Yesterday we laid to rest the staple of my small Van Cleave community! A powerful and mighty woman, who was small but so strong in her Faith, her Family and most importantly her love of Farming!! She was a kind, giving, and faithful servant. I remember my husband calling one day and saying "when you get off work, it is time for us to visit with Charles and Bobbi." Who, what, where I asked..............
Needless to say they became one of the pushers in our lives, the pusher who generously sold us our first 2 acres to put a house, and then the farm next to us. The pusher who backed our thoughts when my husband wanted to farm! We were young and poor, but rich in spirit from the 2 of them!!! They lost their only child when he was young............and trouble pained their lives for years. But God moved mountains in their lives with so many that he sent to help fill the void they painfully missed. And that fall day, we became one of them.
My oldest child was born on the day that years and years ago their son passed away...........tragic to their heart..............I feel God birthed that baby on that day to put back a piece of joy where it was gone. She was the child that they watched out their window when she played in the yard............and the one that they never cleaned the glass on the door window so Ms. Bobbi could look at her hand prints. Ms. Bobbi would say you can still see thru the glass, but the hand print is the reminder that she was there!!! Oh how true, we always are first to clean away the smudges but when left alone they are reminders that make us better and see how far we have come.
She became frail with time, but always wanted to know what was going on in the fields!!! Her faith was strong, her family even stronger by those she called children that filled her void, and her love of the farm never changed!! Bless is the woman that could do so much, as she laid her hands in the dirt yesterday.....I truly know "her heart is still at work"!
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
learning where you are, is where you are meant to be
I started running over a year ago for exercise.............and to gain my sanity back on long days. But since the first of the year I have trudged along with great passion. Passion that has pushed me to run during the week building muscles that I never thought would be possible and running distances without stopping I would have bet you I could have never done. Long story short, I have gotten OCD in trying to get it in along with working and being a mother. But today I got up and ran at 6:15 am which is a HUGE accomplishment because that meant getting up 30 minutes before normal (I am NOT a morning person). But 5.5 miles later I was ready to take on the day. My runs allow me to think thru my day and plans..........not all go as I direct out but it is MY time that no one needs to be fed, mommy isn't said a million times, and the Farmer hasn't sent me on a wild goose chase. As I literally get to the driveway, the Farmer has gotten the girls almost ready and given medicine. WOW, what a help.........
So I drop one at school, come home to feed 2 cattle farms, check the tobacco already in the ground for frost damage, write out and then head to pay bills, come home fix lunch for 3..........and then spend the afternoon running the 1st grade field day for my daughters school.
Whew, and the day wasn't over.......snacks delivered to the farmer and a short trip for the girls to say "hi daddy".........led to planting the garden and making sure our winter food was all set for hopefully another great summer harvest.
Back home to finish dinner that was put together at lunch and showers for the girls so we can make early bedtime for 2 more days of school. The farmer is still in the field but he has a hot dinner to keep him moving and his girls are bathed and in the bed. I know sit and view the daily facebook posts and plan for tomorrows long day in the tobacco field. BUT I LOVE IT...............years it took to find this is where GOD had planned me to be. Really a farmers wife and farmer/mother................??? Some would say it wasn't for them, and guess what I am glad!!! Glad that I can sit back and see the foods produced my hands have touched........ the clothes worn were grew by my friends............and most products used everyday started out with in the glimmer of a farmers eye. It is where I am meant to be.............waking up and going to bed knowing that when my Hands are in the dirt, My heart is at work!!!
So I drop one at school, come home to feed 2 cattle farms, check the tobacco already in the ground for frost damage, write out and then head to pay bills, come home fix lunch for 3..........and then spend the afternoon running the 1st grade field day for my daughters school.
Whew, and the day wasn't over.......snacks delivered to the farmer and a short trip for the girls to say "hi daddy".........led to planting the garden and making sure our winter food was all set for hopefully another great summer harvest.
