Celebrating 15 Years on Kim's County Line

February 2024 - the other side of sunrise

A lot has changed in 15 years. There's been a pandemic. Smart phones have gotten smarter. Politics have changed. "Zoom" isn't simply a description of traveling fast, but rather, a way to have meetings with people from your home office or living room. Personally, we've added two granddaughters and a daughter-in-law to our family during those 15 years.

January 21, 2025 sunset

Today, Kim's County Line is celebrating its 15th anniversary. I first pressed the "Publish" button on January 24, 2010. During that time, 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 - even though I've been a part of farm life since birth.

January 1, 2025 sunrise

It's also been a "road" to connect with other farm folks like us - and with people far away from the plains of Kansas .

 

 

It's been a way to tell our story. 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. (More about our family history at these links - Moore family, Neelly family, Fritzemeier family (Click HERE and HERE and HERE and a whole lot more blog posts since 2010). 

 

Remembering our ancestors seems fitting as we approach Kansas Day next week on January 29, celebrating 164 years since our state joined the Union. 

 

The subtitle of the blog is Camera Clicks from a Kansas Farm Wife. I've always described its content as the four Fs and a PH - farm, family, faith, food and photography. These days, the "mission" of my blog is probably as cloudy as a frosted windshield. With our retirement from active farming in August 2022, the blog has evolved. I'm still writing, but the frequency and the content have shifted. But that's been happening my whole life. I remember "writing" my first story at a women's church meeting (WSCS) in the basement of the Byers 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. 

 

January 1, 2025

Yes, the world has changed in 15 years. Most blogs have given way to Instagram and Tiktok and vlogs. Kim's County Line has changed along the way, too. But of all the changes, maybe I've been changed the most of all. It has given me the eyes to see how small, simple things are really the most important things of all. Even the most mundane, everyday things can cause us to pause in wonder. 

It's my 15th 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. If you use the blog for comments, you'll have to type in your name or it will show "anonymous." 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 Kansas Day - January 29 - for a chance to win.

Again, I thank you - especially the ones who've stuck it out on this rural Kansas county line road for a 15-year adventure. 

UPDATE: Bonnie Claypool is the winner of the blog anniversary prize. Thanks to all for participating! 

Building a Bridge: A 14th Blog-iversary

From a trip in 2020

It took 14 years for Mount Rushmore to be translated from idea to stone. Brooklyn Bridge construction took 14 years before it spanned the river, connecting New York and Brooklyn. But we don't typically make a big deal about a 14th anniversary.

And while 14 isn't a magic multiple of 5 - the hallmark of anniversary celebrations - I still want to mark this day as the 14th year since I first pressed "publish" on my inaugural Kim's County Line blog post. As I've said before, I began blogging for that reason every mother hates hearing: Other people were doing it. In my case, it was my sister, my niece and my daughter. (None of the rest of them are still blogging.) I also was recruited to write a monthly post for a women's devotional blog for a local church. Having my own "spot" to write and share photography seemed like a natural evolution. So, Kim's County Line was born on January 24, 2010. In those 14 years, I've published 2,220 blog posts.

December 27, 2023

 

For the past 14 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. 

 

And back to that Brooklyn Bridge analogy: It's been a way for me to connect with people far away from the plains of Kansas and share our story.

 

 

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. That seems fitting as we approach Kansas Day next week, celebrating 163 years since our state joined the Union. 

 

And, with our retirement from active farming in August 2022, the blog evolved again. I'm still writing, but the frequency and the content have shifted. But that's been happening my whole life. I remember "writing" my first story at a women's church meeting (WSCS) in the basement of the Byers 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. 

 

The Class Prophecy for Skyline High School's Class of 1975 predicted I'd be a writer at The New York Times by now. Since I'm a small-town girl through and through, I never bought into the vision some creative classmate penned 49 years ago.

 

At the time, I suppose we all envisioned that success was measured far, far away from Kansas. But maybe our 17- and 18-year-old selves were a little short-sighted. (Imagine that.) 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. 

It was a way to share the story of a 5th-generation farm family. It gave a platform for our voice telling about agriculture and didn't depend on a fast food restaurant or animal welfare group to define who we are and what we do. It was a way to record family history. It offered a glimpse of the work we were doing to our landlords and to anyone else who decided to follow along. 

 

 

And it changed me, too. The blog has given me the eyes to see how small, simple things are really the most important things of all. Even the most mundane, everyday things can cause us to pause in wonder.

 

 I hope it's created positive ripples in this world. 

 

I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples. 

Mother Teresa

 

Each quarter, I've compiled my blog posts into hardcover blog books. I got my latest one on Monday and added another volume to the bookcase.

 

For now, I continue to write and share photos. I continue to tell 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. If you use the blog for comments, you'll have to type in your name or it will show "anonymous." 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: Winner of the drawing is Jan Blasi, who commented on Facebook. She has chosen to receive photo notecards. Thanks to all for your comments and for your support!

 

 

 

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