Sun Dogs and Soybeans on the Prairie

Last week, Jeremy and I headed to Fargo, ND for the Northern Soybean Expo, which is the annual meeting of the North Dakota Soybean Growers Association and North Dakota Soybean Council.

We were looking forward to an exciting day of learning, networking, and spending time together as a farm and family management team.  I'm calling it a "working date" :)

On the way, we got to witness something we've never seen before.  Now, I'm fairly new to sun dogs, so they're all new and exciting to me, but when Jeremy, who grew up on the prairie, said he'd never seen anything like it, I knew I was witnessing something REALLY special.

The biggest Sun Dogs EVER!

What's a Sun Dog? Check out this link for more information:

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

Usually when we see Sun Dogs, it's simply two small rainbows on either side of the sun.  But this was spectactular.

 

There was a full ring around the sun.

 

There was even a full SECOND ring around the sun!

 

It gets cold here on the prairie. Really, really cold, but seeing things like this makes enduring negative 10 degrees (with a 35 degree below windchill) well worth it!

 

Brrr...That lip balm I got at the Soybean Expo (which is made from soybeans we grow)

sure is going to come in handy!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Sarah :)

 

Carpet From Corn!

Yesterday something rare happened.  Perhaps even naughty.

 

Okay, really nothing naughty about it, but it felt wickedly good to break the rules of our "regularly scheduled life" :)

 

Jeremy and I skipped out on a conference we had planned to attend. 

 

It's called the Cornvention and it is the annual meeting of the North Dakota Corn Growers Association.  Yes, you guessed it, there you can learn lots about growing corn in North Dakota.

 

(Click HERE for a video on how we harvest corn on our farm.)

 

However, there is something going on in our lives that has temporarily taken precedence over corn.

 

We're giving the Wilson family farm house a makeover. 

 

This requires us to make approximately 80,000 little decisions that when they come together will create a new home for our family.

 

Yesterday we tackled some decisions about cabinets and flooring.

 

There is some irony here. As we were skipping out on the Cornvention (gasp!), we discovered that Mohawk (which, to my knowledge, is a branch of DuPont) has a new line of carpet.

 

It's called SmartStrand Silk.

 

It is THE SOFTEST carpet I have ever touched.  Softer than my daughter's favorite teddy bear!

 

AND the best part is that it is made from CORN!!!

 

The same corn we grow in our fields!  We have have 79,999 more decisions to make, but I'm pretty sure we're sold on this carpet :)

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by! And if we missed you at the Cornvention, we'll see you next year!

Sarah :)

 

Frosty Winter Wonderland on the Wilson Farm

Last February, I blogged about a frosty morning on our farm.

A few weeks ago I pulled into our farmyard to find another picturesque frosty winter wonderland.  The air seemed almost blue and it was completely still and silent.  The kind of peacefulness you can only find on the prairie.

I snapped these pics with my iPhone.  Let's be honest, I don't carry a camera since I was given this phone...thanks for the "iloveyouPhone", Jeremy Wilson :)

Hope you enjoy these and I hope they give you a little virtual breath of the fresh air and peace we enjoy here on our farm on winter mornings (before any equipment is running :)

In the background you may notice some construction going on. We're giving the old Wilson farm house a new life :)

 

Grandpa Wilson fashioned this mail box post from one of the stall dividers from the old barn that housed the family's dairy cows.

More agricultural relics...

An old steam shovel scoop.  It's massive.

No rain in the gauge today :)

 I was impressed at the difference in the frost thickness on each side of the branch.

God's handiwork sure is amazing.  What beauty he gives us each day, but it's up to us to choose to enjoy it.

Sarah :)

 

"It was You who set all the boundaries of the earth; You made both summer and winter."

Psalm 74:17

Pioneer Woman, Please Visit North Dakota!!!

This post is part of an effort by a group of North Dakota bloggers to get the attention of Ree Drummond, "The Pioneer Woman", in hopes that she will come share her wit and wisdom with us and get to experience our "Legendary" state first hand!

