Good Morning from the Knolltop! It’s clear, cool and sunny this morning.

As I sat at my desk this morning I didn’t hear shucking or grinning or giggling, just total silence! Yes my coon trappers did their job and I think the coons are gone!

Last night I gave my coon trappers a pair of rubber gloves, three pans of fly bait and a 2 liter of coke. I told them where to place the pans and to be careful so the bait doesn’t spill out. I was sitting at my computer and I listened through the window as they set the traps. When they came back in, they brought at least half of the bottle of pop back in with them and said, “Can we drink the rest?” I asked if they even used any of it for it’s intended use, they assured me they put plenty in the pans! I should’ve known this would happen when they asked before they went out if they could drink what we didn’t use. Silly me.

This morning as I sat at my computer at 3:30 am posting the news on Dairy Agenda Today I heard total silence! It truly was “Golden.”

I went to count the coons, but I didn’t want to get all wet from the dew, so I will send the coon trappers out for the count!

Good Afternoon from a sunny Knolltop.

This is an odd time for me to be posting, but I had to since I’ve been so bad at posting lately.

First of all, thank you so much for praying for JW but don’t stop now! He just called from his mission trip in KY and he said he is having a great time! YEEHAW!!! It is such a relief to hear that. When he left I wondered if he was going to have a rotten time or a great time, but I also know JW and I knew he always has a good time wherever he goes!

Just wanted to give you an update. Gotta go milk!

Shame, shame, shame on me for neglecting this blog! It was a busy week for Dairy Agenda Today, so that’s my excuse.

It’s a beautiful day here on the Knolltop! Yesterday was a monumental day around here…it was JW’s 18th birthday! And he wasn’t even here to celebrate! We shipped him off to boot camp. No, just kidding, but he is gone, he left for Kentucky on a week long mission trip. He got up when we were headed to the barn, had all of his bags packed and left for the church. I’ve never sent my kid on a mission trip and I was a little worried. But I am sure he is going to have a great time, but please, keep him in your prayers!

We celebrated his big day the day before with cake, ice cream and presents. He received three of those musical cards. I figured it up, that’s about $15.00 worth of birthday cards! What were we thinking???? He could’ve used that money for gas in his truck! Makes you think about the silly novelties we spend our money on, doesn’t it?

It’s quiet around here, Jake is gone. JOKE! Really, with JW gone and Jake at a friends house, Sarah and Luke are relaxing and I think enjoying some down time. I’m posting the results of the Ohio Holstein show online as it happens and so right now I’m in between classes…they are just about to announce the champion.

Better go and get that done so I can get a nap!

I promise to be better this week about posting…oh the guilt and shame of it all!

It’s a cool, clear, breezy morning here on the Knolltop! What a week last week! I’m so glad to have things back to normal. It’s fun to go but it’s so much fun to come back home and settle back in.

The kids were extremely tired when we got home Friday night, but they still had to unload the trailer and then JW and Luke went and unloaded straw for a few hours Friday night before it rained on Saturday.

I posted a couple of pictures from last week and I will post a few more today for fun.

It was so funny this morning, when I got up and posted the news on Dairy Agenda Today, like always, I finished, made the coffee and went back into bed to drink coffee and eat my toast before we head out to the barn. When I finished my coffee I heard a cow that was way too close to be in the pasture! So we jumped out of bed, got our clothes on and looked outside only to see Melinda in the middle of the road looking at the house mooing as if to say “WAKE UP!”

I got my boots on, went outside and by this time she was in the front yard, facing the bedroom mooing again! I just told her to head back to the barn and I would let her in. She went down, patiently waited for me to go into the barn through the milkhouse, walk around and open the door where she was waiting for me. I let her in, she walked straight to her stall and began drinking. Ah ha! She had been out all night and hadn’t had anything to drink!

As I went to tie her up, I heard more rumblings from where I shouldn’t have heard rumblings from. And as I toured the yard I found three more renegades waiting at three different doors waiting to get into the barn! What a hoot!

Well, it’s time to get back to work!

This is my next favorite picture from Dairy Days. Bobby and Shelley Hardy following Parker’s heifer to the ring to make sure she doesn’t get dirty. Flash back 20 years and this was where they were, together, “Pre Melissa” days with the two of them following Gregg with a cow to the show ring with Bobby carrying the bucket with straw and paper towels to wipe the cow’s behind when she got dirty and Shelley walking along side in her sparkling “show day wear” chatting the whole way. Twenty years later they have a few more grey hairs, well, maybe not Shelley, they’ve added a few more wrinkles, have a little more wisdom, and still enjoy a very special friendship.

Good Morning from a cool, cloudy and busy knolltop.

As you know we’re at the show this week, but I wanted to take a minute and post something this morning. Yesterday was the 4-H show and the kids did okay. Let’s just say I won’t have to make two trips with the truck and trailer, one for cows and the other for trophies.

But they had a good time yesterday. I’ll post a few pictures after this post. But really, you need to go to Dairy Agenda Today and check out the pictures on my blog over there. Jake out did himself yesterday and he doesn’t even know it. Luke and I had a great time watching him in the ring…and of course I took a bunch of pictures. Just go look!

I’m headed back for the great dairy adventure today! Daycare centers from all over Lansing will bring their kids in to learn about the dairy industry….oh so much fun!

Good Morning from the sunny, cool Knolltop!

I know, I know, I haven’t blogged in a while, sorry about that! Everything and everyone is fine, just keep forgetting to do it after all the other tasks are done!

We are headed to East Lansing this morning for the Summer show, Jake and Sarah will be taking a heifer each, Luke is their transportation back and forth to Grandmas and JW and I will drive back and forth to be here to milk morning and night. Busy? YES But oh so much fun!

I’ll try to keep you updated as the week progresses!