The sun is shining brightly on the Knolltop this morning and it is so nice. When I walked across the road to the barn this morning, the moon was so big and bright it lit up the whole world. Ususally when I enter the barn I have to walk in the dark to get to the light switch, but the moon shone through the windows casting light on the cows faces and it was so cool I just stood there looking at the cows and listening to them rustle around. When I finally got to the lights, I flipped them on and did my usual scan of the barn to make sure everyone is where they should be.

A cow was carrying on about something so I thought I’d better just walk to the center isle to have a look and there she was, heifer number five, bright and beautiful and ready to begin her life. Then it was all down hill from there…

I went through my normal routine of preparing to milk the cows and figured Bobby would put the calf where she belonged when he got time. But I got impatient and decided to take care of her myself. Because everything I do is messy, when I got done dealing with her, what little afterbirth that was left on this new girl, was now on me and my gloves, sweatshirt and overalls were a mess.

Just before I turn the milk pump on, I go through all the stalls to pull down any manure into the gutter that’s on the platform. As I was walking passed a cow named Muck, yes she was named during the Bob the Builder era, she was doing her business in the gutter. Usually that’s no big deal and I steer clear because we all know what happens if a cow coughs when she’s doing her thing…well, for whatever reason I was standing right behind her and she let out a great big cough and you guessed it, I got a good shot of manure all down the front of my overalls. As I walked over to clean myself off, I muttered to myself, I might as well just lay down and roll around in the gutter for as much manure as I’m wearing.

When I came in to fix breakfast, I went straight to the washer with my overalls and am presently waiting for them to get out of the dryer.

Now, what you’ve all been waiting for….the results of last night’s Regional FFA contest. Luke’s team was second and JW placed fourth. Yes, Dub was bummed for a while. But then he realized that the state convention is the same week as the first week of baseball practice and he brightened up because he loves baseball!

One of the reasons JW placed fourth was that he wasn’t prepared for the question. He just got a topic that he didn’t know much about and didn’t prepare for. The other contestants had folders of information they were using to write their speeches and Dub had nothing….maybe because he spent a little too much time on the phone instead of studying for the contest…..hmmmm….everything is a learning experience.

Anyway, the boys who place above him were excellent, in fact the boy who won the contest was also in the discussion meet last fall. When he walked in, I knew he was going to win, he’s more experienced and organized and his mom is the FFA teacher in his district!

My overalls are dry, better head back to the barn.

The wind has calmed down up here on the Knolltop and my washing machine isn’t freezing up now. Yes, my washing machine freezes up when we get a good stiff west wind. Have I told you this before? I feel like I have. Anyway, the laundry room is on the southwest corner of the house and if we get a strong, cold wind, I get ice in the water lines…nothing a little time with the blow dryer won’t fix.

We can mark up another win for JW’s team. They killed Burr Oak last night…I think they finally got into the double digits sometime in the fourth quarter. JW had 10 points and four fouls. There was a kid who was giving JW a hard time under the basket and JW gave it right back. The ref called a foul on Dub and told him not to get into trouble, Dub told the ref that the kid was pushing him around and he was getting the fouls called on him. The ref said, look at the score…JW told the ref, just because they are losing doesn’t mean I’m gonna let him push me around. Now isn’t that a typical 16 year old boy statement?

JW and Luke have their FFA competition today…this is a secret, but it will be out later today, Luke’s team will automatically go to state since there are only two teams competing in his event. JW on the other hand has to earn his position….prayer please!

I think we might have another baby by the end of the day. I’ll keep you posted!

Good morning from the Knolltop. It’s sunny and windy and cold here this morning. The kids have another day off so my schedule is out of whack.

Yesterday morning Bobby and I pulled a calf that was coming backwards…and yes, it was another heifer! Her feet were way down and she was coming butt first. So Bobby had to get in there and manipulate her around so she was at least coming hind feet first. I didn’t think she was going to be alive when we delivered her, but when she came sliding out and she shook her head I was elated that indeed this little calf was alive.

Last evening I was given a real treat. I popped our popcorn and went into the bedroom where Bobby was watching TV and there was one of my favorite movies on…Gone with the Wind. Is there any better movie? No, I don’t think so. I watched it from beginning to end and will pay for it at about 4 pm today when I will have an overwhelming desire to fall asleep.

Now about the new ploy by HSUS to aboloish animal agriculture. I feel no need to rant and rave about it here…instead I urge all of you who make a living with livestock to write a letter to the editor of your local paper and assure your friends, neighbors and community that you don’t agree with the torture of any animal and what the employees at the slaughter plant in California did was wrong. But don’t shrink back into the corner and apologize for making a living from raising animals for human consumption. Remember, we are responsible stewards feeding the world and we need to make no apologies for that!

