It’s another warm day here on the Knolltop. We’ve had a hot couple of days here, but I’m not complaining.

Last evening the boys ventured out to their ball game only to find the team they were supposed to play got their schedules messed up and thought they were playing another team. The end result was no game. But the unfortunate aspect was that my parents, who haven’t been able to come to any games at all because of my dad’s back, finally were able to get away and come to a game….and they didn’t get to see one! They called from the field and I broke the news to them. I felt awful, so that awful feeling had to be cured! I told them to come to the house and to pick up some ice cream on their way! So we sat around the table and had ice cream sundaes and listened to dad tell stories and watch the boys nearly laugh themselves out of their seats!

Straw baling is on the agenda today. Jake spent the whole day in the combine yesterday having a great time. I think he even said he took a load of something to Ohio with Rodney. He gets to have so much fun riding around the country in a big semi. What a life!

Time for breakfast and then off to the work of the day!

Trust Defined: Getting on the back of a motorcycle driven by your 16 year old son and riding around the block.

That is the true definition of trust or maybe faith. Whatever the word that’s what I had last night as we got home from the baseball game last night and JW said, “Hey mom, I got another helmet, wanna go for a ride?”

I agreed, with great apprehension and immediately started praying. Looking at Luke and mouthing to him, “Pray for me!” I got on the back of the bike wrapped my arms around the child that I gave birth to and used to bathe in the kitchen sink and we were off.

It really wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. I can hardly ride in the car while he’s driving without great anxiety so putting my life in his hands on a motorcycle was not good for the blood pressure. He kept the speed down to 35 mph….I know, that doesn’t seem very fast in a car, but on a bike, it seems faster than a speeding bullet!

After a couple of miles I was able to relax and enjoy the ride. Turns were a bit tricky especially when he said, “Lean with me!” Yeah, right…I ain’t leanin’! All in all, it was a very nice ride.

They had a double header last night and it was ugly. They lost both games and it was ugly. JW was a relief pitcher for one inning…80 pitches, walked four batters, and 18 runs were scored…..did I mention it was ugly? They play Homer tonight…let’s hope it’s not so….ugly.

Yesterday I was on Rural Route Radio with Trent Loos and Kyle Bauer, you can click on the links below to listen on the Internet if you’d like. It was great fun, like always!

Today is writing day, columns, stories, interviews. I’m working on a story for Holstein International about Indiana Holsteins. That is turning out to be a lot of fun. Word on the street is that the crew from HI, Jan Bierma and some others are here in the U.S. traveling the rural roads of Kansas with the hostess with the mostest, Dallas Burton! They’ll be visiting with some influential Holstein breeders and enjoying some breed history with Dallas, the Holstein Historian.

I’m sure they will have fun with lots of stories to tell.

You don’t need to look at the calendar to see what day it is, wheat harvest is underway, it’s hot and Ag Expo is underway, yes, it’s the middle of July in Michigan!

Yesterday I watched the first combine harvesting wheat to the south as I painted the back of the barn. So that means farmers across the state are torn, do they go to Ag Expo or combine wheat? What a decision. Ag Expo will be important if they have money to spend by the end of the year, but if not, then they will stay home and keep their nose to the grindstone and send another family member in their place. That means the grounds will be filled with grandfathers and young grand children, the ones who could afford the time off the farm!

The boys baled hay all day yesterday and finally came home when the All-Star game was in it’s second inning. And yes, we are boohooing because the National League lost.

Today will be a prep day for our Summer show next week and then tonight the boys have a baseball game. Last night’s game was cancelled so nothing to report from the local diamond.

If anyone heads to Ag Expo, be sure to report in to the rest of us who can’t go! And remember to pray for Jericho today!

Good Morning from the crew at the Knolltop.

Painting is the name of the game today. Yesterday, Jake, Sarah and I tackled the back of the barn. It was a real trip with Sarah afraid of heights and wasps swarming around us. But we got a big chunk of it done without falling to our death or getting stung! We will head back out this morning after breakfast and tempt those wasps again.

