No pressure today.
My husband and I were talking about the wonderful amount of clicks and likes on yesterday's post, and he, in his generally chipper and supportive way remarked, "Tomorrow's better be a good one."
Sheesh.
So, I'm just letting you now right away. Yesterday was my good one for the week! Ha! Today, I'm working, but taking a break to let my mind wander...and my lunch settle.
I'm lucky, though. I work outside the home two days a week.
TWO.
I can shut my laptop, answer my emails when I want, and get my work done whenever and wherever.
A farmer, particularly a livestock farmer...
not so much.
So that's why today's number is 7 my friends, as in 7 days a week. Whether it's Monday or Sunday, Tuesday or Saturday, Joe's working. There's no weekend. There's no part time. There's not a lot of "leave it for tomorrow." He's on, 7 days a week.
That's hard, people.
That can wear on a person, dear reader.
It can rattle your nerves and suck the life out of you if you're not careful.
Last summer, in early July, we were able to finally take a vacation. A whole week away...on a plane, to another state.
That was HUGE.
There's no weekend get-a-ways, because our cows need to be fed and cared for 7 days a week (I'm not mentioning 24 hours a day, because that's another number for another day!). What is interesting and ultimately frustrating in a livestock operation- I'm coming to understand- is that each day is like the other.
However, I can relate. I was a stay at home mom, full time, for 7 years (hey! look at that!!). Every day was the same. Every. Single. Day.
That can make a person feel like a robot at times.
If that robot was wearing yoga pants or coveralls and dealt in lots of poo (baby or cattle).
This feeling of 7 days a week, on and on and on is difficult on one's psyche. With a week day job, there's an end in sight. Vacation days, sick days, holidays...those are all fun things to look forward to. However, like a parent, Joe is caring for a living, breathing, eating creature. He has to make sure they are where they should be, doing what they should be, and are safe. Like a baby, the cattle don't care that it's Christmas or a Sunday morning that I have to be church early. They want their schedule to be the same. They want their life to look the same every single day.
There are days that I wonder what it would be like to have a husband who didn't have to work every day, 7 days a week. I find myself wistful at times at the families who take outings or long weekends or moms who run races on the weekends without having to worry about getting home in time for chores to be done before fieldwork is completed.
What's that like?
I guess I may have to wait for 7 more years...Jack will be 9, and Anna 15, so I'd have a built-in babysitter for an early run, early church service, Saturday outing.
But, until then, I'll admire my husband's work ethic, and appreciate it 7 days a week.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Day Six: 6
So I have a sweet friend. Her name is Katie (Hi, Katie!). She has three lovely children...super cute, and, coincidentally two of the three are exactly three months older than my two youngest. When she was three months along with her third, and I was NOT pregnant, she thought it would be great for us to do it all over again...and we'd have another child together...NO WAY, Jose! I've enjoyed her most recent baby without having one of my own.
Anyway, this is not about babies...it's about our interesting conversations over the years. Katie is smart. She is a great mom. She asks lots of questions, and she listens to all sides. So, yesterday, when I received a text from her in regards to the Dr. Oz show yesterday, I listened. I did my research. I watched online, and I have 6 words to say to "Dr." Oz.
"Hey Oz! Where's the farmer?"
Dr. Oz is not my favorite. He's a sensationalizer. He strikes the fear of God in our hearts when we bite into anything that isn't made entirely of flax seed and red pepper. He is of the Oprah persuasion, and while I was able to tolerate Oprah at times (hello! Favorite THINGS??? Love that!), he is just trying to basically scare the bejeezus out of us all.
When I began to watch the trailer for yesterday's episode, I was nervous. The music alone was nerve wracking. Then, the picture of a combine in a wheat field showed up, dissolving into a corn field waving in the breeze, and then a crop duster (cue even scarier music), followed by ripe fruits and vegetables. All the while, the intense voice over guy was spewing details in regards to the "best kept secret in the food industry."
I watched as Dr. Oz then illustrated the use of pesticides using people spraying small spraying devices on a bucket of corn. Woman after woman joined this illustration, all the while, Dr. Oz was explaining how the use of pesticides since the 90s has increased, and how also we can blame all the miscarriages, learning disabilities and birth defects on us, the evil farmer.
But, suprisingly missing during this time was...A FARMER.
He had experts. He had doctors. He is a doctor. He had the women in the audience so freaked out you could read it on their faces as the camera panned the audience. Audible gasps were heard during the discussion.
