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!

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

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.

Penpals: From An Australian Farm to the Middle of Kansas

From Google Images,www.dreamstime.com

At Christmastime each year, there would be one envelope that was a little different from the rest. As a child, I remember seeing the red and blue air mail envelope tucked in among the plain white ones. It was the annual missive from my mom's Australian penpal, Jill.

They began corresponding through a church penpal exchange when they were 14 or 15 years old. At the time, my mother lived on a farm in Pratt County, Kansas. Jill lived in Melbourne, Australia. They wrote letters back and forth two or three times a year during their teenage years.

With families and busy lives, the frequency waned, but they always exchanged Christmas cards and letters. This year was the 65th time they've sent Christmas cards and letters across the ocean.

I didn't consciously name our daughter after the Australian Jill. But maybe there was still some childhood fascination with this exotic "visitor" who arrived via the mailbox from a land so far away. I won't rule out a subconscious attraction to the name.

My parents finally met the Australian Jill in 2001. By that time, Jill had moved to Paradise Point, a town near Brisbane. They spent some time with Jill playing hostess to the tourists. My mom said it was like visiting with an old friend, though she admits that both of them needed to slow down their speech cadence to cope with the unfamiliar accent of the other.

Perhaps that is why I felt an immediate connection to an Australian blogger, Lynda. But even more than the Australian penpal legacy, I am amazed at Lynda's photography featured on her blog, Farm-ily.

From Google Images

From http://www.murrayriver.com.au/tocumwal/tocumwal

Lynda and her husband, Phil, farm near Tocumwal in New South Wales.

 

They raise alfalfa, too. (They call it lucerne.) So the photos from the "lucerne" field often look like they could have been taken at our farm (though we would have had to suddenly switch to the "green team" of tractors). The sunrises and sunsets that she loves as much as I do are taken from a similarly vast expanse of sky.

In November, she posted the cover of her 2016 Farm-ily calendar. I commented to her that it could have been taken at my favorite "sunrise" tree. 

Photo from Lynda's November 18 Farm-ily

Here's a shot from my sunrise tree, just for comparison. In Australia, they are experiencing their summer right now, while my tree has dropped its leaves for winter. But the sunrises are really quite similar.

I also mentioned that seeing her calendar was a reminder for me to get my own 2016 calendar finished for family Christmas gifts. Lynda wondered if I'd be interested in a calendar exchange.

Her calendar came in the mail before Christmas, and what a gift it was! Even though the photos were taken halfway across the world, there's the familiarity of the beauty of life on the farm - whether it's in the middle of Kansas or in New South Wales.

The front of my 2016 calendar. I do it with special occasion dates for some in my family.

There is a major difference. My wintry photos are in January and February. Her photo of frost-capped plants is featured in July. (I may have similar photos of wheat, but they certainly weren't taken in July around here!) 

I was refreshing my memory with my mom about her Australian penpal, and I learned something I didn't know. Some 20 years ago, the two penpals began exchanging calendars as Christmas gifts. My Mom sent Jill a calendar with Kansas images. Jill's calendar reflects the scenery of Australia.

I may not have a penpal from Australia. But I have a blog friend. Developing friendships with people you only know from their blogs is one of the fringe benefits.

It really is a small world after all.

Christmas in the Country 2015

I love getting mail. As a country kid who grew up in the 1960s and '70s, there wasn't email, Facebook, Twitter or the constant flow of TV news. We didn't have that many visitors down our rural  road, so the arrival of the mailman with the daily newspaper, some magazines and letters was a welcome diversion. (I was a kid. I didn't realize some of those letters were bills!)

So it's really no surprise that the idea of the Christmas in the Country gift exchange appeals to me. These days, it seems I'm constantly "connected" - at least, virtually. But it still seemed a fun way to relive that old-fashioned excitement of greetings arriving via the mailbox.

This was my second year to participate in Christmas in the Country, and, this time, it was open only to bloggers. (Last year, other country women could also participate.) I was lucky enough to receive a box from Jenny Schweigert, who lives in Hopeland, Illinois. (Don't you love that town name? It reminds me of Hopewell, Kansas, which was a don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it-spot-in-the-road just west of my grandparents' house.)

Anyway, Jenny serves as the executive director of AgChat, which is designed for "Empowering a Connected Community of Agvocates." She also helps manage her family’s small hobby farm and in-laws' dairy farm in central Illinois.She blogs about life on the farm, Jersey dairy cattle, hunting and her boys, all at The Magic Farm House. Her tag line there is Love More. Laugh More. Live More.

How could I not like her right away? And I liked her even more when I unwrapped ALL the goodies!

Here's the overview, but I thought I'd break it down a little so you could get to know Jenny, too!

In the questionnaire form we fill out to participate in the gift exchange, we tell some of the things we like. I know I didn't put down popcorn, but Jenny must have read my mind. It's one of my favorite things. But I hate to admit I hadn't popped any on top of the stove for years. It didn't take me long to open the sack of Pilot Knob Comforts popcorn grown in Illinois. (Popping corn on the stove reminds me of my Grandma Neelly and eating popcorn out of her old metal bowls while watching the Wonderful World of Disney or Lassie. Bonus!)

The Illinois-grown popcorn pouches were given to attendees at the Illinois Harvest dinner, an event which brought together 80 consumers and 20 farmers for a meal and discussion around food. It's yummy!

I didn't know that Illinois is the No. 1 producer of pumpkin in the U.S. Jenny says she lives in an area that's considered the Pumpkin Capital of the World. It arrived just in time for holiday pumpkin bread baking.

The koozie advertises Illinois corn and ethanol. (My son-in-law has a koozie collection, so I may share it with him.)

Like most women, I like chocolate, and Jenny made sure all the bases were covered. She included the "buck bar" because she likes to hunt. And how about a little coffee with that chocolate? She says that the coffee was an intentional re-gift. She got it during the swap meet at AgChat Foundation's Cultivate & Connect conference in November. Farmers and ranchers bring a taste of their home state to trade for items from other attendees. The Maui coffee was a Hawaiian delegate's swap item. Yum to all of the above!

I grouped these two items and named them "from my Oklahoma neighbors." I got a Ree Drummond Pioneer Woman mason jar. And Blake Shelton serenaded me on my last-minute Christmas preparations.

I really like the journal with the Eleanor Roosevelt quote on the front: "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." I would say the AgChat mug ties into that, too, since ag-vocates are some of the biggest dreamers I know.

Thank you, Jenny, for all the fun surprises!

My Christmas in the Country recipient was Wanda Patsche of Welcome, Minnesota. (I think I won the prize for the best place names for both my recipient and my gift giver!) She blogs at Minnesota Farm Living. On their farm in southern Minnesota, they raise pigs and grow corn and soybeans. Like me, she's a Mom and Grandma.

I sent Wanda a Pioneer Woman tin filled with spiced tea mix, PW salt & pepper shakers and some pig-themed kitchen gadgets. To represent Kansas, I sent some mixes from the Hudson Cream Flour Mill, some of my notecards and a desk calendar I made.

The Christmas in the Country was a way to meet some new blogging friends. Other bloggers participating can be found at this link-up. Now that the holidays are over, I need to spend a little more time clicking on those links, and I invite you to do the same.

The hosts for Christmas in the Country volunteered their time to make it a success. THANKS to each of them! Check out their blogs: Laurie Link – Country LINKed; Jamie Rhoades - This Uncharted Rhoade; Kirby Linebach - 15009 Farmhouse; and Lara Durben - My Other More Exciting Self.