I'll be celebrating National Ag Day and Kansas Ag Day today like I spent yesterday.
We have our own little parade planned on this special day, but there won't be a marching band. The parade will be single file through the calf cradle chute on our South Central Kansas farm.
The guests of honor don't get ribbon rosettes or badges, but bright yellow eartags.
There's no ticker tape. There is music - of sorts. You don't have to be fluent in "cow" to know that the mamas are singing the blues in double forte as they end up on one side of the pen and their babies are on the other during the calves' spring "doctor's" appointment.
We will celebrate Ag Day right where it ought to be celebrated - getting our feet and our hands dirty and being stewards of the animals and the land in which we have been entrusted. Randy is the fourth generation to be an owner/operator of a farm in his family. My Kansas farming legacy goes back five generations on the Moore side and four on the Neelly lineage. Randy and I have been farming together now for nearly 32 years.
It doesn't take a special day for us to be thankful for the privilege of living and working together on a Kansas family farm. Still, I think it's good to recognize a National Ag Day. I joined a Facebook group, I Am Agriculture Proud, earlier this month. Organizers there posed this observation:
Journalists, TV personalities, TV chefs and CEOs were all
perceived as more influential on food than farmers, who come in at
No. 50 on a list generated of The 50 Most Powerful People in Food on The Daily Meal.com. And that was likely an arbitrary inclusion as a
collective group. What's it gonna take for farmers to move up that list?
It's up to us - farmers and ranchers - to tell the story. As I've said before, I don't want to leave it to PETA or HSUS to tell the story of farming today. It's one of the reasons I began Kim's County Line three years ago. The true story is being written each and every day by people just like us, who spend spring break riding a 4-wheeler instead of an amusement ride at Disney World.
The best part about working cattle during spring break? I don't have to stop and clean up to run to town for my middle school accompanist gig. The cows don't care what I'm wearing or whether I have make-up on. Randy doesn't care either ... or he wisely keeps his opinion to himself.
It's just another reason to celebrate on this Ag Day. We got 27 baby calves worked yesterday. We plan an all-day marathon session today. Let the parade begin. (Hopefully, those involved will stay on the parade route!)
From my high school yearbook. The girls' basketball team. I'm hanging from the scaffolding at the lower right.
The brackets are out. March Madness is here. The Kansas teams fared well in bracketology. My own K-State Wildcats are a No. 4 seed, while the KU Jayhawks earned a No. 1 seed. Wichita State Shockers weren't left out of the Big Dance either. The NJCAA tournament begins tomorrow in Hutchinson, and the hometown Blue Dragons have made it to the tournament for the first time since 1997. Whose team are you cheering for?
It's the time of year for college basketball fans. I grew up watching basketball and even playing basketball - sort of. I was a member of a state championship basketball team. Actually, I earned two state championship medals, along with a third-place finish. You'd never know it looking at me. I'm certainly not a lanky 5'10" in my stocking feet, and I'm not particularly graceful or coordinated.
My alma mater, Skyline High School, earned state girls' basketball champion trophies in 1973, 1974 and 1977. I was on the 1973 and '74 teams, as well as the 1975 team that took 3rd at state. My sister, Darci, was on the 1977 championship team.
My sister, Darci, and I: In 2011, the Kansas State High School Activities Association celebrated 100 years of providing service to schools throughout the state.
I was more known for singing the National Anthem before the game ever started than scoring a winning bucket. My job was holding down the end of the bench. If the game wasn't tight, I might - just maybe - get substituted into the game in the last minute or so. As a high school girl, I often didn't see my role on the basketball court as particularly important.
But my Dad had a different philosophy. He always insisted that the people sitting on the bench were an important part of the team. And I don't think he was just trying to make me feel better. He was a basketball star in high school. He insisted that we bench-sitters were a valuable asset.
"Who do those girls practice against every day?" he would ask when I compared myself to the starting line-up and knew I came up woefully short. "If they didn't have good people to push them during practice, do you think they could play as well during a game?"
I love watching college basketball, especially my alma mater, Kansas State University. In recent years, the announcers at Bramlage have added another component as they announce the game.
"Rodney McGruder for 3, from Angel Rodriegez," the voice booms out after a score. Instead of just recognizing the person who put the ball in the bucket, the announcer gives some recognition for the person who didn't take the shot, but rather, passed the ball and earned an assist.
Fans also play a pivotal role in the success of their teams. There's a reason that sports commentators talk about "home court advantage." (Let's hope that the Wildcats playing in Kansas City this coming weekend will give them that home court edge.)When thousands of people are loud and cheering (and, in the case of K-State games, doing the Wabash Cannonball), it can't help but add to the excitement and urge the players to give their very best.It's true during March Madness or during any part of the season.
