machinery, planting 14 rows in 1 swathe. That saved time and the cost of fuel. He grew tomatoes for Campbell Soup, when their headquarters was in Canada. It was hard work, the plants were planted in a single row planter, until he upgraded to a 2-row planter. He hired local immigrants to do that work. He had a very good family who were always willing and ready to do the work. The picking was done by hand, into those old wooden baskets, remember those? Eventually as they broke, he replaced them with the plastic hampers. There was no machine harvest when Campbell Soup pulled out of the city where he had a contract with. Today......Father's Day, I remember him, just like I do every day. But today, I potted a nice tomato plant to nurture and grow and add to our salads. It might not be on the large scale of 30 acres, but then again, farming isn't my calling, it was his. Happy Father's Day Dad, I miss you more and more every hour of every day, and I am so happy for the many happy and loving memories that we made before you were called away. ~Photo is mine