Knolltop Farm Wife

I now have the official Pinehurst Dispersal Sale Average! Dallas Burton just called and quoted on 57 lots the average was $7281.34. I'd say that was another successful sale for Burton-Fellers Sales, Inc. By the way, this picture is at the Bull at Pinehurst Farms Golf Course, the site of the sale. I can't wait to hear all about how the cows were presented and the really fun and important stuff, like who was there, what the sale staff wore and how the ring was decorated! You know, the stuff that makes a successful sale and sets it apart from all the other run of the mill auctions! More details as they come!

Imagine my surprise when begrudgingly I went into the Senior High awards ceremony yesterday and JW received the Citizenship award just like his brother Luke! Wow....I've got to citizens in my household! I was so very proud of both of them. JW also won a Spanish award and the top grade in History! We had a busy night last night with JW in the play again, Luke and Sarah had practices and Jake had a game. I tell you what, I don't know what we'd do if it weren't for great parents who are more than willing to give our kids rides here and there! Jake rode with a team mate to the game while Bobby and I finished up chores. Then we headed to Jake's game where they tied (don't ask)and then got back to the school just in time to see JW sing his song one more time. Then we made our exit and came home to stuff bags with got milk? erasers, pencils, magnets and other fun stuff to give away to the kids at school today. Yes, today there is a field day at school and it is ...

It's one more beauty of a day here on the Knolltop. This morning has been too busy already! After I came in from chores, we had to get cleaned up for Jake's student of the month assembly. Then after we heard about what a great kid he was, we went down to the other gym and watched the Jr. High achievement awards. As the awards progressed I was surprised at how many Luke received. When he handed me the bundle of certificates and pins I looked them over and saw that he got an award in every subject! But the one that means the most to me was the citizenship award. One boy and one girl from each grade is picked and voted on by the teaching staff based on the kids attitude, their success as a student and going above and beyond in the school whether it be helping with something or just being cooperative. Luke received that award last year too. This is the award that makes me the proudest. It's so important for our young people to be responsible citizens in their community...

Good Morning from the sunny, 40 degree Knolltop! Let me address the skidsteer comments from yesterday and then we'll get into today's ranting and raving by the redhead! First, P and F.....what are you going to do with two skidsteers when all the cows leave the farm this fall? Open your own landscaping business? Give free rides to the neighborhood kids? Use them as gardening tools? And threecollie...you said you're too chicken to learn to run the skidsteer...this is good, very, very good. NEVER learn to run that piece of machinery and you'll save yourself from taking on another workload! Besides, what did we have kids for if it weren't for working on the farm? (JOKE!) Now, on to my latest venture. A couple of weeks ago, I was told of a Christian writers group where they discuss how to get published, how to write books, where to search for publishers, grammar, style, everything a writer loves to learn about. There were two groups, a beginners group and an adv...

Is there anything better on the farm that a skidsteer? It's a cloudy morning here on the Knolltop and getting cooler by the hour. I just came in from witnessing one of the best inventions ever created for the farm: the skidsteer! Cleaning a calf pen was an essential task this morning so we could take back control of pen maintenance! Bobby runs the skidsteer and I stand by and move gates, clean out the corners and help put the calves back where they belong. I'm really just the support crew. It was sheer delight as I watched him come in to the pen and leave with a big scoop of manure! And the best part was, I just stood there. I didn't have the back breaking task of pitching the whole thing out by hand like we used to do when we first moved on the farm! And in a matter of minutes I had a clean pen with calves bouncing around on clean shavings! It is a glorious sight and a very good feeling knowing your livestock have a clean, dry place to live! And for those of you wh...

Another beautiful, yet cool here on the Knolltop. It's been a busy day today, I'm working on a story for Holstein International and I've run up against some roadblocks, but they are slowly getting ironed out! I usually don't have trouble like this, but I guess I needed the challenge. NOT! Last night JW's team traveled to Burr Oak and they mercied them! It was great! Bobby and one other set of parents were the only two there for our team. I guess the gas prices are starting to keep people home. I was glad Bobby went, but the interest rate on the second mortgage to pay for the tank of gas is a little high. Jake had a scrimmage last night too and he did really well. He got picked to be on an all-star team tournament for next weekend. So next Saturday, Sarah will be playing volleyball in Detroit, JW will be playing baseball in Tekonsha and Jake will be playing baseball in Hudson. Hmmmm....with only two parents I think we'd better rent another mom or dad! Bet...

