Knolltop Farm Wife

I just about spit out my coffee while reading a recent email that proposed I take over a certain position.  It would mean a commitment to something I barely knew anything about.  It would mean I would lead a group of people who didn’t even know me.  And it would mean a sacrifice of time, energy, learning, and compassion.  As fast as the email came in, was about as fast as the thought exited my mind.  I wasn’t qualified.  I had no time for this. My knowledge was way below average, and I could name about 10,000 other things I would be better suited for.  I can’t tell you how many times this has happened to me.  An idea was introduced, and I immediately dismissed it as something I could never do.  Motherhood, writing, homeschooling, backing a manure spreader down a hill into position, starting an IV in a cow, the list goes on and on of things I said I could NEVER do and yet found myself doing exactly that. My problem is, I think I should...

 “Sometimes it’s better to appear a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” That was a quote my dad repeated often. Not in a derogatory way, but he knew that I needed to listen more and talk less. I was the talker in the family.  My report cards from elementary school always had a comment from the teacher about excessive talking in class.  I was constantly ‘shushed’ at the library, so much so that I hated going there. Why would we all go into a room and not talk? While I’ve tempered my tongue slightly, I still tend to ask questions, make suggestions without being asked and I usually speak up when I should quiet down. While at a show recently, I suggested to the ring steward that she move the final lineup of cattle to a different spot so that it was easier to get a better photo. She refused.  In fact, she didn’t speak to me for the rest of the show. I told my husband about it and he kindly explained to me that sometimes I come on a little strong. Years...

 FOMO is real and is plaguing people of every generation.  It adds anxiety, builds discontentment, robs you of your present joy, and steals every moment that would normally bring you happiness. Fear Of Missing Out. It’s funny that something that has nagged people for years now has its own abbreviation and is used on every social media platform by millions. We have all felt it.  No one wants to miss out on an opportunity of a lifetime or the chance to do something fun but what price are we willing to pay to keep FOMO at bay? Young moms everywhere have been told they can have it all, it only takes balance. They are told, if you don’t have a fulfilling career, you are missing out.  If you don’t experience all the joys of motherhood, you are missing out.  If you work full-time at an entry-level job, you are wasting your time.  If you stay home with your children you are wasting your earning potential and your family will starve. We have convinced a genera...

 On one of the hottest days of the year, I took my camera and met my son and his intended bride in the wheat field so I could snap a few photos for their engagement announcement.   Luke and Jessie have been together since 7th grade....that was 2007.  And he finally decided to propose.  She said yes, and we all said....finally! They will be married in October, but I thought I would post a few of the photos that we took last week!                                                               

I was putting the last of my things in the car while my husband was checking out of the hotel in Erie, Pennsylvania.  It was Father’s Day and we were headed home from a sale we had attended in New York.  The beautiful morning sun made for a great start to the day and while I was standing there waiting, a young dad came out and was loading luggage into his pick-up truck.  I said good morning and then curiosity got the best of me and I asked about the sticker on his back window. It said “NVR SMR.” He encouraged me to guess, so I stood for a few minutes and guessed the first one, never.  And he enthusiastically said, “Yes! You’re so close, you can do this!” And then I blurted out “Summer!  Never Summer!” He said, “YES!” And then gave me a high five. Of course the follow up question, “What does that mean?” He told me it was a brand of snowboards and that he and his family love winter and all the snow sports. We meandered down that path of where he goes, ...

 Green Meadow Farms turns 100 years old this year and, in their generosity, they invited everyone to the farm to celebrate. As they prepared for this day of celebration cleaning up the old barns and pulling out their historical photos and memorials of milestones, they discovered an entire side of Merle Green they had never seen before. According to a feature in the Michigan Dairy Cattle News, Merle Green was the organization’s founding father, purchasing the original farm at 18 years old with co-signing from his father, who owned a lumberyard. He joined the Holstein Association in 1919 at the age of 14, buying his first heifer calf at 13 when the transaction - including calf shipment - was made through the mail. As they sifted through records, photos, and transactions, they found letters written by Merle for all of his livestock pursuits. On his Greendale Stock Farm letterhead, a 14-year-old Merle Green wrote a letter to M.J. Prince in Bloomer, Wisconsin trying to sell a choice b...