Category Archives: About me

How to Spend 10 Years Married to a Farmer

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1) Be patient – When he tells you to pick him up at the Lone Tree Quarter and you go to the quarter of land that has the only tree on it and he tells you that he meant the quarter of land that had one tree on it when his grandfather was farming…well, that’s just how farmers think.

2) Be flexible – When he says that he’ll be in the house in 20 minutes for supper and you get everything ready and then two hours later he walks in the door saying that some salesman had stopped and that he didn’t buy anything, but time just got away from him…well, maybe he should be the flexible one. That way he can duck when you throw the plate at him.

3) Be willing to laugh – When he comes in the house, mad that he can’t find the nuts/bolts/tools/whatever he had taken apart and had set “right there” in the shop and he needs an extra set of eyes and then when you go to help you realize that your 3-year-old had “helped” Dad by putting all the parts in the handle of the floor jack…well, that’s just plain funny. Even if he doesn’t think so. At least not right away.

4) Be willing to change your view of norm – Walking into church 10 minutes early, enjoying the prelude music and visiting with a few people is no longer a normal part of life. Walking into church 10 minutes late, realizing your 4-year-old is still wearing his “rubby” boots and wondering if anyone else notices the smell of cow in the air, is.

5) Remember that he relates to new situations by connecting them to ones he knows – For instance, when you’re having a child and the doctor says he may need to assist in the delivery and he says something like, “But where do you hook the chains?” Well, he’s just trying to relate. Or if your children are born weighing in at 9 pounds 6 ounces, 10 pounds 9 ounces, 9 pounds 2 ounces and 9 pounds 13 ounces, and he calls the Select Sires rep to try to figure out what his Calving Ease score would be, but isn’t feeling too bad because he’s not breeding heifers any more anyway…well, he’s just trying to relate.

6) Throw out the calendar – Yes, it may be your anniversary, your birthday, Thanksgiving, what have you may…but since the weather is perfect for ______ (fill in blank) you may need to celebrate tomorrow or next week…or maybe three shindigs in one. Happy Anni-birth-giving!

7) Keep your temper – When he calls at noon, as you’re feeding four children, giving one a bath after eating, preparing a Sunday school lesson, trying to get some laundry done, washing dishes, breaking up a food fight and trying to find the wild cat that someone let in the house and he asks you if you’re “doing anything” – well, just count to ten…slowly…then backwards. Breathe. It’s OK.

8) Remember that cows and children are different…sometimes  – When he comes in the house covered in manure from head to toe, yet the smell of baby poop makes him gag…well, isn’t that just sweet?

9) Be willing to love – Love whatever life throws at you…and with a farmer it will be a lot. Take each new challenge and turn it into something fun and memorable. You can’t change the weather, the conditions, the fields, so you may as well look at it with a light heart.

10) Thank God for each day – I know I do. It’s not always easy, and it’s not always light-

My farmer - AKA Boss Man.

My farmer – AKA Boss Man.

hearted, but even the tough times can be good learning experiences. I’m sure Boss Man has tons of quirky things that I do that drive him nuts, but we’ve made it 10 years now…and that’s gotta count for something.

Here’s to the next 10 – hope my guardian angel can keep up!

Wordless Wednesday – The Mind of a 4-year-old

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I needed to have a photo of myself yesterday for my new column that will run in the Aberdeen American News. The problem was that I had no one to take the picture…or at least, no one older than 4! Here was his handy work (don’t worry, I finally got one!):

Just about worked, if only centered a little better!

 

Not quite.

 

Something seems to be missing...

 

Well, I do like reading, but...

 

The window did give good lighting, but I'm not there...

 

Oh, almost!!!

 

I'm not sitting in the chair, either...

 

No, but at least your socks are clean...

 

Really close view of sock. Maybe I should just call Dad?

New adventures

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Well, it’s official. I’m starting a new adventure in my life. I am officially a columnist for a regional daily newspaper.

Yeah, that’s right, someone is actually going to publish what I write. Hah! 🙂

Actually, I used to work at the Aberdeen American News prior to married life. I typed up wedding announcements and birth announcements and all sorts of community events. I proofread the paper and worked on special assignments. I met some amazing people and I LOVED my job.

But driving an hour one way, starting a new life (and family) with my new husband and having an opportunity closer to home all convinced me that I needed to travel down another path. Fast forward 10 years, and here we are!

My columns will run every other week, starting May 25…and I’m nervous! Aack! But I’m also excited. I have a chance to share my story, share my farm, and share my family with others on a scale that not many are given. How amazing is that?!?

Milk is good for you!

With these guys around, I probably won't run out of stuff to write about!

And to top it off…some of the same great people are still working at the paper. So it’s a little like coming home. In fact, the same amazing woman who was my boss so many years ago will now be my editor. Cool, eh?

Well, I better get to writing down all these ideas floating in my head. I can’t wait!!!

P.S. If you have any ideas, suggestions, etc. you’d like to share, shoot ’em at me!!

Happy Birthday, George!

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George is 2 today! And we just got out of the hospital…but I’ll write more about that tomorrow. For now, I’m just enjoying being home! 🙂

A Birthday Tradition

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It’s raining. I should be a tad surprised, since the weatherman said that the chances were slim, but I’m not. You see, today is my birthday. And it rains on my birthday.

When I was younger, we always watched the forecast, because I always wanted to have a party at the park. I LOVED playing outside. But year after year, our plans were changes, because it would rain. And then, one year it looked like it was going to work out. I was able to plan an outside party at the park in town! I was so excited! And, although it wasn’t a perfect day (the wind was so strong that my cake blew across the picnic table!), it was one of the best birthdays that I can remember.

Last year we were at Mayo with George. George’s birthday is tomorrow. I spent my birthday preparing him for the colonoscopy that he had for his birthday. Not such a great day for either of us! But we made up for it this year. And I’ll show you the picture proof tomorrow. Can’t wait!

By the way, Easter break is over for school, so here’s the last week of Ag Book of the Day (today is day 15):

“A Cow’s Alfalfa-Bet” by Woody Jackson. Not your typical alphabet book, but some really great artwork and a very farm-y way to learn your ABC’s!

Click to enlarge

Good Friday trumps Earth Day

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I was all prepared to write a post today about all the things we do on the farm that celebrates the Earth, such as using our manure, using no-till whenever possible, using the water from our well to heat our home…then heat our shop…then to water our cows, etc. (That’s right, all the same water, I’ll explain it sometime.)

But as I was sitting down to type last night, I decided to check out George’s lab work that was done at Mayo. (They have a really cool set-up, where you can register to log-in and receive the lab results yourself. No more waiting for that stinkin’ doctor’s call!) Anyway, I logged-in and for the first time ever, and I truly mean EVER, all of George’s lab work came back within normal ranges! (Well, minus the Vit. D and iron levels, but those are diet/sunshine related, not illness/disorder, so they don’t really count.)

I’ll admit it, I cried a bit. For the last just-about 2 years, I’ve dealt with continuously feeling like something wasn’t right, that we weren’t on the right track, bloodwork continuously showed something off here or there, nothing fit together, etc. It was a whirlpool of nightmares. Since George was born, he has seen: three pediatricians, two pediatric geneticists, two pediatric gastroenterologists, pediatric cardiologist, two pediatric endocrinologists, two pediatric neurologists, two dieticians, pediatric oncologist, pediatric neurosurgeon and several other various ER docs, nurses and staff. He has had: two colonoscopies, an upper GI series, multiple x-rays and ultrasounds, a liver biopsy, three MRI’s, an echocardiogram and two CT scans. He has given more blood for bloodwork that some people donate to the blood bank. He’ll be 2, and he’s been through so much, but is still such a wonderful little boy.

