A mom, her boys, too many cows and lots of farming
Sunday is Mother's Day and will mark just over 6 years of my time as a mother. I have two boys - Evan, age 6, and Owen, age 3 - and being their mother is both the most difficult and rewarding job I have. I've learned a lot while raising two boys and I've slowly … Continue reading Thoughts from a Farm Mom
My husband has spent the better part of the last 10 days behind the wheel of his yellow 18-wheeler. We had cows at our farm this winter and now it’s time to send them east to enjoy a summer grazing in the Kansas Flint Hills. The state of Kansas has more cows than people – … Continue reading Using Our Resources
For our first date, Derek and I met at a sandwich shop in downtown McPherson. I had walked over from work and Derek had just pulled into town after being on the road all morning. When I asked him what he had been doing he responded that he had been delivering bulls to the cows … Continue reading Making Babies (Calves, of course)
Calving season at Sawyer Land & Cattle is often a lesson in genetics. While most of our new babies are black or black with white on its face, we occasionally get a surprise, or a calf that makes you question who the dad is. Like humans, cattle have dominate and recessive traits that determine hide … Continue reading Who’s Your Daddy? (Farm Style)
As a working mother of two boys who is married to a farmer with an 80-plus-hour-a-week job, I am instantly drawn to the articles or Ted Talks that promises to deliver the secrete to work-life balance. I'm always searching for it, wondering if I've made it and then, sadly, realizing I may never find it. … Continue reading Work-Life Balance, Farm Style
Yesterday the farmer hubs and I attended a bull sale in South-Central Nebraska. The hubs lives for these days. The sale catalogs for ranches start arriving around the first of the year and he’s like a kid digging through the Target toy catalogue before Christmas - making lists, comparing animals and deciding exactly what he … Continue reading Sale Day: Buying Bulls and Investing In Our Future
Keeping our cows and calves safe and healthy in the cold and snow It's snowing AGAIN here at Sawyer Land & Cattle in Central Kansas. It's been years since we've dealt with this much snow in one winter, but Mother Nature has decided that we need to live like Canadians (no insult to those north … Continue reading The Winter That Won’t End
Today’s mommas always preach the value of a tribe – having friends, family, colleagues and neighbors who support and understand the struggle of motherhood and raising kids. We have play dates with our tribe, wine nights with our tribe and inside jokes and memes with tribe members. But for all the glory we heap upon … Continue reading The Case for Outsourcing Child Care
This week has been dedicated to the service and remembrance of President George H.W. Bush. And rightfully so, he was a great leader and great man. I was in grade school when President Bush (#41) was in the White House so my memory of him is faint. But when I think of President Bush I … Continue reading Remembering the Greatest Generation – And Raising the Next
It's been an embarrassing long time since I've updated my blog. It's not that we haven't been farming or working or living our best (and most hectic) farm life, it's just that whenever I sit down to write an update or talk about an issue something comes up and I close the computer promising to … Continue reading It’s Been A While . . . We’re Still Here
