What we're afraid of

Spring buds under gray spring sky

I had an experience this morning that kind of got my panties in a bunch, so to speak. When I dropped Rafe off at preschool, I asked his teacher if she'd like me to bring baby chicks in for the class to see. And without going into the whole conversation, the short answer was, no, because of avian flu concerns and immunization concerns, etc. But some pictures of the chicks would be okay.

Before I go on, I want to make it very clear that I am not upset with the teacher. I'm not faulting her at all. She's a dear woman who does a wonderful job trying to prepare these little people for kindergarten, teach them some manners, and bring a Christian perspective to it all. I feel for her, and all of the government mandates that she has to try and work under.

But it got me to thinking about society in general, and it seems like we're afraid of the wrong things. We're afraid of baby chicks, God's creatures, of avian flu which has never yet manifested on this continent. But we happily gobble down corn chips made with GMO-corn. Or lunch meat with laboratory-produced bacteria sprayed on it. And probably soon, meat and milk from cloned animals.

We're letting the government tell us what to be afraid of, and what not to be afraid of. And who is the government these days? Sadly, not our elected representatives but those with the money to influence those representatives. How much of Monsanto's budget do you think goes to lobbying efforts to keep their products in the food chain?

I'm sure I'm not the only one, at least in this blog's readership, that's more afraid of what a food chain comprised of genetically modified organisms, so-called "good" bacteria, and cloned animals is doing to our bodies than of a baby chick. And I'm sure I'll be labeled the odd girl out, a hippie, and just plain un-American because of it.

But why do we need bacteria sprayed onto our hot dogs and lunch meat? Because we are so far removed from our food source. Someone else is making our food for us. Someone else that we will never meet. Is it any wonder that people don't trust each other anymore? The person making our hot dogs doesn't have to see us on the street, look us in the eye, and assure us that they took every proper safety precaution at their job that day.

The person that drove the truck carrying those hot dogs to the store doesn't have to see us on the street, look us in the eye, and assure us that the truck was properly refrigerated that day and the hot dogs went immediately from refrigerated truck to refrigerated case.

Unlike our local meat locker, these people's jobs do not depend on the consumers being happy (and healthy) from their products.

In typical government style, we won't fix the problems in the food supply chain. Or better yet, encourage local food systems. We'll just spray bacteria on the food, a bandaid to cover up the problem and make the unthinking consumer feel safe. And best of all, they don't even have to tell us what we're actually eating. There is no requirement that foods made from GMO's or clones, or foods sprayed with bacteria, be labeled as such.

Do you think it's because they're afraid we won't buy their food if we know the truth?

But we who direct market food do see our customers on the street, do have to look them in the eye. We feel a responsibility to our customers to provide nourishing food, safe food, with integrity and honesty and complete transparency.

More than angry, it makes me sad. Sad that there will be children growing up having never held a baby chick. Another generation, now even further removed from the source of their food than the last. Only experiencing farm animals in pictures.

I called Matt at work and told him about the exchange. His response? "That's why we have to keep on doing what we're doing."

Those of you who are already our customers know you have a standing invitation to visit the farm, get up close and personal with the animals. Now I extend that invitation to any others of you reading this blog. We get baby chicks in April and August. Bring the kids out to cuddle them. Or yourself - have you held a baby chick? During the months of May and September you can come check out our protected free-range system of raising the broiler chickens on pasture. And there's always a pig here needing a scratch behind the ears, or cattle to just stand around and admire.

Happy Birthday!

Two of my dearest friends share this happy day.

Go wish Lisa a Happy Birthday, today!

And also Mindy!.

Happy birthday girls :)

Garden, March 28

What a difference a few weeks of warm weather makes! The big snow from the beginning of March is already gone.

Not that it's fit enough to do anything with yet. But that doesn't stop Rafe from digging. "I'm digging for worms! And I'm going to sell dirt!"

But the cabbages have sprouted in the basement. We should be seeing tomato, pepper and eggplant seedlings any day now as well. Broccoli, plus flowers and herbs for Madeline's "edible landscaping" 4-H project will be started this coming weekend.

I spent my evening...

sewing pretty pink ballerina ribbons onto toe shoes...



for this farmgirl (with her handsome father).

Today she went from pigpen, to softball practice, to school, to pigpen, to dance class, to bed. And she's on the honor roll.

What? A mom can brag, can't she?

Naptime

Heartbreak is...

your gilt farrowing, then having no mothering instinct whatsoever and the whole litter dies. And you think she ate the last one.

Now what...give her another chance, or send 10 months of time & money invested down the road?

We didn't take our own advice about not buying fancy breeding stock when it came to the hogs. Won't be making that mistake again.

Cross you fingers things go better with the other 2 gilts.

