Where I come from

Foster Pottery

2012-01-26T11:45:00.000-05:00

It isn’t everyday that something historical happens to me and I have developed a huge interest in history over the last few years. It has come to a point where I read mostly Non-Fiction about events in my community and Historical Fiction about The kings and Queens of England 1490-1500’s. On Monday when my dad asked me to go to a historical society meeting for our community I was extremely excited. I don’t know much about the small community I joined about 5 years ago but I knew that everything was somehow interconnected in a town this size. After the seminar, there were books for sale and like I mentioned above I am a book lover. The one I chose was specifically about our town and the potter who worked there 1865-1880. It took less than a day for me to finish the 60 page book and while I was mulling over the details I remembered a piece in my basement, similar to the ones discussed in the book. A short cleaning session later and an email to the author of the book, confirmed I have an official piece of pottery from the 1800’s. To explain how excited I am to get some a unique piece is impossible, even though my handle is broke on my jug I am hooked. It was a lot of fun finding this piece and I hope to collect more historical pieces soon.

My new favorite poem

2012-01-18T17:46:00.000-05:00

"Babies Don’t Keep"

Mother, Oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren’t her (OR HIS) eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

~Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Cattle drive

2012-01-17T14:41:00.002-05:00

Our house has been blessed with the Flu bug this week, so in turn I have watched many many movies and basically maxed out my patience for dirty dishes in the sink and clutter everywhere. Along with Mr. Poppers Penguins (my choice) we watched The Cowboys with John Wayne (not my choice). I was surprised how quickly I got involved with The Cowboys, first it had John Wayne ( felt the cliché of his westerns was to much for me.) and Second it was hard to fathom traveling 400 miles on horse to get cattle to market. I know it was my intrigue in the drive that pulled me in. While on my internship I got to experience the joy of a cattle drive, we moved 300 cows 4 miles up the road to their winter pasture. Those 4 miles took all day and it was on a dirt road making it pretty easy. I remember the chaos that followed with the trip and the frustration on the face of the wife of the ranch owner. It was a learning experience both in horsemanship and patience. I have moved cattle using a truck, four-wheeler, horses and on foot. If I got into the conversation about which is better, there would be a large argument made for each option and how it benefits the cow/cowman better than the other. That being said, we move cattle on foot at home (apparently I am a glutten for punishment).

Back to the movie though.. We sell our cattle private treaty so the buyers come to our farm and that works out great leaving a few stragglers for us to take to market in the Winter. Our Market location is less than 20 miles away and with tuck and trailer the journey takes less than 20 minutes one way, giving us enough time to get all the other chores of the day done. Somedays it is hard to get enough time to manage even that trip! In The Cowboys, Mr. Anderson(Wayne) takes a group of young boys under 15 on this journey ending in a lot of heartache but the children all gain confidence in themselves and valuable cattle experience. I couldn’t stop watching the movie and thinking about how luck I am to not have to endure such hardships to make a sale. The scenery was lovely and I truly enjoyed it and would recommend the movie to anyone.

Below is a picture of how a drive is handled:

Tractor Travels

2012-01-16T12:59:00.000-05:00

We (my husband, daughter and I) were hauling round bales yesterday a job that requires us to drive a few miles on backroads in the tractor with the bale wagon behind. As we were traveling I was enjoying the scenary, the sun was shining brightly when it occured to me that at any moment if a bad driver came around one of these corners and hit us, it could be the end to our great journey. Below is a link to the National Ag Safety Database, which gives some insight into how we as farmers can make the roadways safer for traffic but also how drivers can help prevent accidents.
http://nasdonline.org/document/1683/d001574/highway-transport-of-agricultural-equipment-preventing-public-road.html.

We live in the middle of nowhere and as far as I know there hasnt been an accident like that in years( knock on wood) but it was scary that while we are trying to work and feed the cattle an accident could happen to change everything. Please be very careful driving on backroads and even main roads, because you never know when there is a family trying to work and make a living on the other side of the corner.

2012-01-10T15:53:00.001-05:00

Finally I have caught up with technology and have the blogger app on my tablet. More frequent posts will be comin'.

