Hart Communications

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  • Finally it’s clear!

    It’s a clear morning here on the Knolltop and very chilly…this calls for perked coffee this morning.

    We had a calf born yesterday and she was huge…actually she was born in the middle of the night and she must have had a hard time because her face was swollen. Every time I feed her she’s always laying down so I also wondered if she could even stand up. So this morning I stood her up and she fell right over. But as I had her standing up, I noticed she is remarkable bigger than the other newborns we’ve had. So it’s no wonder she’s having a hard time getting her long legs underneath her big body. If it were only September 1st. Then we’d have a huge fall heifer calf to show next year, but since she was born in August, she will be a summer yearling…oh well.

    I’m ahead of the game, so I’d better stay that way and go get ready for church.

  • Finally it’s clear!

    It’s a clear morning here on the Knolltop and very chilly…this calls for perked coffee this morning.

    We had a calf born yesterday and she was huge…actually she was born in the middle of the night and she must have had a hard time because her face was swollen. Every time I feed her she’s always laying down so I also wondered if she could even stand up. So this morning I stood her up and she fell right over. But as I had her standing up, I noticed she is remarkable bigger than the other newborns we’ve had. So it’s no wonder she’s having a hard time getting her long legs underneath her big body. If it were only September 1st. Then we’d have a huge fall heifer calf to show next year, but since she was born in August, she will be a summer yearling…oh well.

    I’m ahead of the game, so I’d better stay that way and go get ready for church.

  • Opening night

    Last night was the opening night of football for our little town. It had to have been the longest game on record running frm 7 – 11 pm. Four minutes into the second quarter there was lightening and they had to delay the game for 30 minutes. Then more lightening came and a second delay ensued. Finally the second quarter got started about 8:45 or so…and we got in the van to come home at 11pm.

    The delay gave me time to come home and make caramel corn so that was just fine with me. I would’ve come home for the evening, but Bobby is on the chain gang so I waited for him. It turned out to be a nice night….although the fog was rolling in pretty good by the end of the game. What a night. Oh, by the way, we lost.

    It’s still misty today, but they say it will clear off! When it finally does, I will get the rest of the lawn mowed! I think I’ll be canning some salsa soon, the tomatoes are finally coming on. And while I can’t do much outside, I think I’ll stay in and clean…oh what fun…and then some laundry….this might be more fun than I can handle in one day! Actually, I enjoy a clean house…it’s just getting in there that I don’t like.

    I’m sending the kids out to work with their heifers. Yesterday Luke took Holly for a long walk down the road to see if her attitude would improve. He said it made a difference. But they have to be persistant if they want to do well in showmanship and in their breed classes at the fair. I keep telling them it will pay off in the end! They just don’t see it right now.

    JW is still on his trip. Yesterday they toured Select Sires in Plain City, and today they will be at Quietcove Holsteins and Topp-View down on the western side of Ohio. He called yesterday, sounds like they were having a good time. I sure do miss him.

  • New life

    Bobby keeps saying every day…it’s like the corn has new life. It should with all the rain we’ve gotten and continue to get! Last evening after chores, Luke and Jake had Brad over and they were playing football in the back yard. All of a sudden a storm blew in and blew out. They were drenched, which made the game even more fun!

    JW is gone to Ohio, right now he should be at Triple T Holsteins in North Lewisburg judging a few classes there. I called him this morning but haven’t heard anything as of right now…I assume they haven’t gotten stuck in the flood down there.

    I’ve still got a story to write this morning…got my column done. Actually, I’ve got to write my story for the Agriview today too….that will be a little different since it will be more about famous show cattle and not one farm. A real challenge none the less…I’ve never done anything like this before. It won’t be about Holly, especially if she doesn’t get her act together…the other day Luke had a terrible time with her…I’ll write more about that later….here’s a picture of the struggle.

    If I don’t get to it, I won’t get anything done. Coffee is perked and ready to drink!

  • Clare County Fair

    Yes, we did it…we actually drove off and left the farm to two responsible…teenage…boys. A cow had calved and I volunteered to stay home, but Big Daddy told me to go milk the cow, feed the calf and she would be fine. So, I milked the cow, fed the calf and she was fine.
    We ventured north for almost three hours and went through the “Gateway to the North” to the Clare County Fair. When we drove up, Jake said, “Is this the fair where…..?” Then Sarah chimmed in and said, “No, this is the county fair where we…..” And then I said, “No, we are now entering a county fair that none of us have ever been to….and that’s really strange.”

    Over the years, Bobby has been to 49 states and every county fairgrounds from coast to coast..well, almost…as he travelled as a cattle fitter. That’s how we met…at the Michigan State Fair….another story for another day.
    Anyway, through my years working for the Farmers’ Advance, I’ve spent a lot of summers going from fair to fair covering events. So it was very strange for us to drive into this fairgrounds and not know where the livestock barns were and the cleanest bathrooms and where our most favorite food stand was located.

    After looking around we found the livestock barns and then tried to locate who was in charge. We found her and she turned out to be an old family friend. Actually the niece of my college roommate…she’s practically family.
    While Big Daddy went to judge the show, the kids and I were admiring the sheep and I kind of got caught up in looking at some Columbia Ewes. Then I began daydreaming about having my own flock of sheep….something I could have on my own and wondered if I could make any kind of a profit with them…and how great it would be to have lambs in the spring….then I spotted the shepherd of this flock I was admiring and I began a conversation with him. Pretty soon the dairy show was half over and I finally pulled myself away to go watch my husband do his thing.

