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.

Monday Musings: Charleston

"Charleston, oh Charleston, I still hear your sea winds a blowin'..."

Wait a minute...that's not quite right, is it? Glen Campbell was singing about another city by another sea.

I headed to Charleston last week for a conference. It's the first time I visited the city and I was excited to fly in early enough to see some sights...but you know what they say about best-laid plans.

This little guy went missing within the first 20 minutes I was in town.

Now, I don't know about you but I'm just not me without my iPhone. Sad, but very, very true.

I figured out right away where I must have left it...in the airport shuttle van.

But what if it fell out of the van while I was exiting. Or what if the driver found it and immediately started calling China or sold it to a stranger down at the port?

Once I stopped panicking I realized that while I didn't have my iPhone with me, I did have my iPad and I had connected all of my Apple products via the iCloud. This meant I could download the very cool (and free) Find My iPhone app.

I spent the next 5 hours watching my iPhone cruise around Charleston until the nice driver dropped it off at my hotel for me. Did I tell you that the app has Google maps on it so you can actually see images of where your device is, not just a map?

Of course, this little mishap caused me to stay in my room staring at my iPad instead of sight-seeing. I did make myself go to the restaurant in the hotel for a meal and enjoyed some Indiana-raised roasted duck from Maple Leaf Farms...yummy!

After I was reunited with my long lost phone, I snapped this photo from my hotel room window. My room overlooked Marion Square. It was in the 70s most of the time I was down in Charleston so by Noon each day the square filled up with college students and young families enjoying the gorgeous weather.

The conference I attended was quite good (more insights later) and among many other things, I learned a little bit about South Carolina's history and its rich farming background.

Did you know that South Carolina farmers used to raise lots of rice, indigo, tobacco and peaches?

In fact, today in just a couple of counties (it might be four) South Carolina raises more peaches than that other state that claims to be the "Peach State."

That's your history lesson for the day, boys and girls!

Another cool fact I learned is that the trees in the photo below are NOT palm trees. These beautiful plants that grace the South Carolina flag, as well as line the streets of Charleston, are Palmetto trees.

I loved all the big homes across Charleston with the wide sweeping porches, Palmetto lined walks and hidden gardens.

I decided that if I owned a home with porches like the ones above in a southern city like Charleston, I would invest in a gorgeous Southern Belle dress and wear it at least once a week. While standing on my porch waving to tourists, I would call out, "Y'all enjoy y'ahselves now."

Boy, now I really want to go download a couple of Glen Campbell songs..."Like a Rhinestone Cowboy..."

Bacon and Other Random Pins

Some people use Google.

Others Yahoo or even Bing.

I know some folks who use YouTube.

But there's this place on the Internet where you can find recipes, the latest crafting ideas, cute outfits and even humorous quotes and cartoons.

What is this place you ask? Pinterest, of course!

As my first attempt at completing a writing prompt over at Mama's Losin' It, here are my last five Pins...

5.  I use Pinterest as a keeper of all things. 

Source: amazon.com via Megan on Pinterest

I write a weekend post over at Real Farmwives of America and I featured a book review last weekend that included this book.

4.  I use Pinterest to make me laugh.

Source: iwastesomuchtime.com via Megan on Pinterest

True statement. Sad, but treatment.

3.  I use Pinterest to improve my skills.

Source: loveveggiesandyoga.com via Megan on Pinterest

Or at least that's the plan. I did read through this post on photography tips for food shots.

2.  I use Pinterest to document some of my favorite memories.

Source: galinthemiddle.blogspot.com via Megan on Pinterest

There are many photos (better photos) out there of this exact same image, but this is my perspective and I love it.

1.  I use Pinterest to proclaim my love of bacon (and also S'mores but that's another post).

Source: mcphee.com via Megan on Pinterest

I think bacon represents more to me than just the world's most perfect food (it is though).

I grew up on a farm in Indiana and we raised pigs (and corn and soybeans). My dad and grandpa spent their days in the barn while we played in the toolshed or out in the yard.

When we piled into my dad's truck (or in the back - those were the days before seat belt laws), the signs were many that he raised pigs.

From the rubber boots in the back of the truck to the grease crayon (used to mark the back of a pig when sorting them) on the seat to the mounds of paper on the dash, dad's truck was his office. Looking back, I now know where I get my organization skills...dad's truck cab looked very similar to my desk in my office!

Bacon might be something that most people buy in the store (I do too) but it's something more to me. It's a reminder that there are people, like my dad, who spend their lives raising food so that I can enjoy bacon at breakfast...and lunch...and supper.

Or, maybe it's just bacon...who knows!

Cookies, Clematis and Combines

Cookies

I was craving homemade cookies this weekend and I just watched the second episode of The Pioneer Woman's show on Food Network.

Because of the above, I made these...

I remembered reading about Monster Cookies on one of the blogs I frequent but it was before I started Pinning in and every recipe I may ever want to try. This meant I had to do some searching and I finally came upon PW's recipe on the Tasty Kitchen site.

If you have never used Tasty Kitchen to look up a recipe, I highly recommend it. Lots of great bloggers and others post their favorite recipes there.

Clematis
My sweet autumn clematis has started to bloom!

Can't wait to see it in full bloom!

Combines
As I was driving by the farm (also known as Grandma's house...even though my baby sister and her family live there now) and noticed this...

as sure of a sign that harvest is right around the corner as the turning corn and soybeans in the field around us! We were thinking that harvest was going to be late this year because all the rain this spring caused Dad and other farmers in Indiana to plant late. However, we didn't get much any rain in July and August so the crops have already started to turn. 

Looks as if they either plan to start with soybeans (the bean head is on the combine...the corn head looks more like fingers) OR they are just cleaning it up while they have some time.

Harvest was early last year and it went VERY fast so I only got to ride with Dad once the whole harvest...I'm definitely going to be in the cab more often this year...if I can persuade my nephews to give me a turn in the jump seat!

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.”

5 Things from My Dad

In anticipation of Father’s Day, I started to think about all of things I’ve inherited from my father, as well as everything he’s taught me. The list is too long to put in this post, so I narrowed it down to 5 things:


1. My blue eyes:

 

2. My sense of humor: I’m a little off kilter and silly, just like my dad. We have some great inside jokes in my family and most of them can be traced back to my dad. I say “Butler.” He says “Cincinnati.” We both laugh. See I told you, an inside joke!

3. My love of the comics page:

 

First let me say that my dad reads two newspapers front-to-back every day and I picked up that habit from him as well. However, my mom does that as well but she does NOT read the funnies (what we call the comics page) – that is something I learned solely from my dad.

It’s so bad that a) we’ve passed it on to my oldest nephew and b) dad and I can have such serious conversations about certain comic strips. So much so that if my mom walks in mid-conversation, she asks us who we are talking about.  When we say “Crankshaft” or Funky Winkerbean,” she rolls her eyes and walks away!

4. An appreciation for the land and what it can give to us:

 

My dad’s work uniform is a white t-shirt, blue jeans and work boots. For his entire life, including the four years he went to college, he has farmed. He’s farming the same land that his father and grandfather farmed and that is a lesson as well. My dad instilled in me the knowledge that if you work the land and tend it carefully that it will provide for you – and your children and your children’s children and so on. It’s not an easy life’s work and I’m appreciative that he – and others – chooses to do it so I can pursue my life’s work without worrying about having to grow food to feed myself.

5. A sense of family:

Enough said!