Stained Glass Heart by Patsy Claremont

2011-11-29T08:50:00.001-05:00

The other day I went to the doctor because I couldn’t sleep. I thought he was going to tell me, that something was medically wrong with me. I was confident when I walked in and I told him straight away that I didn’t want any drugs. I was going to deal with my medical issue in a natural way. He took one look at me and said “I see you are a new mother.” “yes I said” beaming and then he started in about my daily habits, commitments etc.. The reason I could sleep was due to stress. I didn’t feel stressed, I felt great, I felt like I could do anything that needed to be done. The reality of it, is that life can be overwhelming and in the end you may not realize what it means to live life when you are caught up in the commitments and habits. I really liked this books, and when I feel overwhelmed I just take a moment to sit down in a quiet room a reflect on what god has given me and the blessing surrounding me. Take a moment to sit down and reflect with, “Stained Glass Heart”. I wont tell you what you will gain from it, because only god knows what you need right now.

I received this book for free from BookSneeze for this review as part of their blogger review program

Polar Obsession

2011-11-03T09:51:00.003-04:00

I get lost in books, it happens almost every time I pick up a book. I read mostly Non-Fiction or Historical Fiction and dabble in standard Fiction as they get recommended. My last obsession was with the Phillipa Gregory books, starting with The Other Boleyn, which later became a movie. I read every book she has written and I bought a few other books by other authors in that Genre. Needless to say, there were many nights when my husband came home to me drinking wine, reading my books by a roaring fire. I love to set the mood for the genre.

My current selections: Endurance: Shackeltons Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. The adventures of Ernest Shackelton has opened my eyes to the Antarctic climate, wildlife and the human ability to adapt and survive in such a hostile climate. I bought the book after my dad, sister and I visited the Polar Obsession exhibit at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. We went because it was raining and I feel the urgent desire to surround my daughter (who is 1) in everything educational, plus I love museums. The hauting story of the Endurance Crew brings to mind a brilliant blue background, with the whitest snow and a reminder of being in infinite space. Its scary to me to imagine being without a lifeline and I cant imagine how the crew could trust their leader so much. It has been a long time since I have engrossed myself in the story line of a book but I am now Obsessed with the Antarctic and unknown to me this topic has rooted itself in my psyche for at least the next few months. As Ohio is headed into the Winter months, the snow, cold and downright loneliness of Winter will be a great backdrop for my latest obsession, Polar Expeditions.

Child Labor Laws

2011-11-01T18:03:00.001-04:00

I ran across an article in Drovers today, about changes to child labor laws in America. I almost overlooked it because the issue of child labor doesn’t affect agriculture. Mind you I know of adults and Children who have been killed while on the farm and education is needed to make farms a safe place to be but some of the best memories I have or learning experiences as we call them are while I was working on the farm.

I remember failing an algebra test in (I believe) 5th grade and having a hard time remembering the multiplication table of 9. My dad tried and tried to teach me that table but I couldn’t get it. I could see he was at his wits end because he and my sister are great at math and I preferred hanging out in the barn. On Saturday morning 7am we headed to the barn to start chores. After feeding the goats, horses and chickens I thought I was free to catch the rest of the Saturday morning cartoons. We did only have 5 channels in the boonies and cartoons came on 1 day a week. Yes, kids this was a BIG deal. But, the tractor fired up and the manure spreader was backing into the barn and I know I still have that stuck-on-stupid look on my face like “why is Dad going to clean out the barn today, by hand, in time for Cartoons, by himself.” The pitchfork was handed to me, Dad took his and with every sweep of manure he asked me what 9 x 1 was, then 9 x 2, etc. If I got the whole sequence correct, I could go inside to the cartoons. We were both pitching by now and I was trying my hardest to get the whole sequence correct and you know what....after time I finally did. Cartoon and cereal awaited and the rest is history. Dad also got quite a few clean stalls; I am really bad at Math! But looking back I can see many times where hard work, determination and a little manure put me in my place. It taught me character or math but if the governments wants to talk to me about child labor in agriculture I recommend they pick up the manure fork because I have a barn to clean.

The article is below, as well as a place to comment so your voice is heard. I know I will be commenting on the article because I want to have my nieces in the barn helping and learning about life because there is a lot that can be learned from barn time.

