Lucky No. 13

 

Sunrise, January 10, 2023

13 has a bad reputation.

High-rise buildings often refrain from listing a 13th floor. TV newscasters warn their viewers about Friday the 13th. (We just had one this month.)

But, today, No. 13 deserves a celebration. Today, January 24, marks 13 years since I first clicked "Publish" on Kim's County Line. Back in January 2010, I didn't have a clear vision of what the blog would entail. At the time, three family members were blogging. I'd been asked to write a monthly blog column for a local church group. Once I figured out the logistics, I decided to try a personal blog, too.

These days, vlogs (video blogs), podcasts, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok all have more cache than an old-fashioned blog. But Kim's County Line has persisted, even though it's evolved during the 13 years. I'm the only one in my family who is still blogging. The church group no longer makes its monthly posts. 

 

Today is my 2,155th blog post on Kim's County Line. Through the years, I say that it's evolved into a place where I talk about the four "F"s and a "PH" - farming, family, faith, food and photography. I subtitled the blog, "Camera Clicks and Commentary from a Kansas Farm Wife."

 

As I enter the 14th year of blogging, Kim's County Line is sure to evolve again. Last year, we retired from farming. In the past couple of months, as my Facebook memories come up, I realize how much I wrote about caring for cattle during the winter months. During the year, I wrote updates on crops. We still have our farm ground and our cows, but we aren't the ones doing the day-to-day work any longer. Our cows just started having babies. Since we have a liberal "visitation policy" granted by Tye and Todd who care for the cattle herd, the babies will likely make an appearance or two on the blog. But I don't have the babies in my "backyard" any longer, so there are inevitably fewer blog posts and photos. 

When I first began blogging, I posted five or six days a week. What was I thinking? In the past couple of years, I've been posting fairly consistently on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Since we retired, I've taken some hiatuses when we traveled to six National Parks in October and during the holidays. I'm going to try to feel more relaxed about missing a post. (I'm sure I'm the only one who really cares anyway.) 

No matter what, the blog has helped me track our lives on a five-generation Central Kansas farm. Having this avenue to collect words and photos has helped me to connect with our heritage and this life in a different way. It was a good avenue for connecting with landlords, letting them know what's going on at the farm and showing them through words and photos.

 

Probably the biggest impact was on me. It helped me pay attention. It made me appreciate our heritage. It's given me the opportunity to hone my photography skills. While I don't claim to be Ansel Adams, I can see how my photography has improved during the past 13 years. (Just comparing food photography from 2010 to now is startling. And that's just one example.) 

Photography and prose help me look at even the most mundane, everyday things in new ways and with new wonder. It may be something as simple as the sunrise-streaked sky or a chance rainbow smack dab in the middle of two of Kansas' biggest icons - sunflowers and wheat. The blog has given me the eyes to see how small, simple things are really the most important things of all. 

 

Since 2010, I've printed a quarterly blog book. This year, I emptied Brent's bookcase and gathered my blog books in one place. It's really kind of amazing to see all these books which contain words and images from our lives in the past 13 years. I've also used photos and poetry to write 11 children's books - mostly for my granddaughters. 

Each quarter, I write another dedication, and I invariably struggle with something to say. (Looking at those rows of books, you wouldn't think so, but ...)

 

Here's the dedication from the first quarter of 2011:

I started Kim's County Line, in part, to tell the story of our farm. It's important WE tell the story of agriculture. The tagline on the blog says, "Camera Clicks and Commentary from a Kansas Farm Wife." I hope that it also serves as a record of a period of time and a snapshot of Kansas rural life.

From 2013:

... This is dedicated to my family - the ones I love and cherish now and ones down the road who I hope will discover something about us as they read our story.

From 2014:

... We are thankful for our ancestors who also farmed this land and look forward to continuing the legacy of faith, farm and family in the years to come.

Life is always changing, and we figure out the ways we'll evolve with it. Thanks for making the journey with me! It's my blogiversary, but to celebrate, one person will get a gift from me ...

• a selection of my photo notecards, or ...

