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farm Archives - Page 7 of 7 - Carolyn CAREs

Category: farm

Making A Change…

I wanted to share the last blog I wrote as a member of SparkPeople.com. When I joined, the nutrition articles were fairly balanced, even though their nutrition expert is vegetarian. However, in the last few months, a noticeable change has taken place. They are currently pushing their vegetarian cookbook, and encouraging a vegetarian lifestyle. I have issues with this both as a farmer, and as a Christian who believes that God created our body to rely on things received from animal protein. God also gave us the animals to use, but we are to care for them before we use them for food.

 

I have loved my time on SparkPeople, and have interacted with many great people. The calorie trackers and fitness articles have really been helpful for me.

Sadly, I cannot ignore the changes that have been happening regarding the nutrition articles and cook books that are for sale. Pushing a vegetarian diet goes against recent research by unbiased sources. The articles that were published were even available on the Health Article pages. The human body needs cholesterol to be able to use the vitamin D we get from our food and the sun. We also need the amino acids and B vitamins only available through an animal protein for brain health. They are finding that vegetarians and vegans have smaller brains and more issues with dementia as they age than those who eat meat regularly.

Jonathan and I raise hogs on our farm. I can tell you that their diet is more nutritionally balanced than anyone in my family’s is. When a blizzard is raging, Jonathan is out in the barns making sure the animals are warm and dry, with plenty of food and water. When there are severe thunderstorm warnings or tornado warnings, he is out in the barns making sure the animals are comfortable, and that the power stays on so they will have plenty of food and water. They are fed free choice, like a buffet on a cruise. They are healthy and happy. They grunt in a contented way when we check on them throughout the day. My ranching friends treat their cattle the same way. With care and concern for their health and well being.

I cannot continue being a part of a web site that continues to perpetuate the agenda of animal rights groups by promoting the Meatless Monday concept, and pushing vegetarianism and veganism. So, I am breaking up with SparkPeople. I will move on and find other ways to track my daily calories and my fitness goals. I will read nutrition articles that are peer reviewed, and not based on a biased understanding. I will eat meat, vegetables, grains, dairy, fats, and sweets all in moderation. The human body was designed to run on nutrients provided by many sources – meat included – and I intend to feed mine that way.

To all of my friends on SparkPeople – I will miss you! I will be keeping my account open for about a week before permanently closing it.

Summer dinner for Jonathan- t-bone steak, mashed potatoes, and garden peas.

Catching Up Is Hard To Do…

I cannot believe that January is almost over! Typically this month is filled with farming book work, getting tax stuff ready, and all the other end of the year stuff that comes with running a business. This year we started out a little differently…

On December 26th, Jonathan’s sister and family came from the Chicagoland area for a few days. We had a fun Christmas celebration with that side of the family on the 27th. I love reconnecting with family, and catching up on their activities.

My side of the family arrived on the 29th. We celebrated Christmas with them on the 30th, and stuffed ourselves silly (again).  On New Year’s Day we drove down to Iowa to see relatives that were gathering at my aunt’s house. It was fun to reconnect and catch up on their lives.

Mom and my sister Pam spent the night with us once again, while Sheryl’s family stayed overnight at aunt’s house. On January 2nd, everyone headed for home. That is when Jonathan and I started packing for our trip. 🙂

On January 2nd, Jonathan and I left for Fargo, ND. We had an early morning flight from Fargo to Salt Lake City, UT. From Salt Lake City, we flew to Honolulu, HI! We were going to attend the American Farm Bureau Annual Meeting, which was held on the 8th and 9th.

We were traveling with cousins Andy and Heather. We have traveled with them to Nascar races and Disney World, and they still like us, so we thought it would be fun to go to Hawaii together. We were right. We had a blast!

Our travel agent arranged for a tour company to meet us at the airport where we received a fresh flower lei, and an invitation to a free breakfast the following morning. We all thought, “Free breakfast? Okay!” It was a sales pitch of sorts, telling us about the various tour packages they have available. Since we had about 4 days before the AFBF stuff started, we gave a look at what we thought would be fun. For once in my life, I really didn’t care what the plan was. I chatted with a tour company employee while Jonathan signed us up for events. It was quite nice to be able to just let go.

