I am very grateful for the many blessings that surround my life. My children, my husband, family, friends and health.

This has been a tough year for our dairy industry. I am grateful to still be at it. I pray for the continued improvement of our economy.

I am grateful that I have been able to share myself with a few in attempt to put a face on the farmer.  I hope to be able to continue to reach out to others to show them what I know….that our nations farmers are hard-working humble folks that put muscle and heart in all they do.

God bless you all! Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Barbara Borges-Martin 

I’ve decided to highlight various Grenadian genealogical information I’ve come across online.  The first of this “series” is the extensive information collected by Desmond Preudhomme of  Toronto on the following families (this is an abridged list as the full list is very long):

BANFIELD

BISHOP

BOURNE

CAMPBELL

DATE

DE FREITAS

DE GALE

DONALDSON

DUNCAN

FARMER

GIBBON

GILL

GOLTON/GOULTON

GOODING

GRANT

HUGHES

JAMES

JOAN

LOFTUS

LUSAN/LUSSAN

OTWAY

PREUDHOMME

MARSHALL

MIGNON

MINORS

PATERSON

PAYNE

PETERKIN

RENWICK

According to the page Desmond’s contact information is…

Desmond T W Preudhomme

78 Mayfield Ave

Toronto, Ontario M5S 1K8

416 760 7492

d_preudhomme@hotmail.com

I am sure he would appreciate being able to connect with more relatives and discover additional family information.

It’s raining. Again. It’s been raining for weeks on end on our small farm located in the foothills of beautiful Mt. Rainier. Chores don’t go away when it rains. So, slipping on my warm, worn out green plaid coat and my cold barn boots I head to the barn to feed the cows.

The door opens with its usual squeaky voice and the radio is playing the same old country station it always is. Did you know that dairy cows that listen to music produce more milk? Or, that if you change the usual radio station to something new they will often produce less milk? Cows are peculiar creatures. They like routine. Our cows prefer country and so do I.

As I break open a hay bale and start tossing it to the cows I can’t help but put a little skip into my step. Soon the hips are swaying and the work is getting done quick.

The cows watch with awe, chomping on the hay and swishing their tails. I think they like my barnyard performances. It isn’t long before my legs can’t resist and soon I am whisking myself across the cement pad with feet slopping about in my too-big barn boots.

The cows turn with wide eyes. The calves poke their pink noses through the panels to get a better view.

“No worries girls,” I shout as I fulfill my morning exercise while gliding across the straw strewn floor.  With a shovel for a partner or a pole to get down and dirty with…it’s great to chase away the rainy day blues just dancing in my barn boots.

Rhode Island Red Hen

While city folks will find this post downright disgusting, farmers generally understand that getting to the nitty-gritty and rather disgusting task at hand is just part of owning farm animals.

Finding a hen with a ball of hardened poop about the size of a tennis ball stuck to the feathers of her rear-end called for some sort of solution as to how to save her. Without help, this hen would die a miserable death. With gloved hands I plucked what I could, but it wasn’t helping much.

This hen needed to soak that chicken pooh in warm water if it was ever going to come off. So, off to surgery we went–that would be the farmhouse kitchen. With a sink full of warm water and a rather unwelcome soak the pooh finally came off. Rinsed and cleaned up, the hen was obviously still constipated.

You can’t call a vet, a hen just isn’t worth the expense. So, recalling how my mother used a warm water squirter up the rears of her children to help get things flowing I figured it would be safe and maybe work with this hen. Using a syringe, needle detached, I squirted some warm water in ol’ Henny-Penny’s rear. Laid out a ton of newspaper and old rags on the counter and together we waited patiently for something to happen.

She sat. I sat. We sat together. Waiting. Then along came my husband, who gave us both a puzzled look. After explaining, he just went on about his business. Nothing appeared to be happening, even after several more squirts of warm water. So I thought a little grease might do the trick, but of course you can’t use motor oil–that didn’t sound healthy.