Back home to finish dinner that was put together at lunch and showers for the girls so we can make early bedtime for 2 more days of school. The farmer is still in the field but he has a hot dinner to keep him moving and his girls are bathed and in the bed. I know sit and view the daily facebook posts and plan for tomorrows long day in the tobacco field. BUT I LOVE IT...............years it took to find this is where GOD had planned me to be. Really a farmers wife and farmer/mother................??? Some would say it wasn't for them, and guess what I am glad!!! Glad that I can sit back and see the foods produced my hands have touched........ the clothes worn were grew by my friends............and most products used everyday started out with in the glimmer of a farmers eye. It is where I am meant to be.............waking up and going to bed knowing that when my Hands are in the dirt, My heart is at work!!!
Corn proud..............finally
After many weeks of wet weather, the planted was finally able to shake off the dust and hit the fields!! A very exciting day for the farm families in Western KY. And the day my husband, bless his heart finally had a little hitch in his gitty up!Farm wives will know what I mean with that phrase. ha ha
Momma bear (myself) worked on a project for school as I watched the guys do some clean up work around the farm. So nice to get phone calls back from my husband today that started off with "what are you doing". Normally during this time the corn in planted and the beans are shaking their bags ready to be planted, as well as the fields already stripped tilled and patiently awaiting arrival of me and the guys with the setter. Instead the planter just hit the field LATE........but there to say the least. And 2 meals were delivered to the field, dinner especially so the girls could see their daddy for 10 minutes today. Long days for a farm wife.............but it is what I live for. Yes I am crazy, but its just another day in the life of the farmers wife.
Momma bear (myself) worked on a project for school as I watched the guys do some clean up work around the farm. So nice to get phone calls back from my husband today that started off with "what are you doing". Normally during this time the corn in planted and the beans are shaking their bags ready to be planted, as well as the fields already stripped tilled and patiently awaiting arrival of me and the guys with the setter. Instead the planter just hit the field LATE........but there to say the least. And 2 meals were delivered to the field, dinner especially so the girls could see their daddy for 10 minutes today. Long days for a farm wife.............but it is what I live for. Yes I am crazy, but its just another day in the life of the farmers wife.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
to the Moms in my life
Its been a while since I blogged................but I am back in the saddle again. These past 6 weeks have been wet and you would have thought I would have designated some time to the blog because we can't work. Instead it was boring and I tended to other areas in my life, but today is the day. The day I shall return. And what better return I have than to devote today's blog to the moms of today because OUR DAY is around the corner. As a farmers wife and mother to two lively girls, my head and heart collide in how blessed and grateful I am to the moms that have led me to where I am today!
To my Grandma (yes she reads this because she is a hi-tech Grandma), the one that always says GO!! And is proud in whatever we do and wherever we go. The one that raised her family to be faithful, grateful, and powerful!!
To my mother......the one that gave me wings even though I know she had doubts that us marrying at such a young age life would be hard. But she clinched our dream as she learned our occupations, I did too. That how my love for the country became hers too.
To the mothers/wives/friends that I follow thru facebook....................you are my motivators and teachers!! I have learned how to be a better mother, try new recipes, get out stains, and most importantly how to live and love! As a wife, farm or no farm we all struggle, at times feel unappreciated, and I know stress when we can't get that one thing right. But you responded when I need advice and Pray when I need prayers!
To the Farm Mom/Wife.........the one that showed me the way and was willing and able to reach out and push me/us to further our dream. She is a motivator and doer (yes that is a word).........yet always stops when her family is in need. She processes GREAT Faith in this world and her occupation!! She has allowed me to see I can be it all and do it all!! We are the Katies of the world that raise a flock of kids, educates her community and world on agriculture, yet still finds time to work and do what she loves. I know you too sit around the shop and follow your husband from one side of the tractor to the next just to watch him work. There are long days and nights..............many trips to town to get supplies and parts, many trips to the grocery to prepare 3 meals a day even though you could have eaten cereal you still cook for the kids and take dinner to the fields, and the stresses of paying the millions of bills that come daily in the mail. Still I grasp OUR dream, and I am thankful that GOD chose me to be that wife and mother!!!!