 

Dear Ree,

 

I hope this note finds things going well on your ranch!  It seems you have become a part of our daily life on our farm and in our home.  A good friend of mine, Val, over at the Wag'n Tales blog in Monango, North Dakota gave me your first cookbook, and I just bought your second cookbook for myself. I'm itching to cook my way through this second one as well!

 

The girls and I caught a few minutes of your television show on Sunday before church and boy were they ever excited to see "the real Charlie!!!" of your children's book series. We gave your "Charlie" books for Christmas to many friends and family members  this year.

 

Can't thank you enough for all you've done to make me a better cook and your efforts to promote a better understanding of agriculture. I especially liked the recent post "Working the Fall Calves" by your husband, "Marlboro Man".

 

Although it's cold here this time of year...

 

 

...I promise if you visit, you'll be greeted by many warm hearts and we're all eager to meet you!

 

(Photo Credit: Janice Person at www.janiceperson.com)

 

 

For more about our great state, take a look at my winning essay for the "WHY I LUV ND" contest from a few years back.

 

Since you love food and cooking so much, you might be happy to know that North Dakota consistently ranks number one in the nation in the production of at least a dozen different agriculture commodities. We'd be happy to give you a tour of the foods produced locally, especially Brownings Honey and Dakota Growers Pasta...Mmmm :)



 

Hope to meet you soon! In the meantime, keep on sharing those recipes that include butter and bacon! We raise a lot of feedstuffs for the wonderful creatures that make them!

 

Sincerely,

 

Sarah & Jeremy Wilson and the "Wee Wilson's"

 



This Christmas Season, Make the Time- In Loving Memory of Grandpa Wilson

This week, one year ago, we were getting ready to make the big trip east with the kiddos for Christmas with my family.  It was a crazy-busy time, but knowing we'd miss the family get-togethers here in North Dakota, I made special plans with my husband's Grandpa's Girlfriend (got that?), Lorraine, to have Christmas supper with Grandpa out at the farm.

 

We had completed our first full year of operating our farm on the Wilson farmstead that Grandpa's father purchased, here in rural Jamestown, North Dakota, in 1935. 

 

They barely scratched a living out of the place in back in the "Dirty Thirties" and somehow recovered from going broke on two other farmsteads in the area. Great-Grandpa and his sons had marched their dairy cows across the countryside from a township away, and were eventually able to move a house onto the place.

The Wilson Farmstead in the 1930's. The verse in the upper left was a favorite of Great-grandmother Susan Wilson's.

Then in 1962, Grandpa, along with friends and family, tore the old house down and in the same spot, built the house that stands today. 

 

There we were in late 2011, with another of the fifth generation of Wilson's on the farm having arrived in our young son.  We had good reason to celebrate!

 

Our normally jovial Grandpa Wilson had just turned 91 in November, and he hadn't let age stand in his way before, but that week, he wasn't really in the Christmas spirit. Grandpa didn't want to decorate. He didn't want to really go anywhere and he wasn't feeling so well after battling a variety of illnesses over the recent months, but once Lorraine (or Grandma Bair, as we refer to her) and I had made supper plans things began to change.

 

When we arrived at the farm that night, we were all happily surprised to find that Grandma had convinced him to decorate the whole house up- every window was decked out- and there in the middle of the living room floor was a sight my girls still talk about- a three foot tall glowing Santa, surrounded by presents.

 

That night Lorraine and I really put out a spread, and I have to give her most of the credit, because we only brought the pork chops and stuffing. It was an old-fashioned Christmas dinner with all the fixings and a sight to behold.

 

Grandpa, Grandma Bair, Jeremy and I, and our three children gathered around the table.

 

We ate, we visited, Grandpa reminisced.  It was like a Norman Rockwell painting brought to life. 

