Category: agriculture

30 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 18: Social Media

CarolynCares Social Media

Facebook. Twitter. Blogging. Instagram. Pinterest. Snap Chat. Skype. These are all platforms I use to keep in contact with family and friends all over the world. I am thankful that I can share Facebook messages with family members who live in Mongolia, Italy, and Malaysia. They don’t seem quite so far away when you can communicate almost instantaneously.

Through Twitter, I have met many farmers from the United States, Canada, and Australia. Some I have met in person, some I will meet eventually, and others will only be an online friendship. I have also learned about opportunities to give back, like #foodthanks, where we are encouraged to give Food Thanks this Thanksgiving season. Follow the link to see how you can get involved. I plan on donating a bag of food to our school. They distribute food to needy children every Friday so the kids will have something to eat over the weekend.

You all know how I feel about blogging… 🙂 As much as I love to talk, and to write, this challenge has been…challenging. It really makes me think about why I am thankful for everything I am focusing on. Truth be told, there have been a few things that I had on my list that moved way down on the importance list. After contemplating them, I realized those things were just little things. I may still be thankful for them, but I didn’t want to focus on them this month.

I’m not a super regular Pinner on Pinterest, and I mainly have recipes or food related things there. It is a handy place to keep my online recipes when I’m making larger dinners. I hope to add a few more non-food boards this winter, some photography related, and some farm related.

Snap Chat is reserved for communicating with my daughters. Sometimes it is a series of goofy faces, or it may be a “does this look okay together” question. Yes, I ask my youngest daughter clothes questions all the time. She has a great eye, and she knows my style better than I do.

I really haven’t used Skype much in the last year. When Jonathan and Laura were in Tanzania, we would communicate through Skype, but it was voice only. Skype is nice to see family members in real time at Christmas. I’m hoping we’ll be able to see my brother’s family in Italy, and our German exchange daughter over the holidays.

I am a horrible letter writer, and I’m really bad at sending birthday cards, so I am thankful for the ability to keep in contact with family and friends so easily through social media!

 

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30 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 17: Bonfires

CarolynCares Bonfire

Bonfires in the summer are fun. Bonfires in the fall, when the air turns cool, are awesome. We like to have fires in the summer, roast marshmallows, and eat s’mores.  It usually signals a small break in the action on the farm.

In October, the high school youth group from our church gets together for a hayride and bonfire. We welcome in the fall by roasting hot dogs, and marshmallows over an open fire. We huddle around cups of hot chocolate, and eat s’mores while having devotions or talking about the year ahead. It is a time of fellowship, shared around the warmth of a fire.

Sometimes, we need to get together with fellow believers, fellow farmers, friends, family. It is when we spend time together with others like ourselves that we become a brighter flame, able to warm up those around us. I will be traveling to meetings starting this next week, where I will have the opportunity to hang out with people who will help to spread the warmth of agriculture. The first meeting will be with the Organic Advisory Task Force, where members of many sectors of organics will work towards a common goal of advising the Commissioner of Agriculture, and the University of Minnesota on the issues surrounding organic agriculture. The second meeting will be the Minnesota Farm Bureau Annual Meeting, where I have the privilege of being a voting delegate for my county. I always feel excited about farming, and about what we’re doing on our farm when I get together with these groups. The many ideas, and the fellowship help to ignite the fires in the members. We may all be individuals, but it is totally awesome to see what can happen when we all come together as one.

What ignites the fire in you? Who do you like to hang out with around a bonfire?

 

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30 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 16: Laura

CarolynCares Laura

Laura is the youngest of our daughters. She is in her second year of college, living in the same town as her sisters, which is awesome!

Laura was pretty much born with a smile on her face. She was a little stinker, but then would look at us with her huge blue eyes as if to say, “who, me?” Before she could walk, she would tackle her sisters to get their attention. While we had to be firm with her, there were many times when we were secretly laughing at her antics. When she was about 18 months old, I was working in the kitchen while the girls were playing in their rooms. One of her sisters came to me and said that Laura was being naughty. Suddenly, I caught a whiff of Desitin, a diaper rash cream. When I walked into Laura’s room, there she was, stripped down to her diaper, rubbing this cream all over her body, and in between her toes. For those of you that have never used a diaper rash cream, this stuff is pretty difficult to just wash off. It is made to repel liquids. It took a few baths to clean her up. We had to scrub the tub in between baths, otherwise it would be super slippery. That was one time where we had to be firm, yet were laughing when she was out of earshot.

Laura covered in Desitin - even between the toes
Laura covered in Desitin – even between the toes

I really wouldn’t trade any of these moments for anything. I like to tease the girls that they are the cause of my gray hair, but really, they were pretty sweet girls growing up.

Laura has such a compassionate heart, and really hates when people judge others based on appearance. She is very protective of her oldest sister, and her dad, and gets really annoyed when people judge them because of the limps they have due to their MS.

Now that Laura is in college, we like to get together to shop. Well, we’ve always liked to shop together. She is so fun to hang out with. I look forward to trips to the Twin Cities with her. She has a good eye for style, and is a great bargain hunter. Days when we can laugh, and forget about the stresses of life are the best days.