The article can be found below:
http://www.cattletradercenter.com/news/industry-headlines/Commentary-Changes-in-child-labor-laws-affecting-farm-kids-132994943.html

Farming Runs in our blood

2011-10-27T17:22:00.000-04:00

I grew up on a 50 acre farm in rural Ohio, still Appalachia area or as my husband calls it Hillbilly Hollow. Animals were my friends, there really wasn’t anything else around and that could be why I went to an agricultural college. Now I raise beef cattle which does stray from my origins of goats, chickens, horses, cattle and more goats but I enjoy it none the less. True country folk know the difference between farmers and those people who show goats.. but that is another story for another day. I still love my goats and think they will be gracing the farm any day. Goats are still a few steps above horses at our place. I mean we CAN ride our Herefords and they double as playmates. Back on topic…easily sidetracked….. but my daughter is super cute with her cows!

Why Rural? I know there are a lot of very eloquent women who come from the city, marry county men and then declare their allegiance to the country way of life. They wouldn’t look sideways at me! I am a tomboy, wear jeans all the time, sport the classic ponytail and know the calving partition book by memory. However, I am a true believer in being a constant student and am glad to hear more people tell their story about the country life. Who Knows, I may become better acquainted with the Clinique counter and less acquainted with the barn.

Sadie, our cattle dog, doing what she does best! Watching her cows

View from the back porch. Nice!

No Joke, this is normal for me.

2011-10-20T12:36:00.001-04:00

I am not a mechanic, gear head, grease monkey. My husband however is so, we have an assortment of old trucks being giving life again and road ready. However, sometimes I feel like his idea of road ready is not my term of road ready. My daily driver is a 2008 dodge ram 3500 dually (Cadillac of trucks) and his daily driver is a 1991 dodge ram 250o with more rust than paint. ON the occasion of having to haul equipment we switch vehicles and I get the honor of driving the ’91 monster. It never bothers me, I kinda enjoy it. Not today though!

After getting dressed for work, get my daughter packed for a day at Grandmas we head out the door and load up in the truck. But wait, where is my truck, oh yes hubby used it to haul the tractor to get fixed last night. It looks like I am driving the Farm truck a 1991 Dodge Ram 2500 rusted out and the door handle is barely attached.

but that is ok because I love this truck. It is an example of my farming heritage, rugged, dependable and a reminder of how far we have come in pickup truck technologies. I load baby and her bags into the passenger seat still feeling good about my day and happily slide across the seat to the drivers side. Put the key in the ignition and the truck rumbles to a start with the power of the Cummins engine. Press the pedal and away we go…….

Wait no, still sitting here..tires spinning….mud flying… ok well this is a small problem, just step out, lock in the hubs, put in 4-wheel drive and away we go… step out into huge mud pile from mud from day two of the Ohio Rains! Lock in the hubs, now I am muddy, still in a decent mood try to open the door gingerly as I don’t want the door handle to fall off. These things happen, go with the flow right?

Engage 4-Wheel drive lever inside and smoothly pull out of the mudhole, onto the gravel drive and head over to Grandma’s. Now we are on the road to Grandma’s only a few minutes behind schedule but I can make the time up on the commute.

Get to grandmas and the 4-wheel drive mechanism wont disengage. Are you kidding me? I cant drive to work in the city in 4-wheel drive! The feeling of happiness is slowly drifting away…After dropping off daughter, I get backing into truck (I cant even pull the door handle now because yes it is dangling) and mess with the 4-wheel drive mechanism for 15 minutes. Ok now, away I go. Heading to work 20 minutes late but I can still make it. Crusing down the state routes because the dodge cant drive 70 MPH on the interstate, no radio, and left my coffee cup sitting in my driveway still feeling like the day can be salvaged. In the back of my head I have this image of Garfield the cat, telling me that he “hates Mondays”, but its Thursday he doesn’t have any feeling about Thursdays Right?

A few miles from work, my cell rings I am sure it is my husband telling me how great his evening went taking the tractor to get fixed. Nope, my husband is calling to tell me the new truck that he had last night is actually in the shop now because when he was hauling the tractor last night he had it towed to the shop for brake problems and it actually broke a seal and now has burnt bearing, with a major repair needed.

Happy feeling GONE… Dark clouds forming…….