The Wabash Cannonball at a K-State basketball game
Is being a member of God's team so different? While He wants us to use our talents to the best of our ability, He also wants us to be team players. It may not be our time in the spotlight, but He wants us to be the assist guy (or gal) and His No. 1 fan.
As we experience Lent and make the journey toward Easter on March 31, Jesus is calling us to be self-less, not selfish. He gives us example after example in the Bible. Before Jesus went to the Cross, He had one final meal with his disciples. He celebrated the Passover Feast with the ones He loved in the Upper Room.
But no one volunteered to clean the dusty feet of the disciples. Until Jesus…
Stained glass window at Youthville Chapel, Newton, Kansas
Jesus “got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet.” (John 13:4-5) Even in this final meal, Jesus was teaching his disciples.
Jesus said: “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” (John 13:14)
How are we washing others' feet today? Is it through that sympathy card you sent to the grieving spouse from your Sunday School class? Is it when you show up at a high school game when you don't have anyone playing any more and cheer on the home team? Is it taking a cake to a funeral dinner? Is it leading or attending a Bible study?Is it volunteering at the rest home? Do you pick up some extra food and put it in the box for the food bank?
The possibilities to serve as Christ's hands and feet in this world today are plentiful. I've always loved this quote by Teresa of Avila:
Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which He looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which He blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are His body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
Teresa of Avila
I just came across this song called "The Basin and the Towel," by Michael Card. Just some of the words are:
In any ordinary place, on any ordinary day, the parable can live again when one will kneel and one will yield. ... In humility, to take the vow, that day after day we must take up the basin and the towel.
As we continue the journey of Lent and move toward Easter, it's my prayer that each of us - in any ordinary place and on any ordinary day - make the daily choice to "take up the basin and the towel."
***
This is my blog post for March at Lovely Branches Ministries. Check out what my friend, Suzanne, had to say about March Madness (I love that "One Shining Moment" video montage, too!) and read about how my friend, Keva, is choosing obedience through fasting this year.
I'm also linked today to Michelle DeRusha's Hear It On Sunday, Use It On Monday and at Jennifer Dukes Lee's Tell His Story. Be sure and check out what other bloggers of faith have to say at their blogs today.
Today I'd like to talk about ... Hmmm. How shall I delicately put this? Today, I'd like to talk about ... organic fertilizer. How's that?
If you raise livestock, then "poop" is a natural byproduct. You can't get more organic than that. Just like with humans, what goes in one end comes out another. When that natural byproduct has been collecting in the same spot for more than 20 years, it can create quite a pile.
In January, we hired the 4 Bar S Co. based in Arlington to move manure from five different locations where we feed cattle in the winter. They brought two big trucks and a payloader to do the job.
The payload
driver had to move circular bunks out of the way to get to the "goods."
Curious cattle in the pasture south of the lot came to watch the action.
To begin, the payloader operator pushed the manure into a big pile. Then, he scooped bucketfuls of the manure into the trucks.
The drivers tag-teamed and took trucks to nearby alfalfa fields and spread the "organic fertilizer." Each 1 ton load of manure was spread over about 1 acre and then the trucks went back for another load. They averaged a load of manure spread every 12 minutes. (Only Randy would time it.)
By the time they were done with the job, they had trucked 158 loads of manure to our alfalfa fields. It cost $43 per load if the manure was spread on a field within 1 mile of the collection site. Randy had it planned logistically so that the trucks didn't have to travel more than a mile to deliver the goods.
Randy chose to put the manure on alfalfa fields because manure is higher in phosphates than many commercial fertilizers. Alfalfa can use more phosphate than other crops, so it was a "natural" match, so to speak.
Because we used the manure on the fields, we won't need to do an application of commercial fertilizer on the alfalfa ground this year. Comparable commercial fertilizer would cost about $35 an acre.
So, why did we (Randy) choose to spend the $43 per acre rather than the $35 for commercial fertilizer? (Yes, of course, I asked, with my eye firmly on the checkbook.) Cleaning up the manure has some side benefits. It makes it less sloppy for feeding, reducing wear and tear on equipment. It also can help in disease control for the cattle.
Right now, the manure is still lying on top of the soil in the alfalfa fields. As the ground warms up and the moisture from our snow and rains soaks in, he or Jake will lightly disc and pack the alfalfa fields to incorporate the manure into the soil.
I've been humming The Beatles song, "I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends," since all of you helped me win the Beef Magazine online winter photo contest last week.
