Thursday, August 16, 2012

A Little of Nature's Beauty to Brighten Your Day!

This week, I spent an extremely rare, extremely leisurely afternoon with a friend in Fargo, North Dakota.  She and I had lunch and then swung by Baker Garden & Gift.

What a lovely afternoon! The bees were buzzing...
I love Rudbeckia's (otherwise known as "Black Eyed Susans") because they are the Maryland state flower!

The butterflies were fluttering around...







I am always amazed at the quality of photos and video my i(love you)Phone takes! You can see this little butterfly enjoying a snack!

Hope your day got a "thumbs up" like mine did :)




Thanks for stopping by!

 Sarah :)

"Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds."  And it was so.  The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good." - Genesis 1:11-12, NIV





Wednesday, August 15, 2012

My First iMovie: 4th of July Highlights

This is my very first iMovie. All footage was taken with my i(love you)Phone and I assembled the video and added music and titles with iMovie in less than an hour.

What were the highlights of YOUR Independence Day this year?

MANY THANKS to the United States servicemen and women around the world that are protecting our independence!

Enjoy the movie!

Sarah :)

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Flabby Farmwife Trains For 5K: Weeks 2 & 3: Getting Back On The Horse That Threw Me!

Weeks two and three went by like a flash!

Time is ticking away and October 6th is fast-approaching! That's when women from across the state, including this flabby farmwife, will be taking part in the North Dakota Cattlewomen's Beefin' It Up; Fuel for the Finish 5K at Fort Lincoln State Park in Mandan, North Dakota!

To see how my first week of training went, click here:

http://www.farmeronamission.blogspot.com/2012/08/flabby-farmwife-trains-for-5k-week-1.html

Week two began with some MOTIVATION!

What motivates me to do this?

1. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 states "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies."   Jesus suffered and died so I could live, and I'm going to live this life to the fullest and run to honor God!

2. This is MY body. Like the verse above states, it is my own personal temple and it is the ONLY ONE I get.  If I don't take care of it, no one else will. I need to take care of myself, so I can take care of them...

Easter 2012.


3. I am at a high risk for diabetes and blood clots.  My Dad is a severe diabetic and is disabled from the effects of that awful disease.  We love him and we all try to make the best of the challenges that diabetes presents, but I don't want my future grandchildren to draw this sort of picture of me for a very, very long time, if ever.

CW (age 5) drew this for my Dad for Father's Day 2012.


To focus all that motivation, I downloaded a free "Couch to 5K" App for my i(love you)Phone.  In case you're wondering, the i(love you)Phone was my Anniversary present from Jeremy :)


I got serious about this thing and went to, of all places, the gym! There is something you need to know about our local YMCA.  It is a wonderful place that provides childcare from 9 to 11 every morning, so I can drop off the Wee Wilson's and have a little time all to myself, however, it is a facility that is also shared with Jamestown College.

Yes, I strode in there amongst those wrinkle/cellulite-free, slender college girls that look like gazelles on the machines and got myself all set up on a treadmill.

And I ran!

That's right, this Mama, who formerly only ran if a) something was on fire or b) if one of my children was about to be hit by an oncoming automobile, actually RAN for FUN.

It actually felt good!

Much to my relief after thirty minutes of walking/jogging, the material of my running pants between my thighs had not burst into flames and I had not keeled over!

Although, curiously, two random people stopped and asked if I would like a fan facing my way. I realized once I sat down in the driver's seat of my pickup and looked in the rear view mirror that I was BEET RED :)

No big deal, I was officially a runner!

No sooner had I gotten into a groove, then I had to go on two business trips and those were followed immediately by a HORRIBLE virus.  Four of the five Wilson's went down with high fevers, including me. I hit a lifetime record high of 104.5 degrees and then spent the next day in bed with a migraine and the days after that caring for wee Wilson's and my ailing husband.

However, as I begin week four, I'm getting right back on that horse that threw me!

This time I'm armed with new RUNNING SHOES!
Now Grandma B. is a fine gal, but nothing says cool like "Hey Mama, you've got the same shoes as Great-Grandma!" :) So I figured it was about time to retire my old JC Penney specials and get myself an updated look :)


My little farmer got NEW BOOTS too!
Handsome little fella, dontcha think !? All ready to help his Dad on the farm! Thanks to daycare for sending along this pic!