It's a cool morning here on the Knolltop where we are stirring up the neighborhood with unauthorized personnel on the lawnmower. Our lawnmower has been giving us trouble this spring. Usually I bug and bug and bug til it gets fixed. But this year I decided on the "hands-off" approach. Plus, I've got so much writing to do, I hardly have time to mow. So, two weeks have gone by and the yard is beginning to look like.....well....a jungle. Getting lost on the way to the barn is a regular occurance...at least that's what I say when Bobby asks why I'm late. Apparently, the long, upkept look was getting to Bobby too and he started to look at the mower. Three "mechanics" later, the mower was fixed and Bobby had taken over as the greenskeeper. This was all too strange to the rest of the neighborhood and the phone lines started heating up. I received a call from a neighbor who was inquiring about the new lawnboy I had hired. She said another neighbor had ...

It is a sunny but cool morning here on the Knolltop. It was 40 when we crossed the road to milk. Yesterday I interviewed a dairy farmer from Indiana for a story I'm writing for the Michigan-Indiana Holstein News. Marion Hooley, the Indiana Master Breeder award winner, lives in Goshen and is a very chipper gentleman in his 70s. As we visited about his life as a Holstein breeder he told me he is legally blind now. He can't drive anymore and it's very difficult for him to see, but he still does relief milking for his son who now runs the dairy. He told me he drove his Gator through the cow pastures from his house to the farm every day. He told me he had this thing called a Merlin that magnified small print so he could still read his Holstein magazines. As I listened to him talk about how thankful he was for his Merlin and how wonderful and supportive his wife had been through the years and how much he loved breeding Holstein cattle, I thought about how blessed I was. No...

It's a cloudy morning here on the Knolltop, but I think, no, I know it's going to be a great day, no matter what the weather or circumstances! JW's team won both games of their double header last night. JW pitched the second game and did really well. He was hitting well too...but don't ask me any specific stats, cause I just don't know! Right now the vet is out doing surgery on a D.A. Carolyn...one of my favorite show cows is under the knife! JW and I think she's got A.D.D. She acts so goofy all the time. Every day when I go in to prep her or prep the next cow she turns around and tries to lick my hair. I back up, then she stops. I inch forward trying to stay just out of reach of her long tongue and she reaches around again and no matter how many times I think I'm safe from the reaches of her lick, she gets me....somehow she gets me. In the morning I don't care because I still have to take a shower, but in the afternoon when I know I have somewh...

It was a very busy weekend here on the sunny Knolltop. On Saturday Bobby, Jake and I went to Sarah's volleyball tournament while JW went to motorcycle school and Luke played in a 3 on 3 basketball tournament. Sarah's team fared well, they placed fourth in the gold division. No, I don't know anything about the divisions.....scoring.....placing....nothin'...not a thing....zippo. The only thing I can gather is that "gold" must be good. All I care about is watching her and seeing her team improve over time. It was Bobby's first tournament....and he compared it to watching paint dry. But like any good dad, he cheered the team on and paid close attention to Sarah...and then had to analyze the whole thing. Luke's team placed 2nd in their tournament. When he came to the barn that night, I said, "Hey there's Mr. Second place." He absolutely hates losing and really hates it when I rib him about it. But since it was just a 3 on 3 tournament...

Wow...I can't believe it! I forgot to post anything on my blog this morning! My mother called and reminded me and until then I was totally out of sync. That's what happens when you change your routine. This morning when I got in from the barn, I had to take Sarah to the school for a field trip. When I got home it was time to fix breakfast. I had a headache so I relaxed for a bit after breakfast and then realized I needed to get my column written. As soon as I started my column, the phone began ringing and my list of things to get done grew by leaps and bounds. Pretty soon I was begging for more time for my column and was out the door to run some errands. Forgetting all about my blog! So...here we are....it's a beautiful morning, or what's left of it, on the Knolltop . JW's team lost both games last night. But that has been overshadowed by JW's excitement about motorcycle school. I'm not even going there! Schedules are a good thing if you actual...

It has to be the most beautiful sunrise here on the Knolltop I've seen in a long time! Although we had a stay at home night last evening with no games or practices....today will make up for it! JW has a double header with Climax, one of the toughest teams in the league. I have to provide the meal for both teams after the game. We all share in the meal, one mom does drinks, one does snacks and a couple of others do the main meal. I can't decide what kind of dessert I should make. Sarah has volleyball practice and Jake has baseball practice. So it will be a busy night to preceed a very busy, tournament filled weekend. On Saturday, Luke is in a three on three basketball tournament and Sarah has her volleyball extravaganza! JW is taking motocycle classes so he can learn to drive a motorcycle. Yes....pray for this very nervous mom who doesn't want anything to do with her son driving a motorcycle! He says he's doing it so he can save on gas this summer....great reaso...

