Monthly Archives: March 2012

These Boots were Made for Working

Posted on by
3

Not too long ago, the wonderful ladies over at The Real Farmwives of America asked if anyone would be willing to do a quick review on a pair of boots for “the man in our lives.” The funny thing is, that I had just talked to Boss Man about getting a different pair for him to work in…and so we jumped at the chance!

And boy, are they great!

Boss Man's new steel-toed Justin work boots...the verdict? A big win!

These happen to be steel-toed, yet they look so sharp!

Boss Man was working on the air seeder when his boots arrived...they went to work right away!

He loves how comfortable they are…and he keeps commenting how easily they are to get on and off. (His previous pair of work boots were lace-ups.)

Flexible and comfortable...two musts for a farm work boot!

Great grip, traction and still comfortable to wear.

Sometimes Boss Man is hard to veer from his routine…and lace-up work boots are definitely his routine. But I think even Boss Man was surprised by how much he liked his new boots. In fact, he liked them so much, he wore them out on Saturday night…and that’s something that never happens with his lace-ups. At least, not if he’s going out with ME! 😀

He loved how well they moved...even in some uncomfortable places.

No problems here, these boots were a home run!

And the best part of all? You can have a chance to win a pair! That’s right, thanks to the wonderful gals over at The Real Farmwives of America one lucky reader (or three!) will win their very own pair of workboots compliments of Tony Lama/Justin. Just head on over and enter now!

Although Boss Man was given a pair of boots, thanks to these great companies, the thoughts and opinions are my own.

School Carnival Craziness

Posted on by
1

Friday night was the Casper Carnival in Ellendale. It’s a carnival hosted by the SADD group and it gives the kids a chance to have some good, clean fun…but I also realized a few things:

The dreaded goldfish game.

1) The hot game at the carnival is the ping-pong bounce, where you try to get the ping pong ball into a glass jar. And win a goldfish. I must have my head examined for allowing my children to play the game, but they love it. For many years in a row now, my children tote home some goldfish and I wait patiently for them to die. The math ends up something like this:

Amount spent to win $0.50 goldfish – $20

Amount spent on supplies – $30 (tank, food, water…oh, and don’t forget the goldfish toys…yes, I said goldfish toys…you know, the cool stuff in the tank?)

And then, after spending all that time and money on goldfish “stuff,” I spend the next few weeks taking care of them…all while secretly hoping to find them floating in the morning. And no, they are still alive…today.

2) Scooter will spend $10 to win one can of pop…and then give it away to someone who hasn’t won yet. And that is awesome! (Don’t worry, he went on to win a 12-pack more…but I did convince him to share with his cousins, so he only had one to drink the next day.)

3) EJ believes that giving two tickets at the cake walk should be all you need to do, before walking home with a cake. This whole walking in circles until the music stops is for the birds! And then waiting for your number to be called? Not his cup of tea. Well, until he won a plate of cupcakes.

Just waiting on his fish.

4) The fishing pond will ALWAYS be the best game ever. You stand there, throw the line over and win something. Simple, to the point, and a no-brainer. That’s my kind of game-of-chance.

5) Duck ponds don’t work if you don’t like water. EJ was excited about playing the game, until he realized he had to get close to the pool of water. Then he thought maybe Mom should help him out. Sorry, son, I’m a little old for that! But I did hold his hand while he reached down…and neither of us fell in!

6) Big crowds scare George. He was excited about the games…until he realized that he had to share space with all those people. Grandma quickly realized that this wasn’t his idea of fun and took him to her house. He was much happier playing trains without his brother competing for space, than he was waiting in line. Just don’t tell his brother!

Scooter, right, and his buddy enjoyed playing on the pillow fight. I'm considering setting one up in the house.

All-in-all it was a great night, for a great cause! And the best part is that it will be another whole year before we get another goldfish!

Young Farmer Friday

Posted on by
4

Just loving my day with the boys…and who can blame me? We head to Mayo on Monday, and that’ll be worries for Monday. For today, I’ll just enjoy what we have.

"Mom, will this be mine some day?"

A rare moment of stillness, and no one fighting!