Trent Loos has plenty of coverage of this at his website and he does a great job of informing us of just what’s happening outside of the mainstream media. Make sure you check out www.facesofag.com to read his commentary or listen to his radio programs.

Happy Presidents Day!

Yesterday felt like spring around here. It was so nice to have a peek at what’s to come in just a few weeks!

The kids have the day off today so JW is gone with a load of scrap metal. Yes we can now call him an official “scrapper.” After he gets back, he and Luke will head to Mr. Kyser’s to work for him for most of the day.

We have a cow calving at the moment…I wonder if it will be another heifer. If so, we can officially say we’ve had a heifer explosion! I was talking to another farmer last evening and he asked what we did with our bull calves and I said we just haven’t had any lately. He then asked if we were using sexed semen and I said nope, we’re just really blessed with lots of heifers.

Well, I’ve got to get back to the barn…..and hand out some jobs for the crew that’s left here at home.

Well, we woke to an icy Knolltop this morning. It was treacherous walking across the road this morning to do chores. But when we got there, we had a new baby heifer to greet us. She was up and roaming the barn through milking time until Bobby finally had a chance to put her in her new home. She makes the twins look like dwarfs.

Yesterday was a full day of basketball. Let me give you the run down. Jake’s team won their game, he had 10 points as he likes to reminds us all. Sarah’s team had a strong start but a poor finish, they lost but Sarah had 4 points.

Luke left with our friends for Midland, about 2 and a half hours north of here for his tournamnet. They called and gave us updates as they went, he played three games and the won two of them. One of the great things was my brother, sister-in-law and two kids surprised him and showed up at the last game….incidentally, it was the roughest game as Luke accidentally elbowed a kid while he was going up for a layup and took the kid out. He made his nose bleed and they had to stop the game to clean up the blood.

Now this is what is so peculiar….Luke said he felt bad. He watched the kid take his shirt off to wipe up the blood from his nose and Luke noticed the shirt underneath said something about praying…obviously assuming the kid and his family were Christians or at the very least attended a church. Then Luke commented that the kid’s dad, who was also their coach, stood around and yelled at Luke from the sidelines about using his elbows. The coach was obviously upset and rightly so….but I don’t think he had a clue of his true colors that came through and the inconsistency that this 14 year old witnessed.

What a great reminder to all of us that there are many, many eyes watching us. Watching us when we pray, watching what we do, what we say and looking to see if what we say and do actually match up.

Even though the bruiser took a kid out of the game, which I know he feels bad about, he’s pretty sensitive, Luke had a great night and is even more excited than ever to be playing basketball.

I needed an infusion of Luke’s passion for the sport, especially after watching MSU lose to those Hoosiers last night. But, if you’re a Spartan fan or an alumni, you’ve learned to lose with grace. I’ve not lost all hope, mark my words…. they will be in the finals!

Good Morning from the sunny Knolltop! It’s pretty, but cold, like 12 degrees cold.

We had a very nice evening at home last night. I sat on the loveseat in front of the cornstove eating my caramel corn, reading Farmworld while Sarah chatted away about a story she was writing in english. It was so nice to just sit and listen to her, face to face, listening to all her silliness. Listening about the events in her life and the emotion that goes with it. It’s also fun to play dumb so she tells me more…I love that. As I listen to this young lady, I can’t help but remember my awkward self at that age. She is a carbon copy of me at 12 years old, only she has cute dimples that I never had but always wanted. I said silly stuff, thought silly stuff and tomorrow was something I just never worried about. Come to think of it, that sounds like me today!

Now, about this book that I want to write….I’ve had all positive feedback except for one. So with that I want to say thank you and I will forge ahead with this project…as soon as my mom gets done vacuuming. Yes, that’s right, I have to wait for my mom to get done cleaning her house. She has every column I’ve ever written all stored in her file cabinet. She told me the other day that she was going to start sorting through what she thought would be good ones for the book, as soon as she got done cleaning up a bit because she knew that when she started sorting she would be there for a long time….reading and sorting and sorting and reading.

So, when she gets done with her housework I’ll let you know.

It’s on to basketball today with games at 10 am and 2pm and Luke plays at 4,6 and 8 pm.

It’s an overcast morning here, but a nice 25 out! The twin girls are doing well this morning as I reported to inquiring Jake. He and I are the caretakers of the babies, so we report to each other when things aren’t quite right. I told him these two little girls will need extra attention…glad to see he’s taking it seriously.

JW’s team won last night and Dub played a lot. He had 6 points, 5 offensive rebounds and 4 fouls. The last two came within 30 seconds of each other….I think they had their eye on him…he is an easy mark.