 

•  a copy of "Count on It! Adventures from a Kansas Farm" my rhyming, farm-themed counting book, ...

• OR my farm alphabet book

To qualify, either comment about this blog post in the comment section of the blog or on my Facebook page, Kim Moore Fritzemeier. Or, if you have trouble with either of those avenues, you may email me at rkjbfarms@gmail.com. The winner will be chosen at random from the commenters. Enter your comment by January 31 for a chance to win.

Again, I thank you for visiting Kim's County Line!

A Dozen: A Blogiversary

 

Sunset from my front window on The County Line, January 21, 2022

A dozen eggs.

A dozen doughnuts.

A dozen roses.

A dozen years of Kim's County Line.

On January 24, I celebrated another blogiversary. It's been a dozen years since I began Kim's County Line. When I clicked "Publish" for the first time in 2010, I didn't really have a clear vision of what the blog would entail. At the time, three family members were blogging. I'd been asked to write a monthly blog column for a local church group. Once I figured out the logistics, I decided to try a personal blog.

These days, vlogs (video blogs) and podcasts and Instagram and Twitter all have more cache than an old-fashioned blog. But Kim's County Line has persisted, even though it's evolved during the 12 years. I'm the only one in my family who is still blogging. The church group no longer makes its monthly posts. 

 

However, today is my 2,069th blog post on Kim's County Line. Through the years, I say that it's evolved into a place where I talk about the four "F"s and a "PH" - farming, family, faith, food and photography. I subtitled the blog, "Camera Clicks and Commentary from a Kansas Farm Wife."

Sunrise, January 18, 2022

For the past 12 years, my blog has helped me track our lives on a five-generation Central Kansas farm. Having this avenue to collect words and photos has helped me to connect with our heritage and this life in a different way. It's been a good avenue for connecting with landlords, letting them know what's going on at the farm and showing them through words and photos.

 

Probably the biggest impact has been on me. 

 

It's helped me pay attention. I've approached telling our story like the reporter I am. I take notes. I ask more questions. I want my farmer's "farm speak" translated in a way that makes sense to me so I can share it with others. 

 

It's given me the opportunity to hone my photography skills. While I don't claim to be Ansel Adams, I can see how my photography has improved during the past 12 years. (Just comparing food photography from 2010 to now is startling. And that's just one example.) 

Photography and prose help me look at even the most mundane, everyday things in new ways and with new wonder. It may be something as simple as the sunset-streaked sky or a chance rainbow smack dab in the middle of two of Kansas' biggest icons - sunflowers and wheat. The blog has given me the eyes to see how small, simple things are really the most important things of all. 

 

This isn't even half of the blog books I've printed - 1 book per quarter for 12 years. If the kids aren't interested, I hope they'll give them to the Stafford County Museum.

 

If you're a regular reader, you know that we plan to retire from farming after our summer 2022 wheat harvest. We have a farm sale scheduled for August 2022. However, I'm still doing my five-days-a-week Central Kansas report for KFRM, and I still have plenty of volunteer activities on my to-do list. 

 

I don't have a definitive answer about the future of the blog. I anticipate it will change some, simply because we won't be doing the day-to-day farm work. And, if we're traveling or away from home, I'm going to try to feel more relaxed about missing a post. (I'm sure I'm the only one who really cares anyway.)

Right now, we'll see how it evolves. It won't be the first time I've shifted directions. At first, I was blogging six days a week. (What was I thinking?) That's been condensed to a couple of times most weeks. We'll see how things play out during a new phase of life. 

 

But isn't that the definition of life itself? Life is always changing, and we figure out the ways we'll evolve with it. 

Thanks for making the journey with me! It's my blogiversary, but to celebrate, one person will get a gift from me ...

• a selection of my photo notecards, or ...

 

•  a copy of "Count on It! Adventures from a Kansas Farm" my rhyming, farm-themed counting book, ...

