2013 – A Photo Journey

I love looking back on our year and reflecting the good, the bad, and the excellent. This year, I thought a photo journey of highlights from our year might help you to see what happens on our farm and in our family over a years time.

January started out with a pretty good cold snap. When Laura was home on break, we tested out the “throwing water into the air” theory to see what would happen. We were pretty excited that it worked! And yes, it was really cold, and she was out in a t-shirt. She takes after her mom in that regard!

CarolynCares January
Laura tossing water into the air

February was still pretty cold. Last winter, we had snow 8 months in a row. It gets to the point where you just want to curl up with a hot cup of Russian Tea and a good book…and stay there until spring!

Russian Tea mix
Russian Tea mix

March brought Anna’s senior recital at Augustana College in Sioux Falls. She is a percussionist, so her recital covered many different percussion instruments, including clay pots. Many friends and relatives came to support her, and to share in the day.

Anna playing the toms
Anna playing the toms

April brought a bit of warmer weather, and some thawing. We started to plan our field work schedule and get equipment ready for spring planting.

Spring thaw
Spring thaw

By mid-May, we were finally able to see the growth of the barley. It is always exciting to see the plants emerge, and the landscape turn from brown to a gentle green.

Rows of barley
Rows of barley

We had a very eventful June. We hosted the final stop of our county Farm Bureau’s I Met a Farmer tour. The tour participants traveled to a dairy farm, pig farm, beef farm, and then to our crop farm. They had supper in our newly built shop (finished that day!), and then were brought back to the starting point. Most of the participants have no agriculture experience, or are at least 15 years removed from the farm. They are business people and leaders in their communities across our county. This is an excellent way to teach them about agriculture in their area, and it puts a face on farming. I’m looking forward to our 3rd Tour in 2014!

Jonathan explaining our farm to tour participants
Jonathan explaining our farm to tour participants

The other major event in June was our Century Farm Appreciation Party. Click on the link to read more about the day. It was so nice to be able to celebrate this milestone with those who have helped to make our farm what it is today – family, friends, neighbors, grain buyers, seed dealers, co-op employees, elevator employees…the list could go on, but so must this post!

CarolynCares June Celebration
The invitation

In July, I took a leap of faith, and signed up as a vendor at the brand new Cottonwood Central Park Market farmers market. I started CO Baked Goods, bringing homemade baked goods like scones, caramel and cinnamon rolls, and pound cakes to the Market. It was a fun adventure, and I hope to continue this year with an expanded selection of baking.

Maple Bacon Scones
Maple Bacon Scones

I love attending the Minnesota State Fair. This year, we had the opportunity to work at the Farm Bureau building for a few hours one morning. We brought Flat Ryan along for some fun. He met many of our Farm Bureau friends, including Eric Kuehl from St Cloud. After our shift ended, we explored the fair grounds and found friends to visit, foods to try, and animals to admire.

Eric and Flat Ryan
Eric and Flat Ryan

Our crops were growing well, we had cover crops planted on the harvested small grain fields, and were anticipating the dry down of the soybeans when a major storm blew through on September 19th. The sunrise was beautiful that day, but soon, it was as black as midnight. We had rain, hail, and wind gusts in excess of 60 miles per hour. I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach the whole time. It was a farmer’s nightmare. After the storm passed, it was time to assess the damage. Most of our corn had been affected, as was our neighbors. It wasn’t laying flat, like that of friends a couple miles away, but it was messy. We could only hope that the stalks were simply leaning, and not broken. This would allow the corn to continue to mature without heavy yield losses.

Black skies at 8:17 am Sept 19
Black skies at 8:17 am Sept 19

October means harvest in our part of the world. Despite the storm in September, our yields were good. Harvest was going well, with only a few bumps along the way. We ended up combining our corn mostly one direction due to the winds, so it took us a little longer than normal. We were thankful for no injuries or illness while putting long hours in. We also remembered to take the time to enjoy the beauty of our surroundings. Our office during harvest has great views of beautiful sunsets and full moons.

Full Moon Rising
Full Moon Rising

November is a time to give thanks for the blessings, the trials, and those things that make you who you are. We were fortunate to be able to host Thanksgiving this year. We had 17 people around the dining room table, and I am thankful for each and every one of them. We missed those who couldn’t be there, but they are loved just as much. It has been a few years since my family and Jonathan’s family have been together for a holiday. We thought it would be fun to introduce Anna’s boyfriend to as many family members as possible while he was here. The entire family welcomed him, and we all hope he stays around for awhile!

Thanksgiving Dinner
Thanksgiving Dinner

That brings us to December. What a busy time of the year! It is easy to get yourself stressed out, and to try to keep up with all the cool pins on Pinterest. This year, my decorating was minimal, as was my baking. I know that next year may be different, but for this year, simple was better. My family was okay with the simple approach this year. They realize that Christmas is more about the family time and the miracle of Jesus’ birth than the decorations or the cookies. I am blessed!

Happy New Year from our family to yours!
Happy New Year from our family to yours!

Here’s looking forward to 2014, and another great year of farming, faith building, family, friends, food, and fun!

Happy New Year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Christmas Card Sneak Peek!

Olson Christmas Card

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year to you!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for following along with me this past year. I appreciate the comments, the thoughts, and the likes! I am looking forward to the new year, and continuing to share with you about my farm, family, faith, food, and fun.

Wishing you many blessings in the coming year!