Why did I ever think this was going to be a normal day? In farming, no day is ever normal or predictable. Keep in mind all of this happened before 8am. Who ever said farming is boring never lived at my farm.

quick thought

2011-10-17T14:45:00.002-04:00

Somedays the stress of being a responsible adult can become overwhelming and the dynamics of working on a family farm can be enough to drive me crazy. On those days, I have to stop and remember what is at stake if we give up, not that we ever would. The cattle is the reason I met my Husband the reason our relationship works. Its amazing how much farming is really because part of your identitity and gets in to your blood.
I grew up on a rural Ohio Farm in the middle of nowhere, actually it was Hillbilly country and it was very nice. I knew what it meand to katch crawdads, never wore shoes and my mom made almost everything we needed. I spent most of my time in the barn playing with the animals or since our goats were "free range" (this isnt a term we used but has become quite popular now) I roamed all over ther farm with them while they grazed. Animals were my best friends, hay was my currency and animal talk was the dominat languafe. There arent that many farms left and my homeplace is no longer but I remember how great it was to learn the independance of wandering all around the farm, I was never bored and I learned a lot. Today I am glad to give my child the oppurtunity to live the life I knew growing up and no matter what it costs to maintain the farm and cattle, we will do it, not just for ourselves but so our kids can know the true meaning of what it means to be responsible and grow into your own person.

Tasty Tuesday!

2011-09-20T15:33:00.000-04:00

Fall is my favorite season and I spend a lot of it in the barn so creating Slow Cooker Recipes are real time savers! Of Course my 18 hour day, does include eating and I am big fan of food. Every Tuesday I will post a yummy recipe from the previous week. The recipe below is from Dad's Birthday supper and it was yum, yum, yummy!

Beef Stew

2# Stew Beef
1 Large Onion
6 potatoes. Peeled and cubed.
6 carrots. Peeled and Cubed.
3 Celery Stalks. Sliced.
3/4 C BBQ Sauce
3/4 C Steak Sauce
3 C Beef Broth
Salt and Pepper to taste.
1. Brown Meat with 1 tablespoon of butter and Onion. Transfer all ingredients to Slow Cooker and cook for 6 hours High or 8 hours Low.

Beer Bread

3 C Self-Rising Flour
1/2 C Sugar
1 can Beer

1.Mix flour, and Sugar. Add Beer mix and knead bread until dough like. Bake 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Pour 1/2 C butter over bread. Bake another 25-30 minutes.

YUM!

Meeting todays Beef Demands

2011-09-15T17:48:00.002-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hZBWBs29QkI

Changing Weather

2011-09-15T12:34:00.000-04:00

It doesn’t matter what species you are, when the seasons change there is a time where everyone gets sick. It starts with a runny nose, then escalates to a temperature and by the time you realize you are sick it’s too late. A few days in bed, without treatment will assist the cold into knocking you out for a few days but add in some cold medicine, decrease the symptoms and your body gets the rest it needs to recover in a timely manner. The same goes for cattle, they enjoy the colder months, I mean they are built with a thick hair coat and ability to thrive on forage. But they get colds and they need the same treatment that we (humans) need, so her we are giving a calf some antibiotics due to its runny nose and temperature late last night. As a farmer the animals schedule and needs trump ours every time, it didn’t matter that it was late, supper was waiting to go into the oven at my house or that we had hay to mow. The only thing that mattered was making sure the calf started to feel better. My daughter, 12 months old, being used to the barn sat in her stroller watching us doctor the calf. She didn’t fuss at all and maybe they were talking to each other because as soon as we got home her nose started to run and her temperature went up. So my daughter and her calf both received attention last night. We had pizza for supper and after an 18 hour day I headed for bed. When I went to bed I felt good knowing that we had helped an animal that it and that its body was getting the much needed rest it needed for recovery. The truth is we haven’t even headed full on into the season change so I am sure this wont be the last time I get extra barn time this Fall.

New beginnings

2011-09-13T16:17:00.004-04:00

I am exhausted all the time, Fall is my favorite season but the time leading up to Fall can downright knock the wind outta ya. With to much rain here in Ohio we have been fighting to get that much needed third cutting of hay. The orchardgrass is almost to mature so the fight is on to harvest before that happens. To make matters worse the country seems to be in a mess of Natural distasters, wildfires and drought so any hay harvested will be like gold.

