Tuesday, October 31, 2017

A Farmer's Rant {Feat. Birdo}

Some people have misconceptions about farmers.
Ever wondered if the things you've heard about farmers is true or not?
Maybe this post will enlighten you.  I have Birdo here with me to bust some myths that you may or may not have been told.


Note: All pictures from this post were taken by Bird himself. :)

Farmers have it easy

Uhh no

Why's that?  Please elaborate.

We Don't have it easy because it's hard.


How is it hard?

You can work 100 hr weeks busting your butt to prepare the ground and plant the crop and put gobs of money into fertilizer and chemical and pray for rain that's long overdue and finally see the rewards of your work at harvest when you have to put in even longer hours to get it out of the field...that is, if it hasn't got destroyed by wind or hail.


...Okay, you've convinced me. XD
What about working with cattle?  Is that any easier/harder?

Just different....you can raise a cow and breed her and feed her and wait all year for that calf...only to have it die during birth and try again next year.  It doesn't happen all the time, but it's always a possibility. Course if you do get the calf, you gotta hope the market holds together well enough so's you can make a profit when selling it...

Also, easy is relative


Let me define it for you:  "achieved without great effort; presenting few difficulties".

No.(see above XD)
I would say farming is very challenging...but, that's not exclusive to farming. I don't care if you're a farmer, firefighter, soldier, factory worker, desk driver, or drive the Schwan's delivery truck...everything has its own challenges, farming just has its own very different set of such.

Very good point.  But since today we're talking about farming, what other challenges farmers face (other than the one's we've already talked about)?

Ohh gosh...weather, markets, politics, rules and regulations, insurance, input cost, breakdowns, physical dangers...need I go on?


Nope, I'm good. XD
Here's another stereotype:

Farmers will be rich

Uhh not necessarily.

And...?

And what

What do you mean when you say 'not necessarily'?

There's potential for profit in anything...including farming, but farming is not a "get rich quick" job.  

What keeps farmers from making fast money?  Some people think farmers are rich—they feed the country, for cryin' out loud.

True, but only a small percentage gets back to farmers. For example, 1 bushel(unit of measurement for wheat) will make between 60-73 loaves of bread.  Multiplied by the average price of bread($2.50/loaf), 1 bushel of wheat will make $150- $182 worth of bread.
The farmer gets about $3.10 a bushel, and thats gross income...not counting all the production expenses.

So in other words, out of those 60-73 loaves of bread, the farmer only gets 2 or 3?


Yep

I mean, that's if he wants bread....

I'd rather have a steak.
or bacon
or a hamburger
or donuts

Yeah, that sounds good too. XD

Farmers are stupid

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Yeah sure whatever

Okay, since this is so absurd, how would you like to demonstrate your knowledge?

I can count to 20 if I take off my boots.



Very funny. XD
Umm, I'm going to ask a question about something I'm completely ignorant of.
What should a person look for if he's driving a tractor and all of a sudden something starts rattling?

Duh look for the rattle.

But where?  The engine?  Radiator?  

Do you even know what a radiator is???

I plead the fifth.

Well...hopefully your tractor doesn't rattle...but if it does, I can't explain it...just listen to it, you can usually figure it out. And if you can't, you put it in the shop and start taking it apart till you find it.

Listen to it?  Do you speak Tractor? #kaitlynspoorattemptathumor


Actually yes! Like if it's a hisssssss its probably a tire or blown hose or if its a ticktickticktick its probably a loose shield or bolt or if its a gRrRrRrRrRr its probably a little more serious engine or transmission malfunction or if its a GGGGGRRRRRRRR you probably forgot to push the clutch :D

*tries to catch breath* Stop making me laugh, my gut hurts. XD
Got any tips on farming in general?

Pray for rain

*nods* I'm impressed, that's sound advice.

Its not a sound I bet every one of your bloggers read that, not heard it.

I'm not even going to comment on that.
So, one last stereotype (and one that is actually pretty accurate):

Farmers are strong

They are???? Wow cool I want to meet one!!!!



I'm not even sure how to respond to that.

Yeah me either that was shocking news

So you're saying it's not true?

I am?

I asked you first.

Oh wow you're fast

I know.
So are farmers strong?  Physically?  Emotionally?

Uhh how am I supposed to answer this? I AM A FARMER AND I AM STRONG *eyeroll* yeah whatever. Actually strong is relative....some of the strongest people I know couldn't lift 50 lbs.

