Batting A Thousand

 

Today's version of Kim's County Line marks my 1,000th post. You'd have thought I'd have run out of things to say by now, right? Some of you probably think I have.

But, here I am at yet another milestone. I started the blog on January 24, 2010. So I guess it's fitting that the 1,000th post also corresponds with the week I celebrate my four-year anniversary of blogging.

Why Kim's County Line? As I wrote in my very first blog post four years ago, I live on the Stafford/Reno County line in Kansas. This blog certainly has had stories from my life on this country road and as a farm wife.

When considering this name, I looked up "line" in the dictionary. And County Line seemed even more appropriate when I looked at the myriad of definitions:

**A horizontal row of written or printed characters;
**A course of conduct, action or thought;
**A field of activity or interest;
**A succession of musical notes, especially considered in melodic phrases (I do love my music!);
**A glib, often persuasive, way of talking (probably not so much);
**The words making up a part in a drama (there ARE some dramatic moments around here on occasion).

When I started, I posted six days a week, so in 2010, I had 265 blog posts. In 2011, it was 261, and in 2012, my total was 250. Last year, I had my fewest number, 211, since I took a "blog-cation" or two along the way when we traveled to Kentucky, when Kinley came to the farm and during holidays. With this post, my 2014 total is at "lucky" 13.

Each quarter, I've published the blog posts and photos into hardcover books. I didn't want to lose all that work and the family history if the internet some day decided to eat Kim's County Line for lunch. The 16 books make a pile almost a foot high. I'm running out of room on the TV cabinet shelves.

These days, I usually say that my blog is a mix of farm, family, faith, food and photography. I am certainly no Pioneer Woman in terms of blog followers or page hits. It can be frustrating if I play the comparison game. Comparison is never healthy, though it's human (at least this version of human struggles mightily with it). Some days, I do question the time and effort I put into it. But, then I consider: What is gained?

I think writing has made me more aware. For some of the posts about farming, I've approached the task like the reporter I am. I've "interviewed" my farmer and written down his answers. I've asked the questions and listened carefully, instead of halfheartedly, so I could answer the "whys" and "wherefores" of a modern farming operation.

I've noticed the beauty all around me, and I've taken thousands of photographs to document the magnificence of simple things - of rainbows and ice on fences and sunflowers along ditches and baby calves nestled against their mamas. And I've come to realize how precious these little glimpses of time are.

I used this photo of a sunrise after a 2007 ice storm as my first blog header photo.

I look at Kim's County Line a little like a journal or diary. Maybe, someday, I'll have a great-grandchild or even a stranger know a little about life in the early 21st century on a Kansas farm. But instead of finding it written in cursive on a paper page, it will be documented in the photos and words captured in one little piece of the internet.

I do thank those of you who visit my little spot on the internet - whether it's every time I post or just on occasion. Thanks for joining me on the journey.