“Taking care of you makes me happy, too.” People who spend time with little kids and PBS most likely know those words sung by Mom Tiger on “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.” The show, the successor to my childhood favorite, “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood,” is an animated and updated version of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. “Daniel Tiger” isn’tContinue reading ““Taking care of you makes me happy, too.””
Category Archives: Karen
Corn nuts and soynuts.
Summer and fall play host to a perpetual string of harvest seasons. Most of these crops are building blocks for the human food supply. I’ve read time and again that farmers don’t eat the corn and beans they grow. The implication is that we’re scared of the food we raise. A little bit of mysteryContinue reading “Corn nuts and soynuts.”
I’m a harvest kid.
School’s out. Days are long. The air is hot and golden. My innate urge is to go somewhere and cut some wheat. My family has custom harvested for farmers since 1974. Summer, for me, is inseparable from wheat harvest — time to load the combines, get in the trucks and follow the wheat as itContinue reading “I’m a harvest kid.”
Part of the 2 percent.
There’s no question — agriculture isn’t a particularly easy way of life. Ag comes with lots of hard work and no guarantee it will pay off. It’s because of this that farmers for generations have encouraged their sons and daughters to seek careers off the farm. As my husband points out, it’s one thing toContinue reading “Part of the 2 percent.”
If a farmer(‘s wife) answers a question …
My family recently experienced an agvocacy win. These wins are rare and special. All too often, a non-farming person’s interest in crops or livestock is limited to a couple hours, maybe some social media interaction or a couple “likes” on Facebook pages. I’m a volunteer for Ask the Farmers, a group that answers agriculture questionsContinue reading “If a farmer(‘s wife) answers a question …”
Safety for farm kids.
Farm kids have unique opportunities to learn the value of hard work and a job well done with equipment or animals that many of their peers have never seen. The risks of living on a farm are different than the risks of town life, and safe risks and unsafe risks are defined differently in everyContinue reading “Safety for farm kids.”
Farm books we love.
My kids have great books on their bookshelf. We’re blessed to know and love librarians and teachers and readers of all kinds who give books to celebrate any occasion, and sometimes for no reason at all. The under-8 set at my house loves farm books. They’re pretty easy to come by, and mostly harmless. FarmContinue reading “Farm books we love.”
The introduction.
Agriculture and parenting have a lot in common. Both are high risk with the potential for high reward. Both require a lot of inputs without any guarantee of yield. And both require optimism — astounding amounts of optimism — in good times and in bad.My parents, both of whom are from multigeneration farm families, startedContinue reading “The introduction.”
This Prairie Life. 