I had no idea how worn out my old shoes were until I tried the new ones and now I'm feeling a little more gazelle-like every day :)


Here's to WEEK FOUR being a success!

What motivates YOU?
- Sarah :)



Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Farming: "We Do It For You"

Last month I was asked by one of our Jamestown City Council members to write the "We Do It For You" column for our Main Street/Downtown Association Newsletter. (THANKS for the opportunity, Charlie!)
Thought you all might like to read it too! Enjoy! Sarah :)


"Agriculture is the backbone of our economy, making up almost 25 percent of our state’s economic base (Source: ND Department of Agriculture).   To reinforce this fact, I recently compiled a list of local businesses our farm and our family patronized in one year- there were FIFTY!  There were the obvious- our local implement dealers, tire repair service, seed, fuel, fertilizer and crop protection product suppliers, but many more were on Main Street and in Downtown Jamestown- our bank, grocer, office supply store, dry cleaning service, restaurants, gift shops, etc.
Main Street, Jamestown, North Dakota (Source: ScenicDakotas.com)

Along with having such a positive economic impact, the values that have carried farms and ranches through the generations are the heart of our community.  Every day farmers and ranchers are working hard to provide safe, wholesome, consistent, affordable products, in an environmentally conscience manner, for all of us to enjoy.

Harvesting soybeans with a combine.
With some help from Stutsman County Extension Agent, Lance Brower, I discovered that according to the National Ag Statistics Service and US Census, there are 1,043 farmers in Stutsman County.  According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, back in 1940, each farmer fed just 19 people.  Today, the average American farm consists of 446 acres and each farmer feeds 154 people.  However, Mr. Brower and I found that in Stutsman County, our average farm is 1,144 acres and each of our local farmers feeds 398 people!

Jeremy Wilson. One of 1,043 farmers in Stutsman County, each feeding 398 people each year!
While farmers and ranchers have increased our overall productivity, we have significantly increased our efficiency as well.  For example, Dr. Jude Capper, Washington State animal scientist, writes “Modern dairy practices require considerably fewer resources than dairying in 1944 with 21% of animals, 23% of feedstuffs, 35% of the water, and only 10% of the land required to produce the same 1 billion kg of milk. Waste outputs were similarly reduced, with modern dairy systems producing 24% of the manure… The carbon footprint per billion kilograms of milk produced in 2007 was 37% of equivalent milk production in 1944.”  Thanks to technology, the same trend of making more with less is happening in every sector of agriculture.
Dumping soybeans from the combines into the semi.

 Jeremy and I farm because we want to have successful business that will provide for our family for generations to come and we certainly love the work that we do, but at the end of the day, we farm because God has called us to help feed His people.  Truly, we do it for you."

Jeremy and Sarah Wilson own and operate J.S. Wilson Farm in Jamestown, North Dakota.  They have three children who are the fifth generation on the Wilson Farm. They are the winners of the 2011 Stutsman County Soil Conservation Achievement Award.  Sarah is also a professional speaker and blogger at http://farmeronamission.blogspot.com

Contest: Name the Triplet Calves, Win a Dairy Good Prize Package!

What an exciting day July 14th was!

TRIPLET calves arrived at the neighboring dairy farm, Entzminger Dairy!

We partner with Entzminger Dairy on our farm.  In the spring and fall, they bring a group of cattle over to graze on some of our land.


The Entzminger family and the employees on their farm take EXCELLENT care of their cattle and we're proud to work with them. Not only are healthy dairy products for my family made with the milk they produce, but their cattle also help keep our soil fertile to grow better crops.

Pretty great recycling program!

Entzminger Dairy also hosts many local school children each year on farm tours. 



So what are the chances of triplet Holstein calves? According to Holstein World, 1 in 105,000!

You can imagine how excited everyone at the dairy was when these little ones arrived!

My friend, Bobbi Entzminger, notified me on Facebook of this incredible birth and sent along some photos to share!

There are two heifers (girls), numbers 200 and 201.  At the dairy, cattle are individually identified with eartags so they can get the best treatment possible.

There was also a bull calf (male), as seen in the foreground.  Looks like one of his sisters has a case of the wiggles! Word spread pretty quickly about these wee ones and the dairy employees, including Armondo in the photo above, shared in the joy of their arrival! 

Cow number 931 (owned by Mitch Entzminger) is the dam (mother) and the sire (father) is bull 187691 Cobra from the Genex Cooperative.
That's a whole lot of calf to have carried for 9 months! They're so new in these two photos that they're just learning how to hold themselves up.  Pretty impressive that within minutes of being born, calves can stand up.

