On Raising and Eating Animals

Growing up on a dairy farm, we've always raised our own beef and at times, pork. I've never felt a sadness eating these animals because I know they lived a great life. They get a very high quality diet (how many people can say that a nutritionist took samples on all components of their food to make sure each daily meal is healthy and balanced?) And they basically get to wander around as they please all day (they are in a spacious barn with their friends, other cows, doing as they please all day). Even their sleeping quarters are built with maximum comfort in mind (Martin and my dad just recently spent an entire day driving around to area farms and comparing cow mattresses to decide what would be best to put in the new barn being built this summer).

We know that as Aubrey and Sylvia grow up on the farm, they will also learn to appreciate the animals for what they provide to us and also to appreciate what we are able to provide the animals. There is a lot of information (both positive and negative) on this topic that you can read out there, but if you're looking for my opinion, I've never met a farmer who didn't treat their animals with respect. I've never met a farmer who thought of their farm as a factory. And the fact of the matter is that over 96 percent of farms in the United States are family operated enterprises. Over 96 percent of the farms are people just like my family raising and caring for animals to the best of their ability.

We've most recently started in on our newest animal endeavor...Chickens! Aubrey got eight meat chickens for Easter that we will raise for the next few months until they are large enough to eat.....and then we will celebrate their life with a big party (probably at the lake) and a chicken barbeque. We are hoping Aubrey will understand the chicken's life when this time comes, but for now we're just enjoying playing with the little guys. Aubrey loves to hold them and pet their wings and it's really incredible how much they've grown just in the last two weeks!

And if you're wondering why the chickens are caged in - we've had some issues when I was growing up with animals killing our chickens (once a wild dog and another time a weasel) so we're trying to keep them as safe as possible.

Illinois

On our way home from visiting Ingrid, we took a drive through Illinois. We decided to get off the main highway and take some state routes through some of the small towns. And we went off some of the state routes and drove around on the country roads through field after field with almost no houses. We saw one pig farm and one dairy farm. Other than that we saw thousands and thousands of acres of corn land.

We stopped at the Caterpillar museum in Peoria, Il. That is Aubrey next to a tire of the largest dump truck in the world. Which is used mostly in mining oil sands. It is so big they actually has a movie theater inside the dump bucket and it is the start of the tour.

For some reason, Aubrey was especially excited about the excavator and wanted me to scoop her up.

And then kept shouting things like I want to drive the excavator!

There is Martin and Aubrey in front of the giant dump truck.

And then we stopped at a HUGE auction lot. Both Martin and Aubrey had way too much fun sitting in combines and tractors. I don't know what excited Martin more - the fact that we were on the huge auction lot or Aubrey's intense excitement over farm equipment.

There was enough open space on the lot that Martin let Aubrey have full control of the wheel. She was a scarily good driver, doing hand over hand to turn the wheel and everything!

By the time we left the auction lot it was close to eight and Aubrey promptly fell asleep in the backseat. So we drove through the night and arrived in our driveway just as Aubrey was waking up.

2012: Review

Maybe no one else is excited about a post in which I review the past year, but looking through everything that has happened was super exciting and also extremely nostalgic for me.

January: We rang January in the right way last year, with lots of excitement. Aubrey started walking. I almost burned the house down. Martin wore footie pajamas. Can you even ask for any more in just one month?

February: Aubrey becomes a groupie. Martin and I continue to have ridiculous conversations. We enjoy the best subs in the world!

March: Aubrey continues to get cuter and cuter in her daddy's shoes, on the farm, and playing in the dirt. I get my first pedicure! Katie teaches me the fine art of making the most delicious fresh salsa on our fabulous vacation in Florida.

April: Aubrey gets really into showing off her muscles. I have a spectacular time in Georgia with college roommates. The ridiculous conversations continue. I start making the most delicious pork tenderloin.

May: My mom turns 50! For the first time ever, my brother wants my approval. It
becomes apparent, once again, that I am terrible with cars. And Aubrey has adorable clothes.

June: Martin and I can sleep through anything. I learn some motorcycle lingo. Aubrey falls in love with strawberries and wildflowers. Caton continues to exaggerate (but less so).

July: We temporarily were without internet this month. But..... Aubrey starts climbing out of her crib. Martin defends the family. And we discover that ice cream is a huge hit.

August: We enjoy a weekend vacation for a wedding, and Martin is again...ridiculous. Aubrey finds her favorite toy. And the sleeping saga continues.

September: We go to a Zac Brown Band Concert. I become obsessed with Chicken Tacos and spend way too much time thinking about the meaning of hashtags. And Aubrey gets a kitten (or three).

