Honk If You Love ...

Maybe I should go in the bumper sticker business. I'm sure you've seen them. "Honk if you love Jesus!" "Honk if you love this politician or that politician."

The cheese people are in on the "honking" movement.

I'm thinking of a "Honk if you love beef" product line. It came to me when I was creating noise pollution in a remote part of Reno County.

My job during the Great Cattle Round-Up last week was staying behind at the pickup and honking the horn. It was a tough job, but someone had to do it. The guys raced away on 4-wheelers.

I worked on creating a pleasing honking cadence that would attract bovines and bring them into the lot. As they approached, my job was to wave a sack that had been emptied of range cubes. It was supposed to be the "Come and get it" signal, the one that let the cows and calves know that a special treat was on the snack menu for the day.

Sounds easy, right? Well, it was, except for one small detail the boss didn't tell me and I didn't realize until he was off in the remote part of the pasture rounding up cattle. The trailer was positioned in such a way that I couldn't see the action taking place and honk the horn at the same time.

So, every so often, I'd take a break from the honking and jump onto the running board of the trailer so I could see if the cattle were approaching. There they were, off in the distance.

And there they were in a cloud of dust!

That was my cue to drag another 50-pound bag from the pickup bed and dump the range cubes on the ground. The aim was to keep the cows collected while the guys looked for any laggers.

Mosey on up to the range cube buffet!

I did get a 4-wheeler ride at the end to check for any strays. My driver took me on a steep incline, and I had visions of being pinned under a 4-wheeler. After my last cattle roundup resulted in a broken big toe, I wasn't having any problems thinking up disasters.

But we avoided disaster on the first day. Tomorrow: Did my streak of luck continue?

Channeling Columbus

Today is the true Columbus Day. Yes, in our quest for 3-day weekends, Columbus Day was celebrated on Monday. (I personally didn't notice much difference except I didn't get my mail.) But, back in my Byers Grade School days, October 12 was the day we colored pictures of the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria.

Let's be honest here: I'm kind of a homebody. I don't think I would have been the first to sign up for a berth on the Santa Maria. Ol' Chris Columbus would have pulled away from the dock without me when "in 1492 he sailed the ocean blue."

So what's the hitch? Maybe it's that I don't know what lies around that twist in the road. It's not that I don't enjoy seeing new places and experiencing new things. Once my husband drags me away from my well-oiled routine, I always enjoy the journey.

Maybe that's why this month's theme at Lovely Branches Ministries was a challenge. Exploration can be a scary word for we Type A girls.

Today, head on over to my Food for Thought blog. While you're there, check out the other blog "branches" at the Vine Press.

And Happy Columbus Day!

Commercial Message

We now interrupt our regularly-scheduled program for a brief commercial message:

Hop on over to Frog Hollow, a new store in Pratt. I am among the people who have wares available on consignment at the store, which is located in 54 Plaza, 1219H East 1st. (For you Pratt-area people, that's the little shopping center to the east of Donald's Servateria.)

The open house/grand opening will be Saturday, October 15, from 9 AM to 3 PM. A special guest will be Dani Boatright, winner of Survivor Guatemala, who'll be at the store between 10 AM and 1 PM. She has a line of clothing for infants through 5T, which includes onesies, T-shirts and caps.

Frog Hollow is co-owned by Sue DeWeese, operator of Sue's Ultimate Embroidery, and by Elaine Ray, owner of Table Top Designs. When they began putting their goods in their new store, they realized they had more space than they needed for their own work. So they expanded their mission:

"Frog Hollow's mission is to provide a shop for artisans to sell their handmade products year 'round and to promote the art community in Pratt."

I guess they are also promoting the "art" community in Stafford/Reno County, since they asked me to join them.

Right now, my items for sale at the store include notecards featuring my photography, as well as matted photographic prints in a variety of sizes. Among the other vendors' wares are purses and totes, baby items, quilts, blankets, tea towels, jewelry, decorative arrangements, pottery and much more.

The store is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, with hours extended until 7 on Thursday, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.

I'm also excited that Kim's County Line has been recognized as one of 50 Top Farm Blogs by Seametrics.

I've enjoyed reading some of the other blogs on their list. Hope you'll check them out, too!

This now ends the commercial interruption. We will return to our regularly-scheduled programming tomorrow.

Beautiful Things

I don't think many of the nearly 50,000 people at Bill Snyder Stadium minded sitting in the rain on Saturday.

Sometimes people head for the parking lot when the skies open up. But not this time. Many of us had spent the last three days watching dirt fill the air as wind gusts of 30-40 mph wreaked havoc in newly-planted wheat fields. Some of us have sold off calves or cows because we don't have feed for the winter after this year's drought conditions.

So we sat there and soaked it up. And we thanked God for the rain.

The total at the County Line is 2 inches and a bug.

The just-emerged wheat has droplets of water after a gentle rain for the past two days. The rain came perfectly: It came slowly and gently and the parched earth seemed to breath a sigh of relief. Two inches won't bust the drought. But it will lighten moods and give a new feeling of optimism.

As I listened to the rain hit the roof and I watched droplets cascade from fall leaves, I thought about the song, Beautiful Things. It says, in part:

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos, life is being found in You.

Give a listen, if you'd like. Happy Monday!

School Spirit Munch

Need a snack to take to a tailgate party? Try this School Spirit Munch.