BUT WHERE WAS THE AGRICULTURAL REPRESENTATIVE????
Honestly "agvocates," I think we are to blame here to some extent. Why am I going to libraries and coffee shops to meet with urban folks, when what these women and men are generally getting information from Dr. Oz?
Dr. Oz isn't reading this blog, however, I would love to welcome him to do so and come to our farm, while he's at it, so am I just preaching to the wrong choir? Why aren't agricultural people asked to be on a show like this to add our two cents about how our crops require LESS pesticides than before because of the technology we use in the tractor and applicator itself as well as the engineered seed? I don't want a dude in a suit from a corporate company. I want a farmer. An educated, well intentioned farmer to sit on a panel on Dr. Oz.
But where's our invitation?
Well, here's 6 reasons:
1) Money: People like Dr. Oz don't want to be refuted. They want to be retweeted, shared on Facebook, watched on TV to become more famous and ultimately make more money.
2) Spin: Even if Dr. Oz invited someone level headed like my husband to the show to refute his argument, Dr. Oz doesn't want to hear that. He wants you to believe everything he's telling you is true, and that we as farmers are just out to make a buck and harm the earth.
3) Pop Culture: We can't get in. Honestly. There's a disconnect between our advocacy efforts and pop culture. While groups that I participate in are doing a good job in getting our stories out, unless we infiltrate shows like Dr. Oz, we will continually bang our heads against a computer screen trying to refute old arguments such as pesticides.
4) Fear: We are driven by fear. I am signing the kids up for flu shots, because I read that this year's flu strand is deadly, and there was a four year old who died...and on and on. However, isn't this said every year? While I'm not advocating for you to not vaccinate your kid, I tend to freak out about issues like this because it sounds like me, looks like me, applies to me. That's exactly what Dr. Oz is trying to do. He is advocating for health through fear, not facts on all sides. That's not hard-hitting journalism, and pardon the word, that's crap.
5) Justification and a Reason: Obviously, we want a reason for the allergies, the birth defects, the learning disabilities. Unfortunately, we need a scapegoat, and Dr. Oz is using agriculture as such. Lucky us. So, while I agree that I don't want to hang out underneath a crop duster, nor do I dance in the spray as it's applied in the spring on our fields, I will tell you that thanks to technology, we are able to pinpoint exactly where it's needed, and apply it only in that specified location. It's amazing, and I would love to invite Dr. Oz on a round during the application of such.
6) Pride: On both ends, we think we're right. Dr. Oz, I surely hope, has your best interests in mind, as do we, and we're not coming together because of the big, nasty human trait of pride. If we'd all put this aside, and realize that we're all humans, who need to eat and survive together on this earth, maybe we'd make a dent in this argument.
I'm not the person to sit on the panel. I am not an expert. I cannot tell you the complete technical explanation why everything's safe around here, other than in general terms. However, I implore you to be like Katie. Text your farmer friends. Watch shows like this with a critical eye, and ask questions. Ask me questions...fortunately, I'm well connected with experts who are in the industry, not just on the production end, but in the seed, chemical, and animal industry.
Don't freak out thanks to Oz.
Hey! That's six words again!
Linking up with Holly here.
Anyway, this is not about babies...it's about our interesting conversations over the years. Katie is smart. She is a great mom. She asks lots of questions, and she listens to all sides. So, yesterday, when I received a text from her in regards to the Dr. Oz show yesterday, I listened. I did my research. I watched online, and I have 6 words to say to "Dr." Oz.
"Hey Oz! Where's the farmer?"
Dr. Oz is not my favorite. He's a sensationalizer. He strikes the fear of God in our hearts when we bite into anything that isn't made entirely of flax seed and red pepper. He is of the Oprah persuasion, and while I was able to tolerate Oprah at times (hello! Favorite THINGS??? Love that!), he is just trying to basically scare the bejeezus out of us all.
When I began to watch the trailer for yesterday's episode, I was nervous. The music alone was nerve wracking. Then, the picture of a combine in a wheat field showed up, dissolving into a corn field waving in the breeze, and then a crop duster (cue even scarier music), followed by ripe fruits and vegetables. All the while, the intense voice over guy was spewing details in regards to the "best kept secret in the food industry."
I watched as Dr. Oz then illustrated the use of pesticides using people spraying small spraying devices on a bucket of corn. Woman after woman joined this illustration, all the while, Dr. Oz was explaining how the use of pesticides since the 90s has increased, and how also we can blame all the miscarriages, learning disabilities and birth defects on us, the evil farmer.
