This weather is crazy! Yesterday I milked in my long underwear…this morning just a turtleneck and I was warming up fast. It’s 54 out and foggy this morning on the Knolltop. I like the fact that we can’t change the weather…that’s one thing we aren’t in control of..although the Al Gore would like us to think we are….with all his global warming rhetoric.

Anyway… I made one mention of spoiled Americans and did I get the email. Boy…you people really want to hear about how spoiled you are!

Here it goes….after visiting with our friends the Tingleys who are home for a visit from Indonesia, we were awakened to their way of life. We had just a small taste of what it must be like down there. The first tidbit was when their ten year old daughter looked a the bowl of grapes on our table and said, “Mom….look..it’s grapes!” She was honestly excited about having grapes because they don’t have grapes in Indonesia.

As we began to talk, I found out they don’t have beef…just water buffalo, which aren’t as tasty they say, plus they don’t have many dairy products. They have to drink milk that’s on the shelf, not refrigerated, they don’t have access to cheese, they have to make their own yogurt from a powder mix and I didn’t even ask about ice cream.

When we began discussing the safety of their food supply, Marc’s response was, “America has the safest food supply and they don’t even realize it.” He went on to say that when they go back, they will get sick because their bodies will have to readjust to the food there. They will spend a few days being sick, then they will be fine and they will also have to take worm medicine.

When Christy wants to cook a meal she has to make everything from scratch even down to going to the market and buying the live chicken. Actually she sends a native, otherwise she would be taken advantage of and have to spend more than it’s actually worth. It will take her at least three hours to cook a meal because everything is so different. No opening a bag of salad and pouring into a bowl, no taking the chicken breast out of the freezer and putting it in the oven to cook. She has an oven but it’s very temperamental and small. No opening a can of corn or peas or going to the freezer and taking out what she was able to freeze over the summer. No going to the pantry and getting a jar of applesauce that she made during the fall apple harvest. No ordering pizza on a busy night, no drive through meals, no picking up pot roast with all the fixin’s already in the package and baking it up in a snap. And that’s just the cooking. I haven’t even covered the fact that their mattresses are about 2 inches thick and they are one of the lucky ones who have indoor plumbing.

I wish those who are complaining about the use or rBST, GMO corn, pesticides, fertilizers, bleached white flour and pasteurized milk would just spend a week down in Indonesia or another under developed country and maybe they’d come home more concerned about what they need to get rid of or maybe they’d think about how much money they could give to those who have given up the comforts of their own home and the conveniences of modern America to help others have a better life.

For that matter, do we really need to go south for this? No, we just need to visit our local food pantry, Salvation Army, homeless shelter and we’d realize most of us have our priorities all messed up. So I ask you…what in your life is necessary? What can you live without? How much can you give? And are you willing to forsake your own wants for the need of another?

Good Monday morning from the Knolltop. It’s a windy morning…I was chilly milking this morning in the barn. And I’m back to my long underwear…so it’s cold, in my book.

Recently we’ve had three first calf heifers freshen and they’ve all been great to get along with. I’m always a little apprehensive about these gals since they are just learning what it’s like to be a cow and the rigors of giving milk twice a day. It’s tough business eating all you want and laying around as much as you like and not having to go anywhere to use the restroom. Really the toughest job they have is standing still for about five minutes while we milk them….tough life.

One of the heifers is Miranda and she has been a dream. She’s giving 90 pounds and she’s just two weeks fresh….which is awesome in our book. But she has one problem…she lets her milk down quickly and it doesn’t take her long to milk out…BUT when she thinks she’s done she just lays down…..with the milker still attached! We have to stand and monitor her cause she will lay down as quick as anything if you don’t get that milker off. It’s so funny. In the past we’ve had cows lay down while being milk but it’s usually because they have a belly ache or a sore foot…but not because they think they’re done!

I told Bobby that if she doesn’t stop this I’m going to have to put a nail in my pocket and give her a poke when she decides she’s done…a clever trick I learned from the late Holstein enthusiast and the man who never endeared himself to anyone but we loved him in spite of himself….George Robb.

If I had more time…I’d vent a little about another subject…how spoiled we Americans are! But I’ll save that rant for another post.

Time to get on the day.

