What I'm Loving Wednesday Harvest Style

I'm loving that I got home in time to capture some shots of corn harvest at my parents' house tonight. 

I'm loving that my nephew G was in the jump seat of the combine and when he saw me coming across the field, he struck a silly pose.

I'm loving that G invited me into the cab to ride with them! 

I'm loving that my dad let G "drive" the combine and that the responsibility made his "gut hurt" as G put it. It's a big deal to steer the big green machine through the field!

"Papaw said there's no driving age for the combine."

"Keep it between the rows."

The same field, just headed away from the sun!

I'm loving this shot. Not sure why, but I do.

I'm loving this shot of all the green machines in a row!

I'm not loving that the hot, dry summer took its toll on our fields. Someone asked my how were we affected and I think my dad explained it best tonight. 

He said that he normally had to unload the corn from the combine after one round through the field (up and back once) - in one really good year, he couldn't even go that long. This year he was easily making two rounds before unloading. 

Disappointing, yes.  Disheartening, yes.  The end of the world, no.

The beautiful part of farming is that every year we have a chance to raise a crop again. The ultimate do-over.

Linking up to this kind of love!

What I'm Loving Wednesday Tired Style

I'm loving that harvest has started in my neck of the woods! It's still early in the season, but I did catch Dad unloading the last of the corn in his first field last week.

Unfortunately, the crop has been affected by the drought that many of us experienced this summer so harvest will probably be much quicker this year. However, we are thankful that there IS a crop out there. Many farmers can't say the same this year.

I'm loving that I have the next four days off of work! I have a silly habit of hoarding my vacation time until the end of the year (our year end is 9/30) and then having to take several days off so as not to lose them. Luckily, I work for corn & soybean farmers and they are a bit busy right now (see above) so our office slows down a bit this time of year.

I'm loving that I spent my first day of vacation with my two nieces and one nephew as a stand-in babysitter. We built a cool sheet tent behind my big red couch. Why? Because my nephew asked me to.

We had a good time, even with my youngest niece deciding to "paint" herself with her own poo (sorry for the oversharing but I had to) during her afternoon nap.

I'm loving that my baby sister asked me what I got done today. I told her that I watched a 19-month-old, 23-month-old and a 4-year-old. That's what I got done today! That and some browsing on Pinterest...

I'm loving that Starbucks has decided to load their free drink rewards coupon (that will come after 12 drinks, not 15) right to my card instead of sending me a postcard. I swear that I don't always get them!

However, I'm quite sad that they are taking away the free syrups. I may have to start re-considering my signature drink OR try to re-create it at home like I did this morning...

I'm loving that I spent last Friday night with a handful of ladies - both farm gals and not - touring some wonderful farms in Johnson County, Indiana - including Keegan Poe's farm in Franklin. He talked to us about how he raises his cattle, how he sells freezer beef, pork & lamb direct to consumers, and we visited the pasture to meet his herd, including this gal (or fellow, I'm not sure).

We finished the farm tours at Mallow Run Winery in Bargersville and learned that unlike the corn and soybeans, Indiana wine grapes endured and even flourished in this summer's drought. After the tour of the vineyards and the wine-making barn (not sure what to call it), we even got to taste! Yum.

I may or may not have taken 4 bottles (the box fits 4 bottles!) home with me and wishing I bought a couple others.

I'm loving linking up to What I'm Loving Wednesday over at this kind of love.

Always Makes Me Smile

No words needed.

But I will add a few because I can.

I love impromptu cookouts at the cabin at the farm pond with the family.

It was a GORGEOUS night. Not too hot. Nice breeze. Plenty of sun.

I'm looking for many more of these evenings as we move into summer!

Easter Traditions Through Instagram

Easter is just around the corner and I was lucky to have Good Friday off of work. 

I probably should have used the day to do laundry, put away my laundry, clean my floors or even put away the boxes of Christmas decorations that are sitting in my dining room!

Instead I spent the day with my family doing some of my favorite Easter traditions. 