One of the things that I hear the most, when people hear about George, is that he doesn’t LOOK like anything is wrong with him. That’s always the problem. I wonder how many of those doctors blew us off because they felt he didn’t “look” sick enough. I know for sure one did, I overheard him tell the students that were following him those exact words. It went something like this, “And in this room is a 6-month-old male patient, case seems somewhat unremarkable. Mother has sought care at Mayo. Came in with fever, slight dehydration, etc. There’s no clear diagnosis, and I’m not real sure why they’re here. Their local hospital probably overreacted. We’ll keep him through tomorrow to satisfy the Mother.” (Needless to say, I requested a discharge immediately and we never returned to that set of physicians.)

We have so much to be thankful for.

This morning, Big Bro told me that they didn’t have school today because it was Earth Day. That sealed the deal for me. I’m not writing about our farm today. I’m not writing about how to recycle, or how to reduce your carbon footprint, or how to reuse your milk carton to make a mailbox. We should all know these things, and we should all be doing them. Every day. Period.

But today is Good Friday first. It’s a day that we celebrate all that has been given for us. The Blessing that was bestowed upon us so many years ago. And for me, today is a day of thankfulness.

Yes, I won’t be brushing my teeth with the water on, I’ll turn off lights where I don’t need them, our bulbs are already energy efficient. Those are things we do everyday. But today, I’ll spend extra time thanking God for those gifts that He has given. Including the ultimate sacrifice of His only Son.

Today is definitely a Good Friday.

Roadtrip

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We are on the road again. We will be in Rochester sometime this evening, for doctor appointments the next few days. I know George isn’t a big fan of the trips, so it’ll be interesting.

I’m still going to try to blog every day. Had I been far enough ahead with all of this, I would have had my blogs ready to roll before we left, but that’s never worked out so well for me! If I plan far enough in advance, something always falls through. Oh well, our lives are exciting to say the least!

Spring has decided to play games with us, and winter has once again reared its ugly head. It’s snowing now again, as we speak. Yuck. I’m ready for sunshine and green grass, but maybe that will be here when we get back? One can always hope.

Here’s a few pics of EJ being helpful and shoveling our sidewalk. Love his enthusiasm!

Not what you want to see in April!

 

EJ love the "shubel" that Grandma B. gave him for Christmas! Maybe next year we will get him a snowblower.

Here it is, Ag Book of the Day 10:

“Little Star…Raising Our First Calf” by Twins Rianna and Sheridan Chaney. It’s a great story about twin girls and their experiences on the farm. I love how they define words in children’s terms at the back of the book. For example, “Manure – A fancy name for cow poop.” The pictures are great, and my kids love to see other kids involved in agriculture. Kindred souls, I guess.

Little Star... Raising Our First Calf First in a new children's agricultural book series. Rianna and Sheridan Chaney hope their experiences on the farm will help children understand the importance of farm animals and inspire them to appreciate all of God's creatures

Industrial-sized love

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Yesterday, I overheard…hmmmm…over-read?…What would you call it if you caught a tweet that wasn’t directed TO you, but was about you? Well, anyway, that happened.

Someone claimed that a majority of farmers/ranchers involved in social media are “industrial ag.” (Particularly those that have ever participated in a Tuesday-night Twitter chat called #agchat.) I took offense to that. I’ve participated in several of these “chats,” where questions are asked and answered. No one claims to be an expert, no one claims to have all the answers, it’s just a discussion. The point is to connect the consumer to the producer. Sounds great, right?

Well, apparently someone off in cyber-world doesn’t want this conversation to take place. Perhaps it’s someone who enjoys causing trouble, or someone who profits from discontent. But when you accuse me and my friends of being something we’re not, you better back up your accusations with specific definitions, numbers, acres, parameters, etc.