• OR my farm alphabet book

To qualify, either comment about this blog post in the comment section of the blog or on my Facebook page, Kim Moore Fritzemeier. Or, if you have trouble with either of those avenues, you may email me at rkjbfarms@gmail.com. The winner will be chosen at random from the commenters. Enter your comment by January 31 for a chance to win.

Again, I thank you for visiting Kim's County Line!

Past, Present and Future: A Blogiversary

Let no one say the past is dead. 

The past is all around us and within.

Oodgeroo Noonucal, Aboriginal poet

This Aboriginal quote was on a section divider in Christina Baker Kline's novel, "The Exiles." I probably shouldn't admit it, but I didn't finish the book. I usually like Kline's books. Maybe I wasn't in the mood for that particular novel at that particular time.

But the quote struck a chord. I remembered it again as I contemplated my "blogiversary." On Sunday, I celebrated my 11th blog anniversary. I first clicked "publish" on Blogger on January 24, 2010. Today was my 1,971st blog post.  

This photo illustrated my first blog.

If I were doing this for the numbers, I'd have quit a long time ago. 

But for the past 11 years, Kim's County Line has helped me track our lives on a five-generation Central Kansas farm. Having this avenue to collect words and photos has helped me to connect with our  heritage and this life in a new way. 

 

 

It isn't just my story and Randy's. We stand on the shoulders of our ancestors who came to Kansas for the promise of land ownership and a desire to dream big and work hard on the Kansas plains.

 

 Yes, the Aboriginal poet had it right: The past is all around us. 

 

Every quarter since January 2010, I've printed a blog book, compiling my posts during that time. The books now fill one cabinet and overflow into others. If my kids aren't interested in keeping them someday, maybe a historical society will be.

This isn't even half of them.

Each quarter, I write another dedication, and I invariably struggle with something to say. (Looking at those piles of books, you wouldn't think so, but ...)

 

Here's the dedication from the first quarter of 2011:

I started Kim's County Line, in part, to tell the story of our farm. It's important WE tell the story of agriculture. The tagline on the blog says, "Camera Clicks and Commentary from a Kansas Farm Wife." I hope that it also serves as a record of a period of time and a snapshot of Kansas rural life.

From 2013:

... This is dedicated to my family - the ones I love and cherish now and ones down the road who I hope will discover something about us as they read our story.

From 2014:

... We are thankful for our ancestors who also farmed this land and look forward to continuing the legacy of faith, farm and family in the years to come.

 

I've approached telling our story like the reporter I am. I take notes. I ask more questions. I want my farmer's "farm speak" translated in a way that makes sense to me so I can share it with others.

Blogging has helped me pay attention. So often, we overlook the things that we see every day. It's like we're living life at 60 miles an hour, flying by familiar places and people, thinking we already know everything there is to know about these ordinary things that make up our lives and livelihoods.

Even the most mundane, everyday things can cause us to pause in wonder. It may be something as simple as puddles in the farm yard creating momentary ice art - here one hour and gone the next. The blog has given me the eyes to see how small, simple things are really the most important things of all. 

I got my latest blog book last week, the final one compiling my 2020 blog posts. Just those four books from 2020 are 2 1/4 inches thick if stacked together.

And, yes, I struggled to cram yet another volume into an already overflowing cabinet.

 

For now, I will continue to write. I'll continue to tell the stories. And I want to thank those of you who come along for the journey - whether it's every time I post or whether you just take an occasional jaunt down the County Line.

It's my blogiversary, but to celebrate, one person will get a gift from me ...

• a selection of my photo notecards, or ...

 

•  a copy of "Count on It! Adventures from a Kansas Farm" my rhyming, farm-themed counting book, ...

• OR a revamped version of my farm alphabet book

To qualify, either comment about this blog post in the comment section of the blog or on my Facebook page, Kim Moore Fritzemeier. Or, if you have trouble with either of those avenues, you may email me at rkjbfarms@gmail.com. The winner will be chosen at random from the commenters. Enter your comment by January 31 for a chance to win.

Again, I thank you!

