Jake is off and running this morning with the neighbor who is combining corn. He will help with unloading, moisture testing, lunch eating and CB chats today as he and his best farming buddy, Rodney Schoenberger take in the “cheap corn” as he refers to it.

I will be cleaning up outside today, digging sweet pototoes and some white potatoes and then hopefully decorating the porches with some pumpkins and mums. I’ve got the orange orbs already, just have to pick out my mums. This afternoon we have a mess to clean up in heifer haven. Someone, who will remain nameless, left the hose running in the heifer water tank last night and flooded a couple of pens. We all make mistakes….it’s just a little water.

Yesterday I had a wonderful time rehearsing with Tim. What I thought would be a two hour time stint turned into three and a half hours of constant singing. What a riot we had just going from song to song…he’s amazing on the piano. IF no one dies late next week and he doesn’t have a funeral on Saturday it will be a very fun weekend. And I know who to petition about that!

After a breakfast of pancakes and bacon with homemade syrup, I’ve got a sticky mess waiting for me….better get to it!

Jake is off and running this morning with the neighbor who is combining corn. He will help with unloading, moisture testing, lunch eating and CB chats today as he and his best farming buddy, Rodney Schoenberger take in the “cheap corn” as he refers to it.

I will be cleaning up outside today, digging sweet pototoes and some white potatoes and then hopefully decorating the porches with some pumpkins and mums. I’ve got the orange orbs already, just have to pick out my mums. This afternoon we have a mess to clean up in heifer haven. Someone, who will remain nameless, left the hose running in the heifer water tank last night and flooded a couple of pens. We all make mistakes….it’s just a little water.

Yesterday I had a wonderful time rehearsing with Tim. What I thought would be a two hour time stint turned into three and a half hours of constant singing. What a riot we had just going from song to song…he’s amazing on the piano. IF no one dies late next week and he doesn’t have a funeral on Saturday it will be a very fun weekend. And I know who to petition about that!

After a breakfast of pancakes and bacon with homemade syrup, I’ve got a sticky mess waiting for me….better get to it!

The end of the work week is here…but I’ve noticed when you live and work on a farm Friday doesn’t mean much except the next day you’ll have more help because your kids aren’t in school!

I get to do one of my most favorite things in all the world this morning…rehearse. I will be leading worship at a retreat this weekend and next and so I get to go practice with one of the best accompaniests in the world….Tim Hampton. Not only is he a talented piano player….playing mostly by ear, he is also the local funeral home owner. We practice at the funeral home in Hillsdale, it’s always so dead around there! (Sorry, just had to do it!)

I will run some errands while in town and then head home to prepare dinner, do chores and head to the football game. Bobby has to do his civic duty and run the chains so we will milk without him. It might even be cold enough to warrant a winter coat tonight.

I keep forgetting to announce that we have another flute player in the family. Sarah has just started band and plays the flute. What a cost cutter since she can use mine. She’s actually very good, the band teacher even had her demonstrate to the other flute players how to form their mouths to make a sound. I’m very proud of her and I am now planning on her getting a college scholarship in music…I can dream, can’t I?

Better get to my column….yesterday’s Hillsdale Daily News column arrived just under the wire!

It’s been a couple of days since I blogged and my mother even called to see if there was something wrong with her computer because she couldn’t get today’s blog to come up. She was mighty relieved to see it was not her computer it was MINE.

I finally got sick and tired of the way my computer was acting and I took it in to get it repaired. It was so bad I couldn’t even hear anything on it…and if I can’t get my daily dose of Rural Route Radio with that wild and crazy Trent Loos then my day is just not complete! Actually the real story is that Amanda Nolz, the host of Chewing the Cud, interviewed me a couple of weeks ago and I was curious to hear how it came out.

Well, now it’s time to get dinner on the table and get the kids from school….better get…I’ve also got two columns to catch up on…and one of them actually has a pretty stiff deadline:(

It’s been a couple of days since I blogged and my mother even called to see if there was something wrong with her computer because she couldn’t get today’s blog to come up. She was mighty relieved to see it was not her computer it was MINE.

I finally got sick and tired of the way my computer was acting and I took it in to get it repaired. It was so bad I couldn’t even hear anything on it…and if I can’t get my daily dose of Rural Route Radio with that wild and crazy Trent Loos then my day is just not complete! Actually the real story is that Amanda Nolz, the host of Chewing the Cud, interviewed me a couple of weeks ago and I was curious to hear how it came out.

Well, now it’s time to get dinner on the table and get the kids from school….better get…I’ve also got two columns to catch up on…and one of them actually has a pretty stiff deadline:(

A cool breeze drifted in on the Knolltop this morning. It’s finally down to where it should be….55 degrees this morning. And it’s going to be cool today only in the low 70s. That’s more like it!

Holly the Hottie, as Jerseyboy likes to refer to her, is entered in the North American. I will believe she is going when I see her loaded on the truck and headed south. Until then I will not get my hopes up about this pretty young cow traipsing the tanbark trail.

