Dad's "Sweet" Tooth

A tradition that has lasted at least four generations on our farm now is planting sweet potatoes. I think I've mentioned before that I don't even like to eat the things. But planting and harvesting them each year is something I have very fond memories of. As kids my grandpa would assign my sister and I jobs to help him with planting. We would either poke a hole in the ground with the stick so he had a hole to place the plant in, or we lugged a small cup of water to water the plant after he had placed it in the ground.

This summer, I was pregnant with my sweet Baby Farmgirl while I helped my dad plant them. However, I didn't get to help with the harvest because she was a little hungry. But she is the fourth generation in our family to help ;-)

But my dad is always quite proud and glad to share the bounty of his sweet potato crop. So here are some pictures of his crop this year.

We usually wait until after the first hard freeze to harvest the potatoes. But some pesky rats forced dad's hand this year. It is hard to know how big this potato would have been, but dad lost a big part of his crop to the rats. Dad doesn't remember ever having this problem before.

We should have some pretty healthy rats around our place. They sure did a number some of the potatoes.

I noticed something else different on the potatoes this year. I'm not sure if you can see it in the picture above, but the potatoes looked like they had veins running down the side of them. Weird.

 

This is my hand holding the largest potato. I think Dad said it weighed 2 1/4 pounds. 

That would be a meal in itself!

 

Some of them had some splits in them and you could also see the rat teeth marks on this one.

Dad also said the most potatoes he got off of one root was over 8 pounds. 

Seeing how big these guys are almost makes me want to eat a sweet potato...almost.

Weaning Preparation

It is the time of year that is typically very loud around our household. This is about the time every year when we wean the calves from their mothers. This usually requires sorting the calves from the cows and then putting the calves in a corral while their moms are in the pasture right next to it. And both those corrals and pasture are within two hundred feet or so of our house.It is loud because the cows and calves are always looking for each other and it involves a lot of mooing and bawling.

This year my husband wanted to try a slightly different approach after hearing that it had worked fairly well for a neighbor of ours.

These are what I call nose flaps. I'm not sure if that is the correct term, but it fairly accurately describes them.

They look sort of ridiculous, but they have a very smart function. After these are placed in their noses, they can remain with their mothers to reduce the stress of weaning. However, the placement of the flap actually prevents them from being able to drink from their mothers yet still be able to drink water and eat grass.

Weaning is always a stressful event no matter if it is humans or animals. Yet, it is a necessary event to take place. That's why ranchers are always looking for the least stressful manner in which to do it. Along with the nose flaps, we also give them a couple of shots meant to boost their immune system during this time. If you are like me, you know that the most stressful times in your life are when your body and immune system take the biggest hits. It is necessary to keep the calves in the best health possible to allow them to get through the process of weaning and also to keep them gaining weight and growing like they need to.

Now, in theory, the nose flaps seem ingenious. However we did figure out some drawbacks. For starters, they aren't the easiest things to put in.

Some of the calves also lost the nose flap almost immediately after being released from the chute. We just kicked them out into the smaller corral and kept them all there together until we were finished. This created a confined space with the calves bumping and rubbing up against each other and created many opportunities for the flaps to be knocked out. Those that lost the nose flap had to then be run back through the chute again. Lesson learned for next time.

Sitting on the sidelines while working cattle is never easy for me. So Baby Farmgirl and I headed outside for a bit to check out the action. As soon as I got her outside she seemed right at home with all the commotion of the gates and mooing cattle. It is hard to decide when it is ok for her to be outside (there is usually a lot of dirt in the air along with it usually being pretty warm days when we work with cattle), but we also want to give her as much exposure to our way of life as we can. It's never too early to start learn what our family loves to do.

Casserole Kindness

It seems that I have been oblivious to a lot of things during my life. After having Baby Farmgirl, I have figured out that I was clueless about the western Kansas etiquette after someone has a baby.

You see, this photo might look like a lowly ol' casserole dish. But it is so much more.

During those first sleep-deprived weeks, my husband and I were just struggling to get from day to day and learn the joys and tribulations that come with having a child. It was all I could do just to keep her fed, let along figure out meals for the adults in the household.

This is where the casserole dish comes into play. I'm not sure if this is a custom in other parts of the country or world, but I have to contend that I feel like it is something fairly unique to small communities. You see, when we were barely functioning, we had neighbors, friends, and family members showing up at our house with meals! It...was...AWESOME! My high school friend actually sent us home from the hospital with one meal and breakfast burritos in tow.

It is safe to say that my husband and I were very well fed. My mother filled in the gaps when we didn't have a meal already supplied and she would call us to tell us she would be bringing us a meal. And if she wasn't bringing us a meal, she was bringing us dessert (which in my husband's opinion is probably better).

You see, this casserole dish represents so much more than keeping us physically fed. It represents love, thoughtfulness, compassion and so many more things. We were being fed physically and spiritually. I am horrible at writing thank you notes. I always intend to and then the moment gets away from me and months later I still haven't managed to write any. Then I just hope that my countless thank yous to them while receiving the gift will suffice.