This is heartbreaking, too.

But...happiness is sleeping with the windows open for the first time this spring, and the smell of the earth waking up.

It's been a rather exciting bird day at Sugar Creek today. Too bad I suck at nature photography. So all of these photos are linked to other websites.

( Telephoto lens and Birding binoculars - hint, hint dear :)

Our kitchen window overlooks the creek and pasture. This morning ny muscovy ducks were all out on the creek. I noticed a couple of ducks downstream, apart from the rest. And then realized that they weren't my ducks. I grabbed the binoculars and enjoyed a show of creek diving by male and female Common Mergansers.


(from the Birds of India website)

Standing alongside the creek was what I believe to be a Sandhill Crane. His back was to me so I couldn't see the telltale red patch on top of his head, but otherwise this is what he looked like.


(from the Montana Outdoors website)

Then as Rafe and I were driving out the driveway, a bird that had apparently been in the tree at the end of the driveway took flight right over my truck. At first I thought it was a hawk, but then realized it was much bigger. It's white tail and head gave away its identity as an adult Bald Eagle. They seem to always show up this time of year.


(from the Bird Guide website)

Quite a lot of excitement before 8:30 a.m.!

Signs of Spring

Canada geese on the creek



Chickens out and about



MUD! My least favorite.


But soon there will be my most favorite signs - babies! Piglets, calves, and chicks to come.

Garden, March

Here's the garden, barracaded at the east end by a huge pile of snow.

This picture was taken last week, and quite a bit of snow has melted since then. The pile has probably shrunk by about half.

Today, however, we were back down to high's in the mid-30's so not much melting action going on. It will be quite a while yet before I can plant anything. Anything outdoors, anyway. But I plan to get the seed starting rack into action this weekend.

Weird (and rather boring) things

A while back - quite a while back - Genie over at The Inadvertant Gardener tagged me to list 5 weird things about myself.

"This will be easy," I thought. "I'm very weird."

And then, nothing.

So I enlisted my family for help.

Madeline: How about your obsession with the computer?

Me: I get paid to sit in front of a computer all day. And anyway, we're talking about blogland here. Spending a lot of time with your computer is not weird in this audience.

Madeline: Okay, how about your clothes? Grandma says you dress like a teenager.

Me: Oh really?

Madeline: Nevermind. I've said too much already.

Matt: How about whenever you get a headache you say to me, "It's probably a tumor. Do you think it's a tumor?"

Me: Okay. I'll give you that one.

Matt:

Matt:

Matt:

Matt: Huh, maybe you're not as weird as I thought.

They were not much help, either.

So other than my wardrobe and my neurotic worries, here's what I came up with:

1. I'm always looking for patterns in things. It's not even a concious thing at first, more like an "oh, I'm doing it again" thing. The repeat in wallpaper, the drum or bass line in a song, the order of the colors of stripes in a throw rug.

Well duh, I'm a computer programmer.

2. Maybe this goes along with #1, but if you buy eggs from me you might notice that I always put the eggs in the carton in a certain order. Large in front, small in back, blue eggs placed in a zig-zag pattern amongst the brown eggs.

3. When I was 10 or 12 years old the subject of having children came up and I told my mother, "I'm having test tube babies." Once she stopped laughing she informed me that they don't grow in the test tube the whole time. Bummer. For a while my nickname was "Beaker".

4. I'm ridiculously shy. It sounds downright stupid to be a shy 36-year-old. And then I worry that people won't realize I'm shy, that they will simply think I'm stuck up or something. So I'm a shy, neurotic worrier.

5. Other people's feet creep me out. (People over the age of 5, anyway.) But it's okay if you want to rub mine.

So there you have it. 5 or 7 weird and rather boring things.

If you're reading this, consider yourself tagged! Leave a link back to your own post in the comments.

So close...

Fatman & Robin are saying, "Na-na na-na boo boo"

...and yet so far. We feed the cats in this old washtub on the front porch. Just out of Ava's reach.

R.I.P., Superstar

Losing animals is part and parcel of farming, usually noted but not dwelled upon. But last week our Miss Silkie died. Those of you who were reading this blog this time last year know her as our Hollywood chicken.

I had noticed for a couple of days that she looked dumpy, not her usual fluffy and happy self. Then one day when I went out for chicken chores, I found her dead in the coop. I'll miss her.

Rafe said, "Awwww, our poor little Superstar."

Matt said, "It's the Sugar Creek Farm version of Anna Nicole Smith!"

Madeline said, "We should give those people in Hollywood a call. Maybe they'll bring us back out there. Because we're grieving."

Five

Dear Rafe Henry,

Today you turned five. Not that I need to tell you that, you've been counting down since July. And not that I need to tell anyone else that, either. You told everyone we saw today, "Hey! I'm five!" while displaying all five fingers on your right hand.