The Knolltop is rainy! JW had a game last night and they lost. It was a bummer. They battled back and then lost it due to poor defense. After we said our goodbyes to the grandparents, we rushed Jake to practice and then I came home and flaked out. Well, I did a couple of loads of laundry and then made some caramel corn and some regular popcorn and then sat down to watch American Idol. It was so nice just to sit for an entire hour. I mean, I didn't move! With the remote in my left hand, the caramel corn in my lap, feeding myself with my right hand, I was in heaven. There were a million things I should've been doing, like preparing for the interview I have to do this morning and setting up a couple of other interviews for the rest of the week, I didn't, I just sat down and enjoyed the company of my kids...whoever floated in and out. I will pay for that. I have four stories plus two columns due by next Tuesday. But procrastination feels soooooo good! So...I'd ...

It's foggy here on the Knolltop.....and cool. My sweetcorn is planted and I now have authorization to plant the rest of my garden! Yes, the farming gods came down and planted eight rows of corn leaving me enough space for the rest of my garden. Now, I've got to find the time to go get the seeds and actually plant them! I made Mr. Darvan stop and pose for the picture, he even smiled! He has no idea how world famous he is now. As you might of guessed, this crop farmer isn't into blogs, in fact he had no idea what a blog was. Nor was he interested in finding out! He just loves planting his crops and watching them grow. At last count, Jake said he farms around 2700 acres. Oh, that's right, you're not supposed to tell how many acres you farm....oops! JW had a game last evening, they got beat by last year's State Baseball Champions, the Reading Rangers. The score was 6-1, so I guess that wasn't a bad outing considering who they were playing. Tonight he has...

Who had the best Mothers Day? ME! Good morning from an overcast, 40 degree Knolltop! Yesterday was another great day for this mom. It started with my most favorite morning greeting in the world...."You stay in bed honey, the kids and I are going to do the chores!" YES! So, I dropped back into bed and obeyed! I slept until 6:30 and then finally got up and made breakfast for everyone....since we were out of cereal and I didn't want my kids to have to come in from the barn and then scrounge around the kitchen trying to make anything from scratch. Although, I don't think they were planning making breakfast....but....you never know so I saved them the trouble. When we got home from church, I changed clothes and settled in for a rainy day Sunday afternoon nap. When I woke up, I heard whispering...something was up....but what? I went to the kitchen and started making cookies and took some ground beef out for hamburgers on the grill. The older boys were getting ready...

It's another sunny morning here on the Knolltop, but not warm enough to wear shorts....yet. Yesterday there were some comments on whether I was a working mom or not. It's funny, if you count up the hours I spend in the barn doing chores....it does add up and could be considered a job. But since I don't have to shower, put on make up and dress in business attire, I don't consider it a job. Especially since I just walk across the road to work. Actually, it's become more of a physical work out and if I don't do it, then I can't eat like a horse! Not only can I wear garage sale clothing, I get to spend quality time arguing with my husband while we make a living together. Plus, my children get to work along side of us...they love that! NOT! So, all in all, I still consider myself a stay at home mom. I really have the best of both worlds.....am I spoiled or what?! And these FFA ties...an instructional page on how to tie a tie in the FFA handbook! That...

It is a cool, kind of cloudy, kind of sunny day here on the Knolltop. I'm finally going to be home all day today. I really don't know how all of you working women do it! I was away from the farm for three hours on Tuesday and Wednesday and I feel so behind the eight ball! I've got a full slate today of things to get done and because I was gone, it seems very overwhelming. How do women who leave at 7 am and get home at 4 pm keep their households running? All I can think of is the laundry they must have to do each night....and the meals they have to cook without the benefit of being home all day long to procrastinate the preparation! I guess they are really good at delegating their duties to the rest of the family and they have to be great time managers. Tonight is the Spring concert at the school. Luke and Sarah will be performing. You know what that means? I have to make sure their black pants and white shirts are neatly starched and pressed. And that I find the bl...