Luke didn’t get to the game, he had practice, he starts his second basketball season tomorrow with a tournament in Midland. That’s up near the thumb, so if any of us go, it will only be Bobby. Luke’s excited…he got his uniform…boy they are nice. They have home and away jersey’s, warm ups and practice jerseys….all with their last name on the back. That’s impressive to a youngster!

Well, I’ve got to finish up some articles today and then do the laundry. This morning I had two kids needing jeans and three kids needing socks…that’s always a good indication that the laundry pile is getting a bit too big.

It’s a Red Shirt Friday….what color are you wearing?

It’s a sunny morning here on the Knolltop. Happy Valentines Day to everyone!

Jake had to make some valentines last night because I forgot to buy any. I told him homemade valentines are way better than store bought, but he didn’t believe me. Oh, well, those kids just look at them and throw them in a bag and then the moms chuck them when they get home, so why waste the money?

Anyway, Sarah and I stamped some cool stamps on them while he addressed them. Of course being a boy what did he write? “Happy V-Day.” Typical boy. And then Sarah decided that wasn’t good enough so she started writing in the whole word “Valentine” until Jake threw a fit and demanded that she stop. She did. So then this morning I received a call from the school, it was Jake, he forgot his valentines so I had to run them in and then run to the barn for chores….all that to say this….I’m late in posting today!

Yesterday a cow started to calve while we were finishing up for the morning. By the afternoon she delivered a cute little heifer. By chore time she was delivering another little heifer. And by the time we were shutting the lights out for the night she had cleaned. Now that’s a cow worth having around!

Lots of writing to do today…better get to it, now that half the day is gone. JW has a game tonight in Camden, I’m sure they’ll win!

It’s a beautiful sunny morning here on the Knolltop. And it’s supposed to warm up! Yesterday we had a lot of snow and it was just plain cold out…I was so glad to get in by the corn stove last night after all the running of the day.

JW and Luke pulled it off yesterday at the district FFA competition. Luke thought his team was awful and wouldn’t make it out of districts. Much to his surprise they placed first! Which means they will advance to regional competition in Sand Creek next week.

As for JW, well, he told me he thought he did well, but didn’t have the time to write his speech because they had mix up in the order. He told me he only had half the time and had to just make it up as he went along. Like I said, he’s good under pressure and placed 2nd, so he will go to regional competition as well.

If they both place at regionals, they will go on to the state convention and compete there. I’m so proud of them! And thanks for all of you who prayed for them…obviously your prayers were answered!

While I was at Springport, I visited with one of the four FFA advisors there and he took JW, Mr. Everett and me on a tour of their livestock and green house facilities. Boy, was I amazed at how much they do. They have a flock of sheep who are lambing right now, they have a greenhouse where they will grow vegetables for their school and to sell at the local farm market and they also have a place in the barn where it is heated for future chicken and swine projects. It was an amazing place and I’ve decided to do a story on it. So you may read more about it, depending on where you live.

While visiting with Dallas Burton one day, I was also introduced to an FFA teacher in Georgia, Dr. Ron Thomas, who apparently is doing a wonderful job, so he’s on my story list too, just not sure right now where that story will appear…I don’t have any contacts with any southern ag newspapers. Anyone got any ideas?

Speaking of Dallas Burton of the famed Burton and Fellers Sales, they are having the Butlerview Parade of Perfection sale on March 1st in Wisconsin. I’ve been told by a reliable source this will be a history making sale in the Holstein industry. So, I think I might have to do a story on this too, just not sure how I’ll get to Wisconsin for it…I might have to do this by phone. Although if this great sales team would have internet streaming so we could all watch the sale on line…we could all get in on the history making event of the year!

I’ve got loads of writing to do….better get it done!

Well, the kids had a day off yesterday due to the cold weather and blowing and drifting snow. But they will go back today…it’s just cold out there this morning.

Last Thursday, JW and Luke were supposed to have their FFA contest, but it was rescheduled because the host school didn’t have school that day because of the snow storm. It was rescheduled for yesterday, but was postponed again because of no school. So today is the finally the big day for the FFA contest and it will go rain or shine, blizzard or not. So…..you know what that means….pray for JW today! (Thank you!)

Sarah spent the weekend at Grandma’s house getting totally spoiled. Between eating out and going to the outlet mall, they hardly had a chance to catch their breath! But I’m not complaining because I was the recipient of some outlet mall purchases….is there anything better than new clothes?

Well, I’ve got some writing to do today….and some phone calls to make….and some thinking I need to do about writing a book. After spending the weekend with a self published author, I think I can do that….I just have to formulate a plan. And that’s where you come in. I want to know what you think about a book that is a collection of my columns over the past 10 years. Yes, tell me honestly….hate the idea? Love the idea? Think it’s a waste of time? Would you be the first in line for an autographed copy? Is there a place for a collection of farmwife stories? You guys are the reading professionals….let’s hear it!

Better get the pancakes on the table!