This Is Us: Farm Version

One of my favorite television shows is "This Is Us," a drama in its second year on NBC. For the uninitiated, it follows the life of three siblings - Kate, Kevin and Randall - through a series of flashbacks and present day life.

On last week's episode, the siblings and their mother come together in a counselor's office. While they all lived in the same house, they have very different perceptions about their shared experiences. While talking to his siblings later, Randall compares the different viewpoints to the experience of getting glasses as a youngster.

He talks about sitting in the exam chair at the eye doctor and being asked, "Is this better? Or is this better?" After the eye doctor shifts the lens, he's again asked, "Better here ... or here?" The changes are often minuscule, but they eventually lead to the proper prescription.

He reminds his siblings that we all view life through different lenses.

It really struck a chord with me. I vividly remember the trip home from Great Bend after I got my first pair of glasses in grade school. From my perch in the back seat, I suddenly saw things more clearly. Trees weren't just big green blobs: They had individual leaves. The world was sharper, more in focus. It was a revelation.

This week, I celebrate a "birthday" of sorts. It's my 8th "blogiversary." I hit the "publish" button on Kim's County Line for the first time on January 24, 2010. In eight years, I've published 1,683 posts, and there have been more than 1.78 million "page hits" on Kim's County Line.

Part of the reason I began Kim's County Line was to share our life on a Central Kansas farm. I subtitled the blog, "Camera Clicks and Commentary from a Kansas Farm Wife." In truth, I didn't have a solid plan. In fact, it was kind of one of those things your mother tells you not to do: My sister, niece and daughter were already blogging, so I decided to do it, too.

But, as it evolved, my focus became what I refer to as the 4 F's ... and a PH that sounds like an "f:" Farming, Family, Faith, Food and Photography.

Kim's County Line allows me to tell our story - through my own lens.

These days, it seems everyone is an "expert" on GMOs. Everyone has a magic bullet for improving health - and it probably does not include gluten, a protein found in the wheat that's the largest market share on our Central Kansas farm.

I'm not willing to let a Mexican restaurant chain declare that our method of farming isn't responsible. I'm not willing to have the Humane Society of the United States or Greenpeace say that I'm not a compassionate guardian for the planet or for the animals we tend.

So, I keep telling our story. I'm not blogging as much as I did at first. The first year - 2010 - I wrote six days a week and cranked out 265 blog posts. Last year - blogging only two days a week or so - I wrote 116 posts, my lowest total yet. But even though the frequency has waned, I'm still writing and photographing life on our Kansas farm - one blog post at a time

Each quarter, I publish a hard-copy version of the blog. My latest blog book arrived last week. I am running out of storage space. But I also know it's a comprehensive history of our life on a Kansas farm. While pioneer farm wives wrote in journals or diaries by the light of a lantern, I sit at my computer and type words into cyberspace. Still, just like those handwritten journals of the past, my words may some day reveal my life to my grandchildren or great-grandchildren or even strangers. They are both family history and farming history.

For now, it gives landlords a glimpse of what's going on. It gives me an outlet for my writing and photography.

And, along the way, I hope it sheds a little light on modern agriculture ... even if it's just one person's perspective. 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.

Want to know why it's called Kim's County Line? Click here for my very first post to find out.

It's my blogiversary, but to celebrate, one person will get a gift from me - a selection of my photo notecards. 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.

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.