There Goes the Neighborhood

Imagine being a good farm wife and having a perfect little tidy farmhouse in the middle of nowhere and enjoying quiet evenings with cattle bawling and occasionally the hum of a tractor working ground in the distance.  

Then imagine a couple, her grandson and new wife, building a house just down the road and upending everything.  Great grandchild after great grandchild after great grandchild after great grandchild being born and learning to adjust over the years to a steady stream of curious, filthy and often hungry neighbors landing on your porch any time between sunrise and sunset.  

I will miss the way morning chores that should have taken 30 minutes turned into hours as 'Can we just stop by Grandma Curry's?' each day.  I will miss the phone calls each evening 'Well, what do you know, dear?' .

I will miss some of those ridiculous things that once made me want to tear my hair out, like when she taught Kathryn that bonks and scrapes on her body would feel better if you rubbed Suave's wild cherry blossom scented lotion on them.  Kathryn would come inside from playing and absolutely REEK of the wild cherry blossom scent.  'Momma, I got a little bonk.  But it's okay because Grandma Curry put some medicine on it.' 

I will miss how each time I made cookies, or cheesy biscuits, or a host of other things the kids would fight over who got to carry the container over and who got to knock on the door and who got to actually hand the container to her.  Like mobsters, we felt obligated to give a cut of our sweets as tribute to our elders.  

I will miss her quizzing the kids about their livestock and listening to them answer her like the little 70 year old men that they are.  

I will miss dragging her out of the house and taking drives on backroads, listening to the stories of who used to live at each old homestead and who that person married and just how good of a basketball player their son was. 

I will miss hearing the same old stories that I've heard hundreds of times.  Thankfully I can almost recite most of them from memory at this point.  Ask me about the time Stanley had a procedure done and the doctor told him to take it easy so he went out on the dozer to do some dirt work and didn't come home until after dark.  Do it, I dare ya'.  I'll tell it to you just like I was there, because I've lived similar stories right alongside her, just 60 years apart.  I couldn't hardly tell her a story about my husband without watching her throw her hands up in the air and roll her eyes stating 'oh, yes, I know all about that.  Stanley used to be just like that, dear'. 

I now tear up each time I open the refrigerator and a cascade of these damn juice boxes she had delivered from the senior center come tumbling out.  I don't know what she really ate from those senior center meals because she was always calling to warn me 'I just sent home a little something with the kids, dear'.

I won't try to flatter myself and say we were best friends; she had a lady or two in town and they truly were joined at the hip most of their lives.  But I will miss my battle buddy, my comrade-in-arms, my confidant for over a decade that knew the sheer hell it can be at times to love a stubborn ass Curry man.  

I'm thankful our children had a home away from home and someone to dote on them when their mother didn't take their injuries or injustices seriously enough.  

And I'm most thankful we never said goodbye.  Every conversation ended with 'Well, talk to you tomorrow' or 'see you later'.  So when things were going downhill and she was leaving our house I made sure to tell her one last time we'll see you later. 

Trivial but Necessary: An Autobiography

So many of the tasks I complete these days are... less than glamorous?  Menial?  Pretty basic?  Any of these descriptions would suffice.  Let's be honest, I'm not out here curing cancer.  I'm a professional diaper changer and fire-putter-outer for my husband. 

For instance, this morning I had to drop everything and run out the door with all the kids so I could drive my SUV and lead trucks filled with cattle to their summer pasture.  It's way out in the middle of nowhere and difficult to give directions to someone in hopes that they'll end up at the right pasture.  'Turn at the tree that burned down a few years ago.'  'Go past that pasture with the pens and turn west at the next pasture with a similar set of pens.' 

You can see how things could south rather quickly.  Sometimes I actually get my own pickup and trailer.  Today was not that day. 

I'm trying to get better at finding the joy in this season of life.  Today I grabbed my camera and managed to snap a few pics.  We are very fortunate to live in this area and that is never lost on us.  