So, in case any of you reading this are the people that supplied meals or showered us with gifts for our dear Baby Farmgirl, please know that you are not forgotten. We love you all so much and can never thank you enough for all that you have done for us. I only hope that we may one day be able to repay the kindness that you all have shown us.

Oh, and days after we had been receiving all sorts of house guests, I realized this was the sight that greeted them as soon as they exited their vehicles to walk up our front sidewalk.

Nothing says "welcome to the farm" like the dogs leaving a strategically placed jaw bone from a deceased animal in their pathway. Nice.

Baby Rookies

As most of you already know, we have welcomed our own Baby Farmgirl. That will be how I refer to her on here and I probably won't really post many pictures just to be on the safe side.

I wanted to do this post as a letter to Baby Farmgirl about what we, her parents, have learned during her first few weeks of life.

Dear Baby Farmgirl,

The following are just a few things we have learned in the nearly 3 weeks we have known you.

#1. Our lives are no longer our own.

• It took us a bit to realize this, but it was confirmed for us before we left the hospital. When you spend over 6 hours waiting on a four-day-old baby to pee, it is a humbling experience. The lights they had you on for your jaundice ended up dehydrating your poor little body and you had to pee before they would allow us to leave the hospital. The best words in the world that day were the words your daddy yelled at around 8 o'clock that night. "The line turned blue!" You see, the awesome diapers they had on you had a little yellow stripe that turned blue if you peed. There was a lot of checking the line that day, and your dad and I (along with the nurse on duty) were ecstatic when it finally turned blue.

#2. Two baby rookies take a long time to change your diapers and change your clothes....and second guess themselves every step of the way.

• It was quite embarrassing to change your diaper for the first time at the hospital. Thankfully the nurses did not laugh at us and answered every ridiculous question I had. Your daddy stood there and told me how I should be doing it...but certainly didn't do it himself. We talk to you with excited voices the entire time we dress you. Things like, "Annnndddd, there we got the second arm!" This isn't really for your benefit. It is mostly to make ourselves feel good about the huge accomplishment we just achieved...and then you promptly spit-up or poop on whatever we just got you changed into.

#3. Your daddy can stand at the back end of a cow with no problem and used to ride bulls, but standing at the back end of you when you decide to release the contents of your stomach...well, he can fly out of the room pretty quick. 

• I think it is a man thing. I have problems seeing you cry (it breaks my heart when the tears start) and have a hard time stomaching it when we have to suction out your nose, but when it comes to cleaning up the mess you leave behind on the towel during your sponge-bath, I guess I have the stronger stomach. I thought your daddy was kidding as he was gagging and running out of the room. Long story made short and a lot of laughter later...he wasn't kidding.

#4. Ronda Rousey is the top female fighter in the world at this time. But put her in a room with you in the middle of the night and she will fold like a weakling and beg for mercy.

• Your daddy and I still haven't figured out how 8 lbs. of sheer will can dominate two full-sized adults and render them useless.

#5. We have transitioned to the stage of never leaving the house without a diaper bag.

• We made that mistake once...and won't make it again. And now that I said that, we will probably forget it the next time we go somewhere.

#6. You are a miracle.

• From your fuzzy little ears to your beautiful little face, every last bit of you is a miracle and we are so blessed.

#7. You are worth it all.

• Before you were born, I was scared senseless to be a mom. I'm still scared, but now I understand why it is worth it. People kept telling me all the negatives of having a newborn and that only fueled my anxieties. But when I see your beautiful blue eyes staring at me, or when you snuggle up against me, or when your tiny little fingers tap ever-so-softly against my skin while you are eating, you steal my heart. And don't tell anybody this...but you have stolen your daddy's heart, too ;-)

I'm sure there are so many more things that I want to put on here, but here's the kicker....I'm sleep deprived and can only remember things so long.

For now we are enjoying the $30 purchase me made yesterday at Walmart. The cheap little bouncy chair is giving me the most relief since we had you. When I first placed you in it yesterday, you laid back, gave a little smirk and went right to sleep. Now, if we can only get that same reaction out of you at 1 in the morning when you are screaming at us that you don't want to go to sleep. One step at a time, Baby Rookies, one step at a time.

Love you so much,
Momma Farmgirl

P.S.
This is how your hair looks the majority of the time and we think it is adorable when it sticks up. I hope that you are still satisfied when it does this as you get older. This or a ponytail are about the only options your fashion-challenged momma will be able to handle ;-)

Cuteness Overload

Since I have been talking about them this summer, I figured it was probably about time to include a few more pics of the puppies that have taken over our farm this summer.

They are cute as can be and very enthusiastic to greet visitors!

 

It is hard for them to contain all of their wiggles, so a picture of all of them is very difficult to get. I got all but two in this picture. Yep, that's right, there are 10 of them!

 

Hey there cutie!

 

"C'mon guys, don't you wanna come out here and have fun with me?"