But, suprisingly missing during this time was...A FARMER.
He had experts. He had doctors. He is a doctor. He had the women in the audience so freaked out you could read it on their faces as the camera panned the audience. Audible gasps were heard during the discussion.
BUT WHERE WAS THE AGRICULTURAL REPRESENTATIVE????
Honestly "agvocates," I think we are to blame here to some extent. Why am I going to libraries and coffee shops to meet with urban folks, when what these women and men are generally getting information from Dr. Oz?
Dr. Oz isn't reading this blog, however, I would love to welcome him to do so and come to our farm, while he's at it, so am I just preaching to the wrong choir? Why aren't agricultural people asked to be on a show like this to add our two cents about how our crops require LESS pesticides than before because of the technology we use in the tractor and applicator itself as well as the engineered seed? I don't want a dude in a suit from a corporate company. I want a farmer. An educated, well intentioned farmer to sit on a panel on Dr. Oz.
But where's our invitation?
Well, here's 6 reasons:
1) Money: People like Dr. Oz don't want to be refuted. They want to be retweeted, shared on Facebook, watched on TV to become more famous and ultimately make more money.
2) Spin: Even if Dr. Oz invited someone level headed like my husband to the show to refute his argument, Dr. Oz doesn't want to hear that. He wants you to believe everything he's telling you is true, and that we as farmers are just out to make a buck and harm the earth.
3) Pop Culture: We can't get in. Honestly. There's a disconnect between our advocacy efforts and pop culture. While groups that I participate in are doing a good job in getting our stories out, unless we infiltrate shows like Dr. Oz, we will continually bang our heads against a computer screen trying to refute old arguments such as pesticides.
4) Fear: We are driven by fear. I am signing the kids up for flu shots, because I read that this year's flu strand is deadly, and there was a four year old who died...and on and on. However, isn't this said every year? While I'm not advocating for you to not vaccinate your kid, I tend to freak out about issues like this because it sounds like me, looks like me, applies to me. That's exactly what Dr. Oz is trying to do. He is advocating for health through fear, not facts on all sides. That's not hard-hitting journalism, and pardon the word, that's crap.
5) Justification and a Reason: Obviously, we want a reason for the allergies, the birth defects, the learning disabilities. Unfortunately, we need a scapegoat, and Dr. Oz is using agriculture as such. Lucky us. So, while I agree that I don't want to hang out underneath a crop duster, nor do I dance in the spray as it's applied in the spring on our fields, I will tell you that thanks to technology, we are able to pinpoint exactly where it's needed, and apply it only in that specified location. It's amazing, and I would love to invite Dr. Oz on a round during the application of such.
6) Pride: On both ends, we think we're right. Dr. Oz, I surely hope, has your best interests in mind, as do we, and we're not coming together because of the big, nasty human trait of pride. If we'd all put this aside, and realize that we're all humans, who need to eat and survive together on this earth, maybe we'd make a dent in this argument.
I'm not the person to sit on the panel. I am not an expert. I cannot tell you the complete technical explanation why everything's safe around here, other than in general terms. However, I implore you to be like Katie. Text your farmer friends. Watch shows like this with a critical eye, and ask questions. Ask me questions...fortunately, I'm well connected with experts who are in the industry, not just on the production end, but in the seed, chemical, and animal industry.
Don't freak out thanks to Oz.
Hey! That's six words again!
Linking up with Holly here.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Day Five: 5
I had planned my "5" entry to be 5 pieces of equipment caught in the act of harvesting.
Can you see it?
A huge, green combine (that's 1, for those of you hard of counting), a track-tractor (green of course, and number 2) hooked onto a green (duh) grain cart (that's three). Two semis (teal and red...yes, those ARE the colors of the 80s, but also our fleet of semis) round out the count at 5.
However, it's a misty, gross day, so nothing is getting accomplished even though we only have 17 acres left in one field to finish up.
SHOOT!! I wish today was the 17th!!
Anyway, it's not. It's day 5, and bless Holly's heart for challenging me to blog every day. My hairstylist asked me if I ever want to just blog about something other than agriculture...she suggested shoes, and I concur.
But this is an agriculture themed blog, so while I do love shoes, and will refer to them, I'm going to defer to Holly today.
Because her theme of this whole series is the NUMBER 5!!!