The recipe began its life as a Halloween treat that I saw in a farm magazine last October. When I was looking for a snack mix to take for a family cookout before a K-State football game, I remembered the mix and decided to use purple and white in honor of the Wildcats.

But it would be easily adapted to suit any high school, college or pro football tailgate or party by simply using the team colors of your choice. Enjoy!

School Spirit Munch

3 pkg. (6.6 oz. each) Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon, Chocolate or Honey Goldfish Grahams (or any combination)
1 pkg. (8 oz.) Pepperidge Farms Pretzel Goldfish Snacks
1 can (10 oz.) salted mixed nuts
1 cup chopped dried apricots
1 cup golden raisins
2 pkg. (10 oz. each) Wilton candy melts

In large bowl, combine crackers, nuts, apricots and raisins. Divide between 2 large sheet pans.

Melt candy following package directions. Drizzle over snack mixture. (If you're doing two different colors, pour one color over one pan and another color over the other.) Refrigerate until firm. Break apart, mix the two colors back together and store in airtight container until ready to serve.

Recipe Notes:

• I used yogurt-covered raisins rather than golden raisins.
• I used purple candy melts for half of the candy melts. Then I used white almond bark for the other half. (It's less expensive than the Wilton candy melts.)
• You can use any color of candy melts you want. The original recipe was called Halloween Goldfish Munch and used green candy melts. If I was serving it for a Stafford Trojans football party, I'd use red melts for half and white almond bark for the other. Just use the candy melt colors that tie in with your favorite high school, college or pro team! Or use colors to fit any holiday - yellow and orange for Thanksgiving, red and green for Christmas, pink and white for Valentine's ... I love adaptable recipes!

Need other quick snack ideas for your tailgates? Try Toffee Snack Mix and Pretzel Snacks.

Go Wildcats! Beat Mizzou!

***

These recipes are included today on Fresh from the Farm.

A Millie Update

She isn't nearly as well-behaved as her namesake, Millie, the KWCH weather dog. But she's a farm dog, not a TV star.

She's been part of the County Line menagerie since June 2, when we brought her home from the Hutchinson Animal Shelter. In 4 months, the cats have learned to tolerate her. Ralph - just like an older sibling - is resigned to the fact that this energetic interloper is here to stay.

I first took her picture in the backyard tub on June 13.

Nearly 4 months later, she is taking up considerably more space. I no longer worry that Millie's short legs can't make the whole 4-mile trek during our morning walk.

June 2011

Millie's legs are nearly as long as Ralph's these days. It's our senior citizen Ralph who is looking for shortcuts across the farm fields.

She's about 6 months old, which makes her the equivalent of an 8-year-old child in dog years. After spending the weekend, Jill & Eric think Millie's "people" should be a little more diligent in teaching her character traits like sharing and patience. They are probably right. Goodness knows, Ralph has had to be a model of those virtues since Millie arrived.

Cog in the Wheel

Sometimes your job may not seem that important. Your name isn't on a door in a downtown office building. There's no gold-plated nameplate on your desk. You may not even have a desk. You may do what you do without a paycheck.

But it doesn't make the job any less valuable. Meet Susie. She lives at Miller Seed Farms, where I visited last week to pick up some seed wheat. Susie isn't the CEO, the CFO, the COO or any fancy letters.

But you know what? Her job is mighty important. She and her friends keep the mice away from the ceiling-high stacks of seed wheat.

They are the unofficial welcoming committee for customers who come to collect their seed wheat. But we might walk right by and not recognize their value.

Susie, Sammy & Gabrielle

It's easy to take things for granted. We enjoy Oktoberfest and don't thank the people who went to committee meetings for a year so the rest of us could enjoy a small-town festival. We complain to our city leaders or our school board members instead of appreciating their sense of civic pride and the time they spend to make our communities better. We don't think about the lady who spends her morning in the church nursery so that young parents can go to Sunday School. The list is endless for people who serve quietly and without fanfare.

I was amused by a recent blog post from another farm wife. Jent, who writes "From My Front Porch," had a conversation with her 12-year-old daughter, who wondered what Mom did all day long.

Jent said, "Oh, you know: Take naps, lay around, surf the web."

Emi Lou: "Huh, well that makes sense! I can't wait till I have kids and they go to school so I can lay around doing nothing all day like you Mom!"

It reminded me of a long ago blizzard. Randy's folks were on a cruise. The guy who was supposed to help chore couldn't get here. I was recruited to help feed cattle. Jill, 6, and 4-year-old Brent had to go along for the ride. We were all stuffed into the tractor cab for the jaunt through the snow drifts.

As we made our way, our little 4-year-old male chauvinist said, "Mommy, I didn't know you knew how to work."

Driving through blinding snow gave me an opportunity to explain that Mommies certainly did work, whether their tasks routinely included doing cattle chores. After his Dad wiped the smile off his face (all that took was a glance at my face), he helped explain the facts of work to our young son.

Some days, it may not seem like what I do is important. A hot meal delivered to the field may not bring world peace. Going to Zenith for another tankload of fertilizer is a trip of only a few miles, but it saves Randy time. Honking the horn in a pasture to "call" the cattle seems paltry when compared to rounding them up with the 4-wheelers.

But just like Susie and the Gang, we all have our jobs. And they are all important ... whether we collect a paycheck at the end of the week or not. (Thankfully, I have a husband who appreciates that. If he didn't, he just might have to send his own emails!)