Tuesday, January 25, 2011

WARNING bragging is involved in this post...

My nephew Gideon made the paper this week and I couldn't be prouder of him!  He is a great kid, he works hard on the farm with his mom, dad, Uncle Chris and Grandpa T!  I have always loved how he has taken my son (Jackson) and showed him how to do things, helps him do chores and he takes him trap shooting (Gideon's passion), and now he is teaching Jackson it is important to make a difference...this was in the Cassopolis Vigilant this week:

Article taken from:  http://www.cassopolisvigilant.com/2011/01/20/student-gives-back-to-art-class/


Student gives back to art class

Published 4:57pm Thursday, January 20, 2011
The Cassopolis High school art room is ringing in 2011 with brand new tables.
Well not exactly — but it sure looks like it. Thanks to Gideon Hebron, a student at the school, the room looks rejuvenated.
Last spring Hebron told teacher Shelly Johnson that he wanted to fix the gouged and abused tables. The rough surfaces made it difficult for students to do artwork. Every divot and scratch came though onto the paper above.
Hebron wrote a proposal letter stating his desire to fix the tables. This fall he was given the go-ahead, and he spent the last three months sanding, filling and finishing. He worked many lunch hours and much of his own time (coming in even when school was closed) to bring the tabletops back to their original beauty.
Hebron comes by his talent for woodworking by watching and learning from his father, Richard Hebron, who owns a private saw mill in Cassopolis. Richard graduated from Cassopolis High School in 1983, and he too kept the art room tables in top form.
When Hebron was asked why he wanted to refinish the art room tabletops, he responded by saying that he wanted to make a difference before he left high school. Hebron is a senior this year and plans to pursue farming and Olympic Dreams Trap Shooting after he graduates.

Great job Gideon....

I highjacked the Farmers Blog by accident!

Friday, January 14, 2011

That education thing....

    I was going to post again this weekend but I just got inspired unexpectedly. We just got finished with our community food dinner at the Purple Porch Coop and I sat down  to check some e-mails. When clicking on PPC's weekly newsletter there was a link to listen to Krista Bailey's public radio address. Krista is a PPC member / founder and a silent voice behind our General Manager (his wife). Her words, so nicely written, was inspiring. It touched on a lot of topics that might point to the decline of American life that we once knew.
    There use to be a time when a kid (me) could go work for a local farmer putting up hay or do day labor for a few dollars of pocket change. Today I feel nervous just letting someone walk across an open field in fear they could step in some cattle dung, slip, fall and bring suit. How crazy? We would ride our bikes six or seven miles to one of our friends house, play all day, and then ride home (with NO helmet) and not even have a cell phone just in of an emergency. Heck you were lucky if you got through on the phone because if one of the neighbors was on the party line you got a busy signal. How crazy? This is getting a little off the subject of Krista's story. I feel there is a connection though and she brings up great points to think about.
     So give it a listen and pass it along. I would much rather receive this link in an e-mail than something I have to forward to ten of my closest friends or else an end to life as we know it will come. Well maybe that would be a good thing as long as we could go back to life as we use to know it.
http://wvpe.org/index.php#/audio-detail.php?a=299
Later Chris

Friday, January 7, 2011

I ate the whole thing or How do I always find myself in these situations

    Walked out to look for some fencing tools that someone had left out in the field after fixing the fence. Well, here sat this young steer that had found himself in a bit of a pickle. This is a ring we fill with a large round hay bales. We use the rings so the cattle don't lay on the pile and waste it. Well this bale was all gone and in its place this guy. He was easily let out and no harm no foul, except now his picture has made it to the Internet. 


HELP!
    The title of this post could also be describing me. Michelle has been creating some really good meals as of late. The kids are always leery of something new but that just means leftovers or "I ATE THE WHOLE THING".  As for finding myself in these situations, there just seems not enough time in the day to get everything done. Which explains the time past from the last post. I'll try harder.

    We are getting ready to farrow a couple sows in the next week. Getting the girls moved around from a group setting to their own farrowing hut can be quite a challenge. Have you ever tried to move a 425 pound object that in no way wants to be moved. First we will try food as a persuasion, and if that does not work. Well let us just hope that works. The girl we have to move tomorrow is a real sweetie, just as long as she gets her way and she does not miss a meal. Otherwise the sweetie turns into a real bi$#*.  Hopefully I can get Jack out there and whisper to her.

    The ladies had been stuck between 70-80 eggs a day for a while. Then wham! 91 eggs yesterday, and wham!, wham! 102 eggs today. The only bad part is somebody has to wash them. So off I go spending my Friday night washing eggs, but on a very full stomach thanks to Michelle's  Crunchy Chicken.

Later Chris