I realize this is beginning to sound like a broken record, but I promise that I'll keep these voting requests to a minimum. Still, I did find another fun contest, the Longest Lasting Farm Tool sponsored by Bayer Crop Science's Capreno® herbicide. It doesn't have anything to do with the quality of the photo, though you have to admit the fall colors are a nice backdrop for the old Ford tractor.
I entered our wire winder and Ford 8N Tractor as our Longest Lasting Farm Tool. I could win one of five $500 prizes, or the grand prize is $5,000. Click here to see the whole gallery and vote. (It's under Kim F., KS.) A direct link to my photo is here. Voting is open until midnight ET March 27.
Here's what I wrote, though I had to abbreviate it because I could only have 500 characters. (Now you know why I have trouble with Twitter and its measly 140 characters.):
After a photo session with our granddaughter last year, there have now been five generations of our family on the Ford tractor seat. Randy's father, Melvin, and grandfather, Clarence, bought the tractor in the 1950s. They used it to load silage for feeding cattle. Randy remembers using it to pull a two-row John Deere planter when they planted milo. He also cultivated milo with it when he was junior high age. These days, we have a wire winder on the back and use it for building and rolling up electric fence. The wire winder itself is homemade from a Model T frame, adding to the longevity of this farm workhorse.
Jill, Kinley & Randy last April. Isn't it amazing how much Kinley has changed in a year? See my blog earlier this week to see Kinley on the farm.
The old Ford tractor has seen a lot of seasons on the Fritzemeier Farms!
So friends, I'd again appreciate your vote. I'll try not to overwhelm you with requests. But you guys were just so good the last time! THANKS!
The luck of the Irish will follow you all of your days with this yummy snack mix. Of course, so will an expanded waistline.
That's why I'm taking it to church on St. Patrick's Day for our afternoon bingo party to raise money for missions and ministries. That way, Randy and I don't eat it all by ourselves. (It's hiding out in the freezer until then. Out of sight, out of mind? Well, it's worth a try!)
I found the original recipe on the Favorite Family Recipes blog, but I added a bit o' the green for a St. Patty's Day flair. The original recipe didn't have M&Ms, but I thought the colorful bits added the colors of the rainbow. I had thought about picking all the green M&Ms out of a bag of leftover Christmas M&Ms and tossing them into the mix, but rainbow colors (and my time!) won out in the end.
This snack mix can be easily adapted for other holidays and occasions:
For this St. Patrick's Day mix, I purchased green
candy melts. (The original recipe called for white chocolate bits.) You can change this for Easter by using pastel candy melts
and Easter M & Ms. It's easily adaptable to any holiday by using
colored candy melts and seasonal M & Ms. You can also use white almond bark or candy melts and add food coloring, but it has to be in oil, powder or paste form, not water-based or you will have a clump of unusable almond bark.
The original recipe called for using mini Reese's Peanut Butter
Cups. Randy isn't a peanut butter fan (I know! I can't believe it
either), and I thought the Rolos paired well with the caramel drizzle
anyway. You could add any flavor of the mini candies you'd prefer - like
Butterfingers, etc. These miniature versions of the original treats come in an 8-ounce bag, all unwrapped and ready to use. Gotta love the convenience!
You could add a salty component without adding salt by tossing some mixed
nuts into the mix before adding the chocolate and caramel drizzles.
For
March Madness TV viewing, choose a candy melt color in honor of your
favorite team and add colored M&Ms to match. (For us, it's K-State
purple and white, of course, as we cheer the 'Cats on during the Big 12
tournament and beyond.
No matter the occasion, the combination of crunchy cereal, candies and melted "goo" will have you over the moon - or, in this case, over the rainbow. Enjoy!
8 cups Chocolate Chex cereal
3/4 cup brown sugar
6 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. light corn syrup
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 8-oz. pkg. Rolos minis
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup M&Ms
1/2 cup caramel bits
1 tbsp. heavy cream
1/2 cup chocolate chips (milk or semi-sweet - your preference)
1/2 cup white chocolate baking chips (OR colored candy melts to suit the holiday)
1 tsp. coarse salt (opt.)
Into a large microwave-safe bowl, measure cereal. Set aside. Line cookie sheets with waxed paper.
In 2-cup microwave-safe measuring cup, combine butter, brown sugar and corn syrup. Microwave on High for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute, until melted and smooth. Stir in baking soda until dissolved. Pour caramel mixture over the cereal, stirring until evenly coated, but taking care not to break up the cereal any more than necessary. Microwave on High 3 minutes, stirring every minute. Spread on cookie sheets. Cool 10 minutes. Break into bite-sized pieces.
Make sure cereal mixture is cool to the touch. Evenly sprinkle mini Rolos, M&Ms and miniature marshmallows over the cereal mixture.