Fishing Lessons, Life Lessons

We had friends over to play a few days ago and the mother mentioned how impressed she was with our kids and the way they seemed pretty self sufficient with their chores.  Although I gave her the full disclosure that things didn't always run so smoothly, I did puff up a little bit with pride.  We have seen, and continue to see, the ill effects of standing around and constantly asking for a handout and we try very hard to make sure our kiddos *hopefully* won't be that soul sucking drain on everyone around them.  

4-H has been a wonderful addition to our family activities, as well as our church bible study group where the kids play and help out.  It is amazing how much the kids are able to absorb big picture concepts and how important it is to give their time and talents to others.  They are 'learning to fish' so to speak.  (You know.... teach a man to fish... nod in agreement, folks.)  

This year's Easter egg hunt in town meant more to them because they helped stuff some of the eggs and they are so excited to do it again next year.  They enjoyed seeing their friends open eggs to find candy and thinking that it was an egg they had stuffed just for their friend to find.  

Our latest project has been building a bench for an upcoming benefit auction.  Though the kids are too little to run a saw, they are wonderful at handing me hand tools and screws.  They are just as excited as I am to deliver this bench and pray it raises needed funds for a family.  

While building this bench last week, John (5), and I had the opportunity to cuss and discuss lots of topics.  He knows the importance of saving money and how much we value coupons in this house and was surprised when I told him all that goes out the window during a benefit auction.  He now understands that it is okay to spend a little more because all the money will help someone that we love.  We talked about making this bench and how the funds will help our buddy, Alex, who was in a terrible vehicle wreck and maybe this would help make his heart happier.  I could tell that John was absorbing some and we continued working in relative silence for the remainder of the afternoon. 

A few hours later John came in the house and asked for some cardboard to make a bird feeder.  I'm pretty sure he'd seen a demonstration during a PBS commercial about making a bird feeder with cardboard, peanut butter and birdseed a few days earlier.  

"Mom - we can make a bird feeder and then send it to Alex and the doctors can hang it up outside the window in his hospital room and he can look at the birds.  Do you think that would make his heart happy?"  

I cried.  A lot.  Big, fat, ugly tears.  99% of the time I question if we're getting anything right with this tribe but that was one time I knew God made sure he absorbed it all and had a servant's heart.  

***And here is my shameless plug.  If you are in the greater east-central Kansas area on Sunday, April 11th, please make plans to eat at the Chicken House in Olpe and participate in the benefit auction at 1 p.m.  Thank you***

One Dog, Two Dogs, No Dogs

There's some old saying about having dogs and that if you have one dog, you might have a dog, but if you have two dogs you have no dogs at all.  The gist of it being that two dogs lose all ability to think rationally and instead run away and play.  

And kids.  The same is true with kids.  

This afternoon I found them at the bottom of a hill in a corner of a field playing in these old tires that were previously used to feed silage to cattle in. 

I'm sure she thinks I was joking, but I recently asked a neighbor if I could borrow the GPS collars her husband uses with their coon dogs.  I could fashion them into a neat super-hero type belt and the kids would think they were so cool and never take them off.  Problem solved, right?  

This is a much better suggestion than my husband's.  "Well, I sure hope you don't run over one of the kids' legs so they start staying home."  In my defense, it was an accident, it was ONE TIME and Laurie still looks majestic even with three legs.  

So now I utilize all sorts of master hunter/trapper skills to find my kids each day.  I look for the dogs, as usually they are babysitting the kids.  I watch the cattle as often they are looking at the kids wondering who turned these monkeys loose and why are they swinging from the top of a trailer.  Today I found them because even though I couldn't see them the wind was out of the right direction and I could hear them talking to each other as they crawled around in the spacious old tractor tires.  

I've had Loopie longer than I've had a husband.  When she goes to heaven someday I'm going to need to visit the looney bin for quite a while.  She's pretty wonderful. 

Long story short, if you see one of my feral kiddos running loose, please wipe off their dirty faces, help Kathryn fix her windblown ponytail and send them back home.  Thanks in advance. 

Spring has Sprung

We had a little cold spell come through a few weeks ago and there were nearly two weeks that the temperature never rose above freezing - a rarity for our area.  

