Claire Got Mail!

Today was a beautiful winter day!  Not too warm, but the sun was bright and the wind was calm.  Claire and I spent the afternoon playing outdoors with the dogs and horses.  She absolutely loves the dogs, but still isn’t too sure about the horses.  Toward the end of our time outside we decided to walk down to get the mail, and there was a large envelope addressed to Claire! 

From her Auntie Erin was a homemade gift that entertained Claire all evening.  The book is all fabric and is titled “Claire’s Fun Book”.  It has several soft pages; some with zippers to pull, some with Velcro to stick and some with laces to tie.  What a thoughtful and creative gift.  Thanks so much Auntie Erin!  Claire and her Mommy miss you!

Farming Is Not A Way To Make A Living; It's A Lifestyle

I met Brad in the winter of 2005.  We met at a cattle show; he was there to watch his brother show, and I was there watching a friend show.  We met and the rest is history!  I knew right away that Brad was the guy for me, and even remember saying to my best friend Shelby “where has he been all of my life?”  A short time later Shelby told him what I had said and I was completely embarrassed and thought I may have just scared him off.  But, Brad stuck around and we still laugh about it today!

I have mentioned before that I grew up on a small hobby farm.  I enjoyed the outdoors, horses, country folk activities, 4-H, and FFA in high school.  I was friends with some beef farmers, and there were a lot of crop farms around our home, yet still I still hadn’t really ever given much thought to how my food made it to the grocery store.  Isn’t it funny, even though I considered myself a country girl who understood country and farm life that these thoughts never really crossed my mind? 

Well I gave it a lot of thought immediately after meeting Brad.  The winter months that we first spent together are the “slow time” for crop farmers, but this didn’t stop Brad from preparing me for what was to come.  He explained the long hours he worked in the spring and fall, and how even when there wasn’t field work to do something always needed to be maintained, built, fabricated, or tended to in some way. 

I thought “Oh I have this down; being in a relationship with a farmer is going to be easy. They don’t answer to a boss, they make their own schedules; we will have so much time to do fun things together!”  Little did I know I was entering into a completely different lifestyle.

As spring planting season began my idea of what Brad and his family did for “a living” began to change.  First of all my birthday is on April 23…..which also is prime time for starting planting, or if the weather isn’t permitting, the planting equipment has to be ready so when the weather is perfect they can work like crazy people.  And this first birthday I spent with Brad happened to be my 21^st.  I had these thoughts in my head of having a great birthday celebration with all of our friends and that didn’t get to happen.  “Work before play” is an old saying that is very fitting for farming.

As Brad continued to spend countless hours working in the fields I made it a point to spend as much time with him as possible.  That meant that I had to go to whatever field he happened to be working in and ride in the equipment with him.  Some equipment is more comfortable than others; some of the newer equipment has a buddy seat in it (which is a very small seat, but none the less a seat), but most of the equipment required me to either sit cross legged on the floor, or hunch over while sitting on a console.  Neither option was a good one for very long, but I grew to absolutely love my time in the fields with Brad!  Still today we have so many great conversations while I am riding with him and we just enjoy each other’s company.  During planting in April through June and harvest in September through November this is the only quality time we get to spend together due to the number of hours worked.

As our relationship grew during planting I also grew more used to the farm schedule.  Finally when planting was done in June, I thought “Awesome!  Time for some summer fun!”  Little had I learned yet, but wheat harvest was just around the corner; which usually happens over the 4^th of July.  But, just because I survived spring planting and wheat harvest didn’t mean I was ready for fall harvest.  This is the longest of our seasons and it finally does come to an end even though it sometimes feels like it may not.  But even though our first year together wasn’t at all what I had pictured in my head I looked back at what I had learned and experienced and loved it!

Riding with Brad that first season I decided to do a photo journal of my adventures with him.  I captured so many great times with him, and we love looking back at them.  Reading this you may think “they are just pictures of him working”.  But to us, it is much more.  We love what we do as farmers, are proud of the hard work and dedication it takes to get the job done, are proud to feed the world and are always trying to better the stewardship of the land.  Those pictures aren’t just of Brad working; they are Brad living!

I had never thought about marrying a farmer while I was growing up.  I knew that I loved the country way of life and I wanted that for sure.  Even if I had considered marrying a farmer I don’t think I was prepared for the huge lifestyle change that it was.  Sure it is nice not to answer to a boss, or make your own schedule, but so much more goes into it than that.  It doesn’t matter the day of the week or the hour of the day; if there is a task to be completed and the weather permits we are working. 

Working intensely during the spring and fall does sometimes wear on a person.  But the pros far outweigh the cons, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything!  I love my lifestyle as a farmer’s wife; it isn’t for everyone, but for me there isn’t a better way to live life!

This short video clip includes pictures of our first year together.  Choose the full screen option (lower right corner of the video box) for the best view.

Why Did God Create Farmers?

The annual super bowl is known for great commercials.  This year 1 commercial stood above all others.  The commercial was for Dodge Ram Trucks and I am not even a Dodge fan, but this commercial was a simple, thoughtful tribute to all farmers.  The commercial was dictated by Paul Harvey, who I loved listening to.  He lists many reasons why God made farmers.  God needed someone who had lots of different traits and therefore the farmer was created:

·         Someone who was a caretaker.

·         Someone who would wake up early, work all day, then serve on the school board late at night.

·         Someone who could see their plan fumble, be strong and try again the next year.

·         Someone who could improvise in many different situations.

·         Someone who was ok working a 40 hour week by Tuesday, and continued on anyway.