You're convinced that now that you've turned five, they will finally admit you into kindergarten. First thing Monday morning. Dude, you're going to be mighty disappointed when I pull up outside of preschool again. Now you'll be counting down to August. And I'll be trying not to even think of putting you on a schoolbus.

This week you learned to buckle your own seatbelt. Really I think you could have accomplished this before now, but you have a bit of a prince complex and believe that the rest of us are here to serve you. But buckling your own seatbelt is a big deal because now I'll allow you to sit in the "way back". And this makes you feel like big stuff. Once buckled in, Prince Rafe commands that his theme song be played. Your theme song is "Click Click Boom" by Saliva, and yes, it has a couple of swear words in it, but it rocks and it has a good message which, in a nutshell, is "dream big, quit your whining and don't blame your parents for everything." Remember that, especially that last part.

Your interests right now include dinosaurs, matchbox cars, Tonka trucks, everything farm related, and karate/wrestling. The first thing you do when you get home in the afternoon is change immediately into your pajamas, er, I mean "karate clothes". Your uncle Kyle tries to teach you the right way to wrestle, and you go along with it for a bit, but inevitably it all ends in a body slam.

When you're excited you say, "I'm so exciting!" And when you're bored you say, "I'm so boring." But believe me, you're never boring, and I could type all night trying to capture all of the ways that you bring fun and joy, laughter and happiness into this family. Yes, you drive us crazy sometimes. I get mad at you for your selective listening. You still don't like to sit still except when someone reads to you. Your sisters have been begging for a lock to keep you out of their bedroom. But I don't think any one of us could even imagine life without you.

Happy Birthday, 5-year-old.

Love,
Yo Mama

The farm where I grew up

The farm where I grew up sits along the Cedar River, nestled up to the bottom of the river bluff. The house is just off to the right of this picture. My parents bought this farm when I was about a year old. Corn and soybeans and hay. Hogs, farrow to finish. A cow/calf herd. Typical for then, maybe not so much for now. Typical is much bigger these days. 35 years later my dad still farms the ground (no hay now), my brother has the buildings for his hogs.

My brother and I and the neighbor girl (she was "Little Kelly" and I was "Big Kelli") had some grand adventures exploring the woods and the caves and the river banks. In my memory now it seems like we were out and about from morning until dark, on foot, or on bikes, or later a 3-wheeler.

A parade of images marches through my head. My dad pulling our sled behind the tractor in the field across the road. Washing our 4-H pigs for the county fair. Picnics at the cave in the bluff with the big rock in front of it. Riding the "Mitchell" bus. Following the deer paths through the woods between our house and the neighbor's. Wildflowers in spring. Almost putting my car in the river on the way to school one slippery winter morning. Last-day-of-school campouts in the woods with my friends.

It's interesting, as I sit here, trying to formulate the words to describe my feelings about this place. I'm failing. And I wouldn't want to share them in a public forum anyway. They seem to run the full gamut of emotion, tied up as they are with past experiences, present reality, and the future.

A summer view...

Sows in snow

These are some of my brother's sows, over at my parents' farm. They were out and about, dare I say, frolicking in the snow.

(Just because I can practically see my brother rolling his eyes at me calling his sows frolickers. Hee hee.)

Modern art

Tree limbs felled by the ice storm made for an interesting look on these snowmen. I can't decide if they look modern and angst-ridden, with their blank faces and oddly proportioned arms (one of which seems to be sticking out of a hip socket), or simply exuberant.

Powered, the town version

This is one of the Osage Municipal Utilities' 3600 KW generators that powers the town when needed - like during last week's ice storm when the power coming into town went down. Less than an hour after the power went out, the generators were up and running and power in town was restored. In all there are 4 engines totaling 16 MW.

Matt is a lineman for OMU, and I stopped by the plant with him on Day 3 of the storm to check on things. During his first 5 years with OMU he was also a standby plant operator. Now he mainly just has to answer questions about throwing switches and such (that's about as much as I understand about the whole thing.)

He told me that once he had to climb inside the crank case of an engine. They sucked out all the oil they could and then he climbed in with a rag to sponge out the remaining oil and pick up little pieces of babbit.

As you can probably imagine, it's very noisy and smelly. But I'm always amazed at how clean everything is.


The on and off switches - I'm sure the guys will love that description.

The latest...

...with apologies to Matt's nephew, Jake, because you're birthday present is going to be so so late. Old Man Winter's being a real jerk this week.

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
210 AM CST THU MAR 1 2007

...LIGHT WINTRY PRECIPITATION THE REMAINDER OF THE NIGHT WITH THE MAIN STORM STILL TO HIT THE AREA LATER TODAY AND FRIDAY...