    I got there just in time to watch him judge showmanship and of course he loves kids and really enjoys interacting with them in the showring.

    Every show he judges he introduces himself and gets to know their names and when he gives his reasons he calls them by their name. Of course you know who loves that??? Mom and grandma!

    This was a small show, with a huge crowd and they were really into clapping and cheering. I don’t think I’ve seen such cheering since the last time I was at World Dairy Expo and even there they are a little more sedate.

    Meanwhile back at the ranch….the boys had things under control…with a few phone calls to us…they had success.

    When we got home the barn and house were still standing…the cows still alive..and a little more confidence in the family unit was palpable.

  • Clare County Fair

    Yes, we did it…we actually drove off and left the farm to two responsible…teenage…boys. A cow had calved and I volunteered to stay home, but Big Daddy told me to go milk the cow, feed the calf and she would be fine. So, I milked the cow, fed the calf and she was fine.
    We ventured north for almost three hours and went through the “Gateway to the North” to the Clare County Fair. When we drove up, Jake said, “Is this the fair where…..?” Then Sarah chimmed in and said, “No, this is the county fair where we…..” And then I said, “No, we are now entering a county fair that none of us have ever been to….and that’s really strange.”

    Over the years, Bobby has been to 49 states and every county fairgrounds from coast to coast..well, almost…as he travelled as a cattle fitter. That’s how we met…at the Michigan State Fair….another story for another day.
    Anyway, through my years working for the Farmers’ Advance, I’ve spent a lot of summers going from fair to fair covering events. So it was very strange for us to drive into this fairgrounds and not know where the livestock barns were and the cleanest bathrooms and where our most favorite food stand was located.

    After looking around we found the livestock barns and then tried to locate who was in charge. We found her and she turned out to be an old family friend. Actually the niece of my college roommate…she’s practically family.
    While Big Daddy went to judge the show, the kids and I were admiring the sheep and I kind of got caught up in looking at some Columbia Ewes. Then I began daydreaming about having my own flock of sheep….something I could have on my own and wondered if I could make any kind of a profit with them…and how great it would be to have lambs in the spring….then I spotted the shepherd of this flock I was admiring and I began a conversation with him. Pretty soon the dairy show was half over and I finally pulled myself away to go watch my husband do his thing.

    I got there just in time to watch him judge showmanship and of course he loves kids and really enjoys interacting with them in the showring.

    Every show he judges he introduces himself and gets to know their names and when he gives his reasons he calls them by their name. Of course you know who loves that??? Mom and grandma!

    This was a small show, with a huge crowd and they were really into clapping and cheering. I don’t think I’ve seen such cheering since the last time I was at World Dairy Expo and even there they are a little more sedate.

    Meanwhile back at the ranch….the boys had things under control…with a few phone calls to us…they had success.

    When we got home the barn and house were still standing…the cows still alive..and a little more confidence in the family unit was palpable.

  • Good Morning

    Good morning to each and every one of you who likes to start your work day surfing the web!

    The Hart family made history yesterday in a couple of ways. First off, we actually attended a county fair that none of us had ever been to! The other history making event was that we left all the chores to our two teenage boys. Yep, they did all the chores from start to finish and did a great job! I can see this paving the way to some freedom from the farm!

    Right now breakfast is calling me, I wanted to get on before it went into error mode like yesterday! I”ll have a full county fair report later this morning. It’s writing day!

    Coffee time.

  • ERROR!

    Oh my..how frustrating when you can’t get on your blog because of server error or someone else is camped on the computer when you want to get on!

    I had such a great entry today…but like many of you….when I got on I couldn’t because of some error. So now I’ve got to head into our county FSA office to do a story on a retiring employee and then I’m headed north with Big Daddy to the Clare County Fair so he can judge dairy show.

    Although I just got a report from the barn and we have one fresh cow and another one calving so mom might be staying home. We’ll see. Right now I have to head to Hillsdale…more..so much more later!

  • Reprieve

    Hey Dad…how’s the ark coming this morning….make sure it’s big enough for all of us too!

    It has stopped raining here but it’s still foggy and misty on the Knolltop.

    I ventured into the garden last night for some peppers for a neighbor who is making salsa. Boy have I got the peppers. I’m headed out this morning to see how many tomatoes I can round up to make my own salsa.

    I’ve got a luncheon at noon to discuss promoting local agriculture in the local paper…we seem to be banging our heads against the wall…personally I think we should venture into radio. I’m going to do a little research this morning with my cohorts from Kansas and Nebraska and see what I come up with. Since I know absolutely nothing about radio except how to tune a station in and listen…this should be a fun adventure.

    Tomorrow, Bobby has to judge another show up in Clare County…I think I might even get to go with him…I’ll believe it when I see it!

    Headed for the coffee pot!

  • Reprieve

    Hey Dad…how’s the ark coming this morning….make sure it’s big enough for all of us too!

    It has stopped raining here but it’s still foggy and misty on the Knolltop.

    I ventured into the garden last night for some peppers for a neighbor who is making salsa. Boy have I got the peppers. I’m headed out this morning to see how many tomatoes I can round up to make my own salsa.

    I’ve got a luncheon at noon to discuss promoting local agriculture in the local paper…we seem to be banging our heads against the wall…personally I think we should venture into radio. I’m going to do a little research this morning with my cohorts from Kansas and Nebraska and see what I come up with. Since I know absolutely nothing about radio except how to tune a station in and listen…this should be a fun adventure.

    Tomorrow, Bobby has to judge another show up in Clare County…I think I might even get to go with him…I’ll believe it when I see it!

    Headed for the coffee pot!