To my husband that works so hard..............I never take one second for granted in how and where we are today. God gave me a good one I do say..............and then allowed me to mother to his 2 beautiful and healthy girls. Yes I will still complain when I am tired, scream when the kids are crazy, but I am always there when the field calls me to work............because when my hands is in the dirt, my heart is at work. Just another day in the life of the farmers wife................
To my Grandma (yes she reads this because she is a hi-tech Grandma), the one that always says GO!! And is proud in whatever we do and wherever we go. The one that raised her family to be faithful, grateful, and powerful!!
To my mother......the one that gave me wings even though I know she had doubts that us marrying at such a young age life would be hard. But she clinched our dream as she learned our occupations, I did too. That how my love for the country became hers too.
To the mothers/wives/friends that I follow thru facebook....................you are my motivators and teachers!! I have learned how to be a better mother, try new recipes, get out stains, and most importantly how to live and love! As a wife, farm or no farm we all struggle, at times feel unappreciated, and I know stress when we can't get that one thing right. But you responded when I need advice and Pray when I need prayers!
To the Farm Mom/Wife.........the one that showed me the way and was willing and able to reach out and push me/us to further our dream. She is a motivator and doer (yes that is a word).........yet always stops when her family is in need. She processes GREAT Faith in this world and her occupation!! She has allowed me to see I can be it all and do it all!! We are the Katies of the world that raise a flock of kids, educates her community and world on agriculture, yet still finds time to work and do what she loves. I know you too sit around the shop and follow your husband from one side of the tractor to the next just to watch him work. There are long days and nights..............many trips to town to get supplies and parts, many trips to the grocery to prepare 3 meals a day even though you could have eaten cereal you still cook for the kids and take dinner to the fields, and the stresses of paying the millions of bills that come daily in the mail. Still I grasp OUR dream, and I am thankful that GOD chose me to be that wife and mother!!!!
To my husband that works so hard..............I never take one second for granted in how and where we are today. God gave me a good one I do say..............and then allowed me to mother to his 2 beautiful and healthy girls. Yes I will still complain when I am tired, scream when the kids are crazy, but I am always there when the field calls me to work............because when my hands is in the dirt, my heart is at work. Just another day in the life of the farmers wife................
Monday, March 18, 2013
Trying to save.........in order to spend
Trying to find ways to save money is key in this day in time......especially when you have a family and a business to run. I am thankful that I have a farmer who is able to do his own maintenance work in order to save us some money. This week on the farm the shop gets full and the smell of GREASE and OIL fills the air. Tractors start making their way to the main shop for a tune up and oil change. The farmer has to check all equipment, cleaning air filters and changing oil for the work ahead this year. Scott is very particular too as far as the looks of everything we own. Not just a bath for each piece but a wax job each year to freshen the look as well!!
In return, with money saved..................money is spent!! Two girls, and two years apart in age requires not one new bike but two!! Now for the quality time they can spend riding circles around the shop and parking lot while their daddy works!!
In return, with money saved..................money is spent!! Two girls, and two years apart in age requires not one new bike but two!! Now for the quality time they can spend riding circles around the shop and parking lot while their daddy works!!
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Loving the sound of the Jake Brake...........
Life on the farm is never finished and never DULL!! This time of the year many might think there is nothing to do, but others know that is not true. Being a tobacco farmer, starting in March Scott goes to the roads TRUCKING. Yes it is still hard to process that my husband drives a semi...............yes a HUGE SEMI at that. But a relief it has been that we don't have to hire a driver and we save money, but on the other hand it is a huge and can be a dangerous piece of equipment if not careful.
Driving the roads hauling slabs is a pass time these days getting our supplies back in stock. He trucks about an hour and a half one way then sits about 30 to 45 minutes waiting at the saw mill to be loaded. So about a 4 hour long and boring trip to get our 2013 tobacco crop ready and stocked for firing barns.
Our favorite picture of the day is passing my farmer on the road.............and listening to the girls squeal with excitement when he sounds the loud horn. As for me, another prayer goes up for safety on the roads.........for my inner squeal sounds when I hear the Jake brake sounds past the house knowing he is home again safely...................just another day in the life of a farmers wife!