While at Blissdom, Hershey's asked us to share our favorite Easter traditions, tips or tricks on our blogs as part of their virtual Bunny Trail. I will admit right now that there might be some not-so-virtual Hershey's Easter candy in the house right now...Yummy!

There have been some great posts shared on Hershey's Bunny Trail and a couple of my pals from over at The Real Farmwives of America and Friends are even featured in a video on Hershey's website - www.CelebrateWithHersheys.com. Be sure to check it all out.

As I said before, it was a day full of activity. It started at my parents' house with my mom and me in the kitchen preparing for my FAVORITE Easter tradition. More on that later...

Another Easter tradition that I enjoy but rarely do now that I am an adult is coloring Easter eggs!

My two oldest nephews had early dismissal from school on Friday so I picked them up and treated them to ice cream before heading to the farm to color eggs.

On our way home, we stopped by the local greenhouse and the boys picked out some Easter flowers from their mom (my older sister) and grandma (my mom).


It was great to see how seriously they took their task and I think they chose beautifully.

My two younger sisters met us at the farm with the rest of the nephews and nieces and we got down to business. The first half dozen eggs were carefully lowered into coffee mugs filled with colored water. We got a bit more creative with the second half dozen.

I loved to dip the eggs in multiple coffee cups as a kid and I introduced my nephews to this tradition and we got some very cool colored eggs out of it!

After we dyed the eggs, I sent the nephews outside with a couple baskets of plastic eggs to "practice" hunting them in preparation for a Saturday Easter Egg Hunt at church and Sunday's main event.

While they were outside, we got down to business on my FAVORITE Easter tradition - my Grandma's Butterscotch Rolls. Every Holy Saturday during my childhood (and into my adult life), my grandma would make these gooey, cinnamon rolls and we would eat them warm out of the oven the evening before Easter Sunday.

My mom has taken up the tradition in recent years and I made them for the first time last year. So we decided to make them together this year, and they were WONDERFUL.

Now, I know what you are thinking...if you always have them on Holy Saturday, why were you eating them on Good Friday? Good question!


The family is heading to an Indiana Pacers game tonight because two of our favorite former Purdue University basketball players are on the opposing team and we hope to see them play in the NBA. So we decided to bump up the tradition a day instead of not doing it this year.


I think Grandma would approve!

Sunshine Equals Spring Chores

While fall is my overall favorite season (love cool weather and harvest time), spring is a very close second. I love the transition from winter coats and sweaters (though wish I could wear tights all year round) to jackets and sandals (or at least shoes without socks).

However, I feel like we went from winter directly to late spring/early summer this year. Temperatures in Indiana have been warm, really warm in the month of March and they don't seem to be waning as we enter April.

The warm weather has meant several things around here...spring flowers and trees are blooming, lawn mowers are mowing and farmers are farming!

It's time for farmers to put away their insulated coveralls and heavy Carhartt jackets and luckily for my dad, Carhartt sent him this great short-sleeved work shirt just in time for the warm spring temperatures. 

I have to admit that he has worn this short-sleeved, button-down classic plaid shirt as much OFF the farm as he has ON the farm. He says it is super (maybe my word, not his) comfortable and fits great. Note that it has a pocket, which I have been told by more than one farmer is a MUST...needed to hold pens, glasses, notebooks, checkbooks, etc.

On this particular warm (note the nephew in shorts and sandals above) spring day, dad was catching up on a few spring chores before he gets busy in the fields in a few weeks.

 Climbing into the trusty John Deere.

 I think this look was saying "I'm getting tired of my favorite daughter following me around."

(I may have added the "favorite" to that thought.)

 The backhoe has been busy cleaning up the farmstead this spring.

 Here he was just showing off...spinning the seat around. 

 Dad has several grain bins on the farm, which means loading the semi to sell some corn.

(Or maybe it was soybeans that day...I can't remember.)

 "Hey Papaw, what are you doing? Can I help?"

 "Papaw, are you done yet? Can I ride in the semi? Can we take a Gator ride?"

(Can you tell the nephew asks questions...a lot?)