(Pic: At the airport after landing in Honolulu…we had been up for about 18 hours at this point, and it is starting to show)

Our first activity was whale watching, while Andy and Heather chose to go snorkeling in an area with sea turtles. I get motion sickness really easy, so I made sure I took meds for that. Good thing! I had never been out on a boat in the open ocean, so I was a little nervous about the waves. This was a lunch cruise with a buffet of great food to eat while cruising out to the whale watching waters. At least that was the plan. The whales had a different idea. Two of them were in the harbor that morning. They think it was a mom and a juvenile calf that had followed a fishing boat for 6 days and over 800 miles! We got up close enough to be sprayed three times with whale snot.   I gave my new camera a workout!

(Pic: one of my whale photos. I have others that I am not sharing online…)

That evening, all four of us went to a magic show dinner theater thing. We met some really nice people from Australia and Canada. After that ended, we went to the Lani Misalucha show. The best part was when she did impersonations of different singers. She had some of them spot on! Sadly, no photos were allowed for our evening adventures.

The next highlight was Pearl Harbor and the Arizona Memorial, where the weather was beautiful. The museum grounds had been improved since we were there in 2004, making it an even better experience. Three survivors were at a book signing for a few hours.

After Pearl Harbor we went on a city tour and saw the State Capitol building and the Iolani Palace. Friday night we went on a supper cruise where we would see the sunset while at sea, and watch fireworks over Waikiki. There were Polynesian dancers on board, so between the sunset and the fireworks we didn’t get bored. The night was beautiful. The fireworks had to compete with a great full moon over Waikiki for my favorite scene of the cruise.

(I’ll let you decide which you like better…the full moon or the fireworks)

         

Saturday we had some beach time, and just took it easy most of the day. Sunday brought the start of the AFBF Annual Meeting. The opening ceremony sets the tone for the entire event, with an address by President Bob Stallman. We were really impressed by what he had to say, and it made us proud to be a part of such a great organization.  We believe that there is room for all types of agriculture – organic or conventional, crop or livestock, etc. We need to work together, which is what President Stallman mentioned in his speech. The keynote speaker on Monday afternoon was Dave Barry. He was hilarious! It was a great way to end a great meeting.

(Pic: AFBF President Bob Stallman)

We also attended a luau, and went on a Circle Island Tour with a bunch of our Minnesota friends. We started our journey back to Minnesota (and reality) on the 11th, and made it home the afternoon of the 12th.  Our flight schedule took us from Honolulu to Los Angeles (no celeb sightings, but it was 5:00 am when we landed). Los Angeles to Minneapolis, Minneapolis to Fargo. Then a 4 hour drive home. This didn’t quite work with us. Thursday evening was Parent’s Night for the dance team. Laura is a senior this year, so in my mind this was a big deal. If we were to catch our flight from Minneapolis to Fargo, we would not have made it back in time.  I was bummed when we discovered this before we left, but Jonathan made a few phone calls…

Cousin Denise picked us up from the airport in Minneapolis, and brought us home. Andy and Heather flew on to Fargo as planned, picked up our luggage (we checked it in under their names in Honolulu), and drove our van to their house. Jonathan and I made it back home in time to shower and change clothes before heading into the school. It was worth making it back in time!

The following morning, Jonathan and I ran some errands, then packed our bags to head to an organic farming conference a couple of hours away. We picked up our van on the way home from the conference the following day, and kinda crashed once we got home. That was a week ago.

I still have a few loads of laundry to do, and gifts to distribute. I finally caught up on reading all my emails as of this morning. Jonathan and I both feel like we are finally back in our time zone, and that our brains have finally caught up with us.  Hopefully, we’ll get caught up on the book work this week as well.

Vacation was great, but catching up is hard to do!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

This year we once again started our Christmas celebration with our church’s candle light Christmas Eve service. It was beautiful. We all hold candles and sing Silent Night near the end of the service.  It is the best way to celebrate Jesus’ promise to us!