It’s rainy here on the Knolltop…and as I write, Ohio State is beating up on Michigan…this day couldn’t get any better!

Last night we had some friends join us at Luke’s game and then come over for some fellowship. First of all, Luke’s team won, I think the score was 55 – 11 or something like that. Anyway, we all came back here afterward and had chili, hotdogs, chips and homemade salsa, donuts, carmel corn and cookies. One of the couple’s was our Pastor and his wife and the other couple are some friends who used to go to church with us but now live in Indonesia, they are just home for a visit. These folks have three kids who are just a real blessing to be around. Of course one of the reasons I like them is because the oldest daughter is the who I have picked out for Luke. And as it turns out, the second oldest daughter now has her first crush on JW. When they were getting ready to leave, she asked if that “Tall Kid” could come live with them in Indonesia.

JW is ready to go…I think it would be a great awakening for all of my children to go somewhere where they have to kill their dinner, it takes three hours to cook a meal and indoor plumbing is a rarity.

We had a great time visiting and catching up….my motto still is: Sit long, talk much!

Good Morning from the kind of clear, but cool Knolltop.

I’m on an errand frenzy this morning which includes oil filters and groceries…I’m sure you can figure out which stores I’m headed to.

We had a very quiet night last evening..no games…no practices….just sitting at home eating popcorn. Although there was some controversy in the barn. Sarah has created a “Who has the cleanest heifer pen” contest between she and Jake. She has drawn up a chart on the white dry erase board in the barn, complete with a key for what all the symbols mean. I had to spend a day just learning the key and what I was supposed to put where.

At the end of chores I’m supposed to judge who has the best looking heifer pen. Each of the kids has a heifer pen they have to clean which includes scraping out the front of the pen where there is no bedding and then putting clean shavings on the bedding pack in the back of the pen. It doesn’t take very long and when it’s done each day we don’t have to clean calf pens that are 4 feet deep in manure…this way they are always clean.

Well, Jake got to his pen first and because he wanted his pen to look the best, he not only put shavings on the bedding pack in the back of the pen, he put shavings in the front of the pen so he had a nice blanket of clean shavings front to back. He also used up all the shavings so the other kids didn’t have any to use for their pens. While he stood around proud as a peacock over his pen, the other kids were screaming “Jake is disqualified! He used all the shavings!” Bobby and I just laughed. You have to laugh at these things….there’s no taking sides…we just laugh.

They were wanting to argue about it yet this morning over the breakfast table. I put an end to it when I began reading our morning devotions…which was about servanthood….something they could improve on!

Off to town!

Okay…who knows what holiday it is in Michigan today? I’ll give you a hint…it involves lots of ammunition….a little shack out in the woods….and adult beverages. Yes, it’s opening day of firearm deer season!

Rural kids from all over the state have excused absences from school to go deer hunting today…there are probably some school districts up north where everyone takes the day off! When I came across the road to the house this morning at about 7:00 daylight was just breaking and I heard a couple of shots. Honestly, I think some hunters just shoot so they can be the first ones to fire their gun in the morning. In a couple of hours they will all gather back at their deer camp and one at a time they will give every detail of their morning hunt…right down to how many steps they saw a doe take or the exact number of deer they saw and where everyone of them was positioned or exactly what time it was when they heard the first shot…yes, they are very detailed in their story telling.

They will drive around and see if there are any other deer hunters to swap stories with and visit the local buck pole, down copious amounts of beef jerky and oatmeal cream pies and then head back out to the deer blind to sit until nightfall hoping for that big, elusive buck.

On another note, Luke had his first basketball game last night against Burr Oak and they beat them…bad….60-5. Now that was bad…I felt sorry for the other team. Burr Oak didn’t score until the last quarter.

Better get going…

Good Morning…yes, here on the Knolltop we can see the sun for the second day in a row!

Last evening JW, JW’s FFA advisor, Mr. Everett and I traveled to Blissfield to a Discussion Meet sponsored by Farm Bureau, specifically for FFA members. JW and I had no idea what he was in for…Mr. E. signed him up and told him he’d pick us up at 5:15 pm. JW got home from basketball practice at 5:10, swapped his basketball clothes for his official FFA outfit and we hopped in the car and headed east. JW’s biggest concern was if he was going to get anything to eat before the contest…fitting for a 16 year old boy.