To read more about our farming heritage and ancestors, go to these links from my blog:

Moore Family 

Neelly Family

Fritzemeier Family

Living the Dash: A Blog Anniversary

Just a mile from Randy's childhood home is the Peace Creek Cemetery. We drive past it when we take cattle to the Palmer pasture. It's over on the left-hand side of the road when we take a bale of hay to the bulls during their winter hiatus. The combine squeezes past the cemetery on the narrow road that leads to one of our fields. But, most of the time, we drive by its iron gates and don't pay much attention.

It's one of those things that's there. But do we really see it? How often can we say that about life itself? We're so busy navigating our way through the minutia that we don't take the time to really celebrate the joys or dissect the challenges.

Today is the ninth "anniversary" of Kim's County Line. I pushed "publish" on my first blog post on January 24, 2010. Today is my 1,780th published post.

As I've been thinking about this nine-year journey, I recalled the poem that circulated several years ago about "living your dash" -  the period between your birth and the moment you draw your last breath.

 

Look closely to see the rainbow in the clouds over Randy's parents' graves at Stafford - photo from 2016

 

The dash is who we are, and it will one day be our legacy. It’s not our birth or death date that matters most, but how we spend each passing year.

For the past nine years, Kim's County Line has helped me keep track of how I'm "living the dash"  on a Central Kansas farm. The sub-title is "Camera Clicks and Commentary from a Kansas Farm Wife," so it provides my perspective with words and images about our journey on a five-generation farm.

Having this avenue to collect words and photos has helped me to connect with my heritage and this life in a new way. It's helped me pay attention. I've approached telling our story like the reporter I am. I take notes. I ask more questions. I want my farmer's "farm speak" translated in a way that makes sense to me so I can share it with others.

January 2019

So often, we overlook the things that we see every day. It's like we're living life at 60 miles an hour, flying by familiar places and people, thinking we already know everything there is to know about these ordinary things that make up our lives and livelihoods.

Because of the cyclical nature of farming, I've written "the same" stories during these past nine years. We've had nine wheat harvests. So, behind the scenes, we've planted the wheat crop and managed it every year - from seed wheat to fertilizing to praying for rain or for praying the rain quits - and then again sending the golden grain through the combine reel.

We've welcomed new calves each January and February, and we've cared for cows that have been part of the herd all during that time. We've run those cattle through the working chute.

We've said goodbye to some employees and hello to others. We've introduced the farming life to two beautiful granddaughters. 

The list of yearly farm tasks and traditions goes on and on. There have been multiple blog posts about all of these steps and stages. And I've taken thousands of photos that illustrate all these components and moments of our lives.

Sometimes, it seems I'm telling the same story again and again. But when I really think about it, I realize that even though I may be telling the "same" story about why we give vaccines to baby calves or why we fertilize a corn crop, the circumstances subtly change.

Take my sunrise tree, for instance. I've taken dozens - maybe hundreds - of photos at a tree south of our house. In fact, I was there again just a week ago. And while it's similar to those I've taken before, the sky is never exactly the same. There aren't always mud puddles in the road or in the neighboring fields. The clouds reflect and refract the rising sun in new and miraculous ways every day. I only need eyes to see it ... and the motivation to go down the road to experience it.

Each quarter, I've compiled my blog posts into hardcover blog books. I got my latest one just the other day, and I struggled to cram yet another volume into an already overflowing cabinet. But, for now, I will continue to write. I'll continue to tell the stories. And I want to thank those of you who come along for the journey - whether it's every time I post or whether you just take an occasional jaunt down the County Line.

It's my blogiversary, but to celebrate, one person will get a gift from me - a selection of my photo notecards or a copy of "Count on It! Adventures from a Kansas Farm," my rhyming, farm-themed counting book - your choice.

To qualify, either comment about this blog post in the comment section of the blog or on my Facebook page, Kim Moore Fritzemeier. Or, if you have trouble with either of those avenues, you may email me at rkjbfarms@gmail.com. The winner will be chosen at random from the commenters. Enter your comment by January 31 for a chance to win.

Again, I thank you! 