Well, I would probably fall under that category (at least the 50 lbs part). XD
Anyway, That's a good point.  Like you so aptly demonstrated, farming requires mind as well as arms (though arms are required for a lot of farm work).
Well, that wraps it up for today.  Thanks for coming, Birdo!  I enjoyed it immensely. ;)

I like m&ms too



*unplugs your keyboard before you can make any more bad jokes*

*grabs your keyboard because I like making bad jokes*

Goodbye, Birdo.
Well people, was that as entertaining to you as it was to me? ;)
Until next time!
~Kaitlyn

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

IT'S FALL {September Recap}

I love October.
The colors change, the weather begins to get cooler, and... yeah.  It also means Thanksgiving is just over a month away!! *bounces*


Happenings:

-Had a lot of fun watching old home videos.

-Kansas State Fair.  Food that I didn't eat (but it smelled AMAZING), weird robot guys, crafts, rides, and a bright sun made for the perfect day for the fair.  (I also got to briefly see a friend that I don't get to see often, so that was fun!)

A butter sculpture at the fair; yes, this is made completely out of real butter.
-Our road got paved.  PAVED, Y'ALL!!  Do you know how many years it's been since our road was paved??



-Ringo and Renae were born! They're so adorable. <3


-Chowboy just randomly asked if we remembered 'that movie we used to watch when we were kids about a train'.
Well, it wasn't about a train, but we all remembered it.  Scuffy the Tugboat.  Any of y'all seen it?


-Found this on Pinterest and thought of my father right away.  He wholeheartedly approved.



Books:
Well.  I'm quite disgusted with myself.  Look at this measly list!  Look!


Finished:
The Deadliest Monster by J.F. Baldwin: 5 stars
Where Dandelions Grow by Lydia Howe: 3.5 stars
----------------
Wildflowers of Terezin by Robert Elmer: 4 stars
----------------
Started:
Know Why you Believe by Paul E. Little

Snippet:
Hey, I actually wrote this month!


“It’s all right, Colin, just act natural,” he murmured to himself.  He clutched the wooden box tightly, willing his hands to stop their trembling.  “Pretend that this is just a normal, everyday mission.”  A shudder passed through his body as he thought of the consequences that might occur if he failed to convince the queen that he held the bloody heart of Princess Brianna, and not of a stray sheep.
He had only been on the opposite side of the queen’s wrath once, but that had been when king Daniel was there and able to intervene.  
But now he wasn’t.  “Lord, give me strength.”
He took a deep breath and knocked on the heavy oak door.  When a soft, mellow, yet commanding voice bid him enter, he turned the knob and prayed that the woman wouldn’t notice the beads of sweat standing out on his forehead.
“As you commanded, Yer Majesty.”  Colin bowed and held the box out in front of him, inwardly trembling in disgust at what she thought it was.

She took the box in her delicate white fingers and pried the lid open with her long fingernails.  She took one look inside and a slow, sly smile spread across her face.  Colin felt sick.  Sick with the deception, but even more sick with the knowledge that this woman, the wife of the very man he loved and pledged allegiance to, wanted to murder her very own stepdaughter.


Pun:
A clown held the door open for me today.  It was a nice jester.

Music:
So I never knew until now that VeggieTales sings country songs.  Like how?! 



And now I realize how boring my life in September was.  Hope it was entertaining to you. XD

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Five Fall Favorites


Well, I wasn't planning to do a post today (my Sept. recap is coming later this week!), but there's been several different blogs doing this thing called Five Fall Favorites hosted by Rebekah over at Read Another Page.  It's basically a week-long blog party dedicated to favorite books.
Anyway, it all looked like a ton of fun, sooooo... why not do a post about my own favorites? ;)
I shall choose to share not my five favorite books, but authors.  And their books.  'Cause that'll make it a lot easier to share lots and lots of books. XD

~Susan K. Marlow~

Goldtown Adventures

Circle C Beginnings
Not my image
Circle C Stepping Stones

Circle C Adventures
Not my image
Circle C Milestones
Not my image
~Lois Walfrid Johnson~

Adventures of the Northwoods
Not my image
Viking Quest
Not my image
The Riverboat Adventures
Not my image
~Chuck Black~

Kingdom Series
Not my image
Knights of Arrethtrae
Not my image
~Tricia Mingerink~

The Blades of Acktar
Not my image

~Nancy Rue~

Christian Heritage: The Salem Years
Christian Heritage: The Williamsburg Years
Christian Heritage: The Charleston Years
Christian Heritage: The Chicago Years
Christian Heritage: The Santa Fe Years

I couldn't find any good pics of these, and sadly, I don't own any of them. XP

Anyway, you all need to go read all these if you haven't already. 'Cause they're all amazing and need to be read.  Right now.  *nods*
~Kaitlyn