George teasing EJ that he was going to beat him to the shop.

Well, he decided the reward wasn't worth it.

 

 

An Ode to Someone Else

Posted on by
6

It’s a plague that’s hit our nation hard…and possibly the world. And the cure seems to be hard to swallow.

I hear it all the time. From friends, from family, from workers, from leaders…the dreaded Someone Else.

One of the quotes I hear most often is, “You’re a mother of four, isn’t there Someone Else who could do that?” And the answer is an obvious yes, but the reality has become an obvious no.

When did our world become so indifferent to what was going on around it? When did we become satisfied with the status quo and willing to accept everything at face value? Oh, we like to talk a big game, and complain about our lot in life, but when it comes down to it we’re willing to pass the buck.

Do I need to clarify?

Two days ago, I blogged about a measure in North Dakota that would eliminate property taxes. One of the number one complaints of the proponents of this measure is that the legislature isn’t working on property tax reform fast enough. Someone Else isn’t correcting the problem. So the solution is to eliminate property tax, and then let Someone Else figure out how to pay for it. Hmmm…

I see it in the news all the time. Someone Else has done something wrong and Someone Else is responsible. Someone Else should have to pay and Someone Else needs to make some changes. People want to vote, but not for choices A, B, or C, but for Someone Else. And maybe we could make some change, but Someone Else would be just as bad.

Someone Else is responsible for our lot in life, and we could take the chance to improve ourselves and work for a better tomorrow, but it would be easier if Someone Else would pave our way…or better yet, pay our way.

Someone Else is the reason why I’m this way, and Someone Else will have to step up and reach out to me, just so I can make it another day. Someone Else will have to pay the price and Someone Else will write the check…physically or otherwise.

Someone Else is responsible for the food on my plate and Someone Else isn’t doing a good enough job. Someone Else should be watching out for our children and Someone Else should be rewarding those that are doing it right.

Yes, I’m a little tired of this Someone Else.

Yet, I see hope. Earlier this week, our local school had a meeting regarding the future of our wrestling program…and truly the future of most sports programs. The numbers are glum, but the future holds a glimmering of hope. And the best hope of all was that this group of people have decided that Someone Else isn’t the best person to have respond. It’s simply time to act.

I will admit, that there are times when you truly need to involve Someone Else. But it’s mostly an excuse to pass the responsibility on to another party, somewhere down the road. And it’s time to stop.

I better get to my dishes and laundry. I know Someone Else won’t do them.

WW – Spring work…in winter?

Posted on by
Reply

Yesterday was the first day of spring, but Boss Man got a jump start on spring work by fixing fence this weekend.

It’s hard to believe that it hit 80 degrees in “winter,” but you won’t find me complaining…well, at least not too loudly. 😉

Fixing fence that was destroyed in last summer's storm.

The early-spring weather has let us get a lot of catch-up work done.

It's amazing what can get done when the weather cooperates.

The cows are watching, making sure he's getting the fence tight enough. Well, maybe they're actually hoping he forgets a strand!

How are you preparing for spring?

This funny thing called taxation

Posted on by
21

There is a group of people looking to put North Dakota on the map again. This time it’s not about being a “happy” state, about low unemployment rates, about economic development. No, this time, they would like to see North Dakota as the first state to abolish property tax.

They claim that passing Measure 2 will make North Dakota truly “legendary.” And that it’s time that we throw the albatross of property taxes off of the tax payer and back on to the state…where it belongs! (Imagine loud voices cheering, pitchforks waving, torches in the air!)

But wait a minute…we should take the local tax revenue, and return it to the state? And let the state be responsible? Seriously?

I am all for tax reform, as would any reasonable person. I’m all for recalculating the numbers, so that no one economic group is unfairly taxed. I’m all for changes and discussions and working towards a better tomorrow. But throw our whole tax structure just because we couldn’t find a more reasonable answer? No thanks.

The way that property taxes are calculated is complicated. I get that. The way that you figure out if you pay property taxes is simple. If you buy property, there will be a tax. And out of that tax comes local improvements. County roads, township roads, school funding, local museums, local extensions services…the list continues on.