.A DANGEROUS WINTER STORM IS STILL SLATED TO MOVE INTO THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY LATER THIS MORNING...WITH SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF WINTRY PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE AREA.

VERY STRONG LOW PRESSURE WILL SURGE NORTH OUT OF NORTHERN MISSOURI THIS MORNING BRINGING A TREMENDOUS INFLUX OF MOISTURE INTO THE AREA BY MID MORNING. A LARGE AREA OF MODERATE TO HEAVY PRECIPITATION WILL ACCOMPANY THE LOW PRESSURE AS IT MOVES INTO IOWA DURING THE DAY...AND THIS PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO MOVE ACROSS THE AREA FROM SOUTH TO NORTH. DO TO THE VERY DYNAMIC NATURE OF THE SYSTEM...THUNDER MAY BE POSSIBLE ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA AS THE PRECIPITATION MOVES THROUGH.

FOR AREAS FROM CHARLES CITY AND OSAGE THROUGH DODGE CENTER...ROCHESTER...LAKE CITY AND MEDFORD...THESE AREAS WILL SEE THE BRUNT OF THE STORM IN THE LOCAL AREA. HEAVY PRECIPITATION...LIKELY TO BE SNOW MIXED WITH SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN...WILL CHANGE TO ALL SNOW BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON. HEAVY SNOW IS LIKELY FOR A TIME THURSDAY NIGHT...WITH INCREASING NORTHWEST WINDS OF 15 TO 30 MPH. NEAR WHITEOUT CONDITIONS MAY OCCUR IN OPEN AREAS. SIGNIFICANT DRIFTING IS A POSSIBILITY...WITH SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS RANGING FROM 8 TO 12 INCHES...WITH LOCALIZED AMOUNTS APPROACHING 15 INCHES THROUGH FRIDAY. ICE ACCUMULATIONS MAY EXCEED A QUARTER OF AN INCH.

TRAVEL WILL BE DANGEROUS IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE IN THIS AREA BY THURSDAY NIGHT. SOME LIGHT ICE ACCUMULATIONS MAY ALSO OCCUR. POWER OUTAGES FROM ICE- LADEN TREE LIMBS FROM THE PREVIOUS STORM...MAY ALSO OCCUR. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION FOR THIS AREA IN PARTICULAR. A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THIS AREA.

IAZ008-009-018-019-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ017-029-032>034-041>044-011615-MITCHELL-HOWARD-FLOYD-CHICKASAW-WABASHA-DODGE-OLMSTED-WINONA-MOWER-FILLMORE-HOUSTON-TAYLOR-CLARK-BUFFALO-TREMPEALEAU-JACKSON-LA CROSSE-MONROE-JUNEAU-ADAMS-INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...CHARLES CITY...ROCHESTER...WINONA...AUSTIN...MEDFORD...NEILLSVILLE...BLACK RIVER FALLS...LA CROSSE...SPARTA/TOMAH...MAUSTON

210 AM CST THU MAR 1 2007

...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST FRIDAY...

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST FRIDAY. AREAS OF FREEZING DRIZZLE WILL CONTINUE INTO THE EARLY MORNING HOURS. ICE ACCUMULATIONS WILL REMAIN LESS THAN A TENTH OF AN INCH. TRAVEL OVERNIGHT WILL BE DANGEROUS DUE TO THE WINTRY MIX OF PRECIPITATION...AND AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW.

A LARGER AREA OF PRECIPITATION WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA LATER THIS MORNING. A MIX OF RAIN OR FREEZING RAIN AND SNOW WILL GRADUALLY CHANGE OVER TO ALL SNOW DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING HOURS. THE SNOW WILL THEN CONTINUE INTO FRIDAY. ICE ACCUMULATIONS FROM A QUARTER TO A HALF INCH ARE POSSIBLE. TOTAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS BY FRIDAY EVENING RANGING FROM 5 TO 12 INCHES WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS PARTICULARLY WEST OF A CHARLES CITY TO ROCHESTER TO MEDFORD LINE.

IN ADDITION... WINDS WILL INCREASE ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING AND GUST TO 30 MPH. THIS WILL REDUCE VISIBILITIES WITH CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING OF THE SNOW FOR THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY. IN AREAS RECEIVING ICE THESE WINDS MAY BRING TREE LIMBS AND POWER LINES DOWN...WITH A THREAT OF WIDESPREAD POWER LOSS. THIS WILL BE ESPECIALLY TRUE FOR AREAS OF SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA AND NORTHEAST IOWA...WHERE HEAVY ICING ALREADY OCCURRED THIS PAST WEEKEND. DANGEROUS TRAVEL IS EXPECTED.

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW...SLEET...AND ICE ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE.