Thursday, April 19, 2012

#76. or, One Question Wednesday...on Thursday

 On Tuesday, i was invited by Josie Two Shoes to participate in One Question Wednesday. (OQW) The way this works, is i ask her anything that i want to know about her, and in return, she gets to ask a question back of me. If you follow this link, you will be able to see the question i asked her, as well as her answer. There is also all of the questions asked to her and her answers there, as well as some of the replies to questions that she asked the question askers..........confused yet?

  So, now that it's Thursday, naturally i will answer her One Question Wednesday question, which was this:

  How did you decide to become a farmer, what do you like about it and what don't you like about it and what would have been your second career choice?

1....2....3....4.....that's actually four questions. apparently the rules on the one question part are fairly flexible?  :)

  I grew up where i live now. I live in the house i helped my parents build. I only have a few vague memories of living anywhere else.

  Aactually, becoming a farmer WAS my second career choice. I had originally intended to become a mechanic. Our high school, had an exceptional vocational program and i took a considerable amount of classes toward  that end. I was good enough at it that i could have went directly into second year of post secondary school right out of high school. My intention was to go to school and learn how to fix things.

  The year that i graduated from high school, my dad broke his leg, quite badly, in an accident moving some heavy equipment. I decided that i would delay going to school for a year so i could lend a hand while he recovered. I ended up just never going. Why? Mostly because it was the easy choice. I mean, it wasn't the easy path. I probably worked harder that i ever would have if i had gone the path i intended. It was just easy not to change once i started down a different path. I don't regret doing what i do, but sometimes i regret not being a stronger person when i was younger. If that makes sense?

  Along this path though, i did do a few other things. I drove heavy equipment for a while, i hauled cattle for most of a year.  But i do what i do now because i like it. It's challenging at times. When my dad passed away a few fears back, i struggled a bit. Not because i didn't know what to do. My role just changed, there was things i wanted to do differently. I was scared of making the wrong decision. I was scared to fail. Things have changed quite dramatically in the field of agriculture over that last number of years. There's a lot more time to be spent marketing and record keeping of cattle and crops. I wish i could spend more time outside, doing things. I have glorious projects in my head that i would love to do. There's just not time. I seem to spend quite a lot of time on the computer checking prices and doing research. That's what i dislike.

 The things that are good, are really good. Doing this has allowed me the flexibility to be more involved in what my kids do in school. I like being in the field. I like equipment. I like the smell of dirt when you cultivate a field for the first time in the spring after winter. I like baby calves. I like the beginning of combining season, i LOVE the end of combining season. I like the fact that even though there are things that have to get done, often there's still the opportunity to rearrange my schedule if something unexpected comes up.

  I think that i could be happy doing anything. I like to think i'm that type of person. Sometimes, i wonder what life would be like if i had gone down the path i had intended. But i am not unhappy that i do what i do now and i certainly don't have any regrets.I know that i'm not the best at what i do but i do the best with what i have and i'm happy doing it. I think that's something more than a lot of people have in life.

27 comments:

  1. Love this post. It's so interesting to find out more about you and what you do. I love calves too... they're so sweet and what beautiful eyes! (And I'm not even that big of an animal person!)

    One thing that made me laugh at the start was Josie's multiple question. I'm sure she'll enjoy how you point it out too lol... The Ranting Monkey tells me that she's the master of asking multiple questions when it's only supposed to be One Question Wednesday! Mast Josie strikes again! I'm learning from her - but am not that good at it yet ;-)

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  2. well, the good thing about the 4 in 1 is that it took a complete post just to answer it. I didn't even get the chance to talk about the trip to see the Harlem Globetrotters that i took the basketball team on yeasterday. More material for next week! :)

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    1. CRIPES! yeasterday? i'm not making bread here.

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    2. We definitely want to hear about that too. A whole team of kids? Wow, you are a brave man!

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    3. I was planning to post something today but completely forgot. I have an idea for a post - but need to feel the push to write it. I'm funny that way... unless I feel the urge to write - it just won't come out!

      This is a totally random comment lol... but hey, it's time for bed! ;-)

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    4. I know about that! I didn't get in until after midnight, last night from the field trip. I was kind of laying it out in my head as i was driving but when i sat down to type it out nothing came. I sat there for about 20 minutes with nothing and finally just went to bed. I had to whip it out this morning so i had something here to read! (the other whip it out!) It could have been better.

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    5. Lol, ok, now I really have to go to bed! Your whipping it out joke has me laughing much harder than it should!

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    6. lmao! whip it out! priceless!