She will most likely go with Delbert Yoder from Ohio, one of Bobby’s buddies from his cattle fitting days. Last week Delbert won the prestigious Mackenzie-Klussendorf award at World Dairy Expo. The exhibitors call it the “barn award.” It’s basically an award that goes to one of the old faithful cow care takers, the ones who put their lifeblood into a good cow. The one who sweats over getting her topline just right, the one who gets just the right amount of milk in her, the one who does all the work for the love of the cow and then hands her off to a big bellied notable with white pants and a show harness who will take her onto the colored shavings for all the world to see while he heads back to the barn to get the next cow ready. Yes, that is Delbert…he’s one of a kind and we love him.

Like I said, I’ll believe she’s going when I see it. Until then we’ll just work and work with her until she’s like those push-button winners the boys saw in Madison.

Well, breakfast awaits!

A cool breeze drifted in on the Knolltop this morning. It’s finally down to where it should be….55 degrees this morning. And it’s going to be cool today only in the low 70s. That’s more like it!

Holly the Hottie, as Jerseyboy likes to refer to her, is entered in the North American. I will believe she is going when I see her loaded on the truck and headed south. Until then I will not get my hopes up about this pretty young cow traipsing the tanbark trail.

She will most likely go with Delbert Yoder from Ohio, one of Bobby’s buddies from his cattle fitting days. Last week Delbert won the prestigious Mackenzie-Klussendorf award at World Dairy Expo. The exhibitors call it the “barn award.” It’s basically an award that goes to one of the old faithful cow care takers, the ones who put their lifeblood into a good cow. The one who sweats over getting her topline just right, the one who gets just the right amount of milk in her, the one who does all the work for the love of the cow and then hands her off to a big bellied notable with white pants and a show harness who will take her onto the colored shavings for all the world to see while he heads back to the barn to get the next cow ready. Yes, that is Delbert…he’s one of a kind and we love him.

Like I said, I’ll believe she’s going when I see it. Until then we’ll just work and work with her until she’s like those push-button winners the boys saw in Madison.

Well, breakfast awaits!

Good Morning from the Knolltop! We are in the dog days of August here with heat and humidity. Wait, I just turned the calendar to October but that’s not what the weather says….what’s up with all this heat? Complaining? No….I shouldn’t complain…afterall I don’t want to be running the furnace any sooner than I need to and I don’t know what the seed corn supply is like right now for burning in my cornstove…so no, I’m not complaining a bit….just sweating.

I think I’d better get one thing straight this morning. It was brought to my attention that some of you reading this blog were under the misconception that the “Sarah” I was writing about earlier who came to help me with chores and brought her byfriend was my daughter Sarah. NO, NO, NO…that was not my daughter, it was another gal named Sarah who is 17 years old and shows dairy cattle in 4-H.

My daughter is only 11 and according to her father will not be able to date until she is 35 or so. Hope this helps everyone out.

And, I need to apologize to the sensitive Ayrshire in Montana named Betzy Loo. Apparently I spelled her name all wrong…pointed out by her owner, the Montana dairyman, Tom. Sorry for such a huge mistake…imagine me the writer making such an error!

The boys are home from Madison with so many stories to spin. I don’t know what stories are true and what are tales. They had a good time, but I could tell by the hugs, they were glad to be home.

Good Morning from the Knolltop! We are in the dog days of August here with heat and humidity. Wait, I just turned the calendar to October but that’s not what the weather says….what’s up with all this heat? Complaining? No….I shouldn’t complain…afterall I don’t want to be running the furnace any sooner than I need to and I don’t know what the seed corn supply is like right now for burning in my cornstove…so no, I’m not complaining a bit….just sweating.

I think I’d better get one thing straight this morning. It was brought to my attention that some of you reading this blog were under the misconception that the “Sarah” I was writing about earlier who came to help me with chores and brought her byfriend was my daughter Sarah. NO, NO, NO…that was not my daughter, it was another gal named Sarah who is 17 years old and shows dairy cattle in 4-H.

My daughter is only 11 and according to her father will not be able to date until she is 35 or so. Hope this helps everyone out.

And, I need to apologize to the sensitive Ayrshire in Montana named Betzy Loo. Apparently I spelled her name all wrong…pointed out by her owner, the Montana dairyman, Tom. Sorry for such a huge mistake…imagine me the writer making such an error!

The boys are home from Madison with so many stories to spin. I don’t know what stories are true and what are tales. They had a good time, but I could tell by the hugs, they were glad to be home.

Okay, it’s been fun, but it’s time for the boys to get home.

I don’t mind doing the chores, with my helpful crew, it’s been a breeze…it’s all the socializing that’s done when all the work is through.

Yesterday at 11 am…I got the great idea to meet a girlfriend for lunch. We sat for two hours and caught up on things. I skidded into the school parking lot just in time to get the kids and made a date with another girlfriend who’s husband was going to be gone for the evening. After getting back home and starting chores another girlfriend stopped in to drop off her daughter for the afternoon and I invited her along for the girls night out.

When chores were through, we headed to the restaurant and I got home promptly at 9 pm….I started yawning during dinner and we all decided I needed some sleep. I hit the hay after visiting with the kids and when the alarm went off this morning I just couldn’t move.

I got all the chores done and had planned on heading to the outlet mall with mom, but I changed that slightly. My body just said, no, you need to shorten the trip and make it a shorter afternoon. So I’m headed to Jackson for a couple of hours and lunch of course. Then I’m coming home for a quick nap before all that milking stuff starts again.

Yes, the men need to come home so I can get some rest!