October: I think I've finally overcome my issue with picking out vehicles (turns out, I haven't). The sleeping saga continues, again (the good news is at this point it's almost over). We find out we're having a girl! And we close on our dream house and move in!

November:  I really dragged my feet on getting internet access in our new home so I have a limited recollection of what happened in this month. But it included some home improvements and Aubrey learning the blame game.

December: I lose my keys. Aubrey gets really into Hide and Seek. My brothers attempt to help Martin with my Christmas Present, and of course, Christmas happens.

So.....that pretty much sums up 2012. See you next year!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Don't be fooled by the title of this post, it's really just an instagram drop disguised as a song from the Sound of Music. Also, a few of my favorite things are also a few of Aubrey's favorite things....mostly because I love watching her smile and hearing her laugh. Oh and when I get home from work late in the evening and she looks up from her dinner plate and shouts Mommy! and then 'Meer Mommy! when I leave the kitchen for a moment.....that's another one of my favorite things I was unable to capture on instagram.

 

 

Also, since my post on hashtags, I've really been trying to embrace the hashtag. I'll include then with the photo....some are good, some are okay, some are weak. Go ahead, weigh in. 

 

#aspiringathlete #barnyardsports

#eatingasmanyaswepick

#cuddlingismyfavorite #intentonDora

#addictedtomilkandsugar

Double Trouble

Brace yourself for a very unconnected post....I've got a couple of different thoughts/pictures I want to share and none of them are really related.

I LOVE the colors of fall. Don't these pumpkins look gorgeous on my mama's stand?

Aubrey's still loving up on the kitty.  It's amazing that cat even lets Aubrey scoop her up on a daily basis.....but for some reason she continues coming back for more toddler love.

She even recruited a friend/sibling to hang out at the farm with her so we are now the owners of two kittens. My mom's dog tried to quickly do away with the second kitten the moment she stepped foot onto his side of the yard, but after a quick scramble up the tree she was able to escape. Of course, then the kitten was stuck in the tree and it really felt like those children's books where the fireman has to come and rescue the cat from the tree. Lucky for us, the fireman's daughter, our neighbor, happened to be over and she climbed up the tree to rescue the kitty for Aubrey. Later that night when we were lying in bed I brought up to Aubrey how nice it was of Alexis to save her kitty.

Aubrey: Uh huh. Vick. oh no! He kills.

And of course is there a better way to "watch" football than curled up under a blanket with your best girl?

Cats

Aubrey adopted a kitten yesterday. If you ask her what the kitten's name is she will flutter between saying Boots or Kitty or just completely ignoring the question. If you ask her what color the cat is she will tell you red, if you tell her the kitten is orange, she will tell you you are wrong.

I called Martin yesterday around noon to make sure he didn't have any issues getting the stitches from his wisdom teeth removed. He ignored my question and said,

I have some bad news.

I thought he had some bad news.

Me: Oh no, what?
Martin: Aubrey......has........a cat.
Me: Oh, I know. So what's the big deal?
Martin: I'm just not really a cat person.
Me: Well, didn't you have pet cats on the farm when you were growing up. I know we did.
Martin: Yeah, but they were barn cats.
Me: THIS is a barn cat.
Martin: I just thought if we were going to get a pet it would be a dog.

To say that Aubrey man-handles the cat would be an understatement. It's all done out of love....but its not any type of love I'd like to be receiving. Yesterday evening, after an hour and a half of being tormented by Aubrey's love the kitten decided she had enough and was so scared she literally shit herself.....all over Aubrey's arm. It was about this time I decided maybe dinner and a bath would be a good idea.

This evening Aubrey thought she would give the kitten a bath....by dropping it in some fresh mud puddles. Needless to say, if the kitten sticks around until next week - I'll be impressed.

An Expensive Sandbox

One of Aubrey's favorite things to do is to play in the grain tote by the calf hutches.

More notable, she really enjoys being buried in the grain tote.

At $275 a ton, Martin calls it the most expensive sandbox any kid has ever played in.

But I'd say that smile is totally worth it.

Happy Fourth and Happy Birthday!

Happy Fourth of July and Happy Birthday to this guy!

And yes, that is a backpack made from a bag of corn seed. And yes, those are straps made out of duct tape. And yes, he's crazy inventive.

Picking Wildflowers

A few weeks ago, my brother Alex was taking Aubrey of a tour of all the wild flowers growing in the rubble and grass around the edges of the farm. After spended a day in the packing tractor on top of the bunk silo he was fairly confident he had spotted all the good ones and was eager to show off her knowledge to the greatest set of listening ears he's ever encountered.

Alex: And look Aubrey, here's some pretty little white flowers. I don't know what they're called.
Me: They're daisies.
Alex: No they're not. Daisies are ugly.
Me: Nope. Those are daisies.
Alex: Hmmm. oh.

