Farmer Boy

My little Farmer Boy.

Ethan has gotten to help Grandpa bottle feed the bucket calves a few times this summer. Giving "Bubba" his bottle has quickly become Ethan's favorite farm activity. 

I think I have the best of both worlds by marrying into a farming family. I get to live in town but my son gets to be raised around the animals, work ethic and the values and heritage of the generational, family farm. 

It's a boy! It's a girl! It's calving time.

Spring has arrived at the farm and calving is in full swing. Jim's Dad was called out to North Dakota for work, so we have been more actively involved in the daily calving work then we have the last few years.

My involvement has always been limited to watching, taking pictures and giving the calves names - much to the disapproval of the men.

This year, I'm getting a little muddier...but still taking lots of pictures. I'm not much help - should I be boiling water? getting ready to cut the umbilical cord? catch the baby calf? (what?! the newborn calf just free falls down to the ground?)

I obviously have a lot to learn.

On Friday, this little baby was born. Welcome Bluebell. (yep, I'm still naming the calves.)

Ethan spends most of his time climbing fences. It's a great activity for a little boy.

This cow was very vocal about her displeasure of us messing with her baby. I can't say that I blame her.

 This calf welcomed the sunshine by scampering and prancing all around the field. Following two horribly windy and cold days, I felt like dancing in the sunshine, too.

 Another Mama keeping a close eye on my actions.

A tip of the hat to you, Mama. I've certainly felt like a milk cow at a certain point in my life.

And maybe this is the real reason that I enjoy hanging out at the farm...

Sorry about that...I apologize for my lack of tact.

We did have one stillborn calf on Saturday morning that Ethan witnessed. He did a good job of asking questions and handling the situation. He has mostly enjoyed retelling this fact to anyone who will listen and it hasn't led to any nightmares.

The calving process has also led to many other interesting questions from Ethan. I wasn't expecting to have the Birds and the Bees talk yet, but we've been venturing into that territory a lot lately. sigh.

Christmas Eve 2010

For  Christmas Eve, we headed out to the Knowles farm for dinner and presents. We started with a large spread of goodies to munch on while waiting for the chili and oyster stew to finish. By the time the soup was on, we were all pretty full from all the grazing.

I didn't take many pictures this year, keeping up with a very excited four year old took up most of my time this year and I didn't want to take my focus off of what was truly important to hide behind my camera all night.

I did make all the grandsons get together for their annual Christmas photo. They sure are trying to look tough but you can tell their pretty excited that we are about to open presents.

At the Knowles household, they sort out all the gifts into piles and then everyone opens them up at once. (Where at my parent's home, we each took a tour opening a present and watching each other.) Ethan sure is excited by his pile of loot!

Check out that determined face while ripping into his first package.

 Ethan's newest move was holding his prized treasures above his head and shouting "Oh Yea"! It made for some pretty funny moments. (and some peaks at his cute, round toddler tummy)

Once we returned home from the farm, Ethan opened up one package under our tree that contained his new Christmas pjs. A plate of cookies and a mug of milk was prepared for Santa and Ethan also put out a carrot for Santa's reindeer. I never left anything for the reindeer, but I'm sure they really appreciated being included.



Spring Calves

Spring time means calving season and my favorite time of the year to be out at the farm. You'll find us out there many evenings and each weekend working with the cows and enjoying the sunshine.

This little girl is my favorite calf so far this season. Aren't baby calves so cute? I named her Shelby but she's better known simply as cow #11.

I always name the cows, which makes my husband and father-in-law tease me. At first, they thought I would become too attached to the cows if I started naming them. But when it comes time to choose between the money that comes from selling the cows or keeping them as pets, it's pretty easy for me to choose the money we use to substain our family over a huge cow as a pet. So while Shelby is a cute baby calf, someday she'll provide for our family by being sold at the sale barn or filling our freezer for the year. I'm sure Shelby will taste great...cold hearted, I know. :)

Last weekend, it was time to give the cows their shots.

Hello Pansy

Protective momma cow with her baby. I can relate to the mommies that get so stressed when their babies are separated from them when we're working cows.

This weekend, while out at the farm, Jim took me target shooting. I haven't shot a gun in over four years. I stopped shooting when I got pregnant and never took it back up.

Ethan was busy playing on the swing set, so we decided to take some time to work on target shooting. Even though it's been four years, my first shot was a success.

Bulls Eye!

First shot, dead center of the cross hairs in the center of the bulls eye. Target shooting is a great stress reliever...I'll have to remember to do it more often.

Farm Boy Lovin and Muddin

This weekend, we pulled on our boots and headed out to the farm. Yes, I do own work boots for the farm and they are scuffed, worn and dirty. Those that knew me growing up would probably not have pegged me to be the one that married a farm boy and stayed in the country. It wasn't my plan but love (and Wranglers) makes us do funny things.

This is my in-laws farm out in Kirwin, KS. I love the rustic fence that lines their country road and then, over in the distance, you can see the lake. They have a beautiful bay window in their home that overlooks this view. When Ethan was a baby, I would sit in their rocking chair and rock Ethan and soak up this scenery. It's my favorite spot in their home to just sit quietly and daydream. This lake is where I fell in love with my farm boy. We would spend our summers out here, when we were dating in high school, going for Jeep rides or exploring the wildlife reserve. Now it's Ethan's favorite place for exploring and adventures.

Ethan's favorite toy out at the farm is this little car. It was difficult to find a piece of ground that wasn't a sloppy, muddy mess in order for him to drive the car that he calls “Cozy Coo.”

Of course, we had to check out the chickens. I love the supply of farm fresh eggs that we receive from these feathered friends.

After the chickens, Ethan was ready to hit the swing set. Check out those muddy shoes - we were a muddy mess by the time we loaded up to head home!

Our newest dog, Dexter, loves going to the farm. He chases the farm cats and gets to really run around and get out some of his young pup friskiness out. Jim enjoys having a farm companion and is starting to train him to pheasant hunt. However, at this point, Dexter doesn't like the feel of feathers in his mouth so the training has a long way to go.

It was much colder than the forecast predicted, so after about an hour we were ready to load back into the truck and head home. I love the variance of heights in Jim and Ethan's shadows in the picture above. They are such a pair - Ethan is a little mini-me of his Daddy.