 

After dinner we settled in around the living room and exchanged gifts. Grandpa and Grandma Bair were even good sports and donned the paper crowns that came in their "Christmas crackers", which are a family tradition my Aunt started years ago.

 

 

 

I forgot my camera, so we snapped these with one of our cell phones.

 

These are the last photos I have of our precious Grandpa Wilson. 

 

Later that week, sitting in his chair by the door, with his boots and coat on, waiting for Lorraine to comb her hair so they could go to town, he quietly passed away.

 

Except for a short time in his early married life when he and Ruth (his late wife) lived in town, he had lived all 91 years on the farm. He hadn't spent a day in a nursing home, and was with the second great love of his life when he passed.  I say it was a blessing we had his company as long as we did.  It was a privilege to have spent many hours recording family history with him.  He was a friend, a mentor, a wealth of knowledge, and hardly a day passes where I don't wish I could ask him just one more thing.

 

My question to you today- with all the busyness of this Christmas season, will you MAKE the time to reconnect with a loved one, or make a new friend, or simply find a way to bless someone?  You will never, ever regret it, and it may just be one of the best memories you ever make. This, my friends, is what Christmas is all about.

 

God bless you this CHRISTmas,

Sarah :)

 



 In loving memory of W.C. "Bill" Wilson, November 1, 1920 - December 16, 2011.



Meeting Miss America at NDSU Collegiate Farm Bureau Food Awareness Week

In early April 2012, the North Dakota State University Collegiate Farm Bureau Chapter (of which I am proud to be a founding member) hosted their first "Food Awareness Week".

I was flattered when the group asked me to come present as part of this event.

My friend, Katie Pinke  and I tag-teamed that night, which was great fun! 

(Katie writes a fabulous blog over at The Pinke Post !)

First, I gave some background on how the animal rights and environmental movements have gained ground in our nation and described their resources, tactics, and a few specific organizations.  It's important to thoroughly understand what challenges American agriculture is facing if we are to move ahead and prepare ourselves for the future. 



Thanks to Katie for snapping these photos.

 

Following up on my presentation that motivated the group to take action on behalf of agriculture, Katie presented about social media tools we can to use to tell the story of American agriculture and explain the work we are doing on our farms and ranches.  

From left, Katie Pinke, Marketing and Information Director, ND Department of Agriculture; Karmen Kirkeby, then President of the NDSU Collegiate Farm Bureau; myself. 

The second day of "Food Awareness Week" was a presentation by Teresa Scanlan, Miss America 2011.  My colleague and I brought our daughters along for this one :)  After all, it's not often that Miss America visits North Dakota.

Miss S and Miss CW are very excited to meet Miss America!
 

The picture C.W. colored for "Miss Amerinca".

These girls were bursting with excitement and the moment they met Miss America was even captured by Dave Wallis, a reporter for the Fargo Forum.
 

 

 

 

Teresa did a phenomenal job, not only making a dream come true for my little girl, but giving a fantastic presentation about agriculture.

 

Yes, that's right, Miss America is carrying the torch for America's farmers and ranchers.

 

As the middle child of seven homeschooled children in rural Nebraska she talked about learning at an early age the importance of farmers and ranchers in her community.  She said "there is a thin green line between a safe, abundant, domestic food supply and imported food", citing that there are 210,000 working farms in the United States, yet there are 925 million people going hungry throughout the world.  Farmers and ranchers have an important job to do, yet they are "being attacked from all angles".

 

Recently, she joined forces with "The Hand That Feeds U.S." and says that serving as Miss America "was my chance to stand up for what I believe in" and a "chance to represent the farmers and ranchers".

 

More coverage of the event can be found at the North Dakota Farm Bureau website:

 

http://www.ndfb.org/?id=214

 

Video here:

 

http://www.ndfb.org/?id=87

 

 

Many thanks to the NDSU Collegiate Farm Bureau Chapter for putting together Food Awareness Week and to Miss Teresa Scanlan for being such a dedicated ambassador for American agriculture.