So, we all got a lesson in botany and Aubrey had a lot of fun picking wildflowers.

Hoofbeats

A couple weekends ago, Aubrey woke up in the middle of the night. Because my body is trained to hear her every nightly move, I also woke up and went into her room to investigate the cause of her distress. Seeing no problem - I decided to bring her into the kitchen and get her a little bit of water, change her diaper and send her happily back to bed. As I was laying her back down in her crib I overheard my mom talking to my dad outside the window at 1AM!

Me: Martin. Martin. I just heard my parents talking outside.
Martin: (groggily rolls over) They're probably just looking for a new place to get fresh. (rolls back over and goes to sleep)

Unconvinced this was the reason for their midnight stroll outside I tried to investigate by looking out the window. At first I saw nothing but then I saw headlights and my youngest brother Garrett yelling Heifer!

Me: Oh no! I think the cows are out
I rush around trying to throw some clothes on my body and head out the door, only to be greeted at the bottom of the stairs by Garrett.

Garrett: I see you finally came to join the fun, now that it's all wrapped up.
Me: What happened?
Garrett: All the 1000 pounders got out. There was like 75 heifers outside your window.
Alex: We heard them from our house. There was cars honking their horns on the road. All the calves were bellowing and going crazy on top of which I'm sure Andy was freaking out in the apartment directly below you. How did you miss it???
Me: I don't know. I heard Aubrey wake up. I didn't know what woke her up. I guess it was that.

Apparently I'm a pretty sound sleeper.

Strawberries.

Aubrey and I went strawberry picking on Saturday morning before the Strawberry Festival Parade (which if you're local you really should check out the Monday issue of your Daily News because you can see Aubrey and I watching the parade  - if you're not local you can see the picture here).

Picking strawberries at Panek's always brings back fond memories. I spent a lot of years picking strawberries there every single day for the entire strawberry season. I spent so much time picking strawberries that I used to dread picking strawberries so it's ironic that I now return as a fun, social outing. Aubrey stayed in her stroller while my mom and I picked out quarts because we were worried about her smashing the rows. And based on her performance in the stroller, I think our fears were well founded. The girl knocked the stroller over TWICE while trying to pick up her quart with berries which she had dropped on the ground. Yes, on two seperate occasions I had to pick her up because she was laying on the ground stuck in a sideways stroller. But don't worry, she was so happy to be shoving her face with strawberries she didn't even mind tipping over a few times.

The Boys

The neighbor boys down the road love to work on the farm. Thomas really likes working and hanging out with the older boys and Max loves anything that involves tractors, dirt or farming. I love this small series of pictures I took last Saturday of Thomas and Max helping move calves out of the hutches. I especially love the look of determination on Thomas' face in the first photo as he's trying to get the calf to budge and then the look of success in the last photo when he has the calf walking by his side.

Friday Evening

Love the view of this little girl holding my hand as we stroll across the yard.

There's really nothing more fulfilling than seeing Aubrey love all animals, especially bovines.

That cat probably weighs as much as her, but she was determined to pick her up. Luckily, the cat was a good sport about being attacked by a toddler.

Chickens, is there anything cooler?

Farm Girl

Aubrey walks around in sneakers now. This is basically the most adorable thing in the entire world and she looks like such a little person! She loves running all over the farm and especially loves the cows. Oh Brownie! You've grown so big - I remember when both you and Aubrey were babies!

Riding Shotgun and Picking Pumpkins

This is probably one of my favorite pictures of Aubrey. I think because she looks like so much of a little person here. I could probably get locked up just for posting this picture of her sitting in the front seat without a carseat, so let me just clear the air….we were going across the field, not on the road. The truck never exceeded five miles an hour.

These pictures were taken during the first day we picked pumpkins. The day we were supposed to have a ton of help. But then Garrett tried learning how to ride a dirt bike on a bike twice his size and ended up taking an ambulance to the hospital. Needless to say our huge crew dwindled quickly with Garrett in the hospital getting his arm snapped back into place and stitched up and my mom in the hospital sitting patiently by Garrett’s side.

Needless to say, Aubrey is a great helper in the pumpkin patch!

Pumpkin Photoshoot

Because Aubrey is uncontrollably cute, I couldn’t resist but to do a photoshoot with her all over the stand. Putting her on pile of pumpkins after pile of pumpkins just never seemed to get old.

Put her on the pile of white pumpkins Put her on the Cinderella pumpkins Put her on the gourds Set her in front of the corn stalks. The exact same picture in each location seemed to be completely necessary

And Aubrey really is a willing model. She smiles. She laughs. She is super excited to hold a pumpkin.

And gourds….can she eat the gourds? Please let her eat the gourds. She really wants to chew them.