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    7. Well you should whip it out often, cuz this was good! :-))

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    8. ......that's what she said! ;)

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  3. ROFL, Ken... and Bozo... I am indeed the master of the multi-part question! My philosophy is that as long as I string it all together with commas and only use one question mark at the finish, it counts! Right??! :-)) Actually, the extra info is meant to say "elaborate". Otherwise people will give a one sentence answer and I'm wanting to know so much more! It makes for interesting posts to read, so basically I'm generating my own reading material this way!

    Back to the post at hand, it was great Ken! My parents, and their parents before them, grew up on farms, and living in Dakota, it is the way of life I know, although I grew up in a small town. My father was a John Deere Dealer, so our lives revolved around farming seasons as well. Good years were good, bad years were bad, and we prayed for rain always, except at harvest time!

    I made some similar choices when I was young, and it looks like you ended up doing something you are happy with and obviously good enough at to support your family, which is not easy as a farmer these days. You are right that it has changed a lot in recent years. Being content, that's the secret to a happy life, and of course we all dream of the projects we'd be doing if we only had an extra day each week. I'll add that to my list of suggestions to discuss with God someday, if I ever get the opportunity! :-)

    I love that you like the smell of new plowed earth, the sweetness of baby calves, etc. Folks who only work in buildings and live in town, have no idea how awesome nature can be! More questions... how large is your farm? What do you grow? How many cattle do you have? What kind? They raise longhorns down here, something I never saw growing up!

    Thank you so much for humoring me and playing along. Next week you could put a post up on Tuesday and get all kinds of interesting questions from your readers, if you dare! :-)

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    1. "My philosophy is that as long as I string it all together with commas and only use one question mark at the finish, it counts! Right??!"

      LOL!!! Yes, I think that makes everything perfectly valid, Josie! Excellent way you've worked this out!

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    2. ......she does have a point.

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    3. ROFL... it's my game so I get to make/bend the rules... bad Josie, bad girl!!

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  4. Oh, another thing I am the master of... running on with loooong comments... sorry! Once I get on a roll, it's hard to stop! :-)

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    1. so......are all those questions for next weeks 1 question, or are they more questions for this weeks 1 question? Perhaps you should have started Multiple Question Thursday, instead? ;)

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    2. Those were just curiosity questions generated by your post. You can answer them anytime - now, next week, or never! But I still wanna know! hehe :-))

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    3. We are certainly not a large farm. I seed between 1200-1500 acres a year. Mostly it's a rotation of barley, wheat, and canola. Sometimes oats though as well. We have about 180 cows. They are a Charlolais/Semmintal cross. They are a little larger cow, about 1800 pounds. We have to make hay and silage during the summer so we can feed the cows through the winter. Generally, November into May. To do that, we use about 500 acres of hay land. Our summers tend to get quite busy. :)

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  5. I really liked this one too! I love the smell of dirt and seeing baby calves too. My grandpa always used to tell me I would be a good farmers wife and I sometimes wondered if I would of. But I am setting for acreage life.. it is wonderful for us!

    Thanks Kenny for your blogs. I look forward to reading them every day. Some days I dream maybe I can start my own blog too but I only seem to get inspirational stuff once or twice a year. LOL! Keep it up and THANKS again.

    `Sheri K. (didn't want to set up an account for one comment.. lazy ME!)

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    1. Thanks Sheri. I assumed that you were the Sheri that was following me. If it is, i think you already have an account? But i might be wrong.
      OR....come back every time and make a comment! That would work too? :)

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  6. I would like a farm, but I am way too lazy to take care of chickens or fields. I am struggling taking care of a puppy. My son takes agriculture in school and he is very upset that all they do is definitions all day instead of actual work. He would love to do farm work.

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    1. That's interesting. Agriculture as part of the curriculum or agriculture as a specialized field? Also, i'm not such a fan of chickens. Except roasted maybe or in soup. :)

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  7. I might not be able to excel in your craft. I tried to grow cornichons (French pickles) last summer; they either drowned from massive rainstorms or were sizzled to a crisp under the sun.

    -Barb the French Bean

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    1. i don't seem to have much luck with vegetables in the garden either. Plenty of good intentions but not much sucess.
      thanks for stopping by. :)

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  8. I am ready to be a farmer. For real. Except, like Crack You Whip, I am really lazy about taking care of things. Heck! I don't even feed the pets - I make the girls do it! I do however, hover over my tiny container garden like a Chicken Hawk on the thermals. I yell at the squirrels when they get too close. Actually, I'm pretty sure, I'm getting quite crazy about the whole thing.

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    1. "a Chicken Hawk on the thermals"! now who's using the awesome phrasing. I like that one. :)

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