Boys of the Farm…

It snowed here this last week.

It didn’t stick, but still.

It’s April!!

There’s really nothing more fitting than crazy weather ushering in spring here in Kansas.

Ever since I’ve lived here I’ve heard people say, “If you don’t like the weather wait a few minutes.”

How true it is!

Just a few days ago I was contemplating getting my toes painted, digging out my flip-flops, and planning my summer.

It was warm and sunny and glorious.

The calves that were born in February and March were either lying down in the sun and warming their bellies or exploring while their mamas grazed in the pasture or buried their heads in the feed bunk.

Catching some sun

In fact, it was warm enough to take little boys out to help feed the cattle without having to wrap them up in coveralls and gloves.

Jackets were all the little boys needed.

Grandpa’s little helpers.

Our nephews, Rowan and Eli, were visiting for a long weekend and were Dwight’s helpers.

Taking a ride.

Usually Dwight and Tucker are the two sharing a spot on the four-wheeler when checking cattle.

However, Tucker had to share his spot with the boys while Grandpa gave the boys a ride around the yard.

Tucker’s spot is Tucker’s spot.  Rowan is somewhere in there.

While the four-wheeler slowly looped around the yard, the cows bellied up to the bunks to eat their breakfast while the calves explored.

What kind of trouble can we get into?

However, one cow and calf were missing.

The old girl had not come in to eat her morning meal which is uncommon.

Instead, she was on the other side of the creek.

Where’s my baby?

Grandpa and the boys–including Tucker–decided to ride out and figure out where the old gal’s calf was.

What’s over here?

Oh, they found you.

Might as well get up now that you’ve been discovered.

Thanks for the help.

What just happened?

Eli and Rowan weren’t the only little helpers on this particular day.

Lood, Dad! A calf’s out!

Yep, a calf’s out!

Banks decided he was big enough to go check cows, too.

He stayed close to his daddy and off the four-wheeler though.

Maybe next year.

Besides, I’m pretty sure it’d be hard to find a spot on the four-wheeler.

There’s just too many boys!

All of the boys of Baldwin Farms.

It’s important to notice that Tucker made sure he was in this picture.

After all, he’s one of the boys on the farm, too!

Switching Gears

Wheat harvest concluded last week for us here at Baldwin Farms.

We were very happy with this year’s harvest.

A recap preview…

I’ll give you a recap of harvest in an upcoming blog post.  PROMISE!

I had about a day to relax after harvest before switching gears to Vacation Bible School mode– which has kept me busy this week.

It’s been fun to see the neighborhood “country” kids (young and old) come participate in the community VBS.

This year’s theme has been all about water.

We’ve learned about water coming from a rock after Moses struck it while traveling through the wilderness with the children of Israel; about the Samaritan woman at the well; about Jesus calming a storm at sea; the healing of Naaman’s physical problem as well as his spiritual heart; and when John the Baptist baptized Jesus.

I found it very fitting that we FINALLY received a significant rain last night, and that the kids were thankful for it during their prayer and praise time this morning.  The kids said the farmers, the gardens and the animals all needed the good rain

Speaking of animals, Adam witnessed a pretty rare sight while harvesting wheat this year.  Luckily for us, he captured it on his cell phone camera to share with others.

Can you guess the baby animal that caused Adam to slow down his combine and pull out his camera during this year’s harvest?

The video is a little wobbly at first, but it evens out.

Keep your eyes focused on the wheat directly in front of the combine–you’ll see some movement and then it will reveal itself.

Meals to the Fields…

While the crew is out harvesting wheat all day, my mother-in-law and I like to lay by the pool and eat our bon-bons while working on our tans.

In our dreams!

This is as close to a pool and bon-bons for me during harvest!

In reality, while the crew is out in the fields, my mother-in-law and I are doing our part to help make life more pleasant during harvest.

Making life more pleasant during harvest for our crew means keeping them well-fed.

Buns in bulk…

During harvest–although there are some days when the crew will come to one of our houses to eat inside– the majority of meals have to be prepared, packed, and hauled out to a field somewhere.

Meals to the Fields!

Adam told me the other morning that he likes going to a house to eat a meal during harvest–but when that’s done they lose enough time that could’ve been used to cut 23 acres of wheat. And with the constant sense of urgency in getting all of the wheat cut before the summer storms, there’s not a lot of time to stop and enjoy a meal in the comfort of our air conditioned homes.

Enter the proverbial chuck wagon here…

Stopping for a meal in the field.

My mother-in-law, Cindy, has perfected feeding the masses.

She’s a rock star!!

Cindy provides delivery service of quality meals to fields twice a day–shortly after 12:00 and at 6:30pm.

Guaranteed.

It’s like a picnic–for the Duggar family, but with less kids!

I’m her helper.

And while it would be easy to make a massive amount of ham & cheese sandwiches every day, ham & cheese sandwiches every day would get pretty old, pretty quickly.

Order up! Ham & cheese and more ham & cheese…

So Cindy mixes things up.

Yes, sometimes a nice cold sandwich is really all the guys want to eat, but they also like (and deserve) some hot meals.

Goulash, cole slaw & french bread–delivered to the field.

Whether it’s cold sandwiches or hot meals, a heck of a lot of food is made during harvest.

We officially started harvest on May 28th this year. We were out of the fields due to rain for three days.

Between May 28th and today, there have been days where we have needed to feed up to 12 people per meal.

With so much food being made for so many hungry mouths, our kitchens have been transformed into lean, mean, food prep machines.

I refuse to show you pictures!

And with so many hungry mouths to feed at every meal, a heck of a lot of trips are made to town to pick up groceries during wheat harvest.

And with a heck of a lot of trips made to town, our brains start thinking in bulk…

A loaf of bread has 24 slices (not including the ends). That’s enough to make 12 sandwiches.

A Crystal Light package contains enough mix to make 2 1/2 gallons.

We go through two gallons of this stuff at every meal.

About two pounds of ground beef is needed to make enough Sloppy Joes for each person to have two sandwiches.

A family pack of single serving chips contains 32 bags.

Providing variety…

A cookie recipe makes about four dozen cookies.

Expect each person to eat two cookies during the meal, plus take some “for the road”.

The guys like bananas, nectarines, and peaches.

They also like bottled water, and an occasional afternoon (around 3:30) sweet treat like a candy bar.

You can do the math to figure out what our grocery bills look like during harvest time!

I don’t want to think about it.

Some days I think we are harvesting the wheat in our fields just to make enough bread to keep feeding our crew.

In reality, according to http://www.kswheat.com, Kansas farmers alone produce roughly 380 million bushels of wheat each year.

That’s enough to feed every man, woman and child in the world for an entire week!

Now THAT would be a lot of meals to the fields!

So we’ll continue baking, mixing, shopping–not to mention cleaning and dishwashing– packaging, and delivering for our sweaty harvest crew so we can help provide meals for others, too.

The Next Generation

It’s Harvest Time!

Even though we wanted to start earlier, yesterday was the first day of the 2012 wheat harvest for us.

Everyone gets very anxious and excited during this time of the year because they want to cut the wheat.

I think one of the most anxious and excited ones to get the combines rolling is this little guy…

Our nephew Rowan, Harvest 2011

My sister-in-law has helped with harvest every year I’ve known her.

So has Rowan, her oldest son.

I’ve watched Rowan literally grow up while riding in the combines every wheat harvest.

In fact, he’s been around for wheat harvests one more year than me.

He loves wheat harvest.

He told us the other day that he dreams of wheat harvest.

So last week when Rowan arrived, it wasn’t a surprise to find out he was chanting “Harvest Time, Harvest Time” in my in-law’s kitchen.

It was still a few days too early to start cutting wheat last week.  But wheat harvest isn’t the only event that keeps everyone busy during this time of the year.

The guys were finishing up planting the soybeans last week, and of course, Rowan had to help.

Helping Grandpa fix a flat tire in a bean field.

On Saturday, the guys decided to run some test cuts to see how close the wheat was to being ready.  The wheat has to fall within a certain moisture percentage before it can be cut.

You can bet Rowan was out in the field helping with the test cuts.

Checking the combine after a test cut.

Rowan was also the one given the honor of handing over a sample to get tested at the elevator.

He walked from the truck holding the sample in a cup with both hands to make sure it was safely delivered.

Carefully handing over his sample to get tested.

The tests showed that the wheat was still just a little too wet to cut.

Little boy was devastated.

He wanted the combines to roll on Saturday!

But he had to exercise patience.

On Sunday we took the day off…

But on Monday, shortly after lunch, Rowan was told that it was “go time”.

And he was ready!

Harvest Time, Harvest Time!

Fire up the combines, boys!

It’s time to harvest the wheat in central Kansas!

Helping Uncle Adam cut the wheat.

I think if you let that little boy choose between sleeping or cutting wheat, he’d choose cutting wheat.
It’s a sure thing!

There’s another sure thing this year, too.

There’s another little boy who will be experiencing his first wheat harvest with us this year…

Eli–Rowan’s little brother

…And I think he likes wheat, too!

Turkey Trot

I’m going to take a wild guess and say it must be the height of turkey breeding season here in Kansas.

I’ve been hearing turkey gobbles every evening when I take the mutts out to walk.

I’ve seen our flock of wild turkeys hanging out all over our pastures.

I’ve seen some pretty big Toms strutting their stuff for the ladies, too.

We’ve had some rain which was apparently enough to entice a wild Tom into our yard Sunday morning.

That is one big bird in my backyard!

I was in the kitchen getting ready to make a peanut butter & jelly sandwich for breakfast when I noticed a rather large bird in our backyard.

A turkey on a trot

I yelled to Adam and he immediately ran for his gun.

While Adam was scrambling I just watched this crazy bird trot around like he owned the place.

Adam, get your gun!

I immediately wondered where our watchdogs were.  They normally cause a commotion when an event like this happens.  Actually, they usually cause so much of a commotion it prevents an event like this from happening.

So since the mutts were nowhere in sight, Mr. Tom decided the yard was his domain.

My name is Tom and I own this joint

Instead of bursting out the door guns a’blazing, Adam decided to practice his turkey call.

Mr. Tom stopped dead in his tracks trying to figure out who was calling him for a love connection.

Say what?

Then Mr. Tom must’ve misinterpreted Adam’s call, because he took off behind the barn and disappeared into the great unknown…

Until this morning!!

Mr. Tom was back in the yard.  And this time he brought a friend.

Mr. Tom and his friend

While I was getting ready for school Adam yelled to me about turkeys multiplying.

I thought he was hallucinating (mostly because he is officially an old man today) but when I looked out the kitchen windows there were TWO turkeys in my backyard.

TWO turkeys in my backyard!

Again, Mr. Tom and his buddy were walking around like they owned the place.

Again, no mutts were in sight.

So this time I decided to go outside and get some pictures instead of shooting through a window until they trotted off into the great unknown.

If Mr. Tom is in my yard again I think I'll walk up to him and grab him by the neck!

I’m really amazed at how crazy these birds are.

Do they not realize people are licensed to hunt them right now?!?

Do they not realize that my husband is now contemplating a stakeout to ambush them for his birthday treat?!?

The crazy things I see through my kitchen windows!

Alive & Well In…Panama?!?

Last week Adam and I ditched our winter jackets, ran to the airport, and after a few flights landed in Panama.

We left the wintry plains of Kansas for a few days of summer in Central America because Adam was participating in the U.S. Grains Council International Marketing Conference as a representative for the U.S. Sorghum Checkoff, and I was his bodyguard.

I insisted!

While Adam was meeting with representatives from literally all over the world, I got to run around and see some of the country.  I figured Adam would be safe without me for a few hours everyday–especially since Lance Armstrong and other Iron Man participants,  and the Miss Panama contestants were also at our hotel for the week.

I figured he was pretty safe.

On one day I was able to visit San Jose de Malambo Orphanage with a group of other wives (and one husband) who had also insisted on being their spouse’s bodyguards on this trip.

Malambo is located about 20 miles outside of Panama City.  The orphanage was established in 1890 and is a non-profit, non-governmental organization.  It’s run by the Catholic Sisters of Mercy.

Malambo has 4 hectares of farmland (1 hectare= 2.47 acres) that is used to help supplement the food requirements of its children and staff.  They grow fruits and vegetables and also have chickens, pigs, and milk goats.

Malambo provides a permanent home to about 180 kids, from newborns to 18-year-olds. Many of the kids have been abandoned or have been removed from their homes due to abusive environments. Some of the kids have major medical issues including Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, and HIV.

The first stop for me was to visit with a group of eight to twelve-year old girls.  The girls were (understandably) very shy at first, but after attempting to communicate with them (using my awesome Spanish skills–NOT!!)  they began to open up.

They welcomed us into their house and showed us around.

The girls share rooms with others and sleep on bunk beds.  It was laundry day, so they had stripped all of the sheets off the beds to get washed.

After touring their home, we colored together and tried to visit some more.  I’m sure I wasn’t making complete sense when I was talking with them, but they were very nice and at least acted like they knew what I was saying.

All of the kids at Malambo were on their summer break–it’s the middle of summer for them–so they didn’t have to worry about attending classes.  Among a lot of services it provides, Malambo provides schooling for all of the children that live there.

After spending some time with the girls, we visited a group of toddlers at another house.  While we were walking up to their building you could see their little faces peeking through the windows as they bounced on the couch.

All of the sudden they all started screaming, “HOLA, HOLA, HOLA!!!” at the top of their lungs.

Once we entered their building they ran up to us and gave us high-fives–except one little girl who ran and hid behind a door.

Two rambunctious little boys had a Beanie Baby bird and wanted to play catch with us.

One little girl grabbed my hand to show me her room.  She pointed out her princess doll and Elmo.

Eventually, the little girl hiding behind the door came out and cautiously followed us around.

These toddlers were what I would consider typical, fun little kids.  They loved having visitors and showing off their toys and playing.  They loved running around and were full of energy!

But this group of kiddos were very different from the rest of the kids at Malambo.

All of these kids were HIV positive.

Malambo stresses that they take any child–and provides that child with what they need.  And for this particular group of children, that includes comprehensive medical care including expensive medication.

We were told by the head nun to be careful of taking pictures of the children’s faces for privacy reasons. Here are a few shots that I was able to get.

Doing what little boys do... climbing a tree.

Exposing children to a family structure is part of Malambo's mission.

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:7-8

I’m very thankful for my experience at Malambo and I’m very thankful there are places like Malambo that provide so many children a loving and safe environment.

If you’d like more information about the San Jose de Malambo Orphanage, click here.

Flying Low

January is just about over, and I’m still waiting for winter to show up.  It’s been a very calm, mild winter and although we’ve had our brief moments of snow, I have yet to have a snow day this year.

Because this winter has been so mild, a lot of farmers have been working in their fields during times of the year I’m sure they haven’t been in in the recent past.

With near 60 degree days, Adam has been spraying the fields and doing other activities that he would normally be doing later in the spring.

It’s a little odd to see tractors running in fields that should be covered in snow.  Odd sights are becoming less, and less odd this winter.

On one recent afternoon, I experienced something that scared me to near death.  It was one of those things that makes your heart skip a few beats and then speed up because you aren’t expecting to see it.

You aren’t expecting to hear it either.

Look–in the sky!
It’s a bird!
No, it’s a plane!
More specifically, it’s a crop duster!

I always thought it was pretty cool to drive under a jumbo jet on its approach to Albuquerque’s airport. But you’re expecting that!

Crop dusters come out of nowhere and just scare you!

This guy was pretty low to the ground as he made pass after pass after pass above our farm.

Adam says that sometimes the crop dusters get so low to the ground that they fly under the telephone lines.

That’s pretty close.

I plan to be in the safety of my classroom on that day!

Here, on the other hand, is something you expect to see around the farm at this time of the year…

The first calf of 2012 for Baldwin Farms. Meet Heifer #116.

Isn’t she just too cute?!?

Heifer #116 was born today. Her mama didn't let me get too close. Thank goodness for zoom lenses!

I have a feeling I’ll have some more calf pictures very, very soon!

Let’s get down to business now…

So at this point I’m sure you just want to know who won the calendar and mixes from McPherson’s own The Old Muffin Factory from this week’s first ever giveaway.

I utilized the Random Number Generator to determine the winner.

I actually had to do it twice because the first time my mom won.  Seriously!

Mom, if I neglected to send you your calendar let me know  

So the actual winner is…

CONGRATULATIONS!

Abra from Indiana!  When Abra hears the word KANSAS she automatically thinks:

Kansas…where I grew up and learned good family values; agriculture; FFA!; sunflowers; state fair…I could go on & on! There truly is no place like home. Even though I live in Indiana now, there will always be a fondness for Kansas in my heart.

Congratulations, Abra!!

Abra, be sure to check your email because I will be sending you a message to get your mailing information.

That was fun.

We need to do that again!

Roger that!

Housekeeping…

Aside

We really enjoyed the finished product that aired on America’s Heartland this week.

Thank you all for the wonderful comments, Tweets, and messages. We had so much fun when the guys came out to gather the footage and we got a couple really good laughs while watching the finished product.

If you missed the segment on TV you can check it out here.

I shared the video with my students this week and they appreciated the broken nail incident. Some of my students have witnessed me breaking a nail (not to mention bad hair days) while at school, so I think they understand my concern since my nail file and hairspray were nowhere in sight. Nowhere!

A few things I realized while watching the segment:

1. It’s windy in Kansas. Windy, windy, windy!

2. I need to make myself start running again.  That, or I should hire a trainer–one who could yell orders at me while also cleaning and decorating the house.  And do laundry.  And cook.  I’m accepting applications.

Maybe I should just keep walking with the mutts.

3. I think I want some window treatments in my kitchen. This ought to be interesting since interior design is another Holly Homemaker skill of which I lack.

4. All gnomes need to be purged from the house. I could’ve sworn I hid all of them while cleaning the house before the cameras showed up. You probably won’t notice the little guy, but I saw him. Those little suckers are sneaky!

5. Swirls the Cat was nowhere in sight. Hmmm…I wonder why.

Bag O'Swirls bellied up to the buffet.

6. Who needs manicures? Not me!

7. The Farm Wives group is such an asset to many women in our county and I’m so blessed to be a part of it. If you are interested in joining or just visiting the group, call our McPherson County Extension Office. You don’t even have to be a farm wife and I promise it’ll be worth your time. Besides, there’s snacks!

8. I have a pretty awesome husband who deals with me on a daily basis and is up for the adventures that come our way. I love that man and I thank God for him everyday.

Which brings us to the housekeeping…

I was a little overzealous when it came to Christmas stocking-stuffers this year. I made a few too many calendars and purchased too many extra goodies for our families. So many, in fact, that I could stay very busy in the kitchen if I ever get a snow day (or two or six) and use the calendars to mark the days I gain weight from the goodies I consume while being snowed in.

Multiple calendars haunting me with weight gain numbers is not necessary.

It might be snowing, but it's not enough for a snow day.

Let’s be honest, it is technically winter. Sooner or later I’m going to have a snow day and I need to get some of these tempting treats out of my house and I’d rather my calendar be used instead of collecting dust.

So… I’m sending a calendar that’s full of Kansas scenes that were captured in 2011 that you have not seen on the blog–or maybe one or two that you have seen…

…PLUS I’ll throw in some amazing bags of muffin mix and pancake mix from a McPherson business–The Old Muffin Factory.

The rules are very simple.  Just leave a comment that answers the question:

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word KANSAS?

The winner will be randomly drawn by Swirls the Cat. If he’s busy eating–or unconscious–I’ll have the computer make the selection.

Behave, be nice, and be ready to get a package in the mail with a thank you card from my scale!

The winner will be selected on the night of Thursday, January 26th and I’ll let everyone know the winner that Friday.

Good luck!

Inserting Shameless Plug Here…

DISCLAIMER:  This is a blog post full of one gigantic shameless plug.

It is.

I’m just being honest.

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way—and humility has been thrown to the wind– let us begin…

Remember back in October when I asked Who Invited the Paparazzi?

Walking to the cattle

Well…It’s time to set the DVR– or the VCR– or invite yourself over to the neighbors who have cable television.

Go ahead, I give you permission.

Just be sure to take over a dessert of some kind.

I’d like to let you know that the video and interviews that the nice gentlemen from America’s Heartland gathered of Adam’s cousin– Derek and his wife Katie on their farm– and of Adam and me on our farm in October will air this Wednesday night (January 18^th) on RFD-TV at 8:00 pm EST.

Oh my goodness, that’s THIS Wednesday!

Umm... Excuse me sir, but is that a bull behind you??

Seeing this on the Dish directory yesterday made me a little nauseous.

I'm a Kansas Farm Wife.

I’m excited– and nervous– and slightly ill– as we wait to see how America’s Heartland has put together all of the footage that they gathered into a segment for their show.

I’m sure it will be lovely.

If it’s not, we’ll just forget this post ever happened.

OK?

OK.

I truly apologize if I look like a dork, a double dork, a crazed madwoman, and/or a complete and utter mess.

No, I don’t—that’s just me.

I also hope my hair kept its hold considering it was windy.

It was really, really windy.

If you have to wash your hair, go grocery shopping, or complete another pressing task and miss this Wednesday’s show, don’t worry.

You can also catch Episode 720 on RFD-TV Sunday night (January 22^nd) at 11:30 pm EST.

Don’t have cable?  No worries!   Odds are you can also catch America’s Heartland on your local PBS/public television station.  Just be sure to check with your local PBS station for airdates and times.

And if you don’t have a television, you are still in luck!  You can also view the segment and episode on www.americasheartland.org or on their YouTube channel.

You just can’t avoid it!

Like I mentioned, it’s a shameless plug.  Do with this blog post as you’d like.

But if you do get a chance, feel free to watch this week’s episode of America’s Heartland—even if it is to just get a better understanding of what Adam has to put up with on a daily basis.

Oh, and be sure to check out Alive & Well in Kansas later this week as I have more treats in store for you.

Can you feel the excitement?

Can you??

OK, I’m digging out my humble card now.

-Kim

Like Dust in the Wind…

Had you come into my house these last few weeks you would’ve thought we had completely skipped the corn harvest this year. The sink lacked dishes piled up to the ceiling, the laundry room lacked dirty clothes piled up to the ceiling, the kitchen floor looked relatively clean, and Swirls the Cat and Buddy the Bad Dog were fed on a consistent–and even– basis.

In reality, we did have a corn harvest–albeit a quick one.

Golden kernels of corn--proof we did have a harvest.

Working it for the camera...

Last year when Adam and I got home from our honeymoon, Adam dissappeared the day after we returned.  I soon discovered where he had run off to–he was combining corn.

This year’s harvest could’ve been missed had you blinked your eye at the wrong time.  The majority of the corn was chopped into silage in July–leaving this year’s harvest DONE in just a week.

Work it baby, work it!

I almost missed shooting corn harvest this year–I told myself, “Self, you have plenty of time to get your footage.“

That’s the last time I’ll listen to that lady!

Luckily, I was able to leave school and drive straight to the fields a few nights to ride along and experience the harvest.

Did I mention I didn’t change?

Who says you can't be dressed up for corn harvest?? I say, wear a dress and leggings! At least my toes are painted.

Speaking of getting your nails done...

Maybe if I do a little Photoshopping it won't look as bad.

So the 2011 Corn Harvest is officially over–and because it was so quick, my memories of it are quickly becoming like dust in the wind.

It’s a good thing I have the internet and YouTube to help me remember.