We fed him on the way and arrived at the high school. Upon seeing the other contestants studying their notes, JW looked at me with big eyes and said, “I don’t have any notes to study…what are they studying? I have no idea what I’m doing!”

With my reassuring mom look, I said, “It’s okay, this is a learning experience for you this year, we’ll figure this all out this year and then next year you’ll know what you’re doing and win it.”

He replied in typical boy fashion, “Mom, if I’m not here to win, there’s no point in competing.”

With that I agreed and I walked up to one of the contestants who had notes and asked if she had ever been in the competition. She replied, “Oh, no, I have no idea what I’m doing, no one else does either. Do you have your introductory speech written? I had no idea what to say, but I’ve got it memorized now, I’m not sure if it’s right, you know, talking about trade issues and agriterroism..is that even a word? Oh my word, this is so hard…you know agriculture plays a big role in trade and then there’s the land issues topic, zoning, variances, land preservation, mineral rights, I don’t know much about those, but at least I have an introductory sentence…I don’t know though….I’m so nervous I hope I don’t babble on and on….”

I looked at her with big eyes and said, “I’m sure you will do a great job…after all you have an introductory speech!”

I spun on my heels and JW and I paced the long hallway making up an introductory speech about a topic that we had no idea about. So we came up with the general speech that Oliver Douglas uses on Green Acres, you know when you hear the patriotic music in the background and he talks about how great the American farmer is? You know…working the ground…producing food for the American people….most efficient farming practices…feeding, clothing, fueling the world….etc.

By this time, JW had his confidence up and started to look the part of a winner. He walked in with his head held high, using every bit of charisma God had gifted him with. Each contestant stood up in voluntary order to give their introduction and when JW stood up he did so with confidence. All those oral reasons in dairy judging had done him a world of good as he sounded great even though he might not have had the best facts to back it up.

The discussion had begun and they had 20 minutes to discuss a topic. Discuss is the key word..they weren’t supposed to debate, argue, convince anyone of their point…they were just supposed to talk about the issues and look at all sides of it, no one monopolizing the time, covering all the possibilities. Every time JW spoke he started with, “Yes, I agree with that and…OR… You are right and I think….OR….As I’m sure you are well aware…..” He was driving this whole cooperative thing home.

He was a finalist in the first go around and I was so proud. Then he was put to the test in the finals competing with five other seniors who all had experience in this event. He held his own and did a great job although the competition was tougher because they all had things to say. He could hardly get a word in edgewise.

I asked Mr. E. who his top three contestants were. He picked JW and two other experienced boys. That was not my pick….I didn’t think JW had enough experience and wouldn’t be able to hold it with the big boys at the state competition. In the end, I was right, JW didn’t make it into the top three….they picked three seniors to go to the State Farm Bureau Annual Meeting to compete against other regional winners.

The good news is that he has two more years to compete in this and when we got done we asked him if he would do it again…his answer was a resounding “YES…that was fun!” I don’t supposed his enthusiasm had anything to do with the cute moderator who is also the State FFA President who he happened to be hitting on in between competitions…..:)

Good Morning from the Knolltop. Hey…guess what? It’s CLEAR! And we can see the sun coming up….and it’s beautiful. Having a sister who lives in Montana, I’m reminded that fog and mist are a novelty to them. She has told me she enjoys the few times there is fog out there in that dry, arid country. They’re so dry out there, my nephew questions why I hang laundry out on the line because he says it’s too humid here for it to dry. Now that’s dry country!

Does anyone remember the professional bovine photographer Frank Robinson? Yes, I’m sure you haven’t forgotten last week’s picturing episode…but did anyone know Frank was a comdedian? The combination of someone with a sense of humor behind a camera can be a dangerous thing as you can see here with the “twin behinds” shot of me trying to get Jake’s kitten out from under Holly and Dan Carroll trying to get Holly’s feet set. You’re too funny Franklin!

As you can see in the next shot…Jake gave up his tail holding to get the cat from me…the cat was immediately taken away!

JW is going to compete in a discussion meet tonight for FFA…he has no idea what he’s in for…neither do I, so we’ll find out together. JW may be a scatter brain at times, like he forgot his basketball shoes this morning and he has practice right after school, but he is good at thinking on his feet. If nothing else he always seems to sound like he knows what he’s talking about even when he doesn’t have a clue!