Again, if the purpose of this measure was to make a point about property tax reform, point is made. Thank you, let’s have a discussion and work on it. Let’s move forward and get something hammered out in writing. Something that works.

The thought of truly eliminating property taxes is ridiculous and a mistake of epic proportions. And it wouldn’t even be a mistake just for our generation. It would be a disaster for generations to come.

Yes, North Dakota has a budget surplus. Yes, our state is booming and growing and doing all things that are pointing to a strong future for the next generation. Let’s build upon it and leave our state in better condition for the next generation. Not set it up to fail before they even have a chance to have a voice.

If Measure 2 proponents want to see changes made at the capitol, great…let’s get some changes made. Let’s cut spending and prioritize our funding, and work with our legislators to reach these goals. That’s our job as voters and constituents, right?

How does it work that the proponents of Measure 2 blame our legislators, tell the world that they’re not doing a good enough job…and then give them the sole responsibility to not only fund the state-run programs, but ALL local programs as well!?!

Perhaps I’ve spent too many years on the farm, but I do believe our country was built on the principle that if you do not like who’s representing you at the local, state and federal level, you will have the opportunity to make changes. Has something changed recently?

Do you have questions about how this would work? So do I. Are there answers? Not really. And that scares the bejeebers out of me. I’ve been on the Yes to Measure 2 site a few times, and the FAQ seems to be broken. (How ironic.) (As of 4 p.m. 3/20/12…the FAQ was back up and working.) And I’ll post a link to the Keep it Local group, just to be fair…although I will admit that I haven’t been on that site as much. I prefer to hear what the people behind the measure have to say, and then make my own decision. And I encourage all voters to do the same.

So post your questions, and I’ll do the legwork to answer them, best I can (including links, facts, etc.)…and if I can’t find the answer, maybe I’ll just delete this blog post and start from scratch. That seems to be the answer of the day.

Yes, the world we live in is a crazy one…and it just got a little crazier.

Calf in a cast

Posted on by
4

What happens when a 1200-pound-plus cow steps on its newborn calf? Well, lets just say that the calf isn’t usually a winner. But in this case, the vet was called in and so far, things are looking good.

He may be wearing a cast, but it's not slowing him down!

That’s right, we have a calf in a cast. He’ll keep the cast on until the first week of April or so…and while he has his cast on, he’ll be treated to a special pen in the yard, and will spend his nights next to his mother in the barn.

Broken legs don’t happen often on the farm, but when they do, it’s important to have them heal as best as they can, so the calf can walk normally and be able to stand and regain use of the limb. And so far, this little guy seems to be doing great.

Walking around, checking out his surroundings.

So what does it cost to have a cast put on a calf? Our vet bill was right at $200. Plus a little extra time for a few weeks.

And it was a great teaching moment for the boys.

And those moments are priceless.

 

March madness…North Dakota version

Posted on by
1

No, our March madness has nothing to do with basketball, and I’m talking brackets of a different kind…this March is madness with peewee wrestling and spring weather. And it added up to spending an afternoon digging out some water pipes.

Let’s start off with Saturday morning and early afternoon. Scooter participated in our local peewee wrestling tournament and managed to come home with a first-place medal.

The weather was so unseasonably warm, that I decided we should finish a project we had started earlier in the week. Our aging pipes had sprung a leak, which lead to a continually green patch of grass in our yard all winter. But as it was warming up, that green patch had turned to mush. We needed to work on a fix…and 70-80 degree temps in North Dakota in March is a great reason to spend some time outside, even if it is to dig a hole.

So, if we’re fixing a water pipe, one would think that you would call a local backhoe and have it done in a jiffy, right? That’s not the way we roll around here. Instead, Boss Man gave a few directions, gave us a rough outline of size, and away we went.

Me and my little sister, just digging a hole.

Yep, my little sister and I became excavators and dug out the hole that will be needed to fix our water leak. And I have to say, I’m happy with the work we did, and enjoyed spending the hour or so outside in the beautiful weather.

