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  • Sounding Intelligent

    It’s another picture perfect day here on the Knolltop. Although we need rain, it’s been a summer to remember.

    Yesterday I had the chance to be on Rural Route Radio with Trent Loos and Kyle Bauer again. It’s so much fun when I get that chance to be on with those two jokers. Although yesterday I was the resident dairy expert and those of you who know me well….know that’s a stretch!

    We can talk about kids, farms, farm families, communication issues consumer trends or anything else relating to humans but don’t ask me to sound intelligent about drug companies, land grant university research and dollars and cents relating to it. And that’s what I had to do yesterday. Boy was it difficult. If you listen, you’ll hear more of Kyle and Trent than me because no matter how I tried to wrap my brain around GMOs and research and the economic impact and public perception of those, I just couldn’t do it!

    It’s always good to be challenge and no matter how I meet up with Trent, whether it’s on the radio, the phone or in person, he continues to challenge me and he enjoys every minute of it!

    Now I’m off to the doctor with Luke to find out how is ankle is progressing. Tomorrow is school shopping!

  • A God rocker

    I’ve got to share a God moment with you! Remember back a couple of weeks when I was complaining about not getting my rocking chair at TSC? I was waiting until the price dropped one more time and then I was going to snatch it up! But much to my dismay, my rocking chair was snatched up by another bargain hunter. I distinctly remember thinking that if I didn’t get that rocking chair, God had another one in mind that was better and most likely because God knows I like my stuff for free(remember the treadmill?)….it would be free.

    Yesterday I was at a lady’s home and she was preparing to move into a smaller apartment. She’s a matriarch of a family in our church and she has to be as old as Moses! And she’s still has it together and was a pretty as a picture when I walked into her home!

    Anyway, when I went into the room where I was picking up some things she had offered me, I saw this rocking chair. It was the rocking chair of my past… the rocking chair that sat in my childhood farmhouse kitchen. The rocking chair where my mom would comfort us when we had bumps and bruises. When we came crying(with earnest tears and everything) she would pick us up, sit down in that chair and hold us close. I can still feel that little chair rocking and I can smell her perfume.

    I was amazed as I looked at this little rocker not ever thinking that there was another one in the world just like my moms! Not saying a word, I just kept loading some other things and then the Lady’s son who was standing nearby said, “You can have that rocker if you want it” Music to my ears, I snatched that rocker up, loaded it on my truck and brought it home.

    As I sat in that rocker this morning, drinking my coffee I thought about how God had blessed me. Did I need a rocking chair? No. Did I deserve a rocking chair? Absolutely NOT! But that’s what’s so great about God, he gives us what we surely don’t deserve and absolutely don’t need simply because He loves his children. He knew deep down, I wanted a rocker, but I could’ve lived without it. And when he saw how my heart sank when the rocker at TSC was gone, he put another plan in motion for me to get an even better rocker. A rocking chair that I could’ve never imagined was out there. And the best part was….it was absolutely free…like only God can give.

    Well, today on the Knolltop we are going to move some calves around, vaccinate the cows and I’ve got to run a couple of errands and try to get some writing done before tomorrow.

    The biscuits and gravy are getting cold!

  • Cathing up.

    Where has the summer gone? We are talking about going back to school already! It seems like they just got out!

    I’ve been busy this morning running errands and now I’ve got to stay home and do some laundry….it’s piling up and there is a limit to how many packages of new socks I’m allowed to get before I have to start washing them. 🙂

    Luke is gone to Archbold, Ohio with Mr. Kyser to look at farm equipment, JW is gone to see a friend and then will spend the night as Grandmas and head out on a three day judging trip to Ohio and the rest of us are just staying home to play catch up. It seems like all I’ve done is run around!

    Yesterday the neighbor and I had a meeting and then we stopped at the horse stable where three of her horses are in training. I love horse stables…they are a bevy of activity with so many people riding and grooming and doing……stuff. One of her foals is not good enough for the big show and will come back home, the other baby will be trained and head to one of their big shows…she told me the name but I can’t remember everything!

    It’s back to work now!

  • Another Monday

    Good Monday Morning from the sunny Knolltop!

    Let me start off with the bad news….Luke sprained his ankle Friday evening at football practice. He came home shuddering in pain and I gave him some pain medication and put him on the couch for the night. Laying there wondering if it was broken, thoughts raced through my mind, “Should I take him to ER right now? What if it’s broken? My baby can’t lay on the couch with a broken ankle all night…I’ve never seen him in so much pain.”

    The next morning he was so much better and my mind was put to rest. I let him relax for the day babying him as much as he would let me. People called to see if he was okay and everyone reassured me it was just a sprain. But in the back of my mind I couldn’t erase the thought of it being broken and him suffering through it. So I finally took him into Urgent care last evening and after an X-ray we found it was just a sprain and we left the hospital with him toddling around on crutches. So, if you could please pray for him!

    In the meantime, Jake has taken over Luke’s spot at Walnut Lane Farms working for Mr. Kyser. That should be interesting to say the least!