After church we had our Christmas Eve supper. Nachos were on the menu this year, just for something different. Watching the anticipation build within the girls was so fun. They are 21, 19, and 17, yet they are just as excited as they were at 5.  Part of the excitement now is watching everyone open the gifts they picked out for each other.  We tell each other what gifts we want them to open next, or what went into the selection process of the one they just opened.  The were genuinely happy with what they received, but also with what the others received. There was no pouting, jealousy, or bummed out-ness.  It was probably the most relaxing and enjoyable Christmas since before Anna was born.

On Christmas morning, we were back at church for regular Sunday service. We sang many Christmas carols throughout the service.  After church we lounged around for a little, had a late dinner, and played games or watched movies. It felt so good to relax!

When Christina went to get a drink of water late in the afternoon, she looked at the sunset and asked me to run out and take pictures of it. It was magnificent! The colors were so brilliant!  I grabbed my camera, and ran out the door. I was wearing shorts, and t-shirt, tennies, and a fleece jacket when I ran out to the edge of the yard to try and capture the sky. It was relatively calm at the moment, so I could hear birds singing in the grove to my right. It was such a nice evening! What a switch from a year ago when we had wind blowing over 20 inches of snow around!

We will be hosting family all week, and we are excited! Jonathan’s family is coming at the beginning, and my family at the end. We love to spend time with both sides – laughing, eating, laughing, playing games, laughing, eating…

So, I will wish you all a Happy New Year today. May your year be filled with God’s blessings, love from family and friends, and much happiness!

Here is one of the photos I took of God’s Christmas Painting:

Sunny Saturday…

Today I helped Jonathan put the star up on the windmill. Okay, help may be too strong of a word. Let’s just say I handed the star to him after he got to the top of the ladder, then walked away. I hate watching him climb up the windmill! I pretty much pace back and forth, with phone in hand in case I have to call 911.

It was such a beautiful day out today! Mid 40’s, sunshine, little wind. I would normally be happy about that, but I love snow. It looks so brown and dreary outside. Not very Christmas like.

I did go for a little run/walk for about 1/2 hour. The first running I’ve done since the goat chasing incident.  It felt really good!  When I got done with my stretching afterwards, Jonathan was baking up the Belgian cookies I had mixed up earlier in the day.

I still have Peanut Blossoms and Russian Tea Cakes to make before the night is done. They are heading for a bake sale at church tomorrow. Extras will go in the freezer for our Christmas celebrations.

Tomorrow we’ll light the third candle in our Advent Wreath! Have a blessed day!

First Snow!

Call me crazy, but I love the first snow of the season. After staring at brown grass and empty fields for awhile, the blanket of snow makes everything look so fresh and clean.

Traditionally, I bake the first batch of Christmas cookies during the first snowfall. Even if it happens to be October!

When Jonathan and I were first married, we lived in a tiny house across the section from where we now live. We didn’t want to turn on the fuel oil furnace too early in the fall, so sometimes the house was pretty chilly.  I think it was the first October that we were married, on the day of the first snow the house was very cold. I decided to bake some cookies to warm up the house. The snow reminded me of Christmas time, so I baked Christmas cookies.

I have kept this tradition just about every year, maybe baking the day after if I didn’t have the right ingredients on hand.  The other part of this tradition has remained as well. None of the cookies make it to the end of the week.

This year, our first snow fell while I was out of town. (Which is a funny term, since I don’t live in town-maybe I should rephrase with out of the county?)  When I arrived home that evening, I was tired from the long day of meetings and driving on slick roads. I still had to go to the grocery store to buy ingredients for a large batch of chili that I was making for a chili cook off at church the following morning.  Cookies didn’t even enter my mind.

When I arrived home from the grocery store, I made my chili, a batch of corn bread (from a box), and caramel for the rolls for the high school Sunday School class.  I think I went to bed around 1:30 am.  After the very fun chili cook off, I came home and propped my sore ankle on some ice, and vegged out for awhile. Again, cookies didn’t even enter my mind.

I’m kind of sad that the excitement of the first snow was lost due to a crazy weekend. As I am making my Thanksgiving pies today, I will try to slip a batch of Christmas cookies in the oven.