And today (Sunday), the weather has continued on its beautiful streak, cracking the 80 degree mark. Let’s just hope our temps stay above freezing, because all of those beautiful buds and new plants will be a hard loss to take.

Our rhubarb is up...and it's March.

By tomorrow evening, I'm guessing we'll have full-fledged leaves on our lilacs. These buds are busting at the seams!

Not a laughing matter

Posted on by
8

A few days ago, a close friend of mine sent me a message on Facebook, directing me to a conversation that was taking place on a specialized sheep page. The message was shocking, and laughed in the face of all we’ve been doing to educate and show consumers where their food comes from…but it was far from funny:

You are a Joke! a Fraud! you can not sell meat! What you are selling is wrong! Meat comes from the grocery store meat departments where they grow it for us to eat. You are one sick individual who says you will sell lamb meat from those cute fuzzy animals! you are gross! Milk comes in a powder that the grocery stores mix with water! Why are you lying to people! you are a sick person who claims to sell meat, milk and cheese that comes from poor helpless lambs!

And no, I can’t make stuff like that up.

So why does it matter? It’s just one loon out there, shouting lies and slinging mud at whomever will listen, right?

Wrong.

One of the reasons that agriculture is being slayed in the media the way it is, is that for too long we figured that people would “get it.” That they would understand what we’re doing, why we’re doing it and just leave us alone to get the job done.

That’s not the case any more, and I don’t think it ever will be…and shouldn’t. We want people to have a connection to their plate, we want people to understand the power of their input at the grocery store. But they also need to understand that farms are businesses, we provide a product, we need to make a profit and we prepare for the future as well.

There must be a middle ground, a place where we don’t raise our voices, don’t shake our fists and don’t make it personal…I just don’t think we’re there yet. I read a comment recently that stated that farmers need to remember that they are more than just a farm, they are people, too.

Our barn is dated from when it was built. That's a history we can't forget.

But I have to say, from a farmer’s perspective, that’s pretty hard to do. It’s not just a building and some animals, this is our heritage and our family name. It’s the work of previous generations, resting on our shoulders to see it through to the next generation. And it’s up to us to be the communicators to protect not only the future, but the history of our farms as well.

The way I see it, the fact that we’re getting responses such as the loon above, and the other slew of media backlash, must mean we’re heading the right direction.

And if we’re willing to be talking, we better be willing to listen as well.

The blessings of social media

Posted on by
4

I regularly hear people talking about the amount of time that is wasted on social media. When people ask what I do, and I tell them that I blog about our farm and our family, it’s almost as if I just told them I’m a stay-at-home mom…oh, wait…

"George" and I...towards the beginning of this journey. It's amazing the changes that have been made, to both of us.

My point is, that neither my chosen profession nor my hobby gets much respect in the real world. (You can decided which is which.) That doesn’t bother me, and for the most part, I ignore it…but last night it became very clear to me that all of my work and time “wasted” has not been in vain.

For those that have been following along a little while, you know that our youngest son, “George” on the blog, has been diagnosed with OTC. (You can read more about it on the OTC tab above.) It’s been a very crazy ride, but we’re feeling our way through, and have seen some amazing results in the last year.

But that doesn’t mean that we haven’t had problems, or that there were times when I wasn’t really sure who to turn to for answers, venting, etc.

And then I received an email. And not just any email, an email from the Executive Director of the National Urea Cycle Disorder Foundation, which just so happens to be the link I use in my blog posts describing OTC. Yeah, that’s big.

I think back to that meeting in August, almost two years ago, where I finally met JP in person. There was a round-table session where you could just sit and ask different people questions relating to social media. I sat at her table and asked if she thought that my story was worth telling (we had been “connected” through Twitter). I thought that my connections through Twitter and facebook were probably enough, maybe a blog would be too much, and maybe I didn’t have anything to really share.

With her encouragement, I started Wag’n Tales in September of 2010…and the rest, as they say, is history.

And I’m not the only one that Janice has positively influenced through social media. Just check out her latest blog post and see.

Yes, social media can take away time. It can be used for evil and wrong-doing. But when it’s used in a positive way, it can truly be life-changing…

In fact, it can be life saving.