    I’m headed to a meeting today with the neighbor and Sarah will have to take over the house chores. Boy does she have the laundry to do!!!!

  • Did I mention the mom?

    It’s another beautiful morning here on the Knolltop where we are off to a busy start. I feel like I’ve been enslaved to this computer for the whole week but then again, when you make part of your living as a writer…I guess you can expect that. It’s just not always where I want to spend all of my time on a 75 degree day. Let’s all whine for me now…really, I should be so happy that I work from home and don’t have to drive anywhere!
    In yesterday’s post I mentioned the lemonade stand by the young Kietzman entrepreneurs and I said they were Joel’s daughters…..leaving out any mention of the one who gave birth to them, fed them, got up multiple times to feed them in the wee hours of the morning and who’s body will never, ever be the same again after birthing three daughters (not that she looked bad, she’s just a little thing who doesn’t even look like she’s had one kid much less three …darn her!). Anyway, Melissa Kietzman was the wonderful, dedicated mom to these adorable little lemonade peddlers.

    And I didn’t mention who the customers were at the stand…boy I’m slipping! Donny Mayer and three Japanese interns who are working on neighboring dairy farms were bellied up to the beverage stand.

    In fact, we toured Donny and Liz Mayer’s place on our whirlwind Wisconsin tour. They have a nice herd of cows and it is so much fun to listen to Donny talk about cows. He has such a passion for the Holstein breed and much like my husband, he hasn’t come across a pedigree yet that he can’t remember!

    Better get on with the day, the peaches aren’t all done yet, they weren’t all quite rip enough. So I think some peach jam is on the agenda for the day…along with a little writing, a trip to the extension office and the feed store and more detective work on some pictures I need.

  • Lemonade stand was a big hit

    A sure sign of summer time is a lemonade stand. While touring dairy farms in Wisconsin, we went to Jacksons where these precious little girls had a stand all set up, waiting for thirsty customers. The two oldest daughters of well known cattle fitter, Joel Kietzman, who happen to also be the granddaughters of the Jacksons, had set up the stand at their grandparents farm and little did they know the visitors who happened to stop in to look at the cows would also be their best customers of the day.When we got done looking at the cows we headed for a tall glass of ice cold lemonade….okay, it was a short plastic cup, but it was cold and good. Besides, as cute as these little girls were, it could’ve been warm and tart and the men would’ve chugged it down and asked for more.
    What a great memory for these girls to have been at their grandparents farm with a successful lemonade stand. They may never sell another sip of the cold drink, but they will forever think back to the fond memories on the farm.

    Today on this farm they will be hauling more manure, cleaning out a couple of calf pens and I’m going to get Sarah started on peaches. I still have more writing to do with a bunch of other stuff that has piled up on me. Having spent the day goofing off at the fair yesterday, I’m not behind….way behind.

  • Blog of Blogs

    Good Morning from the cloudy Knolltop! We’re headed for Ohio today so Bobby can judge another show. It should be a fun day with the kids and I think I’ll try to scrape up a story or two for the paper.

    I really should stay home and put up the bushel of peaches on my front porch that Lori, from Knolltop Morgans brought home from her vacation. It seems she goes on vacation every year and brings home work for me….how does that work? 🙂

    I have a new site for all of you to go to, it’s a blog of blogs. That’s right, a blog that lists farm blogs on the internet. You need to check it out. My blog was recommended to be listed on his site so now I’m there! The link is www.farmblogs.blogspot.com and it should be a fun place to surf!

    For the first time in my life, I fried Okra yesterday and I can now claim victory in this area of southern cooking. The first time I tried to grow it was the first year we were married and I waited too long to pick it. It was big and tough and I burned it. I can smell the smoke even now. But yesterday I championed this southern dish and had the approval of my Rebel husband!

    Better get…it’s time to head south!

  • Odds and Ends

    Good sunny morning from the Knolltop!
    I’m sad today, football practice has started and that means the kids will be headed back to school and it seems like I just got them home! I hate these short summers! Luke had practice last night from 4-8…yes I agree, a little excessive, but then again, I think everything with high school football is a little excessive, but I”m not getting on that soapbox this morning! Anyway, Luke didn’t play last year in Junior High, so he missed a year and is now back out on the gridiron. And his first practice they put him in as quarterback. Now, that makes sense to me because he’s got the smarts for a quarterback and the arm for a quarterback. But I’m sure the parent’s who’s kids have played that position in the last couple of years don’t agree with that move….it should prove to be an interesting season.

    Now, on to the topic I’ve been waiting to write about and this might have to be my column for next week. But…..last week when we were out touring the countryside of Wisconsin we stopped at the farm of Eddie Bue’s in Alma Center. He and his very, very, very special friend, Mandy (I think she’s special because she’s dedicated to those cows and she’s a sweetheart) have a place where they own some cows and they also board some really good cows for people like Jeff Butler. Surely you remember Jeff, he hosted that record breaking sale, Parade of Perfection in March. And Norman Nabholz a Jersey breeder from Iowa who saw the light and is now dabbling in Holsteins has some high end cows there as well.

