Memorial Day Weekend in New Hampshire. Nestled up near the Canadian border, Pittsburg sits unassuming. It’s crufty, worn, and strong like the old barns that dot its landscape. The old barns are a nod to the farming landscape that used to be abundant, vibrant, and thriving as a way of life. Every year I get to trek up to this country. I think about the family members I…
The decision has been made, and a deep sadness permeates everything. There are visions of what life will be, how life will feel. Emptiness. The last headlock clanks, and the pump stops. Silence fills every space on the farm. A final cow is loaded, and the truck and trailer head down the laneway and out the gate. It’s over. The feed wagon will sit idle, and the birds…
For four short days every year, when I was a teenager, I became part of something bigger. It was bigger than me when I was 15. It is bigger than me today, at 47. Eastern States Exposition. New England’s premier agricultural fair. Every year, our state (New Hampshire), along with the five other New England states, sent a delegation of 4-H youth and their dairy cows down to…
It’s time for the fair! Once this hits your inbox, we will already be moving the cows in, shaking the flakes of hay out, and raking the alleyway for herdsmanship. Below is a piece I wrote years ago. It was prompted because one of the FFA leaders was looking for a garden gnome to complete their display at the fair. The request gave me pause to think and recollect…
It was a sweet, summer night, early in August. The air was perfect as the sun was beginning to get low in the sky. The call came in during evening office hours. The farmer had a down heifer, up in Northfield, and needed the doc to come up and take a look. Donna was the vet on call that night; I was 18. Matt, the vet student, was…
Last week I took a trip to Iowa to visit the Iowa Soybean Association. I introduced them to the concept of finding the best donut in Des Moines (Bethany and Lydia were very good sports), and they introduced me to 2 of their farmers and Iowa soybeans. The trip was about overseas markets and the economic environment here. We talked about fuel costs and fertilizer costs and the…
Once a day, once a week, or once a month. It’s an event to be marked, especially when performed with family members. Moving animals. Reading the moods ahead of time doesn’t seem to matter, as you know, dispositions are likely to change on a dime. It is nearly impossible to anticipate all of the loopholes that an animal or herd of animals will find. Some days it’s like…
Every fall nostalgia kicks in. Maybe it’s the natural ebb and flow of life, things start to die back this time of year and bodies go into hibernation. For whatever reason though, I pull back the cobwebs that have been in the back of my mind, and in the cleaning process, it triggers this sense of needing to feel close to my roots, my home, and where I…
And it’s a wrap! To be honest I have a love/hate relationship with the fair—as I am sure many mothers do. We can’t help it. The fair consumes our lives the week before, the week of, and the week after. When you break it down it is a week that goes like this: It’s dealing with very tired, dirty children for the 7-day duration, turning the show clothes…
The bandaid has been ripped off, the pain is gone! I can’t tell you how happy I am to be beginning again……
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