Driving the roads hauling slabs is a pass time these days getting our supplies back in stock. He trucks about an hour and a half one way then sits about 30 to 45 minutes waiting at the saw mill to be loaded. So about a 4 hour long and boring trip to get our 2013 tobacco crop ready and stocked for firing barns.
A beautiful Semi parked after a trip to the saw mill.
And in between trips and after long hauls this same man jumps on the tractor and pushes up sawdust that has been hauled to the farm and unloaded in stock piles for our 2013 firing process. Notice in all these pictures safety is ALWAYS key!!! Wearing your seat belt at ALL times and having the Roll-Bar up and in the appropriate position is a must when working on large equipment.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Spring Flowers.........bring "cow" showers
One of the best games we get to experience on the farm is hunting for baby calves. Each spring, 9 months after we turn our bull in to the herd we start marking calenders for calving season. Usually we (meaning mostly Scott during winter months) stroll thru the cattle farm once daily. This daily procedure is to check to make sure all cows are healthy, have enough feed/hay, and the farm looks secure. Normal process is just a drive thru the farm checking fences and counting heads. But come February/March the trips usually end up in 2 a days when the mommas milk bag become large and swollen. It is amazing how the body like ours can change with in hours. Sunday afternoon we took a family drive to count and talk to the herd. The girls like mooing to those that like to talk and feeding from their hands the friendly ones.
And in most cases like this picture they are easy to find and count. This time of the year too with the trees still naked it is easier to view all parts of the farm. So Sunday afternoon was a normal visit......all were accounted for. But hours later, the next morning for us............the first calf of 2013 hit the ground.
Scott checked the farm early like normal, and when we he came home later than normal we knew he had found an egg!!! As Easter approaches, this hunt of calves not eggs reminds me of my girls frantically searching Easter morning for the eggs the Easter bunny had left. He none the less does the same when he enters the gate on his search but not for eggs.
Monday morning Scott was 1 cow short and to his surprise, off in the woods a momma licked her newborn calf clean! The hunt had begun............but not was he off by 1 cow, he was off by 2. On the way out he counted again and found another new calf waddling alongside his momma in the distance.
When he came home, we knew there must be news. Not by his lateness but his pant-less body................Sayler and I both guessed he must have been wrestling new babies and tagging their ears. Yes, muddy poopy pants stay in the garage not my house!!
Below is the picture the girls took as they got to go to the farm after school and meet the new babies.
The search reminds me of Gods search for us!! Doesn't matter where we try to hide he will find us, clean us and stand by our side as we stand to walk!! Another example of the gift God has given, NEW LIFE!!! Just another day in the life of a farmers wife................
Scott checked the farm early like normal, and when we he came home later than normal we knew he had found an egg!!! As Easter approaches, this hunt of calves not eggs reminds me of my girls frantically searching Easter morning for the eggs the Easter bunny had left. He none the less does the same when he enters the gate on his search but not for eggs.
Monday morning Scott was 1 cow short and to his surprise, off in the woods a momma licked her newborn calf clean! The hunt had begun............but not was he off by 1 cow, he was off by 2. On the way out he counted again and found another new calf waddling alongside his momma in the distance.
When he came home, we knew there must be news. Not by his lateness but his pant-less body................Sayler and I both guessed he must have been wrestling new babies and tagging their ears. Yes, muddy poopy pants stay in the garage not my house!!
Below is the picture the girls took as they got to go to the farm after school and meet the new babies.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Making your way in the world today.....
Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.
Wouldn't you like to get away? Sometimes you want to go.........
Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.
You wanna go where people know, people are all the same,
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.
Wouldn't you like to get away? Sometimes you want to go.........
Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.
You wanna go where people know, people are all the same,
You wanna go where everybody knows
your name.
Love this theme song............sometimes in stressful days it's always good to know that someone out there is feeling the same way or trudging the same road. Winter time = meeting time and tax time around the farm......and my favorite no doubt is meeting time!! We are gone about 2 weekends out of the month to some locations better than others, but at a place where farmers gather together for information to start the next farm season in the best way possible. Here we share ideas, and grow crops with in hours...........that's what farmers do best...........talk a crop that is already grown, harvested and sold...................
