It’s been a busy few days! It started with introducing Stephanie to the best donut in Rutland, Vermont. We needed to be up there to support our friend and had a little time to burn up. My brain went immediately to my stomach..and Jones’ Donuts. If you like coconut, and frosting, on a donut, this is the one for you! Don’t miss it if you are in the…
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…
I fly at 10,000 feet. Where do you fly? Do you like looking out over everything, soaring above the details? Or does your eye go to the weeds, staring every single one straight in the eye, like a crop duster? I like to see far, into the distance, flying high above the clouds. Diving close to the earth makes me nervous; it’s not a natural place for me.…
The significance of a tree. The big old pine has been with me my entire life. It sits vigilantly by the old road, at the lake. The pine is not ancient in the way of trees. It’s a tall pine that managed to avoid the clutches of the hurricane back in 1938 when so many of the big pines got blown down and, as a result, still sit…
Showing the cows, showing the pigs, showing the chickens. It’s volunteering to scoop ice cream at the 4-H milkshake booth, presenting art projects, and baking cakes. Bringing flower arrangements, quilts, and photography. All of it is a reason to go. A reason to be a part of something bigger. The county fair. It’s hot, sweaty, wet, chilly, and usually topped off with a torrential downpour. Blue ribbons,…
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…
I have been in a pickle this summer; Tyler Ziehm has been in a pickle too! My pickle: Too much work and not enough people to complete it. Juggling during the summer is hard. The kids are home, and everyone seems to be out playing! Without me! Yikes, not sure how I can get out of this one! But I will 🙂 Tyler Ziehm has been an…
It’s a right of passage… Going away to summer camp. This morning, Sam headed off to his first overnight camp, Camp Oswegatchie, New York’s summer FFA camp. I thought back to when I went to camp, all those years ago. Camp Nellie Huckins, a girl scout camp in northern NH. My cousin, Jess, and I went together. All winter long, we had looked forward to it. Planning our…
My Dad keeps us afloat. It’s a very difficult job, but somebody has to do it! Always the caregiver, Dad, constantly goes about making sure that everything gets done for us. Property management is his forte. 🙂 When things get tough, he is apt to hand us a $20 bill, or start doing some task to help, under mom’s direction, anything to restore our happiness. If we are…
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…
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