Finished...time to go check the bins.

 Farmers can't be afraid of heights.

All done. Watch your step!

As you can see, my dad is one busy, busy guy and his new Carhartt shirt was the right gear to wear on a very warm, yet typical spring day at the farm.

Head over to the Real Farmwives of America to check out some of the other great new gear from Carhartt's new spring line AND for a giveaway sponsored by Carthartt!

Disclaimer: Carhartt provided me - my dad - the free product, but the opinions and photos in this post are my own (well, and my dad's), of course.

Throw on a Jacket It's Fall

Fall is hands-down my FAVORITE time of the year. 

I love wearing jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt then throwing on a jacket and heading out.

I recently got a comfy track jacket from the women's line at Carhartt...

and I've been wearing it every where, including the Fountain Square Art Fair with my very cute niece (above).

I think it will work great with a warm winter vest as the weather turns colder but for now I've been layering it over t-shirts to go out to breakfast with my pal Jane and her kiddos...

and dinner with a great group of gal pals (thanks Cris for the photo and Leontien for the meal).

I even wear it to the farm to hang out with my other cute niece - JJ. (Side note: Her shirt says "My Auntie is Awesome" - wonder who bought her that?)

Stubby, the barn cat, came out to see us.

And look who we found at the grain bins? My uncle Sam wearing in his Carhartt overalls!

Carhartt jackets, overalls and coveralls are part of the "uniform" for my dad and uncle on the farm, especially when they are working outside in the winter. There was definitely a nip in the air while we were visiting with Uncle Sam so we didn't stay out long.

Just long enough for JJ to bat her eyes and get a taste of Uncle Sam's apple...well maybe more like 3 or 4 bites!

To win a Carhartt of your own please visit the Real Farmwives of America blog to sign up for their giveaway.


Carhartt did provide me with this product to review but the thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own, of course.

Dirty Jobs, A Farmer's Hands

I am supposed to be posting about the Dirty Jobs that are done around the farm on a very regular basis. Today is the day where the gals that make up the Real Farmwives of America and Friends all blog about the same subject pertaining to the farm. Go check out my gals over there. They rock.

Unfortunately, I don't live on the farm anymore and I haven't been around the farm while my dad and brother-in-law are actually doing any of those sort of jobs.

Not that they haven't been working...they have. After an incredibly wet spring, they were able to get into the field and get all of their corn and soybean acres planted. Then it rained again and again!

So, I'm sure I could have captured shots of their muddy boots and tractor tires. But I didn't.

I did grab this shot recently (OK, tonight actually).

I've always loved my dad's hands (and his farmer tan). I know I'm a bit strange, but to me they are both very visible reminders of who he is and what he does.

You can't look at those hands and think my dad sits behind a desk.

But he is a business owner, a marketer, an accountant...he just gets his hands dirty more often than he sits in meetings.

So, here's a salute to all of the dirty jobs my dad does without a second thought. I'm glad that he goes out each and every day with the intent to grow things...nothing more, nothing less!

I found the following on the original "Dirty Jobs" guy's website - www.mikeroweworks.com. I think it sums up why farming can be dirty!

 “Every year we demand more and more from our farmers. More food from less land. More food from less energy. More food from less labor. And every year our farmers deliver.”

Why I Love My Life

There is something about a fence and cattle on the other side.

The sight draws you.

It makes you stop and just take it all in.

It attracts others.

I'm loving that as a child I stood at and climbed over this same fence to get closer to the cattle in the summer (my dad's a farmer, not a rancher so when I say "cattle" I mean four or five at a time) or to go sledding in the winter.

I'm loving that my nephews (and soon my nieces) get to experience the same kind of childhood as my sisters and I had on (or near) the farm.

I'm loving that my dad is the kind of grandpa (or Papaw) that his dad (my Grandpa) was...patient, kind, loving, silly, fun and wise.

I'm loving my simple country life (that is still just 30 minutes away from the closest mall) and that I share it with my family.

Linking up to Wordless Wednesday over at Pinke Post.