Knolltop Farm Wife

As I was cleaning out the pen of the girl’s miniature pony, they were bouncing around the barn, playing with the hose and doing what toddlers do when given the freedom to explore.  Suddenly I heard Madi yelling, so I looked out to find her standing on the top of the gate yelling, “ROY! ROY!” She wanted Roy, the horse, to come up from the pasture so she could see him.  As passionately as she was yelling, you would think her relationship with Roy was like the Lone Ranger and his horse Silver, inseparable.  But that’s not an accurate description of Madi and Roy. Madi calls for Roy every time we go to the barn, but as soon as Roy gets up close and personal, Madi’s fear kicks in, and she quickly backs off.  She loves him from afar and believes she wants him to come closer, until he does, and then she wants no part of him. Her relationship with Roy is much like our relationship with faith in God.  I can’t count the number of times I’ve stood on the proverbial ...

By Melissa Hart Contentment can be an elusive concept when we are constantly bombarded with influencers telling us we are missing out if we don’t buy a product or service. The highlight reels of a family on a stunning vacation or the accomplishments of their kids can send us down the path to pity in a big hurry. Or simple fall decorations on a porch can make us feel like we are falling short of the expectations the world has seemingly put on us. We can fall prey to the need to be better, belong, and be happy if we only had a little bit more. Yesterday, I was reminded by my two-year-old granddaughter that I am blessed beyond belief. As I was preparing her toast for breakfast, she was sitting on the counter, watching every slab of butter I slathered on the warm, toasted bread. Suddenly, she said, “Are those your new drawers?” She was referring to the new drawers I had built for my kitchen to replace the 50-year-old drawers that had fallen apart after decades of use. I want a new kitchen....

 By Melissa HartIt is not lost on me that I have one of the best jobs in the world. Traveling is fun but traveling to so many state fairs and cattle shows is something I have enjoyed my entire life.  I think I inherited the love of a cattle show from my mom, who would have spent her entire summer on the road showing something anywhere she could if she had not been busy with a family and a farm. When I interviewed Alta Mae Core of Salvisa, Kentucky for our DAT Extra podcast, I realized she lived that life with her parents.  They went from show to show all summer long and last weekend, as a grandmother, I followed her into Broadbent Arena with a spring calf and followed her out with the Supreme Champion of the Kentucky State Fair. There is just something about the smell of shavings and the sound of clippers with hair flying that reminds us that we are near people we can relate to….we are home. We started our state fair coverage in Columbus at the Ohio State Fair. This f...

 On our 250 th birthday of the great experiment called the United States of America, there is so much patriotic content to consume and I’m here for every bit of it. The choirs singing patriotic songs, the flag that is being carried on foot by country loving patriots from Washington state to Washington DC and the constant barrage of fireworks from freedom loving Americans is just what this country needs. This beautiful yet battered experiment of people wanting to be free from the tyranny of a king needs to be front and center for every American citizen.  The FIFA World Cup has brought in visitors from around the world who are discovering America for the first time and loving it.  They love our freedom. They love our free refills and they love the beauty from corner to corner that is America. They have given us a gift. They have reminded us that we have taken for granted that we live freely, speak freely and travel freely through a country filled with like-minded y...

 Who is excited about artificial intelligence and data centers? My social media algorithm must have picked up on my skepticism of AI, because lately it has been feeding me anti-AI videos with a vengeance. I can’t say I’m upset about it. I recently watched clips from two college graduations where featured speakers praised the promise of AI — only to be booed by the graduates. The next generation does not seem entirely sold on AI, and honestly, that gives me hope. We are living through one of the worst eras of graphic design. Social media is flooded with AI-generated images that all seem to share the same crowded, overworked look. They are often so busy that the main message gets lost. For people without design experience, AI can feel like an easy shortcut — an instant file that creates the illusion of creativity while depending entirely on the work of human designers who came before it. Think about it: there is nothing truly original about AI. Nothing. There is no human ha...

It was a situation I glossed over.  I didn’t have to deal with it every single day but it was often enough for me to go to my Bible study group and submit it as a prayer request.  They would listen to me and invariably one or two of them would tell me, “You’ve got to take care of that. Get rid of it.” I knew I should, but I didn’t want to face the conflict and I was fearful of the consequences.  Life would not be the same. I would have to find other avenues to fill the void that the resolution would create. So instead of facing it once and for all, I worked around it.  I figured out ways to deal with it. My work was suffering because of it, but I kept making excuses that it would get better over time.  If I just kept feeding the monster, it would be satisfied, and things would work out. But that’s not what happened. I had sleepless nights of worry; I was short-tempered and spent a lot of time wringing my hands and waiting for a better result. Before you start ...