 

- Sarah :)

 

 

 



 

 

 

All Time Favorite Christmas Photo

This may not be what you expected, but this is my all-time favorite photo from Christmases of the Wilson past.

My darling daughter, CW, was proudly showing me the painting she made for me on when nature decided to call :)

 

A millisecond after I snapped this, she was running down the hall toward the bathroom hollering "I gotta go potteeeeeee!!!!!....."

 

Priceless :)

 

Hope you got a little giggle like I did when I came across this :)

 

Sarah :)

Farmer Sarah Visits the Classroom! Coverage by KXNews in Bismarck, North Dakota

Many thanks to my friend Sarah Gustin of KXNews in Bismarck, North Dakota for spending some time with my eldest daughter's kindergarten class this fall to cover this story!

http://www.kxnet.com/story/19709343/farm-education

http://www.kxnet.com" title="KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson">KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson


Now, get on out there and share your agricultural experiences with children in YOUR community!

For more resources go to the American Farm Bureau Federation Foundation at www.agfoundation.org or the National Ag in the Classroom Program at  www.agclassroom.org

Sarah :)

Flabby Farmwife Trains For 5K: Ten Days Left Until The Big Day!

Greetings from the land of temperature swings,


mood swings,

auger swings

and yard swings.

Just as fall was cooling down, it heated back up to 90 degrees, and then back to the 30's again.  We've begun harvest, and with a strange twist of events, the corn was ready before the soybeans. The combines and grain cart are rolling (except for some breakdowns) and the kids are enjoying these last few weeks with no snow and bitter wind so the swing set in the backyard has been as busy as ever.

This also means is that I am having to re-balance my entire schedule (and life in general) to accommodate harvest and had to figure out some new ways to squeeze in running.

However, I am STILL running!  I have to say that I'm pretty proud of myself for having stuck with any sort of athletic activity consistently for over a month.  This is a new record for me.

I set another new record last week too.

I forgot my phone when I went into the YMCA.  Which meant no Couch to 5K app.

So I winged it, and decided to push myself to run/walk a whole 5K (3.1 miles) just had to see if I could do it.

By golly, I DID IT!!! It took me 47 minutes, but I DID IT!

So for the next week, I'm going to "just keep running" (as I'm sure "Dory" would tell me)...



And I'm going to keep fueling up with delicious and nutritious beef...



(I didn't make this salad, some great folks at a restaurant did, but boy was it GOOD!)

 

 

 

My family likes this new exercise routine so much, even the farm cats want to go running :)

Looking forward to seeing some old friends and making some new ones on October 6th at the Beefin' It Up- Fuel For the Finish 5K!

 



 

Thanks for stopping by! - Sarah :)

Our Farm is #WorthTheFight

I love agriculture with every cell in my body.  It is not just a vocation, but a calling.



(Photo by www.janiceperson.com )
Our children are the FIFTH generation on our farm.

Living and working on a farm is the best way I know how to raise a family, but it seems like more and more these days there are forces working against us.

From over-regulation, to misguided legislation, to activists with too much time and money on their hands, to ever-thinning profit margins, the challenges in farming today are many

However, like this awesome new tune called "Worth The Fight" by the band The Departed says (listen here), I'm going to keep "kicking and swinging".

Stand back folks, I've got my big girl gloves on...

 

because this life and our farm are worth the fight!

I don't do this for myself.  Believe me, it would be much easier to sit back, do things like they've always been done, and be apathetic to the threats to agriculture around the world. I'd get a lot more sleep and my house would be much cleaner (...maybe).

Instead, I have chosen to invest my time and efforts and fight for the legacy left by those that went before me.

Jeremy's Grandpa W.C. "Bill" Wilson, just after graduating from high school.

And for the opportunities for those that may choose to follow in my footsteps.

Hoping to inspire some future farmers :)

Check out these posts from my friends in agriculture that think it's #worththefight too!