So, why wouldn't I just send you all over to enjoy her post from yesterday, Five Things an Honest Farmwife Admits. While I obviously didn't write it, it speaks so much truth that I deal with on a very, very regular basis, except #1, because...what's a grain leg???
Enjoy this guest post, friends...and I'll catch you tomorrow on 6!
Linking up with Holly here.
The rest of my days:
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four
Can you see it?
A huge, green combine (that's 1, for those of you hard of counting), a track-tractor (green of course, and number 2) hooked onto a green (duh) grain cart (that's three). Two semis (teal and red...yes, those ARE the colors of the 80s, but also our fleet of semis) round out the count at 5.
However, it's a misty, gross day, so nothing is getting accomplished even though we only have 17 acres left in one field to finish up.
SHOOT!! I wish today was the 17th!!
Anyway, it's not. It's day 5, and bless Holly's heart for challenging me to blog every day. My hairstylist asked me if I ever want to just blog about something other than agriculture...she suggested shoes, and I concur.
But this is an agriculture themed blog, so while I do love shoes, and will refer to them, I'm going to defer to Holly today.
Because her theme of this whole series is the NUMBER 5!!!
So, why wouldn't I just send you all over to enjoy her post from yesterday, Five Things an Honest Farmwife Admits. While I obviously didn't write it, it speaks so much truth that I deal with on a very, very regular basis, except #1, because...what's a grain leg???
Enjoy this guest post, friends...and I'll catch you tomorrow on 6!
Linking up with Holly here.
The rest of my days:
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four
Monday, November 4, 2013
Day Four: 4
So it's late into Day Four, I know, but I'm still at it.
I will not quit, wuss out, and enjoy my freshly baked chocolate oatmeal cookies until I get. this. blog. done.
My 4 is easy...well, not really easy, the topic itself was an easy choice, but the actual 4 is an exercise in every cliche parenting buzz word one could possibly think of.
My 4 is my four...kids, that is.
I will spare you a long, sappy, life is one big warm chocolate chip oatmeal cookie (that I will be eating soon, so that's why this one is short), parenting is a breeze, or parenting is hard blog.
My 4 kids are unreal.
Honestly. When Joe and I embarked upon this "let's have a family journey," I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would have a kid like Anna.
Or Josie.
Or Amelia.
Or Jack.
While I may have ingested more Diet Coke with each subsequent pregnancy, all these children have been raised in the same house, with the same parents, eating the same food, yet they are all vastly different.
While Amelia tries desperately to be Josie, she's not. Anna tries hard to be the perfect child, but she can't be, especially and when you have three younger siblings, and when there's a missing iPod, there's bound to be some yelling. Jack is Jack Webel, complete with a superhero pose, even though we really don't talk a lot of superhero talk...until now. Josie desperately wants to be a big girl, but still tells me every night that she's a little bit scared and wants me to stay in her room with her for company, allthe while, Anna is snoozing away in the bed next to her.
All 4 are different, yet something these 4 will share will always be the same: this farm life.
Our rural route address will define these 4, no matter where they go in life. I see it in my friends in the agricultural world who have left the farm and live in cities like Phoenix and Dallas and Chicago. All those farm kids still have a little piece of them that my 4 will have. An understanding of a life one can only "get" if you live it out here. A club of country kids.
I can't tell you what that is, because I'm not one of them. My 4 will share that with their dad, with each other and with all those farm kids out there, whether they're in a city or on a dusty road.
My 4 are blessed to be farm kids, and I'm so blessed to be their mom out here.
Linking up with Holly's 30 Day Blog Challenge here.
Rest of my quest:
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
I will not quit, wuss out, and enjoy my freshly baked chocolate oatmeal cookies until I get. this. blog. done.
My 4 is easy...well, not really easy, the topic itself was an easy choice, but the actual 4 is an exercise in every cliche parenting buzz word one could possibly think of.
My 4 is my four...kids, that is.
I will spare you a long, sappy, life is one big warm chocolate chip oatmeal cookie (that I will be eating soon, so that's why this one is short), parenting is a breeze, or parenting is hard blog.
My 4 kids are unreal.
Honestly. When Joe and I embarked upon this "let's have a family journey," I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would have a kid like Anna.
Or Josie.
Or Amelia.
Or Jack.
While I may have ingested more Diet Coke with each subsequent pregnancy, all these children have been raised in the same house, with the same parents, eating the same food, yet they are all vastly different.