There are times when I wish Laura was still little enough to crawl up onto my lap, but I am so thankful for the woman she is becoming. I love you, baby girl!

 

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30 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 15: Pongo

CarolynCares Pongo

Pongo is our Rat Terrier. We got him as a puppy, for a two week trial period…four years ago. For our daughter Laura and I, it was pretty much love at first sight.

I got my first pet shortly after Jonathan and I were married. She was a beautiful shade of gray, so I named her Smokey. That was when we found out I have asthma, and that I’m very allergic to cats. After a trip to the ER, and a shot of adrenaline, Smokey became an outside cat.

We’ve had a few dogs in the 25 years that we’ve been married. I still miss my first dog – a Border Collie that would climb trees to fetch her favorite stick, or climb ladders if we were working in the barn loft.

Pongo is the smallest dog we’ve owned, and by far the cuddliest. He is also the first dog that has been allowed in the house for more than an hour at a time. He likes to jump up on my lap when I’m sitting at the computer, which really makes it difficult to type! We trained him early on that barking in the house is not allowed. He will whine and run to the door when he sees a squirrel outside, then start barking as soon as he’s out the door. He’s a very good farm dog as well. True to his breed, he catches and kills mice around the grain bins when he finds them. Fortunately, he doesn’t bring them up to the house like the cats do!

I am thankful that our friends asked us to take Pongo for that two week trial. No matter how bad I think my day may be going, he is always happy to see me in the morning, and he never loses his enthusiasm. Some days it would be nice to forget all your cares, run around the yard at top speed, then take a nap. Sweet is the life of a dog…

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30 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 14: Sunsets

CarolynCares Sunsets

One of the things I love about living where I do are the wide open views. I love to run out to the edge of the yard and watch the brilliant colors as they constantly change while the sun is sinking. This fall, there have been breathtaking sunsets, where I’ve paused just to drink it all in.

Some think that it is cliche to take photos of sunrises and sunsets, but I disagree. Our goddaughter’s Chinese name meant Beautiful Colors in the Sky. Her favorite colors were purple and pink. After she was killed in a bus accident, I think about her every time the sunset is full of purples and pinks. Sometimes I take photos of those sunsets, and other times I just pause and watch. I think some professional photographers forget that some of us find inspiration and joy in sunsets. It is not cliche if it means something to you.

I am thankful for beautiful sunsets that make me pause, and appreciate the painting God is putting on display for us.

I know I may be biased that my Minnesota sunsets are the best, but I have a couple of friends from North Dakota who would beg to differ! Head over to [j.l.d.] photograph blog to see her sunsets, then check out the Pinke Post for more.

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30 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 12: AgChat

AgChatFoundationLogo_RGB

Some of you may be thinking “what in the world is AgChat, and why is Carolyn thankful for that?” AgChat is the reason I joined Twitter. I have made many friends from all over the world by participating in Twitter #AgChat conversations on Tuesday evenings.

There is much more to the AgChat Foundation than just the weekly Twitter chats. In February, I attended a regional conference where I was able to meet some of the people I had been communicating with over social media. You could choose from different presentations on improving your blogging, photography, Facebook fan pages, Twitter, and more. The networking and learning sessions were great for encouraging us to tell our stories using more than one social media platform. The Portland Regional Conference is coming up, so if you live in the Pacific Northwest, I encourage you to check it out!

The AgChat Foundation also encourages us to give back when possible. Next week starts the annual #FoodThanks celebration. This year, we have been asked to show our appreciation for good food, and to those who grow it, by using the #FoodThanks hashtag while sharing photos of food or recipes online. I plan on pledging to donate a bag of food this holiday season. For more ideas on how to share your Food Thanks this holiday season, check out the #FoodThanks website.

I am really thankful that my friend, Emily, introduced me to the AgChat Foundation. I am thankful for all of the people I have met while participating in the AgChats on Tuesdays (and #FoodChat on the 3rd Tuesday). Thanks to you all for putting up with me!

For more 30 Day Challenge Blogs, click here.

 

 

30 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 10: Reunions

CarolynCares Reunions

Growing up in a large, close knit family was awesome. On my dad’s side, we would get together for Christmases, graduations, Confirmations, birthdays, anniversaries, 4th of July parades, and reunions. We lived 3 hours away from my grandparents and the majority of dad’s family, so our trips typically started early, and ended late. There were many times when we would get home after 10:00 pm on a Sunday night. We never wanted those weekends to end.

This past January, I lost two uncles. My dad’s oldest brother, and the husband of dad’s oldest sister. Many of the cousins were at one or both of the funerals. We realized how much we missed seeing each other, and plans were made to have a reunion in August. We all felt we needed to gather for a happy occasion.

Over the course of the weekend, 73 members of the Bredlow clan descended on Thornton, Iowa to share stories, play games, and reconnect with one another. There are 65 of us in the photo above, taken by my cousin, Judy (check out her photography blog here). Looking at this crowd, and knowing that many members of this bunch were missing, was kind of amazing. I started counting, and I believe we number somewhere around the 99 to 100 mark now. I can just imagine my Grandpa and Grandma being so pleased, and loving every single one. That’s the kind of people they were.

