Knolltop Farm Wife

The baby of the family has a lot of advantages but on the farm, if the baby is a boy this can work to his disadvantage, especially if he likes to run equipment but has older brothers who never vacate the tractor seat long enough for the youngest to get a chance to do anything. Luke and JW have their strengths when it comes to the farm scene.  JW is good with the cows and seems to enjoy working with them while Luke is the tractor man. He would rather load, unload, drive or wrench on anything that moves on wheels. Jake on the other hand would love to drive stuff, but gets the leftovers of the farm.  He does everything from mowing the lawn to folding the laundry.  His duties range from feeding calves and helping mix feed to making hot chocolate and keeping us from ever hearing silence. But yesterday he got a chance to be pure farmboy. While normally on a Sunday everyone does what they want....anything but work, the neighbor had a different plan in mind which included ...

While I reminisced about football yesterday, the North Adams JV volleyball team was on the brink of an undefeated season and when the left Hillsdale Academy they left undefeated!  This is a great accomplishment but unfortunately because they are "Just JV" they will stand in the shadows of a really great varsity team--which also left the floor last evening as league champions. This awesome JV team also worked hard and came home tournament champions two weeks in a row. Beating some great teams, these girls pushed through and played like winners. This varsity team, much like their male counterparts are used to winning and have proven that this season. Next week they will begin district play and should go deep into the play-offs!  I look forward to watching this team of girls play with heart and come out on top!

If was finished last Friday night. They didn't want it to be done, in fact, they thought there may have been a chance they could keep going but mistakes, overconfidence, anger and apathy were the leading cast of characters that determined their destiny that ended their hopes of ever going any futher.  Instead they will turn their uniforms in today for the last time. It was parent's night last week at North Adams-Jerome on the gridiron. The boys lined up in numerical order and waited as their parents were introduced taking their place in a line across the field. With roses in hand, some mothers were crying while proud fathers held in their emotion as the senior boys walked up the 50 yard line flanked by the two people who supported them, loved them and watched them succeed and fail over the years. I took my pink rose, hugged Lukie and we held hands as we stood and cheered for the other boys. While I wasn't nearly as emotional about this evening as other ...

It's a cool, blustery, kind of rainy day on the Knolltop.  The chores are done for the morning and now Bobby is hauling manure....an endless job it seems. It's a strange Friday, we have no games tonight which is kind of nice. After chores we can just come in and relax instead of changing quick and heading to a school like we've done for the last three nights.  While Bobby was at Sarah's game and Jake was working the chain gang and JW was at class, Luke and I milked the cows and reconnected. Although I don't always enjoy getting up early every morning or stopping everything I'm doing at 4:30 in the afternoon to go milk cows, when I get to spend an hour with one of my kids and we can carry on an unterrupted conversation about the Tigers, college plans, the ACT, the football season or whether Walmart spagettios are as good as Franco-American, then it makes it all worth it. Many life decisions are made inbetween dipping, wiping and milking.

It happens every night they are home together. The quiet conversation between two brothers as they meet in the kitchen to catch up on each other's lives.  They are as opposite as day and night. One is focused, the other is not. One is quiet, the other is not. One is endearing, the other is direct. But over the years they have followed each other around through good and bad and have cultivated a unbreakable bond. Last night as I lay in bed I could hear them. One was doing dishes and the other eating spagettios out of a pan. Snickering and laughing their conversation could not be detected. It's too hushed, too quiet, too private. On one hand I would love to hear what they talk about, but on the other I realize it's just meant for brothers to hear, not for moms. So I will continue to lay in my bed and listen to the brothers giggle and laugh knowing that as they share each other's lives they continue to add a layer of strength onto their already solid friendship and thank...