Good Morning from a windy, cool Knolltop. It was a busy day yesterday as I left to teach 5th and 6th grade students about Conservation. First, I was late...why? Because I'm terrible at managing my time! Then I had to extend my lesson because one of the schools didn't sign up. So I had the kids longer than I had expected...so what did I do? Dairy promotion of course! I talked about the benefits of dairy products. And those kids are so great....they love dairy products! So it was very easy to promote to a group who loves what you produce. When I got home, I warmed up leftovers for dinner and Bobby headed for the game while Luke and I headed to the barn and Sarah headed for volleyball practice. After chores, I picked Sarah up and dropped Jake off for baseball practice. Because it had been a day of running....I treated myself to some ice cream while I watched Jake's practice. Ice cream always makes things better. JW's game was delayed by lightening for a while, but they end...

Good Morning from the residence of the newly elected President of the Michigan FFA Region 2! Yes, JW was elected President yesterday and was quite excited about it. He called me on his way home from camp to tell me..that was how excited he was. When they got home, he told me all about the speeches and even recited his....of course he hadn't written it down or anything it was all impromptu...but what I heard was very good. I'm so proud of him! Luke gave me the run down of who won what...and most importantly, who he has recruited for his 3 on 3 basketball team for next years camp! Of course, that means that all those boys have to be elected as officers in their own FFA chapter in order to be there. I don't think he cares about those details, he just will not lose to a team of girls again! Jake and I got the lawn mowed and trimmed yesterday. He mowed when he was not riding with Mr. Darvan on the planter. They planted beans yesterday and yes, my garden is all tilled up...

Good Morning from the sunny Knolltop. The house feels empty without the two older boys here. But I do have to say, it's peaceful. Yesterday at FFA officer training camp, the boys were in the 3 on 3 basketball tournament and from what I hear, it wasn't pretty. They lost to a team of freshman girls. Luke fouled out....but of course, according to him, the girls got all the calls! I guess this girls team took out a few teams of boys and were going to be in the finals last night. It's good to be humbled every once in a while. They had invited me to the banquet for an award. When I got there, I sat with the North Adams group and we had a very nice dinner. After dinner they gave out Honorary degrees and guess who earned herself another one! Yes, the girl who was never in FFA in school now has a Honorary Degree from Michigan Region 2 and from Stryker, Ohio! And I didn't have to give a speech, memorize a creed, learn parlimentary procedure or study about global trade! When I lef...

Good Sunday Morning! It's clear and cool here on the Knolltop and the big boys are getting ready to head to FFA Regional Officer camp. All the officers from each FFA chapter in our region gather at a campgrounds and do training stuff for two days. Now, I'm not sure what 3 on 3 basketball tournaments have to do with officer training, but that's all I've heard about for a week. Luke is worried because the boys on their officer team aren't the star basketball players and of course, Luke wants to win the tournament. It doesn't matter if it's the NCAA championship game or go fish...Luke wants to win! As I sit here listening to them talk about the camp in the other room, they are strategizing their game. From what I've read, they will be electing their Region 2 officers at this camp. JW is slated for President, if he doesn't get it then he will be Vice President. He doesn't know that yet....it's a secret...but like Bobby, JW doesn't read...

It's another warm day here on the Knolltop! I'm still waiting for my garden to be turned over one more time. You see, I have no control over when I plant my garden, that's up to the farming gods. This is a picture of the farming gods in my neighborhood. There are a few farming gods around here and they determine my planting time every year. They go over the garden plot with their four wheel drive tractors, 100 foot disks and cultivators and then I think it's ready to plant. Just about the time I get done planting seven rows of peas and I run into the house to get the knife to cut the seed potatoes, I hear the roar of another farming god. They run through my garden again....scattering the seeds I just planted. So then I play the waiting game. Will they go over it again? Or not? Are they done doing the headlands? Are they going to spray it with something? Just how many times will they groom my garden plot? They are the farming gods...of course they make it so it's th...

The first day of May and it's gonna be a good one here on the Knolltop. It's forecasted to be sunny and 70. I still have to get a new belt for the mower. I made the trip to TSC last night with my three boys...yes...all three of them were with me, no practice, no games, no parties, no nothing...they were all with me! And boy have I learned to appreciate the time spent with them. They are so much fun to have around! After looking through 677 belts I came to the conclusion they didn't have my size. So I have to go to a dealer today and get one which means it will be more expensive...of course. After TSC we headed to the grocery store and then we just had to get ice cream at the Udder Side. Life is good when you're licking a scoop of Moose Tracks while driving down the road laughing at the antics of three boys that you absolutely love so much you would lay down your life for! Where was Sarah you ask? She didn't want to come...she didn't have any money and r...