    You can see here in the picture, Mandy, the blond and Eddie, the male(duh) and their two employees, I won’t mention their names because I don’t have their parents permission, but I will say they are pretty special too!

    Anyway, Mandy and I were comparing notes about the life consuming work on a dairy farm. As we shared stories we found we faced the same obstacles on a daily basis….bad hair days, short, unpainted fingernails, no make-up and a masculine wardrobe that would make a cross dresser shriek.

    A couple of days later I was sitting in the kitchen of Mandy Nunes..same story, different wife. And then again at the Summer Event sale, Annie Hulle, same story….different wife. Then yesterday I got an email from Amber Price of Jonesboro, Indiana. I had interviewed her and her husband Joe for a story I did for Holstein International. She emailed me to let me know how nice it was to be included in the story and that having that opportunity was like a “fresh drink of water” for her and Joe. Why? Because the dairy business consumes the men and women who rise every morning to milk, feed and care for the cattle that put food on their kitchen table. We breath, eat and sleep cows so much that sometimes we forget their is a world outside the farm that sees what we’re doing, respects us for our hard work and it’s nice just to have a bit of recognition.

    Thus….I think I should start a blog just for women! Just for women who long for the fellowship of other women in the same boat(farm). For women who can just get a drink of fresh water on a daily basis. For women who need some encouragement. For women who need a fresh idea or who need to vent or who need a pick-me-up. Or for women who want more expertise on how to merchandise cattle or want to be on the cutting edge of the purebred cattle industry.

    It’s a work in progress and when I get it up and going.. you’ll be the first to know!

    Now, it’s time for the real work of the day, feeding, cleaning, washing and nurturing.

  • Another Heritage Day

    It was another busy weekend here on the Knolltop. On Saturday North Adams had it’s Heritage Day celebration. The parade started at 10 am and yes, I proudly drove my John Deere A down town through the cheering crowds who gathered on the sides of main street just to see my “A” make it’s Heritage Day debut……NOT!

    I did drive it in the parade, but I was the only one who was impressed with my old iron that went “Putt, Putt, Putt.” The boys want to restore it….I really don’t care, I like it just how it is….operational…..paint is optional.

    Which is more than I can say for Luke’s tractor. You know the one, that always beats me in road races? Well, his old Farmall was sitting home that day because he couldn’t get it started. Even though he always brags about how much nicer and faster his tractor is than mine, I still felt badly because he couldn’t take it in the parade. But Mr. Kyser came to the rescue and by the end of the day it was running and hopefully he will be able to keep that piece of red junk going for the big Labor Day tractor parade in Waldron.

    Bobby’s off judging a county fair today, the boys are heading down to the neighbors to clean out one of his grain bins and Sarah and I are headed Knolltop Morgans to do their chores. I’ve got so much catching up to do today!

  • Another cow sale

    We were off to another cow sale only this one was closer and had more surprises. But before I go there, I’d better identify the cute chick hugging my husband in yesterday’s post. That cutie is Katrina Nunes, Matt and Mandy’s second oldest girl. And when I told her and Bobby to get closer she reacted with hugging him, which gave Bobby quite a surprise. Being the southern gentleman he is, he would never touch another lady even if he were invited. I thought it was quite funny!

    So on to the sale. We went to Graf’s in Dansville yesterday and thought it would be a small purebred sale with a few cows flying under the radar. Bobby was sure he might find a bargain or two and had his eye on a couple of the better cows if they went cheap enough.

    Everyone else had the same idea and there wasn’t a bargain in the bunch! It was a tremendous sale which was great for the Graf family. There were buyers from all over the Midwest and even Arlin Buttke from North Carolina showed up to make a few purchases. There was a lot of interest in a contract cow and a couple of her calves. We ended up bringing one of those nice calves home for an out of state buyer. Not sure where her journey will take her next, but she’s got a nice place to stay until her departure.

    I snapped a few photos of some of the attendees, just for fun!

    Dan Carroll from Select Sires was there to make a few purchases on behalf of some folks from Pennsylvania.Patty, left and Francis Palmerton, second from right of Hapleson Jerseys in Fowlerville were on hand. No, they weren’t buying and black and whites, they were checking out the sale crew that will be on their place for their dispersal in September. Yes, these long time and world renown Jersey breeders will sell the milk cows and Patty said the first thing she’s going to do is sleep in every morning for 2 weeks! These folks are from my homestead where I grew up and are a great couple. If you ever need a laugh, these two will fill the bill. They are great folks with great Jerseys and if you’re looking for a good one be at their place on September 6th! The guy to the right of Patty is Matt Biermacher, a Semex salesman and college buddy of mine, and of course Dan Carroll was able to sneak into the shot as well. He loves the camera.And you can’t have a purebred Holstein sale without Mr. Holstein himself, Max Dunseth, our Holstein Association representative. Chad Kreeger is in the center going over some last minute details with Matt Biermacher.