This is how it goes

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So, mommy duties trumped farm-wife duties today. Although I was planning on driving truck all afternoon, plans were changed on me. Imagine that.

George decided that he would start a fever today. He’s been cranky for a few days, so I had a feeling it was coming, but it’s been a long time since we’ve had fever issues. For those that aren’t aware of my family background, “George,” our youngest son, has been battling mysterious health issues for most of his life. His only diagnosis so far has been Failure to Thrive. Doctors throw ideas at us left and right, but nothing ever sticks, and we get passed off from specialist to specialist like a nasty church potluck dish.

Anyway, I digress.

So I spent my day trying to entertain an ailing child, debating with myself as to whether or not I should call in and just at 8 p.m., as the walk-in clinic an hour from here was closing, his fever decided to spike. Yeah, we roll like that.

So we loaded up some Motrin (Tylenol is a no-no right now, since one of our first major issues were liver enzyme levels close to 300, both AST and ALT), and now he’s resting well. I’m guessing ear infection, which is about as close to an accurate diagnosis as any doctor gives us, and will probably be visiting the clinic in the morning.

Can I tell you…I’d rather drive truck.

Sure sign of fall

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I’m not ready for today…but then again, I never am. No, I’m not talking about the first days of school or the first snow fall, nothing that simple. Today we start chopping corn. Ugh.

Now, I know that it’s a good thing. This means that we’ll be prepared for winter, have plenty of feed for our cattle, be able to provide for them the nutrients they need. That’s all great!

It’s what it means that makes me say, “Ugh.” Silage harvest is closely followed by winter. No matter how you look at it, you can’t escape it. And when you live in a state like North Dakota, winter is kinda a big deal.

So this morning, I’m getting lunch ready to put in the oven, my canning stuff put away, some laundry done and a very excited little boy ready to go. If you’re looking for me, I’ll be in the silage truck, hauling corn to the pile…and not very excited about it.

Laughter: Best medicine

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I’m exhausted…mentally, physically, emotionally. I’ve been getting the one-two punch from all sides, but I’m still standing and I’ll persevere…I know I will, it just takes time.

Doctors are the bane to my existence. I understand the appeal of not involving them in your life at all. Yet, my duty as a mother and caretaker trumps all discomfort, impatience and absolute frustration. So, as I said, I keep on keeping on.

My comfort in all this is a little pint-sized farmer that can make the world brighter with a game a peek-a-boo with a flip cam. Watch this and see if you don’t agree:

Going out on a limb

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They said it couldn’t be done…they said it wouldn’t matter…they said we had to keep doing things the way we had in the past. Well, guess what, we didn’t…

The Dickey County Farm Bureau (of which, I am a board member), decided to hold its annual meeting a little differently this year. We called it “Pigs, Pits and Pistols.”

We roasted a whole pig (as in the whole thing, directly in a “pit”), had inflatable games for kids, had shooting sports for the bigger kids, had a Marksmen Quadrathlon and an archery demonstration. There were laser shooting games for kids of all ages, a keg of root beer and ice cream on the deck, sodas for all and room for about 150. Oh, and it was all free…well, except for the Quadrathlon, but the two top scorers took home all the cash.

Guess what? We ran out of room.

That’s right…we had an annual meeting (of which our yearly attendance averages right at 30) and we served over 160 at supper. We planned for 150, but figured it was a pipe dream. It was amazing! We had to open up the other section of the lodge…we had to have people eat outside!

We had teenage boys there on a Saturday afternoon! And they were having fun! At an annual meeting!

I didn’t include video of the meeting part, but the grassroots movement is definitely alive and well. And we were able to initiate some interest and excitement about becoming more involved in our organization. What more could we possibly ask for?

I don’t know how we’ll top this next year…but we better start planning now! 😉 Hmmm…wonder if Siegfried and Roy would come out of retirement…

And the tag means???

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I had a question asked of me on Twitter today, or should I say I answered one that was being discussed. Someone was wondering how we decide what tags go on which cows. I had never thought of it before. Sometimes, when you’re on the inside, things seem so obvious that you forget that others don’t know why you’re doing it…it’s an epidemic in agriculture, and one we’re working on fixing.

To answer the question, yes the tag does mean something. When calves are first born (or at least soon after), they get a tag in their ear with the same number their cow has. The white tags mean that the calf is a bull, the yellow tag means that it’s a heifer (a female that hasn’t had a calf yet).

Separating the two sexes of calves helps make giving the calves their vaccinations easier. Plus, you don’t have to worry about trying to castrate a heifer! 🙂

Purple cow

This cow has a purple tag, you can see the one in the background has a blue tag.

Now the cow tags are different colors for a different reason. Each year the cows get a different color ear tag. Tags come in tons of different colors, so it works pretty well. Cows are normally only on the farm for 10-12 years, as long as they have a calf, they stay. You can look at the cows tag and know which year she was born in. (We have a closed herd, which means every cow that’s on our farm was born and raised here…I’ll explain that more in another post some time.)

Another benefit of having different colors is so that you can easily determine which cow you need to bring in (sometimes looking at a sea of red faces is confusing, but the color of the ear tag helps), during calving season…or any other time of the year, if there is a health issue.

There’s a lot more to it then that, but that’ll do for now. I don’t want to overwhelm you with cow information!

If you have any questions, please, feel free to ask. I love talking about our farm…and I’ll gladly take a video or some photos to help out the process! 🙂

My canner is smoking!