While Amelia tries desperately to be Josie, she's not. Anna tries hard to be the perfect child, but she can't be, especially and when you have three younger siblings, and when there's a missing iPod, there's bound to be some yelling. Jack is Jack Webel, complete with a superhero pose, even though we really don't talk a lot of superhero talk...until now. Josie desperately wants to be a big girl, but still tells me every night that she's a little bit scared and wants me to stay in her room with her for company, allthe while, Anna is snoozing away in the bed next to her.
All 4 are different, yet something these 4 will share will always be the same: this farm life.
Our rural route address will define these 4, no matter where they go in life. I see it in my friends in the agricultural world who have left the farm and live in cities like Phoenix and Dallas and Chicago. All those farm kids still have a little piece of them that my 4 will have. An understanding of a life one can only "get" if you live it out here. A club of country kids.
I can't tell you what that is, because I'm not one of them. My 4 will share that with their dad, with each other and with all those farm kids out there, whether they're in a city or on a dusty road.
My 4 are blessed to be farm kids, and I'm so blessed to be their mom out here.
Linking up with Holly's 30 Day Blog Challenge here.
Rest of my quest:
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Day Three: 3
The third day is always the hardest.
That's a direct quote from my wise mother.
She is never short of advice, but this one has been used in about every stage of my life. From the basics like head colds (ever notice that the third day is the worst because you think you're better and you're really not?), to big life events like having a child (sorry, guys, but this is the day you're generally at home, thinking you can Swiffer the kitchen floor, do the laundry, tend to your other children, and you end up feeling worse than the actual birth), attending college (by the third class session, gloves were off, syllabus was out, and you're beginning to freak out), and starting to teach school (teaching sixth grade on the third day was FOR REAL, people).
Thus is the same with blogging for 30 days...I had an okay first day, my second one was well received, and now we're on Day 3.
So, what's going on?
Watching Three's Company?
How about The Three Stooges?
What about that cult classic, The Three Amigos?
I just came from church...how about that Holy Trinity, huh? Now, that's an impressive 3!
So 3s are everywhere. It's Biblical. 3 is a good design number for a furniture grouping or a group of candles. 3 seemed like a great number of kids to have...until we had 4.
However, an easy "3" in our operation is the number of farmers. Our farm operation is mainly a 3-man gig. My dad, my uncle and Joe are the main worker bees during this busy time. We have a lot of behind the scenes workers: my grandpa, our landlord, and our seasonal truck driver, Boyd, a cousin or two now and again, but mainly there's just the 3 guys making the big decisions on the operation.
At harvest, my dad does the grain cart, my uncle drives the combine, and Joe drives the semi.
Seems simple, right?
Yes, and no. That's the kicker with the number 3, and livestock.
You see, when you have livestock, it's tricky, and the difference in our operation than others is that my dad and uncle are not a part of the livestock business. Cattle are Joe's big thing (along with our landlord, of course).
But Dad and my uncle aren't a part of our livestock operation. My uncle has pigs, but he deals with them himself. Same as Joe. They are separate operations.
Sure, there's time that they help when Joe's working calves or needs a hand here and there, but this 3-some is only a true 3-some when it's harvest or spring planting.
That's different from a lot of other operations I have observed. And that's okay, it is just interesting how they can work separately for several months of the year and then be side-by-side (in huge pieces of equipment, mind you) for weeks and months at a time. The shed door shutting on the combine doesn't mean that they don't talk or plan or whatever, but for the most part, each of our farmers have very separate, very specific jobs that they do very much alone.
Isn't that interesting?
It helps with defining who does what, and there's never any argument about who is going to drive what and when, but it does make for a lonely time, I'm sure, while they each do their own thing in the "off months."
But for now, the 3 farmers in our operation press on. They work long hours, eat weird foods at odd times of the day, and survive this time knowing that when the combine is in the shed (whenever that is...don't ask), these three can go on their separate ways and meet up again in the spring, each with their own specific roles to play.
Linking up with Prairie Farmer's 30 Days blog challenge here.
And here's the rest of my blog quest:
Day One
Day Two
That's a direct quote from my wise mother.
She is never short of advice, but this one has been used in about every stage of my life. From the basics like head colds (ever notice that the third day is the worst because you think you're better and you're really not?), to big life events like having a child (sorry, guys, but this is the day you're generally at home, thinking you can Swiffer the kitchen floor, do the laundry, tend to your other children, and you end up feeling worse than the actual birth), attending college (by the third class session, gloves were off, syllabus was out, and you're beginning to freak out), and starting to teach school (teaching sixth grade on the third day was FOR REAL, people).