Love this theme song............sometimes in stressful days it's always good to know that someone out there is feeling the same way or trudging the same road. Winter time = meeting time and tax time around the farm......and my favorite no doubt is meeting time!! We are gone about 2 weekends out of the month to some locations better than others, but at a place where farmers gather together for information to start the next farm season in the best way possible. Here we share ideas, and grow crops with in hours...........that's what farmers do best...........talk a crop that is already grown, harvested and sold...................
Gotta love the tales and stories that you hear, especially whose corn is bigger and better and so on. The laughter of our kids playing and then the crying of those fighting with siblings and friends. Its the place where one parent says you discipline my kid just as you would yours, and where you can walk off and know your kids are being watched by the bystanders just like their own. Doesn't matter where we are or who we are with, you can feel the love and appreciation of the AMERICAN Farmer.
You step out of yourself, look around and see that those around you feel and live the same way. And as I look in I see that hard work and family is the tie that binds us all together...stories are all the same.
I guess its my giddyness that I enjoy these events, and times as adults where we can view agriculture around the US. We have met so many friends around the state and US that live as we do off the land.
And the song fits...you wanna be where troubles are all the same.............and most importantly where everybody knows your name!!
I am Thankful to several organizations for allowing us the opportunity to be where everyone knows our name.............and the stories are all the same!!
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
God made my Farmer
Well Thank You Super Bowl 47 and your commercials...............because the Paul Harvey "God made a farmer" has been the buzz for days! If you didn't see it check out my link at the end.
Its amazing how a video and the right voice can stop your heart, create a tear and make you feel so connected!! As many of you know I (we) didn't grow up on a farm nor did we ever rarely visit a farm. But somewhere and somehow God led us to where we were supposed to be. Throughout school I remember the kids that worked or missed school due to duties on the farm. Especially laughing at the stories that the cows were out and they were tardy to school...........to be surprised that years later I would be sharing the same stories!!
I reminisce the mornings where a baby calf had to be bottle fed before I had to be at work by 7:30 am, and all the times I had been called home due to animals out of their pastures running the countryside. Or the days where we would search for momma cows delivering new babies on our bellies thru briar patches and weeds, to confirm the safe delivery of another baby calf to the farm. Some say I am crazy and still can't believe how life has changed for us. But its the compassion we have and the love we share in raising Gods creatures............that every one is cared for as a pet and nothing less.
The nights where my farmer comes in at midnight to rise 5 hours later to get back to his job or the heat/cold of the day that I ponder how he can persevere. The smell of grease and the film of dirt on everything we own is a statement to the lifestyle that we live. Not just all animals on our farm, but growing and tending to the land also makes up our crazy life. Long days and nights in the field along with worrying what mother nature will do can make a person go crazy. But its the good crazy that keeps us loving and working on the American Farm. Not to mention raising 2 girls outside in the fields.........with the smell of manure and the sound of a tractor nearby. My favorite all time memory is my 2 year old beside my leg as we fed cattle and watch and talked to them as they ate........her chewing gum fell out of her mouth, our dog decided to investigate and spit it out when he realized it was not for him.....to then turn as my child picked it back up off the ground and went to chewing again! "Little dirt never hurt anyone right?"
Almost 11 years later we eat, sleep, and breathe farm life. Learning to incorporate a lifestyle we were both unaccustomed too financially and emotionally hasn't been easy...........but its the LOVE of our "hands in the dirt, hearts at work" that motivates our every moment! Just another day in the life, of a farmers wife!
And on the eighth day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, "I need a caretaker." So God made a farmer.
God said, "I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day in the field, milk cows again, eat supper, then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board." So God made a farmer.
God said, "I need somebody willing to sit up all night with a newborn colt and watch it die, then dry his eyes and say,'Maybe next year,' I need somebody who can shape an ax handle from an ash tree, shoe a horse with hunk of car tire, who can make a harness out hay wire, feed sacks and shoe scraps. Who, during planting time and harvest season will finish his 40-hour week by Tuesday noon and then, paining from tractor back, put in another 72 hours." So God made the farmer.