Time to get on the day…we’re burnin’ daylight!

Okay…little did I know my pie making abilities would be brought out to the light when I posted this pie thing. Yes, that’s what happens when your college roommate reads your blog!

Julie I do remember my first solo attempt at making a pie in our Cedar Village apt. It was apple and I think Mick, Brit and Jamie were coming over that night for supper and we were going to study for a test in Farm Systems Management…a class that I needed a lot of help in and only one of these guys was from a farm…oh boy….what great study partners they were….NOT!

Anyway…as I remember Brit took a big bite of my wonderful pie and began laboring at chewing this creation…it was like he took a huge spoonful of peanut butter and couldn’t get it off the roof of his mouth. It was so funny and I’m laughing as I type this.

You see, you have to measure the lard by the water displacement method….I hadn’t mastered that little detail….I just filled the cup up with one cup of water and then put enough lard into the water until the lard reached the two cup line. I didn’t press it below the water level the way you are supposed to. So…I had too much lard and it was really greasy and stuck to the roof of your mouth….and the guys let me know.

Thanks for the memory Jules….oh how soon I forgot that one night in Cedar Village in East Lansing, Michigan!

Good Morning from the Knolltop! It’s another rainy, overcast day…but it was warm enough that I didn’t have to wear my union suit under my barn clothes…that’s a good thing.

Yesterday when I mentioned my mom making that unique Shaker Lemon Pie…I left out one minor detail and that is: My mom is the best pie baker in the world! Hands down…don’t even tell me about your mom or grandma…they can’t compare to the wonderful pies that my mom has made for years. She passed her lard crust recipe down to us girls and we continue to practice and practice to make as good a pie as she can…but to know avail…we come up short every time. So with that said…her making a pie that tasted so bad was not easy to accept and if that same pie were put down in front of me after supper today…I would still take a bite trying to convince myself that it really isn’t that bad!

I see from the comment from yesterday that Patty can make a pretty good pie…maybe you should bring one down to me Patty and we’ll just see if it’s really as good as you claim….:)

In all seriousness Patty…you should really share your wonderful recipe with the rest of us…I would love to try it. I love pumpkin pie!

JW is home sick on the couch today…he’s been sick for two days, he was sick on Saturday when he went to chop wood…but his love for money kept him going. Now he misses his first day of basketball practice. We’re headed to the doctor this morning…no not because he’s sick…because I’ve waited this long to get a sports physical for him…yes, I’m usually under the wire…I’m a writer for heaven’s sake! That’s what we do…get as close to the deadline as we can without missing it. And my husband hates that!

Time for breakfast!

It’s raining on the Knolltop this Sunday morning. What a great day to stay inside and bake! Looking through a magazine last evening while Bobby flipped through channels, (boy is that annoying), I found some recipes using pumpkin and lemon. I think I might try the pumpkin lemon pie…I’m not sure how it will turn out, but it’s worth a try. It’s can’t be near as bad as the shaker lemon pie my mom made one time.

It was years ago and Martha Stewart was a new phenomenon on TV. She worked through a recipe for Shaker Lemon Pie and my mom thought it looked good so it must taste just as good. She worked on that pie all afternoon, making sure to follow the recipe just right. It called for so many lemons she thought she might have been reading it wrong. But she forged ahead and when it was all done the pie was beautiful. She brought it to the table with a very accomplished look on her face. We were all looking forward to this new creation and of course we all took a piece. When we began chewing the first bite we all came up with the same bitter look on our faces. It was as if we had all took a big bite of lemon thinking we were all taking a big bite of an apple fritter. We were surprised on both accounts. It tasted like lemon rinds with a whole lot of sugar, which would stand to reason since it had lemon rinds and sugar in it.

Dad and Bobby pushed it aside and quit eating it…my mom and I kept eating it thinking it was going to taste better with the next bite. But to no avail…as good as this pie looked, it tasted awful.

So, now everytime we see or hear of Shaker Lemon Pie, a smile spreads across our faces and we all start to chuckle and begin to reason that mom must have done something wrong or there must be a better recipe out there somewhere.

Well, the coffee is done and church time is approaching!