Carolyn

Wordless Wednesday – Favorite Christmas Cookies

CarolynCares Peanut Blossoms Cookies

 

Peanut Blossom Cookies

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup firmly packed brown sugar

½ cup shortening

½ cup peanut butter

2 Tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1 ¾ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

Sugar for rolling

48 milk chocolate candy kisses

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In large bowl, combine sugar, brown sugar, shortening, peanut butter, milk, vanilla and egg. Mix until fluffy. Add flour, baking soda and salt. Blend at low speed until stiff dough forms. Shape into 1-inch balls; roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately top each cookie with a candy kiss, pressing down firmly so cookie cracks around edge; remove from cookie sheets. Cool completely.

Yield: 4 dozen cookies

Why Perfection is Overrated

Have you ever uttered the phrase, “I’ll be happy when…”? Have you felt discouraged when looking at all of the cute home decorating pins on Pinterest, while you struggle to just keep your house dusted and your floors clean?

We live in society that is so judgmental. You need to look like this to be pretty. You need to wear that to be popular. You have to decorate your house this way to impress your guests. I am 40 (something), yet I still feel like I am in high school. I will never be an “it” girl, and quite frankly, I am thankful. I have spent enough years trying to be something I’m not, in an attempt to be accepted by people who will never give me the time of day. Even articles about how to be this or that in 10 easy steps make many women feel inadequate. Why do we do this to ourselves?

Who cares if you don’t have time to fully decorate your house for every holiday? Celebrate the holiday how YOU want to celebrate it, not how some magazine says you should. There is no way that I would ever think of making turkeys out of cupcakes, cookies, and candies. It’s not my style, and would only stress me out. I’d rather focus on the meal, and the guests at the table. Last Christmas, I didn’t get around to putting any ornaments on our tree. If it wasn’t a prelit tree, it probably wouldn’t have gotten any lights, either.

Who cares if every meal is not presented a la Martha Stewart? When my kids were young, we just tried to get a hot meal into them without tears, spilled milk, or something breaking. Feed your kids a variety of foods, and they’ll be happy. It doesn’t matter what brands you use, or where you shop. The important thing is sitting down together as much as possible to eat as a family. The conversations around the table are so much better when we are not stressed out about everything being perfect. It is totally acceptable to use paper towels as napkins at our house!

Who cares if you do not look like a supermodel? I have spent many years hating my body. Has that made me look any better? Nope. My self image issues have been noted by my daughters. It makes me sad that they have some of the same insecurities that I have, because that is what was modeled to them as they were growing up. Am I happier when I’m thinner? Yes and no. Being thin didn’t make me happy because I was thin. I was happy because certain body parts didn’t hurt as much, and I was able to do things that I couldn’t while heavy. After a couple of knee and foot injuries, I am no longer thin…but I’m not beating myself up over it anymore. I am working to reduce my weight, but not because I think that is the key to happiness. I know I need to do it for my long term health. Being healthy is important. Being skinny is not.

Who cares if you are a stay at home mom, or have a job outside the home? Every person’s career choice is based on their personal situation. Yes, there are times we are forced to make a decision based on factors outside our control, but it is still based on your situation.  The whys of your choices should not matter to anyone else. Our value isn’t determined by how much money we make a month. What should be valued is making a difference in the lives of other people. If that means staying home, great. If that means working outside the home, great. Don’t let anyone else tell you what you “should” be doing…unless it’s your boss.

Who cares if you are married, or if you have children? Having a child is not the end all be all of life. There are plenty of couples out there who are unable to have children, as well as those who choose not to have children. There are a thousand reasons why that may be, and to be frank, it’s none of our business. Same goes with those who are single. It really isn’t our business as to why someone is single. Some like it that way. Others would like a relationship, but haven’t found the right one yet. That doesn’t mean we should treat them any differently than anyone else.

Who cares if you don’t meet societies standards of the perfect farm wife or farmer. I may do many things on our farm, but I draw the line at things I consider yucky. I get reallly squeamish when it comes to spiders, mice, and snakes. If I see any rodents, I am outta there faster than you can say, “but they are more scared of you than you are of them.” Not possible! I admire women who drive grain trucks, who can back a trailer straight, and are not afraid to jump in a grain cart and just go. Admiring them for their abilities does not mean I think less of myself. I know my limitations, and I know what makes for a good working relationship with my husband. The role I have on our farm is one that Jonathan and I have worked out between the two of us. I don’t make perfect field meals, I don’t plan ahead enough to make freezer meals, and sometimes we’re lucky if we eat supper by 10:00 pm. You don’t have to be a man to be a farmer! The number of female farmers is increasing every year. If farming is what you want to do, do it!

Perfection is so overrated. We spend so much time chasing it that we forget to be happy with who we are, where we are right now. We are humans – crazy, flawed humans. We will never fit into the airbrushed molds of perfection. Love yourself, love your neighbor, love your crazy flawed life. Then, you will be happy.

 

Throwback Thursday – Snowy Winters

When we lived in our little one story house, we had a few winters with a lot of snow. The winter of 1996-1997 had record snows. There were many days when we would be completely snowed in. The gravel road we lived on was not a priority, so it wasn’t plowed out right away.

After one particularly bad storm that brought a lot of wind, we were  looking out of our huge living room windows at the dog…standing at roof level. The whole house was surrounded up the to roof by snow! Christina thought it was pretty funny when Jonathan and Anna (who was properly dressed for playing in the snow) walked over the drift and looked in the window. We opened it, and I handed Christina to Jonathan out the window. This is my favorite winter snow photo!

Jonathan, Christina, and Sampson Winter 1996
Jonathan, Christina, and Sampson Winter 1996-1997