Knolltop Farm Wife

Well, this computer is still not working properly. I just got the thing back and right in the middle of something important, the thing shuts down due to overheating! This thing had never done this before....now I have to take it back to the computer guy. I've had enough! So, I have no idea how long I will be out this time, but I'll be back...at some point! I hope!

I'm here in the computer store working on their display model...my computer is corrupted! So I won't be posting here for a couple of days....I'm trying to get the guy to get my computer done pronto! Okay, so see you in a couple of days.... now the guy is asking me about church...gotta go!

It's another balmy morning here on the Knolltop. I love this warm weather! Because many of you don't get the Farmshine, the Farmers' Advance or Farmworld, I think I'll put my column in today. But before I do, I just wanted to mention the games last night. While Sarah was selling baked goods at the FFA bake sale, Luke's team beat Pittsford and JW's team got beaten. Jake will have his first game tomorrow, he's so excited! Okay, here's my column from this week. Truth from the Trenches by Melissa Hart I want to be a farmer. Waking up to -20 degrees this morning the words coming out of my mouth are not “I want to be a farmer.” Rather, “I don’t want to be a farmer today” is more like it. But after reading an essay written by a six year old little girl in the most recent issue of the Michigan Farm News I can see again why farming is a special way of life. Addy Battel of Elkton, Michigan wrote about her desire to be a farmer when she grew up. Like many children ...

Oh my heaven's it was in the 20s today when we walked across the road to milk this morning!!!!!! A virtual heatwave has hit the Knolltop ! Now I have to brag about my husband a bit...so please indulge me. Because men today get a bad rap about everywhere you turn, I like to make sure we highlight the great things they do to make our lives so much better on a daily basis....but I know I've not always done that. The other day when I had a meeting in Lansing, I knew I would be sliding in right at dinner time so I made sure I had the main dish in the oven with the timer on it so the oven would turn on automatically when it needed to so we would have a hot meal when I slid in. I just happened to mention to Bobby that we would be having leftovers for dinner and that I would pick up the kids and be home just in time to put supper on the table. (Yes we eat early, before chores so I don't have to cook afterward) I had the table set before I left but that was it. When I got home ...

It's a clear, sunny morning here on the Knolltop....and not to mention cold. It seems there is a conspiracy to beef up the Michigan Holstein Board of Directors...or so it seems to me. Between the President and Executive secretary of the association and Mooville Creamery, owned and operated by the wonderful Westendorp Family of Nashville, Michigan the MHA board is sure to gain a few extra pounds by the time their board term is up. The first line of attack was the seasonal favorite, Eggnog. Yes, at the November meeting, Mr. Doug Westendorp came in carrying a cooler full of not only fresh milk from the creamery but wonderfully thick chocolate milk and yes bottles of fresh, creamy, thick eggnog. I went to the cooler and without a thought I picked up a bottle of eggnog and downed it in no time. After enjoying this dairy treat I decided to see what was in it. After further inspection I noticed the caloric content and was astounded when I read that one bottle has 800 calories in it...

It's another clear, cold morning here on the Knolltop. Has anyone ever had an owl in their stable before? The other morning when I was absolutely freezing to death while milking I saw this bird fly through the stable. We have birds come in during the spring and summer, but not in the dead of winter so it kind of took me by surprise. So much so that I stopped what I was doing to follow the bird. It landed on the waterpipe and I moved in closer for a better look. It was a bigger bird and as I got closer I noticed it was an Owl! I don't see owls up close and personal so this was really cool. I ran into the milk house to get Bobby and by the time we got back out it was gone. I looked all over the barn but couldn't find it. When I noticed the cows with milkers on had their eyes sucked back into the eye sockets, I thought I'd better get back to the job at hand. I've got a meeting in Lansing today for Michigan Holstein Association, but no games tonight. Last nigh...

It's a clear, cold morning here on the Knolltop and I'm waiting very impatiently for the 50 degree weather that Pryorvu said he was having in Montana! It's got to come here...it's just got to. I'm done with winter, officially. I've had it with cold weather, wind, frozen water bowls, broken waterlines, hair dryers, endless buckets of hot water, flooded mangers, flooded gutters, wet stalls, paper bags stuck in cracks and crevices, screw drivers, ratchet wrenches and mooing cows. All I'm going to say is that Saturday except for about 3 hours in the middle of the day we were in the barn from 4 am - 10:30 pm thawing and fixing and plumbing and milking and bedding and feeding. That's it...that's all I'm going to say.....I refuse to relive that day. But I will say this, I've got to have the four most tenacious, determined farm kids in the world. They stuck with us all day long, never wavering, always keeping a good sense of humor and rejoicing ...