The very first day that the mercury rose above 32 in the thermometer my husband turned to me and said that spring had officially sprung.  I replied back that I'd see him in May.  

Neither of us were joking.

Calving has started for us, there is ground to work, cattle to be turned out to pasture, then calves to work, then planting... We are fortunate to be surrounded by men in our lives that put in an honest day's work.  We're in that stage of life where we help out meagerly when and where we can. 

Oftentimes the baby likes to stand at the screen door and watch the world unfold in front of her.  From here she has a perfect view of the chickens, cattle, men driving up and down the road, siblings playing tag in the yard... It's not too shabby of a vantage point. 

Now that the temps are above freezing I can get back to some projects in my wood shop.  Each day I've been sneaking away for 15-20 minutes and applying stain to cabinet doors.  At this rate I'll be done in approximately 20 years. 

BVD snap tests take up the majority of my 'free time'.  I run tests for hours each afternoon while the baby naps for ourselves and several friends.  It's a very cost effective management tool that I wish would catch on for more that run calves.  

On days when the wind is NOT blowing 40+mph we try to walk a few miles.  I love these walks.  This is perfect homeschool time when we cover a plethora of subjects. 

• deer tracks vs. cattle tracks vs. horse tracks vs. raccoon tracks
• pasture management so we don't have invasive weeds like sericia
• how God created the earth in six days and rested on the seventh
• genetics and breeding and why some calves are born with a bald face and some are solid colors
• calf life cycles
• rumen nutrition and microbes that live in cattle tummies (we mix and match our scientific levels)

I realize they won't absorb all, or maybe even half, of what we cover during these walks, but it sure is fun to see what their take away message was.  

On ridiculously windy days we often spend some time indoors coloring or creating with Playdough.  This little girl obviously spent more than a few moments in the fresh air that day. 

We divide and conquer when we can with parenting and often times it is not pretty.  This particular day I dropped off kiddo #2 at the side of a field with a sandwich, fresh chocolate chip cookies and a water bottle and wished him the best of luck.  His dad drove by eventually with the tractor, picked him up and they worked ground for several hours while I took everyone else to a 4-H meeting.  We rushed away as soon as the meeting was finished, swung by the field to pick up one of several verrrry sleepy kiddos and tucked them all into bed.  Wash, rinse, repeat.  Day after day. 

Spring days are tough for school-aged kiddos.  Our oldest suddenly felt very ill this morning when truck after truck lined up in our yard and made just enough room for the school bus to pull in and pick him up.  He was so happy last year when school was cancelled due to the pandemic and it meant he was able to help work cattle every day.  This year will be rather traumatic for him and probably result in years of therapy.  Poor dear. 

I love this little life.  Glamorous it most certainly is not, but fulfilling it most certainly is. 

One to Remember

 Is this the worst snowstorm in history for our area?  

Probably not.  Although it is one of the worst thus far in my lifetime.

Is this one something we'll remind our kids of, tell the grandbabies about someday?  

Probably so.  At least I will. 

I'll tell them about the water line that broke up by town and all the rural water was shut off in our area for one day.  The automatic water troughs froze, some of the water lines in the house froze.  We prayed for the men that dug up the line and had to fix the leak when I'm sure they couldn't even feel their fingers. 

I'll tell them about the tractor that caught fire and almost burned (because there was no water) but a pitcher of my mother in law's tea saved the day.  I'll tell them how that day seemed to last an eternity.  I'll tell them how many weeeeeeks we stayed below freezing consistently.  I'll tell them how mom's SUV was parked out in the yard and the tractors and feed pickups all were parked in the shop instead because we are real with our priorities. 

I'll tell them how tired everyone's eyes looked, even when they smiled.

But...

I'll also tell them about some of the good things.  Baking cookies, making hearty meals, playing games, snuggling and watching movies at night.  Lots of together time.  I'll remind them how fortunate we are for technology that allowed us to watch church on our computer instead of going to town.  

I'll tell them how heartwarming it was to see people share their ideas and tips with one another online for keeping calves warm or thawing pipes or chopping ice.  