God said, "I need somebody strong enough to clear trees and heave bales, yet gentle enough to yean lambs and wean pigs and tend the pink-comb pullets, who will stop his mower for an hour to splint the leg of a meadowlark."
It had to be somebody who'd plow deep and straight and not cut corners. Somebody to seed, weed, feed, breed, and brake, and disk, and plow, and plant, and tie the fleece and strain the milk, . Somebody who'd bale a family together with the soft, strong bonds of sharing, who would laugh, and then sigh and then reply with smiling eyes when his son says that he wants to spend his life doing what Dad does. "So God made a farmer."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMpZ0TGjbWE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTeNe8lr9B4&feature=player_detailpage
I reminisce the mornings where a baby calf had to be bottle fed before I had to be at work by 7:30 am, and all the times I had been called home due to animals out of their pastures running the countryside. Or the days where we would search for momma cows delivering new babies on our bellies thru briar patches and weeds, to confirm the safe delivery of another baby calf to the farm. Some say I am crazy and still can't believe how life has changed for us. But its the compassion we have and the love we share in raising Gods creatures............that every one is cared for as a pet and nothing less.
The nights where my farmer comes in at midnight to rise 5 hours later to get back to his job or the heat/cold of the day that I ponder how he can persevere. The smell of grease and the film of dirt on everything we own is a statement to the lifestyle that we live. Not just all animals on our farm, but growing and tending to the land also makes up our crazy life. Long days and nights in the field along with worrying what mother nature will do can make a person go crazy. But its the good crazy that keeps us loving and working on the American Farm. Not to mention raising 2 girls outside in the fields.........with the smell of manure and the sound of a tractor nearby. My favorite all time memory is my 2 year old beside my leg as we fed cattle and watch and talked to them as they ate........her chewing gum fell out of her mouth, our dog decided to investigate and spit it out when he realized it was not for him.....to then turn as my child picked it back up off the ground and went to chewing again! "Little dirt never hurt anyone right?"
Almost 11 years later we eat, sleep, and breathe farm life. Learning to incorporate a lifestyle we were both unaccustomed too financially and emotionally hasn't been easy...........but its the LOVE of our "hands in the dirt, hearts at work" that motivates our every moment! Just another day in the life, of a farmers wife!
Paul Harvey's God Made a Farmer
And on the eighth day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, "I need a caretaker." So God made a farmer.
God said, "I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day in the field, milk cows again, eat supper, then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board." So God made a farmer.
God said, "I need somebody willing to sit up all night with a newborn colt and watch it die, then dry his eyes and say,'Maybe next year,' I need somebody who can shape an ax handle from an ash tree, shoe a horse with hunk of car tire, who can make a harness out hay wire, feed sacks and shoe scraps. Who, during planting time and harvest season will finish his 40-hour week by Tuesday noon and then, paining from tractor back, put in another 72 hours." So God made the farmer.
God said, "I need somebody strong enough to clear trees and heave bales, yet gentle enough to yean lambs and wean pigs and tend the pink-comb pullets, who will stop his mower for an hour to splint the leg of a meadowlark."
It had to be somebody who'd plow deep and straight and not cut corners. Somebody to seed, weed, feed, breed, and brake, and disk, and plow, and plant, and tie the fleece and strain the milk, . Somebody who'd bale a family together with the soft, strong bonds of sharing, who would laugh, and then sigh and then reply with smiling eyes when his son says that he wants to spend his life doing what Dad does. "So God made a farmer."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMpZ0TGjbWE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTeNe8lr9B4&feature=player_detailpage
Monday, January 21, 2013
Its time to cut
Come August, the wagons find themselves traveling to the field for the initial cutting.
Tobacco is a labor intensive crop, each plant has to be hand cut and carefully laid on the ground to begin the wilting procedure. Each tobacco plant needs to wilt so that when picked up, it is loose and easy to handle. Otherwise the leaves will break off. Losing leaves means losing money. The more leaves left to the plant the heavier it is for which the contract is written for pounds (weight).