Props to "Dairy Carrie" for putting this little campaign together:

http://dairycarrie.com/2012/09/11/worth-the-fight-worththefight/

My friend "just down the road" (about 60 miles), Val Wagner:

http://wagfarms.com/2012/09/11/worth-fighting-for/

The man behind "I am Agriculture Proud", Ryan Goodman

http://agricultureproud.com/2012/09/11/love-for-agriculture-and-red-dirt-music-worththefight/

A recent visitor to our farm, Janice Person
http://janiceperson.com/food/gotta-keep-movin-far-from-easy-but-worththefight/

and there are many others so check out the Twitter hashtag #worththefight !

THANKS for stopping by and I hope you'll join me in the fight for the right to feed, clothe, and fuel our world.

Step 1: If you are a North Dakotan, Vote YES for Measure 3, www.ndfeedingfamilies.com

Sarah :)

Flabby Farmwife Trains for 5K: What week am I on?

Hi everyone!

It's me, the Flabby Farmwife. When a friend recently asked me for an update I realized I've been neglecting this series of blog posts so badly that I can't even remember what week of training I'm on...

I started with Week 1:

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

Then blogged about weeks 2 and 3:

http://farmeronamission.blogspot.com/2012/08/flabby-farmwife-trains-for-5k-weeks-2-3.html

And now, I'm so far behind on blogging that I've lost count, so I'm just going to work backwards from the BIG DAY that's coming up.  October 6th is the Beefin it up: Fuel for the finish 5K hosted by the North Dakota Cattlewomen.

There are only four and a half weeks left now!

Here's a little of what I've learned as I've been training:

1. Life happens.  Sometimes A LOT of life happens.  Whatever happens, I will not quit.  I made a promise to my friend, Mrs. D, who has been losing sleep and working hard to prepare for this race as well, and I intend to keep it.

2. It hurts much worse to skip a few days then it does to drag myself out of bed and be consistent with running. Mixing things up helps too. Sometimes I run. Sometimes I bike. Sometimes I have "help" :)

 

 Sometimes I attempt to awkwardly run while pushing a double-stroller, in case my middle "helper" gets tired and needs me to haul her and the princess bike home :)

3. Here in Jamestown, North Dakota we have a wonderful paved path along the reservoir. It has breathtaking views.

 

4. I don't listen to music when I'm running. I use my running time to pray and ask God for strength. More times than not, after a half an hour of pouring all my worries out to the Lord, I end up praying something like "Okay God, you know all that I need and you know all the people that need you, just please be with them all", so consider yourself prayed for.

5. Sometimes, if you just focus on putting one foot in front of the other, you'll go faster and farther than you had expected.  THAT is a nice surprise :)

6. I discovered that my joints ache after I run for a while on the paved path, so I like to run in the grass along the path.

7. Some people let their dogs "do their business" on the grass along the paved path and do not pick it up. This is NOT COOL.

8. My husband knows every inch of our farm. I knew the farm I grew up on like this too, but I didn't grow up here, so I was delighted to find a field road between our place and the neighbor's that is a long, straight road that is currently protected from the wind by corn. It is one of the most peaceful places to run on earth.  Sometimes "Oakley", our official farm mascot comes along.

9. I bought one pair of new running shoes.  Then I realized they'd get wrecked if I wore them to run on the farm. So I had to buy another pair to preserve my good ones I wear to the gym. Two new pairs of shoes in the same month. This is a personal record.

 

10.  After training while pushing a stroller containing my hunk of a baby boy, running all by my myself seems easy.

11. I am still alive.  I have walked/run many miles now and I have not keeled over. This will probably continue to surprise me :)

12. I'm not quite as flabby as when I started this thing. Slowly but surely, my body is beginning to transform.  Still can't fit in the pre-third-baby pants, but I'm not nearly as Jello-like as I was a few months ago!

Hope to see many who read this in Mandan on October 6th!

Thanks for stopping by and remember to fuel up with dairy and beef products!
Sarah :)

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