UPDATE:  Mary Jo Taylor was the winner of the anniversary drawing. She chose a copy of the book as her prizes. Thanks to all for the wonderful comments! I appreciate each and every one of them.

On the Other Side of the Interview

Unless I'm the one clicking the shutter button, I will do my best to wiggle my way out of any photo. You want to talk interviews? Sure, I'll gladly prepare a list of questions and then "who, what, where and why" my way down the list. I love talking to people and discovering their stories. Everyone has one, you know. But why would anyone want to interview me? I am much more articulate on paper than in person or on the phone.

Still, I did consent to being interviewed for an online magazine piece for Living the Country Life. And I lived to tell the tale, thanks to reporter Stephanie Kocer. Here's the link to the Q & A, Blogging the Country Life. Living the Country Life is produced by the Meredith Corporation in Des Moines, Iowa.

Stephanie told me that she wanted to do a story about someone who blogs about agriculture. She did a quick Google search and found me on this list, the Top 50 Farm Blogs: http://www.seametrics.com/blog/top-farm-blogs/

Here's how Seametrics described my blog:

Kim’s County Line
Sowing seeds of hope despite hard times, sprouting awareness for a new generation at Ag Day and capturing sunsets framed by a century-old grain elevator are all-in-a-day’s-work for the Kansas farm wife and freelance radio reporter behind “Kim’s County Line”, where readers can discover why dusting is a dirty word to farmers and housewives, why planting wheat is like waiting to give birth and why feed store mousers are as important as any CEO 

"I thought your blog focus fit our audience well," Stephanie told me.

I have had the Top 50 Farm Blog badge on my blog for awhile now, but Stephanie's answer prompted me to look at the link again. Check it out and explore some of the other bloggers who are telling the story of the modern American farm during March, which brings us Kansas Agriculture Month and Kansas and National Ag Day on March 18.

 

Everything Old is New Again: A Blog Anniversary

I went along for the ride last week when Randy delivered a load of our hay to a feedlot near Dodge City. As we neared Spearville, I saw the wind turbines dotting the prairie, and I pulled out my camera to see if I could get a decent photo through dirty semi windows.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw an old-fashioned windmill at a farmstead and clicked the shutter quickly, hoping to capture the old windmill juxtapositioned against its newfangled "cousins." We were going 60 miles a hour down Highway 50, so I didn't have a lot of confidence that the photo from a dreary day would be worth saving. I literally had time for one click of the shutter as we rumbled by. But, later, when I looked at it on the computer, I was glad to have this contrast of old and new.

This weekend, I celebrated my fifth "blogiversary." I first published Kim's County Line on January 24, 2010. During those five years of writing, I've published 1,268 posts. Earlier this month, the page views on Kim's County Line topped 1 million. (Some of those people likely Googled something and my blog happened to show up on their feed.) But, still, 1 million views was a milestone for this homespun little blog.

When I started, I didn't have a plan. At the time, my sister, my daughter and my niece were blogging. (They have since quit blogging. Maybe someday, they'll try it again.)

I've always been a writer. I remember "writing" my first story at a women's church meeting in the basement of the Byers United Methodist Church. My mom handed me a little notebook and I scratched out a few words and pictures on the lined sheets of paper.

With Kim's County Line, I've substituted my crude hand-drawn illustrations with clicks of the camera shutter. But the writing - in one form or another - has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I even chose it for my profession.

Like those wind turbines on the plains, blogging is a relatively new way to share thoughts and impressions through writing. But, as new as it is, I've read some articles saying that Twitter is overtaking blogs. The short 140-character blurbs seem more attractive in this fast-paced world, I suppose.

Back when this area was settled, many a pioneer farmer or farm wife wrote in a journal or diary. There was no backspace button to delete a whole line of type. There was only pen on paper.

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

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 look at Kim's County Line a little like a modern-day 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. 

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 20 books make a pile more than a foot high. I'm running out of room on the TV cabinet shelves.

Perhaps writing about our life on a Kansas farm helps us see into the rearview mirror but also keeps us looking ahead to the next day or week or year. There is value in both, I think.

 

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.

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.