Thus is the same with blogging for 30 days...I had an okay first day, my second one was well received, and now we're on Day 3.
So, what's going on?
Watching Three's Company?
How about The Three Stooges?
What about that cult classic, The Three Amigos?
I just came from church...how about that Holy Trinity, huh? Now, that's an impressive 3!
So 3s are everywhere. It's Biblical. 3 is a good design number for a furniture grouping or a group of candles. 3 seemed like a great number of kids to have...until we had 4.
However, an easy "3" in our operation is the number of farmers. Our farm operation is mainly a 3-man gig. My dad, my uncle and Joe are the main worker bees during this busy time. We have a lot of behind the scenes workers: my grandpa, our landlord, and our seasonal truck driver, Boyd, a cousin or two now and again, but mainly there's just the 3 guys making the big decisions on the operation.
At harvest, my dad does the grain cart, my uncle drives the combine, and Joe drives the semi.
Seems simple, right?
Yes, and no. That's the kicker with the number 3, and livestock.
You see, when you have livestock, it's tricky, and the difference in our operation than others is that my dad and uncle are not a part of the livestock business. Cattle are Joe's big thing (along with our landlord, of course).
But Dad and my uncle aren't a part of our livestock operation. My uncle has pigs, but he deals with them himself. Same as Joe. They are separate operations.
Sure, there's time that they help when Joe's working calves or needs a hand here and there, but this 3-some is only a true 3-some when it's harvest or spring planting.
That's different from a lot of other operations I have observed. And that's okay, it is just interesting how they can work separately for several months of the year and then be side-by-side (in huge pieces of equipment, mind you) for weeks and months at a time. The shed door shutting on the combine doesn't mean that they don't talk or plan or whatever, but for the most part, each of our farmers have very separate, very specific jobs that they do very much alone.
Isn't that interesting?
It helps with defining who does what, and there's never any argument about who is going to drive what and when, but it does make for a lonely time, I'm sure, while they each do their own thing in the "off months."
But for now, the 3 farmers in our operation press on. They work long hours, eat weird foods at odd times of the day, and survive this time knowing that when the combine is in the shed (whenever that is...don't ask), these three can go on their separate ways and meet up again in the spring, each with their own specific roles to play.
Linking up with Prairie Farmer's 30 Days blog challenge here.
And here's the rest of my blog quest:
Day One
Day Two
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Day Two: 2
We work in pairs a lot around here.
Just now, Anna and Joe left in the farm truck, just 2 peas in a pod. It's chilly and damp this morning, so Anna decided to don 2 sweatshirts, in lieu of her bulky work coat, so she could move easily as she works side-by-side with her dad this morning. They'll spend the first few hours feeding and checking the cows, making sure those who are enjoying snacking on stalks in a newly harvested cornfield adjacent to the pasture are where they should be, thanks to 2 nicely strung lines of electric fence.
2 is a necessary number on a farm, specifically a livestock farm.
There are the obvious tasks that are easier with a partner: closing gates behind the truck or tractor, moving cattle, working calves...those are all better when you have a buddy. However, it's the side-by-side working relationship I see that makes this "2" the best part of living here.
Often times, I curse the dirt road, dirty clothes, late nights, unpredictable income and lack of flexibility that comes with farm life. However, as Anna left with her dad this morning, chatting away as she skipped down the steps of the deck about next week's 4H meeting, working with her show heifer, and what it would be like to go goose hunting (we have a lot of hunting traffic today), I thought how lucky Anna-- and all my kids are for that matter-- are to spend this precious morning with her dad. It's different than being coached on a team by your dad; different than having your dad just play with you as a kid. In our time as a livestock family, and this short time Anna has become more and more involved, I see a tight bond being formed. One that is forged by using her 2 hands side-by-side with her dad.
Working with someone bonds you together, but it's not just the sweet, tight bond that's formed. Socially speaking, it's an exercise in get over it. You don't have time to hold a grudge, continue to be grouchy with each other. It amazes me, as someone who gets irritated easily, to see Joe and Anna in action. They can holler at each other and get aggravated, but then have to quickly get over it, because there's a lot more work to do than to just sit around and be irritated at each other. It's truly a good lesson in social skills. Get over it. Move on.