Here little 201 gets a check-up, while 200 looks on from her comfortable spot in the straw.  Each calf at the dairy (except these special little gals who get to hang out together) gets an individual pen with a bucket of fresh water every day. Over their first two months they will transition from being bottle fed milk to eating grain from a bucket.

To celebrate this special arrival, together with the Entzminger dairy family, I'm hosting a Calf Naming Contest. 


In the comment section below, leave your suggestions for the names of these calves (remember: two girls and a boy) and on August 6th, the Entzmingers will choose the winner of this MOOVELOUS prize package which has been so graciously donated by the Midwest Dairy Association!



Here is what is included, from left to right:

Dairy Makes Sense potholder, Chocolate Milk Sports Fuel information, Dairy Makes Sense lunch bag, Dairy Makes Sense pizza cutter, Recipe Cards (Pumpkin Pie Squares, Pulled Pork Tacos, Mozzarella Pepper Salsa, Blues Buster Smoothie, Pumpkin Pancakes, and Peanut Butter & Banana Breakfast Shake), 2 samples of Whey Protein, Whey protein informational pamphlet, Cow pen, Whey protein recipe cards and a Dairy Makes Sense blender bottle.

GOOD LUCK, CONTESTANTS!!!

Thanks for stopping by,
Sarah :)

p.s You may also be interested in this poem, by dairy manager, Terry Entzminger:

http://farmeronamission.blogspot.com/2010/05/may-our-farmers-stand-with-pride.html

Flabby Farmwife Trains for 5K: Week 1.

Yep, that's me, the Flabby Farmwife.  In the last 6 years, this old body has been pregnant five times, delivered three children, nursed each of those children for almost a year, traveled a gojillion miles, and has been the official "go-fer" on the Wilson Farm, all of which has made keeping a schedule and committing to a working out nearly impossible.

I have reached a new low and so have some of my body parts.  I'm tired a lot and more than "stressed out tired". If I were a cow, the vet would call me "lethargic".  People still call me "thin" (God bless 'em), but I now weigh more than I have ever weighed when not pregnant.  I am still wearing my post baby "fat pants" and the "baby" turned a year old last month.

Bottom line (pun intended): I AM OUT OF SHAPE.

I recently saw a Facebook post about the North Dakota Cattlewomen hosting a 5K and I thought. Now those are MY people.  If other farming and ranching women are going to be hoofin' it (pun intended) then I can do it too. I got this new thing, you may have heard of it, it's called HOPE!

Thankfully, I'm not training alone.  I've got Mrs. D.!

Mrs. D is an old friend from my grad school days and now she ranches about 200 miles west of here.  She too has a crazy busy life and has EVEN MORE children and they're EVEN YOUNGER than mine. Bless her heart!

We're in this thing together and we're either committed or we need to be committed, lol, because it takes some sort of insanity to try to fit working out into our schedules. Through Facebook, we're sharing our training experiences and encouraging each other.

So without further adieu, welcome to a series of blog posts, tracking my progression (and let's be realistic, probably regression at some point) on the journey to the "Beefin' It Up: Fuel up for the Finish" 5K/10K"

I began "training" last week.

Here's how that went:

Day 1. Had a milkshake.

Day 2. Went on "long walk" with the kids.



Pushed baby in stroller up steep incline, while children cheered "Go Mama Go".

Had a tall glass of 1% chocolate milk. This is actually a healthy way to re-fuel after a workout.


Day 3. Went camping with family. Ate s'mores with those jumbo marshmallows. Mmmm...

Day 4. Ate an ice cream sundae with chocolate syrup.

Day 5.  Rested. This training for a 5K is really tough.

Day 6. It hit me.  This is pitiful.  This is not training.  The way I'm going I'm going to be flabbier than when I started.  Sheesh.

Day 7:  Turned over a new leaf.  Dusted off ye olde bicycle.  Aired up tires. Noticed some parts have dry rotted.  Sheesh.  Went on 2 mile bike ride.  Actually broke a sweat.  Felt I could conquer the world.  Well, not the whole world, but MY world. Yay for endorphins!

Bring on week 2! Let's do this thing!

Feel free to leave encouraging comments for Mrs. D and I below! We could really use them!

THANKS!
Sarah :)