Oscar and Leonel cutting in the hot sun and heat of the day. This is a very back breaking type of work, leaning over a million times a day.
The most practical way to experience cutting is to come visit, but if you can't make it to the farm.........I have uploaded some videos for you to see how it is done in the field. Notice the guys doing all the work!! It sometimes takes me 2 or 3 whacks at the stalk to knock it down. Yes practice makes perfect, but at the rate of getting it cut and in practical time, our guys are much better and more efficient than I could ever be!
Our farm would not function without the help from our guys! My job it to make sure the fields are flowing with this sound of what you hear in the video. I am usually managing and working from my phone, which is a miracle in itself. Being able to do all that you can do from a little device keeps me in the field.
Due to the heat and long days, my little helpers work at seeing our guys are hydrated and fed. Below is a picture of the girls working in the fields and providing snacks for the guys.
There is never a dull moment when it comes to the girls.............notice no whining in this picture.
Always work to be done
Winter time around the farm seems like a slower time of year, right? Well, most farmers would say NO. After row crop harvest and tobacco harvest/stripping/barn cleaning, the guys and Scott clean, put away and make homes for all the equipment not needed over the winter months. During this time, the shop becomes our home away from home. In this case 200 yards away from our house, we are blessed by the closeness in distance where our farmer works.
Now is the time of breaking equipment apart, fixing what was broken during harvest and revamping old equipment into new again. The girls and I run in and out, mostly to say hello or just get out of the house from working. Its loud, sometimes stinky and just plain boring to the normal folks. But to us, its a place of adventure, dirt and grease, and time to be with family.
This day above Scott was working on putting new hubs on the semi trailer, or something to that effect when I asked. I love days like this when I can sit and watch him work, the kids can play or ride their 4-wheerler or bikes, and momma can just bask in the aroma of grease. Not what I dreamed of at the rip old age of a newly wed wife, but I wouldn't change it for the world!!! Just another day in the life of a Farmers wife!
Now is the time of breaking equipment apart, fixing what was broken during harvest and revamping old equipment into new again. The girls and I run in and out, mostly to say hello or just get out of the house from working. Its loud, sometimes stinky and just plain boring to the normal folks. But to us, its a place of adventure, dirt and grease, and time to be with family.
This day above Scott was working on putting new hubs on the semi trailer, or something to that effect when I asked. I love days like this when I can sit and watch him work, the kids can play or ride their 4-wheerler or bikes, and momma can just bask in the aroma of grease. Not what I dreamed of at the rip old age of a newly wed wife, but I wouldn't change it for the world!!! Just another day in the life of a Farmers wife!
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Mooooving Day
Its always a sad day when we mooove cattle to the Sale Barn from our farm. As the girls say goodbye, we say Hello to healthy and quality beef to our kitchen table. Every animal that comes to the farm has the best quality life, especially from our 2 girls that live to see each of their animals are cared and loved for. Most are named and some are even nurtured by brushing and hand feeding.
Hello 2013! I have to say I will miss 2012 but
thankful for another year and what 2013 has to bring! Last year we
learned so many things, some good and some bad. I thought the drought of
2012 would end lives for some of us farmers, lol. It WAS the worst I
have seen as a farmers wife. BUT oh the mountains it put in front of us
only for us to cross, and cross we did! Prayer was stronger, we were healthy
and we learned God makes a way if you are willing to keep FAITH! Every
door doesn't have a handle but every door does open! And finding how to
do open it was a challenge but soooo blessed when we did. It was a safe
year on the farm, and I can't be more thankful for our friends that
live, eat, and breath to support us and their families thousands of
miles away. 2013, all I can say is bring it! I pray for Health,
Happiness, and Faith for each of you fb friends! Its here I learn that I
am blessed everyday, and everyday I need to do more for others. I
started my morning with 4 happy faces, and a farm full of hungry
animals. With a little poop on my boots I remember nothing or no one I
am too good for, Thank you Lord for all the small reminders! Just
blessed, for another day in the life as the farmers wife. Have a great
2013 FB friends!
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