Full day

Posted on September 5, 2010 by wagfarms

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.

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

Posted on September 3, 2010 by wagfarms

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!!!

There’s always a why

Posted on September 2, 2010 by wagfarms

I was aked to write a few words about why I started blogging. After thinking about it a bit, I decided that I should probably write this in my blog, so that when I think I’m too tired to write, or feel that no one is paying any attention anyways, I can come back and read this letter:

Dear blogworld,

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to step into your world for just a minute…and in return, I’m asking you to step into mine. I want to explain to you why it is that I’m writing and why it is that you should care.

I could give you a thousand reasons why I shouldn’t be here. I have 4 boys for pete’s sake, that should be enough right there! I have a house to clean, laundry to do, rooms to straighten, errands to run, cows to check on, calf replacer to retrieve out of a washing machine, etc., etc. Yeah, I’m really that busy.

But I have four main reasons why I’m taking this time…the first was born in June, 2002, and the fourth was born in April, 2009.

Right now the world is being run by those who are in the media, spinning stories to their liking and making the general population afraid of things that they never thought about before. People are doubting the safety of their food, questioning the practices that my family has been using for generations and using a magnifying glass to determine if I’m doing a good enough job raising their food. That scares me. I don’t doubt for a minute the safety of the food we are raising, but I’m scared that those who want to see me out of business are out there telling everyone what it is I’m doing, instead of me telling them.

Laws and regulations are being passed and forced upon society without thought as to the science behind the practices. Emotions are being played with and people are being forced into questioning one of the world’s safest food sources…my farm.

I have a story to tell, and I don’t want it ending with me. I want my boys to have their own stories to tell. I want them to have the freedom and opportunities to pursue whatever careers their hearts decide on…and if the world is lucky enough, one of them may decide to be a farmer.

So, long story short, why am I here? Well, I’m hoping that if someone has a question as to why I do what I do…perhaps I’ll be lucky enough for them to actually ask me, instead of a reporter in New York. And if that luck holds out, perhaps my boys will too.

And they’re off…video

Posted on September 2, 2010 by wagfarms

Video of the release of birds on YouTube…Yeah, the duck wasn’t keen on leaving. He actually stuck around for a few days, but he’s found his friends now and is happily back at the pond.

And they’re off!

Posted on September 2, 2010 by wagfarms

Earlier this summer, we started on an adventure. We hatched out pheasant and duck eggs that were at risk during haying season. (You can read the history here: http://www.fb.org/blog/index.php/2010/07/06/a_duck_duck_here_and_a_duck_duck_there )

Well, last week it finally became time to let them go. We started with 13 pheasants and 9 ducks, but a lot of lessons were learned. For example, pheasants are extremely predatorial…ducks, on the other hand, are not. This is why when we let them go, we were down to 4 pheasants and just one duck…but he was a TOUGH duck! We also had some that escaped, with the help of a black lab that liked to dig. (At least, I told the boys that they escaped…)

The boys are planning on doing it again next year. I’m actually glad that they were interested in it. Sometimes on the farm you become so used to nature that you actually forget what a beautiful and complex world we live in. It’s great to have these reminders…especially in our own backyard.