Today I am making Double Layer Pumpkin Pie:

Double Layer Pumpkin Pie
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups thawed Cool Whip
1 prepared Graham cracker  crust (6 oz)
1 cup milk
1 can (16 oz) pumpkin (not the canned pie filling, just pumpkin)
2 pkg. (4 serving size)  instant vanilla pudding
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Mix cream cheese, 1 tbsp. milk and sugar in bowl with wire whisk
until smooth.  Gently stir in whipped topping.  Spread onto
bottom of crust.
Pour 1 cup milk into large bowl.  Add pumpkin, pudding mixes
and spices.  Beat with wire whisk until well mixed.  (Will be thick.)
Spread over cream cheese layer.
Refrigerate 4 hours or until set.

Injury by Goat?

I have been nursing a sore foot the past couple of weeks after doing a little running again. It isn’t like anything I’ve had before…not like plantar fasciitis, but a pain in the back of the heel and outside of my left foot. I have started icing, and continuing the stretching for my calves and ankles. It has been helping a lot, to the point where I was pretty much walking without pain today! I had been feeling sluggish today, but mustered up the energy this afternoon to go 25 minutes at a jogging pace on the elliptical. I had just finished my cool down when my father-in-law came in the house looking for whoever was home. I made my way out of the basement, only to see our semi wild fainting goat buck running through the yard. Crap.

We adopted this goat from a family that was moving, and couldn’t take him along. Most of his life to this point had been spent in the woods around their house. He came smelly and full of cocklebur’s. I talk to him every day when I feed him, but he is still pretty skittish.

The other people helping me chase this creature were my 77 year old father in law, and Nick, our part time hired help. Jonathan showed up after the fun had begun, and did what he could to help for the few minutes that he was able to be home. Soon, it was just me running around the farm yard. At this point, my heel just hurt a little after sprinting around our house, around a couple of sheds, around a couple of bins… I finally went to the house and called our Rat Terrier out. He had been locked in the house by my father in law. Pongo had gotten in trouble earlier in the day for barking and lunging at the goat through the fence, so he was a little unsure as to what I wanted him to do.

Pongo, it turns out, is a great goat herding terrier! He nipped at the heels of the goat just enough to herd him in the right direction. They didn’t make the turn into the pen, and goat took off down the driveway again. Another sprint…great. We got him turned away from the tar road, and took a little detour behind another set of buildings. Pongo kept right on him, without having to nip at this point. Nick parked the Ranger in the way so goat wouldn’t try going the driveway loop again. Pongo made one more run towards goat, and in the pen he went. Nick quick shut the gate, and put the strap on the door to lock it. Whew!

Somewhere on the last sprint, going around the semi’s that were parked in the yard, my foot started hurting so bad I could hardly walk, let alone run. So here I sit, foot elevated and resting on an ice pack, thinking that this is the most bizarre cause of re-injury I have ever had. And I am wondering…if he is a fainting goat, shouldn’t he just fall over if you scare him? Apparently, he’s missing the desirable fainting trait. Bummer!

By the way, for all of those who drove by on the county road in front of our house…I hope you at least had a little smile on your face watching a 44 year old mom dressed in capri length tech shorts and bright pink tech t-shirt running full speed around the yard after that darn goat!

Pongo, the goat herding Rat Terrier:

Will I ever catch up?

This summer was a busy one, as usual.

Anna spent her summer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on a summer project with Campus Crusade. The first time that all three girls were not together for the summer.  While it seemed as if Anna was just away at college at times, there was something definitely different.  Did I just feel another gray hair pop? I definitely feel older at times…

Christina and Laura wanted to learn to sew for 4-H, so we sent them to Grandma Bredlow’s for “sewing camp”. Laura loves upcycling clothes, and found a couple of skirts at Goodwill to alter. She shortened the skirts, and took in the waist to fit her. They turned out really cute. She brought one of them to the county fair, and did very well.

