Tuesday, January 24, 2023

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!

24 comments:

  1. Kim, thank you for all the farm memories. Raised on a farm,you just can’t get the love of animals, land, and family out of your soul. Your blog has given me many wonderful memories.

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  2. Those are my comments. Judy Fritzemeier

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    1. I have you entered in the drawing, Judy! Thanks for commenting!

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  3. Treasure your writings and photographs. Thank you for being a bright spot!

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    1. Good to see you at some ballgames this winter, Lori! Thanks for the affirmation!

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  4. Congratulations on 13 years of sharing your gift of writing, photography and blogging. The farm memories and photos are priceless!!!

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    1. Thank you! I'm not sure whose name to include with this post, so if you let me know it was YOU, I'll enter your name in the drawing.

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  5. Congratulations on 13 years! Always enjoy your posts!

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    1. Again, just let me know who you are and I'll be glad to put your name in the hat.

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  6. I love reading your blog!! You are an amazing writer!!! Thanks for sharing with us!!!

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    1. Sorry. I posted anonymously 🤦🏼‍♀️ Millie Dearden

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    2. I got you down, Millie! Good to hear from you!

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  7. Kim, while I haven't followed you for the entire 13 years, I have so enjoyed your blog and facebooks posts. Your blog taught me about farming and raising cattle, topics that are dear to my heart, having grown up in the rural community of Stafford. Thank you so much for sharing your life with your readers, and enriching our lives with your words and photos.

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    1. Always good to hear from you, Cathy! Keep up the posts with the beautiful glimpses of your travel!

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  8. I always learn something as I read your blog and enjoy your photography! Congratulations on 13 years! Your dedication is inspiring!

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    1. Thank you, Sarah, for your encouragement!

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  9. I love that you made all of those books! Your family will love looking through all of the memories of your farm. What a great legacy!
    Cheri Simpson

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    1. I hope they will eventually! It's fun to watch your grandchildren grow up through your Facebook posts. Thanks for sharing.

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  10. Love, love all of your writing, photography & recipes❣️Can’t get enough of the stories of life on the farm and the memories they trigger for me. Congratulations on 13 years of these labors of love.

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    1. Thank you, Peggy! Keep posting photos from your travels and adventures. Both Randy and I enjoy seeing them. We just might get inspired to explore some of them, too.

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  11. As I was reading through your post I was afraid you were going to say you were not going to blog any longer. I'm happy that is not the case. Keep up the inspiring words and the great photos my friend.

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    1. No, I don't have plans to quit right now. Thanks for your encouragement. (If you want your name entered in the drawing, let me know who you are. I don't know why Google has made it harder for your identity just to come up on the comment portion.)

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  12. I love that blogging has made us friends, although thousands of miles separate us.

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  13. I agree, Helen! I am thankful for your friendship across the miles!

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