If you want to see your personal right to demonstrate in action you may want to watch the video of Trent Loos at the Illinois State Capitol rallying in defense of horse harvesting in Illinois. Go to www.facesofag.com and see it all!

How many people perk their coffee anymore? Well, I do…now. I’ve been doing the automatic coffee for years now, but my favorite coffee maker gave out and now I have substitute. It was when I broke the substitute pot that I decided I needed to go back to perked coffee on the stove. I’d forgotten how good perked coffee could be. So this morning as I was cooking breakfast, I was treated to the wonderful smells of perked coffee and sausage sizzling in a black iron skillet on the stove. What a great sensation for my kids to wake up to down on the farm!

Boy was it hot and humid in the barn tonight! It felt like the middle of July…but I’m not complaining! I was glad to turn them out to pasture, I know they’ve got to love laying out on that grass listening to the frogs croak in the creek while they watch the moon come up and enjoy the cool night breeze.

Well, yesterday at the Illiniois State Capitol, Trent Loos and Frank Bowman, the President of the Horseman’s Council of Illiniois stood outside the capitol and with two hundred horses in their horse trailer they began handing out stick horses to everyone who showed up. Horse enthusiasts, agricultural activists and even school children were handed not real horses, but a stick horse and conversations were started with those who were uneducated about the value of horse harvesting. By the time they were finished with their rally, almost everyone they talked to were either in agreement or had a better understanding of why we don’t need a ban on horse slaughter. I said almost everyone, those on the Illiniois State Senate committee of public health weren’t convinced and voted 7-0 to ban horse slaughter in the state of Illinois. But as I spoke to Trent today on the phone, he was true to form. He didn’t feel defeated, just challenged.

With the cows going out on pasture now, my chores have been reduced in the barn and I’m able to stay in after breakfast and get things done in the house. I just got done doing that wonderful mundane duty of cleaning. It feels good now that it’s done, but it’s not my most favorite chore. It’s overcast and misty here on the knolltop, but still warm, which is nice. Last night, the boys lost both baseball games and didn’t get home until 10 pm. Then they had homework. Well, JW had homework, Luke kept Dub company while he did it and Bobby and I went to bed! I know that doesn’t sound very supportive, but 4 am comes too early to stay up that late!

JW came home from Regional FFA officers camp yesterday worn out and all excited about FFA. He and I milked last night while the other three kids and Big Daddy went to baseball practices. JW got to meet one of the national officers and was thrilled that they kid sat down and visited with him and even remembered his name when they said goodbye. Now he’s got his sights set on running for a regional office and then one day he wants to be a national officer. I told him he is definitely officer material. Seeing my son get excited about that kind of leadership stuff just thrills me to no end. I told him we needed to go to the National FFA convention in the fall. We’d better put in our requests now for time off on the farm!

JW came home from Regional FFA officers camp yesterday worn out and all excited about FFA. He and I milked last night while the other three kids and Big Daddy went to baseball practices. JW got to meet one of the national officers and was thrilled that they kid sat down and visited with him and even remembered his name when they said goodbye. Now he’s got his sights set on running for a regional office and then one day he wants to be a national officer. I told him he is definitely officer material. Seeing my son get excited about that kind of leadership stuff just thrills me to no end. I told him we needed to go to the National FFA convention in the fall. We’d better put in our requests now for time off on the farm!

Trent has done it again. Tomorrow morning they are going to have fun in Springfield, Illinois. I’ll update you tomorrow as I get the information…I can’t wait!

Trent has done it again. Tomorrow morning they are going to have fun in Springfield, Illinois. I’ll update you tomorrow as I get the information…I can’t wait!

We’ve been blessed with some sunny days lately and after the snow in April, I’d say we’re due! Yesterday afternoon, my youngest son Jake was chomping at the bit to get his Allis out and drag the garden. My garden is an extension of the neighbors field and he plows it every year. Then after the field is planted and my garden is tilled, my kind neighbor always comes down and plants at least 10 rows of sweetcorn for me. He says he’s just getting rid of what he has left over, I know he’s being a good neighbor. This year, he planted 8 rows and was planning on coming down with another variety in a couple of weeks. The rest of the garden needed to be planted, but I just hadn’t gotten to it yet and there were some weeds starting to sprout. Jake spotted the weeds and felt the need to take care of them for me. Knowing he might plow up my sweetcorn, I was hesitant to allow him in my garden, but then I relented and said if his older brother Luke helped him then they could drag the garden. As I watched farmer Jake drive his antique tractor back and forth across my garden my heart melted. It was such a beautiful picture of him…but then upon closer inspection that melted heart turned to stone as I noticed half of my sweetcorn rows had disappeared! I was upset for a few minutes, but then looked into my little farmers eyes and realized the value of that sweetcorn couldn’t compare to the value of Jake’s small farming experience. Boys, you gotta love ’em!