In small microwave-safe bowl, microwave caramel bits and cream, uncovered, for about 1 minute or until the mixture can be stirred smooth. Use a spoon or fork to drizzle over snack mix. Microwave the chocolate chips next, starting with 30-second intervals and stirring, making sure not to burn. Continue until chocolate is of spreading consistency. Drizzle over snack mix. Then microwave white chocolate chips or choose colored candy melts for a particular holiday or occasion. Again, microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring to prevent burning. Drizzle over the snack mix.
Sprinkle coarse salt over all while the drizzles are still wet. (This step can be left out or you could add a handful of salted mixed nuts for a salty element).
Refrigerate until set. Break apart and store in tightly-covered container.
***
Today, I'm again linking to Ashley's What's In Your Kitchen Wednesday feature. The Wichita blogger featured my Meatball Minestrone Soup on her site today. Thanks, Ashley! Be sure and visit her "kitchen" to find out what's cooking this week.
Hi, it's me again, Kinley Marie. Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you. But I was just too busy keeping up with my grandparents.
As
I told you last week, I came to Grandma and Grandpa Fritzemeier's farm
at the County Line for a visit. I rode with my Mommy to Wichita, where she had a meeting, and then my Grandma and Grandpa picked me up. It was a long trip to the farm, but I stayed awake so that I wouldn't miss anything.
When we got to their house, I got to meet some new friends. Well, I'm not sure they were my friends. They were kind of big, even though one of them was born just that day. I was not sure about getting too close, even with Grandpa there with me. It did give me a chance to practice my "moo" sounds. I am sure that my friends at day care will be impressed that I actually met some cows and didn't just read about them in a book.
It was my first time to meet the cows and calves. But I already knew that Grandpa loves his cats. I helped him feed them.
We also brought one in the house. The rule is that the cat has to stay on Grandpa's lap (Grandma's rules, not mine. She says she is getting soft in her old age because, once upon a time, animals weren't allowed in the house at all.) I was not sure that I wanted to get too close to Grandpa's friend, Tiger. It's important to evaluate situations from a distance. But, then I decided that he might be OK to touch. So I did. He was soft.
I also touched the piano. Grandma was perfectly fine with that. She and I sang lots of songs, too. We even did the actions to "If You're Happy and You Know It" and "Deep and Wide." If the piano playing doesn't work out, I may have a future in percussion. I used Tupperware lids as cymbals while I was waiting on Grandma to get dinner fixed. I also helped her set the table. I am quite a helper.
I am especially good at putting the salt and pepper shakers and the salad dressing bottles on the table.
At left, Kinley in the rocking chair; Jill in the same chair, upper right
Grandma and I did a lot of reading, too. Because I was at the farm, I read the baby farm animals book over and over again. They also got me a new farm animal puzzle. (I can't believe that Grandma didn't get a picture of me playing with the puzzle. She seemed to have the camera ready at every moment.) Anyway, Grandma and Grandpa think I made the turkey "gobble" sounds, honked like a goose and meowed like a kitty. My Mommy is not so sure. The grandparents seem easier to impress.
My favorite reading place was Grandma's lap. But I also liked reading in the rocking chair. My Grandma put a big doll in the chair, but that chair is for girls, not dolls. Grandma says that my Mommy used to sit in the rocking chair, too. (It had a different cover back then. I guess that was the olden days.)
I examined every toy in the toy box and gave them all a try. I also found where Grandma kept the Cheerios. Just in case she forgot, I stood in front of the cabinet door and pointed. All this activity makes a girl mighty hungry.
I also got a ride in the wagon that my Mommy and Uncle Brent used to ride in. It was shinier then.
My Mommy tried to give me a ride in the big swing, but I didn't like it much. I think I'll stick to my little swing at home.
I got to see the tractor when Jake was out feeding the cows. But I didn't get a ride this time.
If I keep practicing on my tractor, maybe next time they'll let me drive the real one.
Whew! That was quite a visit. It's hard work to entertain the grandparents.
I arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's farm yesterday. I am just so busy playing with Grandma and Grandpa and meeting lots of new animal friends that I don't have time to chat today.
Be sure and check back next week for my complete report from the County Line.
I do have time to tell you that Grandma won the Beef Magazine Winter Photo Contest. She says that just goes to show you that the Beatles had it right (whoever the Beatles are): You do "get by with a little help from your friends." She says that's a good lesson to remember. She also says "thanks" for taking time to vote!
My Kansas farming legacy goes back five generations on the Moore side and four on the Neelly lineage. Randy and I have been farming together now for nearly 32 years.