I asked this particular person what “industrial ag” meant. And of course, received no response. Apparently throwing out terms and accusations is enough. Planting seeds of doubt seems to be the game, while we’re all busy planting real seeds…you know, the kind that feed the people who question our motives.

So, I’ve decided to delve into the definition of industrial ag, and see if I can come up with my own answers. I know quite a few people who have participated in the #agchat conversation on Twitter, and they have operations very similar to mine. So let’s get started:

Industrial – definition –

adjective

  1. having the nature of or characterized by industries
  2. of, connected with, or resulting from industries
  3. working in industries
  4. of or concerned with people working in industries
  5. for use by industries: said of products

noun

  1. a stock, bond, etc. of an industrial corporation or enterprise: usually used in pl.
  2. Rare a person working in industry
  3. a form of dance music characterized by pulsating rhythms, fragmented vocal lines, and distorted electronic sounds including urban sound effects

OK, so the definition doesn’t tell me much. I mean, according to the definition, anyone involved in agriculture is industrial…because we’re involved in the industry. But I don’t think that’s the connotation that was shot for when the comment was made. So let’s look at the operation:

They're oldies, but goodies.

Perhaps our state-of-the-art, vintage methods of combining our crops make us industrial?

This is the house I grew up in.

My house

Or maybe it was the silver-spoon I was raised with?

Future Farmer

EJ already knows he has big shoes to fill!

Or maybe it’s our hired men…there are four of them, you know. They don’t get paid much, but their benefits are extraordinary!

It takes all types...of equipment, that is.

Maybe it’s our specialized equipment we use?

Great us of advertising!

I took this ad out of the middle pages of a farm magazine, because EJ wanted to farm it.

Or the land we farm?

Little brother (George), looking up to his big brother, wanting to farm, just like him.

But I’m guessing it’s none of these things. I’m guessing that the reason people are casting doubts on our industry, and those of us doing what we can to protect and promote this way of life that we love, is that we’re cutting into their bottom line. Casting doubt on agriculture and spreading fear and lies about food, fuel and fiber is big business. And if we’re putting some of those questions and fears to rest, then we’re putting some people out of business.

I guess I might get a little cranky about that too.

If YOU have any questions about your food, fuel or fiber, feel free to ask! I’ll do what I can to answer, show you how we do it, explain why, whatever it may be. And if I can’t answer, I have friends across the world, involved in every aspect of agriculture, that are more than willing to do the same.

We have an industrial-sized love for agriculture…and we LOVE to share!

First week of spring

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Yes, that’s right, according to the calendar, it is indeed spring. Could’ve fooled me.

It’s been a long week, that’s for sure. Let me run down the last six days or so for you:

Saturday – Scooter had his first wrestling tournament in Lisbon. We had a blast, he placed first (even pinned his second competitor!) and it was a pleasant day overall. Little did I know that this would be the highlight of my week!

Sunday – Scooter was supposed to have another tournament in LaMoure, after singing in church that morning, but he woke up with 102 temp. No church, no singing, no tournament. Spent the day quarantined upstairs, so that our chances of transmitting something to George was lower. Talk about a long, miserable day for everyone.

Monday – Scooter stayed home from school, just in case. He quit running a temp late Sunday night, but if more parents would follow the 24-hour-with-no-fever rule, think of how much less stuff would be spread around? But that’s another topic, for another night. Another day of quarantine.

Tuesday – Forecast of bad weather, but it’s supposed to be further north of us. I held onto that hope up until the minute that we got the call that school was dismissing early. We ended up with rain, followed by about 4-6 inches of snow and nasty winds. No wrestling tournament in Ashley, two crabby boys home early from school, awful weather outside and a husband MIA at a meeting, since he received the message that there was no wrestling, which gave him free reign to “run errands.” (AKA – visit with anyone who will listen…for hours…and I’m not even close to kidding. Someday ask me about his “wrong number” phone call…the one where he didn’t realize that he didn’t know the guy he was talking to until 15 minutes into the conversation…and I wish I was exaggerating.) At this point in time, I’m beginning to hate the mocking way that the calendar declares that it’s spring. And checking cows in 6 inches of muck, covered with a few inches of snow, is still not fun…but great workout for the legs!