Christina took on the challenge of designing her dress, and figuring out how to put multiple patterns together to get the end product. She envisioned a one shoulder dress of black satin, with an animal print waist band. Then, she wanted to make an over-skirt of the animal print that would attach to the dress with hooks. That way, she could have a formal dress with just a little animal print accent for more formal occasions, or she could attach the animal print skirt for a fun look.  She won a trip to the State Fair in Fashion Revue.

Both of the girls showed four goats in four categories at our county fair. Laura won a trip to the State Fair with one of her goats. That meant she went to school for two days, then spent the rest of her week up in St. Paul. Her goat show was on August 26th, which just so happened to be my sister’s birthday. Jonathan, Christina, and I stayed at Pam’s house on Thursday night, then we brought Pam with us to the fair on Friday.  We hung out in the judging arena until Laura was finished. She received a blue ribbon in showmanship, and a blue ribbon on her goat. She was happy with that!

After the judging finished, we took Pam around the fair to find birthday cake on a stick…or something like that. We wandered around the barns, and talked to friends from all over the state. Of course, when introducing Pam, I had to tell them that it was her birthday! We eventually found a place to sit along a curb to watch the parade, keeping an eye out for the St. Anthony Park Community Band. Brother-in-law Paul Hanson was the lone trombone on that float! We met up with him eventually, and did a little catching up.

When Pam was in high school, she didn’t want a birthday cake made of …cake. She asked for a candy bar “cake”. Mom bought a variety of candy bars, and arranged them on a plate like a layer cake. She even put candles on the top layer. So, we found the deep fried candy bar place, and Pam had the modern version of her candy bar cake! Our day was complete!  In all, we spent roughly 12 hours at the fair that day.

Fast forward to Thursday, September 1st. Jonathan was busy working on the farm, so I was the lucky one who helped Anna and Christina move back to college.  They live in the same building, same floor, just around the corner from each other. A parent’s dream! We made room for a dolly to help move Anna’s refrigerator and keyboard, and to help reduce the number of trips needed to carry tubs in. I was the only mom helping kids move that day, and the only one who brought a dolly. I looked pretty smart. 🙂

Christina came home again on Saturday, and we went back up to the Cities for round 2 at the State Fair. Fashion Revue judging was Sunday morning. Laura and I worked in the Farm Bureau building for a few hours, then we walked around until Grandma and cousin Jenni came. We showed them Jonathan’s champion open class wheat exhibit, and the other seed samples that he won ribbons for. We made it up to the 4-H building in plenty of time to watch Christina model her dress in the fashion show. Even though she did not win a spot in the Court of Honor, she was complemented by the show’s director, and by one of her judges who liked that she thought outside the box.

So, all the kids are back in school. I look around my house at everything in disarray from the comings and goings. And I wonder. Will I ever catch up?  Some day…

           

Organic Certification Inspection Day

We had our annual Organic Certification Inspection today.   We take pride in raising quality crops, and enjoy the working relationships that we have with our buyers.   The certification process helps our buyers know that what we are selling them has been raised according to the standards that have been set.

In May, we mailed in our 100+ page application and documentation forms.  It contained field history maps, cropping plans for the next 3-5 years for each field, lot numbers for each variety of seed, and our bin numbers along with what crop will be in each bin this fall.   Then we send in a check which basically pays them to come and inspect us.  We have about twice as much paperwork at home, compared to what we mail in.  Some of the paperwork comes naturally after farming organically since 1998.  Some things still have to be located before the inspection, which is where it can get a little nerve wracking.  Even though the annual inspection is once a summer, we usually get dropped in on 2 or 3 other times during the cropping season.