I was very proud of Sarah for sticking with it. She really was very uncomfortable up there and still stuck with me. She’s a real trooper. She was tested over the weekend too when the little girl she was babysitting fell and cut her head. I was at Jake’s ballgame and my cell phone rang. It was a panicked Sarah telling me I needed to get there right now…she needed me! After telling her to take a few deep breaths and to calm down, I was able to talk her through the rescue operation. By the time I got off the phone she was in control of the situation and had a plan. It turned out the little gal didn’t need stitches like we thought she might. It was just a small cut, but you know how those head wounds bleed and make you look like you’re doing battle with Goliath!

Better get to breakfast!

Good Monday Morning from a sunny Knolltop!

We had a day off on Saturday because of the rain. Jake was supposed to play baseball, but buckets of rain came down and postponed it until Sunday. So instead of a day of rest on Sunday, we had it on Saturday. Although after the rain, it cleared up, got humid and forced us to the pool Saturday night.

Yesterday Jake’s team won both games and is now in the championship game on next Saturday morning! They did a great job and Jake pitched a no-hitter. He’s so excited about it.

It turned out to be a beautiful sunny day and the great thing about yesterday was that it was too far away to come back home in between games so we packed a picnic lunch and while we had two hours until the next game we went to a park in Camden and enjoyed a picnic. The funny thing was when we got done eating, JW and Luke tackled the ancient merry-go-round. It was broken, so what do two farmboys do? They climb underneath and start fixing it! They got to go a couple of rounds, but then it broke again. This whole scene reminded me of when they were toddlers and we made the trek with my parents out to Montana to see my sister and her family. Every time we stopped for a meal we would get our food, go to a park and let them run around for awhile so when they got back in the car they would be ready to ride for awhile. That memory was sparked yesterday while they were playing on the playground and we were still eating.

Okay, today is a work day and then off to Grand Rapids for a funeral visitation. A good friend died recently, Roger Meyer of Rod-er-Dic farms in Byron Center died from his battle with cancer. He fought it for a long time, in fact every morning when I would put the second milker on the cow, Ruth, I would pray for Roger and the family. Now I will just be praying for the family and if you would pray for them too, that would be great.

Roger’s son, Paul was in college with me and has been a good friend over the years. He was almost destine to be a bachelor until Sherry Strautz caught his eye and snatched him up last April…the lucky girl! Well, he’s pretty lucky to have her too since when I talked to her last Saturday night she was breeding a cow at 8 O’clock at night and couldn’t answer the phone because her arm was you know where….!

Gotta go…please pray for this family!

It was baseball galore last night as we went to watch the beginning of Jake’s tournament games. They beat Camden….actually the mercy rule had to be used….so they were done after three innings. Then we headed west to Jonesville where Luke was playing a double header. JW missed the game, he’s at an FFA officer training camp in Lansing.

We arrived in time to watch most of the second game, they lost both. Luke said he pitched, played third and then wound up catching. Then it was time for ice cream! We went to the Udder Side where they have the best deal. They keep all their mistakes, put them in cups and stick them in the freezer. These delicious, cheap treats are called “Cow Piles” and they only cost 50 cents. If your lucky, you could wind up with a misshapen banana split, a screwed up flurry or just a cup of ice cream. Anyway you scoop it, it’s a great deal and it’s always a surprise!

Tonight Bobby and JW will ump again. I guess they had a couple of close calls the other night, close enough to make the coach come out onto the field and argue. First he argued with JW and then got on Bobby’s case. Bobby told him if he wanted to stay and coach he needed to get back in the dugout and be quiet! I wish I could’ve been there but no, I was in the gas station making an idiot out of myself!

An idiot you ask? Let me explain. I walked into Buddy’s and there were about 6 men in there with bright orange vests on. Spotting the 12 passenger van they were riding in, I automatically assumed they were prisoners out on work release. Yes, I know, you’re laughing already.

