I’m making a plea to all Ayrshire breeders today. I have a young man in my 4-H club who wants to buy an Ayrshire heifer to develop. He has had Holsteins in the past, but wanted to venture into another breed. I’ve called and called and called but to no avail, I cannot find a heifer in the price range for this kid. He is very discouraged and wants to give up, but hope springs eternal! So if you know of anyone who would let go of a heifer please contact me at my email address. Thanks!

Well, I had another victory yesterday. Yes, I know those of you who know me well, will not believe this….especially my mom. I got the whole garden planted yesterday! The victory isn’t the fact that it’s all planted, the miraculous aspect is that usually I buy the plants that I plan on putting in and when I get home from the greenhouse I put them in the backyard until I get ready to plant. In the meantime, they get dried out and wilted then I have to bring them back to life a few times and then when I finally get around to planting them about half of them have died from heat exhaustion! Then I have to go back and buy more plants. But yesterday was different. Yesterday, I tilled up the ground then went to the greenhouse, came home and put them right into the dirt! I think that’s a first for me. Now if I can just keep the chickens out of it!

Well, it’s back to school and things as normal…well as normal as normal gets. It’s a beautiful day here on the Knolltop and I’ve got some outside chores to do. I haven’t planted one flower, so I ought to get that done and I haven’t planted anything in my garden yet….but my 12 rows of sweetcorn are up! I think I’ll have enough for us and the coons this year! Better get the kids going, they aren’t going to want to move out this morning….I don’t blame them!

So today is the day of parades, grilling out and rememberances. It’s amazing to me what men and women have and are still willing to sacrifice for the rest of us. For our freedom people have been willing to stand in the gap. They’ve been willing to leave their homes only to head into a war zone to be shot at, to eat less than desirable food and work their tails off to protect this country and to hopefully provide freedom to other people. Most of us don’t deserve this kind of sacrifice. We exploit our freedoms and take these wonderful heros for granted. My father was a in the Air Force and used to jump out of airplanes to help save fellow soldiers who went down in a crash or were in trouble for some reason or another. He doesn’t elaborate on much, but has told us a few great stories. I don’t have the slightest clue how scared he was or how much he hated it or if he enjoyed being a hero, he really doesn’t take much glory in it even though he deserves it. One story I won’t ever forget was one he told about when they jumped in on a situation where they were determining who was dead and who was alive. One of the medics pronouced the pilot of the aircraft that crashed as dead. My dad had to make the final call because he was the highest ranking officer there. When he went to check on the pilot, he found a pulse and that the man was still alive. They put an IV in his foot and ended up saving his life. That is a hero! I’ve often wondered where that man is and how his life turned out. I wonder if his family knew that my dad saved his life. I wonder if his children and grand children knew that if it weren’t for my dad and his determination and tenacity in that situation there would be no children or grandchildren. I also wonder how many other countless stories there are just like this one that we’ve never heard about. Again, these people are amazing and deserve more than just one day to be remembered. Let’s also remember to pray for those in service today and all of their families…that is the most powerful thing we can do for them. Prayer can changes everything.

Well, I got all those sweet rolls done and baked and delivered. I found out this morning, I made a few too many, they had some left over. Better too much than too little! It’s been a busy weekend, I’ve had teenagers galore over here for two days and now they’ve all gone home and taken two of mine with them! Just Jake and Sarah are left here. Tomorrow we’ll watch Luke in another 3 on 3 tournament and JW will march in the parade with the high school band. I think we might try to get some dehorning in too….who knows. These holiday weekends kill me, I can’t wait to get back to the mundaneness of the week days! Is mundaneness even a word?

It’s cloudy here on the Knolltop. I guess we’re supposed to get some rain today, none yet. Chores are done, the boys had to help the last couple of mornings because Big Daddy is indisposed. It’s fun to have them help in the mornings…I get more time to chat with them. Today is baking day for me. I volunteered to bake sweet rolls for a friend who’s daughter is graduating and her open house is tomorrow. I thought I would get it done a little at a time, but now I’ve got 7 batches to make today, the open house is tomorrow! Why do I always wait until the last minute? But that’s not a big deal, I enjoy baking… time in the kitchen is really my favorite time. Jake has his second game tonight, his uniform was in the washer this morning, he got up early and put it in the dryer and before school had it folded and put in a special spot so he wouldn’t forget it! I never knew he was so good at folding clothes! Better get to the kitchen.

The county fair has to be one of the best weeks of the year for any youngster involved in exhibiting livestock. It’s a place where relationships are developed and hopes and dreams are realized. But in some places the county fair doesn’t include livestock. My friend Trent Loos has been talking about this for a few weeks now concerning a fair in California that is eliminating livestock from it’s fair. What is a county fair without the livestock? There’s lots to be said for what our urban friends can learn from agricultural producers in a public venue like our fairs and exhibitions, but not if we’re not there to teach them.

Well, Jake has his big start last night and I know you most likely missed it on the ESPN highlights, so I’ll report it for you. Jake started out catching for 5 innings and then pitched for another 20 innings, or what seemed like 20 innings. You know at that 8-10 age group, baseball is kind of like watching paint dry, so a game that should’ve taken about an hour and a half, took two and a half hours to complete and that was only because the ump got tired and asked if the game could be done. They ended up losing by 10 runs, so it wasn’t a nailbiter to say the least. But Jake had a single and a double, grounded out and was walked. So all in all, it was a good night as far as mom is concerned, but not for Jake…he wanted to win. More later, I’m being summoned!

Well, Jake has his first game tonight in Pittsford. This morning he gave us the team report….”We aren’t ready for this game” were his words. And then he hoped that the other team wasn’t ready yet either. Let’s hope so. Either way, it’s 87 and sunny with a nice breeze, the cows are out on pasture, enjoying the warm weather without a care in the world and it’s a great day for a baseball game. I will have to miss this first outing…yes those cows haven’t figured out how to milk themselves yet!

Last night JW had a double header with Camden and they swept the Redskins winning the first game 15-2 and the second game 3-2. While they were playing down south, Jake had practice and I got to watch a little bit of his pitching after I got done milking. He’s terribly discouraged with his team. A couple of the boys just moved up from Tee ball and they still have a tendency to play in the dirt when their bored. Jake treats each practice like he’s in Spring Training with the Braves so there’s just a bit of difference in the intensity level on the team. But that’s how life is sometimes. Some of us chuckle our way through while others treat each day like it’s the only day that matters. Somewhere in the middle would be an approprite place to live.