·         Someone who was strong yet gentle.

·         Someone who wasn’t going to cut corners.

·         Someone who was going to build a strong family and be proud to pass the farm onto younger generations.

 

 

I say kudos Dodge Ram!

Readers- what do you say?

Soaking Up The Sun

During December 2012 Brad and I left the blustery Michigan winter and flew south.  We spent 1 week in Riviera Maya, Mexico with 1 other couple.  The four of us soaked up the sun, enjoyed some excursions like zip lining, and shared lots of laughs.  The resort was beautiful and it was great to have some adult only time together.  That being said, Brad and I could hardly wait to get home to see Claire! 

Winter Wonderland?

2 days ago I woke up to my definition of a winter wonderland.  Crisp, calm air, with a blanket of snow covering the ground, and frosty snowflakes covering everything.  The sun was shining brightly in the blue sky, and it couldn’t have been a more beautiful morning.  I rushed to get a few pictures of the great landscape before the warmth of the sun melted off the pretty frost.



My horses were even out enjoying the brisk morning.

I do enjoy winter, but not when I wake up to weather like today.  I went to bed to rain last night and knew that our pretty snow would be gone this morning.  But I was surprised when I woke up to gusty wind, gloomy skies, and puddles of water all over from the melted snow but still frozen ground.  Then this afternoon it began spitting snow along with the horrible wind.

 

Michigan is known for its abrupt weather changes so I guess it is to be expected.  And on the bright side, days like today make me appreciate pretty mornings even more!

Little White Chunk

 

I recently had the privilege of going out for a Christmas celebration with my fellow Apple Grove Veterinary Care team members and their spouses.  This year we went to Ukai; a Japanese restaurant that cooks food directly in front of you on a large grill.  Prior to the flaming cooking show we enjoyed some authentic soup and salad.  The soup was miso soup with tofu.  One of my best friends and coworkers is a very picky eater and was hesitant to try the soup.  I explained the majority of the soup was just a broth and the “little white chunks” in the bottom were pieces of tofu.  “Tofu?!”  she replied as if to say she was not eating that.  I explained that tofu usually takes on the flavor that you cook it in, and that it was a healthy protein.  In fact, I mentioned, some of Brad’s soybeans go to Japan to be made into tofu.  Everyone seemed surprised and impressed by that statement.  Questions like “you sell soybeans to Japan” and “tofu is made from soybeans” seemed to bubble up from all around our table.

Brad went on to explain that we personally don’t sell to Japan, but the grain elevators that we work with do.  Soybeans are grown to Japan’s specifications and are shipped there.  And yes, tofu is just one of the many foods that are made from soybeans.

We had a great time out with my Apple Grove Veterinary Care team; it’s nice to get out of the work setting to spend some relaxing time together!  It made me chuckle to think we were able to teach the small group we were seated with something they didn’t know about agriculture while enjoying authentic Japanese cuisine!

I bet you have driven past farm land before wondering “where do all of those crops go?  Why are so many crops grown around the world?”

Soybeans are grown for many reasons other than tofu.  Soybeans are in the legume family.  Soybeans are considered a healthy protein, and grow in a pod off a 3-4 foot standing stalk.  Soybeans are planted in the spring, grow all summer, dry down in the fall and then are harvested.  It is an edible bean that has many uses:

·         Entire soybean can be eaten (in soups or stews)

·         Soy Milk (i.e. Silk)

·         Soy Oil (i.e. Zoye)

·         Tofu

·         Soy Burgers(meat free burger like patty)

·         Soy Cheese (less fat and cholesterol than other cheese)

·         Soy Ice Cream (dairy free)

·         Soy Yogurt (dairy free, contains lacto bacteria for good digestion)

·         Many pre- packaged foods

Field corn is another crop we grow.  Field corn shouldn’t be confused with the sweet corn you enjoy during the summer months.  If you chewed on a piece of field corn thinking it was sweet corn you would be sadly mistaken.  Field corn looks similar to sweet corn; a tall leafy stalk that grows the large grain on a cob.  Corn has a similar growing season to soybeans.  Corn is also planted in the spring, grows all summer, and is harvested during the fall months.   Agricultural uses for field corn include:

·         Livestock feed from cobs or kernels

·         Livestock silage (feed produced from the entire above ground unripe plant)

·         Biofuel

Field corn is also found in many of the foods you consume on a regular basis, such as:

·         Breakfast Cereal

·         Corn Meal

·         Corn Syrup

·         Hominy

·         Grits

·         Corn Oil

·         Sweeteners

·         Alcohol and Corn Whiskey

·         Many pre- packaged foods

We also grow wheat.  Wheat is planted during the fall months, grows slightly before winter, then stays dorment all winter.  In the spring when everything else is turning green and growing, so is the wheat.  You have probably driven past wheat fields in the spring; they look like huge fields of lush green grass.  Wheat grows then dries down and turns a beautiful golden color before it is harvested in July.  Wheat is the grain that is the most widely grown commercially.  It has the highest percentage of protein in it when compared to other cereal grains. 

We enjoy wheat in foods such as:

·         Flour

·         Breads

·         Biscuits

·         Cookies

·         Cakes

·         Breakfast Cereals

·         Pasta

·         Beer or other alcoholic beverages (wheat used during fermentation)
 

Straw is simply the stalk of the wheat plant left over after harvesting.  Agriculture sometimes uses the straw for livestock bedding.   We choose to keep the straw on the fields as it acts as a natural fertilizer for the soil.

So next time you are in the grocery store take a look around at all of the products that stem from field crops.