Farming, Friends and Fun

Each year we look forward to our winter meetings, mainly the time off from home/farm responsibilities but most importantly the chance to catch up with our farmer friends around the state!!!

This becomes the place where more corn is grown, the tractors are always bigger and the yield could honestly feed the world!  Men farm, women talk babies, and the kids......well you can always hear them!!

We educate ourselves on new processes, discover new ideas to expand, and lastly hug and love everyone we have missed since the last meeting.

Winter months can be just as hard as the working field months.......it's the planning and conditioning phase.  It's the time set aside for family and education!  

We dig in the mental dirt and farm the best and worst options Mother Nature could possibly hand us.  

In the end, we have more information to take back to our farms and a stronger understanding of community and why friends are so important......mentally or physically....hands in the dirt...our hearts are at work!!

When my Farmer is GONE, the work is ON

My husband got to take part in a super opportunity of hunting in Argentina, South America.  Yes a fabulous adventure but a stressful time as it approached for me.  The farmers wife (and yes Farmer herself) becomes, a single mom, tax accountant, audit contractor, and farmer ALL AT ONE TIME!!!

Most of you will say what does all that mean.......hey I do this everyday.......but for me my responsibility level just WENT THRU THE ROOF!!  Gladly we share lots of jobs and responsibilities here on the Farm and house. The days leding up to his trip he took on many of the Farm jobs himself.

Day 1, we were all a mess...............between calming down my girls emotions of missing their daddy, trying to attend my Grandfathers funeral, and dealing with airline issues for them as they were on the road, I wondered if SUPERMOM was gonna shine thru.  Every breath got easier and finally I realized it would all be ok.  Flights changed and managed.....CHECK, Girls nerves calmed.....CHECK, family funeral attended and witnessed one of the best ones ever.....CHECK, animals checked and fed.................OH NO......NOT CHECKED!! 

Realizing that the cows, horse, donkey, and chickens now depended on me along with my kiddos, plus life in general...................I had begun to plan for a long week.

Needless to say my routine became apparent.......girls up, dressed and taken to school, animals fed and waterers checked, farm checked for intruders......yes I am cautious, I move vehicles to show someone was around (ha ha and that can be a job in itself)...........and then mom duties and an audit to finish.  This is where is becomes a real job when I have to learn to control my ADD and OCDness and separate job and house duties.  Working from home can be a challenge some days.

9 of the longest days of my life it seemed I thought would bend me......but in return it only made me stronger!! AND TIRED......because I heard every creak and every parcel of grass blown at night.

The city girl that 12 years ago this would have broken........came thru with flying colors that surprised herself!!  And in the end........"It's just another day in the Life of the Farmers Wife"