When we get together, we are a little loud at times. We all like to chatter, and we all have pretty much the same sense of humor. If you can’t handle puns and sarcasm, you may not enjoy our gatherings as much. Some of us went on a tour of the places Grandpa and Grandma had lived. I had never been to the site of the last farm they owned, so that was super interesting to me. We also went to the two houses they lived in after they retired. So many memories of holiday gatherings, 4th of July parades, and summers spent with cousins came flooding back. After the tour, some went golfing, while others visited. We closed out our reunion on Sunday morning with a very meaningful worship service. I believe that our family is so close, and so strong due to the faith foundation that we have.

I am so thankful to be a part of this crazy family. We may not always agree on things – I mean, some of them are Packers fans if you can believe it – but when we get together, there is so much love. I am also thankful that we had a reunion this year. I can’t wait until the next one!

 

Want to connect with other 30 Day Challenge bloggers? Click here to find a current list if participating blogs.

30 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 9: Winter

CarolynCares Winter

Call me crazy, but I love winter. The first snowfall has always been met with excitement. Most years, I bake (and we eat) the first batch of Christmas cookies on that day. When Jonathan and I were first married, our house was pretty tiny. In order to delay turning on the fuel oil furnace, I would bake. The heat of the oven was enough to warm up the house.

There are so many things to like about winter. Sweaters, curling up with a good Cookbook, Russian Tea, puzzles, and snow. I love to take my camera out the morning after a blizzard, and see what patterns the wind made in the snow. The photo above was taken after a December blizzard last year. The skies were a brilliant blue, and the contrast between the sky and the snow was stunning. There is no way I can totally capture that, but the photos I take bring me back to the feeling of the cold, crisp air, the birds singing, and the awesome colors.

I’ll admit, taking care of the animals is a bit more challenging in the winter, especially during a blizzard, but we know they are safe and warm in the barns. Other farm work is a bit more relaxed. Jonathan will crunch numbers, make decisions on what varieties of seed he wants to plant, and we’ll attend farming conferences. I love attending the conferences and seeing friends that we only see in person a couple times a year. We also sit in on sessions where we can learn about what’s happening with the Farm Bill, what we can do to help foster communication between farmers and consumers, and what the latest agriculture research says that will help make our farm better.

Mostly, I am thankful for winter, which is not only beautiful, but it gives us a chance to recharge our batteries for the next growing season.

Want to read more 30 Day Challenge blogs? Click here to go to Holly Spangler’s blog where there is an updated list of fellow bloggers.

30 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 7: Farmers

CarolynCares Farmer

I learned to be thankful for farmers by watching and listening to my grandpas. One was still actively farming with an uncle when I was growing up, and the others had retired. (I had three sets of grandparents, due to my birth mother’s death when I was 2.) Watching my one grandpa come in from feeding the animals in the morning, washing up with the Lava soap at the sink just inside the kitchen door before sitting down for breakfast, all with a smile, made a huge impression on me. We were given jobs to do when we stayed with grandpa and grandma, which helped to teach me a tiny bit of the work that goes into farming. Our jobs were easy at our grandparent’s, since we were from the city. We learned a little more about taking care of farm animals from our cousins who lived a couple of miles away. They had dairy cows for awhile, as well as pigs. We learned how to take care of calves, and how they milk the cows. I was always fascinated by that, and wanted to be able to take care of my own animals some day. That wish came true when we started raising pigs in 1989.

As an adult, I’ve learned that farmers come in all shapes, sizes, colors, genders, religious, and political beliefs. Their farms are very diverse, growing everything from apples to zucchini.  The one thing they have in common, is an appreciation for the land and animals in their care. Some days the work is difficult, and some days pretty easy. Even with all of the uncertainty with weather and commodity prices, farmers are a pretty optimistic bunch. There’s always tomorrow (sorry if you are now thinking of the song from “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer), or there’s always next year are common phrases. I believe it is an attitude that is passed down through the generations. In the photo above, Jonathan’s great-grandfather, Daniel Olson, is working in the field. He moved his family up to our farm from Iowa in 1913. His wife and children probably had no idea what they were moving into. As we celebrated our farm’s 100th Anniversary this summer, we all were very thankful for that optimistic attitude that prompted them to seek a better farm.

In the 25 years I have lived and worked on the farm, I have learned how to communicate with other farmers. Many times, as I’m interacting with farmers from around the world through social media, I learn about a way of farming that I had never witnessed before. The food that they grow is one I like to cook or bake with, but had no idea how it was grown. I love when those farmers take the time to share their way of farming, and I am thankful that they care enough to share their stories.

To read more blogs written by farmers, check out Holly Spangler’s page, where she has compiled a list of other 30 day challenge bloggers.

Introduction to the 30 Day Challenge

Day 1: Family

Day 2: Harvest

Day 3: Music

Day 4: Bacon

Day 5: Flowers

Day 6: Coffee