I'll remind them that this was the time they learned about kidney stones.  Mostly because they heard me mutter to myself over and over 'this too shall pass.  It may pass like a kidney stone, but it will pass.' 

Many thanks to anyone, in any industry, who is required to be out in the elements during this time.  

And many thanks to those who have the common sense to stay home when their assistance is not required. 

Snow on an animal's back is actually a great thing and serves as a layer of insulation.

Animals do a great job of finding spots in brush or down in draws where wind and weather are not as severe.

Visibility was fairly compromised this morning. 
Sunshine will be oh so sweet when it finally comes one of these days. 

Corn silage that was preserved earlier this fall is a great feedstuff during winter days.

You don't have to ask twice for the calves to line up at the bunk today.

There's always that one a**hole that slips out of the pen and is on the wrong side.

Why Is This A Big Deal?

As I scanned social media this morning I saw countless posts from my friends in agriculture that reminded everyone how terrible the weather currently is, how taxing it was for those in agriculture and occasionally they added the popular hashtags #thankafarmer or #thankarancher.

But perhaps we should dive deeper and explain to those not involved in agriculture WHY this brutal cold weather is such a headache for us all.  

I have a sweet friend that lives in town and she feels comfortable asking me the most basic questions about agriculture, which is sometimes what we all need to get back to.  

WHY is this brutal cold so awful for those caring for livestock?  Everyone just drives around in feed pickups all day, right? 

This came from the friend that often mentions how she likes to look at the cows (meaning cattle) in the field at the edge of our town.  But it's a pasture... and they are bison. 

But I digress.  And her question was completely valid and started some great conversation.  

***

On days brutal cold days when the snow and wind blows people would most like to stay in the house and relax; however, these are often the days when ranchers are allowed to relax the very least.  Caring for animals comes before anything else, period.  (Or periodT.  Isn't that how the cool kids say it these days?) 

Normal, daily chores must still happen like providing feed, checking the head count to make sure everything is accounted for, finding the few stray head, evaluating herd health and administering the appropriate medicines in judicious amounts... the list goes on and on.  Even these normal tasks require 'extra'.  Extra feed, extra attention, extra bedding, extra everything.  Nothing wants to move easily, so opening a gate with a layer of ice securing everything in place takes quite a bit of extra 'oomph'. 

On top of that, ensuring water sources are readily available and not totally frozen is a constant effort.  Ranchers carry axes/rock bars,/sledge hammers/weapon of choice in order to bust through the ice multiple times a day.  Often times during light freezes cattle can paw at the ice and provide themselves with fresh water.  When the temperatures are not forecasted to rise above freezing for nearly two weeks that is no longer an option.  

Sometimes the water source is a tank or trough, and even these still require attention as they still have the ability to freeze in this weather.  They may still need ice chopped and removed multiple times a day.  The parts on these water tanks can crack or bust, as can nearly anything in this extreme cold.  This weather can result in extra mechanical issues as the feed pickups, tractors and feed wagons bounce across the hardened, sharpened, sometimes icy, ground.  

Some operations are also calving this time of year.  (And this is when I thank God that we have a few more weeks before we're due to start.)  This simply adds another layer of difficulty to an already long to-do list.  Although God made these outdoor animals hardy and tough enough to survive many circumstances we also feel there is no need for suffering.  And so folks are constantly checking their livestock for signs of active labor.  Pacing, raised tailhead, bagging up (filling of the udder) - the females have their telltale signs if you know what you're looking for.  Just in case we have an early calf I made sure we're prepared with our powdered colostrum, bottles and old bath towels.  Old bath towels are a treasured item in our house.  

Is this an exhaustive list?  Absolutely not.  Is this an exhausting list?  Absolutely yes.  And I understand that there probably isn't an occupation that does not suck during this extreme winter weather.  Linemen, oilfield workers, plumbers, the list goes on and on.  I just hope that when someone posts online to #thankafarmer or #thankarancher that they also take the time to explain why livestock producers are doing what they do.  

....and it is a bit more work than just driving around in feed pickups.