The inspector comes to the farm, and goes through all of our paperwork. Some of the things he checks are:

  • If you planted  all non-GMO seeds that were free from seed treatments and fungicides
  • If you sourced organically raised seeds
  • What steps you take to protect the organic crop from GMO cross pollination and spray drift; buffers between your crops and neighboring fields (including planting dates)
  • If your equipment has been used on any conventional crops or ground, and the steps taken to clean it for organic crops
  • Anything that you put on your fields was approved for organics by the certifying agency
  • Check soil tests to ensure you are building soil quality
  • Checking your 3-5 year cropping plans for each field
  • Checking your methods of weed control, and looking to see if you have things under control
  • How the crops are handled after harvest.  Was it placed in clean bins, were the buffer strips harvested separately and not co-mingled with organic crops
  • What cover crops are being used
  • Checking to see if each load of grain leaving the farm was accompanied by a clean truck affidavit signed by the owner (us) and the driver
  • Checking to see if the final fees based on percent of gross organic sales has been paid to the certifying agency
  • Reviewing daily log of field activities
  •  Reviewing each field history sheet, which includes any products applied to that field
  • Walking crop fields

There are other things they look for, but these are some of the bigger items.

Our family does not feel that organic farming is the only way to farm.  We are offering one of the choices that consumers are asking for.  We realize that organic farming is not for everyone, and we do not think less of our conventional neighbors.   We enjoy what we do, especially after a successful inspection!

The kitchen table, papers ready for inspection:

Not Really Fond of Roller Coasters…

Note: This entry was originally written last Thursday…dictated to Anna, as we were heading down the road.

I was thinking this morning about the movie “Parenthood” with Steve Martin.  There is a scene where he is having an argument with his wife about accepting her pregnancy. He is not sure he can handle the chaos and uncertainty of the new child.  The grandmother comes in and starts talking about roller coasters.  She loves them – the anticipation of the climb towards the top (the clicking of the chain as it pulls the cars up), and the thrill once you are over the hill and rushing back down.  She goes on to say that some people cannot handle the roller coasters.  They don’t like the ride. They just ride on the merry-go-round.  Then she leaves the room.  Steve Martin’s character completely misses her point until later in the scene when they are attending their daughter’s school play.  The youngest son charges on stage, thinking they are hurting his sister. Chaos ensues, and the audience starts yelling that Martin’s son is ruining the play.  Then Martin starts feeling like he is on the roller coaster, and you hear the clicking and the screaming associated with those on the ride with him (the camera angles make it look as if the whole auditorium is on the coaster).  Martin looks like he is about to become sick, and is not enjoying this ride at all.  But then he turns and looks at his wife, who is laughing and enjoying the ride.  He then starts to look at things from a different perspective.  The ride doesn’t seem so scary after all.

This last month has been a roller coaster ride for our family.  We started out in May with small grain seeding and Mother’s Day. This was the exciting part of the ride.  The day after Mother’s Day, I hurt my knee while helping Jonathan with the grain drill.  I “bruised the heck out of the knee-cap” as my doctor put it, and wound up on crutches for two weeks.  A month later, I still cannot bend it all the way, although most days are relatively pain free.  I found out that I am not a very patient patient. I had too many plans and activities to have to deal with this.  I had to learn to accept help from others, which is a difficult thing for me to do.  During that time, I started to feel more anxiety and felt a little depressed because I couldn’t help Jonathan or do as much as I wanted to.  The bright spots during this time were when the girls moved home from college and the visit from our exchange daughter’s parents.  Christina and Laura were able to work with Jonathan, helping to plant corn and soybeans along with other field work. I was very proud of the way they jumped in to help.

Viktoria’s parents immediately felt like family, and we all connected like friends who had known each other for a long time.  Melanie and Ulrich helped prepare for Viktoria’s going away party. Ulrich even did some field work! Melanie jumped in and helped out in the kitchen.  As fun as this was, I could hear the roller coaster clicking…  We said good-bye to our German family on May 28th.  Many tears were shed on both sides as the roller coaster came rushing down the hill.

Things were pretty smooth for awhile, until we got word that our Pastor’s wife had passed away.  Candy was a bright spot in many lives. She had many health challenges, but she handled them all with grace.  We loved visiting with her and getting to see hints of her humor along with her compassion.  We will miss her.