Fairs are ending for us, this has been the second week in a row of visiting two county fairs. I love the fair, some people we only see at the fair so this is a very important time. Our heifer, shown above, has been a great girl this season and has turned many heads. I am glad my husband has a keen eye for genetics but it bothers me that once the sale calves are broke to lead and tame we sell them to kids for 4-H projects. I like having the calves around they are always so playful and happy in the fields and just waiting for me to come and pet them. But the time is around the corner for the kids to come pick up their stock and enjoy them the way I have for the last seven months.

Where has the time gone!

2011-08-30T11:23:00.004-04:00

I took a break from blogging, as I see it the break was over a year but now I am making an effort to bring my farm to the Internet. According to the farm Bureau over 98% of Americans live off the farm meaning cities and since I am one person in the 2% of Americans living on a working farm, I feel it is my responsibility to let you know how I live and Where I come from. I read a lot of books, everyone in my family are avid readers but lately I have been reading about city women coming into the county and marring ranchers. These women have become famous for their unique way of telling the world about their wonderful husbands and their new found appreciation for farming. Living in a farming community and going to an Agricultural college, the lust and appreciation for farming and our farm men wasn't lost on me. What is a challenge is explaining the lifestyle, the only way of life I have ever known, and how it compares to a life in the city. I am not as eloquent as those women previously mentioned, I have never wore or physically touched a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes so bear with me. Maybe this blog wont just teach you about Where I Come From but will also a window into where YOU Come from!

How to reach your full potential for God.

2010-02-04T12:49:00.000-05:00

How to reach your full potential for God.

This book is a spiritual guide for people who have strayed or thought they have lost their way. Although, I think it would benefit anyone who needed encouragement and help with their own spirituality. I read this during a time of extreme personal trials and although there was a light at the end of the tunnel, it seems to take a lot of time to reach the end. To write a review on something as personal as your walk with God is difficult. Everyone will find something unique and right-on about this book and I think it is important for everyone to read the book and be reminded on what your strengths are. I read this as a guide for how I should live my life and not a reminder of all the ways I have messed up until now. It is natural to stumble and fall but the quicker you pick youself up and get back on track the better you will be. I would highly recommend it!

kabul 24

2009-10-31T14:22:00.001-04:00

Kabul 24 by Henry Arnold and Ben Pearson
Kabul 24 is a visit to Afghanistan before many people in America knew who the Taliban was and what it stood for. A great story of personal conviction and internal determination, Kabul 24, tells the story of eight SNI aid workers capture and imprisonment in a Taliban region. I love books like this that take you away from your current situation and place you in the middle of a war far away from your cozy couch. No matter what is asked from the captives, they maintain an overwhelming sense of hope and faith that sees them through this event. A chilling and haunting tale, Kabul 24 is a great read for anyone interested in stories about human triumph or stories about faith in challenging situations.

Danielle
Thomas Nelson book Review Blogger

Find Your Strongest Life Book Review

2009-10-05T07:36:00.001-04:00

Find your strongest life by Marcus Buckingham, gives examples of women from different backgrounds and why the choices made affec their lives in either a negative or positive way. An easy to understand and quick read, Find your strongest life, makes many good suggestions on how to be true to yourself.
Overall, this book was a compellation of ideas on how to make better choices for yourself and family. It would have been helpful to have the website available for access and see what type of person I am but I agree with his theory for happiness. Women work away from home and have to balance family life, add in the ability to nurture and grow a healthy marriage and there are bound to be times when you can feel overwhelmed. Find your strongest life, does not focus on what makes you happy he leaves that up to you to decide but it explains how the choice you make effect your overall happiness. For example, you take a job with a better paycheck to make a more comfortable life for yourself and family but when you add in the extra stress on yourself and hours away from home, it makes for an unhappy family. In this situation, the money may be helpful but what are you willing to sacrifice for financial excess, as opposed to family bonding. Find your strongest life is a great addition to the other business/family life books on the shelf but it was not much different from the other books available on the subject. However, I would recommend this book to women who need guidance, due to the fact it is quick and easy to understand, making it wonderful for busy women.

