ABU GOBBLE GOBBLE

Wish everyone back home a Happy Thanksgiving and I hope you enjoyed the Abu Turkey.

SAY CHEESE

When we stop somewhere to talk to the people all the kids will come out and gather around the HUMVEE so I had all of them stand together for a picture, which was quite an adventure...

IRAQI FARM SERVICE OFFICE

This is the Iraqi version of a FSA office. The office provides seed, fertilizer and other inputs to the farmer at a subsidized price. The office also provides free farming advice...

NEW HUMMER 3 SPORT MODEL

Here I am in the new sport model Hummer 3. It is complete with racing wheels, gunner box and secure radio. The sport model only has room for two people.

SEED IN A BARREL

I asked the farmer where did he store his planting seed and he showed me these barrels with the top covered with mud. He said this is how they seal the barrel to protect the seed.

TALKING TO THE PLANTER

During the interview I asked the farmer where is your planter he turned and looked at is wife and then I asked him permission to speak with his planter, by that time we were all laughing. His wife responded by telling me how she sowed the seed holding a basket in one hand and throwing the seed with the other hand and yes she kept on working as we visited...

TERRORIST SCARE TACTICS

Here is a note left by the terrorists. It says if you contiune to support Americans then we will kidnap you. They are desperate and try anything to timidate the people.

FARMING IMPLIMENTS

Here is some of the better farming impliments I've seen since I've been here. Most of the farms are small ranging from 10 acres to 50 acres. Maybe Joey could open a John Deere Store and sell tractors...

VEGETABLE MARKET

I see these guys are busy working selling vegetables. This vegetable stand is typical what you would find in the rural areas areas around Baghdad. Sometimes the vegetables are not real fresh either.

PICKING UP BRANCHES

My quest to find a hard working Iraqi man has proved to be futile. As I visited with the orchard farmer the woman in this picture continued to work hard picking up tree branches...

FRESH IRAQI DATES

This is the end of the date harvest season in Iraq. The dates are placed in plastic bags and put in a storage warehouse until sold. These dates are very sweet to the taste. There are over 600 varieties of dates in Iraq and at one time Iraq led the world in date production.

RAMADAN FEAST

Here we are at the end of Ramadan celebating. All the sections were invited and it was a feast. We ate traditional dishes of food prepared by Iraqis. I never knew lamb to taste so good. The meat was fresh as it was killed that day and prepared. Yummy....

RAMADAN TIME

Ramadan is a time of festivities for the Muslims. They fast during the day and at night after the sun goes down they pray and then eat. This lasts around thrity days. Each night to celebrate we would eat at someone's trailer.

GROWING RECORD WHEAT CROPS

Here I am giving a presentation at the Agriculture work group. I explained the benefits of using a grain drill, drought resistant wheat seed combined with water and fertilizer applied at the right time during the growing cycle will produce a record wheat crop...

TURKEYS FIND SAFE HAVEN IN IRAQ

Here is a shot of turkeys living in the northern part of Iraq. Unconfirmed sources said
turkeys are flying in to from all over in an attempt to escape the Thanksgiving Holiday season. They seem to fear Americans the most. Gobble gobble...

VACCINATING WATER BUFFALO

The Iraq women perform various jobs. In this picture the Iraqi female is vaccinating A water buffalo while the youg boy assists by holding the animal. Meanwhile the man performs the more grueling task of herding the cattle to the catch pen.