Working in a 2-some makes you appreciate that person when he or she is not there. When Anna started back to school in the fall, Joe lost his buddy, his sidekick. She didn't just open gates and help load feed, she added sunshine and companionship to a rather lonely occupation. Joe and Anna have a bond as a father-daughter team that only those who worked with their kids can understand. I don't fully understand it, still, but I can see it in action.
Anna is only 8, but her work ethic rivals those double, or even triple her age. That kid spends days off of school, Saturdays, evenings, whenever, working. She's never been a "player," always wanting to DO something useful, help, be productive. Her sisters and their silliness drive her crazy at times. She's my worker bee, and I attribute that to working with her 2 hands from the time she could peer over the dash of the farm truck.
Pairs, partners, buddies, whatever you call it, groups of 2 just work better. We're all better when we have a partner, right? I'm hopeful that this 2-some will eventually turn into a 5-some with all my kids learning the ropes of livestock, but until then, the peas in a pod will continue on, one cattle pasture at a time.
Linking up with Holly's 30 Days series here.
And here's the rest of my 30 Day quest:
Day 1
Just now, Anna and Joe left in the farm truck, just 2 peas in a pod. It's chilly and damp this morning, so Anna decided to don 2 sweatshirts, in lieu of her bulky work coat, so she could move easily as she works side-by-side with her dad this morning. They'll spend the first few hours feeding and checking the cows, making sure those who are enjoying snacking on stalks in a newly harvested cornfield adjacent to the pasture are where they should be, thanks to 2 nicely strung lines of electric fence.
2 is a necessary number on a farm, specifically a livestock farm.
There are the obvious tasks that are easier with a partner: closing gates behind the truck or tractor, moving cattle, working calves...those are all better when you have a buddy. However, it's the side-by-side working relationship I see that makes this "2" the best part of living here.
Often times, I curse the dirt road, dirty clothes, late nights, unpredictable income and lack of flexibility that comes with farm life. However, as Anna left with her dad this morning, chatting away as she skipped down the steps of the deck about next week's 4H meeting, working with her show heifer, and what it would be like to go goose hunting (we have a lot of hunting traffic today), I thought how lucky Anna-- and all my kids are for that matter-- are to spend this precious morning with her dad. It's different than being coached on a team by your dad; different than having your dad just play with you as a kid. In our time as a livestock family, and this short time Anna has become more and more involved, I see a tight bond being formed. One that is forged by using her 2 hands side-by-side with her dad.
Working with someone bonds you together, but it's not just the sweet, tight bond that's formed. Socially speaking, it's an exercise in get over it. You don't have time to hold a grudge, continue to be grouchy with each other. It amazes me, as someone who gets irritated easily, to see Joe and Anna in action. They can holler at each other and get aggravated, but then have to quickly get over it, because there's a lot more work to do than to just sit around and be irritated at each other. It's truly a good lesson in social skills. Get over it. Move on.
Working in a 2-some makes you appreciate that person when he or she is not there. When Anna started back to school in the fall, Joe lost his buddy, his sidekick. She didn't just open gates and help load feed, she added sunshine and companionship to a rather lonely occupation. Joe and Anna have a bond as a father-daughter team that only those who worked with their kids can understand. I don't fully understand it, still, but I can see it in action.
Anna is only 8, but her work ethic rivals those double, or even triple her age. That kid spends days off of school, Saturdays, evenings, whenever, working. She's never been a "player," always wanting to DO something useful, help, be productive. Her sisters and their silliness drive her crazy at times. She's my worker bee, and I attribute that to working with her 2 hands from the time she could peer over the dash of the farm truck.
Pairs, partners, buddies, whatever you call it, groups of 2 just work better. We're all better when we have a partner, right? I'm hopeful that this 2-some will eventually turn into a 5-some with all my kids learning the ropes of livestock, but until then, the peas in a pod will continue on, one cattle pasture at a time.
Linking up with Holly's 30 Days series here.
And here's the rest of my 30 Day quest:
Day 1
Friday, November 1, 2013
30 Days, By the Numbers
And so it begins...
My dear friend Holly is a for-real writer, and when I say "for real," I mean, she's not only excellent, extensively trained, has been recognized and received accolades for her excellence in journalism, but she also is creative enough to think of this 30 Day Blog Challenge.
However, being an untrained, hardly recognized and rarely accoladed writer, it is a very intimidating challenge to not only write one blog entry per day for 30 days, but to come up with a catchy theme.