Sarah's Key

2009-09-04T15:05:00.000-04:00

Book Information
Sarah’s Key
By: Tatiana De Rosnay

The phrase, “If these walls could talk” becomes a cornerstone for Sarah’s Key, in this instance the walls not only talk they scream! A tragic story, so intense it is locked away for generations.
The story beings with Sarah’s family being confronted by the Nazi having to be transferred to a holding facility within France to await deportation to a concentration camp. In an attempt to hide her brother, she places him in a secret hiding place, thinking she will be able to come back and get him later. Time passes and when she does return to the cupboard, she finds it is too late to save him. The parallel with Julia Jarmond begins when her family begins renovating the same apartment occupied by Sarah before the Nazi invasion and the same location where her brother died. Sarah’s whereabouts become lost mid-way through the book and the focus turns to Julia, who unlocks Sarah’s past and changes her own life.
Subtly addicting, Sarah’s Key, requires the reader to remember the victims of the holocaust and paints a vivid picture of the struggle to survivor after that chapter of life has closed. The question remains, what story do your walls possess and would you want to know even if they wanted to tell you?

Rick & Bubba's Awesome Guide to Marriage

2009-08-05T08:20:00.001-04:00

Marriage books will serve no one any good if both people don’t read them so throw out your other boring marriage books and take a tour of Rick & Bubba’s guide to the Almost Perfect marriage and learn something about relationships!
Rick & Bubba’s guide to the almost perfect marriage is the best pre-marriage book on my shelf! Being a newlywed, I have a great collection of pre-marriage counseling books on what to expect in marriage, what gods place should be in your marriage and all the other advice that everyone wants you to know. However, those books are boring and my Husband dreaded sitting down to go through those books, but with the Rick & Bubba’s guide I was laughing so hard that he actually sat down and wanted to read it. The guide is a true-life account of what happens in marriage from the crazy arguments over driving to wanting gifts on every major holiday not mater what I say! It is a book for people who think they are have great freedom because they are not married or for someone who has a hard time learning how to be in a relationship. It is the best book I have read this year and I not only recommend it to everyone but plan on giving it out to my friends, both married and single!

Danielle Johnson
Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger

Between Wyomings:My God and an Ipod on the open road

2009-07-02T10:52:00.003-04:00

Between Wyomings: My God and an Ipod on the open road, is a necessary read for anyone struggling with their professional life and Christian life. The tale unfolds as Ken, his wife Connie and their loyal transport Moses the Van, traverse across his memories and the Country. During the journey Ken tells his personal accounts of life in the music biz with major players in the industry including, Waylon Jennings, Ringo Starr and many more. His life was full of all the extravagances Hollywood supplied but he was still looking for fulfillment that only comes with being one with Christ. Ken’s star-studded career becomes a nightmare when he found himself out or work, home and money. Between Wyomings, expresses that God has a place for you and it may not be an easy ride but when you listen to Him the rewards are unimaginable!
Ken’s statement that “most of life is spent either climbing or falling off a mountain, while standing on top--if ever achieved--is very fleeting,” is a great interpretation of this book. The first half was hard reading, his writing is described as “a Christian on acid” and I had to encourage myself to keep going, by the middle I found his voice and was rewarded with a wonderful and encouraging story! Between Wyomings, brought me back to my spiritual goals and by reading this book; it encourages me to take a step back into Christ. I encourage anyone who is struggling with climbing the career ladder, while maintaining his or her Christina integrity to read this story.

Danielle Johnson
Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger
http://danielle-whereicomefrom.blogspot.com

Business hours subject to change during Hay Season

2009-06-25T11:24:00.001-04:00

The days have flown by and July is almost here. After a big push to get in first cutting hay, we were able to tally up 1300 small square bales and 86 big round bales. Now we have 2 or 3 (hopefully) more cuttings and hay season will be over. I know that in my part of the country I am lucky to have a break in the weather, where I am able to get the time to put up the hay. It just makes me sooo tired, to have suck crazy busy days. My typical day includes going to my job, cooking dinner, garden, checking cows, and housework. Add in 8+ hours of tedding, hauling, or baling hay and it makes for some loooong days.
Between all the work I did find time to get interview with Beef Magazine, concerning my views as a cattlewomen. Beef Magazine is a vital periodical in the cattle industry and feel honored to be able to contribute to it.
Right now, I am in the middle of 1st cutting and 2nd cutting, which means it is book time. I just received my copy of Between Wyomings: My God and an ipod on the open road, and cant wait to crack it open. I plan to have my review done my Sunday and have very high expectations for this book. Time is short and I have a book to read.