The following day, we attended church, where the atmosphere was rather somber.  Late that afternoon, we were outside enjoying the beautiful evening before a game of cat and mouse broke out.  We were having a little fun with the 4-wheeler and Ranger Utility Vehicle, taking turns on who was the “cat” and who was the “mouse”.  This is a game we have played many times. You could say it is a favorite of ours.  But, you know what they say, “it’s all fun and games until someone winds up in the ER at 10:00 on a Sunday night.”   I was the “cat” on the 4-wheeler while Jonathan and Anna played the “mouse” on the Ranger.  The cat was about to pounce, when the mouse darted, tipping the Ranger onto its side.  Anna had her seat belt on and was okay (she would bruise where the seat belt held her, but otherwise was okay). Jonathan went to the house quickly after he crawled out, clutching his hand.  I went into the house to check on him, asking if he was okay.   He asked me to get him an ice pack and take him to the hospital right away.  This is never good coming from him.  He usually argues that it isn’t necessary.  I grabbed the ice pack and a towel, checked on the girls, and then we left for the ER.  After much fussing, pain meds, x-rays, cleaning and stitching, we were able to leave around 1:00 am.  The following morning, Jonathan had surgery to place two pins in his broken left index finger. They also cleaned out the cuts on his finger and stitched them up.  While he was under, they scrubbed the rest of his abrasions to help prevent infection.  His middle finger was also broken, so he now sports a cast surrounding the first two fingers on his left hand, extending up his forearm. They sent him home with pain medicine and heavy antibiotics.  He had quite a bit of pain until later in the week.  He will be in a cast until the first week in July.  Can you hear the screams as we are hurling through the loops on this roller coaster?

Today (Thursday), we attended Candy’s funeral. I am having Anna write this entry as we are driving on our way to Austin, MN to meet her ride to Milwaukee. She will be spending the summer there with Campus Crusade.  This is the part of the ride where the clicking begins again.  Friday, Saturday and Sunday I will be at the SW MN Synod Assembly, where we will spend time in worship and Bible study, business will be conducted, workshops presented, and fellowship will happen. It will be a fun yet exhausting time for those of us on the planning committee.

As much as I fear the anxiety of the approaching descent of this phase of the roller coaster of life, I am finding that it is much better than just going in circles on the merry-go-round.  I am surrounded by people who love me even though I am not completely healed. But more importantly, I am surrounded by the arms of Jesus, who is sitting on the seat beside me riding with me the whole way.

Photo: (back) Jonathan and Ulrich, Viktoria, (front) Carolyn and Melanie

Viktoria’s Parents

Things I’ve Learned

We started seeding our small grain this week – field peas, barley, and wheat.  You could say that I am Jonathan’s pit crew. Our drill needs to be folded up into transport mode to go down the road, and unfolded once we get into the field.  It is a two person job, so whenever Jonathan needs to move to a new location, I get a call.  I also help him load seed into the drill when I am needed – usually when a lot of bags are used as opposed to the mini-bulk system which involves a grain wagon and auger system.  After the first two days back out into the field, I have learned a few things…

  • Telling jokes and flirting with your favorite spouse while working makes the job a lot more pleasant. And it can help put you in a better mood.
  • Work boots are not great for running in.  They may have ankle support, but they are heavier than my running shoes, and not as flexible. And they don’t look as cute.
  • If you are going to go out and work with the boys, it is alright to look good. A little pink looks awesome with all of the green equipment.
  • Learning to ride a horse during the first two days of planting is not always a good idea.  Saddle sores on the bottom, and a stiff upper back can make you feel much older than you really are.
  • Running, and weight lifting with dumbbells will not prepare you enough for the lifting and pushing/pulling of farm work.  I wonder if someone could invent a machine for that for my local YMCA. Then I wouldn’t feel as wimpy in the spring.
  • I don’t like the wind. Okay, so I already knew this, but it was reinforced yesterday. I don’t like grit in my teeth. It is hard to laugh at a good joke and not get dirt in your mouth when the winds are blowing dust and dirt into every nook and cranny.
  • It is easy to work your way up the ladder at a rapid pace.  The first day it was 48 pound bags of barley. The second day it was 60 pound bags of wheat.  I’m thankful it rained. I don’t want to know what today’s bags would have weighed.

Even though it is a stressful time of year, learning to balance the farm wife part of my life with the mom and housewife part, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.  I may not have the fastest pit times in the neighborhood, but I’m working on it!

The Office