It was when they began to flirt with me that my suspicions were confirmed….yes….jailbirds who haven’t had close contact with a female in quite some time….yep…prisoners. Here was the conversation:

Me: “So, are you guys prisoners or what?”

Them: “Yep”

Me: “Oh, so they let you out to do work huh?”

Them: “Yep”

Me: “That’s kind of nice.”

Them: “No, you’re kind of nice lookin‘”

Me: No comment and nervously shopping, headed to the far corner of the store.

Since they were taking so long I finally got in line behind one of the more honest looking, well groomed guys with the least scariest tattoos.

Me: “So, what kind of work did they let you do?”

Honest looking prisoner: “Ma’am, we’re not prisoners, we’re working gas well drillers, we’ve been working around here for weeks.”

Me: “Seriously? Oh, for heaven’s sake, I’m sorry. I’m such a fool!”

Him: Smiles and smirks.

Me: Paying for my goods and getting the heck out of there.

Of course then when I went to get in the truck, it wouldn’t start. I knew as soon as I lifted the hood, they would pile out of their van and head toward me to help a damsel in distress. So I tried to act confident like I knew exactly what was wrong. It didn’t work, it wouldn’t start, so I decided to leave the truck and walk to the ball field. I really just wanted to leave as quick as I could. Walking down the side walk, yes you guessed it, they came driving up beside me and stopped, opened the door and said, “Hey, you need a hand with your truck? We’ll be glad to help you.”

Me: “Oh, thank you so much for the offer, buy my HUSBAND is right over there at the ball field and I’m just going to go get him, he’ll fix it. But thanks anyway.”

Them: “Are you sure, we’ll be glad to give you a hand.” Smiles and winks.

Me: I bet you would. “Really, thanks but my HUSBAND will take care of it.”

And much to my relief they drove off. That is the last time I talk to people in bright orange vests with lots of tattoos riding in 12 passenger vans!

Good Morning from a very sunny, pleasant Knolltop!

I’ve got a prayer request for all of you prayer warriors out there! A reader of this blog and of my column is in need of prayer for a new adventure. Not wanting to be too specific I’ll try to keep in general. But he needs you to pray for him specifically next week. Let’s see…..I’ll give him a new name too…..how about…..Lester. No, not Lester….how about……Duke? No, he’s not really a Duke either…..let’s call him…….Jericho! Yes, Jericho it is! Please pray for Jericho. Seriously, please pray for him and I’ll let you know how God works in his situation when Jericho let’s me know.

Okay, the children and heifers await to go on their daily walk! I’d better hop to it!

Good Morning from a beautiful, sunny Knolltop!

We had more rain yesterday, a very nice steady rain…but it didn’t keep us from heading to Bronson for the boys baseball game. Jake and I were the lucky spectators yesterday while Bobby and Sarah stayed home to do chores. I was excited as I watched Luke put on his catcher’s gear and JW walk to the mound. It has been a while since I’ve seen them pitch and throw together and I tell you it was a proud moment for this mama! I started to get worried when Luke approached the pitchers mound, he’s been known to chew JW out if he’s not performing how he knows he should. But then I relaxed when I also saw the coach headed to the mound too, I knew Luke would be nice and there wouldn’t be any fights on the field!

I don’t mean to sound like Luke is mean or anything, he just expects a certain level of play from his older brother and actually from the whole team. I know for a fact when he approaches the mound to encourage other pitchers he’s not telling them they’re throwing like a two year old!

They lost the first game, but won the second. Luke caught both games and after JW got done pitching he went to center field and made some awesome catches…yes…I’m bragging!

Yesterday as I laid down for my siesta I was drifting off the sleep when I heard a calf mooing outside. At first I thought there were heifers out, but then I heard Jake’s voice and realized he was walking his calf. Only on the farm could someone go to sleep listening to a boy and his calf conversing on their daily walk.