Vegetable oil sounded about right, but none was to be found in the cupboard. Finally, settling on expensive olive oil warmed slightly in the microwave, I loaded up the syringe and gave a healthy dose to Henny-Penny’s rear-end. She remained calm and didn’t utter a single sound or even flap her wings.

Then…we waited. After thirty minutes had passed Henny-Penny kept shutting her eyes, clearly straining to push out the hardened mass that had brought us to this point. Finally, it passed with a thud on the newspaper and Henny-Penny began walking about more and clucking like a hen should when all is well.

She joined the others in the hen house and I spent an hour cleaning and disinfecting the emergency room in preparation for the next patient. A new lesson learned on the farm–Just a squirt of warm olive oil tunes a hen right up.

Farmer-participatory testing<-please quickly read though this book

Farmer-participatory testing of integrated pest management options for sustainable banana production in Eastern Africa

I had an over growth of crabgrass this year.

Next year, I will know to pull out the young growth of green grass when it starts to appear.  Letting it sit, because I wasn’t up to weeding, caused a large problem for the tomatoes and me all summer long.

I talked to other home gardeners living in my area. They complained about the crabgrass and for once, I wasn’t jealous when they said, they used their gas powered tillers in a futile attempt to rip out the crabgrass.

Crabgrass has an evasive toot system. If you chop one root into a million pieces, like an unwanted creature in a horror movie, you will end up with a million new little creatures Or rather, a redundant amount of crabgrass. 

This past summer, I made a half hearted attempt to pull one plant at a time. Crabgrass pulls back, as it sticks its heels in and sneers at you.

By fall the crabgrass had gone to seed. Millions of little black seeds, I panicked!  I sat on the deck and wondered how I will get rid of this mess in a non chemical fashion?

Mother Nature came through to remove part of the crabgrass problem in the form of birds, Finches, Wrens, Sparrows, and Cardinals, all converged on the garden.  They landed in the grass, on the dirt, the rocks and on the dog kennel. Grabbing at the plants, and eating the little seeds. 

My stress level lowered, naturally.

After I had cleaning out the old tomato plants, zucchini and pumpkins plants I made a half-hearted attempt at raking up the dried crabgrass.

I used tree leaves to cover the ground. Over the leaves I set a piece of wood fencing to hold everything down. The grass and weeds that are still growing will die over the winter, making it a lot easier to break up the root system in spring.

Well, that’s the plan..

Picture found at;

http://www.aragriculture.org/horticulture/ornamentals/weed_id/crabgrass.htm

Brittany Peterson, a dietetic intern from Ball State University, is  fulfilling her last community rotation at the Dairy and Nutrition Council of Indiana. She received her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Dietetics from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. Please follow Brittany as she spends her time with DNCI touring Smith Dairy in Richmond, Indiana.

Britany & Camila, two dietetic interns with DNCI, preparing to tour Smith Dairy in Richmond, Indiana.

The last five months of my life have been spent in an internship, working toward my dream of becoming a registered dietitian. I have worked with migrant children from Texas and Mexico through a Head Start program, food service workers in a hospital kitchen, and in my previous rotation I spent time in clinical dietetics finding ways to improve lives through the nutrition of hospital patients. Now, I am at the Dairy and Nutrition Council of Indiana where on my first day, Monday, November 16, 2009, I was in an oversized lab coat and a hair net that resembled a cupcake top, touring Smith Dairy in Richmond, Indiana. 

            Smith Dairy is a family owned and operated company that has been running out of Orville, Ohio, since the day Peter and John Schmid (sons of an immigrant family from Switzerland) borrowed $300 from a neighbor to buy a dairy on January 1, 1909. So, why is it that the Schmids named their dairy “Smith Dairy?” Well, it is as simple as Smith is just easier to pronounce. In the beginning, John and Peter only owned two horses to take them on their daily delivery route in which they delivered up to 60 gallons of milk each day. 

            As the years went by, Smith Dairy prospered. It continued to work out of Orville, Ohio, as well as buying Wayne Dairy in Richmond, Indiana, in 1996. Fresh milk is brought into this facility seven days a week to be pasteurized, packaged, labeled, boxed, bundled, and shipped to their respective locations. From the trucks, milk is put into a pasteurization container for either HTST (High Temperature Short Time) or UHT (Ultra High Temperature) pasteurization. In HTST pasteurization, milk is heated to 171°F for fifteen seconds. This process is quick, but not as quick as UHT which sterilizes milk after only two seconds of being heated to temperatures of at least 275°F. Doing so extends milk’s shelf life up to six months. 

            Today, Smith Dairy is running 100 years strong and prospering largely due to their commitment of creating a product unsurpassed by time and leading the field with new ideas. For example, they developed the yellow Super jug used to block light rays from damaging milk’s nine essential nutrients. Every great company has a strong base, a mission statement that helps keep everyone focused.  Smith Dairy’s mission statement is based on a three-legged milk stool, the foundation (the milk seat) holds together the customers (leg one), the associates (leg two) and the owners (leg three); all working together to bring dairy products Americans enjoy to our grocery stores, schools, restaurants, and homes.

Take 15% off the total when mentioning this LinkedIn blog.  Design time is included!  Good towards min. order of 4 sq. ft.  Must be a digital print(s) in one of the material options listed:  digital print posters (max 24″ wide), banners (max. 4′ wide), vinyl (max. 4′ wide), and canvas materials (max. 4′ wide).  Update your holiday signage! 

I urge you all to contact your representatives… you can find them at http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

Lets unite on our requests ask them to support;

1) Big Tariffs on Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) needed because MPCs are not approved for food use

2) Mandatory Audit of food companies’ dairy product inventory is necessary for dairy famers to have honest price triggers and supply management

3) Temporary floor price of at least $17 (cost of production)

4) For long term- new price discovery mechanism utilizing a percentage of cost of production and or a percentage of retail coupled with supply management.

With the price on the upswing we can not be to comfortable….who knows when the NEXT down turn is going to be! We have taken quite a hit! Can we survive the next go around? Do we have the energy? PLEASE speak up.

If I can be any assistance just let me know!

Sincerely,

Barbara Martin
www.dairygoddess.wordpress.com

To all:

Calling to action: Farmers, agribusiness and concerned consumers to perform “Political Farming” on Dec 1 and 2.  A face to face meeting is the most powerful way to make a difference so we can make real change in the dairy industry. Appointments have been made with multiple politicians.  

Please join us. You won’t regret the difference you will make.  Washington, D.C. is a money-driven bureaucracy, however, voices from the folks – us folks – will overcome the system. 

My motto is the man who wins, is the man who tries. He uses his head and his eyes. This is what Washington needs from all of us. 

The New York bus from Utica is paid for thanks to our Agribusiness friends in New York. As of this writing, the bus has seats available. The bus in July filled fast right before we left so get your seat today. 

If you are going, urge a friend or neighbor to join also.  

Reserve your bus seat: Email blcgotham@yahoo.com 

To learn more, read below and/or join the next conference call 

We will finalize strategy and progress with other commitments from Pa, VT , Midwest and NY. 

===  Monday, Nov. 23, 2009  - 

8:30 p.m. EST ===

=== # 1 (605) 715-4900    code 466980  ======

~Bryan Gotham

——————————–News Release —————————–

Contact: Tammy Graves - 315-858-0163

UPCOMING “DAIRY DOES D.C.” DAY – Dec. 2

Delivering a Reality Check

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – Dairy farmers and their allies will descend on Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Dec. 2. Seats are filling on buses departing from New York and Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C. for appointments with senators and congressmen.

Goals of the upcoming Dairy Does D.C. Day include balancing influence and building bridges. Due to incomplete data and skewed data analysis, our political representatives are being influenced by information that inappropriately portrays the state of the dairy industry.

The most significant areas with data and corresponding analysis flaws include: 1) Import/Export Volume 2) Cold Storage Reports and 3) Domestic Milk Production and Utilization. Talking points in D.C. will reflect these three areas. To receive the data and analysis from which we will be sourcing our talking points, please contact United States Dairy Farmers and Friends at usdairyfarmersandfriends@gmail.com.

Dairy farmers will be delivering messages on their own behalf to keep checks and balances in the political influence as they did in July in conjunction with the House of Agriculture Hearings. In addition, farmers will be building bridges with Congressional representatives of suburban and urban areas.

“We are excited to be launching our campaign of building bridges with metropolitan representatives,” says Debbie Windecker, a dairy farmer from Frankfort, N.Y. “Just as dairy farmers and consumers need to connect, so do our rural and urban politicians. I have been told first-hand and repeatedly that there is a real disconnect between them.”

IMPORTANT NOTE: You need not be in D.C. to be a part of this message delivery. Schedule appointments at your senator and congressman’s local district offices or contact the district offices by mail, fax, phone or email on or around Dec. 2.  For communication-related assistance, please contact Tammy Graves of US Dairy Farmers and Friends at usdairyfarmersandfriends@gmail.com. Your message, meeting, call or letter is valuable whether you are a farmer, consumer, breed association member, state assemblyman or senator, Chamber of Commerce member, Land Trust, FFA teacher, agribusiness owner/employee or college faculty or student.

“I’ll be echoing the D.C. voices in to my representative’s California offices,” says Barbara Borges-Martin, a California dairy farmer.”

Buses are departing from the following locations and will arrive in D.C. by 7:30 a.m.:

Utica, N.Y. 10 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 1 and arrive in Washington by 7 a.m. December 2. The bus will depart Washington, D.C. at 5 p.m. Call Bryan Gotham at 315-405-6456 or blcgotham@yahoo.com to reserve your seat. We want to express our many thanks to our current Utica bus sponsors. GOLD Level: Bourdeau Bros., Brown’s Feed, Whites Farm Supply, Poulin Grain, Cargill; SILVER Level: Leberge & Curtis, Griffith Energy, Performance Premixes, North Country Vet, Animal Medic, Dundee Feeds; BRONZE Level: Blue Seal, Springer’s

Hornell, N.Y. Tuesday, Dec 1. Call Lisa Robinson to reserve your seat – $50/seat and fundraising will continue -607-525-6329  or robinsonfarms@zoominternet.net.

Wyalusing, Pa. on Tuesday, Dec. 1. Call Tina Carlin 570-833-4592.

– 30 –

A Shropshire farmer is flown to hospital with neck, leg and chest pain after being injured by a bullock inside a pen…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: farm. The blog is also related to: farm.

Beautiful day!  Skies are clear, very little wind; temperatures are mild, in the mid fifties.

 Uriah was the first to notice the farm equipment pull into the field next door. He freaked! He climbed on the deck and cowered on the north side, farthest way from the equipment. 

The corn in the southern field was finally being  harvested. I stood outside and watched as the large tractor moved slowly into place. I could see the farmer in the cab and a child.

Farmer’s children will help them with the harvesting.  They watch for problems as their parent harvests the crops.The cab they sat in was sealed, heated and air-conditioned.

The winds were blowing away from me, so as the tractor passed by most of the dust spread out to the south.

Just as I thought, “Wow,  I am lucky the wind isn’t blowing in this direction.” The wind changed!  I started coughing, and blinking rapidly as the dust settled in over my head.

I choked out Uriah’s name and we headed towards the path to take a walk. The trees in that area blocked some of the harvesting dust. Well, sort of..

I crossed my fingers that the farmer would only be working on the lower part of the field at this time. I smiled, when I saw him hit the half way point near the drainage tiles and turn around.

 Uriah and I stopped sneezing long enough to watch the harvester.

With all the bare fields, the animals have been congregating in our trees. Last night, every hour, I was yelling out the doors for the coyotes to leave. There must have been close to a dozen howling and yelping very close to the house.

Coyotes don’t understand windows.  So, I had to insure the indoor cats stayed away from the glass. I really didn’t have to worry; they hid under the bed when the howling started.

Uriah, on the other hand, was whining and barking wanting to chase them. A dog barking won’t keep coyotes away from the house. It has the opposite effect. So, between trying to calm down Uriah, petting the cats and yelling at the coyotes, it was a fun night.

Halfway through the walk, Uriah disappeared with hackles raised, into the trees. Stupidly I walked in after him, calling and getting tangled in leafless under brush. After a short time, I headed back to the house. When Uriah reappeared  his tongue was trailing on the ground.  

The farmer took a lunch break and finished the back half of the field; I stood out on the deck and enjoyed the view.

This scene has to be a little boy’s dream.  A large tractor harvesting corn slowly chopping, crunching, and roaring through a field, as an equally large dump truck waits to be filled with the corn; such an impressive, unobstructed view of a real mid-western farm life.  

I love it out here.

Youda Farmer (33 MB download)
Experience the country life like never before! Run your farm, grow your crops, and provide all the shops in the village with the supplies they need! Use your time management skills to pick up the right products and deliver them in time. Harvest your crops, raise chickens, pigs and more, and purchase machines to get everything running faster and faster. Don’t forget to party it up during the big harvest parties too! Pull out your truck and get started farming in this addictive game now!

I wanted a bowl of chicken soup with carrots for lunch. So, I took an old colander out to the garden. Kneeled, and carefully pulled up the small carrots. Their tops were still green and healthy looking. The Taproot, a tasty dark orange

This past spring, I had planted a six foot long line of carrots. They grew slowly and perfect, except I planted them a little to close together. Next springs carrots will be spaced apart more evenly.

Carefully I wiggled them loose like a child’s tooth. I have only half a foot remaining in the row.

It was easier than I thought to grow carrots.

Water a little,  weed a little, and then leave them alone.

This year, I have sliced them thinly and cook them into canned soups, homemade soups, and packaged dry soups. I have made beef stews and ‘any vegetable on hand’ soup.

I added the vegetables,  the garlic along with the onions and tomatoes, parsley and potatoes. All were grown in my garden.

The potatoes were a surprise. I had mixed in assorted vegetable peels and egg shells from the kitchen.  I was amazed to see potatoes growing with a dozen strawberry plants. I didn’t plant those either! They came from a couple of fresh, rotting strawberries thrown in around July.

Using  tree leaves  I  covered a large part of the garden in preparation of winter. I planned on moving the strawberries to a different section this coming spring. That idea may change; I have all winter to mull it over.

I pulled out two dozen finger sized carrots; they were growing in a massive clump. I broke off the tops and tossed the them in the mulch pile.  I tried and failed to remove all the dirt. I scrapped off as much as I could. I really don’t need to clog my kitchen drains with mud.

We have had a few frosts already. I was surprised we haven’t had a foot of snow. Some of the carrots have some frost damage; they are a reddish orange color. I set those on the side to be mulched.

I creaked and groaned as I got to my feet, looked up at the blue sky and walked into the house to make myself some soup.

Uriah decided to stay behind and started  hunting  the rat that lives around his kennel.

Clean up and sliced carrots

A quarter of an onion chopped

Rive one clove of garlic from bulb

Relish with a Pinch of salt, and pepper

Olive oil to sauté, Swanson chicken broth

Two skinless chicken breasts simmer till done

Carrot picture

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrots

Story and photo by Kelli Coomes

Dawn breaks over the trees. A man with a silver head of hair looks out over his herd of cattle, gazing toward the sun as the first rays of sunshine illuminate his gruff-looking silhouette. He’s already been up and working for a few hours.

The sunlight slowly crawls across the land, like a veil being lifted from a piece of art. As the valley becomes lit, the farm comes to life. All that can be seen are acres of growing hay, a small herd of cattle, a few horses and chickens scratching the ground.

At 78, Dell Walker stands straight while surveying the work he has ahead of him. He has animals to feed, hay to haul and cattle to herd. He begins saddling his horse; his hands seem to be moving with a will of their own.

This is his family’s land. Held for generations. It borders the eastern edge of the Provo River, in the southern end of Provo, Utah. The house no longer sits on the farm. It was torn down when the farm became prosperous enough for the family to move into town. That was when Walker was only 10.

“We are a dying breed,” Walker said, his eyes sad. “Our children don’t work the land with us.”

Walker has three grown children. He has many grandkids and a few great grandchildren. None of them are interested in the land, except to sell it, Walker said. “Over my dead body.”

He’s no longer young enough to take care of all the land. A little more than a third of the farm property is now rented out. Horse owners can grow their own hay and house their horses for a monthly fee. The hay that Walker produces is used to feed his own three horses. The land is divided into multiple pastures, old-fashioned fences of chicken wire and log posts marking the boundaries.

Walker’s patch of farmland is one of the many farms that sit next to each other. Across from the paved road that runs as a border on the south edge of the farmland is a stream, and south of that, the homes of many of the farmers. A lot of the land has been sold for development projects.

“We pass on, and the kids left behind pass the land on,” said Glen Horton, who owns the land next to Walker’s. Horton is one of the lucky ones, according to many of the farmers around here. His children are farmers, too.

“It’s sad,” said Joann Walker, Dell’s wife. “We’re losing our culture as Utahns.”

Joann helps with the chickens on the farm and feeding the workers who come during haying season. She still collects fresh eggs for their meals at home, though they buy milk at the store. Milking cows are more expensive than cows for slaughter. They take their herds to auction and to the meat house.

In 78 years, Dell Walker has fought on foreign soil, worked at Geneva Steel, has fought cancer, has had two major heart surgeries and still continues working on his farm. At a young age, he lost his three middle fingers in an accident while working at Geneva Steel. “Finger and thumb are all I need,” he said with a smile.

More than five years ago, Dell Walker was diagnosed with Lymphoma cancer. “It was one of the worst days of my life,” Joann said, tears coming to her eyes at the memory. “He walked out and told me we’d be OK, and I believed him.” After two years of chemotherapy, he is in remission.

Three years before that, they found a heart murmur and he had heart surgery. It is normally something found at birth, but his had been missed. The doctors also missed it when he underwent heart surgery 15 years ago because of a major heart attack.

None of this has stopped his stride. Dell smiled and shared his secret: “Hard work and a reason for working.” He owns his house and the income from the farm is keeping him and his wife in the life they enjoy. “We’re happy,” Joann said.

Youda Farmer (33 MB download)
Experience the country life like never before! Run your farm, grow your crops, and provide all the shops in the village with the supplies they need! Use your time management skills to pick up the right products and deliver them in time. Harvest your crops, raise chickens, pigs and more, and purchase machines to get everything running faster and faster. Don’t forget to party it up during the big harvest parties too! Pull out your truck and get started farming in this addictive game now!

ಅದೊಂದು ಟ್ರಾಕ್ಟರ್. ತುಂಬ ಬಲಿಷ್ಠ. ಕಾಡೆಮ್ಮೆಯಷ್ಟು. ಬಣ್ಣ ಕಡು ಕೆಂಪು. ಮೂತಿಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಹಿತ್ತಾಳೆಯ ಫಳ ಫಳಹೊಳೆಯುವ ಪುಟ್ಟ ಪುಟ್ಟ ಎರಡು ಚಿಕ್ಕ ಚಿಕ್ಕ ಎತ್ತುಗಳ ಮೂರ್ತಿ. ಅವುಗಳ ಹಣೆಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಢಾಳಾಗಿ ಹಚ್ಚಲಾಗಿರುವ ಕುಂಕುಮ. ಕೊರಳಲ್ಲಿ ಮಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಹೂವು. ಗಾಡಿ ಮೇಲೆಲ್ಲ ದಪ್ಪ ದಪ್ಪ ವಿಭೂತಿಯ ಮುದ್ರೆಗಳು. ಬಸವನ ಹುಳುವಿಗಿರುವ ಹಾಗೆ ಮೂತಿಯಿಂದ ಮೇಲೆದ್ದಿರುವ ಎರಡು ಸ್ಪ್ರಿಂಗ್ ಗಳು. ಅದರ ತುದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಪ್ಪು ಬಿರಡೆ. ಅವಕ್ಕೆ ಗುಲಾಬಿ ಬಣ್ಣಗಳ ರಿಬ್ಬನ್ ಅಲಂಕಾರ. ಸ್ಪ್ರಿಂಗ್ ಮಧ್ಯೆ ಹಚ್ಚಲಾಗಿರುವ ಅರಿಶಿಣ ಕುಂಕುಮ. ಟ್ರಾಕ್ಟರ್ ನ ಕಪ್ಪು ಟಾಪ್ ಒಳಗೆ  ಗೆ ಜೋಡಿಸಲಾಗಿರುವ ಟೇಪ್ ರೆಕಾರ್ಡರ್ ನಿಂದ “ಉಳುವ ಯೋಗಿಯ ನೋಡಲ್ಲಿ” ಹಾಡು. ಹಿಂಭಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ “ಉತ್ರಿ ಬಿಳಿ ಜೋಳ ಬಿತ್ರಿ ನಾ ಬರದಿದ್ದ ನೀವ್ ಸತ್ರಿ” ಹಾಗೂ “ಶ್ರೀ ಬಸವೇಶ್ವರ ಪ್ರಸನ್ನ”, ಮತ್ತು “ನಾವಿಬ್ಬರು ನಮಗಿಬ್ಬರು” ಎಂದು ತೀರ ಇಕ್ಕಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಬರೆದಿರುವ ಬರಹಗಳು. ಹಾರೆ, ಪಿಕಾಸಿ, ಕುಡುಗೋಲು ಇಡಲು ಇಂಜಿನ್ ಪಕ್ಕದಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಶೇಷವಾಗಿ ವೆಲ್ಡ್ ಮಾಡಲಾದ ಡಿಟ್ಯಾಚೇಬಲ್ ಸ್ಟಾಂಡ್. ಗದ್ದೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಗಾಡಿ ಮುನಿದು ನಿಂತರೆ ಅದನ್ನು ಮುದ್ದುಮಾಡಲು ಪುಟ್ಟದಾದ ಟೂಲ್ ಕಿಟ್. ಎಂತಹ ಭೂಮಿಯಲ್ಲೂ ಉಳುಮೆ ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾಗಿಸಲು ಅತೀ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಅಶ್ವಶಕ್ತಿಯ ಎಂಜಿನ್. ಟಿವಿಯ ಅನ್ನದಾತ, ಕೃಷಿ ದರ್ಶನ, ರೇಡಿಯೋದ ಕೃಷಿ ವಾರ್ತೆಗಳ ಮಧ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಟ್ರಾಕ್ಟರ್ ನದೇ ಜಾಹೀರಾತು ವಿಜೃಂಭಣೆ. ಡ್ರೈವರ್ ಉಳುಮೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿರಬೇಕಾದರೆ ಆತನ ಅಕ್ಕ-ಪಕ್ಕ ಕುಳಿತು ಬೀಜ ಬಿತ್ತಲು ಅನುಕೂಲವಾಗುವ ಹಾಗೆ ಮಾಡಲಾಗಿರುವ ಸೀಟುಗಳು. ಕೆಎ-22 ಡಿ- 6…… ಎಂಬ ನಂಬರ್ ಪ್ಲೇಟ್ ನಿಂದ, ಇದು ಪಕ್ಕಾ ಬೆಳಗಾವಿ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ರಾಮದುರ್ಗ ತಾಲೂಕಿನ ಯಾವುದೋ ಮೊಕ್ಕಾಂ ನ ಯಾವುದೋ ಸಾಕಿನ್ ಹಳ್ಳಿಯ ಯಾವುದೋ ಗೌಡನ ಟ್ರಾಕ್ಟರ್ ಎಂಬ ಋಜುವಾತು.

ಇಂತಹ ಟ್ರಾಕ್ಟರ್ ಒಂದು ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಅಪಾರ್ಟ್ ಮೆಂಟ್ ಒಂದರ ಕಾಮಗಾರಿಗಾಗಿ ಇಟ್ಟಿಗೆ, ಸಿಮೆಂಟ್ ಹೊರುತ್ತಿತ್ತು.

Gov. Bev Perdue has proclaimed today as “Thank a Farmer Day” in North Carolina. A great way to thank our farmers is to support them by shopping at farmers markets or looking for the Got to Be NC logo at your local grocery store.

We can be thankful for the role North Carolina farmers play in putting food on our tables. Our state leads the country in the production of sweet potatoes, we are second in the production of hogs and turkeys, and third in cucumbers for pickling. We also rank high in the production of eggs, apples and pecans. (You can see the rankings here.)

When you sit down for your Thanksgiving meal, chances are pretty good that you’ll be enjoying some food produced right here in the state.  Statistics say that one out of every seven turkeys cooked at Thanksgiving will come from North Carolina. We also supply enough pork products for one out of every four families in America, and one out of every 13 eggs comes from North Carolina.

As consumers, we all have a lot to be thankful for when it comes to our agricultural community. We are fortunate to live in an agriculture-rich state that produces so many different commodities. Our farmers also contribute mightily to our state’s $70 billion agribusiness industry, which plays a critical role in our state’s economy.

Who says today’s kids aren’t smart? Well, some of them are!

At a high school in Montana a group of students played a prank on the school.

They let three goats loose in the school.

Before they let them go they painted numbers on the sides of the goats: 1, 2 and 4.

Local school administrators spent most of the day looking for #3.

Its mid-morning, pale baby blue sky, painted with wisps of white clouds, the air is no longer cold, just cool. On the path the grass is about three inches tall and it shimmered in the morning light. Drew drops were everywhere, glinting along the gnarled fence post, to slipping slowly off bare branches.

If I had to describe this morning with one word, it would be ‘peaceful.’

I watched a family of Blue Jays glide noiselessly through the trees to the North. When I was spotted, a single long whistle announced me as trouble. Very similar to the whistle I use to call for Uriah. I whistled back at the bird, smiled and moved on.

I snapped my fingers at Uriah, and we headed for the path. Uriah ran in circles and headed into up the incline to the south, the scent he caught was over powering to him. He had to find it! He didn’t… I could smell a faint a faint musky order it lingered over the damp ground. I knew the animal was no longer here. Finally, Uriah figured that out and came back to me; immediately he pushed off in the opposite direction when a new smell caught his attention.

 A Red-tailed Hawk screeched in the trees to the north. His call reverberated in the morning air. Blue Jays answered with their danger whistle and the Hawk screeched back at them.

Both are extremely beautiful birds. The bright blue of the  Jays and the intense pride of the hawk, for me, their voices carried the soul of the land.

That may sound corny. Yes! But standing here listening, takes me back to my grandmother’s house, and brought me peaceful feel to the day, to this moment.

Peace is more than a word, a thought, or a phrase. It is a way of living. In nature, animals come together to drink from the same pond without killing each other. Just for the sake of replenishing their thirst…?  Or, is it more than that?

Nature is calling out today! With the same whistles, growls, screeches and yelps as yesterday. A peaceful coexistence, caught in a split second where I can connect with the land.

Tomorrow may rage a storm so severe the trees could be ripped up from their roots. This moment of peace, this moment is all I have right now. I am enjoying it immensely.

I have been playing with acrostic poetry.

 Peace

Place yourself within nature

Embrace your creative arc

Actualize your personal Mecca

Confidence regained in solitude

Enliven a past friendship

Picture from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-tailed_hawk