Modern Cattle production

2009-06-17T10:54:00.001-04:00

Due to the recent rise in media coverage on Beef production in America I feel it is important to make a few statements.
1. Beef production in America is comprised of many small farms producing cattle, the average herd size in America is 40 head per herd. Yes, there are some larger “factory farms” to use the common term but most cattle are raised on the farm and then sent to feedlots.
2. Feedlots, are locations were cattle spend the last 4- 6 months being fed to prepare them for entry into the food system. These feedlots are highly regulated with environmental engineers, nutritionist and daily monitoring by staff for their health concerns.
3. Antibiotics, are used in accordance to FDA regulations. No cattle with any antibiotic residue are allowed to enter the food chain.

I am not trying to convert the vegetarian, that is your own choice and I am glad to get the opportunity to choose the food I want to eat. With the current assault on agriculture, I feel it is important for everyone to understand the great lengths cattle producers go to produce a high quality nutritious product. At this time I have no one following my blog and I have not been posting on a regular basis but If you are interested in learning the truth about beef production let me know and I will being posting on a more regular basis.

2009-05-06T18:27:00.000-04:00

The weekend is over, phew, and it always goes too fast. It started slow with a houseguest, on his way to a custom harvesting job and ended strong with fishing. Working a full time job and moonlighting as a cattle producer makes for some long days and sore muscles. So as it goes for spring, we split our time getting cattle bred and getting the equipment ready for hay.
While getting the cow-calf pairs split off to go into the right breeding groups I realized that my husband I had said less than two words to each other the entire time. To most couples, this may seem odd or be the effect from a fight but for us having nothing to say signifies how united we are. You see when you have 50+ cows and calves in a corral with a plan in mind it is hard to communicate through words for those people working around you. The cattle move quietly from the new lush pasture into the old wooden corral that was built years ago by my husband and his father. We do not use any horses or ATV and have conditioned our cattle to respond well to human interactions, there are NO mean cross cows who bolt at the sight of us and the calves learn to imitate their mothers (somewhat). All the cattle are quieted after they find their calves and look to us as they ask with their eyes “What do you need us to do?” As we start splitting off the pairs I realize how lucky I am to get the opportunity to work with the cattle in a setting that most people only see on TV. That combined with a untied crew makes for a wonderful time, looking over the cows and enjoying the opportunity to work together.

Transition

2009-05-02T08:43:00.000-04:00

To most people the changing in the season’s means a change in the weather, which is a wonderful change to the monotony that comes after so many months of the same ole stuff. When the calendar flips to another season for cattle producers and grain farmers, it ushers is a new task to focus on for the next 3months or so. The terms I use to describe the seasons are calving (winter), breeding and planting (spring), haying(summer) and weaning (fall). Ironically, my favorite season in “farming terms” is winter because I love calving season, it is also my least favorite season due to the cold and snow. The same is true for summer, as that is the prime time to harvest the hay, a job that my husband has recruited me for as a full time position and I find tedious and dull.
As I am writing this I am in the first part of spring. The weather cant make up its mind whether to snow or rain, and last night it decided to do both at the same time, an occurrence called thunder snow. Just as the weather is transitioning, so is the farm. We have taken advantage of the “good” weather to get out the machinery and complete any repairs and make sure everything is greased up and ready to go. I have never been much of a mechanic but my husband is in his element,bringing piece after piece into the shop to be welded, greased, repaired or whatever else needs to be done. After the rain quits falling and the ground dries up a little we will be ready to begin planting.
The cattle are relaxing in the fresh grass and enjoying the warm days. We moved the heifers, those are young stock about 14 months old, who will be bred for the first time this spring. They are always jittery after being on pasture for months and are usually a challenge. This group was very quiet, well behaved, and I am excited to see these gals grow into cows.
That is all for now until we need to work more cows.

Earth Day

2009-04-22T17:47:00.000-04:00

Welcome, Earth day! Since this is my first official blog I want to take a moment to express my suppport of earth day but also that as a cattle producer every day is earth day. My husband and I raise cattle and crops on the same farm that was used by his grandpa and dad. We use the resources that are available to us with great care so that when our children are ready to take over the farm they have the same great oppurtunities that we have. Intensive grazing allows us to raise more cattle on less land, while still maintaining the integrity of the land and resources.
My contribution to this earth day, will be to take a moment and "power down" my electronics for a while so that is all for now.