Being a pregnant Farmgirl

So, now that the baby is almost here, I'm going to write a few things that I might or might not have known about pregnancy before. And when you are a pregnant farmgirl, well, it just makes it that much more entertaining for some people. This is a bit long and I won't be the least bit offended if you don't read it. I added some pics from the internet to give some illustrations ;-)

#1. The references between you and pregnant farm animals are endless.
I have been known to make a few of these references myself in the past. But when you are surrounded by farmers in a farming community...well, farmers aren't exactly known for handling things in the classiest way sometimes. You have to learn to take it with a grain of salt when someone tells you, "You're starting to look like that ol' gray sway-backed mare!"

#2. You are suddenly not allowed to do things you have done for probably the last 30 years...and will immediately be allowed to do them again as soon as the baby is out of your body.
Suddenly I wasn't supposed to lift more than 20 pounds (and apparently a bowling ball is nearly that much although I swear it felt lighter). I probably also wasn't supposed to be crawling over fences (but that was the best way to get into the barn to see the puppies). I wasn't supposed to push around furniture (hey, they could have done it before I finally did).  I wasn't supposed to use the riding lawnmower either (but I asked the doctor and they said it was fine as long as it wasn't on the side of a huge hill where the mower would roll over.)

#3. When I DID want to use pregnancy as an excuse to get out of something, they weren't having it. 
You know, things like doing the dishes, carrying a huge laundry basket full of clothes, cooking a meal, cleaning up mouse poop, vacuuming, dusting, etc.

#4. I did kind of miss my feet.
I could still see my feet and reach my feet if I needed to. But the summer time is the one time I actually paint my toenails because I wear flip-flops all the time. The last time I was able to paint them was in May before high school graduation...and it involved a lot of grunting and shortness of breath. My husband refused to paint them for me, so I had naked toenails through the summer.

#5. No one tells you that now when your stomach growls, it sounds like it is in your chest. And that is simply because that is pretty much where it is now relocated.
I still can't get over hearing my stomach growl that close to my face. It is just a very weird thing to feel.

#6. Simply getting off the couch is now a very serious accomplishment that I think should be considered a new Olympic event.
I miss the days of not having to find a handhold on the couch to pull myself up with, or using my husband to push off of when I need to get up off of the couch. It isn't pretty folks. And it is a multiple-stage process.

#7. I really, really, really, really miss my jeans.
Spandex or elastic becomes a girl's best friends during pregnancy. You appreciate it much more when you really drag out wearing your regular jeans and pants until the last possible moment before switching to maternity clothing. Wearing the regular pants isn't the most pleasant thing in the world when you feel like your body is being cut into half every time you try to lean over an pick something up. However, wearing non-stop clothing with elastic around the waistband gets a bit tiresome. Especially when those pants stretch out while wearing them and you spend half the time pulling them back up.

#8. The pregnant body and all the awkwardness and uncomfortable things that go with it are an endless source of amusement for my husband and pretty much any man.
Enough said on this one. A man will just never fully be able to understand it.

#9. Going to the county fair while nearly 9 months pregnant means that you will never be able to walk from point A to point B without the following conversation.
Acquaintance: "Hey there! So you still haven't had the baby?"
Me: "Nope"
A: "How are you feeling?"
Me: "Fat" (It just got to where I didn't know what to say)
A: "Oh, you don't look fat. But I feel for you having to be pregnant during the hot summer."
Me: "Thanks"
A: "So have you had any contractions yet?"
Me: "Nope."
A: "When are you due?"
Me: "A week and a half."
A: "Well, next year you will have a little one with you at the fair."
Me: "Yep"
A: "Enjoy this year while you can."
Me: "Thanks."

Then I would walk about 10 steps and repeat the same conversation with someone else.

#10. When you go to a birthing class with your husband, you are already aware of some of the things that come along with pregnancy because of watching cows birth calves for years on end.
At one point the nurses teaching the class discussed that some people want to see the placenta after it has passed and they asked if I would want to do that. I quickly said, "Why would people do that? I'm a farmgirl, I've seen it plenty with cows...so I'm good!"

Well, if you made it to the end of this, CONGRATS! I hope it was at least a little on the entertaining side. Hopefully next time I make a post it will be with a little one napping soundly somewhere close to me.
 

Another Project Completed!

Today I put the finishing touches on the last painting project I have been updating you on. I just had to put another coat of white paint on in a few spots, finish the brown parts and then have dad cut off the top 10 inches of the board.

Here it is before the top 10 inches were cut off:

 During the project, I had quite a bit of company in the big shed. For one thing, the very first day I was in there, at least four or five mice went scurrying away from pretty much right under where my project was situated. I talked to dad and we got that situation remedied as much as we could. We relocated the project away from the seed bags and then he put out some mouse traps.

I think I still heard a few mice today, but at least I had the dogs to keep the mice away...oh wait. This is about as motivated as our dogs get while in the shed. I think my dog did raise her head once when she heard a mouse. I promise they are alive. They really like laying on that cool concrete though. Mom and dad's dog isn't exactly the smartest one once in a while. It cracked me up the day that he moved from his previous spot to under the trailer, that was parked inside the shed...apparently it was cooler in the shade ;-)

 

Anyway, that might be it for big projects for a while. The biggest project of our lives is about start. This week is a when our baby is due! She will probably have a flair for the dramatic though and take her own sweet time making her entrance into the world ;-)