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Literally my canner was smoking earlier today. In the last few days I have made a TON of salsa and stewed tomatoes…including 26 quarts of salsa today. I am exhausted! My feet are aching and if I see another tomato again within the next few weeks, I’m likely to hurt someone.

Just as I was getting done with my last batch today, I decided that next year I will either do my canning during the dead of night, or send the little troops to daycare. They managed to destroy the house in the hours that I was some-what distracted. Little turkeys.

But with all the mess, I did find that EJ has finally found a really good use for those double-page farm ads that drive me nuts in the magazines. Check it out:

Great us of advertising!

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

 

I wonder if they sell a farm-themed laminate for the kitchen floor…like wheat stubble, or corn? Maybe then I could even talk EJ into washing the floor! 🙂

Entering a new era

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Guess what??? I’m laying in my bed right now.

Now, before you go going all sicko on me, I’m not trying to be one of those 900-number blogs (do such a thing exist?)…I’m just excited to share the news that I have finally entered the 21st century. I have a laptop!

Now for most people, that wouldn’t mean much, but to me, this is monumental. Not only can I blog from the comfort of my room, while rocking a stubborn 3-year-old to sleep, but I can also stay connected while on the road.

The opportunities are endless, and I plan on taking advantage of them!

So be prepared world…Val Wagner is now unplugged…

Fish are patient

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Big brother was invited to have a sleepover at Grandma B’s house last night, so that he could go fishing with my family today. Scooter was a little peeved about this, so I promised him that we would go fishing this afternoon. Little did I know what it would all take to get there. Here’s the rundown:

$45 – money spent on snacks, drinks, etc.

$11 – money spent on in-state fishing license

25 – number of minutes spent waiting for someone able to sell me a license, since apparently they wouldn’t just let me fill it out myself and leave them the correct money

2 – number of children I took with

3 – number of poles that I took with

1 1/2 – number of worms used…don’t ask about the 1/2

15 – number of minutes spent fishing before I was told it was too cold, they were too tired, they were too hungry, etc., etc.

26 – number of minutes spent on the road, driving to and from the lake

1,376 – number of times I had to recast after both kids reeling in the fishing line as soon as I gave them their rods

1,377 – number of times I told them not to reel in the line as soon as I gave them their rod

Oh well, a good day fishing…you know the rest of the saying. The quote of the evening goes to Scooter, who looked at me after about 27 seconds of fishing and said, “Boy, these fish must have lots of patience.” Yes, my son, they must…and it’s a good thing your mom does too!

Full day

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I can’t believe how today went. Well, I can, but I’m exhausted thinking about it.

It started out this morning with EJ waking up, heading outside and coming in to tell me that his kitty was dying. Nothing wakes a mom out of her morning fog like a 3-year-old sobbing hysterically about his kitty. I headed outside to assess the situation, and indeed it was dire. Unfortunately Pip passed on this afternoon. I’m not sure what happened, but she was a runt of a litter that we brought home from the fair, and she had been sick off and on. Just another lesson that nature taught us.

After that, boss man decided that today would maybe be a good day to can. Now, to tell you the truth, there are NO good days to can, but today wasn’t going to be any worse than any other. So after breakfast I started the process of canning 10 quarts of salsa.

Once those were done, I took the boys out to the hay field about 15 miles west of here, to do some video of Mark loading up a semi of small squares for a trucker out of Wisconsin.

Next we checked the cows, then I took the boys past the house I grew up in. We don’t go there often, even though we own the land now. It makes me kinda sad to see the house…but that’s another story.

This is the house I grew up in.

My house

Then we enjoyed supper with my folks and sister, came home, got the boys ready for bed, and now I’m canning another 7 quarts of whole tomatoes. Yeah, I’ll get to bed late, and I’m sure tomorrow will be similar to today, but that’s the beauty of it all.

The day’s are always full.

My problems start with Y

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As in the XY chromosome…yep, you guessed it…males.

Yeah, I know, I’m gonna get flak for it. Men don’t cause ALL the world’s problems, but they do cause most of mine! 🙂 Of course, most of that is because I’m surrounded by them…completely.

Let’s take today for example. I had a hair appointment at 9:45 this morning. This appointment was rescheduled from Wednesday, when two of my boys did not make it home on time on the bus (which is also driven by a male, might I add). Hair appointments are kind of a big deal for me. I usually only get into town once or twice a year, since you need to schedule these things in advance, and let’s just say that my life doesn’t allow for advanced scheduling that often!

I woke my lil’ boys up and got them ready to go, so I would make it into town in time to drop them off at the drop-in daycare and get my haircut. After fighting with EJ to get dressed, changing George twice (he’s allergic to clean clothes…makes him poop right through, I swear!) and putting gas in my van, I take off with a few minutes to spare.

Then another version of the XY chromosome got in my way. This morning our bulls decided to take a leisurely stroll down the road. ARGH!

So me, two boys and my minivan did some off-roading, got them going in the right direction, I turned around, came home and called the boss man to let him know what HIS bulls were doing, and headed back to town. I was NOT going to take the hour or so it was going to take to get the bulls back in the pasture. I was NOT giving up my hair appointment! Not this time!

Needless to say, my hair is shorter, the bulls are back in and all is well, even though I was a few minutes late.

Seriously, I started out on time…and I truly TRIED to get there when I should, but that stinking Y had other plans. *sigh* It’s a good thing they’re so darn cute…the boys, not the bulls.

P.S. I’ve even added a category for running late, ‘cuz I know I’ll be writing about this often!!!