Wednesday – No school, but the school waited until after my regular alarm time to make the call. Thanks, appreciate it. So, instead of letting everyone sleep in, it was just a day where everyone was up early and bored about 10 minutes into the day. Oh, and did I mention that EJ is now sick? Yeah, he decided to start running a temp late Tuesday night. By Wednesday he’s coughing and miserable. He even asked if he could go to the doctor and get a shot. Normally, if my 4-year-old requests an injection, I would be heading to the ER, but in the middle of awful weather and blizzard-conditions, you tend to stay put a bit more.

Thursday – EJ gets his wish to go to the doctor, but the strep test is negative and it appears as if he just has a cold and some fluid in his ears. I’m not sold on that, but we have the medicine anyway, so as long as George doesn’t get sick…we’re good to go. As we leave the doctors office, EJ has a coughing fit, which leads him to remark, “The doctor’s office is broken. I’m still sick.” Apparently he figured that the minute he left, he’d feel better. I wish, bud, I wish. My mom kept EJ and George that evening while Scooter had another wrestling match. Him and three other boys from Ellendale all tied for second. It was the best possible outcome for that group of four boys. I love that he’s learning how to win (and even more importantly, lose) and still be a good sport. We have some work to do yet, but it’s a good start.

Friday – EJ is feeling a tad bit better, and I’m hoping and praying that George doesn’t catch “it.” So far, so good. Tonight was the carnival at school, and the three older boys had a blast! We brought home three goldfish (somehow the other two found foster homes!), bags of candy, toys and books from the book fair! It was a good night, until EJ got home and proceeded to throw up. Apparently the carnival was too much excitement (he hadn’t coughed all day, but went into a coughing fit as soon as we came home), but Mommy took care of things, then went and checked cows so Dad could sleep. (He came with to the carnival, which thrilled the boys to no end!) Not quite how I hoped our potential “date night” would go, but better than some.

Tomorrow, Scooter has a wrestling tournament in Ellendale. My mom will watch the other boys, just to make sure that George isn’t exposed to anything else.

When I get home, I’ll try to post some pics. And as long as everyone is healthier this week, we’ll be posting more often as well! By the way, did I mention that we only have 19 cows left to calve??? What a relief!

Yeah, they call me Grace

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Uh oh. I think I’ve really done a number now. Yeah, I went almost all winter without a problem. In fact, I think the last time I saw a doctor was my check-up after George was born. But I’m guessing I’ll be heading in soon.

I can’t lift my left arm. As in, it hurts to put on my jacket. Lifting George is almost impossible. Typing is OK, but only because I use my fingers, and don’t move my arm.

You see, it’s winter here in North Dakota. And with winter comes snow…and ice. With ice comes quick trips to meet the ground. But the problem was that I didn’t let myself fall gracefully. Nope, I had to go “Val” it up and make it painful. I somehow jammed my shoulder. The silver lining? It’s my left arm, not my right. (You see? There’s a silver lining in EVERY situation, you just have to look a little harder sometimes.)

I’m guessing I have some tears in there. I’m guessing it’ll be a bit before it feels better. And I’m guessing that this is going to be a long spring.

Maybe, if I’m lucky enough, I’ll fall again and knock it back to normal? Hey, a gal can dream, can’t she?

It’s time to go out again and check cows. My wishes are that 1) #70 hasn’t calved and I can actually get her to the barn this time, 2) if I DO fall, that I don’t break anything, and 3) it’s 70 degrees outside. (Hey, as long as I’m wishing here, I might as well throw in one big one, just to make the others seem more plausible.)

Good night! And if I don’t wave to you tomorrow, it’s not because I don’t want to, it’s because I can’t! 😉