Needless to say it's a busy place around the Knolltop with beautiful weather now hanging on for about three weeks.  I've gotten zilch done because this is the first week I've been home or without some major event happening in three weeks. First I went to Harrisburg, PA for the All American Dairy Show with Danielle Nauman and had a great, but quick time.  We drove all night, not recommended for two middle aged women, got to the show and began our show coverage which didn't quit until we left after the show.  Then we had two days to get ready for the county fair. This wasn't too bad since the kids are older and I've limited how many projects they take.  Plus the kids can take care of the cattle without me, which is sooooo nice.  Then I left the next week for World Dairy Expo.  I had a great time there too, but I think I'm too old for this kind of schedule.  I feel like I'm still recovering. I drove all night from Madison to get home at 5 am Frida...

This is ridicules that I haven't posted a blog since April! Ahhhh! I guess that Dairy Agenda Today blog gets all the attention. Not that I haven't been compelled to post something here, almost every day there is something that occurs to me to post, but I just keep running out of time.  And of course I have a gillion pictures that I want to post but it seems whenever I post pictures here, they take forever to upload and I get frustrated! Boy does it feel good to get that off my chest! Now, onto the matter at hand, why I'm blogging today. First off I need to get my jump start, it's a sunny morning on the Knolltop! It's going to be a beautiful day, just the kind of day I needed to get the mowing done since my grounds crew has gone back to school. My fantasy football team, The Hart-Throbs is off and running and is the cause of upheaval in the family. I'm not sure it's worth it. I must have the dream team and don't even know it.  Luke wants two of my ...

It's prom night for Luke and his date, Jessie.  I took several pictures but when I uploaded them, they went sideways....so I'm just going to post this one for now.

The rain held off and the temps stayed warm as we enjoyed a double header against Battle Creek St. Philip last evening. Although the weather was looking 'ify' all day long, it turned out to be a lovely evening for a game.  One of the highlights was Luke's two run home in the bottom of the 6th inning (last inning of the game) to tie the game! Then they got another run in and they won 12-11! Luke was mobbed by the team as he jogged into home plate. It was a great scene but I'm afraid I didn't get very good pictures as I was just too excited!  What made it better was Gramps and Grandma were there for the whole thing! They ended up winning the second game 12-1. It was a great night for the home team! This is a rarity, Jessie wearing a Michigan State sweatshirt.  She's a U of M fan from the inside out, but she got a little chilly and had to use Luke's hoodie....so I had to get a picture of this, it may never happen again! Then Luke had to walk his girl ...

It seems like it's been a long winter here on the Knolltop.  With the snow earlier and last week the tremendous ice storm, the folks in this neck of the woods have had enough winter.  The kids were off the entire week last week because of ice! Thankfully we didn't lose power at all, oh my such a blessing from God! Having a farm is truly a test of patience on a regular basis.  With so much equipment to keep running and livestock to keep healthy, some days you just think what else can go wrong? A couple of Sunday's ago, we were finishing up chores and like he's been doing since he was in fifth grade, Luke backed the tractor and manure spreader under the gutter cleaner....well, almost. I was milking at the time when I heard the tractor making noises that weren't normal to just backing it down the hill.  No, I heard it making sounds like it was trying to get out of a bad situation.  And when a disgusted Luke walked into the barn (I could tell by his walk) I kn...

It's been a very icy week here on the Knolltop!  The kids had the week off from school simply because a bunch of frozen water...who would've thought? I had the privilege of speaking last week at the Michigan Farm Bureau Young Farmers group in a session called, Roles of Women in Agriculture.  Needless to say, I had a ball sharing with these ladies and getting to know a few more women in agriculture.  While I was away from the farm, I had my own young lady in agriculture filling my shoes at home.  My daughter Sarah took over my role to make sure everyone had something to eat and then headed to the barn to milk the cows.  When I pulled in the driveway, I hurried out to the barn to help Sarah finish the chores.  While milking, she asked how my day went and then began asking what I shared with women.  I told her that women in agriculture are a very unique group.  They are determined, hard working and tenacious.  Then she asked what tenacious m...