Last year, my theme was "Life on Our Farm."
Pretty catchy, huh?
Don't answer that.
Anyway, after realizing that my theme was due to her, and it was late October, which meant November was quickly approaching so I should probably come up with something maybe a little more catchy that just "Life on Our Farm," I remembered a really creative Christmas card we received one year. My friend Andrea---who not only taught with me, sang at our wedding, and was my roommate for a short time my first year of teaching (when she may or may not have had to live with me while I trained for marathons, dated a series of LAME dudes, and had to listen to my woes of the first year of teaching)--had a year in review, by the numbers Christmas Card. It kept her information concise, meaningful, and in her good math-teacher way, showed that NUMBERS ARE EVERYWHERE.
So here we are, Blog Challenge 2013-By the Numbers.
Number 1 is obvious, and that this challenge is 1 Lofty Goal for me as of late.
I have been struggling to find the time-gumption-creativity-balance lately. Not that there's nothing to write about in agriculture, I am just in the process of redefining my life as a part-time employee (who hasn't been to work in four days because of sick kids and Halloween parties), mother of children who demand my attention in different ways (Jack is currently winging toys at the TV while playing the harmonica, while Anna is reading a Percy Jackson book and asking what some words mean by shouting them from the other room, Josie is writing her birthday party guest list (Guess what the 27th topic will be??) and Amelia is begging to paint her fingernails, and it's before 7:30 in the morning...see why complete thoughts and grammar are not my forte today??), and the wife of someone who thinks I'm conspiring against him by organizing his office and mud room...when all I want to do is be able to Swiffer off the dead fly bodies and chaff from the flat surfaces without losing grain tickets and my sanity.
So, this couldn't have come a better time, right?
So Day Number 1 is 1 Lofty Goal.
I'm up for the challenge.
I can do this.
We always find things to talk about, don't we, friends?
So here's to 30 Days, By the Numbers. I ask for your grace during this time of creative muscle straining, and please check out Holly's blog for the rest of us suckers who are trying to keep up!
Happy Reading!
My dear friend Holly is a for-real writer, and when I say "for real," I mean, she's not only excellent, extensively trained, has been recognized and received accolades for her excellence in journalism, but she also is creative enough to think of this 30 Day Blog Challenge.
However, being an untrained, hardly recognized and rarely accoladed writer, it is a very intimidating challenge to not only write one blog entry per day for 30 days, but to come up with a catchy theme.
Last year, my theme was "Life on Our Farm."
Pretty catchy, huh?
Don't answer that.
Anyway, after realizing that my theme was due to her, and it was late October, which meant November was quickly approaching so I should probably come up with something maybe a little more catchy that just "Life on Our Farm," I remembered a really creative Christmas card we received one year. My friend Andrea---who not only taught with me, sang at our wedding, and was my roommate for a short time my first year of teaching (when she may or may not have had to live with me while I trained for marathons, dated a series of LAME dudes, and had to listen to my woes of the first year of teaching)--had a year in review, by the numbers Christmas Card. It kept her information concise, meaningful, and in her good math-teacher way, showed that NUMBERS ARE EVERYWHERE.
So here we are, Blog Challenge 2013-By the Numbers.
Number 1 is obvious, and that this challenge is 1 Lofty Goal for me as of late.
I have been struggling to find the time-gumption-creativity-balance lately. Not that there's nothing to write about in agriculture, I am just in the process of redefining my life as a part-time employee (who hasn't been to work in four days because of sick kids and Halloween parties), mother of children who demand my attention in different ways (Jack is currently winging toys at the TV while playing the harmonica, while Anna is reading a Percy Jackson book and asking what some words mean by shouting them from the other room, Josie is writing her birthday party guest list (Guess what the 27th topic will be??) and Amelia is begging to paint her fingernails, and it's before 7:30 in the morning...see why complete thoughts and grammar are not my forte today??), and the wife of someone who thinks I'm conspiring against him by organizing his office and mud room...when all I want to do is be able to Swiffer off the dead fly bodies and chaff from the flat surfaces without losing grain tickets and my sanity.
So, this couldn't have come a better time, right?
So Day Number 1 is 1 Lofty Goal.
I'm up for the challenge.
I can do this.
We always find things to talk about, don't we, friends?
So here's to 30 Days, By the Numbers. I ask for your grace during this time of creative muscle straining, and please check out Holly's blog for the rest of us suckers who are trying to keep up!
Happy Reading!
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